Because the owners of the tunnels didn’t dig it for the outsiders’ convenience, it led Thorin’s group through winding paths, uneven slopes, sheer cliffs, and dropped them before abrupt sinkholes. With merely inches of ground to walk on, the group pressed themselves to the wall and crossed the gaping void with their hearts in their mouth. Their breaths caught each time a fragment of stone chipped away and vanished into the abyss. The three who were accustomed to such passages were tense enough, let alone the newcomers.

  “Couldn’t you find a safer path?” Quin grumbled as they jumped over the final stretch and rested their feet on solid and vast ground. Their knees trembled and threatened to buckle, but they held on.

  “Stop whining,” Casper said. “This is the safest we’ve got.”

  Wolf shushed their quarrel and focused his ears on the corner ahead.

  “What is it?” Iver asked.

  “Fire Mosquitoes probably,” Wolf said. “Casper, you’re up.”

  “Alright,” Casper said, rotating his shoulders. “Thorin, I’ll need your help. Come with me. The rest of you stay here.”

  “Okay,” Thorin said and inched ahead with him. Their steps left but mere whispers on the uneven floor as they peeked around the corner. There they hovered with a deafening buzz, a mass of mosquitoes waking up for their meal.

  “You have an ice spell, right?” Casper asked.

  “Not exactly, but something to that effect,” Thorin said.

  “It’ll work as long as you can lower the temperature,” Casper said.

  “I can do that,” Thorin said.

  “Okay,” Casper said and took out a couple of vials of a white potion. “When I throw it out, you aim your spell on the potion. Remember, don’t target the mosquitoes directly.”

  “My spell can't work for long distances though,” Thorin said. “I’ll have to touch the potion.”

  “Alright, we can make it work,” Casper said and chugged down one vial, stuffing his mouth. He signaled Thorin with hand signs, and when the count dropped to zero, he sprayed the mouthful at the mosquitoes.

  Icetouch!

  Thorin acted with his instant-cast spell and touched the shower of the potion that lingered in the air. A wave of chill rippled out from him and spread to where the mosquitoes were. The droplets of potion absorbed the effect of his spell and the heat from its surroundings, and they froze. The temperature plunged, and the buzz of the mosquitoes dimmed.

  “Another one,” Casper whispered and sprayed the other vial.

  Icetouch!

  Thorin cast again, and the frost in the air deepened. The hovering swarm of mosquitoes couldn’t bear the cold any longer, and batch by batch, they rested on the walls and the ground. Some tried to fly in an almost drunken state, but soon enough, they all dropped down.

  “What now?” Thorin asked, wiping his wet hands on Casper’s clothes. After all, what he’d touched for his spell wasn’t just the potion.

  “Now we kill them,” Casper said and cast a spell.

  A flood of smoke spilled from his flickering grey spell circle and smothered the carpet of mosquitoes. Before they had the chance to struggle even in their woozy state, the smoke killed them all. It left a mountain of their corpses in its wake as it faded away with the last death.

  The group gathered again and collected the loot with hearty grins. Since both sides had acted for this, they divvied up the gains in two. Thorin took forty while Casper got sixty because of his loss of potion. Though each kill was the size of Thorin’s finger, their numbers stacked up. So, even with the share of forty percent, his gains exceeded his earning from the rats they killed before.

  “What if I wasn’t here?” Thorin asked.

  “Then I would waste another potion that can replace your spell,” Casper said. “I would’ve earned more that way, so be thankful.”

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  Thorin chuckled and went back to his cousins. Once they’d gathered everything, they resumed their journey.

  Before long, they met another group of Fae—Sand Bats. With Iver’s strong support and the overwhelming advantage of his cultivation level over the bats, they ended the battle in minutes. Thorin and his brothers had little to do in this fight. As such, their night came to an end, though the light of dawn couldn’t reach the darkness in these tunnels.

  “We’ll rest here for now,” Iver said when they entered a closed-off cave. “This is one of our safe zones. You can take it easy.” He planted some discs in the notches on the walls and waved at the entrance after everyone entered. A dull silver protective barrier covered the cave.

  “How long will it take us to get out?” Clay asked as they all took their seats on the cleaned spots.

  “Depends,” Wolf said. “We can get out tomorrow if we don’t encounter any trouble.”

  “If you’re not in a hurry, I would suggest you stay in the tunnels for a few days with us,” Iver said.

  “Why?” Thorin asked.

  “The upgrade of a mana spring comes bearing gifts,” Casper said, smiling. “The guild has a monopoly on that. It won't allow any outsider to benefit from it. But we have our ways. So, if you want to leave immediately, we’ll have to drop you off then come back again.”

  “Thorin?” Clay and Quin both looked at Thorin. Since the urgency of his heart was his issue, he knew better whether they could wait or not.

  “We’ll stay,” Thorin said. “We can afford a delay of a few days.”

  “Good,” Iver said. “Rest well then. We’ll have to face a lot of enemies later.”

  “Exactly how many are we talking about?” Clay asked.

  “Those gifts don’t just benefit us,” Wolf said. “The Faes have an instinctual attraction to it. So, once we start our process, we’ll get a lot of interference.”

  “Granduncle Ray told us to give you three the necessary potions as well,” Casper said. “Luckily, we had extras with us. But they’re really costly and hard to brew. So, you’ll have to pay for your share.”

  “What does it do exactly?” Quin asked.

  “Endless Surge is its name. It will put you in a state where you can continue to meditate with multiple spell models at the same time and for much longer,” Casper said. “It can also increase your mana regeneration rate if you divert the surge for that use.”

  “If you’re close to breaking through to the next layer, you can use the upcoming tide of mana to break through,” Iver said. “If you’re not close, then this can bring you closer. The potion is necessary to properly use this chance.”

  “Some Magi also get a boost in their other stats,” Wolf added. “Though this is random and has a low chance of happening.”

  “How much will it cost?” Thorin asked hesitantly. If the potion really did what they claimed, they couldn’t afford its price. Even though he wished to take a slice of the opportunity, his pockets weren’t deep enough to support him.

  “Forget about the mana shards,” Casper said. “Pay us in contribution points instead.”

  “Since you’ve breached the terms of your contract with the guild without paying the penalty, you won't be able to use your contribution points ever now,” Iver said. “Better you use it to buy the potions from us.”

  “How many points?” Clay asked.

  “Whatever you want to spare or whatever you have left,” Casper said. “Since Granduncle asked us to share the potions with you, we can't really ask for too much. But some compensation is due.”

  “Alright,” Thorin said after the three discussed in whispers and shared glances. “But can I buy something else from you as well with those points?”

  “Sure, if it’s something I can sell,” Casper said.

  “Can I have the basics of Potioneering?” Thorin asked.

  “You want to become a Potioneer?” Casper asked back, lifting his brows.

  “Yeah,” Thorin said.

  “I can't really give out the secret methods of our house, but I can sell you some basic techniques and recipes,” Casper said. “They’ll get you started.”

  “Good enough,” Thorin said. “Thank you.”

  They traded their tokens that carried the contribution points for three vials of potion and a book on Potioneering. Since the other side had shown them goodwill, they too didn’t hesitate to hand over whatever points they’d left. For the extra book, Thorin added another ten mana shards on top for a gesture of gratitude. The cordial trade ended with their smiles as both parties got what they wanted.

  “Alright, rest well now,” Iver said as he closed his eyes for meditation. Others took their spot and did the same. “Our next stop will be the cave of the mana surge. We need to be in peak condition for the siege.”

  ?

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