Chapter 16

MAY 30TH IN TRELLECH

V itus was, honestly, only half paying attention to the conversation at the start. He’d spent the afternoon at Magistra North’s workshop, talking through the problem of lapis lazuli and illusions with Thessaly. The actual conversation had been extremely informative.

Vitus brought several samples of different grades of lapis with him. Niobe’s lectures on the topic had been exceedingly thorough, and he’d also made excellent notes at the geological specimen collections he’d visited over the past few years. Vitus had taken pages of notes, but also come away with several samples of Thessaly’s work, all carefully layered into a folder with sheets of protective paper between them.

He was supposed to decide which he’d like embedded into fabric and provide a suitable outfit for it. The one he’d worn for the gala would do once Mama picked out the amethyst work and pieced in something suitable for the base for the illusion work. Thessaly had made it clear she wasn’t intending to charge him for anything other than the materials. That would involve some lapis that would become powder, but he’d expected that. The best way to make something seem real was to anchor it in reality, after all. Once the illusion was set, he’d be able to call it up again with a little more powdered stone.

It would give him an excellent excuse to call again, though perhaps not until after Solstice. It had become clear during the conversation that Magistra North was tolerating his visit as a useful educational moment, but that Thessaly had limited time for such endeavours. The time wasn’t a problem, there wasn’t another masked ball until autumn. Costumes could so often get too warm and unwieldy in the summer months.

They hadn’t had time for any private conversation, and Vitus kept telling himself that was entirely to be expected. And for all Thessaly had made it clear she was not letting herself be limited by gossip, he was still entirely wary of someone objecting on her behalf. That was a problem he absolutely didn’t need. He already had more than enough challenges to be going on with.

So, apparently, did other people, because Vitus caught a snippet of a complaint. “I still don’t understand why it didn’t work. It was splendid on Thursday. Then, when I was demonstrating it last night, nothing worked properly. It was as if all the magic were drained out, and when I tried to replenish it, that too drained out like nothing I’ve seen.”

That sort of comment was quite common in the Stream’s conversation rooms. Salmon House was known for people not only with many skills, wide-ranging skills, but also a desire to tinker constantly. Normally, though, the experimentation wasn’t so ardently mechanical. Vitus cleared his throat, turning around to the people just behind him who’d been talking. “Pardon, I couldn’t help overhearing. Perhaps explaining it to someone else might help? I find that in my own work.”

Two women and two men stood there. He didn’t know any of them entirely by sight. Vitus thought that one pair - a dark-haired man and woman maybe six or seven years older than he was, going into their middle thirties - must be Olivia and Oscar Hemmings. They were twins who’d been the scourge of several teachers at Schola. They were also the reason for about thirty specific rules about what not to do in Salmon House proper or with the provided materials. They were apparently responsible for at least half Professor Marrington’s hair being pure white.

He made a slight bow. “Vitus Deschamps. Recently returned from the Continent and finishing my apprenticeship with Magistra Niobe Hall.”

The four of them nodded, and the other man stuck out his hand. “A few years behind me, then. Marius Collins. You know of the Hemmings. I suspect everyone does, even if you’ve not been properly introduced. They were travelling before you were. This is Aline Holder, enchantments.”

Olivia grinned, the sort of sharp grin that put people on notice. “Oscar and I find our hands in all sorts of particular novel problems. Marius is working on some devices to better detect poisons in the water from industrial processes. He’s hoping to bring it to the Council and the Ministry for broader deployment.”

“If I can get it to work reliably.” Marius looked entirely beleaguered. “The most recent trials have been going swimmingly. We’ve been able to verify the results through other methods. The device is meant to be much faster, and allows us to pinpoint the source of problems so that the proper people can go in and take steps.”

Vitus considered for a moment. “That is the sort of thing that Council Head Rowan is interested in, I know that. And Council Member Warren, too.” There’d been a number of pieces in the Trellech Moon about that. It was a particular focus of his. “Where were you testing it successfully, and where did it have problems?”

“It’s been quite solid approaching cities. We did some trials around Sheffield, at different distances.” Something in the way Vitus had gone about the question had apparently been reassuring to Collins. “And then some in London, though of course, London has its own complications. And some here in Trellech, to confirm that it would work when there was a great deal of magic in the vicinity.”

That answered a question Vitus had been about to ask. Substantial magic, whatever form it took, could warp magical devices if you weren’t quite careful. “Schola island?”

“A few quirks to the results, but within norms.” Marius folded his hands behind his back, the sort of gesture people made when they were inclined to gesticulate and knock things over. Lucas did it, when he was trying to be proper or when there were delicate objects about. “That’s what made today so frustrating. It was if all the ordinary rules of magic stopped working, at least for a little.”

“May I ask where you were testing?” Vitus said.

“Out in Sussex, the southern Weald.” Marius shrugged. “And I can’t think why it would have changed there.”

Vitus tilted his head. “The Weald’s an odd place, magically. It remembers being a forest, for one thing, and, blast, what’s the word?” He searched back through his memory. This was not made easier by the fact he was fairly sure the last time he’d discussed it was in French, and rather in passing. “Anticline.” At the last moment, he managed to give it the English pronunciation.

“Pardon?” That was Oscar.

“Anticline. That’s the name for the formation. It runs through the Weald across the Channel to Dover. Unusual landscape, and a number of magical implications.” Vitus blinked several times. “Pardon. I’ve just been terribly esoteric, haven’t I?”

“Yes.” Three of the four of them said it in unison, with Aline trailing by half a beat.

Vitus tried to gather himself. “Um.” That was not gathered at all, that was far too close to imitating a gaping fish, and The Stream had plenty of other fish already, in a variety of forms. “I’m a talisman maker.” The twins twigged to it fairly quickly, and he added for the others. “Knowing the geology of where the stones come s from sometimes matters a great deal. And I am just back from seeing an awful lot of mines and mineral specimens, as well as the insides of dozens of workshops and such.”

Marius made a small understanding noise. “All right. So what’s different about the Weald? Or wherever we actually were. We’d taken the train to Littlehampton, then horses north, I don’t know, eight or ten miles up the Arun?”

“I know the land there a bit,” Vitus considered. “My family is a client family of the Fortiers. The bigger parties, you know, or the times we can be useful.” He got an uncertain nod from Marius and Aline, but the twins were more familiar with how that worked. It made him guess that the other two came from backgrounds not so tied into the Great Families. “Tell me more about what happened?”

“The readings looked like they were what we expected nearer the coast, but then something, I don’t know, changed. And the whole thing went haywire, and then it stopped working. Do you really think it was the ground underneath, or the rock, or whatever?”

“I think it’s worth doing the work to check it out. Compare where your device has worked, look at the geology there. Or, I don’t know. Where the portals are. Maybe someone opened a portal at just the wrong time. The Arundel portal would be, what, a mile or two, depending where you were.”

Marius got a very thoughtful expression. “That’s a lot of work, but it’s at least somewhere to start, which is more than I had when I got here. Look, let me buy you a drink? Do you have time to chat a bit more? What are you up to, then?”

A handful of minutes later, they’d claimed a table and chairs. Marius had bought a round of drinks for everyone, and they were comfortably tucked into sharing tidbits back and forth. None of them had answers to Vitus’s particular needs. They were all older, but in that ground where they were established in their fields, but not able to be notably generous with someone setting up. Except, that was, with their information. Olivia and Oscar shared a couple of names of people who might be interested in encouraging innovative talisman work - or at least starting with competent. Vitus felt he could offer competence within his scope.

From there, Vitus asked a bit about how they’d gone about establishing themselves. Now they were into a second round of drinks, all four were more relaxed. He got several excellent pieces of advice, about how to set up, how to talk about what he did and where. And also a pointer or two for thinking about rooms to let. Better yet, they shared a few stories of things that had gone wrong for them, or at least sideways, and recovering from them.

The conversation easily shifted from that into more general gossip, catching up on various stories while Vitus had been away. Olivia told a couple, then pursed her lips. “You’re enough younger, actually. Do you know anything beyond the public about Cyrus Smythe-Clive? Such a horrible thing.” Vitus tilted his head, because he wasn’t placing the name immediately. Olivia said, “No, then. Awfully tragic - actually, maybe you didn’t hear. Cyrus married Tanith Cooper.”

“Fox House, four years behind me.” Then he swallowed. “Oh. Mama wrote.” That came rushing back. It had been the sort of unthinkable news that got shared for kind reasons and because people liked to share misery. Though in Mama’s case, it had been so Vitus didn’t offend at some later point.

“They seemed thrilled, wonderfully happy. And she died, leaving him and their just-born daughter. Horrible time. Our families know each other fairly well, though of course Cyrus and Andie are enough younger, we’re not friends, exactly.” Olivia shivered visibly. “That it could come on so quickly, and his sister apprenticing as a Healer, even.” She took a sip of her drink before going on. “He’s just thrown himself into who knows what. Immersing himself in something. No one sees him, even allowing for mourning, which, of course, he’s got every right to do.”

Vitus considered, thinking about who he knew. Thessaly would have overlapped with him, actually, and in Fox House, though he’d have to check the years. “I might know someone to ask. Does anyone have any sense of how the daughter’s doing?” They’d married very young - both of them still in their apprenticeships. But Tanith had been a brilliant alchemist, the sort who got listed in any number of the top alchemists of their generation. Besides the human loss, that she’d been loved, that was something Albion couldn’t afford. Creative alchemists were rare.

Three of the four shook their heads, but Aline offered a quiet comment. Vitus had noticed she didn’t speak unless she had something purposeful to say. “At home with a nursemaid. But the Coopers are apparently, well, they think he’s not fit to raise her, and they should have the chance. It hasn’t come to anything before the Courts yet. But my Mama knows a cousin of the Coopers, Nimby Wallace, and I gather it’s partly because they’re making sure everything’s utterly in order. Not the sort of play you get a second chance at legally.”

Vitus nodded. He’d ask Papa more about that. He might know something about it. While Papa’s work focused on the business side of things, and for excellent reason, knowing about the interpersonal feuds was absolutely essential. “I’ll ask the person who might know when I get a chance. It might be a fortnight or more. She’s got obligations for Solstice.”

“Well, so do many of us.” That got the conversation aimed in a much more genial direction. Marius had a booth at the Midsummer Faire to demonstrate some of his other devices. Olivia and Oscar were giving a lecture there on mending charms for unusual circumstances. In the end, the five of them planned to meet up at the Faire, at the least, and perhaps regularly after that. Vitus took himself off home feeling rather pleased with the day all in all. If he did not have solutions for his problems, he had at least made more connections who might help in time. And good company in several forms was a definite joy.