We spent the next week going through things Riggard had already tried. Of course, he had written down all of his experiments’ results but my senses were tuned far better for noticing mana. The measuring devices he had at hand could only really give a snapshot of what happened. I still had my own practice to do in the mornings. The artificer spent that time preparing the afternoon’s experiment and grumbling over his notes.

My own crafting went well. Most of the time I was just mana-welding brass into some sort of construct. Conductors, usually. Next week I could start on sources, or rather, crystal adaptors. Then Riggard would show me the parts of a heating plate. There was some new technique to learn which should take me a few days and the final week I could spend working on my own plate.

Riggard also suggested to me some more reading material which I spent some time looking at in the evenings. There was not much time to read but I did my best to get some done every evening. Until Safrah just rented the books I wanted from the library and I read them at her home. That was a possibility? It apparently was a little expensive but the town would pay for it since I was supposed to be integrated into society or something like that, so Safrah told me not to worry about it.

Back to the experiments. We mainly went through several combinations of aspects being shot at the mesh and aspects being infused into it. I only found a slight reaction when a base aspect hit the mesh infused with a compound aspect. That meant when Riggard shot fire mana at the mesh while it held light mana, for example. That reaction was known and far too weak. It happened naturally whenever base mana hit compound mana. It also formed an imbalance making the compound mana dissolve into its components much faster. Oh, right. Compound mana apparently dissolved naturally if not bound in a node or object. That meant, infusing something without magically shaping it into a new object was not real infusion as thaumaturges did. As I had done when crafting the supersensory matrix.

All in all, I was confused about what Riggard was thinking. This device clearly did not do anything. Why would he keep trying? So I asked him about it. He explained he had been looking for warp and flux protection for a very long time and it had been the reason he left his clan. He was not thrown out, he just did not feel supported. In fact, his family tried to convince him to leave his ‘mad idea’ be and instead just do what he did best: artifice. He was apparently some genius? That was what he made it sound like at least.

With that kind of conviction, I could only support him. Doing the impossible was never out of the question when thaumaturgy was involved. So I pulled out my Thaumonomicon, completely shocking the poor dwarf. I told him not to look at it for too long and started my search for something to help this project.

I quickly ran into a thaumaturgic flux scrubber. It was a fascinating device using thaumium and what was called an alchemical construct to pull in any excess flux and convert it into potentia essence. Basically, pure energy. It did not work on warp or taint, but it was a start. Only, thaumium was not easy to get one’s talons on. I had a small amount, maybe enough to make one mesh but even if I traded him for it, Riggard would not be able to produce more of the material. So I kept it in the back of my mind and continued my search.

Clearing warp was something that seemed somewhat impossible, or very possible, depending on the type of warp. Apparently, there was temporary and permanent warp. Temporary warp was gained when in a reality-defying place or from some research. It was also a by-product of some advanced crafting processes. Permanent warp was sort of just the baseline insanity. The more one understood thaumaturgy and the Empty and everything else relating to it, the more warped one’s mind became. I was a little freaked out but soon realized something. From the descriptions I found, high warp would bring forth the attention of beings from the void. Eldritch guardians, mind spiders, and similar. They would influence the thaumaturge’s reality, sometimes just making them ill, sometimes fully breaking into the real world. I had not had any major changes to myself or any problems with beings from the other side. Most likely, I was fine. For some or the other reason. I did not understand how what I saw in my soul played into it or what happened at the Circle meeting but… I was confident enough in my sanity.

Now, to clear warp. Permanent warp was just that, permanent. It could not be reduced. But temporary warp would diminish on its own anyway. So there was no real need to fight it. But there were ways. Some thaumaturge had developed a special soap that could either be used as-is or be turned into special bathwater. This would not just clean the body but also the mind. Sadly, it did not help our project. But the concept was there. Using the aspects of healing, mind and sense, it was possible to reduce temporary insanity. So maybe putting them onto the mesh would help it protect from warp. With our current setup, it was sadly not possible to form those aspects. So we put that idea on the shelf. Research really was just a ton of setbacks until one found the path forward, huh?

All in all, there was not much of interest in the Thaumonomicon for this project. The only thing I could really take from it was ‘use thaumium’ which was what I wanted to make with the heating plate. When I tried to look for taint, I found not a single entry besides the aspects of magic that told me taint was the combination of magic and destruction. I was convinced I needed to make some discovery on my own, rather than no thaumaturge ever having looked into the substance. The library of the dwarves even had a book about it. Apparently, it could form when too much flux was released in a certain area. Flux was basically destroyed magic that needed to be recycled in the Empty, so I could see where they came from. If I compared flux to radioactivity then taint was cancer or other mutations resulting from it. Which meant, preventing flux was the best way to prevent taint.

I collected my findings and consulted with Riggard.

“So you are saying thaumium might have a better effect? I was thinking that too but it’s way too expensive for the scale I want. This technology is supposed to help protect the walls from ork magic. Have you seen the walls?”

I nodded.

“I was thinking the same. It needs to work with brass or it isn’t something usable. Though we might still be able to learn something if we make a thaumium prototype. Have you ever used the material? Do you know how it behaves? If it really works we might be able to design a construct to mimic its effects.”

The dwarf put a hand to his chin.

“You might be onto something… It’s just… I don’t know if we can make such a purchase. A bar of thaumium usually costs 1 vis coin. That is barely enough for one mesh. Hmm…”

I froze. Thaumium was that expensive? And I had twenty bars of iron sitting in my storage waiting to be converted. That was… 20 vis coins? Wow. That was a lot of money. I only needed to get to it.

“How about this. I supply one thaumium bar and in exchange, I get the artefact we make with it after we are done. I also get the materials for my heating plate for free.”

Riggard’s mouth stood wide open.

“You have thaumium? How?”

“Stole it from a thaumaturge.”

“That makes se… wait. You’re a thaumaturge too, right? Can you make thaumium?”

I fidgeted.

“Probably? I haven’t tried. I need the heating plate for my crucible.”

His eyes widened.

“That… That’s it! We can make a contract! You can supply thaumium and I can make the artefact! We’ll get rich together and help protect the dwarves from evil magic!”

I took a step back, narrowing my eyes.

“No thanks. I will be travelling again, soon. I don’t want to be locked down by a contract. And how would you sell something made with thaumium? It’s way too expensive. You just said so.”

The dwarf slumped to his knees. A deep sigh escaped his lips.

“But… This is it.”

He was close to tears. I felt a little bit bad but… I really did not want to be held to this place. I wanted to stay of my own volition only.

“Can’t we… figure something out?”, he asked with a glimmer of hope.

I shook my head and made a clack with my beak.

“I’ll help you develop something for the time we agreed to work together. My offer stands, for the one bar. Any more, you’ll have to buy at market price.”

I would not budge on this. Riggard was very passionate about his work but to me, it was just a useful hobby. Fun, but not everything that mattered. My freedom was much more important.

With the last spark of hope extinguished, the dwarf nodded weakly and stood up.

“I’ll… go talk to my wife. About your offer. I do want to work with thaumium. Maybe we can… yeah. We’ll see.”

I looked after his back as he left the workshop. This device really was important to him. Maybe I could… Yes, that might work. But first, I had to make my heating plate. The day was soon to be over. I spent a bit more time looking through the blueprints for the artefact. Maybe I would figure something out that did not require thaumium. An hour later, just before it was time to close shop, Riggard came back. He looked a little better but I could still see him slump a little bit. He did his best to keep it together.

“Alright. We can do it. You’ll get the materials for the heating plate. You’ll also get the result of whatever we are going to develop together with your thaumium. In return, I will be the one working with the material. If I am to learn anything from this, I’ll need that much at least. And, we will spend all the remaining time of our previous contract on this work. Anything you still need to learn after that to make your heating plate, I will teach you. After. And you can use our workshop to build your artefact. Does that work for you?”

I considered for a moment. That was fair. I figured there would be a bunch of time where Riggard would be so engrossed in his work with the thaumium, I could learn most of what I needed on my own.

“Agreed”, I sent. I extended a tendril of darkness and gave it the likeness of fingers. They were formed a little hastily and looked more like crooked branches, but they were enough for something you might be able to call a handshake. A slight smile showed on the dwarf’s face. He had gotten as much as he could out of this. It turned into a playful frown when I spoke up once more.

“I’ll give you the thaumium tomorrow. Let’s close up for the day.”