depending on the soil you used. What he needed to do now was pick a project that would test his ability to make copies, but wouldn't force him to damage himself while doing it.
At first, after he'd injured his own field, the information that made him… him, Tor had worried that it would cripple him for decades. But after only a few months his pattern was pretty much back to normal. He should be able to do anything he'd done before. Unfortunately that included a few stupid direct effect things that had done most of the damage to begin with. If he kept repeating that stuff, forcing his will too rapidly on reality, he'd end up falling apart in bloody little gobs of flesh. It was good incentive to not be a moron if ever there was one.
So, what should he do?
He decided on some old tried and true fields. Flying rigs and shields. If he hurried he could have a hundred of each ready by dinner, provided his field was as healthy as it seemed. If not… well, that would suck, but he could always do less if need be. Small batches, or maybe just focus on meditation for a while, trying to strengthen his pattern? That should work in theory, he thought. It would be interesting to try sometime.
The work went quickly, even on such large batches. He used deep level focus, but not the deepest he could manage now. Doing that tended to shift his own pattern too much. This way he could nudge the magical imprint into place a bit more slowly and without influencing himself that deeply in response. The truth was, in a small way at least, to make a magical device, you had to make part of your own pattern become the field you need. It was why he was better at copying fields he knew well, he understood suddenly. Then you used your own information, what caused you to have real form and be unique, as leverage to pry what you were working on into a new shape.
Still, just a little over two hours later he had two small boxes floating next to him in the air with bundles of flying rigs and shields like he'd planned. When he checked his own field he found… that he was fine. It was easy to feel the fields he'd just made within himself still, but they were fading fast and his own was taking precedence again. Good. As long as he allowed full recovery between work sessions he should be all right. Getting up to stretch he jumped as the door latch, a magical lock that he'd made years ago, suddenly flipped open and the door pushed in without hesitation.
Standing in the doorway was a giant filling the whole space, nearly totally. Red hair, still fairly short compared to Tor's own girlishly long locks, lean frame dressed in brown canvas, and standing nearly seven foot two now.
Rolph.
Tor didn't freak out or jump up and tackle the man, since they'd last hung out not two days before. Instead Tor tilted his head and considered the situation.
“You know Rolph, I don't think you're really going to be able to pull of the “Rolph Merchant” disguise much longer. Do merchants ever get to be over six-eight or so?”
Laughing his friend winked.
“Depends on who their dad is, doesn't it? I should be all right for now. Well, except that I'm rooming with the Wizard Tor. With all the freshmen girls beating down our door to get to you, I'll probably never get any sleep. Speaking of never getting any sleep, how’s Ali? I know you two planned on your own house…”
Tor explained his finding her with Ridley and tried to chuckle, though he actually felt a little jealous about the whole thing. Not to mention the invitation thing that happened because he was too stupid to find a cleaver way out of it. Rolph nodded and for once didn't laugh at his lack of noble knowledge.
“Well, you can just both have sex with her, it doesn't have to even be at the same time, and it will still count. You don't have to really do anything with him even. Just mention it to him first, when you're alone sometime. Let him know that you're friends and all, and that you don't mind sharing, but that you aren't into men. He'll understand, Ridley's good that way.” It was said as if the whole thing was perfectly normal.
Gah.
The large man's luggage followed him in, cases that Tor had made himself, but decorated to be very plain, looking like polished wood, but with no real decorations. It was about what any rich Merchant kid would have, except the part where they floated through the air. Even that was explainable, since his roommate made them, and gave them to him for free. It was even the truth, so he could swear it honestly. As he was setting up, Rolph glanced at the two boxes floating by his smaller friend’s bedside.
“What’s that?” A long finger pointed at the boxes, but the expression was a little skeptical. Rolph knew Tor well enough to get that it wasn't a collection of socks for the wash or anything like that.
“Oh, trying my hand at some simple copy work,” Pulling one of the shields out he held it up for inspection. It was dark brown and slick looking, that being the color of focus stone made from dirt in the area, and had a glowing green sigil in the center, an “S” with two lines through it cross ways.
“Flight rigs too. I figure that I can do up a few hundred and that way everyone can learn to fly here. I really want Ali to learn, and Ridley should too, if we’re going to let him be involved in our messes. Plus, everyone should have their own shield, right? I know Burks thinks everything should calm down for a while, but if he's wrong and someone tries to kill one of us I don't want some first year kid dying because I was too lazy or selfish to see to their well being.” Tor let his head come up. He'd done that before, not guarded the people around him like he should and nearly died trying to get everyone else to safety. He'd decided right then and there after the assassins were subdued and he'd finished crying, that no matter what, that wouldn't happen again. Not if it could be helped at all.
That got a low whistle from Rolph.
“Yep, I'm never getting to sleep again. “Oh Master Tor sir, I just love the devices you gave me… can I do anything for you? And I do mean anything.” Yep.” Voice going into a high falsetto the Prince shook his head and wondered if he could get one of those little noise canceling devices Tor made to silence the sex sounds coming from the other bed.
Tor threw his pillow at him, missing horribly, the soft thing landing all the way across the room and resting half against the back wall, half on the floor. The return volley from the tall red head was far more accurate and hit hard enough for his shield to activate and stop. Handy that, Tor thought, not being knocked to the floor for once. Getting up lightly he handed the pillow back on the way past with a soft sigh, retrieving his own before sitting down.
The room was the same size it always had been, but it looked smaller to him now. The wooden walls were plainer, the small desk each of them had to do schoolwork on seemed dingy and poor suddenly. That wasn't right though, it was a perfectly good room. He was just acting spoiled because of all his trips to the palace and his new magical houses.
Grimacing Tor looked around and tried to put his mind in a better frame. It was a good room. This had been the nicest place he'd lived until a little over a year before, it would more than serve. He'd been thinking about putting in one of the new bed devices, but decided against it then. Too much luxury and you stopped appreciating it. This was a good lesson for him, and since school was about learning it would make sense for him to pay attention to it, right?
Rolph suggested that they gather their current people up and go get something to eat. The dining halls weren't open yet, but the town had three good restaurants. Tor half wondered who all their people were, but everyone needed to eat, and spending gold meant that the people working in town would have some to spend and so on. He placed about twenty gold in a small velvet bag made for the purpose and formed a little pocket in his browns to put it in. Rolph shook his head at the amount, but Tor hadn't ever really gone to any of the places in town before and didn't know how many people he’d be paying for. Better to bring a little too much than to not have enough.
They found Alissa in her room with a young girl, also a first year, by the look of her and the fear in her eyes. The girl was thin and plain looking, especially compared to his wife's cute and busty look, they had about the same color light brown hair, almost a dirty blond, but the new girl's was done in the new standard look, a short military style bob. She wore brand new student browns, but was tall enough she was clearly a royal, a noble, of some kind. Alissa met him at the door with a kiss and a musky scent that meant Ridley hadn't been kidding about what they had planned earlier. Rolph got a hug from her, since they were friends now. Not lovers, Tor didn't think, but asking that would be foolish if he didn't want to know. Technically they were to related to get married, but there were things allowed in their circles between distant family members that Tor didn’t think were right at all.
Moving back to Tor, Ali pressed her breasts against his chest and smiled sweetly at him, already nearly looking him in the eyes. In a year she'd be a few inches taller than him or more and in three years she'd probably be
