“Did you just blow up a noble family?” Ange asks in disbelief, turning to Emily with a blend of fear and respect, her previous hostility fotten.

  “I blew up their estate to be exact,” Emily says calmly, the glowing of her eyes gone and repced by a cold glint. “I’d already killed all of them.”

  She turns the ship northbound as everyoares at her with horrified expressions.

  “Why?” Podrick asks nervously.

  “They killed my family.”

  Everyone nods in uanding, the expnation doing nothing to assuage their fear.

  “More importantly, how?” Ash asks. “That explosion was insane.”

  “Magic,” Emily says, receiving scoffs from several members of the crew, and dubious nods from Tony, Ange, and Anton.

  Seeing they don’t believe her, Emily raises her hand and jures a crag lightning bolt in her palm.

  “Magic is real. The nobles of this try all know it, and it’s even on knowledge at our destination,” she expins, twisting the electricity into the form of a bird and sending it out to fp around the crew. “I gaihe Mandrago family’s attention because of my talent as a mage. And to answer your question specifically, there was a hotspot of natural mana, the fuel fic, below their estate. I basically lit that hotspot on fire, causing that explosion.”

  Seeing the ethereal bird flying around them, everyone’s shock slowly turns to acceptance despite the ridiculous nature of her cims.

  “It sounds crazy, but I guess it expins everything,” Ange says, remembering how Emily was able to take trol of the ship. She rubs her brow as out a tired sigh as she turtention to Anton. “Is what she said about you making a deal with her true?”

  “Yes,” he admits with a nod before turning to face Emily with a slightly fused expression. “I agreed to help her flee the tio Dennari. Though, there were no other terms specified to make it a deal.”

  “For starters,” Emily says, pulling the spatial pouch off her belt and tossing it to him, “that’s a magical ste bag and there are some guns io help you arm yourselves. On top of that, I don’t want to keep Calypso, so from now on she’s yours, and I’ll even give her some upgrades for you. I take it that’s payment enough to make it a proper deal.”

  “Plenty,” Anton responds with a satisfied grin, most of his fear evaporating in wonder as he gazes into the ste poud siders the lucrative payment.

  “So, you made the decision without knowing the terms or talking to us?” Ange grumbles, gring at Anton.

  “Hey, it was better thaernative,” he says, throwing his hands up and gng nervously at Emily. “Also, I didn’t expect we’d have to leave half the crew behind.”

  Emily shrugs, turning to leave the bridge.

  “You knew I was going to cause a otion, you should have kept them on the ship. I’m going to rest now. I’ll leave plotting a route to you guys,” she says before pausing in the doorway and gng back at everyohered. “No one o stay. I only made a deal with Anton. Everyone else is free to leave at the stop if you don’t want to join us, but I promise as long as you travel with me I’ll do my best to keep you safe.”

  She makes eye tact with Anto time, and he shivers but nods, uanding it’s on him to vihe others it’s worthwhile if he wants them to stay. Emily walks out into the hallway, falling into her thoughts as she returns to her room.

  I could reset and tell him to keep everyone on board, but I refuse to relive today for someone else’s venie’s his own fault he didn’t force them to stay.

  The image of Anna’s head oe fshes into the front of her mind again, and she frowns as the buzzing in her head grows momentarily stronger, but she quickly pushes the memory back down into the depths of her mind.

  It will probably take a few days to stop that.

  Her frown deepens as an unfortable feeling gnaws at the back of her mind, something about the calm way she suppressed the memory b her, but she quickly pushes that feeling away as well, not wanting to think about it now as a dull ache fills her mind, remi of a headache, a fn feeling to her since awakening. Instead, to distract herself, Emily raises her hand and jures a bird of lightning again.

  “That lightning storm was strange. I know Jenny said mages cause small magical phenomena when their emotions are strong, but that was on the level of a full third circle spell without a magic circle,” she mutters, pying with the lightning bird as she walks. “Something feels different, I have even more trol over my maion than before now...”

  As Emily is trying to figure out what’s different with her magic, she hears hurried footsteps behind her and feels Podrick approag.

  “Hey, Emily! Wait up!” he calls as he skids to a stop beside her.

  Emily looks over at the boy, fusion flickering across her brow.

  Isn’t he scared of me?

  “What?” she asks, pausing iride and violently crushing the crag bird in her hand as she disperses the maion.

  “ you teach me magic?” he asks, looking up at her expetly with excitement clear in his eyes, pletely ign her hostile dispy.

  What’s with this kid?

  Emily is about to ignore him and tio her room, but the glowiement in his eyes makes her hesitate.

  “Why would I teach you?” Emily asks with a cold tone. “I have more important things to do with my time.”

  Podrick’s shoulders slump and his face drops like a scolded dog.

  “I could help you.”

  Emily scoffs and starts walking again, but theures for him to follow as something about his determination catches her i.

  “Perhaps you should find out what I’m going to do before you offer to help,” she remarks as they walk, immediately making Podrick’s expressihten.

  “Does this mean-“

  “No, I don’t want to teaagic,” Emily cuts him off with a hint of irritation in her voice that dissipates as her mind drifts back to an idea she had before setting down in Eimdon. “I have no i in teag someone else magi scratch at the moment. However, I may be willing to help you awaken as something else instead.”

  They e to a halt outside Emily’s room, and Emily looks down at the small boy before her as she pushes maa from her eyes, letting the energy crackle across her face.

  “I’m more than just a mage, I’m a meic as well. Give me some time to rest, and after dinner, we discuss whether I might help you bee ooo.”

  Podrick stares at the cold, flickering lightning travelling across her skin and his eyes practically glow in response.

  “That’s so cool,” he cries, before his enthusiasm is quelled by Emily’s cold gaze. He meets her eyes with a new caution: “What would you want iurn?”

  Good, he learns quickly.

  The er of Emily’s lips curls up, but the small smile feels empty and quickly falls from her face again.

  “For one, you are not to say anything about meics to anyone else before I give you permission,” she says, watg as he nods his head with a serious expression.

  Should I make him sign a magitract? I’ll see how he is with the crew for now. If he ’t keep a secret, then I will.

  “Then I would also need you to let me do full invasive ss of your body before and after. I’ve ried this before and want to observe the whole process stifically.”

  “S me?” Podrick asks in fusion, before shrugging and tinuing fidently. “Sure, s me all you want!”

  “We’ll see if you’re still so keen once you uand how it feels,” Emily says cruelly, pushing open the door to her room. “And finally, after I awaken you, you’re on your own. I give no promises to teach you anything else.”

  Podrick frowns “Awaken? You mean I’ll just bee like you? It’s not something I learn?”

  “You’ll have plenty to learn.”

  “ I at least watch you work?”

  “Depends what I’m w on. I won’t stop you from watg the modifications I’ll make to the ship though.”

  “Thanks,” he excims as his expressihtens. “Rest well!”

  Emily turns into the room and shuts the door behind her without another word before pulling out the barrier disc, activating it, and dropping it in the middle of the room, plunging the room into silence as she flops face-first into her bed. She shuts her eyes and tries to rex, but despite her emotional exhaustion, she ’t bring herself to sleep, so, after a few minutes, she sits up as into a meditative position to pass the day in the Spellweave.

  ***

  Later that afternoon, having spent what was left of the m w on spells and designing sh modifications for Calypso, Emily is pulled out of the Spellweave by a system notification.

  ˉˉˉˉˉ

  Quest geed: Traitor’s Escape

  [Traitor’s Escape]

  [Rank:] C

  [Description:] You ended a noble family alone, now you must survive the sequences.

  Requirements:

  -Leave the try alive (Not plete)

  -Leave the try without killing any of your pursuers (Not plete) {Optional}

  Rewards:

  -Spell: Blink

  -Meiowledge: Basiputer Systems

  -{Quest: Path of the Righteous}

  _____

  She opens her eyes and stares at the floating window before her eyes.

  “Why did this appear now?” she mutters to herself, reading over the quest details. “Has the kingdom realised it was me already and that’s triggered it?”

  Emily stands up and begins pag in the narrow fines of her .

  Why is esg the try a quest, but killing the Mandragos wasn’t? I would have thought destroying a family would have been a better challenge, more worthy of a quest. Also, k seems quite high for such a simple thing. Maybe it’s higher because of the optional requirement.

  She bites her thumb, as her eyes fall on the rewards.

  I wonder what that spell will do. This is the first time I’ve seen one as a quest reward. Is that a knowledge reted to maths? Is it reted to the system? I’m guessing the follow-up quest is only for if I plete the optional requirement. A path of the righteous sounds like something you’d walk if you spare those attag you. I guess I try not to kill anyone else for ara quest. I should focus the ship’s modifications on defence.

  Closing the system window, Emily returns to her bed and pulls up her blueprints as back to work.

  ***

  That evening, Emily is torn away from her designs by a preseside the door. She rises from the bed in one smooth motion and walks to the exit, deactivating and colleg the barrier disc as she passes.

  She pulls the door open, surprising Pod with his hand raised to knock.

  “Oh, hey. That was weird. Did magic tell you I was ing?” he asks as he lowers his arm.

  “I don’t need magic for that. My natural senses make it pretty easy to tell when someone is nearby, even when I’m in a soundproof room,” Emily responds with a dismissive shrug. “Anyway, why are you here?”

  “Ah, I was just ing to let you know food is ready, since you didn’t show up for lunch,” he replies, gng away awkwardly.

  “Impatient, are we?” Emily asks as she shuts the door behind her and walks past him. “e on then.”

  Podrick hurries to follow her as she makes her way to the mess hall. They arrive to find everyone else on the ship, other than Ange, already eating, and all eyes are drawn to Emily as she walks in.

  Emily nods iing, ign their mixed reas as she grabs a bowl of curry from Sam and drops dowo Ash.

  “I’ve got a few ideas I’d like to go over with you for some modifications to the ship. you spare some time tomorrow m?” she asks the meic, surprising them.

  “You’re starting already? Why not wait till we’re out of the try?” they question.

  “I’m pretty sure the royal family will send out orders asking for my head for what I’ve done, and I’m guessing they’ll work out what ship I’m on before we leave the ti,” Emily expins, notig a wave of fear spreading through the room. “So, I want to modify the ship quickly to help us escape easily. I mostly want to improve the engine and add some proper arm for now. We look at adding some ons once we’re sure we’re safe.”

  “That sounds great and all,” Ash says, taking the news in their stride, “but how are we going to afford this? I don’t know how you pn on improving the engine, but I doubt it will be free, and we’ll need a lot of materials to armour even just the essentials.”

  “I’ll pay for it. I have a few hundred gold so I should easily be able to cover the cost.”

  “A few hundred!” Anton excims in disbelief oher side of the table. “ I borrow some from you to hire new crew at our stop?”

  “I don’t really want to lend people money. And why do you need more crew so soon? You’re probably best waiting till we get to Dennari to find locals.”

  “I know that, but we need people to man the ship at night. Currently, me and Ange are gonna have to pull an all-nighter just to get us to doorrow.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” Emily reassures him, waving off his . “I’ve already told you that you don’t he rest of the crew. I’ll watch the ship at night. I don’t teically need sleep and I trol the whole thing alone.”

  Anton stares at her with a mixture of doubt and disbelief.

  “Are you sure? That will be a lot of work.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t eveo sit on the bridge. I’ll show you how after eating.”

  Anton gives her a grateful nod, his doubt giving way to curiosity.

  “Thanks. I’ll look forward to seeing it.”

  “Speaking of ging the crew, is anyone pnning on leaving us at the stop?” Emily asks, gng around curiously and not missing the way everyone seems to shiver as her gaze passes them.

  “No one,” Anton says quickly, a bead of sweat running down his brow. “Everyone agreed to stay after I talked to them.”

  Emily nods, calmly raising her spoon to her mouth.

  “Gd to hear it. I have to admit, even with me here, it would have been annoying to have less crew. What did you offer to make them stay? I assume some of yiving up your families for a few years by ing.”

  Tony, Podrick, and Sam all nod at her guess.

  “Simple, I offered them the same thing you gave me,” Anton says with a proud grin. “The ship.”

  “Oh,” Emily raises a brow. “Did you offer to split ownership with everyone?”

  “Exactly. I’m going to write up a tract when I have time, tonight now I guess, that gives everyone partial ownership of the ship and any profit it gees as long as they stick with it until I’m set up on Dennari. After that they’re wele to either stick with the ship for longer or leave to settle down or return to Modo, assuming we don’t individually get marked as criminals.”

  “Very smart,” Emily says with a nod. “Also, from what I’ve read and heard about New Denntimo, I doubt most of you will want to e back.”

  “We’re pnning on joining the rebels?” Sam asks, surprised and slightly horrified. “Aren’t they untrustworthy?”

  “Ha,” Emily scoffs derisively. “Don’t believe the stories you hear in Modo about the situation on that ti. Most of it read by noble families with ties to Denros, the Old Denntimo nobility. From what I know, New Denntimo is a far nicer pce to live than even Modo. And, as I said earlier, magic is publiowledge.”

  KeroKeron