It’s not long after that when Bullio opens the door again.

  “It’s clear inside, my lord,” he reports briskly. “Leileh has remained to guard the internal exit; I will guard this one.”

  “Thanks,” is all I can think of saying, and then I lead the way as he steps out of the doorway.

  Inside, the shop is just as decorated as its window indicates – pictures cover the walls and spread even onto the ceiling. It’s brighter than I was expecting, though – magical lamps line the walls, rendering external light unnecessary. Though there’s the expected padded chaise longue and a table that’s obviously used for drawing new designs, the rest of the equipment isn’t as I anticipated. I don’t see any tattooing machines for one thing – instead, it looks more like a painter’s studio, complete with palettes, paintbrushes, and bottles of paint.

  I’m so fascinated by the interior of the shop that it takes the polite clearing of a throat to bring my attention to the woman waiting patiently near the chaise longue.

  “Oh, my apologies,” I tell her, feeling a little embarrassed. I feel the urge to extend my hand, but check the impulse, instead giving her a brief nod.

  “Not to worry, my lord,” she replies professionally. “I’m Master Lizil Mirena, the owner and main artist in this workshop. Now, what can I do for you?”

  The woman is a walking advertisement of her art – the only areas I can see that aren’t marked by at least one tattoo are her nose and her fingernails. Even her cheeks, lips, and neck have spidery lines curling over them.

  Though my objective here is to find out more about the tattoos that might allow my companions to rest on me when they wish to, I find myself far too curious to only ask about that.

  “It’s nice to meet you Master Mirena. I am Lord Markus Titanbend. You come highly recommended as an enchanter of skill,” I start, figuring a little sincere flattery is a good place to begin. “And these pieces of work are absolutely beautiful.” I indicate the artistry that lines every available space. “Can you tell me more about what’s available, and how it all works?”

  “Of course, my lord,” the enchanter answers easily. “How much do you know about my craft?”

  I give a wry smile.

  “That it involves pictures and can allow living beings to be held on the skin of their Tamer. So, very little.”

  “Some basics, at least, my lord,” Master Mirena smiles encouragingly, the lines decorating her lips curving curiously. “However, it is true that enchanted tattoos are capable of far more than that. With defensive, offensive, and pure utilitarian applications, this branch of magic is capable of much. Indeed, it is currently undergoing the process of becoming recognised as its own school!” She sounds quietly proud about that – I don’t know enough about the whole thing to judge if it’s warranted or not.

  “How can tattoos be offensive? Or defensive? And how do they link to runes?” I ask curiously – I came to learn more about the tattoos Nicholas mentioned, but that doesn’t mean I can’t explore other options too. Perhaps she reads my mind as she gives me a mysterious smile.

  “I’m glad you asked.” The enchanter pulls a design off her wall – this one depicts a proud dragon in full colour – mostly yellows, oranges, and reds. My eyebrows rise in shock as I look more closely – every black line of its body is formed of miniscule runes. “Though runes are a bedrock of this art, they are not the only factors.” She gestures towards the shelves of coloured ink that River had been interested in. “The inks are specially brewed to conduct and intensify their magic. And the design of the tattoo has a non-negligible factor. This, for example, is an offensive enchantment that allows the bearer to cast two magical effects – fireball and firebreath, specifically.”

  “On demand?” I ask, shocked at the thought – from what Nicholas said, mages are rare so is this a way of levelling the playing field?

  “To an extent,” Master Mirena replies, looking as if she’s trying to muffle her amusement. “And only if the bearer is capable of sustaining the magic draw – which is significant among those who do not have any affinity for fire. But then, those who have an affinity for fire are generally capable of these two effects without any aid.”

  “I suppose that’s true,” I admit, thinking of myself. Though I don’t technically have any Fireball or Firebreath Skills, I can certainly mimic them with Fire-Shaping. “Is someone’s mana pool a hard limit for these tattoos then?” I ask – if so, they will be less useful than I was hoping.

  “Not at all,” she hurries to assure me. “Only for channeled effects. However, many tattoos are capable of absorbing ambient Energy and building up a charge that can be used when needed. For example, this one.” She pulls out a drawing of a beast that looks kind of like a tortoise. My ‘memories’ from the wilderness survival stone indicate that it’s called a belen – like a tortoise, it uses its shell as protection, but its affinity is generally with the earth so it has its own ways of responding to an attack.

  “Is this a defensive tattoo, or one that has an offensive Earth attack?” I wonder.

  “In this case, it is defensive in nature, though you’re right that I can use the same beast for some offensive Earth effects,” she explains. “When triggered, it raises a dome around the wearer which will protect from magical and physical attacks for as long as the charge lasts. However, once the shield is broken, it can’t be raised again until the tattoo has fully recharged.”

  “And offensive tattoos that rely on charge are similar?”

  “Mostly,” she agrees. “That said, some effects can be triggered when the tattoo isn’t fully charged – though they may give up some power or duration as a result.”

  I nod thoughtfully. Tattoos seem to be a good alternative to enchanted equipment – at least it’s not possible to accidentally leave them at home on the very day when they’re needed. As Master Mirena continues with her explanation, touching on the utility options for tattoos, my mind races with possible applications for my companions.

  “Are there any downsides to tattoos?” I ask, wanting to know any risks.

  Master Mirena looks contemplative.

  “Well, first of all, the expense of having them done. To have a tattoo of good quality – one that will remain on your skin for years, and won’t explode at the wrong moment – you must engage one such as myself: a Master Enchanter with a specialism in tattooing. Our time does not come cheaply. Then, there is the cost of materials. So expense is usually what limits the number of tattoos someone will have placed on themselves.”

  “And if expense isn’t an object?” I wonder – while I won’t say that I have unlimited money, I do have a fair bit right now, and the safety of my companions is definitely worth spending some of it.

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  Master Mirena’s eyes light up a little and a smile curves the corners of her mouth.

  “Well, then. There are a few limits based on the tattoos themselves. Some react badly if placed too close to each other. As well, too many tattoos charging at the same time can reduce someone’s mana regeneration – though usually people who have that many tattoos don’t use mana themselves so it doesn’t matter much at that point. And too many active at one time can lead to the effects interfering with each other, for example if you use a fire gout tattoo at the same time as an earthen shield, you can end up cooking yourself within your own shield.” Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a fun time. “Then there are potential conflicting effects – as you can no doubt imagine, having both a fertility and infertility tattoo renders neither effective – similarly with some of the defensive tattoos.”

  “Understandable. Do the tattoos work even when someone is wearing magic-inhibitors or if the person is exhausted of mana?” Apart from that being necessary information for my own use, it would be good to know if we should be watching out for tattoos on those we might capture in the future.

  “Enchantments in general that build up charge independent of their wearer’s pool are generally still activatable in those conditions, yes,” Master Mirena confirms, “though some anti-magic effects are capable of limiting even those tattoos.” That reminds me of how Nicholas said that there are some wards that are capable of preventing his Bonded from emerging from his tattoos – I guess it’s the same here.

  “Do you have any tattoos which are like…lock-picking ones? Allowing the bearer to unlock any bindings that are trapping them?” I see several of my companions turn their heads to look at me sharply – they are just as invested as I am in making sure another kidnapping isn’t successful in the future.

  Master Mirena looks cautious.

  “I do have such a design, but it’s usually restricted – I have to apply for permission to the courts before applying it.” I’m sure – they wouldn’t want every criminal being able to slip their bindings. “But given who you are, I doubt the application will be denied. And it doesn’t work on all bindings, only those with locks.”

  From the sounds of it, my spider-silk bindings would still work well enough, then.

  “That’s fine,” I agree. “But I wasn’t really thinking about myself. Or not just myself.” I see her eyes linger on my companions. “Is it possible to apply tattoos to non-humans?”

  Master Mirena is silent for a moment, but the look in her eyes is thoughtful as she examines Bastet, Lathani, and the samurans.

  “Not all tattoos can be applied to beasts – ah, non-humans. What Tier are they?”

  “Mostly Tier two, though I have some back at the manor who are Tier one. And one Tier three – but I don’t know if she’d be up for a tattoo,” I add belatedly.

  The enchanter’s expression becomes even more contemplative.

  “I’ve never tried to apply an active tattoo on one lower than Tier two – only passive ones such as fertility or infertility, increased or decreased aggression. Those sorts of things. But it should be possible, though an anti-binding enchantment isn’t something a Tamer would usually wish his Bonded to have,” she remarks. I shrug.

  “I’ve come to understand that I’m not a normal Tamer. Ideally, I’d like them all to have an anti-binding enchantment, plus an offensive and a defensive tattoo that they could activate in an emergency.”

  “That’s certainly doable,” she agrees. “Though I’ll have to verify the anti-binding enchantment, I have a book of offensive and defensive options you can look at which are all safe for beasts to bear. Though I must have guarantees from you that those you wish me to paint will stay still – or be held still – throughout the process. Interruptions cause unpredictable effects – and can be incredibly dangerous. And even the simplest design takes at least half a mark to complete.”

  “I understand.” And I do – I’ve seen things explode on Hunter often enough to know the danger of getting runes wrong. The samuran in question is also nodding her head fervently. I can feel all the questions she wants to ask being held back because she can – and doesn’t want to drown me with them. “Master Mirena,” I continue, wondering if it’s possible. “Are there any tattoos that would enable my Bonded to communicate with people outside our network?”

  The enchanter frowns slightly, then, without a word, turns away and grabs a book from off the shelf. The two samurans seem to take that as permission to wander further into the shop – Hunter moves to inspect the artwork more closely while River shifts nearer to the paint pots. From Sera Mirena’s explanation, they’re actually potions which carry the magic through the enchantment – it seems incredibly complicated, actually, to not only create a functional enchantment with runes, but also to choose the right potions to balance out the magic, while creating something that is visually stunning.

  “This,” the enchanter says with triumph, then blinks as she realises that two of the samurans are close to invading her personal space.

  “River, Hunter,” I chide them – curiosity is one thing, but disrupting the enchanter is something different. “Come on, give her some space.” River looks abashed and shifts to return to my side; Hunter just sends me an impatient, imploring look – I don’t need the Bond to understand what she wants.

  “It’s fine,” Master Mirena tells me quickly, curious eyes moving from one samuran to the other. “They’re…interested in enchanting?”

  “River is a keen potion brewer – and is unofficially apprenticed under an alchemist,” I explain, pointing them each out. “Hunter is very much interested in enchantments and has been training with an enchanter to increase her knowledge. But when she found out I was visiting another enchanter today, she insisted on coming along.”

  I wasn’t that bad! Hunter refutes indignantly.

  It makes you sound more eager – it’s more flattering for her, I explain.

  Oh. I see. She doesn’t sound like she completely understands, but her spikes lose the flickers of red that had been creeping into them.

  “Really?” Master Mirena replies, her eyebrows rising. She takes a closer look at the samurans. I wonder if she’s seeing the intelligence in their eyes; if she realises that they might not be human in form, but they’re just as sapient.

  “And they’re not the only ones. Alyna is also highly interested in enchanting and has a level of skill in the area already,” I add – Nicholas said that Master Mirena has lots of connections with the local crafters, so even if she personally doesn’t want to join us, proving that we’re serious about crafting can only work to our advantage. I turn to Alyna to beckon her forward, only to frown. Where is she?

  Before I start worrying that she’s slipped away – or been taken from our midst somehow – I spot her dark hair behind Lathani.

  Come on, Alyna – don’t you want to speak to the enchanter?

  She won’t want to speak to me, Alyna replies.

  You don’t know that. And you won’t until you try, I coax. “She’s a bit shy,” I explain to Master Mirena who looks intrigued.

  I don’t urge Alyna any more – she’s the one who wanted to come in the first place so if she decides in the end that she just wants to lurk, that’s up to her. But after a few seconds, there’s movement behind the large leopard and the thin figure of Alyna emerges, her hair half-covering her eyes.

  She moves quickly now she’s made her decision, and bobs a quick bow to Master Mirena.

  “Master Enchanter, it’s an honour.”

  She raises her head and I know the moment Master Mirena sees the collar around her neck as she flashes me an unreadable look. Still, perhaps taking her cue from the fact that I don’t intervene in any way, she addresses Alyna directly.

  “You know something about the art of enchanting?”

  Pink rises in Alyna’s cheeks and she looks more awestruck than I’ve ever seen her.

  “Nothin’ like ye, Master. Mostly about lockin’ thin’s…an’ unlockin’ them,” she adds in a mutter.

  The hum that Master Mirena gives is slightly amused but thoughtful, her eyes lingering on that silver collar again. I suspect she can put two and two together. She half-turns away from Alyna so she can partially face me.

  “My lord, may I ask you a direct question?”

  “Sure.” I brace myself for something about why Alyna’s in a collar. For all I know, her exploits prior to Dexil’s gang moving cities are well-known.

  “Do you intend to engage my services as an enchanter or are you aiming to have me take one or all of these…beings as an apprentice?”

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