There was a fundamental difference in how the Adventurers’ Guild operated in comparison to other major factions. It was a government organisation at its heart, even if everyone with wealth to spare had a hand in it. Its purpose was solely to protect the kingdom from monstrous and regional threats. While Alveron did have a standing army, it was generally just that. Standing. The army protected their cities, defended towns, and followed their lords in wartime. They were paid a salary and bound by contracts that could see them hanged for things like desertion. Adventurers were more like mercenaries, only they were paid upon completion of a request rather than in advance.

The Wizard’s Society on the other hand, was a private institution, brought about for all things magic. Their services were available to anyone that could pay for them. And it took a lot of wealth for most wizards to make it anywhere. He could see where that wealth had gone even in the reception hall. The front desk was of dark, polished wood. Gilded carvings etched scenes across the front as if from a tapestry: wizards casting powerful magic, felling armies, creating buildings.

Spellbooks, alchemical ingredients, potions of essence recovery, and artefacts—it all added up. And magic wasn’t something you could learn without guidance either. If you weren’t lucky enough to have a master, every aspect of becoming a wizard cost a fortune.

The Chosen were lucky. No, that was stupid. The Chosen were blessed, and the favour the gods gave them existed from their name day. Little could go wrong in their training. With the gods guiding their power through blessings and circles, there was little threat of backlash beyond fatigue.

But for wizards, one overzealous attempt at a spell you weren’t ready for could be the end. It took strict and dedicated study to learn to wield even the most basic of cantrips. Typically, a wizard’s foundation education lasted about ten years, before formally advancing from apprentice to a fully-fledged Rank 1 wizard. By that point, a wizard should have supposedly mastered basic cantrips for their affinities and be competent in a few Rank 1 spells. The true test of promotion was to perform a Rank 2 spell perfectly and consistently, or at least as close as a teenager could come. For Hump, that had been Rockshot. But he was fortunate to have had a master willing to train him for as long as he needed it.

A man looked up from the front desk and tugged skittishly at the sleeves of his robe. He looked to be around thirty. Hump noticed the medallion around his neck, marked with a focus crystal radiating essence—the Society’s sigil. For him to be working a job like this likely meant he had little talent. If one hadn’t manifested their soul by that age, chances were they never would.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“I hope so,” Vivienne said, striding up to the desk. “I am Wizard Vivienne Loresse, and I’ve come to Sheercliff to await council.”

The man frowned at her. “Very well. I need you to state your rank, along with your charges.”

Rank Five,” she said. “And I’d very much like to know the official charges myself.”

His eyes widened. “I-I see,” he stammered. “Just… would you give me a few minutes. Wizard Valorn is in office today. He’ll be more able to assist.”

“Excuse me,” Hump called, but the man scampered off before giving him the chance to speak. Hump sighed, he needed to sign up too.

Vivienne tapped her fingers on the desk. “This shouldn’t take long.”

“He definitely ran off in enough hurry.”

Vivienne smirked. “He did, didn’t he?”

Hump glanced over to the tall double doors to the left, the world Library above them. Through large glass windows he was able to see the large room inside, aisle upon aisle of books lined up.

“Do you think I can take a look inside while I wait? They won’t mind, will they?” He walked over, trying the handle, but it was locked.

She joined him, opening the doors without any trouble. “They’re sealed against anyone not from the Wizard’s Society. You need to possess a medallion to get in. See if you find anything that strikes your interest. Remember what we discussed.”

Hump nodded. He started to close the door behind him, then paused. Somehow he didn’t much like the idea of getting trapped inside, so he took out his canteen and used it to prop open one of the doors.

He glanced at Vivienne. “They won’t mind, will they?”

Vivienne snorted. “They’ve called to stand trial before a council. I don’t think it matters either way.”

Hump frowned at the any aisles of books, each one packed full. He and Vivienne had discussed what he should look for, but stepping inside, it didn’t feel the same. He might be buying from the very organisation that got his master killed. It didn’t sit right. At the same time, that was his emotions speaking. The logical side of him told him to take every advantage he could from the Wizard’s Society, and if he turned out to be correct about their hand in Master Seth’s fate, use that advantage to avenge him.

There was an index card attached to each aisle, and he searched through one hoping it might stand out to him. Bookcases eight through nineteen were all designated for spellbooks—a lot of books considering most were less than thirty pages long. He started from the beginning, quickly finding that almost three-quarters were dedicated to cantrips, many of which were duplicates. Each one was a single-use item, inscribed painstakingly by a wizard to store their intent and essence into each formation. He pulled off one that sounded vaguely useful, attempting to test for restrictions on the book in case he might be able to use his spellbook to record anything he wanted in the library.

There were restrictions. Which was probably for the best anyway. Each book was like opening two blocks of wood bound together.  A place with so much stored value was sure to have other protective wards in place, and getting caught trying to rob them would likely get him thrown in jail whether Countess Daston backed him or not.

The only pages he could actually read were the introductions. There wasn’t a smidge of content he could use to decipher the spell, just a description of its purpose and who it was suitable for. There was an enchantment over the rest of the pages that made them act as if they were glued together. Hump had seen it before. The binding made it so that even magical attempts to unbind it usually destroyed the spellbook. Only with the related artefact, likely at the front desk, could they easily be opened. Now that he’d seen the power of the Book of Infinite Pages, it made all the more sense. There must be good business in stealing and copying spellbooks.

Hump moved onto the rest of the collection. There wasn’t a huge selection of battle magic, and many of the spellbooks that were here were for spells he was already familiar with. He couldn’t find one for the Water Missiles spell that Vivienne had been trying to teach him, nor any earth or fire variants that would make the process of converting it himself much easier. There were some basic gravity manipulation spells, but even at a glance Hump realised they were far too mathematical for him. His master had tried to teach him some of the basics—it wasn’t going to happen. He had a look for Molten Stone in the Tier 4 section, but didn’t find it, soon realising that there wasn’t a single lava magic spell in the collection. At least, not in the unrestricted spells available to him, which were cut off at Tier 5.

Not that he couldn’t guess why. Fire was an already coveted affinity and highly regulated, and from what he’d experienced of its combination with earth magic so far, the effect was devastating.

There were a few earth spells that did tempt him however. Orbiting Shield combined a standard Shield with earth magic, creating a storm of stones around the caster. Useful for keeping an encroaching enemy back, but most of his spells were already more effective at close range anyway. Earthen Strength allowed the caster to draw power from the earth, becoming stronger, more durable, and heavier, though it seemed to be more suitable for internal wizards. Create Stone Golem fit the bill for some utility, which he and Vivienne had decided he needed desperately. At the same time, golems required a lot of essence and often an independent essence stone to draw power from, like the constructs in the academy.

And then there were a number of highly useful spells that any other earth wizard would have taken up in an instant. Stonewall and Shatterstone being the most interesting of the lot, the former being a far better control spell than Transform Earth, and the latter giving him a more precise destructive ability that could be used to manipulate terrain or blast it at the enemy. The thing was, Hump was pretty sure he could use The Book of Infinite Pages to figure these spells out anyway. He’d unlocked spells in the past by improvising with the abilities he already had, and it seemed likely that with some experimentation he could do it again. And right now, anything that could save him some coin would be a bonus.

Hump heard feet scuffling nearby and the same skittish man from the front desk approached, a friendly smile on his face. “Have you found anything that interests you?”

“A few things with potential, though not quite what I’m after,” Hump said. “I’m not used to having such a selection.”

Which was true. He and his master didn’t have many choices for spellbooks, as he’d always kept as far from the Wizard’s Society as possible.

“We’re rather proud of our stock here,” the man said. He extended a hand. “I’m Gorden Friss by the way.”

Hump took it. “Humphrey Woodrow.”

“Well if you’re looking for some inspiration, Humphrey, you may want to browse our catalogues. You are a member, aren’t you?”

“That was actually why I came today. I intended to purchase a new spellbook and sign up, so thought I’d slip into the library for a look while Wizard Vivienne got everything sorted.”

Gorden winced. “We’re not really supposed to allow that.” He cast a nervous glance at his manager, still speaking with Vivienne. “As you’re about to sign with us though, let’s not worry about it for today. Catalogues start on case twenty-three. I need to get a few things for Volorn, but if you still want to sign up I can help you with that afterwards.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Hump said. “Thanks Gorden.”

The man smiled. “Of course. Good luck with your search.”

Hump had looked through a few catalogues before, but they were usually for only the most typical paths a wizard could take. Spell lists for construction wizards, dockweavers, sailwinds, clerks, and other important but boring areas of study. They were broken down by affinity, helping young wizards pick out of the many fields.

But Hump already knew exactly what field he was going for. Battle magic. And searching through the affinity combinations, he found exactly what he was looking for. A Wizard’s Guide to Earth and Fire.

He’d not spent a huge amount of time considering the non-combative paths he had available to him, but flicking through the guide he quite liked the idea of being a smith. If not for the need for extreme physical strength that is. As Dylan had said, he didn’t quite have the figure for a squire, let alone a blacksmith...

There were three major offensive paths outlined. Obsidian that focused on lots of piercing attacks and terrain creation, metal being a more internal based specialty, and magma. The ability to turn the earth into molten rock and manipulate it like liquid. It made him excited, and a little afraid at what he could do with it. Fire was a horrible way to kill…

In the end, he settled on Burning Wisps as his next spell. It was Tier 3 and of the fire affinity, benefiting from a strong will and firm intent, two things Hump now felt more confident in than anything else. The caster could manifest fire constructs that could obey simple intent, acting as a floating torch or as seeking explosives. What really sold Hump was that it taught necessary fundamentals for the Tier 5 spell, Magma Grunts. A key defensive ability for lava wizards. Turns out, swaths of lava aren’t so useful when cast directly underfoot. The speciality was liable for friendly fire.

Hump went to find Gordon, taking the spellbook with him. The registration process was a simple one. He gave a soul reading, which was bound to a medallion, giving him access to some of the most basic facilities, namely laboratories and libraries. There was, however, a one gold fee.

One entire gold, just for a silver coated medallion. It was robbery, but Hump handed over the coin anyway. He’d known the cost going in and decided it was worth it. It was an odd feeling registering with a faction that might very well be hunting him for the murder of his master, but they’d made a decision. He wasn’t hiding. If they found him, he would face it.

 “Far superior to the Adventurers’ Guild, if you ask me,” Gordon said as he worked the artefact. “It’s almost impossible to fake these medallions.” Gordon handed him his medallion as if he hadn’t just robbed him.

Hump took it. “Only almost?”

“Well, one can never be certain, can they? Did you decide on a spellbook? Ah yes.” He took it. “Burning Wisps. That’s an interesting choice. I didn’t take you for a fire wizard.”

By that Hump knew he meant he didn’t look like he had the money to be a fire specialist. “Our recent quest paid well. I decided it was time to splurge.”

“Oh, you’re an adventurer are you?”

“That’s right.”

“Not for me that business,” he said. “I’m perfectly happy here, working away at my studies. Leave the monsters to the Chosen if you ask me.” He barked a laugh.

Hump smiled awkwardly, struggling to get a read on the man. He was nattering on pleasantly, but still tugging at his sleeves. “Well I grew up apprenticed to a hedge wizard. Didn’t have much choice.”

“I see. Well good luck out there. It looks like Wizard Volorn and Wizard Vivienne have finished, so I better get going. Always more paperwork to do, you know how it is.”

“Of course,” Hump lied. He absolutely didn’t know, and the very concept sounded miserable. “Appreciate the help.”

He joined Vivienne at the door and asked her, “How did it go?”

“Exactly as expected. I must wait here until my council decides to show up, however long that may be.” She saw his spellbook. “May I?”

He handed it to her.

“I’ve not heard of this one,” she said.

“It’s a Tier 3 fire construct spell,” Hump said. “All the battle magic I have currently requires me to have line-of-sight on my target. This one allows me to attack from afar, and they’d make good scouts next time we’re in a dungeon. I did not like being the main light source back in Bledsbury.”

She nodded, handing it back to him. “No, I should think not. And I think this was a good choice. You’ve got a strong soul, Hump. I know things aren’t entirely right with it right now, but training like this will do you good.”

“I hope so.” He caught sight of a pair of Chosen patrolling the streets, their armour bearing the sigil of Lady Light. Every one of them would hunt him down like a dog if they knew what he was. “I truly do.”