The tavern again. Of course. He does so love his tired clichs.

There was even a bard and all, playing some ridiculous instrument of his own
make. The blaring, slightly tinny sound rang out over the ruckus of many conversations
being had at once. Barmaids and bartenders alike scrambled to fill mugs and weaved
through the large crowd with practice ease.
One such waiter almost knocked him over, lifting their tray of food far over his
head with barely an excuse me. A group of burly men and women cheered as he set
the food at their table. He should have been used to the way their tore into it without
hesitation but it still impressed him every time. Pushing through the throngs of people,
Zandus found his way away from the front door and towards the stairs. His boots
sticking to the dried alcohol on the floor with every step.
He dodged a drunken patron utterly failing to properly use a staircase and found
the upper level of the tavern to be just as busy as the ground floor. The second level
was more of a large balcony that overlooked the first level, with tables set up all along
the edges. Of course, he was all the way in the back. By himself. With that stupid cloak
on. Its garish purple color stuck out harshly among the warm browns and tans of the
rest of the tavern.
Of all the contacts on this planet, I had to get him didnt I?
Zandus took his seat across from the hooded figure. He didnt move. Zandus
cleared his throat. No movement. He readjusted his artificial shoulder, awkwardly
waiting for him to speak. Nothing. A barmaid skated over to their table, her smile bright
and beaming.
Well hello gentlemen! Whatll it be for ya? Zandus found himself appreciating
how sincere she sounded, considering how sunken her eyes looked. Her hair was put
up in a bun with many intricate looking braids, though the tiny haphazard strands of hair
sticking off the sides of them told him she had done it up as quickly as possible.
You wouldnt happen to have any Leroki whiskey lying around would you? If he
had to interact with his contact today, he figured he might as well get drunk and deal
with it. The barmaid giggled at his meek request.
Sure hon! I think I can scrounge up enough to make ya a glass, how bout you?
She turned to his contact. His eyes still covered by the purple hood, he didnt move a
muscle as addressed her.
Ale. Biggest glass you got. Zandus rolled his eyes at the voice he put on. He
imagined its what his contact thought bar patrons were supposed to sound like, gruff
and to the point. The barmaids smile fell slightly in confusion.
Uh, well we got six different kinds, so The statement caused his contact to
twitch nervously, his first movement since Zandus had arrived.
Oh uh, I-I guess Ill just He began, desperately trying to save face.
 You can just bring him whatevers cheapest, Im the one whos gonna be paying
anyway The barmaid bounced away after acknowledging his order. Zandus raised an
eyebrow at his contact.
So routines all done now Pelden. You screwed it up again, so why dont we
just get this over with? Pelden tore his cloaks hood off of his head, angrily glaring at
the one who had embarrassed him so.
Damn it Zandus! Why do you always ruin this for me? Peldens actual voice
was much higher pitched than the one he put on for the barmaid. Zandus was always
uncomfortable by how sickly the boy looked, cheeks always gaunt and eyes bloodshot.
He was well off, Zandus knew that for a fact, so he never understood how the boy
looked the way he did.
Hey dont blame me, you ruined it for yourself again. Adventure books made
for children arent the best place to get your street smarts.
They are not for children! They just ugh, forget it. You never listen to me
anyway. Peldens face scrunched up in anger, though Zandus could see just a hint of
sadness in his visage. Sure, he gave him a hard time now and then, but the kid really
needed to loosen up and not take things so seriously.
Pelden, can we get to the point now? You called me here, I assume you have a
reason? Zandus asked.
Right! Okay so The boy leaned in closer to the table and lowered his voice, I
have extremely sensitive information thats for your eyes only. Straight from the Director
of the Artifica Exemplus.
Zandus interest was immediately piqued. The Director rarely ever called on one
person specifically. It was a matter of grave importance if they ever did.
The excitement in Peldens eyes annoyed Zandus. He treated everything like a
game. Normally, Zandus wasnt one to shut down a good time, but when the Exemplus
came calling he always answered. They almost never called for something that was less
than imperative to universal safety.
You get a specific, detailed order from the Director and you decide to tell me
about it in a crowded tavern?! Zandus asked, anger seeping through every word. His
one artificial eye brightly glowing purple for a split second before he could calm himself.
R-Relax Zandus, okay? I just thought we should meet somewhere where no
one would suspect wed be? You know, like, somewhere neutral?
We have safe houses for this exact kind of situation, dont pretend like you didnt
just want to role-play yourself being a hero again!
Hey! Its not my fault you cant appreciate a good story
 Cmon! Zandus, whose patience had completely evaporated, gripped Pelden by
the neck of his gaudy cloak and dragged him back through the tavern crowd. Their
waitress quickly sidestepped them as they neared the stairs, apparently caught off
guard as Zandus shoved some money into her hands.
His one, non-artificial arm occupied with dragging Pelden behind him, Zandus
roughly slammed his plated arcanetic shoulder through the taverns dancing and singing
patrons. He could hear Pelden yelping and crying out behind him. He found himself
unable to care at that moment.
Outside the tavern, the Ondo bouncer was caught off guard by the two
individuals ramming their way out of the door. The bouncer blinked, confused at the
sight of a one-armed arcaneticist dragging a crying boy in a purple cloak. Zandus paid
him no mind as he pushed past, dragging Pelden through the citys alleyways.
Late winter wind swept through them as they traversed the dank back alleys in
silence. Both men covered themselves in their cloaks to ward away the chill. The only
sounds were the wind in their ears and the distant sound of the tides bringing ships into
harbor. Zandus rolled his eyes at Peldens quiet mumblings of never being able to go
back there again.
He didnt enjoy being like this, he was usually the one to not take things so
seriously. Where Pelden was concerned however, he had to be the one to keep things
on track. Though they both knew where they were going, Zandus led the way. After
weaving through multiple alleys, the stairs he was looking for came into view, carved
downward directly into the cobblestone street. The two descended without a word.
An old wooden door, barely hanging onto its hinges, was their only obstacle at
the bottom of the stairs. The room they entered looked like nothing more than an old
storage room, boxes and barrels stacked up next to unlabeled burlap sacks.
Alrighty lets get this show on the road huh? Zandus raised his eyes
expectantly at his contact.
Fine, just give me a second. Pelden stepped towards the boxes, unlabeled and
unassuming. He moved his hand along the side of one of the boxes, searching for
something in the small crack between the storage units and the wall. Removing a small
trinket from his cloak, Pelden placed it gently into the space next to the wall. The
grinding of gears and pulley systems, as well as the slight hum of mana sparking to life,
filled the quiet storage room.
The front faces of the boxes swung wide open as one cohesive unit, revealing a
far more intricate locking mechanism that was affixed to the back side of the door. Clear
tubing that was alight with flowing mana was attached to large convoluted contraptions
that were still slowly moving as the door opened. Pelden pushed the heavy door the rest
of the way open before stepping inside the newly created entryway.
 As the massive door closed behind him, Zandus saw Pelden retrieve whatever it
was that he put into the machination to make it come to life. The glow of the mana
dispersed from inside the tubes and the gears were silent once again, locking the door
in place. He had always been bothered by the idea that the Exemplus didnt trust him
enough to use their safe houses on his own. Its not like they were better off in Peldens
hands after all.
Zandus always found himself fascinated by the safe houses, they were always
much bigger on the inside it seemed. While there was very little in the way of comforts,
there was a sitting area in the middle of the large room as well as a small armory
cabinet near the back. A long table took up the entire left side of the room, clockwork
pieces and tools were scattered across its surface for use in repairing arcanetic
equipment.
See? Now we can talk. Zandus gestured for Pelden to begin as he moved
towards the seating area, settling into a large and cushy chair.
Finally! Alright look, Pelden followed the older mans lead and rushed to sit
across from him, The Artifica Exemplus found something that they think only you can
help them identify.
Really now? Hmm thats the best compliment I think theyve ever given me.
Not that its an unfounded one, I am incredibly wise. Zandus smirked at his self-
compliment.
Right well anyway, this thing is messed up! Like, I cant believe they trusted
me with something like this!
Hey well that makes two of us! Zandus watched the boys excited face fall as he
caught the implication, Now are you gonna show me this thing or not. Cant explain
something without knowing what it is, you know?
Yep, I got it right here! Pelden said as he reached into one of the pockets of his
cloak. A regular wooden box was all most people would see without looking upon it
closer, but with Zandus arcanetic eye he easily saw the intricacies in its design. It was
almost impossible to open without knowing the correct combination of gear-like locks
that covered the top of the box.
Pelden fiddled with the gears for a while, longer than Zandus had thought it
should take him, before finally it opened with a clinking of metal that filled the silent
room. The top of the box slid open and revealed its contents.
Zandus wasnt really sure what he was expecting, it seemed to him that he had
been expecting something more extravagant. Without taking the object out of the box,
Pelden held it up for Zandus to inspect. All he saw was a sphere, roughly large enough
to need his entire hand to hold properly. His artificial eye expanded and retracted as it
sized up the spheres craftsmanship.
 It was arcanetic in nature, no doubt. Below its smooth, clear surface was a
veritable web of small tubes and gears. Traces of mana still flowed through them in
short bursts, making the components move as if the sphere was in the final throes of
death. A bright glint caught Zandus eye as he swiveled his head around the sphere,
originating from its deepest parts. He went to reach for it, but Pelden interrupted him
with a yelp and pulled the box away.
Whoa whoa whoa! Easy! From what Ive been told, this thing does NOT like to
be touched. The last few who tried got sent to a burn ward
Thats something that would have been useful to know from the start. Zandus
eyes closed as he rubbed his head near his increasingly throbbing temples.
Summoning his mana from within, the familiar feeling of the arcanetics in his
body thrumming to life reinvigorated him. The tiny components in his shoulders whirred
in reaction to the new influx of mana. From Zandus artificial shoulder, seven clear
tendrils of tubing sprouted from where a normal Humota would have their right arm.
They dangled lifeless until Zandus shifted his mana further down them.
The tendrils sprang into motion as liquid mana ran down their interiors, painting
the tubing a dark purple color. Each tendril moved on its own as Zandus wriggled them
around. He didnt want to be rusty when he picked up the apparently delicate object
Pelden had brought him.
The tendrils moved to the boxs opening, floating the orb in a field of levitation out
of the box and up to Zandus eye. Past all of the sputtering of the parts within the
casing, he saw what was still slightly powering the orb.
A smaller sphere, the size of a small coin, was placed inside the core. Though
nothing was directly attached to it, Zandus eye caught that the small orb was spinning
in place. So fast it seemed that one could not see it was spinning without something to
amplify vision. Zandus once again patted himself on his back for the brilliance of his
arcanetic implants. The device was familiar and because he recognized it, it was also
slightly unnerving. His tendrils slithered around the space surrounding the object as he
spun it, keeping the levitation field in place.
So uh any thoughts? Pretty weird right? Peldens voice interrupted his
thought process.
Very much so. This is quite the problem though.
W-What do you mean?
I can see why the Director asked you to find me specifically. To my knowledge,
Im the only member of the Exemplus to succeed in making one of these. Zandus
floated the orb over to the workstation along the side of the room.
Youve made one of these? Thats perfect! Oh man, theyre going to have to get
me an awesome reward for being a part of this!
 Yes, congratulations, Zandus said as he gently placed the sphere onto a small
makeshift stand, Once your father hears about how you delivered a package like you
were supposed to, and didnt follow procedure while doing it, Im sure hell be ecstatic.
Zandus began to softly prod the orbs exterior with the tips of his tendrils, feeling
for an opening or a hidden latch. He figured no one smart enough to make one of these
wouldnt be so stupid as to not include a way to repair it without breaking the device
further.
A small amount of mana into a previously unseen hole in the device caused it to
jerk open. The outer shell spun and broke into four pieces that folded against
themselves. The spinning object in the middle slowed to a stop, and loudly tumbled out
from the spheres core.
Zandus tendrils attempted to raise up the object that had fallen, the arcaneticist
snapped them away after feeling its trace. The object itself was nothing special looking,
not a sphere but instead a prism of some kind. He guessed it had about fifty miniscule
faces across its surface that became impossible to see when it spun so fast. The prism
was exuding a trace that had apparently been concealed while inside of its shell.
It was loud, incredibly loud. The noise was shrill and utterly irritating as Zandus
tried again to get close and inspect the prism. A horrible metallic taste filled his senses
as his tendrils again floated the prism in front of him. The dark amber coloring didnt
surprise him.
You opened it?! So you really know what it is! How?
As I said I made one, or at least something very similar. Its an overclocker
well thats what I called it anyway, Zandus focused on changing the mana in one of his
tendrils, the purple color softening to a light pink. The pink tendril silenced the trace of
the prism long enough for Zandus to raise it back up, See this? Its made up of charged
vostricite, one of the best mana conductors available. A couple components of my arm
are actually made of vostricite as well.
Whoa so its pretty rare I guess?
Enough that seeing it here is quite surprising.
So what does it do?
In laymans terms? It overloads and disables arcanetic structures. The vostricite
can force so much mana into a structures mechanisms that it is either forced to shut
down, or rendered completely inert. Zandus turned his eyes back to the rest of the now
open orb.
Thats unbelievable wait, why did you make one before? The prisms trace
was beginning to break through Zandus silence spell, he quickly dropped it next to the
other pieces of the device.
 Well once I learned about the Artifica Exemplus I knew I wanted to join, being
relatively unknown at the time I had to figure out a way to get noticed. They were lucky I
only wanted their attention, I could have disabled a lot more than what I did if I had other
motives. Thats what worries me about this.
Zandus saw the beginnings of excitement building up in Peldens eyes again as
he stared off into space. Obviously he thought the air of mystery around this strange
piece of machinery was intensely fascinating. This starkly contrasted the idea that
Zandus had, being that if someone had created another overclocker they almost
certainly wanted to use it for something more serious than attention grabbing.
Looks like Ill be needing to have a meeting with the Director, tell him its urgent.
I know how busy the Doyen are but this is important. We dont really have time to wait
for the stars to die on this one.
Yea sure, sure hey you wouldnt mind if I hung onto this right? Peldens hand
quickly went to reach for the vostricite prism on the table, I mean it is useless now
right? Itll make a perfect trophy!
He could have stopped the kid, his tendrils were fast enough he was sure. But he
thought Pelden could use another lesson.
AH! The cloaked boy cried out as he clutched his head, throwing the prism
away from himself. What the- you could have warned me!
Well you couldve been smarter and not touched something when you didnt
know what it was! But hey, we all make mistakes right? Zandus smirked as his tendrils
replaced the prism back where it was placed inside the device.
Closing it, he found that the parts did not begin to move again. The prism didnt
float in place or spin. Zandus judged by the rattling sound that it was inert and freely
sitting somewhere inside the now dead mechanisms.
Picking the completed orb back up with his regular flesh hand, Zandus retracted
his tendrils back into his shoulder and placed the orb back into the wooden box it came
in. after making sure it was locked tight, he placed it into a pouch on his belt.
Hey I was supposed to bring that back! Pelden yelled as he stood back up.
Dont worry, I can handle it! Besides I dont want it weighing you down on your
way back to the Exemplus to deliver my message. His smirk stretched from ear to ear.
You infuriate me. Pelden fumed.
Funny, thats normally my line before we part ways.
Pelden was silent as he reopened the door into the storage room. Both men
walked out of the cellar into the night. The streets were bare and quiet, save for the
wind passing through them.
 Any particular time this meeting needs to take place? Pelden asked, looking to
have nothing else to say to the arcaneticist that had upset him.
Well, Zandus was interrupted as a small vibration from the pocket he placed the
box in caught his attention, Might just want to make it as soon as physically possible
Right well see you later, I guess. Pelden pulled the cloak over his face
tightening the straps of the hood as he walked further into the city proper.
Again, another vibration wracked Zandus pocket. He tried to silence it with his
hand but it stopped before it could even get there.
Hope that means soon, Zandus said to himself as another quick vibration
shook his leg, Ill go crazy if I have to deal with that for too long.

To be Continued