1 Ymiden 723
Every trial Balthazar would pick a building and restore it to perfect condition using his abilities.Lovalus has granted Balthazar the ability to conjure and manipulate a stream of purple flames which can encompass an individual or a large building (up to tier 4 in size, meaning three average rooms and a small room worth of space) in need of healing/repair. This purple flame is nothing like any conventional form of fire. Rather than give off heat, it seems to emit a cooling sensation like water and rather than burn it repairs damage done to whatever in surrounds slowly. This can be used to heal mortal wounds but it can not be used to restore life. Alternatively the flames can restore whatever building they encompass to immaculate condition, repairing damage done to foundations, windows, walls, etc. The purple flames leave a slightly damp sensation that lingers for a few bits after use and do not spread like normal flames would, they only spread as directed by Balthazar. These flames can only be conjured once a trial and require concentration to maintain, which in combination with their slow progress makes them ineffective in combat. His was the first building he wanted repaired but the damage was not significant.
The fires had burned through the back of the headquarters where his office was before the Black Cats who'd been working were able to get it under control. Balthazar knew he would need a place to work from and preferred his headquarters to his office in the Merchant's Guild but there were more important things than repairing the small damage done. They didn't need magic to fix it.
His second idea was to restore the buildings owned by business owners and other guild members. To that end he had asked for someone to map out the damage that was done to businesses and Griff tried his hand at it. Unfortunately Griff was not a great map maker so Balthazar relied on his memories. He thought back to the maps displayed in the Element Hall and held their contents in his mind while he plotted out which buildings to restore and what trials to restore them on. On Ymiden first, the building that he had chosen was the Element Hall. Lyanna talked him out of it and oddly enough Robin agreed with her. They both felt that the Albarech and government of Scalvoris would rally to repair damage to the Elements. They insisted that Balthazar focus on restoring the business-related buildings first. Croft took the chance to remind Balthazar how contracts worked in Yaralon. His contract with the Albarech ended when the attack did but he still had a responsibility to the honor the contract with the Merchant Guild.
So he chose not to go to the Element Hall, but he did write the Albarech a small letter. While he still felt the same about the Elements, his opinion of the Albarech had increased dramatically after the attack so he felt that if anyone deserved support it was her. Her job couldn't be easy right now. He wrote it as if it were coming from all of the Black Cats and his hand writing was not the best but the message was intended to be good. The letter read;
Madame Albarech,
In the wake of the attack, Balthazar will be traveling around to restore as many buildings to useable condition as possible. He can only heal one building or one person each trial. It will be slow work, but he believes this will help get businesses back up and running and people back in homes. Balthazar will divide his time between Almund and Haven but you can reach us at our headquarters in Almund if you have need of our services.
Balthazar will write to you soon regarding other concerns.
- The Black Cats
The mage wanted to ask about the wrecked ships. He could repair them as well if there were enough pieces left but he wanted to know how they had blocked his magic and he didn't trust the Elements to find out. He didn't trust the Elements very much at all until he had time to figure out how they'd been deceived. He didn't ask in the first letter though because he thought it would be underhanded. 'Hey, we are here to help- but also let me have one of the wrecked ships.' He could ask at a later time. Balthazar gave the letter to Griff to deliver and turned back to Robin, Croft, and Lyanna who were still in his office with him. If they weren't fixing the Hall, what were they going to fix today?
"I think we should start with any of the inns or taverns." Robin suggested. Since they lacked a physical map, Balthazar had to think about how many taverns he knew on the mental map he had.
"A good choice." Balthazar agreed, "It'll give people somewhere to stay while the rest is worked out."
"There are Elements all over the streets right now trying to help with that" Lyanna pointed out, "We should set out for Haven." Lyanna knew that Balthazar wanted to go to Haven. He wanted to see Elisabeth and to be sure she was alright, but his ring told him she was fine and their linked echo scrolls kept them in communication whenever they wanted.
"Haven has Elisabeth," Balthazar said, "Almund doesn't- but it doesn't matter. I could repair a building now and we could set out for Haven later. We need to pick somewhere in Almund first." Balthazar was firm about that. He would not waste the trial traveling when he could both fix part of the city and travel.
"For what it's worth, I think you should stay in Almund." Croft said, breaking his own silence, "The rest of the Black Cats aren't trying to show it, but they want you here for a little stability. The fire was not the sort of thing they thought they'd be doing when they joined."
"Don't bundle me in that group, I'm just fine without the supervision." Lyanna chimed in, prompting a disappointed look from almost everyone in the room but she didn't care.
"I want to go back to Haven soon," Balthazar decided, "but for now let's focus on the relief effort here. Once we know more we will be able to do more."
They continued to circle the debate for a few more bits and everyone clearly had their own opinion. Robin argued that they should target inns and taverns while Lyanna said that they should focus on the shops. Croft didn't care what they did as long as they stayed in Almund a little longer. The more they debated, the less hopeful things became. They could give the people back their homes and their buildings but they could not give back everything else that had been lost- at least not in any logistically sound way. He couldn't give back the lives that had been lost.
In the end they settled on mending part of the Merchant Guild Headquarters. The building was larger than Balthazar could spread the fire but he could start with one side and work his way to the other tomorrow if the merchants weren't organizing repairs fast enough. Balthazar and Robin went out to perform the miracle while Lyanna and Croft remained at the headquarters to coordinate incoming information with Avery and Elsa- two of the newer members of the group who always worked in the headquarters. It was a short walk that felt like miles due to the relief efforts in the city. Aid workers were moving up and down the streets, people were searching for friends and family- it was disheartening to watch but Balthazar trekked on. Pity would do nothing for them.
When they reached the headquarters of the Merchant Guild they got a better account of how badly damaged it had been. The fire hadn't decimated the building but it was done a little bit more than just touched it. It had once been so grand but now it was... overdone. Wood was charred away at edges of the building and there was dirt everywhere from attempts to smother the fire when the water had failed. Clearing the dirt away was easy. Balthazar reached inward to the elements and asked the dirt to shift aside. He held his arms and several mounds of earth lifted into the air, hovered away from the building, and set themselves back down.
"We should head inside and warn everyone." Balthazar realized, "Most people will probably panic if the building looks like it's on fire again." Robin gave a small laugh in response to Balthazar's comment and nodded his head. The two of them went inside and politely let each member know that they were going to attempt repairs on the fire-damaged portion of the building. No one really protested the idea of repairing the building and those who were concerned about cost were assured that it would cost them nothing. They were convinced that Balthazar was doing it entirely because he felt it was his duty. A burned-out building was not a very secure building and he was in charge of security.
Once the merchants had been convinced, Balthazar moved to the left wing of the building and set his hands against a charred wall which seemed to give a little beneath his touch. He felt like he might be able to push the whole wall over if he tried hard enough but he was there to rebuild, not to destroy. He took a deep breath in through his nose and held it in his chest. He could still smell the ash everywhere. He counted to three in his head and let the breath out through his mouth. As he did, the wall he was touching lit aflame- but the fire was purple. Despite having warned everyone what he was going to do, Balthazar still heard a few surprised gasps from the heads poking out of their offices to watch him. Little whispers and doubts weren't going to distract him enough to break his concentration.
Unlike that which had burned the building, this fire did not consume. It worked against its nature and provided. As the flames spread over the side of the building they restored the wall to pristine condition. The purple fire washed over the wall, pouring up to the damaged ceiling and spreading into all the broken places it could reach. As with the wall, the ceiling mended itself under the influence of the magic. Everywhere the fire touched was repaired and made perfect again- and then the flames dissipated. They left behind only a damp sensation to let the world know that they had rebuilt this place and even that would fade in a few bits.
One half down. Another half to go tomorrow. Until then there were reports to read, things to investigate, and letters to write so Balthazar and Robin set off to return to the headquarters.
