As the temperature in and around Lesterwood slowly fell, fog appeared most mornings. Clouds had been moving faster and lower than previous, creating a brisk and eerie morning that most had to brave. Children stayed indoors in these mornings as parents didn’t want the cover of fog to sway kidnappers. [Thieves] and [Burglars] loved the fog. It made for a great defense if ever caught. How could there be any witnesses when no one could see more than a few meters in front of themselves?

But as the sun came out, the ground heated and caused the fog to dissipate. It would be well into the day for most, but for Max and the others it would be just after breakfast. As everyone ate together, Max was happy to see that Celenia and Belopi talked with each other a bit more. The night prior, Celenia had arrived rather late. Her [Druid] training often lasts well after sunset.

“Master Dreamstem says that nature is at its most floral at dusk and dawn.” Celenia explained.

“But as the day get shorter, it’s going to get darker earlier. Maybe you will be able to make it for dinner.” Belopi said.

“I’d like that.’ Celenia answered.

Belopi’s smile could have warmed any cold heart. She looked so proud and passionate about her daughter. A slave who learned magic and eventual was freed. Only to be taken under wing by a resident [Druid] of a prominent city. No one could blame her, Belopi and Celenia deserved to be happy.

As everyone finished eating, they talked about each of their plans for the day. Bishop and Vel were happy to report that they only had one more full day of meetings. After that they were free to relax or help the others. Reep was headed to meet with Shatterwind. Part of their agreement was for Reep to start as soon as possible. Winter guard training started the week prior, meaning she had some catching up to do.

Celenia was meeting Lady Dreamstem at the Mage Guild for her lesson. Belopi looked downcast again but when Clammy asked if she wanted to go to the library with her, Belopi perked up. Clammy was beginning her research into bloodlines and classes. With some luck, she should have an interview with a [Fortuneteller] lined up soon.

Max was headed down to city hall to talk with the mayor about whatever he wanted to talk about. After that, Max planned to work on a long-ranged teleportation spell. He had some ideas, but he wouldn’t be sure until he actually sat down for and worked for a few hours. With breakfast all done, they left. Everyone except for Bishop and Vel walked with each other until their respective branch off streets. Clammy offered to walk Celenia to the Guild, which made both family member happy.

“Max! Thanks for coming!” Mayor Silverjewl said as Max entered his office.

“Hello mayor.” Max said.

“And hello to you Emi!” Silverjewl said towards the bleary-eyed bond.

“She just woke up; growth spurts are taking a lot out of her.”

“She does look bigger.”

Emi let out a quiet yawn-roar.

Silverjewl motioned to the couch alongside the edge of the far wall. Silverjewl’s office was an exact replica of his personality. Opulence and gems. A [Thief’s] playground. Hundreds of jewels and jewelry spread across many marble busts. The floor was lined with hand-made luxury rugs, colored in reds and golds. Oil-based paintings were hung evenly along each of the walls. Pictures depicting nature or legendary battles were along the entry and back wall, while one large picture of a family of Elves hung behind Silverjewl’s desk.

“Ah, my great grandmother and father.” Silverjewl said after noticing Max looking at the family portrait. “They owned land that was found to be very rich in silver and gems. Hence the name. That mine is the number one producing mine for all of Salae’s mints.”

“Salae? Why come to Lesterwood then?” Max asked.

“When I was younger, my life was saved by a certain [Light Mage]. I moved here as soon as I could… But we aren’t here to talk about Lester. We are here to talk to you, Lost Lord Max.”

“Please do-“

“Yes, yes. I know. Max. But, for the sake of this conversation, your title is needed.”

“What is this conversation going to be about?”

Silverjewl studied Max for a long minute before speaking.

“Max, I will be blunt. What will it take for you to remain in Lesterwood?”

“What?” Max said confused.

“Lester was a revolutionary during his time. He united people and raised a city by himself. He created whole new branches of industry and solidified his place in the history of magic. He was, dare I say, important. I have no doubt that you will be the same. I am asking what it will take for you to remain in Lesterwood rather than leave for somewhere else… Like Salae.”

“I have no plans to leave Lesterwood. It is, quite literally, the only city I know people in. I know some of the uppers of Esmel, but I wouldn’t call them friends.”

“Max, please. When your title makes their rounds, people will seek you out. They will bring riches and treasures of insurmountable worth.”

“I don’t think people will be able to buy me, mayor.” Max said.

“I don’t doubt it. Not now, at least. But, I’ve seen people of lessor potential get bought for nothing more than payment for their resea-“

“Mayor.” Max said, hard. “I do not plan to leave Lesterwood. I don’t know if I will stay here forever. There is much to this world I want to see; I cannot guarantee that I will be here every day of the year. But I can say that I don’t find treasures interesting. I’ve already seen what some treasures can do, and a city almost fell because of it.”

“That… Is reassuring.” Silverjewl let out a sigh. “I’m going to be honest Max. Lesterwood has been in a decline since the disappearance of Lester. I worry that if this trend continues, soon Salae will be the ones in true power here. You remember your meeting with Sir Dows?”

“About slaves?” Max asked.

Silverjewl nodded. “Salae has been hammering him harder than ever. Just last week an assassin was arrested. Thankfully the guard got to her before she could do any damage, but…”

“I see. I’m here for the foreseeable future. I have told Domic the same thing. I am more attached to others than monetary values. It was the same back on my world. Comfort over self-gain.” Max said.

“That is very good to hear. I have some papers that will officially make you a citizen of Lesterwood. You can buy property, sell at auction house, and a few other bonuses. I have it so that you won’t pay taxes for fifty years. Past that you will be considered a noble of Lesterwood. Of course, we will have to hide your real title until it is inevitably revealed.”

“That sounds fine. What do I need to sign?”

“Just a few documents.” Silverjewl handed Max a thick stack of papers. “Go home, review those and bring them back when signed. No rush. Also, I’ll make you an appointment to have a seal made.”

“Seal?” Max asked.

“A crest. A symbol for your house.”

Max didn’t respond, he was already thinking through designs.

Max sat alone in the training room in the mansion. Emi was busy chasing fish and none of the others were back yet. Under the watchful eye of Icarus, Max felt safe to experiment with space magics. His goal was simple. Jump more than blink’s limit of 6 meters. It was going about as Max expected. Poorly.

Blink had originally evolved from Space Skip, a spell he learned on instinct. A life-threatening rock was about to slam into his head, and he moved without a second thought. But recreating the spell proved difficult without the systems help. He had learned Teleport Object under controlled testing but saw what kind of damage a failed teleportation spell could achieve. A small rock was embedded into the floor, making Max hesitate to try the spell on himself.

Space, as Max learned, is fickle. It has emotion and wants to remain intact. The only way to truly manipulate space was to bend and weave it around an anchor. In this case, Max was the anchor. [Arbor] Xylem specialized in pocket dimensions. Holes in reality that could store items and even people if made big enough. Xylem, being formally trained, could probably give Max the answer to his problem. How do I not hurt myself?

But as Max thought through all that he had learned of space magic, the answer was probably nothing more than, do it correctly. Max had marked along the floor the max distance Blink could travel. All he had to do was get further than the line. Carefully and methodically Max slowly bent the space around himself. He double and triple checked every seam and fold, making sure that he was completely surrounded by woven space. With a flare of his mana, and a detailed image of his end location, Max moved.

If the lights were off, a small white flicker of light would have been seen. However, the training room was full of expensive lightbulbs. The more elegant and over the top competitor to mana lights. Max appeared completely off course. While his start and goal end point were in the center of the room, Max appeared far to the side.

There were no markings where Max landed, but it was obvious that he traveled more than 6 meters. Only, in the wrong direction. But this gave Max a bit more pride and confidence. He quickly moved back to the starting point and tried again. Again, a dim light flashed and again Max appeared somewhere in the room.

If I want a randomized teleport, this is a good spell. Max thought after the fourth failed attempt.

Something strange happened on the fifth. Right before he jumped, he had what he could only call a premonition. In his mind’s eye, Max saw himself laying on the ground, his lower torso removed and discarded. He reacted like any would and canceled the spell. Space snaped back into place, knocking Max off his feet and removing all of the air from his lungs.

“Max!” Icarus asked after materializing, “Are you alright?”

Max waved off the bird, trying to catch his breath. He simply laid there and thought through what just happened. He triple checked the space he was manipulating, why did the spell fail? Was the vision he saw imagination or was it the system warning him of his impending doom? But as he rested on the floor, a realization formed.

“I think I need to wrap space around myself tighter.” He spoke aloud.

“I do not think my self an expert in space magics, but does that not make the level of error much more grand?” Icarus asked.

Max thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. Let me test it.” Max summoned a few rocks from his inventory. One by one, Max wrapped space around each rock with varying levels of tightness. Each rock was teleported to the same spot. The loosest rock arrived a few feet past target and the tightest exploded into a million pieces.

Only the rock that had the perfect level of space surging around it moved to the target. It was something Max had never noticed before. Last time, inside of Honeygreen’s trunk, Max had quickly learned the system spell and practiced only that. Comparing the perfect tightness and the system spell, Max found a subtle difference. The system spell was slightly looser. Meaning that, while safer, it was also less accurate.

Max made many notes in a journal during these experiments. He tried with different sized rocks and items that are flexible, like paper. Each test only solidified his hypothesis. The perfect teleport meant wrapping the target in a perfect fold of space. But that didn’t help him with his original problem. Sure, he was less likely to harm himself now, but he still didn’t know why he couldn’t teleport where he wanted to.

He talked with Icarus for hours about possible theories and ideas to test. As they spoke, ideas of potential spells were created in Max’s mind. They were interesting ideas to test, but they simply were not important right now. He needed to figure out how to teleport far distances as soon as possible.

It was slow work, but at the end of the day Max thought he made solid progress. The others slowly arrived home. Clammy and Belopi were first. Belopi was happy and discussing the huge library and the many books she read through to Bishop. Clammy, on the other hand, looked as though she had been kicked in the gut.

“Didn’t find anything?” Max asked as everyone ate dinner.

“Nope, just the opposite. Everything I found told me I was screwed.”

“Well, don’t believe everything you read. I think it was Iris who first told me people are secretive about their classes. Why would anyone who was successful in bringing together a bloodline and class write it down? That is just asking for other strong families to appear.”

Clammy thought about Max’s words for a few minutes. She perked up and ate the rest of her dinner with a smile. Bishop and Vel were next. Vel informed Max that he would meet the anti-stalker squad soon, most likely at the mansion. She talked with Max for a while about how important the taskforce is. While their primary purpose was stalkers, that didn’t mean they only operated when large amounts of deaths were happening. Each member came from obscure and interesting backgrounds. Each has their own means of finding hidden or invisible threats.

Reep arrived next and grabbed a few slices of bread and meat, took a bath, and fell asleep. Bishop later told Max that guard training, especially for the winter, was harsh. But Reep wasn’t complaining, which was a good sign to Max. Bishop also assured that it would become easier was the program went on.

Celenia arrived right after dinner finished. She talked at length, about her day to anyone who’d listen. Which turned out to be Clammy, Belopi and Max. She had finally achieved a partial shifted state. She could make her arms turn into wings, which she demonstrated. Clammy had to leave the room after the third sickening pop of bone.

Everyone remained by the fireplace, except for Reep who was asleep, discussing various things and laughing. It was a chilling night, one that could only be warmed by the heat of a hearth and the energy of friends.