Artania reaches the guild’s trading field with Al at his side. The tethered Brass Farm Token floats safely beyond his burned palm, tugging gently eastward.
Marked sparring lanes cross the packed earth beside weighted practice stones and climbing frames. At the far end, warded circles provide open space for controlled spellwork.
Brunna Coppervein
There you are, lad. The field is open, and your legs will need as much attention as your magic if you mean to survive these roads.
Brunna Coppervein trains nearby, striking a suspended weight with a short practice hammer. Maelin Voss watches from the field’s edge, her ledger tucked beneath one arm.
Maelin Voss
Welcome back, Artania. I recognize that token, and I recognize the look of someone who has found another passage worth recording.
The token’s hooked mark gives one faint tug toward the guild’s records quarter, then settles. For a moment, the eastern passage and the unresolved diplomatic danger feel linked.
Brunna Coppervein
Start with the sparring lanes or the climbing frames. Afterward, we can see what new magic you dare test without cracking my field.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prove your readiness through guild training
“Alright I will tackle the climbing frames first. I focus on just my physical body, not touching a drop of magic. I sprint towards the climbing frames to complete them as fast as possible.”
SUCCESS (Fair Athletics, rolled +1)
Artania launches across the packed field without drawing on magic. The tethered Brass Farm Token swings behind him as he reaches the first climbing frame and hauls himself upward.
He crosses the beams, drops to the rope traverse, and drives through the final hanging bars in a single rapid sequence. His boots strike the marked landing inside the required boundary.
The last descent costs him: his burned palm catches briefly against rough wood, tearing fresh linen and reopening the shallow cut. Blood beads beneath the bandage, but he remains upright.
Brunna Coppervein
Fast enough to impress me, lad. Less impressive is reopening Odelia’s work before breakfast has settled.
The floating token jerks against its tether from the sudden motion, then steadies beyond his injured hand. Al watches from the field’s edge, ears raised but calm.
Maelin Voss
I recorded the completion. Your time is excellent, though the field ledger will also record that cost.
Brunna Coppervein
Rest that hand for a moment, then choose your next trial. Physical skill counts here, but so does knowing when haste collects payment.
✓ Quest Accepted
Complete a controlled spellwork trial
Quest Complete
Prove your readiness through guild training
Skill Upgrade: Athletics Fair→Good
“Alright I need to try some more magic now. First up is marksmanship. I draw my magic power and create a bow and arrows. Ready to fire at the nearest targets.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +0)
Artania steadies his uninjured hand and draws the Magic Pouch’s focus. Blue-white power gathers between his fingers, shaping itself into a luminous bow.
A string of braided light spans the bow, while three translucent arrows form beside it, each carrying a quiet silver edge and a fletching of blue flame.
Brunna Coppervein
Use the nearest straw targets, lad. Keep your line clear, and do not loose anything toward the climbing frames.
The closest targets stand in a row beyond the marked lane, their straw faces painted with concentric rings. The warded ground recognizes Artania’s spell and accepts the weapon.
Artania nocks the first magical arrow and draws the radiant string to his cheek. The bow hums softly, its aim aligned with the nearest target.
Maelin Voss
Ready when you are. I will record the spell’s form, accuracy, and whether the conjured ammunition remains stable after release.
Al watches from the field’s edge, ears forward. Brunna shifts aside to clear the lane as the three arrows hover in readiness around Artania’s drawn bow.
“I take aim with the first arrow and fire, following up with the other two, to three targets.”
FAILURE (Fair Ranged Weapons, rolled -2)
Artania releases the first arrow. It streaks toward the nearest straw target, then wavers as the bow’s braided light shudders, striking the outer ring instead of the center.
He looses the second and third in quick succession. Their silver edges bend apart, one clipping a target’s painted rim and the other burying itself in the warded earth between lanes.
Brunna Coppervein
Hold there, lad. The spell is not following your aim. It is answering the strain in that burned hand.
The missed arrow’s impact ripples through the practice ward. Thin blue lines rise from the earth, briefly outlining a hidden current beneath the targets and connecting it to the floating Brass Farm Token.
Maelin Voss
That is useful. The field is amplifying the token’s eastern pull, and your arrows revealed the path without damaging the wards.
The luminous bow collapses safely, leaving the three arrows dissolved into pale sparks. The nearest target remains standing, its outer rings now glowing in a precise trail toward the records quarter.
Brunna Coppervein
No second volley yet. Study that trail first, and learn whether the field is showing you a route or warning you away from one.
“I switch to a gentler spellwork exercise. Okay something that won’t hurt my hand. I want to try teleporting, and making a dimensional space to carry things.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
I will try something gentler. No more strain on my hand. I want to practice teleporting and making a space to carry things.
Artania lowers the Magic Pouch’s focus and gathers blue-white power through his uninjured hand. The field’s ward-lines soften, accepting a spell meant for movement rather than force.
A small fold of silver light opens beside him, deep enough to hold a few travel goods. Its interior shows no bottom, only calm blue darkness threaded with faint stars.
Artania steps through the fold and reappears several paces away within the marked lane. The transition is clean, leaving his injured hand untouched and his footing steady.
He reaches into the dimensional space and withdraws the Magic Pouch’s focus, then places it back inside. The opening closes neatly, leaving the item secured beyond ordinary reach.
Brunna Coppervein
That is the kind of spellwork I like to see, lad. Useful, controlled, and considerate of the hand you already damaged.
Maelin Voss
A successful short teleport and a stable carrying space. I will record both, including that the pocket accepted and returned an item without distortion.
Quest Complete
Complete a controlled spellwork trial
Skill Upgrade: Healing Superb→Legendary
“Okay time for sword practice. Any sparring partners around? No offense to either of you of course, I know you are both capable, it’s just you are both probably way above me. And you are my friends, I am a little injured, but wish to not harm either of you.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Okay, time for sword practice. Are there any sparring partners around? No offense to either of you. You are both probably above me, and I do not want to harm my friends while I am injured.
Brunna lowers her practice hammer and surveys the field. The marked lanes hold only empty straw targets and dormant ward-circles; no guild fighter is presently available for a safe bout.
Brunna Coppervein
No suitable partner at this moment, lad. The active fighters are either on contracts or too strong for a cautious practice match with that hand.
Maelin Voss
I can check the roster, but the nearest available bronze member is scheduled for a departure and will not return before tomorrow.
Brunna taps the nearest sparring lane with her hammer. Its ward-lines brighten, recognizing Artania’s bronze token and the lingering weakness in his bandaged palm.
Brunna Coppervein
Use the warded blade course instead. It will test footwork, guard, and controlled strikes without an opponent to injure or provoke.
Maelin Voss
I will mark it as a substitute drill, not sparring practice. That keeps the record honest and gives you something useful to build on today.
“Okay time for sword practice. I am capable with either hand, so I will use my unburnt hand.Anyone up for a spar with me? Brunna you want to go or is there another willing participant around?”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
I am capable with either hand, so I will use my unburnt hand. Anyone up for a spar with me? Brunna, do you want to go, or is someone else willing?
Brunna studies Artania’s stance, then the fresh edge of his bandage. The warded lane remains empty, its practice blades resting in their rack.
Brunna Coppervein
Not a full spar, lad. I would have to favor your injured side, and that teaches you to depend on an opponent’s mercy. No other fighter is available.
She draws a blunt guild blade and sets it across the lane’s boundary. When Artania reaches for it with his unburnt hand, the ward-circle flares and reshapes its markings.
Brunna Coppervein
The course can give you something better than a waiting partner. It will read your footwork and answer with measured strikes, while the wards prevent a dangerous blow.
Maelin Voss
I can record it as an adaptive blade drill. The circle has not displayed that setting since the eastern marks reacted to your token, so its responses may reveal how you move under pressure.
“Alright I dart around practicing footwork, stance, the few forms I have read about. I know very little of sword-play, but I can swing my sword arm all day without tiring. I try imagining a real opponent, feinting, parrying, and exchanging blows.”
SUCCESS (Great Melee Weapons, rolled +2)
Artania takes the blunt guild blade in his unburnt hand and darts across the warded lane, shifting through the few forms he remembers from books.
He settles into a guarded stance, then feints toward the course’s first marker. A spectral blade answers, and Artania turns it aside with a clean parry.
The adaptive circle matches his rhythm with measured strikes. Artania circles, retreats, and advances again, imagining a living opponent as he exchanges blows with the ward.
Brunna Coppervein
That endurance is useful, lad. Your forms are rough, but you keep your feet beneath you and recover quickly after every committed swing.
Artania’s blade arm continues without tiring. Each exchange sharpens his stance, and the ward-lines adjust, producing a faster sequence that tests his feints and angled parries.
Maelin Voss
The course records successful defense against every measured strike. It is also mapping the forms you know, including where improvisation replaces training.
Artania completes the final exchange by slipping outside the spectral guard and touching the warded target with the flat of his blade. The circle settles, approving and bright.
“Whew, I don’t feel so useless with a blade now. I have never really fought a straight up duel with just swords. I mostly just enhance strikes with magic, and try to be adaptive, and unpredictable with my powers.”
SUCCESS (Great Melee Weapons, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
Whew, I do not feel so useless with a blade now. I have never fought a straight duel with only swords. I usually enhance my strikes with magic and stay adaptive and unpredictable.
Artania lowers the blunt blade as the warded circle dims. His breathing steadies, and the floating Brass Farm Token gives a quiet, approving tug beside his unburnt hand.
Brunna Coppervein
That explains the rough forms, lad. You are not trained as a duelist, but you understand timing, distance, and disruption. Those are honest foundations.
Maelin Voss
Your adaptive style is also consistent with your field reports. You use magic to change the conditions of a fight rather than repeat one favored technique.
Brunna Coppervein
Keep the sword work, then. Magic can fail, be countered, or cost more than expected. A sound blade and steady feet give you choices when that happens.
The warded course resets, leaving its spectral blade dormant. Beyond the lane, the practice circles remain open, while Al watches from the field’s edge with calm attention.
Brunna Coppervein
You have earned a useful lesson today. Next time, we can test those unpredictable habits against a safer variety of patterns, without turning it into a real duel.
“A sudden thought occurs to me. How powerful are the wards here, and how durable are the targets?”
Artania’s attention shifts from the dormant blade to the warded circles and straw targets. The field’s markings answer with a faint silver shimmer beneath his boots.
Artania Nero Thornson
The wards should reveal their limits without needing to be broken.
Brunna Coppervein
Strong enough to stop a practice blade, blunt a misplaced spell, and contain a poor landing. Not strong enough to withstand a siege.
Brunna crosses to the nearest target and raps its straw-packed chest with her hammer. Beneath the painted rings, a thin protective sheen briefly hardens.
Brunna Coppervein
These targets are layered straw, treated leather, and a replaceable ward-skin. They endure ordinary weapons and controlled magic, but repeated force will ruin them.
Maelin Voss
The field records impact rather than merely absorbing it. A strike that exceeds its safe measure dims the target’s ward and marks the damage for repair.
The nearest target’s concentric rings glow in sequence, displaying several graduated levels before settling back to their quiet gold. Nothing in the field cracks or strains.
“I wonder aloud, well I have never tried going all out with an offensive spell. But I wish not to damage guild equipment if I get out of hand. Where is the nearest boulder?”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -3)
Artania Nero Thornson
I have never tried going all out with an offensive spell. I do not want to damage guild equipment if I lose control. Where is the nearest boulder?
Brunna Coppervein
Beyond the eastern practice wall, lad. It is guild property, but far safer than my targets. Keep Al behind the boundary.
Brunna leads Artania to a squat gray boulder beside the outer wall. Al waits behind the marked line as Artania gathers a focused element, bright charge tightening around his unburnt hand.
He hurls the bolt. Lightning cracks across the field, but the aim slips wide and strikes the earth before the boulder, bursting into branching blue fire.
The boulder remains untouched. Instead, the discharge fuses a jagged glassy groove through the soil, and the ward-lines around the practice field flare before forcing the remaining charge harmlessly skyward.
Brunna Coppervein
That was all-out enough, lad. You missed the stone, but the field caught your excess. Do not repeat the cast here until you can hold the aim through release.
Maelin Voss
I recorded the failure. Your lightning formed cleanly, but the focused element outran your control at the final instant. The groove will need repair, and the boulder remains a poor test until then.
“Damn, thank you both for the insight. If I go all out in practice it will be farther away from the capital, I will be safe about it. I favor my hurt hand and ask if Odelia is available back at the guild hall.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you both for the insight. If I practice at full strength, I will do it farther from the Capital and keep it safe. I favor my injured hand. Is Odelia available at the guild hall?
Artania lowers the charged hand and keeps it close beneath the torn linen. The lightning groove smolders faintly while Al remains safely behind the boundary.
Maelin Voss
Odelia is at the hall, but she is occupied with scheduled patients and cannot leave for the field. I can send word that you need her when she is free.
Brunna Coppervein
Do not favor that hand into another cast, lad. We can return now, and Odelia can rebind it before you attempt anything farther from the city.
Maelin opens her ledger and marks the injury beside the failed lightning trial. The entry gives Artania a clear route back to care, while the damaged practice ground remains closed to further testing.
Maelin Voss
I will reserve Odelia’s next examination for you. Until then, the guild can provide a fresh bandage, and Brunna can show you a safer remote site on the departure maps.
“Thank you both. I travel back towards the guild while recounting my day for the report of my current active contract.”
SUCCESS (Superb Reasoning, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Thank you both. I will travel back toward the guild and recount the day for my active-contract report.
Artania leaves the damaged practice ground with Al beside him, keeping his injured hand close. Maelin walks with them while Brunna carries the field ledger.
Maelin Voss
Begin with the eastern rise, the irrigation ring, and the passage beneath it. I will record the details as you speak.
Along the road, Artania recounts Hessa Vale’s testimony, the awakened mountain route, the sealed pasture current, and the eastern exit beneath the wooded rise.
Brunna Coppervein
Include the redirected magic and the stable seal, lad. Those facts matter more than speculation about who built the old works.
Maelin writes while walking, pausing only to confirm distances and landmarks. Al keeps pace calmly, and the tethered Brass Farm Token floats beyond Artania’s bandaged palm.
Maelin Voss
The report will show the active contract completed through observation and stabilization. Once we reach the hall, Odelia can rebind your hand before anything else.
“Excellent, I cannot wait heal, and see what my contract gets me, money-wise.”
Artania Nero Thornson
Excellent. I cannot wait to have my hand healed and see what the contract earned me.
The guild hall’s doors open ahead, carrying the scents of bread, ink, and lamp oil. Maelin guides Artania toward the healing room while Brunna returns the field ledger.
Healer Odelia Marr
There you are, lad. Sit down and let me see that hand before curiosity sends you back into trouble.
Odelia unwraps the torn linen and examines the reopened cut beneath the bright infirmary lamp. The wound is shallow, but the edges need fresh salve and a cleaner binding.
Healer Odelia Marr
No lasting harm, thankfully. I will clean it, rebind it, and ask you to spare this hand from spellwork until tomorrow.
While Odelia works, Maelin places the completed contract record and a small leather payment purse on the table. The guild seal is stamped across its folded receipt.
Maelin Voss
The eastern-farm contract pays twelve silver crowns for confirmed investigation, stabilization, and a complete report. Your field findings qualify for the full amount, less no penalty.
+ New Item Acquired
Leather Payment Purse
✓ Quest Accepted
Take the group out to eat
“Alright I believe I said to Maelin and Brunna that I owe them a meal. I am now including Odelia in that, for having to patch me up so much. Would you all like to get dinner together? Somewhere not the guild hall? I am using all of my first payment on you three.”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +0)
“Alright I believe I said to Maelin and Brunna that I owe them a meal. I am now including Odelia in that, for having to patch me up so much. Would you all like to get dinner together? Somewhere not the guild hall? I am using all of my first payment on you three.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Artania Nero Thornson
I owe Maelin and Brunna a meal, and Odelia deserves one too after patching me up so often. Would you all join me for dinner somewhere outside the guild? I will spend my first payment on you three.
Artania sets the leather payment purse on the table beside the contract receipt. Its twelve silver crowns clink softly inside, enough for the promised meal but nothing left afterward.
Maelin Voss
That is generous, Artania. I accept, though I insist we choose somewhere modest enough that your first earnings do not vanish into ceremony.
Brunna Coppervein
A meal outside these walls sounds welcome, lad. I will not let you spend silver on foolish portions, but I will gladly share honest food.
Healer Odelia Marr
You need not repay care with coin, but I would enjoy your company. Let me finish this binding, then I will join you.
Odelia ties the fresh linen securely while Maelin folds the receipt and Brunna retrieves her coat. The purse grows lighter when Maelin counts out the crowns for dinner.
Maelin Voss
There is a family-run tavern near the west market, quiet enough for conversation and known for warm stew. Tonight, your first contract is worth celebrating.
“I yelp with joy. Al, joining in on the revelry. I tell them all to come on, moving excitedly.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Artania Nero Thornson
Come on, all of you! Let us celebrate. I am buying dinner!
Artania yelps with joy and moves excitedly toward the hall, careful of his freshly bound hand. Al joins the revelry with bright eyes and a wagging tail.
Brunna Coppervein
That is the spirit, lad. Just keep your feet beneath you until we reach the market.
Healer Odelia Marr
And keep that bandage clean. Celebration is no excuse to reopen it before the stew arrives.
Maelin gathers the counted silver while Odelia secures her satchel. Together they follow Artania through the guild doors, with Al trotting proudly at his side.
Maelin Voss
The west market is only a short walk. I will lead, and you may tell us what first-contract dinner ought to taste like.
Evening crowds fill the market lane with lantern glow, spice scents, and cheerful bargaining. Ahead, the family-run tavern’s open doorway spills warmth and the rich smell of stew into the street.
“It should taste like a table filled with friendship. Would the three of you do the honor of telling me more about yourselves? Where you are from, what is your rank and standing in the guild, and what you like and dislike?”
FAILURE (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled -1)
“It should taste like a table filled with friendship. Would the three of you do the honor of telling me more about yourselves? Where you are from, what is your rank and standing in the guild, and what you like and dislike?”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Artania Nero Thornson
It should taste like a table filled with friendship. Would the three of you do me the honor of telling me more about yourselves? Where are you from, what is your guild standing, and what do you like or dislike?
The tavern keeper leads them to a broad oak table near the hearth. Bowls of stew arrive with dark bread, and Al receives a quiet corner beneath the bench.
Maelin Voss
I was born in the Capital’s bookward and joined this guild as a records apprentice. I am a senior registrar now, though rank matters less to me than a clean ledger. I like maps, orderly mornings, and honest reports. I dislike forged signatures, careless arithmetic, and people who call paperwork useless.
Brunna Coppervein
I come from a mining hold beneath Ashdown’s snowline. I am a guild quartermaster and field trainer, with enough standing to judge contracts and stop foolish ones. I like strong tea, reliable companions, and weapons kept sharp. I dislike boastful duelists, waste, and anyone who abandons an injured partner.
Healer Odelia Marr
I was raised in a river village west of the Capital and trained here for seventeen years. I serve as the guild’s senior healer, though every patient still teaches me something. I like quiet courage, clean bandages, and good herb gardens. I dislike needless suffering, reckless spellwork, and people who hide injuries.
Their answers settle warmly around the table. Maelin pours berry cordial, Brunna tears bread in half, and Odelia watches Artania with an approving smile as the first bowls steam.
Maelin Voss
There, lad. You asked for the truth of us, and now the table has it. Eat while it is hot, and we will gladly hear whatever part of your own road you wish to share.
Quest Complete
Take the group out to eat
Skill Upgrade: Diplomacy Mediocre→Fair