"These two Wards would cover the entirety of the Shires." I flicked up the Holo that showed the entire Shires blanketed by the coverage of the Pyramid Power Field. They stared at it reluctantly and longingly, knowing what it would mean.

"Thirdly, the Pyramids can be fine-tuned to many purposes, including temples to your own Patrons… and magically-enhanced in their functions. There are many benefits to a Tree of Life, and your own production of shadowfire magical items indicates the same applies to your clan Relics. A Pyramid could easily enhance that production capability and speed three, four or five-fold, enabling, say, a clanless Master Keeper to produce more such Artifice for the benefit of the Shires. I am not stealing the shadowfire from you, after all."

Flickering eyes definitely did not miss the benefits of that happening, and there would be THREE Pyramids.

"Lastly, and most importantly, the Blessing. Imagine, if you will, a Ritual of Plant Growth to bless the fields of the Shires. Only it hits every farm, field, forest, and plain in the area of the PPF. At once.

"One Ritual."

They were all Masters with Druidic magic. They understood immediately what such a spell would do for the fecundity of the Shires. They wouldn't need weather control magic, like the elves of the Sidheduiche. The Shires would simply be just that prosperous!

"A plague is spreading through the people. One Resist Disease covers every soul in the area. From a powerful Caster, this would stop a plague in its tracks, and save hundreds, if not thousands of lives, particularly of the young and the elderly."

That scenario was not hard to imagine, either. There weren't enough Masters or Clerics anywhere to truly stop a plague one victim at a time. Only knowledge and really, really broad area of effect spells.

"Bane Weapon to everything in the PPF area if you are going to be fighting a specific foe, like orcs, or goblins, or gnolls, or whoever and whatever else might invade the Shires. That includes their weapons against one another, natural animals attacking them, accidents happening to them, and the like. It will feel like the whole world has turned against them. A unit of archers or slingers could easily wipe out whole companies of enemies with lethal speed."

They could also picture such things, and the nifloid threats in the mountains never went away.

"Calm Weather would reduce the effect of hostile storms, moderate blizzards and hurricanes, and stop invading Weather Magic meant to cause droughts, floods, or other catastrophes in their tracks, because we all know Wizards have never tried that in the past here, either."

That dinged them all, and they had the Druidic magic to do that, too.

"Invisible Wizards in the area? Cast a Faerie Fire colored transparent throughout the PPF. Faerie Fire changes color when it touches magic. Everyone else will not even know the spell is there, but anything magical, such as an Invisible or Polymorphed Wizard thinking he can sneak around and cause problems, will flare Arcane Blue." I helpfully made a Holo of an Invisible person outlined in the unique blue-white colors ascribed to arcane magic… and a smiling hyn outlined in the same colors, clearly not what he seemed to be. "It would also identify anything undead or necromantic," I added thoughtfully, changing the unseen figure to a rotting zombie, and the Faerie Fire over it to a sickly greenish-yellow hue, "and reveal all magical Wards, spells, and area effects, including ones you didn't know were there." Caves were suddenly lit up with strong Faerie Fires around them, nondescript homes were encircled by them, ships wreathed in them, old ruins rippled here and there with ancient magical effects, now exposed as something being there for all to see.

"To a more specific use, Reveal Shapechangers would instantly expose any were-creatures, doppelgangers, or other shapechangers as to what they are. Lycanthropes are immediately limned in fires the color of what they are vulnerable to, usually silver, dops are outlined in random shifting colors, and other magical shapechangers in other hues." Examples of the same hynfolk wrapped in those hues appeared in the Holo, each indicating a friendly fellow hyn was not what they seemed.

I let the Holos fade, noting the way their eyes lingered. "I can see you are all thinking of other uses. Ant Load to give everyone twice the endurance and lifting power at harvest-time. Eagle Eyes to give all hyn the vision of hawks, or Darkvision, or Ultravision. A Bless spell that covers half the Shires at once.

"It is only one spell per day, generally set at the dawn, and many spells will not work with the magic, but that one spell is by far the most powerful aspect of the Pyramid."

The Holo faded, and I went silent, waiting. Waiting as they thought, and considered, and re-evaluated what this might mean, and what they would be willing to let go for this.

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"What, what would you hope to gain from such a thing?" Master Krisnedge had to ask, looking for my side of things. "If all this be true…" he hesitated, because not once during my speech had he had the slightest sense I was lying, "there is truly nothing we could do that would be worth what you are doing for the Shires."

"You are utterly correct." There it was. "You cannot pay me what this service is worth to you. Even your hesitation to let me inspect the shadowfire is fait accompli, as I state to you unequivocally that I can gain what I want at anytime, and you not only can't stop me from doing it, you won't know when, where, or how I would do so. It would simply happen and be done."

They weren't happy to hear that, but it had happened in the past to them, it would in the future, and they still couldn't stop it!

"This, then, simply comes down to trust, and to goodwill, and what worth I put upon those two attributes… and what value you do, as well."

I rose to my feet. "I believe we are done here. I have shown you what I have to offer, I have shown you my price. When you make your decision, send word to the Twilight Trading Company in Seven-Town that Oswald Brandybuck is setting up, and when I have time, I will respond to you.

"I do, after all, know who all of you are." I let that weigh on them. "And kindly don't break my masquerade with my fellow students. They are quite foolish, but they also have good hearts free of much of the deep prejudice of Zanzyrans. I didn't recruit them purely for their magic, after all, I am considerably more selective than that."

"Masters of the Shires." I gave them a professional and polite curtsy, swirls of black and crimson skirts ruffling like flowers, and glided out of the room gracefully, leaving the rather conflicted and quite intimidated gathered Masters behind.

---

"She, she-!" Mistress Sheyla, one of the youngest and newest of their members spluttered, trying to say something and not knowing what to do.

"Could have slaughtered us all without much effort?" Mistress Bessana finished dryly. "Why, yes, dear, I believe all of us noticed that. And probably destroyed most of the town while doing it."

"That certainly didn't go the way we were anticipating," Master Ondello commented wryly. "Here I thought we would make a forceful impression about not underestimating us on behalf of Master Nightswift, and instead we were rather soundly put in our place."

"After she saved our fellow hyn," the stout Master Gumbell pointed out shrewdly. "Without us specifically asking to do so. And I will lay fifty gold at whatever odds someone cares to lay out that more of our fellow hyn will be returned to us in the days ahead."

"So the sum of this meeting was that we were no threat to her, we had nothing she wanted, and she is arranging for the rescue of our missing clanshyn." Master Glibmahn, a tousle-headed, clever and sly hyn, pointed out for everyone. "And in addition, she presented us a possibility of a magnificent magical structure that could add a layer of protection to the Shires that we could use, which would impede us not at all, and impede those that seek to prey upon us greatly."

"Why hasn't she made one already?" Mistress Sheyla blurted out. "If the structures are so good, so powerful, shouldn't she have made one already?" she pointed out quickly.

There was a moment of quiet silence pondering that question, until Master Krisnedge, the most widely-traveled of those here, spoke into the quiet. "There are three answers to that. The first is that she has done so, but far enough away from here that it has not been heard from. The second is that she has not had the time nor the inclination to do so anywhere else. The third… is that nobody has had something she wanted, and she wasn't inclined to trade with them."

"The Wizards of Zanzyr certainly wouldn't want such a thing, unless they could make themselves immune to its effects!" piped up Mistress Larinda, a spirited and gracefully graying Master of middle years who watched over the middle of Heartshire.

"And she came from Federyn, and what special things do they have to offer? Her lack of care for mere gold was obvious. In truth, I hesitate to consider the price of such an incredible structure. Surely in the millions of gold coins, at the least!" Master Ondello sighed in wonder. "Never having to worry about an attack from the sky again would be worth a great deal…"

There was uncomfortable silence around at the very idea.

"This is an issue of trust." Mistress Bessana's words were gentle but firm. "She has absolutely no reason to request this of us. She could have gained the knowledge she sought without asking us at all. That she even deigns to do so is showing a respect few Wizards have ever shown the hyn. The shadowfire is neither precious nor holy to her, that is obvious, so the only conclusion that remains is… our trust and respect is the only true item of value."

Most of the hyn, especially the defiant Shyela, were absolutely stunned by that observation.

"I sensed no magic of compulsion or control laid upon us," Master Krisnedge agreed slowly. "She left us to make our own decision. Even if it is empty of force, she still left us to it."

"So, it would come down to… whether we believe in her sense of honor not to gain what she seeks, if we rule no," Master Ondello slowly nodded in agreement, and was matched by most of the Masters in attendance. "This is a most strange and amusing situation. Unless what she showed us is actually hiding a great and grim secret in its construction, the Shires stand only to gain from allowing her to do what she wishes. If we cannot trust her to divine secrets from the shadowfire, then we certainly cannot trust her to build these Pyramids for us…"

That was true. They certainly could not have one without the other. It would require great trust to build one… and they could only trust that her sense of honor would stop her from getting what she wanted, regardless of their wishes!

"Let us reach a consensus, and then refer that decision to the Keepers of the Clans," Mistress Bessana proposed. "There will be a delay in the decision, of course, and we will have to explain the benefits. But if we choose to do this, we can come before her and present the consensus of ALL the concerned parties. If our approval is what she seeks to do this, then we shall present her with our approval!" she stated matter-of-factly. "If we choose not to do so… then we shall see if our trust in her is sufficient to believe she will hold to her words."

The Masters soon reached consensus, and the meeting was done shortly thereafter, although the socializing and tales-telling among them had just begun!

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