Luckily, he soon came upon a tall, imposing man with familiar dark curls graying at the temples and a salt-and-pepper beard.Hewas dressed in outdoor gear that was clearly worn from use, and his hair was longer than it had been a few months ago.The rugged mountain-man look suited him.
“There’s the little Pelumbra princeling,” Klaus announced as Kieran came to his side, trying not to pant too loudly from the exertion.That he’d somehow done this hike six months ago when he was cursed and dying was beyond him.
“Don’t worry,” Klaus added, “you haven’t kept me waiting too long.”
Kieran hadn’t been worried about that in the slightest, but whatever Klaus needed to think to stay happy was fine with him.“Good to see you, Klaus.Delilah says hi and hopes you’re doing well.”
“Did she say that?”His brown eyes lit up a bit.“How kind of her.You’ll have to let her know I echo the sentiment.”
“Of course.”Kieran smiled.Delilah hadn’t actually said that, but Kieran knew how to play to rich men’s egos.He’d watched his parents do it nonstop for nearly seventeen years.While luck had been a big part of the Pelumbra fortune and reputation, their charisma hadn’t hurt either.
“Well, no reason to wait around here.”Klaus used his walking stick to point off into the woods.“Come with me and I’ll explain everything on the way to the vein.”
Kieran nodded and followed the older man, doing his best to listen as he launched into an overly detailed description of his last six months of work.A solid amount of the lecture involved how he’d made himself comfortable and at home in the woods, which mostly amounted to the fact that he’d paid to have a cabin built near the vein.Kieran did the usual wow-how-great-that’s-wonderfulspiel while only half listening—at least until he moved on to the actual important part: the magic vein itself and its potential ability to create a panacea.
“While I know where it is,getting tothe magic is much more of a challenge,” Klaus explained.“It’s hidden underground, and anytime I get too close, the vein reacts by sending strange creatures after me.And while I’m quite adept at combat magic—obviously—I’m only one man versus a sentient magic vein and its myriad unpleasant creatures.”
Kieran glanced up—he’d been doing his best to watch his feet so he didn’t get caught in any roots or snowdrifts.“You think it’ssentient?”
“Very much so.There are mushrooms around it, and if you inhale their spores, you start hearing odd whispers.I’ve taken to inhaling them on purpose, and I’ve started to get much clearer communications.Mainly being told to stay away, but it’s a good start.”
Kieran blinked.What is the likelihood that Klaus is high on mushroom spores all the time rather than the vein actually being sentient?To be determined.
“The other issue,” Klaus continued, not stopping to read the horror written all over Kieran’s face, “is that I’m not the only one out here trying to convince the vein to let me near it.”
That caught Kieran’s attention.“Oh?”
“There’s a man named Elias Barclay who found out about it and has been nearly as tireless as me in trying to extract the magic,” Klaus grumbled.Kieran noticed a twitch in his jaw.“He’s the CEO of a company in the city—made a fortune off new andinventive magical cures for various illnesses.I suspect he thinks that if he can gain access to the panacea, he can add it to his list of products and double his profits.”
“It sounds like you don’t care for him much.”
“Not at all,” Klaus said, eyes narrowed.“On top of trying to steal the glory of my magical discovery, he’s also incredibly self-centered.Seems to enjoy the sound of his own voice over anything else.”
Kieran elected to ignore the irony of that statement.“Has he made any progress?”
“No more than I have.The only real move he’s made recently is hiring an assistant.Some kid from Shui City—I don’t even know his name.Seems to be more of a glorified bodyguard, if you ask me.”
As Klaus maneuvered over a fallen log, Kieran paused for a moment, boots crunching to a halt in the snow.“Humor me: You didn’t bring me along just to try to level the playing field with Elias now that he has an assistant, did you?”
“Of course not!”Klaus said, not looking back to see whether Kieran made it over the log or not.He simply pushed ahead, nearly snapping a tree branch into Kieran’s face by accident.“That’s absurd.I couldn’t care less about whatElias Barclaydoes.”
Kieran had to stop himself from laughing.Sure, Klaus.
“Well, enough about that—we’re almost there.”Klaus waved a hand ahead.“Brace yourself, Karen.This is powerful magic.”
“It’s actually pronouncedKieran—”
“Right, just as I said.Now, come along—we’ve business to attend to.”
Kieran hadn’t exactly known what to expect when they reached the vein, but it wasn’t the lush, summery tableau they came upon in the middle of the snowy forest.
Giant pinkish mushrooms stood tall at what must be triple Kieran’s height, colorful bunches of smaller mushrooms collected at their base.Strange midnight-purple dragonflies with eight wings flittered through air that was shimmery with mushroom spores.Bright-green moss covered the ground, and the snow on the trees around the edges of the vein was half melted: The branches that reached over the vein were still leafy while the others stood dormant and snow-dusted.It was like an eternal spring contained within a small strip of land.
As he stared, Kieran thought he saw a flicker of movement from the ground, but when he turned his head to examine it, it was nothing but mossy earth.Strange.
“Impressive, right?”Klaus put his hands on his hips as he surveyed the scene.“The way raw magic impacts the environment is fascinating.To think how powerful it will be once I tap into it…it’s dizzying.”
Kieran tore his gaze away from the moss and shot Klaus a sideways look.“How, exactly, do you plan to create a panacea once you’ve tapped the magic vein?Have you done it before?”
