“Damn.” Cartalis sighed and swept the lump of softened steel off the table. “It’s too impure, still.”

  Arenya arose from her position hunched over the lab equipment. As she

  did, one of her wings twitched. “Ow. My back aches from staring at this

  so long.”

  “We have been at this for some time now, indeed… that was our sixth

  attempt, I believe.” Cartalis cracked her knuckles to try and restore

  some feeling to her stiff fingers. It didn’t work. “Let us return to the

  lounge and analyze the plans. Perhaps there is another method we may

  use.”

  Next door to the graduate labs was a nice, small study area. It

  featured a small fireplace (magical and carefully sealed off to ensure

  the heat never reached the sensitive lab equipment, of course), and

  tall, dark wooden chairs with red plush backing. The chairs were far

  more comfortable than the hard wooden ones most of the students were

  forced to deal with. More advanced equipment wasn’t the only perk of

  being admitted into the graduate labs, Cartalis mused. Even Arenya

  admitted she didn’t lament the lack of a tail-hole, since the seats were

  so soft. The table was of fine, scratch-resistant and magically sealed

  wood, with ornate designs carved into the table legs. Several sheets of

  paper were arrayed upon it, each describing some aspect of the design of

  this new, as-yet-unnamed sword.

  The lab and the lounge were both empty aside from them. They were

  generally quieter in the late afternoon when most students were eating

  dinner, but even so, Cartalis found it curious that she hadn’t seen

  anyone in the last while. The lab had been empty except for them for the

  past hour, at least.

  Cartalis watched as Arenya chose the nearest chair and gingerly lowered herself onto it, wincing. Did her back truly hurt that much?

  “Let us consider our options,” said Cartalis, looking at one sheet of paper. “We could-”

  “Mind filling me in later?” asked Arenya. “I just need a moment to

  let my mind clear.” She shifted a bit, leaving a clear dusty imprint.

  Cartalis blinked as she realized Arenya was positively covered in

  crystal dust. Upon running a hand through her hair, a veritable cloud

  drifted around Cartalis. She barely managed to avoid coughing.

  Maybe they’d been trying this too long after all…

  She glanced out a window. The sun was… No longer up. Oh dear. Too

  long indeed. No wonder there weren’t any others nearby at this hour.

  Well, no matter. Cartalis would continue to think on it. She leaned back into the seat and stared at the ceiling, thinking.

  Sixteen channels. Sixteen channels in steel. Sixteen overfilled channels in steel.

  And they had to overfill each one, one at a time, post-forging,

  carefully enough to ensure that the steel didn’t rupture in the process.

  Thankfully, the labs here had powerful wards, easily capable of

  containing such an explosion. Cartalis hoped, anyway.

  But even if the explosion didn’t kill them, it would still ruin the

  sword and force them to start over. The steel had to be nothing less

  than perfect. With the perfect amount of structure, hard enough that

  straightening one channel wouldn’t bend another, but not so hard that

  they couldn’t be straightened at all. Pliable enough that even after

  being set it would bend, but without rupturing when being overfilled.

  Martial focuses were generally treated with crystal dust for this

  purpose. When melted into steel, it would act as a counter to the

  magically resistant metal, allowing mana to flow through it and fill

  channels more easily.

  The issue, then, was that a very, very precise amount of

  crystal dust was needed. The steel the school had on was treated, to be

  sure, but not thoroughly. It was slightly brittle and thus easily

  broken. Even slightly oversaturating the steel would render it too hard

  to straighten the channels and missing the mark in the other direction

  would cause the steel to crack, or worse. Further, the crystal dust they

  had was rough. Even in the graduate labs, they allowed rough crystal dust?

  The Fiery One flared up. Cartalis shoved her back down. These were the materials she had. They would do.

  So, Cartalis found that they had to grind the impure crystal dust

  themselves. She’d done that before, but not to a precision like this.

  They’d ground the dust, then weighed it, using the weight and average

  impurity as a heuristic for the mana dust. Then they warmed the steel

  and folded the crystal dust in.

  For most focuses, especially ones made by students as training

  exercises, that was fine. The variance in impurity was quite small, and

  so within an acceptable margin of error.

  This wasn’t most focuses. The amount of crystal dust they needed was extremely specific. Overshoot even slightly, the sword blade would not hold. Undershoot even slightly, the sword blade Would. Not. Hold.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Deep breaths. In. Ou -

  An uncontrollable coughing fit ensued as Cartalis breathed in a

  mouthful of dust. At that moment, she realized - this wasn’t going to

  work. Ever. They could keep trying over and over, but it would take

  dozens of attempts to succeed. They’d both choke to death on crystal

  dust before they’d get it right at this rate.

  The impurity wasn’t even. Sometimes a randomly selected gram of

  impure crystal dust was almost completely pure. Other times, it was

  nothing but waste and filler. Sometimes it was in between. Thus, the

  problem. If each time, Cartalis could be assured of obtaining a precise

  ratio of pure to impure materials, she could simply factor that into her

  calculations and proceed.

  Could she ask Professor Kazurist for completely pure crystal dust? It

  was horribly expensive, but surely a professor would be able to obtain

  some…

  Cartalis shook her head. No, Kazurist was concerned enough about this

  project already. If she started requesting such expensive materials,

  he’d shut it down.

  What would be truly lovely was a way to measure the purity of a given

  sample, and determine exactly how much crystal dust was in it. If she

  could measure the ambient mana, and then measure the mana in the sample,

  the differential could be used to figure out exactly how much crystal

  dust was in the sample. But such finely ground crystal dust was going to

  give off only a very, very small amount, so the differential would be

  minuscule indeed. No machine could sense such a minute difference.

  So that wasn’t going to work either. Damn. Cartalis closed her eyes.

  She’d just lie there for a couple minutes, and no longer. Perhaps an

  idea would come to her…

  “My demands are three.”

  Benya laughed. “Is that so? And your three requests are so personal that you sent Arenya out of the room to ask them?”

  Cartalis sipped at her mug of steaming tea, surreptitiously brought

  into the practice room despite the rules against food and beverages. “I

  believe you will find my demands reasonable.” She sat at a bench and

  crossed her legs, hoping she looked proper enough to this eccentric man.

  “My first demand is a transfer of reward. You promised both Arenya

  and myself one year of school expenses, all paid, in return for a sword

  to your specifications. I have no need for this reward. I wish for

  Arenya to receive my year as well.”

  Benya steepled his fingers. For the briefest of moments, he looked just like Professor Kazurist. “Agreed.”

  Strange… this man before her seemed not the same as Arenya had

  described him, nor how he was when Arenya was in the room but a moment

  ago. He seemed more… calculating, she would say.

  “My second demand is to request assistance from others. Arenya and I

  created Shamir ourselves, with no outside assistance, but your requests

  are far more challenging. It may be necessary to request help from

  additional students, or possibly a professor. I demand the right to

  request that help at our discretion.”

  Benya’s lips curled in a frown. “I believe I have made the need for secrecy clear.”

  The Fiery One waited beneath the surface, but she knew that now was

  not the right time to let her loose. “You have made the need for doing

  this right clear as well. This will, of course, be kept to a minimum. I

  simply wish to acknowledge that the design may pose unexpected

  challenges, and may require extra pair of hands.”

  “Provided it is kept to a minimum, I suppose that is acceptable. Agreed.”

  Cartalis closed her eyes for a moment, controlling her breathing. She let the silence settle for a time.

  “And your third demand?”

  Cartalis directed her gaze as directly to Benya’s pupils as she could manage. “Answers.”

  Benya cocked his head to the side. “Pardon?”

  “You heard me,” said Cartalis as she stood. The man towered over her

  still, but she did her best to look severe and imposing regardless.

  “First we receive a mysterious letter with obvious tampering from

  Daniel’s benefactors - oh, excuse me, parents.” The Fiery One

  was let out just enough to give that last word a hint of spice. It felt

  good. “This letter hints at blackmail in return for information about

  Shamir, and then not long after, Arenya's parents are having to talk

  about selling the farm. Then, just when Arenya is beginning to despair,

  you show up, asking about Shamir and wanting one of your own in return

  for some exorbitant reward that is precisely what Arenya needs right

  now. She may be willing to take you at face value, but I’m not. Don’t

  even try telling me these have nothing to do with each other. Who are

  you really, and why do you want this sword?”

  Cartalis blinked awake.

  Arenya still lay in her chair, snoring softly. The sky through the

  window was just beginning to change from black to dark blue. They’d been

  asleep most of the night.

  Why she’d dreamed of the deal with Benya, she wasn’t sure. He’d

  denied any involvement with the letters, Drav, and Daniel, all without

  even the slightest hint of lying. Cartalis knew it to be false, but he

  was good at keeping a straight face. When Benya pointed out that if she

  walked, Arenya would be heartbroken… He’d had the advantage and he knew

  it. And they had Kazurist’s approval as well. He’d cornered her. Damn.

  Whatever. She’d made her demands, and he’d accepted them. At least

  outside help was still an option. She wondered idly if there was someone

  else, someone who could help with fine mana sensing. One who can easily

  measure the amount of crystal dust in a sample to a high degree of

  accuracy. Was there anyone else working on a project like that…

  Oh.

  Oh, no.

  No no no.

  Her mind flashed back to the case in front of the student council.

  What had Zander said?

  No…

  Sigh. Yes.

  He had something that could sense, without any doubt, the amount of

  mana in a tripwire. And that was just an early prototype. Whatever he’d

  made… it would work. And it was their only hope. She’d have to ask

  Zander.

  “Arenya? I have poor news..”

  Silence greeted her.

  Right. She was asleep.

  Perhaps Cartalis should wake her and escort her back to her dorm, so

  they could sleep the last few hours before classes in their rooms… but

  the chairs here were comfortable, and nobody would bother them here.

  And, well… sleeping by a lab had always been a goal of hers. There

  was something exciting about being so busy she couldn’t even stand to

  head home.

  Cartalis adopted a position much like Arenya’s and snuggled into the chair.

  It took her a long time to fall asleep again, the concern of having to ask Zander running through her mind all the while.