Nul departed while Roran and Kell packed up their gear and left the training room. Kell led them outside and Roran enjoyed the sensation of walking outside for a change.
"Why are there so many tunnels and hallways all over the city?" asked Roran. "Why don't they have more open streets?"
"Because the city can't expand any further, so everyone builds up and down," said Kell. "The border can't grow wider, so people either head for the sky or down into the earth. There's practically a whole city below us, I'll take you to some of the nicer places down there sometime. The surface tunnels are just to avoid crowding."
After enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, Roran let himself be guided back inside when they hit a crowded street. They only went a couple of blocks further before Roran realized they had arrived at their destination. The air became muggy and warm and the smell of soap greeted them as they ducked into a building made of brick and stone.
"It isn't as nice as Dez's bathhouse, but it's close to home." Kell handed Roran a handful of coins. "The baths are single use, get clean then meet me out front, Nul will get mad if we keep them waiting too long."
Roran did his best to rush through the back, but his hands were sore and the hot water found its way into some of his blisters. Hissing through the pain, Roran scrubbed out the wounds and rushed through his bath. He found Kell already clean and waiting for him outside the bathhouse by the time he was done.
"How are the hands?" she asked.
"Sore."
"Yeah, I bet. I didn't go easy on you. We've got some salve back home. Come on, let's hurry. Nul is probably already waiting in the workshop."
They rushed back to the apartment building and up the stairs. Between the exercise and the hot bath, Roran was gasping for air by the time made it back to the apartment. He was flushed and his skin burned from the day's exertion. Kell was waiting for him at the door, not remotely out of breath, smiling.
"Don't worry, we'll work on your stamina," she said, and headed inside.
Inside the apartment, a jug of water and a couple glasses were waiting for them in the kitchen. Roran poured himself a glass and chugged it down before pouring himself another. Kell ignored the water and yelled, "Nul, you in the workshop?"
"Yes," Nul answered, "come in once Roran has recovered. I want him to see the process."
Kell rolled her eyes and gestured for Roran to hurry up.
"And don't rush him," yelled Nul again, "not everyone has inhuman stamina like you."
Kell stuck her tongue out in the direction of the workshop, but didn't say anything further. Once Roran could breathe again, Kell led him into the small room next to Nul's living quarters.
The workshop was simultaneously spacious and cramped. The room was big but packed full of bookshelves, shelfs full of tools, a case full of bottles of all shapes and sizes, and a variety of strange items Roran had never seen before. Sheafs of paper were hung up on the wall, a myriad of designs and drawings inked into them. Nul sat at the desk, making some adjustments to a sheaf of paper as they came in.
"Perfect timing," said Nul, "I'm almost ready."
"Are we going with the old design or did you finish the new diagrams you wanted to try?"
"A little of both," said Nul. "I'm using your old sigil as a base, but I'll be doing two smaller versions instead of one, and I'll be tying them to a series of smaller runes across your body."
"Sounds good."
Nul turned to Roran. "Have you ever seen this done before?"
Roran shook his head.
Nul smiled at him. It was a soft thing, full of gentle pride. "Then I'm excited to show you my hard work."
Nul started by clearing off the table and setting up a workstation. They selected three small dishes, one of brass and two of silver, and placed them on the table. The dishes were polished to a high sheen. The bottoms were wide and flat, and there were notches around the rim of each dish.
After consulting their diagrams again, Nul perused the collection of bottles, taking a moment to select three: a large one full of black liquid, a small one with deep blue powder, and a round one with red syrup. With a delicate hand, Nul carefully poured out a little of each bottle into the dishes, filling the brass dish with the black liquid, and adding small amounts of the powder and syrup to the two silver dishes. Satisfied with the dishes and their contents, Nul grabbed a candle and held it to each dish in turn. The contents caught fire, flames and sparks swirling to life in the dishes.
The black liquid shimmered and gave off dark green flames that burned low. The blue powder sparked and popped, the purple flames dancing high and crackling. The red syrup sizzled and melted, pooling at the bottom of the dish where the yellow flames crawled back and forth.
Producing a leather roll, Nul unfurled it, revealing a collection of long, silver needles, the tips burnt and black. They began placing needles around the dishes, fitting them securely into the notches so the tips were held in the various flames.
As the needles heated, Kell stripped off her clothes and sat down on the stool near Nul.
"Where do you want to start?" asked Kell.
Nul once more checked their diagrams. "Shoulders. I'm going to use this algorithm as a base and do two primary runes on your shoulders. From there I'll connect them and add in additional elements. Does that work for you?"
"Whatever you say."
"You could provide a little more input than that."
Kell shrugged. "You're the best etcher I've ever met, whatever you decide is what I'll go with. It's not like I have any idea what you're doing either way."
"What if I'm just experimenting on you. These markings might not even work."
Barking out a laugh, Kell said, "Oh please, you wouldn't let me leave this room without functioning focus markings. It would hurt your pride."
Nul scowled at her and said nothing. Then, "Turn around and sit upright."
Kell did as she was told, grinning like a fool the whole time.
Nul picked up the sheaf of symbols and gestured for Roran to come over.
"Hold this one over her right shoulder. It should mirror this one on her left. A little higher...closer to her spine...there, perfect."
Grabbing a cloth, Nul wet it and handed it to Roran. "Wet the paper then carefully peel it off."
Roran did as he was told. Kell jumped when the damp cloth touched her skin.
"Oi! Heat up the water next time."
"Hold still or it will smudge," said Nul, doing the same on Kell's other shoulder. Once the sheaf of paper had been wetted, and peeled away from her skin, two outlines of Nul's handiwork were laid out on her skin. "Perfect."
Nul picked up a needle from the brass dish, the needle now glowing from the flames. Carefully, they braced their arm against Kell's back, and touched the needle to her skin in a quick tapping motion.
There was a soft, popping sound and Kell exhaled slowly, controlling her breath and stilling her movements. Nul tapped the needle on her back a few more times until the needle cooled. Then, they returned the needle to the dish to reheat and grabbed another one. Nul went back to work, slowly etching the marks into Kell's back, one little tap at a time.
Roran watched, fascinated. Not only by the process, but by Nul as well. They were focused and diligent. Each tap of the needle was precise and delicate, just barely touching the skin. Every time they touched, there was a slight pop and sizzle, and a little black mark was left behind.
"Will this allow her to use magic?" asked Roran.
"That depends on how you define magic," said Nul. "It will allow her to accomplish feats far beyond human capabilities, but they won't allow her to shoot fireballs or throw lightning. At least, these markings won't."
"Could they?" asked Roran, wide-eyed.
"If I calculated the right algorithms and drew up the right patterns, yes. But Kell isn't suited for that style of combat."
"You're just afraid I'll try to burn down the arena again," said Kell.
"It's not something I should have to worry about."
"Are you injecting the ink into her skin?" asked Roran, curious as to how the flames were staining Kell's body.
"Not exactly, it's difficult to explain but I'm imbuing her body and, by proxy, her soul with the material. The black ink is harvested from wellsprings in the mountains, it serves as a base conduit. That will make up the majority of her markings. The blue powder is ground up from the leaves of lunar petals, harvested at their peak during a full moon. The syrup is a combination of honey, tree sap, and a reduction made from Kell's blood. Those will allow me to fine tune the algorithms and balance out the results. Once I've finished the majority of the markings, I'll have Kell work through some exercises and fine tune them."
"So yes," said Kell, "it's magic that will let me use magic."
Nul rolled their eyes and kept working.
"Is the popping sound from the magic being infused into Kell's skin?" asked Roran.
"No, that sound is her skin cells popping because I'm touching them with a hot needle and causing the liquid inside to vaporize and explode."
"Oh."