Chương 69: Book 2 Chapter 21 - A Small Demonstration

Kiara had asked Zoey about concepts. Zoey replied, "A concept is a deep understanding of the way that mana can be used for a certain application. For example, I excel in elemental magic, and am working on developing a fire concept and a water concept. My instructors said it would be best to focus on one at a time, but I couldn't pick between the two, so I'm studying both!" By the end of her explanation, genuine excitement had crept into her voice. Magic was something special.

Those that didn't put in the effort in her class had baffled her. She truly didn't understand how they could be so blase about something so amazing. Shian seemed to share her fascination. Even if this didn't lead to a good job offer at the end, Zoey realized she wouldn't mind too much. She loved talking about magic, especially her own. Shian opened her mouth to ask a follow up question, but Dustin put his hand on her arm.

"We should save the magic questions for later, my lady," he said politely. Shian pouted, but then nodded her agreement. Dustin smiled as he turned back to Zoey.

"You'll have to forgive us, Miss Trellen. My employer is very interested in learning about magic, and has been trying to find a place to do so for some time. I am partly responsible, since I promised her I would find somewhere on this trip that she could learn more about magic, but so far have failed in that regard."

"No apology necessary," Zoey replied quickly.

"I don't mind." Dustin nodded appreciatively.

"Your kindness is appreciated, Miss Trellen, but let us focus first on the matter at hand. Perhaps if we all agree that you and House Yountal would be a good fit for each other, then Lady Yountal can pursue her line of questioning a bit further."

"Well," Shian said after a moment's pause, "Congratulations on graduating from the academy, and on reaching tier 3! That's quite an accomplishment, where we're from."

"Thank you," Zoey said with a polite bow of her head. On the inside, she was glowing from the praise. It really was a great accomplishment, wasn't it?

"At tier 3, you surely command an impressive control over magic. Can you demonstrate for us?" Oh. It seemed like although Shian had agreed to go back to the interview questions, she really just wanted to talk about magic still. Not that Zoey minded. Dustin didn't seem to mind either though, so maybe this was a normal part of the interview? Either way, Zoey was happy to oblige. Her core was full, and she was always happy to demonstrate her abilities to someone who was interested.

She glanced at the wooden table and chairs.

"I'm best with fire and water spells. I don't want to damage the furniture, is there a space where I could demonstrate safely?" Dustin and Shian both looked around the room, surprised.

"Will this space not work?" Dustin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I can demonstrate some simple magic in here," Zoey responded with a shrug.

"But if you want to see my true ability, then we'd need to go somewhere with more open space." Shian looked ecstatic at the idea. Dustin simply said, "perhaps a demonstration of some simple magic, then. Something that demonstrates your control, rather than your full power." Zoey nodded in understanding. She held out her right hand, and a flame flickered to life over it.

"Can I touch it?" Shian asked excitedly. Zoey blinked in surprise. Dustin put another restraining hand on Shian's arm, and she settled down.

"Ignore her," he said as elegantly as he could.

"Please, continue." In her left hand, Zoey summoned a small sphere of water, which floated an inch above her palm and rotated gently. She tossed the flame into the air, but kept a tight rein on it with her will. A small ball of stone formed above her right hand next. She began juggling the three conjured elements, first pretending to use her hands, and then dropping the act to show that she was truly just juggling them with her mind.

The three elemental objects did loops around the room, still well within her range of control. She stacked them vertically on top of each other, and even had the fire and water pass through each other without either one dissolving. She dismissed the fire and water, then shaped the conjured stone into a passable resemblance of Dustin's face, which made Shian giggle in delight. Dustin raised an impressed eyebrow. She dismissed the stone, and re-conjured a flame.

She compressed as much mana as she could into the flame without letting it grow larger, and it slowly turned from orange to yellow, then white, then white with a hint of blue. She was proud of that, not many fire mages her age could get their flames that hot. Next, she summoned a mini tornado above her palm. It was fairly easy to spin the wind that fast at such a small scale.

She mixed in a bit of conjured dirt to make the tornado easily visible, then to add that wow factor, she began slowly pushing the air in the room in a slow circle as well, almost as if the mini tornado was the one responsible for the gentle maelstrom of air. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Shian's eyes were gleaming, and she actually clapped. Zoey blushed and let the effect dissipate.

"Well done!" Shian beamed at her.

"Yes, very well done indeed," Dustin agreed.

"We've been interviewing tier 2s all morning, and none of them showed anywhere close to that level of control." Zoey's blush deepened.

"Well, anyone that makes it to tier 3 will have more advanced control than someone at tier 2.

"And you're humble, too," Dustin said with a wink.

"No, it's true! They even teach it at the academy, you aren't a real mage until you advance to tier 3. You simply don't have the mana pool or mana control at tier 2 to manage the number of spells, quality of spells, or depth of spells that a tier 3 can do."

"Oh really?" Shian asked with a raised eyebrow. Zoey nodded.

"You were interviewing tier 2s as well? Are they the other ones who applied for this position? The clerk at the city office didn't specify what exactly you're hiring for. Are you looking for an addition to your guard unit, or…" She left the question open-ended, curious how much House Yountal knew about what jobs were usually filled by tier 2 vs tier 3 retainers. Rather than simple guard duty at the estate, tier 3s tended to be more trusted members of the house staff.

They might be employed as bodyguards for members of the house, or fill important roles in interactions with other houses. Dustin nodded.

"Among other things, yes. In fact, we hired eight of them this morning as additions to our guard unit. We're currently based out of Easton, but we're hoping to expand our operations into Portish soon, and we need stronger protection." Zoey internalized that information. She turned to Shian.

"Are your parents looking to set up a base of operations here in Portish as well, then?" Shian laughed lightly.

"My parents are farmers, they don't actually live in Easton with me." Oh. Farmers? That's strange. Shian must be a niece or a granddaughter of House Yountal's head, then.

"My apologies," Zoey amended.

"I made some assumptions, and shouldn't have. Is the head of House Yountal looking to start a base of operations in Portish?" Shian's laugh settled into a twinkle in her eye. She turned to Dustin.

"That's a good question! Are we just going to have some businesses here, or will we have some kind of main location as well?" Ah. Dustin, as the estate manager, is the real person making decisions here. Shian is just along for the experience, then. Likely as a way to earn the trust of the head of the house. Dustin considered the question momentarily.

"Eventually, yes, we'll likely buy an estate here in Portish for House Yountal. For now, though, we will simply start operating some businesses here. Once they grow large enough to warrant an official guard presence, then we'll expand a bit at that point." Zoey nodded. That would likely take decades, based on the rate at which her parents' businesses had grown.

"In the meantime, I would be based out of Easton, then?" she confirmed. Dustin nodded.

"What would my job responsibilities be?"

"You would be an integral part of our guard unit," Dustin replied. Ah, crap. Not even the guard captain? At tier 3? House Yountal must be a new house, not familiar with the cost of employing a true tier 3. Even those tier 2s must have been desperate for work to accept such a low-paying position. Not that Zoey had anything against guards or even guard captains. If she was stuck at tier 1 or tier 2, it would be a fantastic job, and the pay was quite good compared to what mortals earned, but as a tier 3…

She was sure she could get a higher paying job somewhere. Her face must have shown her disappointment, as Shian asked, "Is something the matter, Zoey?" Zoey tried to hide her disappointment and respond as politely as she could.

"Ah, no, it's just that… well, my parents saved for a long time to afford my education at the academy. I was hoping for a job that pays well enough to someday pay them back." That was only partly true, as her parents would never let her pay them back, but the comment did a good job of communicating the type of pay she should be offered as a tier 3, without being rude. Shian simply shrugged.

"I'm sure we can work something out on that front. Are you okay taking orders from a tier 1 guard captain though? Captain Soren has been with us since we got established in Easton, and he does a good job at running things. The guards trust him, and I plan on keeping him in that position." That approach wasn't unheard of. Zoey didn't have any qualms about who she took orders from, as long as her job paid her fairly.

Was Shian saying that even in a position of being part of the guard unit, they would pay her extra because she was tier 3?

"That wouldn't be a problem, my lady," she replied.

"My parents are mortals, and I grew up working hard and helping out however they needed." Shian nodded.

"Dustin here is a mortal as well, are you okay taking orders from him? He runs the estate, and even Captain Soren reports to him." Zoey nodded.

"Of course, my lady."

"And you would be okay following my directions, as the head of the house?" Zoey's mind stalled.

"Y-you? Are the head of House Yountal, I mean?" Shian nodded.

"But you're so young!" Zoey blurted out.

"And your parents are farmers… how… how?" She quickly realized she was being rude, and tried to backtrack. She stood and bowed low.

"Sorry, my lady! I didn't mean to overstep. Forgive my outburst." Shian and Dustin both laughed.

"You're fine, Zoey," Shian reassured her.

"Please, sit back down." Zoey re-took her seat.

"House Yountal is unusual," Shian explained.

"In fact, in Easton, many believe that I am the scion of a wealthy house, and that House Yountal is actually based somewhere else, with a large, powerful backing. In truth, I am the head of the house, and Dustin is my business partner. A brilliant one, I might add." Dustin smiled at the compliment, then said to Zoey, "Lady Yountal is correct. She allows me to manage most of the day-to-day workings of the estate, as well as the business holdings, but she is the true head of the house.

Before this morning, our guard unit consisted of maybe twenty tier 1 guards, along with Captain Soren, who is also tier 1.

"As I'm sure you can tell, in order to continue expanding and growing, we need stronger guards to dissuade any… under-handed actions from competitors in the market. That is where you would come in. We aren't looking for a short term thing here, though. We are hoping to build a relationship of trust and loyalty with you, and give you a place where you can grow in your career as well as personally, with the hope that you remain with us for as long as possible." Zoey was conflicted.

Everything he was saying was perfect, exactly the type of scenario she had been hoping for. But a small house from a barony to the east, with two mortals running it, likely wouldn't be able to pay her as much as she wanted. Then again, they seemed like good people, who wouldn't ask her to do anything she was uncomfortable with. After a moment's thought, she nodded.

"What you're saying sounds great, and is what I'm looking for as well. What would the pay look like?"