“We shouldn’t need it. The supply shipments move out from the supply complex at the Magic Society campus with minimal protection. The shipment isn’t high value, so they don’t have a heavy guard until the duke’s guards meet them at the bridge to Old City.”

“If it’s not high value, then couldn’t we just have bought these tilting stones we need?”

“They’re restricted,” Belinda explained. “Not dangerous, but they have some specific uses in certain activities.”

“Like the one we want them for?”

“Exactly.”

“So we hit it on the Island.”

“Exactly. All the supplies will be in dimensional-storage crates. You just need to grab the right crate and get out.”

“You have the route?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, then,” Sophie said. “Let’s go scout some locations.”

* * *

One of the largest and busiest areas of the Magic Society campus was the magical supply complex. In addition to the space requirements, operations were complicated by the sometimes volatile nature of magical materials. Care had to be taken to store various goods correctly while keeping apart materials that would affect one another in proximity. This caused a number of fundamental problems for the smooth running of the supply complex.

The first problem was structural. Purpose-designed, the complex was a nest of interconnected buildings, linked by secured walkways at ground level and above. There were warehouse structures, towers, domes, and, in one case, a spherical building secured by a cubic frame of support struts.

Storage and record-keeping were even more of a mess. Because of the nature of the stored materials, magical requirements took precedence over the practical requirements of space efficiency. This, in turn, made inventory management and supply a nightmare.

In the central loading and distribution centre, the supply manager was named Thel and the distribution manager, Drew. They were having several busy weeks at a run. First, the Magic Society started up some operation out in the middle of a swamp, which was already a logistical nightmare. Then the whole thing was taken over by some out-of-town group. The society was still giving logistical support and supply, which meant meeting the different needs of the new group while adding a whole extra layer to supply management because they weren’t Magic Society. Amid a busy day, Thel brought out a new supply order to give to Drew.

“This just came in from the big building,” she told Drew. The big building was what they called central administration, out of which the Magic Society officials operated.

“Great,” Drew said as he unenthusiastically took the paper with the supply order and read it over. “One more idiot who doesn’t think twice about messing up our schedules.”

He glanced at the authorising officer box on the order to see who dumped it on him.

“Adjunct Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Magic Society, Greenstone branch,” he read. “What it the gods’ names does that mean?”