Magic is Programming

Carlos blinked in surprise at the last notification from his introspector. What the hell was "synergy unification"? And if it's based on levels and happens at level fifteen, why didn't he get alerted about it passing 50% at level eight? Just as he thought that question, the listing of his number of synergy links flashed in his mental awareness, and he nodded to himself. He'd only just now finished the last of his synergies, and of course that would affect it. He looked over at Amber, considering whether to ask for her thoughts on it, but she was still working on learning his air filtering spell. She'd reached level nine at about the same time he did, but he'd had the clue of having already learned a very similar spell to make completing his synergies easier, so it made sense she was taking longer.

He glanced at Lorvan, but this was probably related to the second stage the guard had been so persistently enigmatic about, in which case he doubted he'd get a straight answer from him yet. Plus, asking a Crown Guard about it would mean the Crown would learn that he had a reason to ask. Other nobles apparently took their secrets seriously, leaving aside the idiocy of a certain teenage brat, and he probably should too.

Well, his own introspector had reported it. What could direct self-examination through the introspector discover about it? ...Not much that he couldn't have guessed from the name and progress report, apparently. He got an impression of his synergy connections getting stronger, making his soul structures work together more seamlessly, more like parts of the same cohesive whole, and he knew this seamlessness would reach its maximum potential at level fifteen. What would happen then, or whether anything special would even happen at all, was still unclear.

Carlos waited quietly as Amber meditated, her eyes closed and her body still. If he hadn't already known what she was doing, the only signs would have been how the mana in the air around his spell danced and flowed, moving more lively than ambient mana normally did, even after accounting for the spell's presence. The liquid mana that fueled the spell flowed in a circuit through the spell's solid structure, and the vapor-like mana nearby tended to move in similar paths like weak echoes of the circuit. Those echoes would have happened regardless, but Amber's close scrutiny had a subtle influence that sometimes distorted or disrupted them, and occasionally Carlos caught a faint hint of mana purposefully brushing against the surface of the spell itself.

After another fifteen minutes, faint ripples of something changing emanated from Amber's soul, and she opened her eyes and smiled brightly. Then she froze for a few seconds, blinked a few times, and looked sharply at Carlos. [Orichalcum, and something about synergies being more than half combined now?]

Carlos nodded. [Yeah, I got that too. Maybe related to Lorvan's mysterious 'second stage'. I guess we'll find out at level fifteen. I'm not sure we should rush to get there, though. I feel like we're on our way towards ridiculously lopsided capabilities; too much power and not enough practice at using it.] He started turning to face Lorvan, but hesitated, looked back at Amber and spoke aloud to her. "You finished?"

Amber blinked, then twitched with a suppressed chuckle. "Yeah. All my synergies are fully established now."

"Then our main goal for this trip is done." Carlos stood up and stretched, reaching his arms far above his head and standing on his toes for a moment, the force bubble around him elongating and rising a bit as he did, then shook himself to loosen up and turned decisively towards Lorvan on his right. "I think we should return to Dramos and see if Haftel and Esmorana and the other two have decided how they want to make amends yet. They responded to the mayor's signal in a remarkably short time; maybe they have a way to travel quickly." He scowled a bit at Lorvan. "One that's dignified enough for normal use."

"And talk with Ressara," Amber added.

"Very well. This way." Lorvan marched off into the thick forest around them, ignoring Carlos's comment about dignity.

Carlos trudged wearily along, determinedly putting one foot in front of the other yet again. His feet and legs pounded dully with every step and every beat of his pulse, his breath was ragged, and it took effort just to not collapse onto the ground despite the levitation spell he'd poured his whole mana pool into to lighten himself, but Lorvan said they were getting close to Dramos and he wanted to sleep in a bed tonight. Large portions of the three and a half days they'd journeyed deeper into the Wilds had been spent staying in one place while they absorbed mana, but it had still taken another day and a half to walk back.

Lorvan had said this morning that they could probably reach Dramos today if they pushed, and Carlos had agreed that sounded good. Now he was regretting that decision. Night had already fallen, they still weren't out of the trees, and the walking he'd done before had not prepared him for this all day walking marathon. On the bright side, he hadn't passed out from exhaustion yet, and his mana was powerful enough to levitate a noticeable fraction of his weight for over an hour. Oh, and the compass spell he'd cast said they were heading in the right direction. Too bad it didn't report distance, and he didn't have the breath to spare to ask Lorvan how much farther.

Something changed in Carlos's peripheral vision, the darkness of night getting slightly less dark, and he mustered the energy to raise his head and look. Oh. The trees were gone. That meant something, right? Oh yeah, they should be nearly there. He looked ahead, far into the distance. For a moment his eyes didn't want to focus, but then the distant blur resolved into a wall with lanterns mounted on it. And a gate. Right, they had to go through the gate, and then they could go to the inn. And then he could finally relax and sleep. That thought brought a tiny surge of renewed energy, and Carlos walked faster for about a dozen steps before it ran out and he returned to his tired plodding.

Lorvan suppressed a tender smile at the occasional light snore that sounded from just beside his head. Carlos had kept walking until he physically couldn't anymore, leaning on Lorvan's shoulder for support when his levitation spell ran out and the strength of his legs started to fail, until finally he fell asleep on his feet and Lorvan had to catch him to prevent his face from hitting the hard cobblestones of the street. That stubborn determination, especially combined with his extraordinary creativity, could take the boy far. If he didn't spill wellspring mana over all his loyal staff after an ill-advised experiment, that is.

And if the two of them really had built all forty five possible synergy links to reach orichalcum rank? Much depended on how well they capitalized on the potential of the second stage, but they might shake the entire kingdom's politics more than had happened in several decades. Assuming they learned a good selection of spells and became skilled at using them, of course, but he knew they had a teacher from the royal mage academy already arranged for. He suspected Carlos had learned something significant from examining the enchantment runes in his gauntlets, too.

When Amber announced she'd finished "all" of her synergies, he'd almost asked whether she meant all the synergies she'd planned, or all synergies that were possible, but held the question back. Even the Crown respected that other noble houses have the right to keep secrets, and it would be obvious soon enough anyway. Their entry into the second stage would give it away, because even adamantium tier nine couldn't match how early orichalcum rank reached that point.

Lorvan put aside his thoughts on the topic as he opened the front door of the Adventurer's Haven and walked in, still carrying Carlos unconscious on his back. The common room was nearly empty this late at night, the inn's patrons mostly tucked away in their rooms, sleeping. The Haven was known for its lodgings and security, not late night festivities. Customers did often arrive in the dead of night seeking rooms, however, so someone still stayed at the bar, waiting just in case.

The barkeeper looked up as the door opened, his head idly resting on his right hand, propped up leaning on the bar. He blinked a couple times, then nodded and just waved Lorvan toward the stairs. Lorvan ignored the wave and walked up to the bar, leaning close to speak in a low voice. He didn't want to risk waking his sleeping charge with loud speech. "Message for Haftel, Esmorana, Noralt, and Sconter. Tell them that Carlos and Amber would like to speak with them tomorrow afternoon. Also message for Ressara; Carlos and Amber want her to meet them tomorrow after dinner."

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The barkeeper quickly jotted a few notes. "Got it. They'll be delivered with breakfast. Anything else?"

Lorvan shook his head, and quietly walked to the stairs, Ordens following right behind with Amber passed out on her back. The young woman had lasted a little longer than Carlos, but had still run completely out of energy before they got all the way back to the inn. The two guards carried the young nobles to their suite, and carefully put them to bed. With that done, Ordens settled down to sleep too while Lorvan stood first watch for the night. The Adventurer's Haven had far better security against thieves and such than most inns, but very little could compare to the watchful protection of a royal guard.

Many people, especially inexperienced adventurers or new caravan guards, hated night watch duty, but Lorvan found it pleasant. It was a period of time where, while he did need to remain alert and watchful, most of the time nothing of note happened, and he could reflect and consider things without interruption or distraction.

Not for the first time, Lorvan thought that if the Crown really wanted to help House Carlos get properly established, or get truly good information about the new house, they should have sent a Crown Mage, whether in addition to or instead of one or both of the normal guards. Maybe have Felton teleport himself along with the rest of them. Even aside from the issue of teaching the new nobles more spells, a mage might have known in advance how quickly Carlos's levitation spell would drop him into that stampede. A mage might also have at least some idea of whatever it was that they had done to finish their synergies. The Crown paid tremendous sums to the Enchanters Guild to craft the equipment of the Crown's most elite guards, and that equipment was extraordinary at what it did, but relying on items to sense mana for you would never reveal all of the subtleties that an inherent soul structure could detect.

Still, inherent limitations or not, it was nonetheless top notch gear. He knew the precise locations of Carlos and Amber's souls, he could pick them out from a crowd with trivial ease, he knew they were sleeping undisturbed and healthy, he could detect their current level even if he hadn't already known it, and the detection enchantment even helpfully pointed out that they influenced ambient mana in a way characteristic of mages. He knew Ordens's location as well, though her true level was hidden by similarly advanced enchantments. He could see the boundaries of the inn's security ward enchantments too, and read some details of what they did. And all of that came entirely from his enchanted equipment, without a mana sensing soul structure of any kind in his soul.

A few nearby patrons of the inn were awake and moving about, and Lorvan kept an eye on their locations just in case they started approaching. High House Tostral did not yet know just who and what they were really dealing with, and might have sent a covert force to exact revenge for Jamar's humiliation. If they had, then striking here where their targets slept would be an obvious approach, and renting a room would be the easiest way past the inn's outermost wards. Anyone unknown could potentially be a secret assassin.

It was unfortunate that no Crown Investigator had yet been dispatched in response to Lorvan's signal, but he wasn't in a position to do anything about whatever higher priorities were keeping the investigators busy. His first regular check-in where he could give a detailed report was weeks away. He couldn't justify sending the one signal he was certain would prompt an immediate response; signaling that an invasion or insurrection in force was beginning would be false reporting. Lorvan shook his head and sighed. For the time being, he would just have to be alert and guard his charges vigilantly. It would help if they moved into their own building. Maybe he should suggest that in the morning.

Lorvan's thoughts drifted through various aspects of Carlos's and Amber's achievements as the hours passed, until finally it was time to wake Ordens and take his own sleep shift.

Ordens alertly tracked the movements of the few people awake at this hour. There were a few minor shifts of people turning over in their sleep, but she ignored those. Thieves and assassins didn't work in their sleep. She watched as someone two floors down and a few halls over woke up, briefly wandered within their room, and went back to sleep. Not much happened three hours before dawn, and she hoped it stayed that way, but she was ready to do her duty if that changed.

She made sure to keep the bulk of her attention on watching for intruders, but a small part of her idly thought about Amber. Carlos was primarily Lorvan's assignment. Both guards were supposed to protect both young nobles as needed, but Ordens's primary focus was Amber. The young woman was a bit of a contradiction sometimes. She seemed almost a nervous wallflower most of the time, constantly deferring to Carlos and following his lead, and she'd broken down crying and helpless when Carlos died. But every time he asked for her input she responded intelligently, and with a little prompting to spur her out of her breakdown she had taken the lead magnificently. When Amber grew enough to find her fledgling confidence and stand with it, Ordens was sure she would someday soar. Carlos seemed well competent as head of their house, but having a second similarly capable leader would be immensely beneficial to them.

Beginning a conflict with another house so terribly early was unfortunate, but it just might become a motivator, pushing them to excel and triumph. Ordens almost wished she would get to stay and watch more than just the beginning of House Carlos's rise, but her duty was to the Crown, and all nobles had to eventually stand on their own. Besides, once they really got their feet under them properly, they would make waves in the kingdom's politics that could be watched from throughout all of Kalor.

A strange flicker suddenly drew her attention, and Ordens instantly put aside all thoughts about the future. Hmm. The flicker had been so brief she wasn't even sure where it had come from, and she couldn't find any sign of it now. Actually, on review she could tell she had sensed it herself, not through her equipment. She had interpreted the royal guards' standard sensory enhancer soul structure in a way that gave her just a little bit of inherent mana sense, and that's what she had felt the flicker through. Her mana sense was a lot weaker than the detection capabilities of her equipment, though, and her equipment hadn't registered anything. She frowned. It was strange that she sensed something her equipment had not. She had long since learned to trust her equipment's purpose-built mana detection over her own almost accidental adjunct capability of a structure that primarily improved her sight and hearing. She hesitated, but ultimately dismissed it. She wasn't even sure exactly what direction that flicker had come from, and if her equipment reported that nothing significant had happened, then nothing had happened. Not even high nobles could afford what it would take to fool top tier Crown equipment.

Purple paused his efforts at building up enough thoroughly-tamed mana to make his next structure. An unfamiliar tug on his attention had suddenly appeared, and it took a moment for him to realize it was the automatic response he had created to finalize his automator structure. Something strange and potentially important was happening with Carlos right that moment. ...And Amber, too. They were both asleep, but moving anyway. Or being moved. And this wasn't a continuation of previous movement, like when they'd been carried to their sleeping place hours ago. He focused all his attention on Carlos. There was movement; an impression of mana touching Carlos, under the control of someone else. Someone Purple did not recognize, and he knew the mana of everyone he had ever met.

Then all input from the bond abruptly ceased. From both of them, at the same instant. The bonds still existed, but Purple couldn't sense anything or send anything through them. It was oddly difficult to even focus on them. He was fairly sure they weren't dead, but they were in some way cut off from him. This was bad. He needed to help, so they could build him into a wonderfully well protected smart home/mansion/school as they'd planned. And... even without that, he wanted to help his friends!

...But how? He was locked in a secure vault, and the only people outside he could contact were the very same ones who were cut off from him and needed help!

Ressara read the note that came with her breakfast, and was nearly overcome with giddy excitement. She was finally going to get to discuss things with her (hopefully) new patrons properly in depth! She could hardly wait for that evening after dinner. In fact, she was seriously tempted to go to their room right away and ask if they would mind doing it now. Those guards might get annoyed, but Carlos and Amber could overrule them, and she thought they just might do it. Well, no harm in just checking if they're awake and not meeting anyone else at the moment, right?

In barely two minutes, Ressara was fully dressed and walking quickly down the hall to get in range of her soul senses. Just a few more steps, and she should start sensing them, if they're in their suite. She took those few steps, and suddenly froze in shock. That was not Carlos's soul in his bed, though it strongly resembled it! Who the hell would even make a high quality soul decoy of him, and why would they put it in his bed!?

Ressara closed her mouth and frowned. Then she started running.

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