Stronger Together chapter 100 (Patreon)

As we went further into Henry's lab I couldn't help but be impressed.  I could see rows of tables with potions simmering, most of them using  complex glass equipment I couldn't begin to name. The potion's were  bubbling and swirling through the tubes and beakers. I looked over at  Henry and he chuckled when he caught my glance "Those are nutrition  potions. I've managed to rig up a ritual to somewhat automate them. The  bulk ingredients are far cheaper than normal food and produce a fairly  large volume. I tell my residents it's a nutrition shake that goes bad  if it isn't consumed within a few days."

Harry  look intrigued. "That's brilliant. I hadn't considered that magic could  be used to sustain the body like that. I mean I imagine some of the  ingredients have to be food and supplements and such anyway but it's an  amazing way to feed so many mouths.Shame it isn't mass producible. I  didn't see enough people for this kind of volume though, I'm assuming  the vast majority of your residents are in the Safehold you mentioned?" I  could tell my mentor was lamenting the fact that something like this  couldn't be offered to the world at large, but magic made factories  implausible not to mention mortals losing it if they found out about the  supernatural.

The  proud look on Henry's face dimmed slightly, but still held up "Of  course, we have many more residents than you saw in the chapel. Those  were simply temporary residents. Not everyone chooses to stay long term,  some prefer a more transient lifestyle. We would never force anyone to  stay, so those who only wish to stick around a while stay up in the  chapel. Safehold is more long term housing. As for your other comment I  quite agree. But the magic necessary to run even this small ritual is  taxing to supply. We're on a small leyline but nothing extravagant.  Aside from that I am in hiding so even if production wasn't prohibitive  due to its mystical nature..." He spread his hands helplessly.

We  all nodded solemnly as we moved on. I saw various sizes and  compositions of circles for summoning set into the stone floor, towering  book cases full of a rainbow of different tomes, and tables stacked  with piles of notes and sketches. This operation made Harry's little lab  look like an at home chemistry set. Seeing what someone could do with a  century of knowledge and study in magic was humbling. I'd been getting  cocky about learning a spell or two, but one glance at this crazy  research wonderland made it clear I had a damn long way to go. I looked  at Henry in confusion "If you never leave this place because of the  council how did you get the supplies for all this?"

His  answering grin was wolfish and sad at the same time "No one pays  attention to the homeless. My friends are happy to make pickups for me  and ask around about certain ingredients or books. I've cultivated quite  a network of allies in the city after so many years helping the less  fortunate as well, you would be shocked how many people have had family  members that came through my doors at one time or another. I've also  been known to help certain residents ready to move on from their  transient existence with getting back on their feet. I have little  trouble acquiring much of anything." His list of sources raised my  respect for the man immensely, he was basically a saint.

We  finally came to a large bronze circle with a pair of chairs and a table  in the center. The table was set with a beautiful carved mahogany and  ivory chess set. I knew it had to be old because you couldn't get ivory  anymore what with all the poaching trouble with elephants, but it looked  incredibly well cared for. The only visible signs of age were how  smooth the pieces had been worn with use. Henry turned to speak to us  "Calliope is a bit special for an elemental. She used to be a local girl  who died in an earthquake. The earthquake that sunk this very church in  fact. Don't ask me how a ghost became an elemental I wouldn't share  something that personal even if I knew and I have no idea anyway, but it  makes it much easier for her to operate on a human timescale when she  wants."

The  shock on Harry's face was palpable, and I was beginning to wonder if we  were all going to just stop being surprised by things with all the  unexpected things coming our way. He looked incredibly intrigued "That's  amazing. I've never heard of anything like that." He saw the look on  Henry's face and put both hands up placatingly "don't worry, I won't  grill her about it, I'm not tactless enough to question someone about  their own death. I'm just honored to be able to meet her and very  interested in what she might be like. Elementals are known to be  difficult to commune with because they're so alien, knowing there's one  with such a human mentality in town is a huge deal."

Henry's  look was sharp. "Don't mistake me. I enjoy Calliope's company and care  about her a great deal, but she is not human. She has enough of her  mortal self left to fake interacting, but don't assume she has the same  motivations or priorities as you do. Calliope is an elemental of the  earth, she cares very little for human beings aside from those she  befriends. She helped with this project because I asked it of her and  she holds me in high regard, and for her own personal reasons, but  though you should treat her with politeness and courtesy never make the  mistake of thinking she is a human being."

I  could tell from the sharp crack of his voice he may have made that  particular mistake in the past. I wondered what had happened but doubted  he would share his story even if I was right. He calmed down and  smiled. "Apologies friends. I hope that didn't bias you. Calliope is  lovely company and I look forward to introducing you. It will take a  minute or two to set up the summoning. I use a gentle invite when  calling to her, as we are friends and I don't want to be rude by being  too insistent should she be busy with other matters." He took a seat in  one of the chairs at the table and closed his eyes beginning a short  chant.

He sat  there for a few minutes in silence and before long, the summoning was  finished. I expected there to be a flash of light or an explosion, maybe  a sharp wind or some kind of rumble, but one moment he was alone, and  the next a beautiful girl with caramel colored skin the and green hair  the exact shade of moss sat across from him. Her lips were the red of  roses and her teeth shone like opals. Her eyes were the exact green of  emeralds. Not her irises, her eyes, as if she had a pair of spherical  gems in her sockets. It was disconcerting but quite lovely in a sort of  primal way.

She saw us all standing  there and turned her beautiful smile on Henry. "Henry, so lovely to see  you, and you brought new friends to introduce me to. I'm always happy  to make the acquaintance of new people." Her voice was surprisingly high  and clear, like the ringing of steel on stone, with a sort of resonance  to it that made my skin tingle, but not in a bad way. She turned to us  flashing that opal smile "My name is Calliope, may I have the pleasure  of learning yours friends?" Being under her emerald gaze was unsettling  but I found myself drawn in by her friendly and open manner.

Harry  interjected before we could speak, offering a friendly smile, but  making sure to give only first names. "Hi there, I'm Harry, this is  Cameron, Yang, and Barbara, my apprentices. Henry has told us wonderful  things, it's nice to meet you. We were hoping you might be able to help  us track some folks down. Henry was pretty confident if anyone would be  able to find them it would be you." He was obviously playing to her ego a  bit, and I recognized he had cut me off from talking so I wouldn't give  too much of my name. He was taking Henry's warning seriously.

Calliope's  smile this time was pleased, and I got the impression she took people  at their word when they told her things. Not trusting exactly, but like  she was just so straightforward that pleasantries were alien to her at  this point. Part of that might have been knowing Henry though, she would  have been around him enough to know if he was really praising her or  not and apparently she believed Harry was being sincere. "I may be able  to find someone for you, provided they dwell beneath the earth. The  question becomes what would be in it for me? It's very nice to meet new  people of course but I don't know you. How would your mission benefit my  land?"

I had  been expecting that, Henry had all but told us she wouldn't care about a  humanitarian angle. We actually had a few projects that might benefit  the earth long term, the scroll tech and the aura batteries if we could  get them working, but those we far down the line. I was wracking my  brain for something to offer her, and I could tell Harry was doing the  same. This was a tall order for people like us. We had some serious  combat power at this point but asking us to reverse pollution even in a  small area was a bit crazy. But she hadn't asked for that, she'd asked  how we could benefit her land. Maybe there was some other way of doing  that.

I  turned to Henry raising an eyebrow questioningly, hoping he had some  kind of idea about this. He looked a bit troubled but finally said  nothing. I was concerned for a few minutes then I had an idea. A really  bad idea. I turned to Calliope "There's an island. In Lake Michigan. It  leaks dark energy constantly and is hostile to anyone who goes near it.  We have a method of somewhat containing that energy, which will directly  decrease the flow of dark power through the leylines which I know have  to be running through your territory. Would that be enough to get your  help?" Harry looked confused and a bit alarmed but he let me speak.

This  was actually a big risk. Making Harry the Warden of Demonreach early  could have catastrophic effects on the timeline but I'd already  butterflied away part of the reason he had done it to begin with. Not to  mention I wasn't sure we could contain the dark energy like I said, but  I hoped Demonreach could just route some of it into the defenses and  keep them active all the time or something. Calliope looked pensive for a  moment but then nodded with a smile "That is an acceptable bargain. I  know of the island of which you speak, it is a corrupting influence on  all nearby land. What do you wish to know?"

I  exhaled with relief "Somewhere in the city a group of Black Court  vampires are holding a large amount of humans. We believe the vampires  will be beneath the ground because of their aversion to sunlight and  comfort with subterranean environments. We need you to find the location  they're holding the civilians so we can rescue them." Calliope nodded  and vanished gone between one blink and the next. I sighed and looked at  Henry "We need to fulfill our part of the bargain first don't we?" The  older man simply nodded and I just groaned. Looked like we were going to be making a boat trip.