[RAW]Hearthomancy -- Chapter 4

Last part!  Tomorrow I'll start posting up Apocalypse Innkeeper.  Let me know your thoughts, glad you've been enjoying things so far!

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Chapter 4

We had to resist the urge to sigh in relief as we crossed the boundary for my lair, the manor’s mana washing over us like a warm rush of power.  Lorelei practically melted in her seat, her form sinking through the upholstery.

Stopping the truck, I got out and pulled a stake of scrap wood on the back.  I walked to the boundary, feeling it via the flow of mana, before planting the stake and wrapping the top in bright blue electrical tape.

I’d have to probably mark out the boundaries of my lair eventually, but it was good to know where I’d be crossing over when I entered and exited the property.

Lorelei was tapping her fingers against the dash.  She was slowly mastering her form, control when she was solid versus intangible.

“Lorelei was the name of the woman who lived here,” she said as we drove down the driveway, the house just coming into view.

“Lorelei Ganlts.” The spirit closed her eyes.  “She was the daughter of Patrick Ganlts, the local lumber baron, a businessman who owned a dozen sawmills around the county.  Rootwood Manor was built using timber from his mills, the finest house outside of Philadelphia, or at least that’s what people around her used to claim.”

“I must have inherited her memories, her figure, her face when I was summoned,” the spirit continued as we came to a stop in front of the house.  “I know I’m not her, I’m something new, but her love for this house, the place she spent her entire life, still gives me form, you know?”

She drifted back through the car door to stand in front of the manor.

Spreading her arms, I felt the mana around us surge.

With a resounding crack, like thunder, the area shook.  All the dirt, the grime, and the dead vines that had been hanging off the front of the house fell away, revealing the ancient, rotten siding and crumbled stucco.

Lorelei turned to me and smiled.  “I am Lorelei, hearth spirit of Rotwood Manor.  Together, with my master, we will see this house restored.  We’ll make it shine once again.”

“Yes, yes we will.’  I reached into the back of my truck and pulled out a large, wooden crate.

Its contents clinked loudly as I set it on the ground. “But first things first, we need to make some money.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

“So you’ve never actually done this yourself?” Lorelei asked.

“Nope, but I watched plenty of videos on YourTube,” I answered as I pushed through the woods, following the trail of water mana that the hearth spirit had detected.  “Besides, everyone has got to start somewhere, this will be a good way to earn my initial Proficiency for collecting and bottling mana.”

It took another few minutes of trudging through the undergrowth, but we found a small, rocky creek tumbling through the woods.  I could feel the mana around us, meaning we were still on the property, we hadn’t accidentally wandered out of bounds.

Briefly, I wondered if the borders of my lair matched the actual property lines, the recordings in the county’s assessor's office.  Hearth magic wasn’t particularly popular, most mystical practitioners preferred more explosive, splash magic. The bits and pieces I had picked up had been from a dozen different sources, none of them particularly reputable.

Still, I had bound myself to the manor, so that part had paid off.  I just hoped the next part worked.

Finding a clear spot by the side of the creek, I opened the crate and pulled out a mana collection bottle.

It wasn’t much to look at, just a clear glass container formed into a cylinder with a plastic screw on lid.  Each one would hold about twenty thaums of mana, enough to cast a basic enchantment or power a simple magical device for a few hours.

“Thaums?” Lorelei repeated.

I pulled out my grimoire and flipped to the pages I needed.  “It’s the equivalent to about one-hundred MP of mana, the cost of the most basic spells.  Think of it as a measurement of potential, how much magic can you do with this much raw mana.”

Bottled mana was always in high demand.  It was used in enchanting and crafting fields.  It could be refined down and turned into potions for a variety of purposes.  Wizards with the right Proficiencies could drain bottled mana like batteries, using them to power their spells.

And one of the things that hearthomancy excelled at was bottling mana.

Lorelei leaned over my shoulder as I reviewed my notes.  I hadn’t spent much time communing with Rootwood Manor’s mana, but I could feel it all around me.  Water mana, cold and sleek, flowed through the creek next to me.  All I had to do was reach out, extract the raw mana, and place it into the container.

I ducked one of my hands into the water while I held the container with the other.  I couldn’t help but shiver; the water was icy cold.  Reaching out to that chilly feeling, I tried to follow my notes, allowing the power to flow through me and into the container.

Nothing happened.

“Right, Rome wasn’t built in a day,” I grunted as I sat in a more comfortable position.

I must have sat there for two hours, constantly trying to grasp a hold of the water mana.  But each time I thought I had it, I felt it slip through my fingers, trickling back into the creek.

Lorelei floated around me, watching, not saying a word.

Finally, frustrated, I pulled my hand out of the water, rubbing it against the hem of my shirt, trying to get feeling back in my numbed fingers.

Mana Detection has reached Lvl 3!

“You were close,” the hearth spirit suddenly said.  “I could almost see it, the mana flowing through your hand, up your arms, and into the jar.”

She drifted closer.  I could feel my skin prickle as she touched my still chilled fingers.  “Can I try and help you this time?”

Together, we dipped our fingers into the creek.

This time, I could feel the mana readily respond to me, to us.  It flowed up my arm, through my chest, and down my opposing arm.  Slowly, the bottle filled with bright, blue essence.

Proficiency Mana Bottling unlocked!

Allows users to extract and preserve ambient mana for later use.  The element and quality of the mana depends on the location the mana is extracted from.

Higher levels of this Proficiency allow greater amounts of mana to be extracted and at higher quality.

I quickly screwed the lid on the jar, lest in our excitement we spilled any.

“That was amazing!” Lorelei cheered, wrapping her arms around me.

I couldn’t help but grin, wrapping one arm around her back while I hoist my first jar of bottled mana overhead.  “Here’s to the future of Rotwood Manor!”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It was nearly dark by the time we walked out of the woods. The crate I was carrying was loaded with full mana bottles, they glowed a soft share of blue.

“Master, are you sure you need to leave?” Lorelei said.

I nodded. “It’s Brent, and yeah, I need to sell these bottles ASAP.  They start to lose potency if they sit for too long.”

A guy I had gone to high school with did a bit of alchemy on the side, creating potions and whatnot.  I had reached out to him a few weeks ago, when the idea of purchasing Rotwood Manor had first entered my mind.  He had promised to buy anything mana bottles I had for a decent price.

I imagined his head would explode when I showed him what I had.

Mana Bottle (Full)

Contains 20 Thaums of water mana (Pure)

Pure mana was hard to come across naturally.  Most of the time alchemists had to refine bottled mana, distilling it till it was ready to be used as an ingredient.

If I was lucky, even if the guy didn’t want to buy the entire box, he’d know someone who did.  The money I raised via mana bottling would go right back into Rotwood Manor,