[Farmer] Mage

Cal brushed off the nonexistent dirt from his clothes as he studied Maelor. The man came alone, as expected, but he was more interested in seeing if there were any visible changes on the man.

“They won’t stop you,” Cal said loudly. Maelor stood far from the farm with the wolf pack standing between. It hadn’t stopped him the previous two times, so he wasn’t sure why that was the case now.

Maelor approached and nodded at Cal when he was only a few feet away. “Now that we're partners, I felt it was only polite to wait until you permitted me to enter your land.”

Cal gave him a quick once over and found himself disappointed. No changes were to be seen, and mannerisms hadn’t been affected either. If anything, Maelor became much more composed, which was the opposite of what he suspected the gem to cause.

It’s only been a few days since I gave him the gem. It’s too bad Overseer Marek will interfere with these meetings soon.

“Is this about the people I asked you to retrieve?” Cal asked.

“They are already on the way back. I directed them to be sent to Mariner’s Rest, the town your woman resides in. I’m sure that’s what you wanted, right?”

That was indeed the best option, but it sounded like a subtle threat. Then again, everything Maelor did sound like a threat.

Cal nodded. “It is. Will they arrive tomorrow, or is it later?”

“I would say a couple of hours is more accurate. By the way, these people you considered important enough to bring back are complete idiots. My niece has been in a bit of a mood lately, and the delivery might arrive a little damaged. Not too much, but just a little. This can’t be blamed on me. After all, there was no promise of them being returned in perfect condition.”

The mood she’s in is probably due to having a missing finger.

Cal wished he could say that he cared, but Tavia’s friends were faceless acquaintances to him. He only knew they existed because of Tavia and his obsession with her when he was a Trainee.

“I’m sure my… woman will look past the damage in her happiness of her friends being returned,” Cal said. Even though Maelor knew about Tavia, he didn’t want to use her name.

They stared at each other for several seconds before Maelor broke the silence. “I did my part. Now, you do yours. I understand you are reluctant to go against the guild, so I’ll give you a fairly simple task. I want you to kill Astris. In a way, it’s helping the guild, you think so?”

Cal had been ready to decline whatever Maelor asked him to do based on needing to wait for proof of Tavia’s friends truly returning. He still intended to use the excuse, but the task itself wasn’t something he could pass on. He assumed what would be asked to be far different.

Passing on information that would lead to abduction, interfering with core guild business, or putting himself in a position that would lead to an immediate death sentence were all things that he could delay based on their seriousness. However, killing Astris would be easy to explain to the guild.

Cal recognized that this was something that Maelor intended to use to get him accustomed to taking orders. Undoubtedly, it would escalate with every proceeding task until he found himself entirely on the Frostguard Dominion’s side.

“It’s disheartening to see you hesitating so much. This is such a simple ask that I thought you would be glad. After all, Astris is the woman who put your close friend in danger. What’s to say that your friend won’t be drawn back in? He did return to the same place where he had been abducted. It’s for both our benefit to have Astris disappear.” 𝘳Ἀ𐌽Ȯ฿Ës

Another subtle threat.

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Cal shook his head. “I would be more than happy to do so, but I just got the news that the guild is looking into Astris. I highly doubt I can get close to her without the guild looking into me. That’s attention I do not want.”

Maelor appeared ready to address the matter but surprisingly reconsidered and remained silent. He wasn’t sure what was running through the man’s head, but it caused him to remain silent for nearly a minute.

“I see your side on this,” Maelor said. “Is it safe for me to assume you want to avoid drawing attention because of the gem you gave me last time?”

No.

“Yes,” Cal said, nodding grimly.

Maelor sighed as if he was disappointed. “I suppose I can allow you to refuse the assignment. I am also invested in the gems, so it will be in my interest to do so. However, I will need some sort of return for the help I’ve provided. Give me another gem, and we can call this even.”

Cal was given the opportunity he had been waiting for. “Do you mind if I check something? I want to see the changes from the absorption of the gem.”

Maelor narrowed his eyes. “You’re a sensor?”

“Barely. I only know the rudimentary techniques that will give me a vague sense of your strength. I do have to admit that I did this without your permission previously. But we weren’t partners then, so you understand why I didn’t ask.”

Maelor still looked suspicious, but he agreed. “I’m curious to see what you think, but I do have to say that the gem is non-negotiable. You either give that to me or take care of Astris.”

“We’ll see,” Cal said. He reached out with several mana tendrils, touching Maelor’s skin and making their presence known to sell that his technique was amateur. He absorbed the information from the contact before pulling the mana tendrils back.

Maelor was at the peak of the Apprentice rank, a small yet significant rise in strength from just a few days ago. Cal quickly calculated his chances of killing Maelor if that option ever needed to be taken. Surprisingly, he found it high.

Maelor might be strong in mana capacity and control, but he was physically weak compared to Cal. Another surprising insight he gained was that Maelor’s affinity was fire. It would be challenging if he couldn’t gain a quick advantage initially.

Cal had overestimated the effort he would need to make to defeat Maelor. It would be difficult, but it was well within his capabilities. He made sure to show concern instead of delight at his discovery.

Permitting a sensor to gain insights was stupidity on the highest order. However, Maelor allowed it due to the gem. The greed of more was already affecting him, though it was in the most subtle of ways.

“Is anything on track?” Maelor asked.

“I think so. There should still be plenty of growth left from the gem you previously absorbed. Giving you another will likely hurt more than help.”

“I never said the additional gem was for myself. I have other uses for it, and that’s all you need to know.”

Cal clenched his teeth, pretending to be agonizing over the thought of giving him a gem. “Fine. You can have one. But I might not be able to give you a gem for yourself if I don’t get a replenishment. As long as you understand that, we have a deal.”

“Done,” Maelor agreed immediately.

Cal pulled a gem from the storage pouch and handed it to him, once again using his robes to avoid any contact.

Maelor had no such qualms. He grabbed it with his bare palms before studying it greedily.

Do it. Absorb it now.

Cal had to accept the disappointment when Maelor just stored the gem. He still hoped that the man would get greedy and absorb it later. He had already given a warning so he couldn’t be blamed… the wish to see accelerated symptoms of absorbing the gem was strong in him.

“I’m glad you held up your end, even though it wasn’t as I initially intended. It isn’t a surprise that you are reluctant to commit to our partnership fully, but I will be more than happy to give you several weeks to think on it. In the meantime, you can consider our relationship primarily based on the trade of these gems. Is that acceptable, Farmer Cal?”

Cal wasn’t sure how to take this about-face. It seemed like Maelor had sidelined the death of his nephew and the Frostguard Dominion in favor of having a constant supply of gems. This would be an acceptable change in priority to someone normal.

Maelor was not normal.

Whatever plan the man had formed would not benefit Cal. Of course, that was only if he had the chance to complete it.

Cal smiled. “I appreciate that you thought of my difficulties. You will always have a source of the gems as long as I have the supply.”

Maelor beamed before they shook hands to seal the deal. He didn’t delay his departure and was quickly out of his line of sight several seconds after they shook hands.

Cal looked around suspiciously at his surroundings. He had already tried to spread his mana tendrils to see if he could sense somebody lying in wait, but they were either hidden too well or simply did not exist.

He thought there was a significant chance that Maelor would have been captured by whoever was watching him. He would have to see what Overseer Marek had to say when he went to Mariner’s Rest in the morning.

Cal ordered the golem to restart casting [Rainfall] before heading to bed. He couldn’t help but feel he would not like what the Overseer had to say.

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