Chapter 189: Flirting with Fire

  I ehe bath to find Zyna lounging in the recessed tub, deeam wafting off the surface. Only her shoulders were visible above the water through the haze, but hints of her generous chest peeked just uhe surface. I wasn’t bashful, and strangely, the first question was, “How did you heat the water?” I hadn’t seen a way to heat the water and was curious. I had po use my thermal stone.

  The High Mage ughed softly. “Fire mage, remember? I would ask you to join me, but the water is hot enough to boil a sausage,” she said good-naturedly as her eyes wandered over me.

  I assumed she had some spell to protect her from the heat. I probably should have left and e back when she was finished, but since she didn’t seem upset at my presend there was aboo about nudity, I leaned against the wall to tihe banter. “Thank you for the cookbook.” I wondered if she would bring up the assessment table in our versation.

  The mage smiled, her full lips turning up into a smirk. “It is such a waste of dungeon resources to cook a dungeon’s harvest for the mage aspirants. I also assumed you were ignorant of their true value, but since you stored your harvest in your dimensional space...” She drifted off while smirking.

  “So you expect me to cook for you too?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Is this some sort of payment for the armor?”

  Zyna tittered cheerily, “If you wish. Ignis is the best armorer in the Imperial Legion. It is a travesty that many legionnaires don’t want their armor made by a graying old woman.”

  I wondered if the old smith art of their spiracy. “She said you fouhirty years ago?” I asked as the steam settled some, revealing the outline of her body beh the water. I had to remind myself that the Telhians did not shy from exposing themself, but it was hard not to have my eyes drift. Zyna seemed to like the attention.

  “How old do you think I am?” Zyna’s smile evaporated, and I sensed a trap.

  “Thirty?” I guessed immediately to a hearty ugh from the fire mage that rippled the water. I recalled she had told us her true age when she joined us to hunt the summoner—but you always guessed much lower.

  “I kneould get along! No, I am eighty-four. When you do well for the Emperor, he grants you favors.” The water heated again, and steam hid her submerged features. I think she hoped I would be disappointed, but I remained impassive.

  “So, one of these favors is you remain forever young? Doesn’t seem like a bad deal to me.” I was fused as to why Zyna art of the treason. She had been raised to a First Citizen by the Emperor, and she had eternal youth bestowed on her by him.

  She signed heavily and sidered her words carefully. “I may have the body of me in my prime, but the Eternal High Mage just turn the clock bay physical form, not my mental state.”

  Realization flooded me. The Emperor was three hundred years old mentally and ruling an Empire. Then I cursed myself, getting angry but not showing it. I had selected slow aging, hoping to live a dozen lifetimes. I fucked up choosing that spell form if my mind was going to turn to mush with the turies. “So, there is no way to mediate the degradation of your mind or the mind of the Emperor. How far gone is he?”

  Surprise crossed her features, and I momentarily prepared to defend myself as I sensed Zyna eliher and a spell f uhe water, but she released her hold. I don’t think I was supposed to know about the Emperor or his promised state.

  “Yes. My mind is going. Maybe ahirty or forty years before the deterioration starts to get bad. There is no cure.” She looked me over in nereciation. “You are smarter than you look. The Emperor’s mind has long expired. With some stamina potions and a few mental essences, he remain lucid for a day or two befressing again. But the effects diminish every time. If you voice this versation beyond these walls, you will find yourself dead,” she said ominously. Her eyes glowed red briefly to reinforce the warning. With her flirtatious nature gone, I was finding out I was not as safe as I assumed.

  I sidered broag the topic of the tablet reader, but I had too many other questions. “Why are you all not ed that I am an otherworlder?”

  She rexed into the tub, the tension lifting some. “Think you are special?” She grinned knowingly. “It is believed everyone on Desia is desded from an otherworlder. Our aors were brought here by the Titans in the past to serve them. The arrivals have slowed over the millennia but are not infrequent. You o realize the Telhian Empire is just a tiny er of Desia. Bloated, naked bodies will wash up itently along the coast, and they are not from shipwrecks but unfortunate people brought here in the middle of seas.” She raised herself slightly, showing the top of her chest. She was no longer flirting and just getting fortable.

  “What causes it, and I go home?” I pushed off the wall and stepped forward, anxious about the possibility of going home.

  “No one knows. The popur theory is there are artifacts buried deep in the earth he ley lines by the titans that get saturated with aether over time and activate itently.” Zyna stood, stepping out of the tub, her body steaming. I tried to keep my eyes up, but they may have drifted. She defiantly looked half her age, and her body appeared fit.

  She ed herself in a toga, making to leave the bath to me. I asked one of many pressing questions. “ you e an affinity essend physical esse the same time?”

  The topic ge had a fused expression crease on Zyna’s face. She had probably thought I would tinue asking about other worlders. As her expression rexed, she answered, “It is generally accepted to wait a day between ing essences uhey are the same type. Then you e one an hour until you exhaust your body reserves.” Her forehead creased in thought, “I have a friend in the Research College. He would know better than I.”

  By her look, I could tell she had puzzled out that I had essences and maybe was curious about what I might have, but she didn’t press. She started to walk out toward her bedroom. “Draiub when you are finished. Should I call for a meal from the kits?” Her hopeful toold me she was seeking my dungeon harvest.

  “I’ll prepare something for you,” I replied, agreeing to cook. I o be cautious about how often I did this, as I believed she was unaware of how much food I had in my dimensional space. Even though we were allies, the more they uimated me, the better it was. I would have to thank Castile for ying the groundwork by suggesting I had average imprinted spell forms. They didn’t realize just how high my affinities were.

  I was surprised they hadn’t forced me in front of a reader. Maybe, as Zyna said, I was not that special in their eyes; I was just another person with a few spell forms but without the ability to bee a true mage.

  I showered briefly in cold water, soaked iill-hot recessed tub, and then dressed in fortable clothes I bought in the capital before we marched for Sobral. The pantry was still empty, and I would eventually need more ingredients. While ing, I discovered a thermal stone embedded inside an oven and stovetop. At least I could leave my thermal stone in my space.

  Dinner was mashed purple potatoes with medium rare bear steaks. I brought Zyna a pte to the sitting room where she was reading and obviously waiting. She took the pte, cut off a k, and chewed. A throaty, sensual-sounding moan of pleasure echoed from her. She scooped the pin potatoes aed her pleasure.

  “You have no idea how this tastes to a High Mage, Eryk.” She had called me by my name, which was a good sign for our retionship, but paused to chew some more. “It is like you never realized you were hungry until you actually start eatiher-rich food. It has been too long since I enjoyed something this fresh from a dungeon.”

  “I could do a better job preparing the food if I had a full pantry,” I stated.

  Through mouthfuls, she answered, “Write down what you need. You are not leaving the Mage College to go into the city. As I said, it is for your own prote. I will have porters who service the Mage College get you what you need.” She then ignored me while she ate, quickly dev the meal and clearly surprised and disappointed when it was gone.

  Zyna reed, her hands oomach as I had prepared a legion-sized portion. “ I walk the Mage College grounds then?”

  “Not yet. After your Imperial armor is finished, and you have attended a few csses with me. I want the other instructors and students to know you are mihat way, they will not cause you trouble. Most of the students here are the children of First Citizens or reted to them. You be sure you already have enemies within the walls, whether by your previous as or being my bodyguard.” Zyna stood, ready to leave with the book she had been reading.

  “So, I am trapped in your apartments until then?” I said, a little irritated. There had been half a dozen small libraries in this tower alone. Although I couldn’t make use of the books, adding them to the amulet for future review would be useful.

  Zynga smirked knowingly but was off target on her assumption, “Don’t worry. I will find a reason to punish Renna, Flora, and Livia to e here iernoons.” Her expression and tone ged. Maybe she thought I was rejeg her in favor of Renna? “Perhaps as a return courtesy, you will not waste too much of the dungeon harvest on them.”

  It looked like she was doh me for the evening, but I had anging question that I needed answered for peaind, “Will the tablet reader table be a problem?”

  Her eyes lit up, “The a elven reader in your room? An iing piece of history from Caelora. Did you know the First Legion artificers were the first to create the readers, and the other kingdoms and races copied them?”

  “Yes. Someoold me that.” I said cautiously, recalling what Raelia told me in the dungeon.

  “If you transported the table, it demonstrates you have an impressive size. Makes me question how big you actually are.” She smiled at my disfort, not because of her obvious innuendo but because I wao keep my secrets.

  The moment hung. “Castile spoke highly of you, and from our time together hunting the summoner, I agree with her assessment. Step lightly and watch your words around Antonia aher agents. She will act if she siders you a threat to our pns.”

  I spent the en minutes writing out a shopping list. Zyna showed me how the rder had a heat sink stone in it. It was the opposite of the thermal stone and pulled the heat out of the air. It kept the room at a freezing temperature as long as the heat sink was charged with aether every other day. Then Zyo meet with Castile to prepare her for the esission.

  I was left alone, with only a few hours of daylight remaining. I felt more uain about using the dreamscape amulet now, but I would still use it for the time being. Even being caged as I was, it was the safest I had been during my eime in this world. Zyna’s warning about Antonia made me doubt my importao their pn—I was expendable, and it seemed like my involvement was merely a favor to Castile. It appeared their pn involved the Emperor and most likely included removing him from power. As long as I wasn’t involved in fronting the Emperor, I would be tent to py along.

  I settled in my bed, slidiween the silky weasel pelts. With a glowstone, I studied the book on cooking with dungeon ingredients. It stated freshness was the most important factor. Since dungeons were so close to ley lihe flora and fauna within were saturated with aether. The book touched on some on ingredients and how to prepare them. I paged through the book, stopping to read iing chapters.

  When I fihe book, it had other books to referen the back. All the books referenced preparing dungeon harvests. Most of the books dealt with alchemy ingredients found in dungeons. I khe 2000-year-old ginseng would eventually be extremely valuable. Tomorrow, I itted to ing the alchemy b. Hopefully, Zyna could get me some basic alchemy books so I could practice the basics.

  My path forward set, I ehe dreamscape after seg the door from the inside.

  ? Chted 2024, 2025 by AlwaysRollsAOne

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