Sasha maintained a facade of some vigilance while her thoughts were already on the trip ahead. Then she suddenly noticed one of the customers approaching her. Spooked, she turned to gape at the middle-aged man. He was well-dressed but not overdoing it. His were working hands that immediately started to move to the sides in a placating gesture. The movement revealed what appeared to be short rods of Dust peeking out of protrusions on his belt.
“Eh, sorry if I startled you. I was just conducting my business here and heard there was a fellow arcanist among you. Saying hello seemed like the thing to do,” the mage explained calmly.
Sasha composed herself, embarrassed. “Oh, right. Hello, I’m Sasha of the Heroborn. I didn’t actually know there would be mages here.”
The man smiled sociably. “I’m Gibli, an elementalist and a dabbler in alchemy. There is plenty of work in and around the mines for one adept with explosives.” He left his expression inquisitive, though not actively prying into her affairs.
Sasha decided some reciprocation was in order. “Ah, I see. Well, you won’t have to worry about me encroaching on your business. I’m just passing through here on research. Elementalist, you say? What of those?” She pointed at the Dust rods on his belt. It was a curious limitation of fire mages that they could not control magic that wasn’t predominantly red. Some White Dust could be intermixed in their spells for support, but it needed to be in the minority. It was theorized that somehow, the elementalists’ magic flowed from their wand only to the Red Dust, through which their limited control of the normal variety would then be channeled. It made some degree of sense.
“Oh, these? I see, yes, they actually have red cores. I find that encasing it within a layer of White Dust makes for a longer life in my profession. If you do use the stuff, I heartily recommend doing the same.”
That makes sense. “I might just take your recommendation, thank you.”
“You’ve actually been lugging a whole bunch of materials for Red Dust and other explosives for me. There’s enough demand here that it pays to order materials from the coast,” Gibli said, and quickly continued as alarm rose to Sasha’s face, “though of course I provided specific instructions on which materials to carry in separate wagons.”
Sasha sighed in relief. “Thanks for that. By the way, you’d probably know. Is there any Mage Corps presence here?”
Gibli shook his head. “The crown knows better than to gather a concentration of mages here in this place. Not many mages want to tempt themselves by coming to live here, either, so the recruiters don’t bother,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“Why’s that, then?” Sasha asked, feigning ignorance.
“The elven woods to the west, of course. Everybody knows about them, though not many have dared venture there in recent memory. No sense in wobbling the present peaceful coexistence. We don’t bother them, they don’t slaughter us. You don’t know the story?”
Sasha had an inkling of how it would go, but shook her head. She’d want to be sure that she was properly informed.
“Well, some eighty years ago the governance wanted to get their hands on the resources of the deeper woods, disregarding the elven dominion as fairy tales. To be fair, nobody had seen them since the time of the Heroes, and even then they had been reclusive. But when the woodsmen were sent exploring, they never came back. When soldiers were sent to see what happened, they never came back. Finally, plenty of woodcutters were sent in with orders to start thinning the forest around the edges, accompanied by a small army for support. And that’s when the elves came out into the open and slaughtered the bunch of them with overwhelming magical force. Some managed to flee to tell their tale, probably by the elves’ design. We’ve been content with the current borders since, and if somebody starts thinking otherwise, I’m packing my bags and leaving. So, if this research project of yours concerns the elves or the deeper west, I’d recommend doing it from afar,” Gibli finished with a measuring look.
Sasha found herself fidgeting a bit. “Oh, no, not to worry, I’ll be doing my work strictly on our side of the border,” she lied, feeling like she wasn’t fooling anyone. One wayward person wouldn’t be enough to start any wars, right?
COLLAPSE 
