[Assign, Unify]

  “Sparky we need to talk.” began Draco.

  “Did it work Draco?”

  “Yeah Sparky, it worked, it pushed my capacity past the level I’ve been at for hundreds of years. I never expected that my magical strength would grow again but if I had to guess I’d say I got a five percent boost to my total magical capacity. That is huge. Do you have any idea what some mages would do to their hands on our girl there?”

  “Yes I’m aware.”

  “Well how about you two fill me in on what’s going on.”

  “You just became the biggest target for disreputable mages in any world. No one can know about this besides us three.”

  “Well obviously Opal and Mossbeard know all about it, they're only sitting one meter away.”

  “What they are hearing Rose is one of my extended rants about humans and their utter obsession with virgins. Of which Sparky is in agreement and you are slightly shocked. I am a world class magician, I know how to spin a privacy spell.”

  “Well at any rate you can trust them.”

  “Rose, you can’t tell anyone about this, not even Lu.”

  “I absolutely refuse to lie to Lu about this, and withholding information is the same as lying in this case, Draco. Keeping it secret might even put her in danger, I might not have privacy spells like you do, but what I can do is write a completely empty world and jump Lu and I there, tell her, tell her that we can never speak of it again. Jump us home, and never use that world again for anything.”

  “Fine but nobody else, promise me Rose, make her promise Sparky, she’s your apprentice.”

  “As if she pays any attention to what I say, she is the most argumentative apprentice in the history of apprentices. But fine if it’ll make you happy, Draco.”

  “Of course it’ll make me happy she’s my authoress, she must be kept safe at all costs.”

  “Oh, thank you Draco, that's sweet.”

  “Just give us your most solemn promise, Rose.”

  “I promise, you both, I’ll reveal this to no one but Lu.”

  “Draco before you drop the shield, it might be temporary, when Rose went and authored herself to one hundred percent, it didn’t last. Maybe your power gain won’t last either, then we all have a lot less to worry about. Still some mages wouldn’t care; they'd just keep forcing her to increase their power, over and over again."

  “I’ll keep a close eye on my levels, Sparky, and I’ll let you know tomorrow, where we stand. Rose, we're still doing the actors' retirement home tomorrow right?”

  “Yes, if it’s okay with you.”

  “Yes I look forward to it. I’ll see you at home.”

  Then I got the miniature pictures of the store and the tower from Mossbeard, I put them in a makeshift wallet I’d constructed of cardboard and asked Opal to fill in the missing parts of the pictures and activate them. Then we portaled to the bakery and walked next door to a very crowded pub. We decided to eat on the way back. But first I had a word with Lu. Asking her if we could have a private chat before dinner tonight.

  Then we walked down to the clinic, there was a line still of applicants which was great because that gave Lottie and Ronja a large group to pick the cream of the crop. I didn’t want to interrupt but I wanted this portal in today if possible and I wanted to put it where Lottie wanted it. I walked past the line of applicants, where I heard a little grumbling and knocked on the closed door. Not waiting, I opened the door.

  “Lottie, Ronja, I’m sorry to interrupt but Mossbeard and I are trying to install a portal here in the clinic. I want to put it where you want it to go. Would you like it by the front door, or the desk in reception or somewhere else?”

  “I’m not sure Rose, that’s really your speciality, where would you suggest?”

  “I think the front might be best, it’s unlikely to change, whereas you might rearrange the furniture in the room and that might interfere with the portal drawing.”

  “Well I agree, that’s also the most natural place for a person to enter from, so it might not startle people as much as someone appearing in the center of the reception area out of nowhere.”

  “Good point, we’ll get started on it.”

  We went back out to the front door.

  “Mossbeard please make the focus of the drawing about half a meter from the front door, please leave out a detail for Opal to add, just draw the detail on another page so she knows exactly what she needs to add.”

  He set to work right away and a little more than five minutes later he was done. I pulled out the little cardboard wallet I’d made, told Mossbeard to hold on and we portaled into the bookstore.

  “Alright apprentice, how did you make out?”

  I showed Sparky, Mossbeard’s drawings.

  “Good now let’s see how your experiment works, Rose.”

  I handed Mossbeard’s drawing to Opal

  “Opal honey, could you please complete it with the second drawing and activate it.”

  “Yes, Rose.”

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  “A few minutes later it started to glow with that golden light.”

  I touched the drawing and was portaled to the Clinic where I startled an applicant entering via the front door. I portaled back to the bookstore.

  “Mossbeard, it worked perfectly. Could you please draw four small versions this size?” I showed him my diy cardboard wallet.

  “Sure Rose.”

  “Sparky I have to go to the Leathersmith up in town square. I want to get some leather wallets that'll be much more durable than this cardboard mini folder I made.”

  “How do you feel, Rose?”

  “I’m fine, I’m not tired anymore if that is what you mean.”

  “Yes I mean that and I also mean what Draco was talking about before.”

  “I don’t know, I’ve been busy trying to get stuff done.”

  “Yes, we'll take some time to think about what he said and its implications. For once just take your time and walk to town square, use that time to think. I love portals. They are fast and convenient but they also rob us of the time spent walking in contemplation. Lot’s of great writers walked a great deal, when you walk you might come up with the plot of your next novel, or the character that elevates a hum drum plot into a must read. So go on.”

  And out the door I went, and I did think about the fact that I had a power that other magicians might hurt my family or friends in an attempt to control me. It wasn’t a fun thought and it certainly didn’t make for a fun walk. But what could I do about it really, except tell Lu and hear what she had to say about it. She’s been protecting me since before I met her so really what better person to talk to about it

  Once I actually increased my magic capacity maybe Draco or Sparky could teach me some defensive spells. So with somewhat cloudy hopes I entered the town square on market day. It was very lively, loads of people wandering from vendor to vendor. There was even a dwarf bard standing on the edge of the fountain, Lu mentioned a dwarf bard in Tranquility. I wonder if it’s the same bard or another. I’m pretty sure Lu said that dwarven bards were rare. I dropped a coin in his hat when I went by.

  There were lots of fun vendors, I can’t believe I’ve been living here for months and never once took the time to come to the market. I would make time and come again but for now I was on a mission. I noticed that the music had ceased, but kept looking for the leathersmith.

  Finally I found her a few customers were ahead of me so I tried to wait patiently. When I noticed the dwarf out of the corner of my eye. He was staring at me and had his lute which looked huge compared to him, slung on his back. He was starting to make me nervous, especially after that conversation I’d had with Draco and Sparky.

  The leathersmith’s customers moved on so I stepped up and asked. “Excuse me miss, do you do any custom work?”

  “Yes of course what did you have in mind, leather pants?”

  I looked around for Salome to see if I was being pranked. “No, but I’m curious why did you think, I wanted custom leather pants.”

  “A young girl came around earlier, she said that she’d recommend my shop to a woman dressed exactly like you fitting your description and that you were looking for leather pants.”

  “No I’m sorry, I’m not. The girl is a friend and I think she was just trying to tease me. But I do want some leather work done. I’ve made a rather poor mock up of what I want. It’s to hold pictures, mine only holds two but if you know a way to get four, six, or eight that would be ideal.”

  I was embarrassed by the crudeness of my work but showed her, asking her to be sure not to touch the glowing pictures. She took mine and held it by the edges, being careful not to touch my drawings.

  “Give me five minutes and I’ll show you a design that can hold eight or more. Are all the drawings being commissioned to that same size?”

  “Yes they are.”

  “Do you mind if I ask, why do they glow like that?”

  “They’re magical, you touch them and you are transported to the location that was drawn. For instance this is the shop where I work.” I held the wallet by the edges so she could see the bookshelves as Opal had drawn them.

  “That’s amazing.” A few minutes later she showed me her design, it held up to eight drawings and also had a small coin purse that’d only hold a few coins but still, I was very impressed.

  “How about five silver.”

  “That’s highway robbery it is, Miss, walk away now.”

  I turned and saw the dwarf who had been watching me, eyeing the leathersmith.

  “It’s not Miss, it’s a fair price, and I’ll emboss it for free. We can even put the names of the locations right under the drawings. It’s true I’m using leather scraps from other projects, but those are hard to work with.”

  I glared at the dwarf for embarrassing the smith.

  “I’ll take it, and I’ll want twenty more as soon as you can make them.”

  “But that’s ten gold Lass, she’s picking your pocket.”

  “Quiet you, I didn't see you complain when I put a gold piece in your hat.”

  “Of course not, I'm a dwarf, we have gold fever, that’s why I’m escorting you around the market to make sure you are treated fairly. I won’t have my patroness robbed in broad daylight in the city square, over leather scraps. Give here a better price Smith or my next song will be about the thieven Leathersmith of Wyldwood.”

  “Miss, I thought you just wanted the one wallet, that’s why I quoted you five silvers. Buying twenty one, the dwarf is indeed right that would be too dear a price. How would six gold be for all twenty that one there is my gift to you. I’ll deliver them to your bookstore tomorrow morning if you’ll have the gold by then.”

  “That would be perfect actually, the name of the store is Enigmatic Parchments, did you say you can emboss a design on the front.”

  “Yes Miss, no extra charge and I promise to have them all done by tomorrow morning. What design would you like? Did you want to draw it?”

  “No I’m sorry I don’t draw well at all, but maybe you know it, the Eye of Horus.” I don’t know what made me think of Jaq’s tattoo, it just popped into my head.

  “I’m sorry Miss, I’m not familiar with it.”

  “Gimme a pencil and paper Smith, I have a fair idea what the Miss is asking for.”

  The smith handed the dwarf a pencil and paper and just a few minutes later, I was staring at a very copy of Jaq’s tattoo. I thanked the bard for the drawing and told the smith I’d see her tomorrow at the shop.

  Then I touched the bookstore drawing and portaled.