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    The shimmering blue creature cocked it's head and surveyed it's
surroundings. The flowing structure of it's form whispered in the air as it
manifested itself as a being of pure mana - energy from which magic flows.
A being of the ether given life by the hands of a wizard, it held no
assumptions as to the nature of it's environment. It was thus a poor toy for
Genvalzi to play with, not beholden to the grippings of terror as it stalked
the deer-like form from it's perch on a nearby bookcase. Standing about four
inches tall, it radiated a dim light that illuminated the table on which it
stood. Aldi Prelat watched from afar as the creature acted out the minor
instructions she had programmed into it earlier today.

    "I said I'd give you a toy, are you just going to look at it? It's not
going anywhere, just pounce!" Genvalzi let out a huff, and whipped his tail
back and forth like a cat. Stalking's no fun when the illusion is shattered.
Shrugging, Aldi moved to the study and began working on constructing a theorum
of manabourne sentience. Arcane magic came diffiicult to her since it more
closely resembled mathematics than the pure unfocused energy of the pyromancy
she was most familiar with. But there's only so much you can do with flames,
and her pet draggen found it difficult to wrestle with a conjured fire
elemental. She couldn't help but be productive, as if the creation of toys for
her friend wasn't enough motivation to continue - she needed to write about it.
To create something less ephemeral, for someone somewhere to read.

    "Ugh, academia..." At least it paid well. The skills she possessed were in
short supply, as most technicians of fire were natural risk-takers. They'd
wander into giant spider dens or labyrinths full of undead, and then have the
nerve to die? What folly. All their years of knowledge lost, but lucky for her
the seductive appeal of fire's destructive power meant there was always new
learners ready to take their first steps into her domain. Her shop was full of
scrolls, tomes, and enchanted items she had designed herself - always working,
always busy, always creating something new and unique.

    The tinkling of a bell signalled a customer had arrived, and she rolled her
eyes as she stood from her repose and headed downstairs. She took her time, as
she trusted the enchantments she'd crafted to prevent thievery. Besides, no use
rushing herself if they were planning on browsing.

    But they weren't browsing. As she rounded the corner at the bottom of the
stairs, she locked eyes with the paladin she'd fought that moss troll with a
few months ago. He gave a small wave, and she wondered what he was looking for.
A worker of the will of the watchers within rarely had use for scrolls or
tomes, as their divine magic was orthogonal to the arcane craft she specialized
in. Must be an enchanted item then - A sword perhaps? Or maybe a belt of
strength to help his vigor during his fasts. "Hello again, how may I help you?
I'm afraid I have forgotten your name, I'm Aldi Prelat." He bowed his head
slightly, and said "Velathrim. But you didn't forget, you just never asked."
"How may I help you Velathrim?"

    "I've got a job for you. Would you like to grab a drink with me?"

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    She tried to protest. She wanted nothing to do with a job offered by an
adventurer. She liked the cosy abode she'd built for herself in the city of
Sorenthal, and who'd watch her shop anyway? Certainly not Genvalzi - that's
another thing, who'd care for her draggen? No way is she draggin' him along.
Yet here she sat, in the tavern down the street, as Velathrim regaled his story
of woe and despair or some-such. Truth be told she wasn't really listening -
what point was there when she already knew she'd decline? Yet on he went,
something about a dryad gone mad or some-such thing. He was smart to come to
her around lunchtime. Free food is just that, and who'd decline a meal in this
economy?

    The steaming bowl of oatmeal, barley, carrots and cheese placed before her
was intoxicating. Her Scurry ancestry gave her a predeliction for grains and
roots, and a light dusting of cheese flakes truly completed any meal. She
scarfed it down in quick deliberate nibbles, a single long procession from bowl
to stomach. Once Velathrim seemed to finish his description of the task he was
recruiting her for, she fired off the question she'd been saving. "Why me?" He
blinked, then said "Well... Because you're a pyromancer. We're planning on
facing mostly manikins, and with my holy blessings and your fiery acumen, we'd
have more than enough to overcome any challenge we may face."

    He wasn't wrong. Necromancy as an discipline is often weak to fire - the
dead burn to ash much easier than beings of flesh. And the blood soaked vines
animating the skeletal remains of animals and men are burnt much the same,
though at least those you could hack to pieces. Bones pounded or burnt to dust,
and vines chopped or crisped with flame. It's true she was a perfect fit, but
something still held her. Was it fear that gripped her insides? Who wouldn't be
afraid of the dreamless sleep brought by the twisting tendrils of mort... But
there was something else. "I'm sorry, but I cannot come." Velathrim was
disappointed, and he tried several more times to convince her. "There'll be
more than enough treasure to cover the time away from your shop." "With you
along, the danger is significantly reduced." "We'll post guards at your shop to
help prevent robberies."

    "We'll compensate you with rubies and access to the guild library." That
one caught Aldi's attention, but it still wasn't enough. She'd carved a life
for herself in this city of replete opportunity, and the enchantments she'd
placed on her shop kept her safe. Out in the wilds, she'd be vulnerable, and
she didn't savor the idea of facing undead monsters. They weren't true undead,
of course, those only existed in terror tales for the children. But you'd be
forgiven for making that mistake, as most people do, because the animated bones
chittered with a strange semblance of anti-life. True they were animate, but
there wasn't some dark soul enshrined within those inert bones. Rather it was
the magic of a necromancer projecting their will into an easily mapped
receptacle. Everyone has a skeleton inside of them (spooooky), so it just made
sense to use one as a puppeted form.

    Manikins were different, though, as they weren't animated with necromantic
energy. Instead it was nature magic, conjuring and sending forth vile vines to
possess a will-less victim. They also exhuded spores of dreamless sleep, which
you could resist with enchantments of vigor and energy, ideally from either
fire or air magic, respectively. You can find a way to manifest any magical
effect you'd like using any school of magic, but sometimes it just makes more
sense to take the easy route. Some elements are just more suited to certain
effects, and the enchantment is less delicate when you follow elemental lines.

    "You seem lost in thought. Are you reconsidering?" Velathrim looked hopeful
and his eyes betrayed his desire for her aid. But Aldi was unmoved. "No. I
already told you no, and I'm not changing my mind." He seemed dissapointed, but
also as if he had prepared for this outcome. "Very well, can we at least peruse
your shop? We could have need of magical assistance." "Of course you can. I'll
even throw in a discount, such that I don't take any profit. Listen, I
understand your plight, and I know how much I'd be able to help you. But I just
won't come, and that isn't changing. But I would like to help you - we're all
safer when you adventurers come back alive."

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    When Velathrim returned the next day, he brought with him several
levy-retainers. Gathered from the countryside as part of the kingdom's taxes,
they weren't that great in a fight - but they could hold magical items pretty
well, and luckily for Aldi they brought a heavy purse. One of the benefits of
working for the guild was ample funds for magical protection.

    The first thing they picked up was a flamewreath. A simple ivy circlet
enchanted with a reactive enchantment that lashed out whenever the bearer was
threatened. It only took two fire gems to create, so she let them have it for
cheap - the design of the enchantment was the hardest part anyway, so she could
create a new one with ease. She had to attune it to the violent intents of
others around the bearer, so not only did it require a sensing charm but also
a deciphering matrix. And that was just for the targeting side. The flame lash
effect was somewhat of a specialty of hers so that part wasn't difficult, but
affixing it to a headpiece was tricky - in order to keep the sparks out of the
eyes of the wearer, she had to rotate the whip at a right angle, causing it to
lash out sideways. Once she worked that out it was easy enough to fabricate.
The downside was it had a propensity for lighting the wearer's hair on fire, so
she recommended it to be worn on-top of a metal helmet.

    The second object they chose was a glass ring with a fire gem affixed on
top. Only one fire gem to make, but it had essentially unlimited charges for
all intents and purposes. All it did was create an inch-long beam of focused
flame for cutting ropes or... Vines, she supposed.

    Next they took a rune-etched stone bearing the soul of a bound fire
elemental. Small enough to perch on your shoulders, it granted a minor fire
resistance bonus (enough to keep from burning it's master on it's perch) and
when given a command word, it'd throw darts of flame at whoever you pointed at.
This one was more pricy at ten fire gems, as artificial life was always more
difficult to conjure. It required either an investment of will, as temporary
summoning spells afforded, or large amounts of magical gems, infused with the
essence of an element. She made her own fire gems in the back-room with a
massive furnace and the blood of the earth. Rubies worked best of course, but
it was possible to enchant agate, garnet, or zircon stones with the same
process. Afterwards you could process them by grinding them to dust and
melting the dust into a purified form. A few successive cycles of this and you
were left with a fine powder that could be dissolved in the purest water and
slowly dripped onto a platter. When the water evaporated, a crystal would
slowly form. But why go through the trouble when rubies were in ample supply?

    They gathered a few more miscellaneous supplies, including several fire
swords (much cheaper than the similarly named _flame_ swords) and a few
dragonheart helmets for morale (dragonsblood not included). They also took a
wand of arcane dismissal (fifty charges), and a codex of several minor
prestidigitation charms. She didn't write that one, it was part of a loaner
program several wizard shops in the city had come up with - every book sold
gives half of it's revenue to the author, and half to the storekeep who sold
it. Helps standardize the resources available for sale and massively cuts down
on the effort required to stock books (don't have to write and print them
yourself!) but it also created a bit of competition as the would-be authors
fought over prime shelf space in the most trafficked stores. Aldi always
reserved the foremost spots for her friend Vez to give her a bit more
publicity, and in return she stocked some of Aldi's candle-wisps at her own
store.

    Gathering their newly purchased supplies, the adventurers departed.

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    Velathrim had one last stop to make. After equipping his levy-retainers at
Aldi's place, they visited his favorite blacksmith Barry. They bought several
large tower shields and machetes. He also invested in thick heavy gauntlets for
his retainers, and a conical steel helmet for the flame-wreath bearer. After
that they visited the arcanist Venezra Lilacbloom. She specialized in water,
nature, and death magic, with a focus on alchemy and botany. As a paladin he
was immune to poisons and disease, both of which were common when engaging
spirits of the forest like dryads. More-so when they're enthralled with death
magic, as he assumed this one to be. But his retainers weren't so lucky, and
he wanted to find some elixirs that would fortify their constitution and help
keep them upright should they be afflicted.

    The shop was located at the edge of town, near one of the large stormdrain
entrances. The water that flowed out of these things was often putrid and vile,
suffused as it was with all the refuse and expulsions of the city. However the
water from this drain flowed clean, perhaps due to the effulgence of life that
the arcanist cultivated in the cavernous pipes leading further into the city.
Towering stalks of bright orange and green, with all manner of mosses and fungi
covered the entryway and sevveral feet beyond - how they grew with so little
light and soil was beyond the paladin, but evidently Venezra had figured out a
method or process to it.

    She offered several flasks full of potent magical concoctions, and though
a bit pricier than the discounts at Aldi's they still were necessary and
valuable. Several healing potions, fortification elixirs, and most importantly
energy salves. Created by infusing a mild steroid and a strong stimulant into
some kind of paste, they should prove to be useful against the sleep inducing
spores of the creeping dreamvines that animated the manikins. Something tugged
at the back of Velathrim's mind urging him to prepare for more than just a
single type of monster, but they had no further information beyond the manikin
attacks in nearby villages. He knew there was a local legend of some kind of
crystal orb granting powers over ice, but that isn't much to go off of.
Besides, they had some fire equipment from Aldi which should help with any
ice problems they encountered. But without further information he was at a loss
for how to prepare.

    Before they left, he needed a new horse.

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