Chapter 15 Part 2: A New Material

“Oh good! You’re here.” Christopher greeted, extending his hand. Jun raised a brow. After a second he took the hand and sighed.

“What is it this time?” He looked to Tarron and Tarron grinned. Jun was catching on quick. Christopher seemed to be in tune with the mute White Flame, and would speak for him from time to time.

“Your healing training is doing well. It’s time to show what you’ve learned.”

Jun stiffened. A test? His eyes met with the disciples who had gathered, eventually falling on Tarron. The older man indicated with his head to proceed. Jun, not wanting to wear out his patience, closed the distance.

He bowed his head and then reached out a hand to the nearest person.

“If I may.”

She nodded and took his offer. Jun closed his eyes as he concentrated on his prayer. It was low, thanks to his experiments and he offered a prayer to the Silver Flame, replenishing his reserves. He examined her the way Solara had explained, trying to make it seem like he was learning from her. The information poured in, though not nearly as detailed as he would have liked. He detected several bruises and then some inflammation. Nothing stood out. He tilted his head, probing deeper. Then he found it.

“How’s your other hand?” he voiced, releasing his grip and looking at the hand by her side.

“This?” Her eyes widened and she moved it, flinching. “Well, not the best.” That hand had a small fracture. A hairline fracture, painful but nothing terrible.

Jun noted Tarron’s head shifting in approval. He took her injured hand and healed it, lightly touching on her other injuries as they didn’t seem to bother her. One by one, he examined the others without asking what their conditions were. After taking care of them, Tarron dismissed them and sat back with a calm smile. Christopher nodded.

“You did well.”

“Was that really necessary?” Jun put his hand on his hip.

Christopher looked to Tarron who nodded and pulled out a slate. He wrote something and handed it to Christopher who chewed on his lip and then nodded.

“We need Solara out in the field now. The place we are heading to next will be more dangerous, and we need someone to stay here in case of emergency.”

Jun paused. If that was the case, it made sense they would want to test him, see the extent of his abilities.

“Why head there when it’s so dangerous?”

Christopher sighed. “We found a new material, and want to collect more samples to experiment with. If they prove useful then we will make the area more safe, but until then, it’s best to let the natural dangers guard it.”

Jun nodded. The explanation was simple enough.

“Is there anything else you wanted?”

“Not curious in the least, are you…” Christopher frowned. “We discovered a new material and you just go along?” Jun clenched his jaw. Just what sort of impression had he given Christopher that he would think he was interested in it.

“Come now Jun, this is the chance of a lifetime. I know from a merchant family, it can seem like its about money, but with such a discovery, we can create something life changing!”

Christopher started espousing the ideals from being curious and exploring and discovering. To cut him short, Jun spoke up.

“Alright, so what does this material do?”

Christopher stilled and Tarron jiggled in silent laughter.

“I fail to see how that was funny.”

Tarron wrote.

He got you to stop.

Jun barely caught the message as Christopher looked it over.

“Okay! I know I can talk a lot, but seriously! This could be the find of the century. I mean, the material reacts to prayer.”

Jun blinked. A material that reacted to prayer? Now that was interesting.

“And how does it react?”

Christopher looked skyward before his predatory eyes looked back at Jun. “Finally! Now you get it. The material seems to bend or shift with prayer.”

After Christopher started talking his ear off, Jun asked to see the material in question. Christopher glanced to Tarron who shook his head.

“Unfortunately the first batch is claimed by the craftsmen.”

Jun furrowed his brow. Christopher offered a wan smile. “Look, we don’t make the rules. Any new material must have a minimum sample collection and that must be given to the craftsmen’s guild first. After that, any extras will be available for us to try our hand with.”

Jun heaved a huff. “Why tell me about it then?”

He was excited.

Tarron wrote, interjecting and stopping Christopher’s long winded explanation. Jun nodded and then excused himself. While new materials were interesting, he wanted to get back to his rune carving and playing with his fire.