Krivax focused every bit of willpower he possessed into maintaining the Ice Barrier between him and the steady onslaught of incoming Arcane Missiles.

Vizier Hadix had already evaluated his comprehension of magical theory, general surface world knowledge, and combat. Thankfully, he’d met the Vizier’s standards in all these topics. After Hadix decides his Ice Barrier is sufficiently durable, then there is only one more thing he needs to do before Hadix would allow him to go to the surface.

That’s if my Ice Barrier is actually good enough. I don’t think I’ll be able to hold this for much longer.

Krivax channeled as much arcane magic as he could handle into his barrier while simultaneously altering it into ice.

His pride was more than a little hurt by the bored expression on Hadix’s face as he casually cast Arcane Missile after Arcane Missile without pause. Krivax could feel the confidence he’d gained since joining the Circle diminish with every lazily cast spell he struggled to defend against.

Finally, the barrage proved too much and Krivax let out a shocked cry as the Ice Barrier shattered to pieces. Fortunately, the Arcane Missile he half expected to smash into his face never came.

“Adequate,” said Hadix, lowering the single hand he’d previously been using to cast. “Protective magics are the singularly most important kind of magic for any Mage who expects to find themselves in a combat situation. Your Ice Barrier is sufficiently powerful to ensure you do not die the moment you reach the surface. I am now confident the resources I’ve invested in you will not be needlessly wasted.”

Krivax took a moment to catch his breath before responding.

“Thank you, Vizier,” said Krivax, bowing to the older nerubian. “I am grateful for the opportunities I have been granted and I will strive to prove myself worthy of these privileges.”

Even if Hadix only favored him with the intention of furthering his own interests, the Vizier’s assistance had been invaluable to Krivax. There was no way he would have been able to learn as much as he had in such a short amount of time without his help. Both personal instruction and access to otherwise inaccessible stores of knowledge—combined with constant studying—placed Krivax far ahead of where he would be without the Vizier’s assistance.

“Hmph. We shall see. Now that you have demonstrated your capacity to survive on the surface, you will now explain your plans and intended goals. Which of the surface races do you intend to approach, how shall you gain their trust, and what do you intend to gain from this endeavor?”

“I intend to approach the Tuskarr, Vizier Hadix,” Krivax said with confidence.

He knew Hadix was likely already aware of his choice since Krivax had spent much of his time trying to learn the Tuskarr language. It was fortunate that several centuries ago, a member of the Surface World Research Division had grown curious enough about the walrus people to study them. Sadly, she eventually lost interest in the Tuskarr and turned her attention to other research projects.

“Be sure to remember the limited lifespans of the other races, Initiate. It is likely their language has changed notably since our Division last researched the creatures,” lectured Hadix, confirming that he was keeping track of Krivax’s studies. While the lifespan of a baseline nerubian was only as long as the lifespan of a human, the Viziers, Spiderlords, and Queens could all live for a few millennia.

Krivax did not believe the language would have drifted too much over the past few centuries. His difficulties in communication would more than likely stem from simply not knowing enough of the language. Thankfully, while translation spells were far too advanced for Krivax to learn at his current skill level, Hadix had been kind enough to offer his assistance. The Vizier had promised to give him an artifact that would be capable of translating his intentions, even if the specific meaning were unable to pass the language barrier.

“Given you are able to properly communicate with the Tuskarr, how will you gain their trust? It has been noted over the years that many of the surface races find our appearance to be… intimidating.”

Well, yeah. I think anyone with sense would be terrified if they saw a giant spider person.

“It was noted by the most recent Vizier to study the Tuskarr that their culture holds a particular reverence for the concept of fishing. When I approach them, I intend to offer a fish as a sign of good faith,” said Krivax. When he said the word fishing, he used the Tuskarr word for the concept, because the nerubian language did not have its own equivalent.

“Fishing?” Hadix questioned, pronouncing the foreign word perfectly on his first try. Damned centuries-old wizards and their absurd intelligence.

“It is a Tuskarr word describing the act of hunting aquatic creatures, primarily for sustenance, but it is also an action that holds great significance in their culture,” Krivax explained.

The nerubians’ underground kingdom did have access to water sources below the ground that were large enough to sustain their people—along with caverns with high humidity that specially made webs were placed in to collect condensed water—but fish and other aquatic life were much less plentiful than on the surface.

The closest approximation the nerubians had for fishing was a small community of Weavers that used silk webs to catch the occasional fish that flowed into their underground rivers.

Krivax had only learned of these fishing nerubians because he specifically looked for them after learning of the Tuskarrs’ traditions. However, even they did not have a word for what they were doing as it was simply a hobby that did not produce nearly enough food to become its own industry. The fish served more as a rare luxury dish only the fishing Weavers occasionally enjoyed.

Thankfully, the fishing Weavers had been willing to teach Krivax how to weave their special silk nets. He hoped it would be enough for him to catch a fish that could impress the Tuskarr.

“Hmph. Very well. Your reasoning is sound,” said Hadix. “Why have you chosen to target the Tuskarr specifically, and what do you hope to gain from them?”

Truthfully, Krivax had chosen the Tuskarr because their maritime traditions made them the race most likely to be aware of travel between Northrend and the Eastern Kingdoms, aside from the local humans that is. Unfortunately, the Surface World Research Division had very little information about humans.

After all, very few nerubians would be interested in studying a species whose name was a combination of the nerubian words for “vrykul” and “birth defect.”

The nerubians were aware that there were humans living in both Grizzly Hills and the Dragonblight, however, their societies seemed to be rather underdeveloped and disunified.

Krivax couldn’t share his true motivations with the Vizier, so he would have to rely on an approximation of the truth.

“The Tuskarr are noted to be a semi-nomadic people who are most accustomed to environments dissimilar to our own,” said Krivax. “They are the race most likely to expand our knowledge of the surface world. In addition, while their magic is similar to the Drakkari, there are some notable differences as well that are worthy of research.”

“Oh? How so, Initiate?” Hadix questioned with visible curiosity.

“There have been no observed instances of the Tuskarr worshiping any Loa,” said Krivax. “Yet there are multiple recorded instances of their shaman performing feats of magic comparable to the Drakkari.”

Krivax vaguely remembered that the Tuskarr worshiped some giant sea monster thing, but the nerubians didn’t know that.

While nerubians were curious about shamanism, they generally looked down on any form of magic that gained power from more powerful entities. As far as the Viziers were concerned, any power easily gained from an outside source was just as easily lost.

When Krivax asked Hadix about Vizier Malas’s attempts to summon the spider Loa, he’d learned that the Vizier had intended to steal some of the Loa’s power for himself. It seemed to Krivax that something like that would be difficult to accomplish, but he didn’t know enough about the subject to be able to judge.

“Hmph. Interesting. Perhaps this venture of yours will be worth the effort after all. Now, tell me what route you intend to take on your journey.”

“I’ll first take the portal to our outpost past the Forbidden Caverns,” said Krivax. The Forbidden Caverns were a series of ancient tunnels in the Howling Fjord that were dense with Saronite. The tunnels had been quarantined by the nerubians and an outpost was constructed that allowed travelers to bypass them with portals.

The nerubians did not have any large cities beneath the Howling Fjord, so the portal system was easily able to handle the relatively light traffic.

“From there, I will travel to the surface and make my way to the closest known Tuskarr settlement,” Krivax continued. He’d chosen to approach the Tuskarr village in the Howling Fjord rather than the ones in the Dragonblight or the Borean Tundra, simply because Hadix was unable to grant him permission to travel to the capital or En’Kilah.

Azjol’Nerub’s capital—uncreatively named the same—resided beneath the Dragonblight and En’Kilah resided beneath the Borean Tundra, but neither would allow him to make use of their portal stations.

Krivax spent the next few minutes explaining in detail the route he planned to take, the potential dangers he might face, and the supplies he had prepared.

When he finished, Vizier Hadix spent several moments contemplating in silence before finally nodding his approval.

“Very well,” said Hadix. The Vizier reached into his robes with one of his four hands and retrieved a glowing disk that was emanating magical energy. “Your preparations are sufficient for the task in front of you. I believe you have earned this.”

Barely able to contain his glee, Krivax accepted the disk that would permit him to access the city’s portal to the Howling Fjord outpost and travel to the surface. He had spent years working to reach this point, and soon he would finally take his first steps outside the underground kingdom.

“Thank you, Vizier,” said Krivax, bowing once again in gratitude. “Will this allow Masruk to come with me to the surface as well?”

“Your gratitude is unnecessary, you have earned this through your own efforts,” said Hadix, waving one of his hands disdainfully. “As for your companion, assigning a low leveled Warrior to escort an Initiate on his research project is a trifling matter. The guards have been instructed to allow you both passage tomorrow. The disk merely serves to verify your identity.”

Tomorrow? I was not expecting to go so soon.

“Tomorrow, Vizier?”

“Is there a reason to wait?” Hadix responded dismissively.

Krivax considered the matter and decided that, no, there was no particular reason for him to wait. He'd already managed to make all of his preparations a long time ago, so the only thing he was waiting for was permission. Every day that went by was another day that the War of the Spider drew closer.

Krivax spent a few more minutes going over some of the smaller details with the Vizier before saying his goodbyes and retiring to his room.

Skittering over to his makeshift kitchen, Krivax plucked a beetle from the Iceweave Web and tossed it into his mouth.

The Iceweave served as a form of nerubian refrigeration device by freezing anything that was placed onto it. While Iceweave was available to most nerubians in all but the most isolated of communities, Krivax was particularly proud of this Iceweave because he had made it himself. Members of the Circle were highly encouraged to find a way to use their specialized skills to contribute to society in ways other than research.

This could be done in many ways, whether it be through alchemy, enchanting, or other such specialized magical professions. Instead of picking one of these, Krivax had chosen to learn magical silk crafting for the simple reason that it was the least time-consuming profession that was available to him.

There was also the fact that being able to produce silk with fantastical properties that could be turned into magical items was very useful.

Krivax placed an assortment of insects onto the Flameweave Web and decided it would be a good idea to sort through his prepared supplies while he waited for his dinner to heat up. Frozen beetles were a tasty snack, but the rest of his meal would need to be heated before he could eat it.

Krivax opened up the spatial bag he had spent several weeks of his salary to purchase.

The bag contained food, notepads, troll blood regeneration potions, a large knife, and a variety of different tools he would need for his journey. Krivax reached into his robes and placed the artifacts he had been given by Hadix into the bag. These artifacts included the identification disk, an emergency communication device, and the artifact that would translate his intent.

The scent of freshly warmed insects interrupted his organizing and Krivax put away the supplies before skittering over to the Flameweave Web so he could enjoy his dinner.

After he finished eating, Krivax considered going to visit Masruk so they could talk about their journey, but ultimately decided against it. Masruk would have already been informed by the Warriors that he would be escorting Krivax tomorrow, and anything else they needed to talk about could wait until he woke up.

Krivax looked at the messy stack of books sitting in the corner of his room. Normally he would still be studying around this time, but he would need to be well-rested for the coming day, so it would be best if he went to sleep early. Krivax climbed onto his sleeping web and allowed the silk’s enchantment to wash over him, causing him to instantly feel drowsy.

With a wave of his hand, Krivax caused the illumination stones embedded in the ceiling to cease emitting light, plunging the room into darkness.

Krivax fell asleep only a few moments later while still thinking about the coming day and the challenges that awaited him.