14. Conrad
CONRAD
Conrad’s work with Roger and Wyndham had shifted slightly in his time at the house. He had gone from simply showing his most frequently used spells, to observing each councilmember in turn, and now he was moving on to more advanced spellwork.
“I should warn you,” he said, as the other two prepared the space for work, “I am proficient in the spells I need to do, but I wouldn’t consider myself any great talent at magic. My interest in this position has more to do with the planning and problem-solving part of it.”
Roger gave him a kind smile. “Magical prowess is certainly beneficial to working on the Council, but it is not a requirement.”
“This isn’t a test,” Wyndham went on, picking up a long willow leaf from the table and running his thumb across the length of it. “It is more about acquainting you with our projects.”
Conrad took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. “That is good to hear. And I suppose if this project were to be expanded to the general populace, we would do well to know how it interacts with plainer magic.”
Wyndham frowned a little. “I wouldn’t describe your magic as plain.”
“Not at all,” Roger said. “The spell you showed us for keeping shoes warm was remarkable.”
Conrad chuckled. “I’m glad you think so.
” Then he watched as Roger and Wyndham performed a breeze spell with the willow leaf, and listened as Roger talked through his notes on the subject.
He got a little lost when Wyndham described how the magic felt.
But when they were done showing him, he gamely stepped forward to give the experiment a try.
“Now, since you cannot feel magic,” Wyndham said, “just focus on your spell. I’ll tell you if anything needs to be adjusted.”
Conrad took the fresh piece of spellpaper that Roger handed him, arranged the leaf according to his instructions, and copied over the sigils and calculations.
He paused at one. “Would the Bokemann Modulation work for this one?” he asked.
“I’ve never used this sigil before, so I’m not sure what adjustments would be needed. ”
Roger’s expression turned thoughtful as he plucked a book off his shelf and leafed through it. “I believe so,” he said at last. “It has most of the same directives. I’m a little worried about this bit about temperature though.”
“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Conrad assured him. “I can use a sigil to cancel it out.”
“Oh! Excellent! Do you need the book for reference?”
Conrad shook his head and wrote down the sigils. He cocked his head to look over his work. “That should do the trick. Yes?”
Roger pushed his spectacles up his nose and leaned forward to peer over the paper. “Very good. I think that will do nicely.”
Conrad glanced at Wyndham, who nodded, and then cast his spell. The handkerchief that was being used as a focus fluttered around the room. Wyndham’s expression turned inward and focused. “It’s strong,” he muttered. “But not overly chaotic. Try reducing the power a bit.”
Conrad hastily wrote in an adjustment. The handkerchief slowed its pace.
Wyndham made an approving noise. “Efficient. Can you change the direction?”
“Not without looking it up first,” Conrad admitted.
“No matter,” Wyndham said as he caught the handkerchief before it fell. “That was quite good.”
Conrad bounced on the balls of his feet, pleased by the praise.
Wyndham carefully moved the leaf and picked up the paper. “What was that new sigil you were discussing?”
Conrad pointed at it.
“What is the difference between this one and the one Roger uses?”
Conrad shrugged. “It’s a sort of multi-purpose modulation sigil.
It can adjust power, temperature, and speed of a spell.
It’s less…nuanced, I suppose, than the ones Roger was using.
It does everything all at once. That’s why I needed to add that temperature bit, so the kerchief didn’t catch on fire or something. ”
“Fascinating,” Wyndham murmured.
Conrad felt a little uneasy by the interest. The Bokemann Modulation was a common spell for his line of work, something people threw together when they needed to boost a spell quickly. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “It might be a little too…I don’t know…rough for this type of thing.”
Wyndham visibly appraised the spellpaper in his hand.
“I wouldn’t say that. The spell felt different than how it has in the past. Part of that is because your magic feels different than Roger’s, Torquil’s, and Silas’.
But the…flavor of the spell changed slightly.
Not in a bad way. But I would like to see it some more.
Perhaps with a different spell, something you don’t need to adjust the temperature for. ”
Conrad smiled, relieved. “All right.”
They worked steadily through the afternoon. Neither Roger nor Wyndham seemed remotely perturbed by the spells Conrad cast to demonstrate his preferred modulation sigil, even though the spells were rather basic. Quite frankly, the modulation was basic.
When they finally began cleaning up from their work, Roger commented on it. “It’s funny, I’m so accustomed to the way my family uses magic. They all approach it in a decidedly academic way, as do I, so we tend to use complicated and fiddly spells. You know, ones that are newer or…”
“Advanced?” Conrad supplied.
Roger made a face. “Yes? But I don’t wish to suggest that your magic is not advanced.”
“It isn’t, really.”
“But I rather like that about it,” Roger went on. “It’s…straightforward, the way you approach magic. Fewer frills.”
“As I like to say,” Wyndham added, “nature likes it when you keep things simple. I had a feeling the raw materials would work particularly well with your style of magic.”
A knock came at the door and Torquil poked their head in. “I’m stealing Conrad again.”
“Back from your walk already?” Roger asked. “Goodness, what time is it?”
“It’s time for you all to stop working,” Torquil said.
Wyndham looked at the clock. “We’d better change for dinner.”
“Come along, Conrad,” Torquil said, beckoning him over.
Conrad chuckled and followed them down the stairs and out into the garden.
“I thought I warned you not to overwork,” they said with a grin.
“My apologies,” Conrad replied with mock contrition. “We all got carried away.”
“Mm. And you are determined to make a good impression.”
He shrugged, not arguing the point.
“I spied some raw materials on the desk. Have you already progressed to Wyndham and Roger’s advanced lessons?”
“I suppose so,” Conrad said with a light laugh. “Although—” He broke off, unsure of how to voice his thoughts.
Torquil turned to look at him, their curiosity evident. “Yes?”
“I don’t know. I think my magic is rather common. Roger and Wyndham have assured me it isn’t, or that it isn’t a problem, at least. But it feels out of place a bit with the grand magic the rest of you do.”
Torquil shook their head. “My magic isn’t grand.
It’s cobbled together and strange. I didn’t use it for years because I felt too self conscious about it.
When I was younger, people were cruel—I spent too long taking their judgments to heart.
It wasn’t until sharing my magic with Roger and Wyndham…
and Emrys,” they added with a smile, “that I started to feel comfortable with my particular style.”
“I’m sorry people were cruel to you,” Conrad said softly.
They shrugged. “Fae-humans are not typically treated kindly by society. Silas will tell you the same. His magic might be considered common as well, by many. He uses his magic for masonry and other types of manual labor.”
“That’s true,” Conrad murmured. “I do remember him explaining that.”
He thought back to when he’d observed the other man performing magic.
He’d worn a belt filled with pockets and vials, which he’d reached into for ingredients without even looking.
It had been seamless, like some sort of well-memorized dance.
Wyndham later explained that Silas’ magic essentially began before he’d even cast the spell. That had felt very grand to Conrad.
“I suppose I tend to think of fae magic being rather elegant,” he admitted.
“Were there no fae working on the docks?”
“Very few. Most of the fae I encountered before were merchants.”
They hummed in response. “I’d hardly consider my own magic elegant.”
Conrad laughed. “You are impossibly elegant, Torquil.”
They grinned and gave a mock bow. “Thank you. But Silas would certainly argue with you if you called him or his magic elegant. We have another fae-human on the Council, Miss Gloucester-Stone. She’s lovely, but I doubt she’d describe herself as elegant.
” They paused. “What I’m trying to say is that elegance does not determine whether magic is good or valuable or worthwhile.
And I suspect that you have a great deal to contribute, common magic or no. ”
Conrad couldn’t help from beaming. “Thank you.”
They quirked another smile at him. “Your history may be different from the rest of us, but that doesn’t make you ill-fitting. If you understand me.”
“I do.”
“Good. Now let’s go see if everyone has finished changing for dinner, shall we?”
Conrad’s heart felt light as he followed them back inside the house and into a sitting room. His heart felt even lighter when he spotted Sage talking to Keelan and Silas. He approached the group and brushed a hand through Sage’s hair. “How was your walk?”
Sage stood and bent down to kiss him. It was their first kiss and, frankly, unremarkable: a swift peck on the lips.
Conrad knew it to be a public announcement of sorts.
And he found himself pleased by how easily Sage had settled into his role.
Sage pulled back and gave Conrad’s plain cravat a tweak.
“It was dreadful. I nearly ruined my shoes in a puddle. If Keelan and Silas hadn’t saved me, I’m quite sure the one little walk would have ruined the entire trip. ”