Fortunately, Moxie’s Runes weren’t in hiding when Noah arrived in her soul. The dense forest was as he remembered it, but all five of her remaining Runes were waiting for their arrival.

Bleeding Forest

Uprooted Forest

Uprooted Forest

Blooming Earth

Blooming Earth

None of them were full anymore, but they weren’t far from it. Moxie had done a good job of salvaging her power after her Runes had been broken. She and Noah both superstitiously glanced around, each expecting Azel to make an appearance, but nobody showed up.

“Right,” Noah said, clearing his throat. “Shall we get started?”

“Yeah. Can you Sunder one Blooming Earth and one Uprooted Forest?” Moxie asked. “I don’t think the Rank 2 Runes will need any modification, but it might take me a few tries to find the right way to approach this.”

“I’ve got a pretty good grasp of Sunder now, so that won’t be a problem. Take your time – just remember that we’ve only got thirty minutes to work with, although we can always buy another Mind Meld potion if we need to.”

“Thirty minutes should be more than enough.” Moxie extended a hand and Blooming Earth moved through the air, arriving before them.

Noah drew on Sunder’s power. A moment later, his veins turned jet black. Cold power flooded through his body, and he was pleased to note that it was taking less and less time to summon Sunder’s powers. After he reached Rank 4, he suspected it would become fast enough that he could reliably use it in fights without worrying about waiting for a perfect opportunity.

He reached out and touched the Blooming Earth Rune, unleashing Sunder into it. A dark line cleaved through it, allowing energy and Rank 2 Runes to spill out. Noah stepped back, turning to Uprooted Forest as it floated up beside him.

Calling on Sunder once more, Noah carved it apart. The air around him trembled and vibrated with power. He moved to the side as Moxie hurried to gather the energy flooding her soul. Noah remained quiet as the forest writhed around him, not wanting to distract Moxie any further.

She gathered the power flowing through her mindspace, pulling it to her palms and calling the Rank 2 Runes to herself, muttering under her breath as she tested out different combinations for just instants before dismissing them and replacing a Rune.

After a few tries, Moxie pressed her palms together. Seven Runes pressed together, drawing up the power floating around her soul like a vacuum. A bright flash lit up her mindspace as the Runes merged together, forming into a Rank 3.

A small shockwave of pressure washed out over Noah, buffeting his hair back. He raised a hand, squinting through the light as it started to fade. A newly formed Rune floated before Moxie, about halfway full.

Trembling Sowed Earth

And, unfortunately, it only took Noah one look to tell that this wasn’t the Rune she wanted. Before he could even say anything, Moxie shook her head.

“Kill it.”

Noah obeyed, sending Sunder’s power forth once more. The Rune shattered apart, and Moxie got back to work once more. Just seconds later, she’d salvaged all the energy she could and pushed the Runes together once again.

This time, Noah closed his eyes in time to avoid the flash. When he opened them again, a new Rune floated before Moxie.

Sowed Earth

It was better – ten percent full, even as it filled further from the excess energy from the previous Rune flowing into it – but the slight down-tilt of Moxie’s mouth told him everything he needed to know.

Without even asking, Noah stepped forward and Sundered the Rune once more. Its pieces floated out before Moxie and she studied them, her brow furrowing as she thought. She was moving fast enough that Noah couldn’t have given her advice if he wanted to – he wasn’t sure what she was changing, as he suspected it was equal parts intent and the actual Runes she was using.

While he was trying to figure out what Moxie was thinking, she had already finished. She brought the Runes together for the third time, once again catching Noah off guard and temporarily blinding him. He suppressed a curse, squinting as pressure buffeted him.

They were greeted by another Rune. In name, it was the same as the previous. Moxie had formed a second Sowed Earth Rune. And, at first glance, it seemed identical to her earlier attempt. It had formed at ten percent full and Moxie was currently filling it as much as she could with the remaining energy, biting her lower lip in concentration.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Noah remained silent until she let her hands drop and let out a weary sigh.

“Well?” Noah asked eagerly. “Did it work?”

Moxie closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. The pressure coming off the Rune intensified, pressing against Noah like a firm breeze. It was weak compared to what his Master Runes could generate, but in comparison to Natural Disaster, it was roughly equal. Several seconds passed. Moxie opened her eyes again and turned toward Noah.

“What do you think?”

“How would I know? You didn’t–” Noah cut himself off and his eyes widened. “You did? You tried using different parts of the energy in it?”

Moxie grinned and nodded. “Yes. It’s perfect. For real, this time.”

“Yes!” Noah pumped a hand in the air and let out a gleeful laugh. “Finally! What was it that made the difference?”

“Let me try to do the other Rune before I answer that,” Moxie said. “I might need some pieces from another Uprooted Forest. Could you get it before the potion wears off?”

“Sure.”

And that was what he did. One slice from Sunder and twenty seconds later, Moxie had a new Sprouting Plant Rune formed before her, ten percent full. She’d moved so quickly that it almost felt like she’d rehearsed everything.

Before doing anything else, Moxie gathered up the remaining seven Runes that had been left over from the combinations and mashed them together as well, forming a considerably less impressive Cracked Flowering Earth Rune.

“Good for storage,” Moxie explained when Noah sent the Rune a critical look. “Horrible idea for anyone else, but considering you can just chop it apart with almost no effort, it’s a lot easier than having seven Runes float around in my soul.”

“That’s… a good point,” Noah admitted. “Saves space on Catchpaper as well. But stop teasing me already. What did you do? Is the new Rune also truly perfect?”

Moxie spent a moment to test it, and they were both rewarded by the even pressure of a perfect Rune. She was clearly testing something in the real world based on the furrows creasing her brow, but the power emanating from Sprouting Plant didn’t change in the slightest until she released it.

“Yeah. It’s perfect,” Moxie confirmed. She sent a glance toward the two Runes that she hadn’t touched yet – Bleeding Forest and her final Blooming Earth. Then she sent a pointed look at Noah.

He rolled his eyes. “Both of them?”

“Yes, please.” Moxie pulled the Runes over to float before them. Noah was starting to feel the drain of using Sunder, but he still had some more energy left to spend, and there was no point wasting the Mind Meld potion – even if he was pretty sure Moxie was just messing with him now.

She could have easily told him what the change she’d made was. They had more than twenty minutes left to work with, and it only took her a minute to modify her Runes. The smug sparkle in her eyes told him she knew that all too well, and still didn’t plan on saying anything.

“What’s wrong?” Moxie asked coyly. “Impatient?”

“Bah,” Noah grumbled, pulling Sunder’s strength through his veins and reaching out. He Sundered the Runes in rapid succession, then moved out of the way to give Moxie space to work – and to gather his breath.

Moxie took more time with the last Rune than she did with the first two. She spent almost a minute holding the energy around her, just bringing different Rank 2 Runes together before dismissing them and calling replacements in their wake.

Finally, after almost two minutes, she pulled everything together. And, of course, that ended up happening right as he blinked, so he had the fortune of opening his eyes at the very instant the Runes merged, blasting his retinas with a surge of light.

He swore and blinked furiously to dismiss the dots floating before his eyes. A new Rune – ten percent full – floated before Moxie, amid a sea of discarded Rank 2 Runes.

Bloodletting Plant

Moxie gathered the last pieces and merged them into a Cracked Bloody Earth Rune. Noah had learned his lesson by that point and was looking in the other direction. He only looked back when Moxie released the hold she had on her Runes, letting them return to their normal positions.

Her work had spent a good amount of the energy she’d gathered. She still had five Runes, but two of them were horribly formed and functionally useless. But, of the three remaining, all were around fifty percent full.

And, most importantly, they were truly perfect.

“Well?” Noah broke the moment of silence without an instant of hesitation. “Come on. What changed?”

“It was almost entirely what you figured out. Limiting the scope but keeping it fairly general was the biggest change, but I noticed that it still didn’t feel perfect. The last little bit was realizing that you can’t just have a single intent.”

“What’s that mean?” Noah frowned. “Like you should have multiple intents for your Rune?”

“No. Your Rune is made up of seven other Runes, right? Well, you’ve got to account for the intent that each of those Runes had as well. That was the final piece. Think about it. There are lots of ways to make an Earth Rune. You can get it from different locations, and they even look different. Intent is the reason they’re like that.”

Noah’s eyes widened. “That’s it. The subtle differences in Runes with the same name are because they’re meant to do slightly different things, even though they’ve got the same name. Brilliant.”

“I know.” Moxie flashed him a satisfied grin. “After that clicked, I just realized I had to make sure the intent of the Rank 2 Runes all worked together. I had to replace a few of the Rank 2s that didn’t fit, but I found ones that synergized. Then – boom. Truly perfect Rune.”

They fell silent, looking out at the Runes. Even though they were just Rank 3 Runes, Noah couldn’t keep the sense of immense satisfaction from welling up inside himself. He didn’t know how much of the information they’d just figured out was already known to noble families that was just keeping it secret, but he didn’t care.

We’re well on our way. With this, we’ll be able to reach Rank 4 pretty damn soon. Maybe even before summer is out. Those assholes can keep their secrets. We don’t need them. And if they don’t actually know this, then even better. We’ve got the advantage that we need.

“You look smug,” Moxie said, prodding Noah in the side. “I’m the one that made the Runes, you know.”

“No gratitude at all,” Noah complained. “What am I, a portable Rune reconfiguration tool?”

Moxie leaned in, giving him a sudden kiss before pulling back and laughing at the expression on his face. “How’s that for gratitude?”

“Acceptable,” Noah replied after a moment, touching the side of his face.

“That’s it?” Moxie crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. “I’ve never been one to strive for mediocrity.”

“Well, if I’m not mistaken, there should still be a good bit of time before the potion’s duration wears off.”

“That should be enough time.” Moxie grinned.

It was.