Pax grinned in satisfaction when he returned to their crafting room the next morning to find it bustling. A lot of Team Tribal as well as the littles were there working, everyone busy with something productive. Now that they’d adjusted their plans to focus on the quest objectives and assigned tasks, they should really make progress.

  Bryn, Tasar, Dahni and a handful of their other allies had already left early to do a Taming run with those eager for a companion. Pax had also checked in with the altar last night and this morning to find that Tyrodon and the managers had helped make steady progress in the power situation, but there was still a long way to go.

  He, Rin and Amil got to work with their friends who needed to unlock minor elements. As they had made their way through them all, they left stunned and excited expressions in their wake. Kurt was beyond ecstatic, chattering on about how much coin they could make with the process. He’d been appalled to hear they didn’t have plans to extort large amounts from every rebel mage they helped.

  When Rin mentioned Kurt was welcome to pay a fair price for his new element, he quickly went quiet.

  “Who’s next?” Pax looked to Tansa and Turgan, the last two mages left.

  “I’ll go last.” Turgan took a step back and sat down.

  “Then I guess it’s me.” Tansa shrugged, a mix of emotions on her face.

  “Is everything alright?” Pax asked. “We don’t have to do this now, if you want to wait until another time?”

  Tansa looked ready to take him up on the offer. But then she shook her head and stepped forward to sit in the chair facing Pax and his two friends. “No. I gave up more than I ever thought I would just to be here. So, I better get the most advantages out of it, right?”

  Pax switched over to his Echo so he could speak to her privately. Are you sure you’re alright? What happened back in Salman?

  I’m not alright. But I hope I will be. It’s all Kurt’s fault I’m here. We’re kind of part of your crew but also outsiders, so the two of us have been staying in touch occasionally. He’s the one who let me know you were all evacuating. She paused and aimed a hurt look at him.

  I’m sorry, but you told us you didn’t want to know anything about lawbreaking activities, so the Inquisitors couldn’t Interrogate it out of you if you ever got caught. And you made it clear that you would choose your family over us, if it ever came to that. I’m pretty sure stealing sealed missives and sneaking out of the capital through the sewers would both qualify as breaking the law, right?

  You’re right. She shrugged, her expression changing to one of acceptance. That is what I told you and actually how I felt. Until Kurt changed my mind. I’d been trying to ignore how bad things were getting in the empire until he sort of rubbed my face in it. In the end, I had to agree that you and the crazy things you’ve done offer the only genuine hope for any of us to come out of this alive and have a future. I can do the numbers as well as anyone, you know.

  Pax smiled at her. Tansa, you’ve supported us as much as you could while not betraying your family. I respect that and consider you a friend. You know I always help my friends. So, how about we get you an extra element and another spell slot? Stick with us. If anyone can survive what’s coming, it’ll be us.

  That’s what I’m hoping. She relaxed, letting out a slow breath before giving him a tentative look. Just promise me we can try to help my family out, if there’s a way to do it without causing the rebellion problems?

  Of course. Pax gave her a reassuring look before he placed his hands over hers and got to work. He was glad both Rin and Amil were learning more too with their hands on his shoulders, doing what they could to watch and get involved. If they could jumpstart the process with mage candidates, he might be able to help mages faster once they started working with all the rebels.

  Tansa looked just as amazed as the previous mages he’d helped when she opened her eyes, her new air mana bubbling up inside her.

  Kurt spoke first, his eyes alight with ideas he wanted to share but had been waiting for them to finish. “I know what you need to do. Exchange your help for favors or services. There’s got to be a lot of crafters here, or warriors who can be muscle when you need to go out in the Wilds. You know what I mean?”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “You might not want to charge a lot of coin for what you’re doing, but most people have something they can offer to do for you, even if it’s just to run some errands. The leaders here would be stupid not to have others do simple things like that for you. You know, fetch your meals, clean your rooms, repair your armor, stuff like that. Then you’d have more time to spend on the things only you can do. Makes sense, right?”

  “I’m not interested in becoming an arrogant ’crat, Kurt.” Pax said, motioning for Turgan to come up and take Tansa’s place. “Still, maybe there are some things others could do to help us out with our work.”

  Kurt didn’t look completely satisfied with Pax’s response.

  “What about you?” Amil asked. “What exactly are you offering in trade for Pax helping you unlock your water mana?”

  Kurt’s mouth moved as he tried to come up with an answer. It took him only a few moments. “Well, actually, what I’ve always done for him. I’ll gather intelligence and make sure he knows exactly what plots are happening in this place and who is involved. Plus, now that I know you’re not interested in keeping track of your coin, I can do that. I’ll make sure you always have enough for anything you need to buy. How about that?”

  “I’ll allow that could be useful.” Pax considered the idea with interest.

  “Useful?” Kurt spluttered.

  “And the rebels still owe us for quite a few things, right?” Rin said, suddenly giving Kurt a once over. “There’s all the stuff we sent ahead that they need to pay us for, not to mention our cut of everything they’ve been finding here. It’ll be a bit of work to hold them accountable. I could use some help with that. Maybe we give Kurt a minor cut to motivate him?”

  Kurt’s eyes lit up with joy, his head bobbing, and too excited to get a coherent sentence out.

  Pax chuckled and nodded in agreement, still a bit surprised at how much less important coin had become, especially now that they had amounts that far outstripped even the ten-gold price of their yearly tuition they didn’t even need to pay any more.

  “And don’t even think about cheating us.” Rin suddenly looked scary. “I find one mistake in your ledgers, and you’re gone. Loyalty and trust are the most important thing with us. Understand?”

  Kurt nodded quickly, his eyes already out of focus and full of plans.

  “Thank you, Kurt. Now, quiet please.” Pax injected a bit of command into his voice as he placed his hands over Turgan and prepared to unlock the last minor element for the day.

  Kurt stepped away as Amil and Rin quickly moved back into position.

  Pax didn’t speak again. He’d already dived into the powerful water mana filling Turgan’s insides, searching for the small kernel of another mana that he knew was hiding somewhere.

  “Air mana,” Turgan whispered the words as he blinked his eyes open and stared at Pax, Amil and Rin in wonder. “You actually gave me air mana? I know I just watched you do the same for the other mages here, but experiencing it for myself isn’t the same.”

  Around him, the others practicing with their new elements shot him grins.

  “Use your Mana Manipulation skills to manifest some of your new element.” A dour earth mage sitting nearby held up a palm wreathed in a small flicker of flame. “That’ll help make it more real and cement your access to it.”

  Rin nodded. “Aliana’s right. The more you work with your new element, the better.”

  Pax did a double take, suddenly recognizing the diffident earth mage he’d just helped unlock her flame element. Aliana Hawthorne had done a lot of work behind the scenes as the Team Tribal acquisitions officer. She preferred to stay in the background, always in a plain but pristine uniform with a nondescript hairstyle that made her easy to forget.

  Now, though, she stared in fascinated delight at the flames flickering over her hand. The red reflected in her gaze and lit up her face with more excitement than Pax could ever remember seeing.

  “Wow.” Turgan had wasted no time in following Aliana’s directions and soon had a small flicker of wind rushing around his palm.

  The other team mages exchanged similar smiles of delight as they played with their new powers.

  Pax sat back, weary from all the mana work, but excited at how much progress they’d made in a few hours. He checked their quest for a quick update.

  ***

  Crew Quest: Part 1: Unlock minor mana types in rebel mages - 11/100 (+8)

  Reward: +1 level to all mana skills for each member of the crew who aids in this process.

  ***

  Pax was trying to decide if their progress excited or depressed him, seeing how many mages they still had to help.

  A tentative wave came from Tyrodon over in the crafting area, distracting him. Meeting Pax’s eyes, Tyrodon gave him a questioning look with a flick of his gaze to the littles who were helping him and Tomis assemble more of his handbombs. The non-explosive parts, at least.

  Pax groaned, feeling the pressure again of not enough time to get everything done. I’m almost done here, Tyrodon, but we promised Bryn we’d head out to help her crew group with Taming before lunch. They should have found and captured their beasts by now.

  Got it. So, meet back here after lunch to work with the littles?

  Sounds good. I’ll tag you when we return, so you know.

  Tyrodon gave him a congenial wave before turning back to Tomis and the littles, leaning in to give them an update.

  Pax turned back to the team mages with their new elements. “Has everyone had a chance to manifest their new element a few times now?”

  It took a few seconds before they’d all stopped fiddling with their new magic and gave him their attention.

  When he saw nods all around, he continued. “Everyone should have a new spell slot now, too. The next step is to get each of you a good spell.”

  Confused looks, with a touch of hope, greeted his words.

  “Wait.” Aliana raised a tentative hand. “Do you mean something besides the default ones?”

  “Definitely.” Pax’s smile widened, loving how his newfound wealth gave him the ability to help his friends. “We have access to all the treasures in this ruin. Why wouldn’t I give the best to my friends?”

  I just finished books 3 and 4 of Return of the Runebound Professor by Actus and had a fun time with the MC as an OP professor of innovative magic, a crazy demon assistant professor and a host of students who all have their own side plots going.

  What about you?

  Here are twenty more chapters to keep you up even longer:. #sorrynotsorry :)

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