Eureka!

Remus refused to sleep after the surrender of the Orcs. Instead, he worked all day and all night for two days in the keep of the Genesis Fortress stopping only periodically for food and water in an attempt to complete the design of the magicule microscope. On the morning of the third day, he was ready to emerge from his self-imposed isolation.

"Eureka," Remus announced to an empty room. "Identify."

He points his open hand at the paper and after a flash of light, the paper disappears.

</Design Acquired: Magicule Microscope!/>

</Items Required; ½ X Gold; ¼ X Platinum; 1/8 X Palladium; ½ X Iron; ¼ Carbon; 1 X Basilisk eye; 1 X Light Crystal; />

Remus hurried through the echoey halls of the fortress to where Leo and Andrea slept.

"Do you have the gold, platinum and palladium?" he asked Andrea.

"Yes," she replies rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Is it morning already? Did you finish the design?"

She got up and stretched before handing over the items that Remus requested.

</Items saved in inventory: 2 X Gold; 2 X Platinum; 2 X Palladium; />

"Craft."

</Craft Item Successful: Magicule Microscope! />

"How do we know if it works?" Leo asked.

"I need someone normal," he explained. "Bring Octavius here. He will be our control."

Leo brought the village leader to their room.

"I need a sample of your blood to run some tests," Remus said to the old man.

"I have a lot of questions but I won't ask them now," the older man said before stretching out his left arm. "Do it."

"You too," Remus said to Andrea and Leo. "Both of you."

***

3 days later, Leo, Andrea and Remus made their back to the Midlands and waited in a large hall on the ground floor of the citadel.

"The Arch-Maester will see you now," a young secretary said. "Try not to waste his time again, Leo."

The two of them exchanged icy stares as Remus and his party made their way past a small carved wooden doorway, and up a windowless winding flight of stone steps to the top of the Arch-Maesters tower.

Remus was taken by surprise as the tiny stairway gave way to a spacious room with books and strange objects stacked wall to wall. It looked larger on the inside compared to when observed from the outside.

They were promptly greeted by an old Dwarf wearing a red cap who wasted no time with niceties.

"Present your research," the old man said brusquely. "I haven't got all day."

Leo swallowed hard. He glanced at Remus once before starting to speak.

"Thank you, your excellency," he said with a bow. "My thesis is on the source of magic and my research will prove the existence of magicules."

"Not this nonsense again," the dwarf interjected. "Did you at least bring a shred of objective evidence?"

"As a matter of fact I did," Leo replied. "I have with me a magicule microscope. A device capable of examining magical objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye."

"How does something like that work?" the dwarf inquired.

"I will need a small sample of the object like a drop of blood or a scraping of whatever is to be examined," Leo explained. "Under the microscope, the blood from a non-magic person will have a bland colour while that of a magic user will present with a strong colour denoting the nature of the magic."

"Sounds interesting. Instead of using blood which I'm sure you've already tested, I just happened to have a sample of Eagle and Phoenix bone with me and I forgot which is which," the old dwarf said. "Your machine should be able to help me differentiate between the two-- if it works."

Remus stepped forward to receive the two samples and placed a tiny amount of one of the bones under the microscope. Leo and the old man took turns looking through the viewfinder.

In the first sample, they observed a white crystal pattern.

"This must be the eagle," Leo said.

"Perhaps," the dwarf said pensively.

"Try the other one," Remus said.

After placing the other sample under the lens, they observed a brilliant red and green swirling pattern.

Remus and Leo shifted nervously as the old dwarf stood over the magicule microscope observing the pattern.

"Congratulations are in order. This is the most incredible discovery in a century," he finally said. "You are hereby granted the title Maester in your own right."

Leo struggled to contain his excitement.

"Thank you," Leo said.

"May I keep this wonderful machine?" the Arch-Maester asked.

"I'm going to need something in return," Remus said.

"Anything that is within my power," the old dwarf replied.

"I need to acquire the process for creating a magic sword," Remus said.

"We have an accord then."

</Contract formed! />

The Arch-Maester disappeared into the bookshelves behind him and came back with a dusty leather tome.

"When I left my home and my people over a century ago despite their strong objections to become a Maester, I stole this from my father's library and brought it to the Citadel with me. The normal human technique for creating magic swords is very flawed, you see," he said. "It involves forging a blade and then adding an incarnation. Typically an augmentation to make its attack stronger or an elemental-type enchantment like fire or water."

"Not only do these techniques result in lacklustre magic swords but they typically fade over time," he continued. "The Dwarves of Eragbor perfected a method of creating the incantation first before forging the blade. All the details are contained here even though I doubt that a mere human is capable of understanding something so complex."

</Design Acquired: Magic Sword! />