The Starwick Seal: A Cozy LitRPG-Lite Fantasy by Arthur Glenwood

Author:Arthur Glenwood [Glenwood, Arthur]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2025-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Edwin turned from the window to find Luna and Trent already at work. They’d cleared a space at the main worktable, and Luna was carefully copying runes from one of the ancient tomes she’d selected.

“I’m finding something interesting,” Luna said without looking up. She had several sheets of parchment spread before her, covered in carefully copied runes from the ancient tomes. “These runes weren’t just for protection. They were designed to create stability in magical structures. See this pattern here? The way these symbols interconnect suggests they’re meant to reinforce ephemeral forces, like symbolic anchors.”

Edwin leaned closer, activating his Merchant’s Eye. The copied runes on Luna’s parchment shimmered in his enhanced perception, revealing layers of meaning beyond the simple ink marks. Where Luna saw symbols, Edwin perceived intention—the original creator’s purpose somehow still echoing in the careful reproductions.

“They’re more than drawings,” he murmured. “They’re instructions of a sort. But not the kind you follow step by step. More like musical notation that needs interpretation.”

Footsteps on the stairs made them look up. Bordo descended slowly, a wool blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Despite the late hour and everything he’d been through, curiosity had won over exhaustion.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he said simply, pulling up a chair. “Kept thinking about those charges, about resonance and stone. Then I heard you talking about stability and structures…” He shrugged. “A lifetime of mining makes a dwarf interested in anything involving structural integrity.”

“You’re welcome to observe,” Edwin said, appreciating the dwarf’s professional interest. “We’re trying to adapt ancient runes for use on blighted tomes.”

“Trying being the operative word,” Luna added with slight frustration. She gestured to several damaged tomes nearby. “Every time I try to apply these runes magically to a tome, they simply dissolve. I can draw them on paper just fine, but when I channel mana through them, they simply dissolve.”

Edwin studied one of the damaged tomes through his Merchant’s Eye. Faint traces of Luna’s attempted magical applications flickered like wet ink in rain, refusing to hold their form in the magical realm. Something was missing.

“May I?” Bordo leaned forward, studying the original runes with a craftsman’s eye. “You know, this reminds me of something. When you’re setting charges in stone, you can’t just copy what worked in another tunnel. Every rock face is different. You have to read the grain, understand what’s already there.”

Luna’s quill paused mid-word. “Work with the existing structure, not against it.”

“Exactly.” Bordo nodded. “Stone wants to break certain ways. Fight that, and you get rubble. Work with it, and you get clean cuts.”

Edwin nodded. “We’ve been trying to impose the runes on the tomes. But what if we need to adapt them to each tome’s existing magical matrix?”

“Only one way to find out,” Luna said, already reaching for a damaged tome from the shop’s discard pile. This one had suffered water damage beyond repair, making it perfect for experimentation.

Trent glanced toward the chalk testing circle by the left wall. “Should we move over there? Just in case the runes… react unexpectedly?”

Luna shook her head.

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