After completing three more sets of seven Dwarven Copper rings, I decided to head back upstairs, and on the way, I got caught by Red on his way down to find me.

  “We may need to tweak a few things.” He said.

  “With what?” I asked as we both continued up the winding stairs.

  “Our combat enchantment rings. They may not be powerful enough.”

  Red and I made our way up to the main level, where there was a lot of discussion in the common room.

  What's happening Bella? I asked.

  The Town Criers are asking all citizens to return to their homes for the evening. Martial Law has been announced.

  Bella, please project my words to everyone in the shoppe.

  Go ahead, Gwydion.

  “The Duke has announced martial law. All guards, please report around the perimeter of the building and help keep peace and order. I apologize to those of you in your sleep period. We’ll see that you make it up. For now, everyone else, please go about your work. This does not come as a surprise to us. Julianna and her team are working on yellow cloth armbands to let soldiers know you are a part of the Special Services, so you will not get waylaid as you come and go from your homes if you are not staying here.

  “Keep our friends and families in mind. Biff will be leading the outer guard and may need to move about the city to offer services. Everyone else, please remain here. If you must send messages to your families, work through Bella and Simon. Thank you all, and keep up the good work. A lot of people are counting on us.”

  I nodded to Red, and we went back through the illusory pillar and made our way to the upper level, where some sleepy-eyed guards were making their way down to the main level and the exit. I let Red into my personal chambers, and we sat at the table near the doorway.

  Just as a reminder, the Gray Master will be joining you at closing tonight, so if you wish more time with forging, bear that in mind as you meet with Red. The guildmaster is planning to bring you the gift.

  Thanks, Bella.

  Looking at Red and getting used to having multiple conversations going at the same time, I said, “Thanks again for the extra ring molds. I put a few of them to good use today.”

  Red nodded. “Yes, I sent the irregulars out looking for them. I knew that as this grew, you would need lots more of them.”

  “Please continue to search for them. Specifically, we need ones that use 1:3 molds and 1:14 molds. It is a term Keelwell jewelers use to indicate how many rings can be made with a single ounce of metal. We use the 1:3 for the thicker gemmed rings for sockets and 1:14 for the standard rings that end up as Single Use Spell rings.”

  He made a note in his book that he carried around with him. “Is that an industry method?” He asked.

  “I don’t think so, just a convention here in the city. It stems back to some dispute between jewelers and metalsmiths a couple of centuries ago.”

  Red was a student of history and ate these anecdotes up like candy, but he had something more important on his mind.

  But his mind would not let go of an idea once he tracked in on it. “What if we asked the jewelers to make new molds for us?”

  I shrugged. “Some might, but given what is being announced, it would be very low on their priorities, I’m sure,” I replied.

  “But,” he replied with a finger pointing in the air, “what if we asked them to make them smooth and plain except for a single outward stylized logo of their sigil or jeweler’s mark by way of letting the gobbies know the spell attack came from that jeweler?”

  I smirked. “That would appeal to jewelers on multiple levels of professional pride, community protection, and personal ego.”

  “It’s what I do,” Red commented.

  “Make it so,” I ordered.

  He sat back in the leather chair and stared at some tools I had sitting on the table. I had a rawhide hammer, jeweler’s saw, punch set, a buffing stone, a polishing cloth, and a jeweler’s mandrel set. Mandrels were rounded rods used to pound rings round or to expand and enlarge them.

  “So what do you have on your mind?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure our best bet on the copper Single Use Spells is Mage Blast I.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  I furrowed my brow, thinking of my own struggle against the undead with Mage Blast, just a weaker area-of-effect version of the low-level single-target Magebolt spell. “Why do you say that?”

  He took my reaction as disapproval. He had been used to getting that from authority figures most of his life, which is not entirely surprising given his antics and rebellious nature. But his body language suggested it actually bothered him that I disagreed.

  I continued. “What I mean is, Magebolt and Mage Blast were chosen because they could attack a single opponent or multiple opponents, respectively, and it is really easy for us to get spell donors. I’m not saying it is the best option, just the best option we came up with quickly. What do you suggest?”

  “So hear me out. I went over to the Warrior’s Guild and spoke with Uncle Sam.”

  “The guildmaster is your uncle?”

  “Not really. I mean, not by blood. But my father was a pretty successful warrior, and he was one of Uncle Sam’s protégés. Sam was over at the house a lot growing up, and he even tried to recruit me into the guild.”

  “Your Uncle Sam tried to recruit you into military service?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself.

  “Not military service per se. But after my dad died on a mission for the Duke, my mother wouldn’t hear of it. Sam would come around every once in a while to make sure we were okay, but Mom cooled to him.”

  I could see how that may have affected Red’s childhood. I didn’t know he had lost his father at a young age. There’s a lot about these people that I don’t know.

  What do you want to know? Bella asked.

  Not now, Bella. Please. I responded.

  She chuckled and went back to doing whatever she did when she wasn’t teasing me.

  “And what did you talk about with Sam?”

  “Well, he isn’t a big fan of yours. But don’t hold that against him. He doesn’t warm to people quickly. They have to prove themselves first, and you are still sort of unproven in his eyes.”

  “I don’t need Sam to respect me for me to respect him,” I said calmly. But I admit that I was just a little irked that he would jump to a negative impression without giving me the benefit of the doubt. But it was probably just his way, as Red had just explained.

  Red smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. We will all prove you were the right choice before this is all over.” He said. “Uncle Sam is a mighty warrior, and he had some advice based on the questions I asked him.”

  “Let’s hear it then.” I prompted.

  “Well, I took Chompers with me, figuring a wizard would be more accepted in the warrior guild training grounds than most of the rest of you. No offense intended.” He added.

  “None taken. I agree that it was a good choice.”

  “So, Uncle Sam set up five practice dummies that approximated goblins. And he asked Chompers to cast a one-point Magebolt against the first, two against the second, and so on, with the last one getting a five-point strike. He repeated that with a new set of dummies for Mage Blast for all five casting point options as well.”

  “And what was the result?” I was genuinely curious about Sam’s assessment. I’ll have to ask Chompers, I mean Cecil, later as well. Cecil had large teeth, smiled a lot, was good-natured for a wizard, and seemed to be okay with his nickname of Chompers. But I tried to call him Cecil. He certainly deserved my respect.

  Red continued. “Taking into account that wizards are not limited to spell caps like other mages, we focused on what the majority could provide. Based on the test, a one-point strike would wound but not incapacitate a goblin. Two would probably do the job. Uncle Sam said it would usually work, but could either be a little short of what was needed or overkill. He explained to us on the training grounds, just like in combat, there is a random factor to most spell damage, much like random damage from sword strikes in battle. So the conclusion drawn was that, given goblins travel in triples, always three of them at a time, at best you could down two of the three and then get attacked by one, or if you worked in very careful pairs, one soldier could wound five and a second soldier could finish them off. But it would still leave you vulnerable, and the other main point was that we-”

  “Would not be facing just three or six goblins. There will be hundreds of them. Thousands of them, in fact.” I finished for him.

  He was pleased I got his point.

  “So what did you three come up with?” I asked.

  “Sam’s advice was to leave the fighting to the warriors, but if you wanted to help, the best option would be to use some area of effect spell that could be used in clusters or waves.”

  “Magical combat is not my strength. Did he have a suggestion?”

  “Actually, Chompers did, and Sam agreed with him. The wizard suggested using the Scorching Light spell. It would need to be ramped up, and it could only be cast by wizards.”

  “And that limits us,” I added.

  “And worse, it is a Third Mark spell.” He said.

  “And copper won’t work for them.” It's too bad they didn’t have a suggestion for a lower-level spell.” I complained.

  “It’s funny you should say that. Uncle Sam commented that sticking with fire usually works against goblins. They don’t like the light, the heat, smoke, and flames will kill them, and there are a lot of elementalists out there.”

  “True,” I agreed, “But Wall of Fire is a Fourth Mark spell and we are right back to where we started. I thought about that as an early option thanks to Adriana.” I explained.

  “Ah,” Red said with a finger raised, “but Spinnet Action is a Second Mark spell. In fact, according to Chompers, he said it is actually a Second Spellbook spell which means any mage can use it.

  Each mage guild called their levels something different. Wizards called their levels Marks, enchanters were called Arcana, elementalists used Elements, and generic spell levels usable by any mage are simply called Spellbook spells. A second-level Spinnet Action spell, which created an area of effect sticky web, is a Second Spellbook spell.

  “How does fire come into it, then?” I asked.

  He raised his finger even higher. It was an affectation of his, but I learned to really pay attention when he lifted his hand to point his finger up. It meant he had a zinger of an idea.

  “You set the webs on fire. The spell has a decently large area of effect and will hold most creatures in place. Sam said it will be especially effective on physically weak creatures like goblins, although with daggers and other blades, it would not hold them overlong. And according to Sam, through firsthand experience, the magical webs are highly flammable.”

  “It could be used to block up holes or to slow down groups of goblins as well. That is brilliant, Red. You have convinced me. We will change over to webs and firebolts going forward.” I paused. “But we will need to find mages who have the spell.”

  He shook his finger once in the air and then let it fall to his lap. “Chompers is on top of that search right now.”

  “Okay, you got me. Nice one.”

  “It’s what I do.” Red repeated. “But I think we need to diversify and not just stick, no pun intended, with webs. A variety of spells make the most sense and also don’t bottleneck our castings.

  My meeting with Red convinced me that we also needed to rethink our use of mainly just copper rings. Copper was plentiful, inexpensive, and the spells had lower casting costs. But if we are to survive this, we will need other area of effect spells and lots of them. Instead of my idea of a handful of copper rings for every soldier, we need to combine them with some powerful punches.