《The Magical Gunner of Grimhild Academy》


 The End of The Fight

    Gnarled hands picked up the baby from the wreckage of a house. Last minute shielding had saved the child from the destruction that had ripped through the street. He took a moment to look around.


    Other magicians put out fires, sorted wreckage, worked healing magics. The city would recover from the explosive battle. He frowned at the baby, wrapping it in cloth pulled from the ground, and surrounding ash.


    He pulled out a ruby shaped like a coffin. He frowned at it. He had to do something with it. He frowned at the baby.


    This was the last thing he should do, but the ruby had to be hidden and the baby had to be sent away for his own good.


    He worked his spell and placed the ruby inside the baby. Light scarring cut across the young torso. The sealing snapped to life.


    Now he had to do something to protect the baby.


    He looked around for someone he could trust. He had a few members of his facility on the scene. He sent a pixie spell to call one of his juniors over so he could carry out the rest of his plan.


    ¡°Sir?,¡± said the faculty member. His tunic had a dusting of ash across it. Smudges marked his face.


    ¡°Take this baby,¡± he said. ¡°I want you to hide him and forget where you hid him. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Sir?,¡± said the faculty member.


    ¡°I need you to hide this baby and forget where you hid him,¡± he said. ¡°I will remain here and help put out the fires.¡±


    ¡°I know a place where he can grow up unharmed,¡± said the other magician. He took the baby from his superior. ¡°He has some talent, but it will be crippled by the seal you have placed on him.¡±


    ¡°There is no help for it,¡± said the elder magician. ¡°The warlord has been driven off, but he will return whenever he thinks he can locate the boy, and kill him. The price we are going to pay for winning this skirmish is vigilance until we can arrange a more permanent solution.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± said the younger man. ¡°I guess we will see our young friend again.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± said the elder magician. He glanced at a fire. Moving dirt snuffed the flames. ¡°I assume that if some talent manifests, he will be sent to the Academy so he will be under our guard again.¡±


    The younger man nodded.


    ¡°Go on,¡± said the elder. ¡°The sun will be coming up, and we want to have a grip on the work that will need to be done.¡±


    ¡°I will return before that happens,¡± said the younger man. He raised his hand and wind wrapped around him. He flew into the air.


    The elder magician walked from the scene, the rubble flattening as he moved. Most of the buildings had been brick and wood. It was child¡¯s play for him to disperse the bricks into earth and push the wood into a pile.


    The injured residents were being shepherded to healers by his staff and the city guard. Wreckage moved into piles and more fires went out. Someone had conjured rain. He could feel the water dropping into the city at the edge of the battleground.


    At least the boy would have a chance to grow up despite being magically crippled.


    He looked toward the center of the scene. His building still stood despite the beating it had taken. There were places where the walls needed to be rebuilt, the bricks needed to be cleaned, the grass regrown.


    The stewards would have a field day of complaints while they submitted paperwork for the repairs. He could handle some of that now, before they began their assessment and nagging.


    He reached into his sphere of influence and began work by assessing all the damage to the outer wall. He let the magic gleam as it began straightening the bricks, and mortaring them back into place, repairing and joining damaged stone as he walked along the wall. If he made a mistake, the repairmen would report it to him and then try to repair it with their own skills.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    The senior magician entered the grounds, letting his influence reach out. Hundreds of cracks fixed themselves instantly as he walked toward the central tower of the campus. Walls straightened up, foundations shifted back in place. It would take more effort to fix the windows so he left that for the stewards.


    He entered the main facility, pausing to fix as much of the damage as he could, and turned to the stairs leading up to his quarters above the keep. He opened the wall, and stepped into another staircase. He closed the wall behind him as he walked upstairs.


    He reached his quarters. He took a minute to look out from his balcony. The city was partially destroyed. His faculty was out with the Guard, and the Reserve, doing what they could. He nodded at the flashes of magic he saw on the ground.


    He walked from the door to his balcony, closing the opening. He pulled off his dirty and ripped robe. He looked at the wound in his side.


    He put his hand on the wound and concentrated. His magic reached out and tried to heal the oozing wound. He shook his head as nothing happened.


    He poured some fire into the wound. He clenched his teeth at the pain. He sat down on his bed. He looked at his injury. At least it had stopped bleeding.


    He would have to do what he could to help with the repairs in the morning, but at the moment he needed to rest and recover his strength. He would have to nurse himself back to health as well as he could.


    No one could know how close he had come to dying. He had to project the image of invincibility at all times. He lay on his bed and closed his eyes. It had been so close. They had won in the end, but the remains of the warlocks and his other minions were still out there and waiting for his return.


    There was nothing he could do about that. All he could do was wait too. The wound he had taken had to be dealt with so he could help more. He felt that some of his inner control was not reaching out like it should.


    He may never be able to use the full power of his magic again.


    He decided that he had to conserve what he had left as much as possible until the warlord returned to try to take his jewel back. It had been a close thing, but now they were safe until some distant point in the future. If they were lucky, the baby would grow up far away from magic and the need to be evaluated.


    He should help out with the rest of the damage, but he was tired. He was getting too old for these battles against younger magicians. He closed his eyes.


    He let his mind fall into the trance he used to build up his power. It refreshed him as a side effect of what it was supposed to do. He felt around his metaphysical control. His output ceiling had dropped. He winced inside because it had to be because of the wound. He would have to do something about that. What he had left was still good


    for most of the minor magics he used, but he wouldn¡¯t last in another big battle.


    If he faced the warlord again, he would lose. He couldn¡¯t use his full power with the cap on it from the wound in his side. And feeling the wound now in his trance, he could see that it was poisoning him despite the flame he had dumped on it. He had to do something, or he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything magical the way he was losing


    power.


    He snapped out of his trance. He pulled himself off his bed and walked to where he had packets of reagents stored. He summoned water to fall into a beaker. He dug out a few of the packets from his cabinet. He opened them and dumped the powders in the water. He stirred the water with a wave of his hand. He drank the concoction


    down.


    Pain shot through him. He sat down on the floor and tried to wait for it to end. He put himself into the trance state again to wait.


    The pain never went away as he sat in his trance to combat it. His wound shriveled at the edges, but it was still trying to poison him despite the medicine he had taken. He massaged the tissue as well as he could to draw the poison out. He forced it down the wound track scarring he had done with his fire control. The wound oozed as the poison was ejected from his body.


    He decided he would live, but he would hurt every day, and wouldn¡¯t be able to use most of his magic in the future. He could still teach, and run the school, but he would never be able to do anything grand like make a city by himself again.


    When the warlord returned, he wouldn¡¯t be able to be the bulwark of the defenses like he had this time. He didn¡¯t have enough strength to do that.


    His faculty would have to cover for his weakness. He decided that he couldn¡¯t tell them if he wanted to keep their confidence.


    And he would have to hire more to replace the members of the faculty they had lost in the night.


    He kept his trance together as he planned the future ahead. There were big questions that he couldn¡¯t answer at the moment. He had to do the best he could with what he had.


    At least the warlord¡¯s power was also crippled, and he had been humbled. As long as he didn¡¯t find the baby, he couldn¡¯t attack at full strength again.


    And maybe that would buy the Academy enough time to create students who would defend the country from his nemesis before he gave up his ghost.


    He stayed in the trance until he felt the pain lessening. It would never completely go away, but he had waited until he could manage it.


    He pulled himself on his bed and tried to sleep. He would probably have to take sleeping draughts in the future if he couldn¡¯t trance the pain away.


    He closed his eyes and hoped for a better tomorrow. The day had been wrecked and he had lost friends in the fighting, almost lost his home, and had inflicted collateral damage on the city from his fight. The sun had to bring something better than all that to his doorstep.


    At least the baby would live, despite actually losing his parents and home to be raised far away from the city.


    It was the best he could do with what he had.

 Bad News

    Nick Sever stood beside a tree, tunic and breeches blending in thanks to their dark


    brown color. He wore a short, heavy blade at his hip. It was supposed to be a sword,


    but was shaped more like a cleaver. His sphere of influence was up like it always was,


    but he only had one spell that wouldn¡¯t reach across to the edges of his awareness.


    His teacher told him that he should be able to do more, and he could, but only if he


    took something away from something he killed. Even armed like that, the spells


    vanished as soon as he woke up from sleep. His one spell and sphere of influence was


    the only things he could carry over to a new day.


    He wanted to be able to fly, or lift stones as big as a house. Instead, all he could do


    was put holes in targets when he could see them.


    He listened. Something was closing on his position. He might be able to get dinner


    if he could drop whatever animal was out there, maybe load up some of the other


    things he could use if he got lucky.


    Sister Anne would love enough to feed all the orphans.


    Nick pointed into the trees¡¯ foliage. His spell told him he could use it twenty times


    before he had to recharge it. And he had twenty more uses when he did. After that,


    he would have to pull his sword and do his best.


    He favored the thunder cracks that he produced when he wanted to put holes in


    things. He had practiced with it to be reasonably sure to stay on target as the


    expanding air pushed his hand away from the blasts.


    And the force of the blow usually dropped small animals and monsters with two or


    three shots. He had to empty the spell charges shooting at a fleeing deer before he


    downed it.


    That had been a lucky shot flung on the fly.


    ¡°Nick,¡± called a pixie descending from the air. ¡°Someone is here to see you.¡±


    ¡°Quiet,¡± said Nick. He held up his hand in a shushing motion.


    ¡°Nick,¡± said the pixie again. ¡°Someone is here to see you.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t it wait?,¡± asked Nick. The bushes rustled as his prey fled from the commotion.


    ¡°You spoiled my hunting.¡±


    ¡°Nick,¡± said the pixie. A trace of irritation filled its voice. ¡°Someone is here to see


    you.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go talk to them,¡± said Nick. He waved his hand for the pixie to fly back


    to the village so he could follow at a more leisurely pace.


    He wanted to go back to hunting. Another pixie would track him down and ruin that


    for him. It was better to find out what was going on, and then say no to whatever it


    was.


    That was a piece of advice that he had seen used by Sister Anne more than once after


    she had explained it to him.


    He briefly considered why his teacher would hunt him down in the woods, but he


    decided that it was something he would know soon enough when he got back to the


    village.


    It was probably something stupid that had nothing to do with him.


    He spotted the village wall and turned to go to the south gate. He could go through


    that arch and head to the small school maintained for the village children. Then he


    would find out what was going on before saying no to it.


    It took him a bit to get to the gate. He passed through, waving at Charlie the Gateman


    at his station. If something massive showed up, it was the hope of the town that the


    gates would keep it out until Master Slown, his teacher, could do something with his


    magic.


    Nick figured he could help protect the other orphans with the thunder cracker. If he


    actually killed something, he could grab the loot from that and upgrade to some of the


    other spells he could use. One of his spells allowed him to spray enough lightning at


    close range to decimate a group of men in light armor.


    He had never got the chance to see what it would do to heavy armor.


    He walked to the school. He nodded at the pixie waiting on him to open the door and


    walk inside. The building was eight classes, two offices, a healing room, and space


    in the back for practice.


    He had honed his aim in the practice area against mages trying out regular air and fire


    spells. It had forged him into a dead shot, and fast to down a target. Hunting had only


    improved his skill set.


    He walked back to the offices. They were placed between the classes and the practice


    area. The healing room stood next to the back door.


    A stranger sat in the wooden visitor¡¯s chair. His clothes looked richer to Nick. The


    boy wondered if he should be using the thunder cracker on this guy. And he didn¡¯t


    like how Master Slown seemed nervous with this man in his office.


    He stepped into the office, willing the charge to flow into his hand. If something


    started happening, he couldn¡¯t miss from this distance.


    ¡°Nick,¡± said Slown. He looked younger than his age, nervous about what was going


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.on, and disapproving about Nick holding his spell ready. He didn¡¯t know how his


    student held a force charge in his hand, but he could see it well enough with his mage


    green eyes. ¡°This is Master Avere from Grimhild Academy. He is here doing


    evaluations for future students, and wanted to see you.¡±


    ¡°Why?,¡± asked Nick. He frowned at the other mage. ¡°I can only do one spell and that


    has limits in charges.¡±


    He knew about the evaluations. Everyone knew about them. If a child had enough


    talent, and could learn some spells, he or she could try to get into a big school to


    perfect their craft.


    ¡°The orphans dreamed about it. They would love to go to the big city and learn major


    magic.


    Nick had never been able to do anything outside of his specialty. He doubted he


    would be able to do anything under another teacher. He decided he wasn¡¯t going to


    go. He would rather stay in the village and wander the forest to his contentment. Let


    the other kids have their chance at fame and fortune.


    ¡°Grimhild City came under attack years ago,¡± said Avere. ¡°We are trying to train as


    many children as we can to replace our ranks and shore up our defenses. Master


    Slown has told me that you can do things that fall out of the standard categories. If


    we can show other students how to do that, it might change things for the better.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to change things for the better,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯m fairly experienced with


    what I have here, and I don¡¯t see the need to share it with others.¡±


    ¡°What if we can show you how to do your magic better than what you can now?,¡±


    asked Avere.


    ¡°Doubt it,¡± said Nick. ¡°I already know the rules of what I can do, and I haven¡¯t been


    able to change that with the practice I put in. I doubt you will be able to do that


    somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Nick,¡± said Master Slown. He gestured at the other magician. ¡°Master Avere will be


    taking most of the magically inclined orphans with him. If you stay here, you will be


    on your own, and looking after the younger children for Sister Anne. I would rather


    you join the others your age and help them get through their studies until they can go


    where they want to go in the world.¡±


    ¡°We will at least be able to help you use your skills better, and try to find you some


    place your unique magic will work better for you and everyone around you,¡± said


    Avere.


    ¡°What does Sister Anne think about all this?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°She wants you to be happy with whatever you decide,¡± said Slown. ¡°I want you to


    figure out how to teach your skills to others so you can make more battle mages and


    hunters to deal with the problems of the world.¡±


    ¡°And living at the Academy will be safer for you than staying here,¡± said Avere.


    ¡°There have been reports of enemy movements close to the village. The adults may


    have to leave too if things turn serious.¡±


    ¡°So there might be an attack?,¡± said Nick. He could use his spell with abandon if that


    happened.


    ¡°You will be sent away if such a thing happens,¡± said Slown. ¡°It¡¯s my responsibility


    to keep you safe, and if I have to send you to the next village toward the capitol, I


    will.¡±


    ¡°When are you taking us?,¡± asked Nick. He let the charge in his hand go. He fought


    back tears. He didn¡¯t want a stranger see him cry.


    ¡°I will arrange air travel for you, and your fellow students, in the next few days,¡±


    said Avere. ¡°You will be able to get used to the Academy before your first classes


    start.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. ¡°I guess I will be ready to go then.¡±


    ¡°It will work out, Nick,¡± said Avere. ¡°We¡¯re trying to gather up as many new mages


    as we can. Just knowing some of them will help you after you graduate.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± said Nick. ¡°Can I go now?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Slown. ¡°Stick close to the village. As soon as the carrier arrives, you


    are going to have to be ready to go.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said Nick. He turned and fled from the offices. He cut through the practice


    field, ignoring the other students practicing their abilities. His sphere of influence


    picked out when they performed a spell with a soft dash in his mind. He ignored those


    too.


    He walked to the orphanage. He wanted some time to himself. Leaving the village


    might be the dream of the others, but he liked it where he was. He had no use for


    being tested and prodded in the hopes that he could pull a snow bunny out of a hat.


    Showing him how to change his ability might be to his advantage in the future, but


    at the moment, he didn¡¯t believe Avere knew what he was talking about as far as


    that went.


    He had been placed in a room next to the outer doors of the orphanage when Master


    Slown and Sister Anne realized what he could do with his thunder cracker. They had


    told him they wanted someone who could hold the door in case of trouble. That was


    what had initially spurred his interest in working on his ability.


    Now he felt all that effort he had put in was wasted since he would no longer be


    allowed to guard anything. He doubted the so-called academy would want him to


    do anything but sit down and shut up.


    He was tempted to just take off. He could shoot anything that got too close, knew


    a little about fending for himself, and could feel monsters in action when they threw


    their spells around. Did he want to just run away from this problem?


    He thought maybe he did since he didn¡¯t trust anything Avere said.


    He knew Sister Anne would want him to at least try, even if he didn¡¯t like it. He


    didn¡¯t have to ask her about that. She always wanted him to not hang back and get in


    the middle of things. He didn¡¯t like it as much as she wanted him to, but he tried to


    keep his exasperation down since he didn¡¯t want to hurt her feelings.


    He didn¡¯t want to leave the village if monsters were close enough for him to detect


    them. He wanted to use his spell power to do things. That was what he was there to


    do. Why else would he be an orphan?


    He should watch the others fly away from beyond the wall, and protect the village


    from the forest surrounding it.


    He dismissed that idea. Master Slown would send pixies to find him and ask him


    what he thought he was doing. He needed more magic to block his teacher¡¯s and he


    didn¡¯t have that yet.


    He didn¡¯t see any way of escaping moving from his home to some school. He might


    as well just wait to see what happened. Maybe he could get kicked out


    without making it look like he was trying to get kicked out.


    That seemed a great idea to him. He could do some things, get kicked out, then come


    back to the village. How hard could it be?


    Someone hammered on his door. He rolled over on his bed to face the wall. He


    wanted time alone. He didn¡¯t want to talk to anybody.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Nick,¡± said Carol, one of the girls in his class. ¡°Can we come in?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯m thinking.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re crying,¡± said Bradley. He had turned into a bit of bully when he


    started ballooning up into an ox.


    It would be so easy to shoot at him through the door. Would the thunder cracker


    blast through the wood? He had never tested it like that before.


    ¡°Shut up, Bradley,¡± said Carol. ¡°I¡¯ll set your hair on fire again.¡±


    ¡°I thought that was an accident,¡± complained Bradley.


    Nick wiped his face with his blanket and walked over to the door. He opened it. More


    than Bradley and Carol stood out in the hall.


    ¡°We want you to come with us, Nick,¡± said Carol.


    He looked at the crowd with a frown. This was a lot of pressure. He nodded.


    ¡°All right,¡± he said.

 Trips End

    Nick watched from the back of the crowd of children as the transport descended from


    the sky. He hadn¡¯t been able to hunt for more spells for the day, but he frowned as the


    flying carriage appeared on his sphere of influence and approached. He wondered


    what else could be marked by his mental mapping.


    His village didn¡¯t have anything like the thing from the Academy. The most he had


    seen was common work wagons for supplies for the local farmers and ranchers. Very


    rarely did they ping on his map.


    The descending ship looked like a white bird of some kind. It dropped down on three


    legs unfolding from the bottom of its body. The wind that surrounded it died down.


    ¡°I never thought they would send something like this,¡± said Carol. She stood at


    Nick¡¯s elbow, a little shorter, darker, and wearing her best clothes for the trip to the


    big city. ¡°I thought they would just load us up in wagons and make us take the road.¡±


    ¡°I thought he was going to make us walk,¡± said Nick. He looked around. The adults


    were off to one side. Sister Anne smiled and waved at him. He waved halfheartedly


    back.


    He looked around, taking in the central square one last time. The orphanage, school,


    general store, and town hall stood together on one side. Residential housing took up


    the other side, forming a crescent moon inside the wall. He could barely make out one


    of the three inns toward the north gate. The other two were in the south, but he


    couldn¡¯t see them from where he was.


    The back of the bird opened up. Master Avere came down the ramp dropping to the


    ground. He paused when he reached the end of the ramp. He had dismissed his finery


    for a plain set of tunic and breeches that resembled Nick¡¯s. He had taken the time to


    wrap his hands in leather bindings.


    ¡°I need you to line up youngest to oldest,¡± said Avere. ¡°The youngest should board


    first and take seats near the front.¡±


    Nick figured that was to keep anyone from opening the ramp while the thing was


    flying. He doubted it was really dangerous, but he could see someone falling out after


    opening the door by accident.


    The older kids would know better than to pull a lever to drop the ramp without


    someone telling them what would happen if they did that.


    Nick, Carol, Bradley, and a few others were in the middle of their group. They had


    to wait for the younger kids to be ushered on the flying carriage before they could


    look for their own seats. Bars came down to lock them in their seats when they finally


    sat down.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Avere. He closed the ramp and walked to the front of the seating


    area. ¡°We will be over Grimhild in a few hours. When we land, we will have the


    oldest children disembark first and line up to go inside the main gathering hall of the


    Academy. We will join the other new students and start placing you where you need


    to go to further your learning.¡±


    ¡°Will we be able to stay together?,¡± asked one of the older kids at the back.


    ¡°A lot will depend on what your affinity is,¡± said Avere. ¡°Some of you will be in the


    same dorms, and have the same classes based on that.¡±


    Nick already knew he would be singled out. His spell maybe mimicked an air spell,


    but he doubted that would be enough for him to be an air affiliated magician.


    ¡°Some of you will be able to influence more than one element, or have such specific


    control over the one element you associate with that you can do things no other


    magician can do,¡± said Avere. ¡°This first day is to get you settled in your dorms and


    allow you to learn the Academy before you are assigned classes.¡±


    ¡°Why orphans?,¡± asked someone closer to Nick. He couldn¡¯t see the speaker, but


    thought it was Monty. This was a boy that thought Sister Anne consorted with spirits


    from the underworld regularly.


    Everything was a conspiracy to him. Everything had a deeper meaning than what was


    presented. Most things were lies on top of lies.


    Nick had no idea how Monty was going to survive outside the village, much less the


    orphanage.


    ¡°Why not?,¡± asked Avere. Maybe he thought he was turning the tables on his


    questioner.


    ¡°Because some of us are too old to compete with nobility, some of us are only here


    because we have to be here and prefer to be at home but were warned we would be


    sent away because it was too dangerous, because orphans can be used for fodder,¡±


    said the voice. Nick was convinced the speaker was Monty. ¡°Don¡¯t try government


    charity. We know that doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°The reason I gathered you is the truth,¡± said Avere. ¡°We are gathering every gifted


    person from the edges of the kingdom. The King has ordered it, and the Academy and


    the other schools are doing what they can to follow that order. And Grimhild is the


    closest Academy to your village. If you had been a few miles in a few other


    directions, you would have been contacted by another school and recruited by them.¡±


    ¡°Master Slown and Sister Anne?,¡± asked another student. ¡°Why didn¡¯t they come


    along?¡±


    ¡°The King is requiring them to stay to keep watch,¡± said Avere. ¡°They are the only


    magicians your village has, and they are there to oppose the Lords of Death if they


    attack.¡±


    Nick wondered how that would go, but said nothing. He doubted Master Slown


    had thrown a fireball at a person in a long time, much less in anger. He didn¡¯t think


    Sister Anne had any magic at all.


    He didn¡¯t want to think like Monty, but he didn¡¯t think Avere was telling them the


    whole truth. He also felt like the odd man out. It didn¡¯t make sense for them to take


    him. His one spell punched holes in things. Even enhanced from a dead animal, the


    main spell just fired at longer ranges, or faster, depending on what he grabbed.


    He hadn¡¯t told anyone about the variants, or he could seize spirit money to buy more


    charges for his variants or other things. He had been shooting things for a long time.


    He knew everything his type of magic did.


    And he was certain that he couldn¡¯t teach it to anyone.


    He might be the only magician capable of doing what he did.


    He looked at the other orphans around him. A lot of them looked scared about the


    future. Carol and Bradley were talking two rows over. Their different expressions


    said they were having different reactions to the answers they were being given, and


    their potential futures.


    Out of all of them, Nick felt Carol had the ability to be the number one mage at the


    Academy in the next few years. He would be at the bottom since his magic depended


    on one thing. He didn¡¯t like his assessment, but he had no way to counter Carol¡¯s fire


    spellwork except for a shot through her body. He wasn¡¯t willing to push that far


    against one of his few friends.


    Bradley, on the other hand, would be perfect for a target dummy.


    ¡°Are we going to have to fight?,¡± asked one of the younger kids up front.


    ¡°It depends on if war breaks out again,¡± said Avere. ¡°The hope is we can keep the


    Lords of Death from crossing our borders and destroying the kingdom. If we can keep


    the peace, none of you will have to fight. If we can¡¯t, you will have to fight just to


    live.¡±


    The questions veered into how the flying carriage worked. Nick understood the


    theory of the thing where a magician with both air and wood, or two magicians


    working in tandem, could build a body and lift it off the ground with their magic.


    He also knew he would never be able to do anything like that.


    He should have stayed at the orphanage despite what the others thought. He could


    do more there than being stuck at the center of kingdom, learning about magic he


    would never be able to use.


    If the village was attacked, he could help defend it with his spell and whatever variant


    he could grab from his dead enemies.


    What could he do at a school where everyone else would be better than him at


    everything?


    He would be even more of an outsider than back home.


    Nick fell asleep as the wooden bird flew on. He was tired already, and the trip was


    boring to him despite being in the air. His sphere of influence marked obstacles for


    him automatically but there was nothing he could do if the thing crashed into


    something this high in the air.


    He woke when the craft changed timbre around him. He checked his sphere and


    found a set of buildings resembling a castle below him. He wondered how tall


    everything was. His sphere only gave him the shape of the thing in general and not


    how tall it was.


    He saw two other of the magecrafts in the yard below. They vanished from his


    awareness like popping bubbles. He saw flashes of magic everywhere. He thought the


    teachers and some of the older students were doing things in different parts of the


    buildings.


    His friends would be doing the same thing eventually.


    Avere came from the front of the wooden flying carriage, passing down the aisles,


    to the back. He opened up the ramp to let in the early night glimmer on the yard.


    ¡°People in the last row, stand up and come down the ramp,¡± said Avere. He pointed


    to a small cone on the yard. ¡°Form a line at that cone. The last people on the row, let


    the row in front of you know they can stand up and follow you.¡±


    Nick wondered why they hadn¡¯t dissolved the ship and just drop them to the ground.


    Maybe lining up gave them a chance to show the kids who was in charge. Maybe they


    were already separating people out into the classes and dorms they would be stuck


    taking.


    He wouldn¡¯t be in the same places as his friends.


    He waited until it was his turn to move out. He was last in line on his row, and tapped


    the first kid in the row ahead of him on the shoulder. He walked to the back of the


    craft and down the ramp. He thought that Master Avere should have a couple dozen


    holes put in him, but refrained from doing that.


    Maybe Monty had been right for the first time.


    He watched things as he moved into place in the line. The first chance he got, he


    would think about going over the wall. He might have to hurt some of these people,


    but that didn¡¯t matter to him since he didn¡¯t know them.


    Monty might be the only one who went over the wall with him, but that would be


    okay. Better someone you know, than a stranger.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Avere. He looked over the line, counting them. He nodded when he


    had the exact number of passengers on the field. The wooden carriage boiled away


    and its creator dropped to the ground across the grass. ¡°We¡¯re going to join the line


    heading into the feasting hall. You can sit anywhere, but afterwards you will be


    assigned rooms and you will be taken over there by the incoming senior class.¡±


    ¡°Then what,¡± said Monty.


    ¡°You will be given directions to your classes, and have three days to memorize routes


    back and forth between each one,¡± said Avere. ¡°If you can pass all the tests on the


    spells and theory behind them, you will be asked to think about what kind of future


    you want to have as a magician.¡±


    Nick knew he didn¡¯t have a future as a magician. He wondered if they taught practical


    skills at all in the place.

 Misfits

    Nick fell in line with the rest of the orphans. He felt his impatience climb as they were


    let into the hall one by one. When it was his turn, an usher asked him what his skill


    was. He replied it was putting holes in people¡¯s bodies. The usher led him down to


    a table away from anyone else.


    His table gradually filled with children he didn¡¯t know. None of the other orphans


    were seated at his table. He was tempted to just move to where Carol was sitting. He


    could see her at least.


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem, bud?,¡± asked dark haired older boy. He had a cigarette in his


    mouth and lit it with a candle lighting up the table. A couple of burn scars rolled up


    the back of his hand.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be here, I don¡¯t want to be separated from the people I know,


    and this place stinks,¡± said Nick. He thought about how that sounded and flinched


    at the whiningness of his comment. ¡°Any chance I can get out of this dump and


    head home?¡±


    ¡°Doubt it,¡± said the smoker. He grinned around his cigarette, blowing out a cloud of


    blue smoke. Some of the kids around him choked and pushed out of the cloud.


    ¡°The teachers want you to learn something for their trouble. Breaking out means


    going over the wall, and if you flew in like most of us, then your home is days away.


    You might as well sit and bear it.¡±


    ¡°The goon is right,¡± said a girl with a tattooed arm. She leaned away from the


    smoke. ¡°Do you have to smoke? Some of us don¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°It allows me to use my fire magic,¡± said the smoker. He gestured with the cigarette.


    ¡°I need a source to do my thing.¡±


    ¡°I doubt you are going to have to throw a fireball at dinner,¡± pointed out the girl.


    ¡°I heard the turkey is tougher than leather,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°All of you want to stay here?,¡± asked Nick. He looked the table over.


    ¡°None of us have anywhere else to go,¡± said the girl. ¡°So keep your crying to


    yourself.¡±


    She grabbed the cigarette out of the smoker¡¯s mouth and put it out in the palm of her


    tattooed hand.


    ¡°Light another one, and it goes in your eye,¡± said the girl. ¡°Let¡¯s eat in silence


    and good air. When we get our rooms, then you can do whatever.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not in charge,¡± said Nick. He winced because it made him sound like a little


    kid.


    ¡°What¡¯s your magic?,¡± asked the girl. She leaned back with crossed arms.


    ¡°I punch holes through things,¡± said Nick. He could feel his hand charging up


    in anger.


    ¡°I punch holes in buildings like this one,¡± said the girl. ¡°Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Then sit down and shut up,¡± said the girl. ¡°Let the rest of us take it easy before


    we have to start figuring out what we have to do to get through this. If the two of you


    want to go over the wall, that¡¯s fine with me. Please do it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow?,¡± said the smoker. He puffed another cigarette to life and inhaled


    the blue smoke. ¡°I can wait that long.¡±


    A teacher came by. She wore the robe of the academic with gray hair pulled back


    in a severe bun. She held out a hand for the cigarette. The smoker looked at her, then


    handed her the cigarette.


    ¡°No smoking in the buildings,¡± said the teacher. ¡°You should know better than this.¡±


    ¡°Just got here,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°For future reference, you can only smoke in your rooms,¡± said the teacher. She


    snapped her finger and the tobacco and paper went up in a small fireball.


    ¡°I need my cigarettes to work my magic,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°When you need your magic, you may smoke,¡± said the teacher. ¡°But we are at


    dinner, and about to undergo orientation, so you don¡¯t need your magic.¡±


    ¡°I think you are just trying to hold me down,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°I just hate cigarette smokers,¡± said the teacher. ¡°Do better so you don¡¯t need them.¡±


    She walked on, heading for another table of rabble rousers who needed to be calmed


    down.


    ¡°Do better,¡± said the smoker in a poor imitation of a voice and hand held up like


    a puppet working its mouth. ¡°I hate cigarettes so you can¡¯t have one. Do better.¡±


    Nick sat back, letting the charge dissipate in his hand. Maybe he was letting his


    dislike of the place influence his thinking. He certainly didn¡¯t like any of the teachers


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.he had met so far.


    ¡°If you can do fire magic, why are you sitting with the seven of us?,¡± said one


    of the other boys at the table. He had a naturally sad face with eyebrows hooked


    up like question marks. He sat opposite of the smoker.


    ¡°What do you mean?,¡± asked the smoker.


    ¡°I would have thought you would be placed with the normal fire students,¡± said


    the hound dog. He indicated the tables where Carol and the other firestarters sat with


    a pointing finger.


    ¡°I need a source to use the magic,¡± said the smoker. He acted like he wanted to


    lean back, but the benches at the tables had no backs to keep him in place. ¡°So


    I carry the flame in my cigarettes. What you in for, Smiley?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t seem to learn spells normally,¡± said Smiley. He shrugged. ¡°When the


    Academy swept through, I was picked up with the rest of the talented.¡±


    ¡°I think we are all like that,¡± said Nick. He noted dashes appearing at the edge of his


    sphere of influence. ¡°My one trick isn¡¯t trainable so I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time the Academy tried to train people who didn¡¯t fit the


    mold,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°The people back home say that the last battle with the Warlord happened here,¡± said


    a girl with white hair. One of her eyes was lighter than the other. ¡°Said the


    headmaster put him down out in the streets.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t doubt it,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°What does that have to do with us?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°They say he¡¯s been trying to come back and find his heart of power,¡± said the girl.


    ¡°They think that if any word reached him the heart was here, he would do whatever


    he could to seize it.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that means killing everyone here,¡± said the tattoo girl.


    ¡°At least most of the teachers who might get in his way,¡± said the smoker. ¡°Tomorrow


    I will definitely look for a way I can get over the wall and away from here.¡±


    ¡°We can fight the warlord,¡± said Nick. He looked around at the other tables. No one


    seemed to have heard him. ¡°We can stop him once and for all.¡±


    ¡°Do you think your one spell will do that?,¡± asked Smiley.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why it won¡¯t,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°What about going home?,¡± asked the tattoo girl. She waved her hands in the air at


    the pivot.


    ¡°If I can kill the Warlord, I can go home and live off the story for the rest of my life,¡±


    said Nick. ¡°The reward itself would be enough to build a better village.¡±


    ¡°I think you will be burned to a cinder,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°I think my blast will do the job if I can get close enough,¡± said Nick. He looked


    around at his new colleagues. ¡°Who wants to kill the Warlord with me?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to kill the Warlord,¡± said the tattoo girl. ¡°We¡¯re here to stay out of


    the way and let our more gifted relatives learn enough to kill the Warlord. If a


    fireblast is all you got, you¡¯ll get killed in the first exchange of power.¡±


    ¡°So we should hunker down and wait until we have to do something?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Do you really think the teachers will be able to handle the Warlord and all of his


    followers if he invades this place?,¡± asked the tattoo girl. ¡°You know better than that.


    We might have to put up some kind of defense to protect the kids too weak to do


    anything.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get to punch a lot of holes in heads if that happens,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°I guess I can go along to get along,¡± said Nick. ¡°My name¡¯s Nick.¡±


    ¡°Will,¡± said the smoker.


    ¡°Calliope Rose,¡± said the tattoo girl.


    ¡°Steve,¡± said Smiley. He did smile then, and it changed his whole face. ¡°I have never


    been in a secret circle before.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still not,¡± said the white haired girl. ¡°I¡¯m Crow.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Calvin,¡± said one of the boys left at the table. He looked enough like the other


    boy to be related. ¡°This is Felix.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re water wizards,¡± said Felix.


    ¡°What¡¯s the drawback on your magic?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°What drawbacks?,¡± asked Calvin. ¡°Our magic is perfect in every way.¡±


    ¡°You are at the misfit table,¡± said Calliope. ¡°Don¡¯t tell us you got misplaced.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not really a drawback,¡± said Calvin.


    ¡°Admit it,¡± said Felix. ¡°It is a drawback. We can take water and try to shape magic


    out of it, but it becomes another element in the process.¡±


    ¡°I would love to see that,¡± said Will.


    ¡°Not now,¡± said Nick. ¡°Granny Bitter will come along to ask why you are doing


    magic when we are supposed to be getting ready for dinner at our new home.¡±


    ¡°Nick¡¯s right,¡± said Calliope. She shrugged. ¡°If you try something and it changes,


    you could catch a lot of the students in whatever spell, and the teachers will issue a


    punishment before we can get started learning things.¡±


    ¡°You might be forced to cast spells until you use up all your power and have to


    recharge,¡± said Steve. ¡°I had to do that once. It took forever for me to get back


    enough strength to use the minor spell I always keep.¡±


    ¡°A minor spell you keep?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°I have twelve slots,¡± said Steve. ¡°Right now they are full. If I have to use a new


    spell, I trade it for one spell I don¡¯t think I need. I always keep this one spell because


    it does a lot for a little effort.¡±


    ¡°You can show us later,¡± said Calliope. ¡°After all, we still have to deal with Granny


    Bitter.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think she will like that name,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°We can¡¯t call her Mother Dearest,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°We could, but it would look like we¡¯re being asses for no reason,¡± said Will. ¡°Other


    than the fact she stole one of my cigarettes. And you too, Miss Muscle Arms. You


    should pay me back for the cigarette you stole.¡±


    ¡°But I won¡¯t,¡± said Calliope. She smiled at him. ¡°After all, there¡¯s a no smoking


    policy in the hall.¡±


    ¡°I have a policy for you,¡± said Will.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re about to hear the motivation speech,¡± said Nick. He eyed an old


    academic with veins visible under his pale skin. His faded eyes took in the new


    students as he marched to the front of the classes.


    ¡°I know most of you didn¡¯t have much choice in being here, and don¡¯t want to be


    here,¡± said the old man. ¡°Instead of coming here to a magical school, you could have


    found someone to teach you things closer to home. That might have been a better


    choice for some of you.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have dinner. All of the sections will be shown where their quarters


    are in the castle afterwards. Uniform fitting and a tour will come tomorrow bright and


    early. Magic testing will come after that. All of the faculty are experts with different


    types of magic, and will be able to show you the first steps on improving your control.


    All questions about procedures and so on will be answered by your testers.


    ¡°Dinner is served.¡±


    The old man walked to take a spot at the faculty table. Carts full of covered trays


    rolled into the room. They paused at the end of every table. The lids were placed


    aside and food on trays were handed out by older students who had done this before.


    Nick passed the food down at his table. He idly wondered what his magic test would


    look like in the morning. He hoped he didn¡¯t have to try some kind of general


    thing. He was never good at that, despite what he could do with the thunder cracker


    and variant spells he could use from beating a monster.


    They might just kick him out if they couldn¡¯t mold him.

 Settling In

    Nick tried to enjoy the meal as he watched the dining hall. He waved at Carol when


    she waved at him. He tried to smile, but still felt anger coursing through his system.


    ¡°True love?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re from the same orphanage,¡± said Nick. ¡°She¡¯s a fire magician like you,


    except she can make fire and doesn¡¯t need a crutch.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Will. ¡°I can take the low blow.¡±


    ¡°They said that the Lords of Death were at the border and close to my village,¡± said


    Nick. ¡°Did any of you hear the same thing?¡±


    ¡°Your village was on the edge?,¡± asked Calliope.


    ¡°We came in the last conjured airship,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°I think all of us came before you, Nick,¡± said Steve. ¡°If they picked up your orphans


    and arrived last, it might mean all of us live closer to the city than you.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°They say there is a map of the world here in the school,¡± said Crow. ¡°If we saw it,


    we would know where our villages were before we came here.¡±


    ¡°We lived in a city,¡± said Calvin. He grinned at them.


    ¡°But it wasn¡¯t as big as the one surrounding the school,¡± said Felix.


    ¡°We might be put in the same quarters,¡± said Calliope. ¡°If they are keeping each


    group together, we irregulars will probably have our own space.¡±


    ¡°Separate rooms?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Calliope. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I never had my own room before,¡± said Nick. ¡°We always had to share space with


    each other.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll probably have us all share rooms,¡± said Will. ¡°Two boys get a room, two


    girls get a room. One of the boys will be on his own.¡±


    ¡°You guys can bunk in together,¡± said Nick. ¡°It will be nice not to share with anyone


    else.¡±


    ¡°We might all get one room,¡± said Calliope. ¡°That means you are going to have to


    respect our privacy.¡±


    ¡°Would they do that?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Calliope. ¡°I don¡¯t see how they can teach us how to do better


    with the strange outlier magic we each possess.¡±


    ¡°Will doesn¡¯t have an outlier magic,¡± said Steve. ¡°He just needs a starter for what he


    has. If he could do that, he wouldn¡¯t have to stick around with the rest of us.¡±


    ¡°So once I am able to create fire out of thin air, I can move in with the other guys,¡±


    said Will. ¡°Get some privileges.¡±


    ¡°Nothing wrong with that,¡± said Steve. ¡°We would be holding you back if you tried


    to stay with us.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s shelve this,¡± said Nick. ¡°The classes are moving out.¡±


    He indicated the air class at the tables nearest the faculty were being gathered and


    walked out of the hall.


    ¡°We¡¯re at the back of the room,¡± said Felix. ¡°We will be waiting a bit before they get


    to us.¡±


    ¡°But they will be getting to us,¡± said Nick. ¡°Granny Bitter is eyeing us for what we


    will do.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t start shooting her in the face,¡± said Will. ¡°It looks like it would just make her


    mad enough to rip your legs off.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if the thunder cracker could punch through a


    toughened enough shield. And I¡¯m not sure I want to find out.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what it can punch through?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°It will kill a small animal with one shot, medium sized animals with a couple of


    charges, annoy bears and bigger unless I put a charge through the eye,¡± said Nick. ¡°It


    won¡¯t go through most stonework, but anything lesser I can chop away from a


    distance. The main problem is the reserve. Once I run out of charges, I¡¯ll need to


    scavenge more from anything I put down, or buy with spirit money which I don¡¯t start


    the day with enough of. Essentially I can do things, but I have to be in conflict with


    someone and win to get the supplies I need. That¡¯s why I picked up this sword as a


    backup weapon.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised they let you keep it,¡± said Felix.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°They will probably tell me to keep it in my room while I am going about my


    studies,¡± said Nick. ¡°Everyone here is more dangerous than a boy with a sword


    anyway.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the older students,¡± said Calliope. ¡°I don¡¯t think the younger ones have ever


    seen a sword used to fight. You might be able to scare them before they can get a


    spell off.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Granny Bitter is coming our way,¡± said Steve.


    ¡°Everybody finished eating?,¡± Calliope asked. ¡°We don¡¯t want to have to leave


    anything if we¡¯re still hungry.¡±


    A chorus of we¡¯re dones following hastily grabbed bites answered her. They watched


    as more of the students were led out of the hall. Nick stood, watching Carol being led


    away with the rest of the fire magicians in her new class.


    ¡°You can sit,¡± said Granny Bitter as she arrived at their table.


    ¡°I can stand,¡± said Nick. He looked for more of his friends. Where was Bradley, or


    the others?


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a suggestion,¡± said the teacher.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a command,¡± said Nick. He barely glanced at her. ¡°When can we go


    home?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said the teacher. She glanced at the other children at the table. She


    noted that only the twins seemed to not want to look her in the eye. ¡°The Academy


    was asked to train every talent that could be found in case an emergency state


    happened. The other schools are doing the same thing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you can train us,¡± said Nick. ¡°Our talents are untrainable, and have their


    own rules. What are we even doing here?¡±


    ¡°Speak for yourself, buddy,¡± said Will. He lit a cigarette and puffed out the smoke.


    ¡°I can fit in with the other fire users well enough. I don¡¯t even know why I got


    shuffled to this table.¡±


    ¡°Smoking again?,¡± asked the teacher.


    ¡°I like to smoke,¡± said Will. ¡°And you owe me the cigarette you took.¡±


    ¡°Really?,¡± said Granny Bitter.


    ¡°I think two pence is the rate of a cigarette,¡± said Will. ¡°Nick¡¯s right about one thing.


    Their talents have different rules in action than a regular magician. How do you


    expect to know more than they do about how their skills work?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll know that starting tomorrow,¡± said the teacher. ¡°I¡¯m Agatha Quince. I will be


    showing you some things in the morning.¡±


    ¡°You can show me the front door right now,¡± said Nick. ¡°I can get home on my own.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is wise at the moment,¡± said Quince. ¡°And I think you already


    know this is for your own safety.¡±


    ¡°Ripping people from their homes won¡¯t make them inclined to listen to you if they


    are stubborn and stupid,¡± said Calliope. She stood. ¡°Please show us to our rooms. We


    can discuss all of this in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t, Nick,¡± said Steve. ¡°Tomorrow is a brand new day.¡±


    Nick let the charge in his hand clear. He counted his reserve. He had enough to put


    a few people down, and loot them for better variants, and maybe some other things.


    He thought about the reset, and knew he would have to fight someone with just his


    starter spell if he couldn¡¯t make it home before he fell asleep.


    The others stood. None of them looked as angry as he felt, but they didn¡¯t look happy


    either.


    ¡°Please lead on, Madam Quince,¡± said Calliope. She gestured with her hand. ¡°None


    of us will conk you on the head and make a break for the wall.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t rule it out either,¡± said Will. He puffed calmly on his cigarette.


    ¡°I am sure you are all dangerous people,¡± said Quince, squinting at them.


    ¡°Not me,¡± said Steve. ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything dangerous ever.¡±


    Quince led the way out of the hall. She seemed to float across the ground. The minor


    use of magic pinged on Nick¡¯s sphere. He saw similar pings in the direction of the


    other groups.


    He said nothing. He didn¡¯t want her to know that he could sense magic in use. It


    would be one more thing they would hound him over.


    He did spot several magical shops on his map. He didn¡¯t have the spirit money to use


    them. If he had, he could buy variants to help get out of the school and started for


    home.


    He glanced at the others. They seemed to be taking in the school, not really enjoying


    the tour, but looking for ways to do what they wanted to do.


    If he left, he felt he would leave on his own. They had their own places. There was


    no reason for them to go over the wall like he wanted to do.


    Quince paused at a small building at the back of the keep. She waved her hand, and


    a door opened for her. She stepped inside and lit a lantern on the wall.


    ¡°This is where you will be staying until we can move you into rooms with the regular


    classes elsewhere,¡± said the teacher. She stepped aside so they could enter, and look


    around.


    Steve made a gesture and all the lanterns lit in the building. He looked around,


    inspecting the main hall with his hangdog expression.


    ¡°Is there a kitchen, Madam Quince?,¡± he asked as he paused at a set of stairs leading


    upwards. Lamps glowed, leaking light down the staircase to him.


    ¡°It is in the back of the building,¡± said the old lady. She clasped her hands together


    in front of her.


    ¡°Are you staying?,¡± asked Steve. He walked toward the back of the place.


    ¡°I have rooms in the central tower,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I can move in here if you


    want.¡±


    ¡°That would be great,¡± called Steve from the back of the place. The expressions on


    the rest suggested the opposite.


    ¡°They say you know the Warlord is not at the edge of the country,¡± said Crow. She


    walked to a narrow window facing the rest of the Academy. ¡°It¡¯s just his followers


    trying to unseal him.¡±


    ¡°They?,¡± asked Madam Quince.


    ¡°If you want to move in, we can¡¯t stop you,¡± said Calliope. ¡°I can¡¯t promise some


    of us won¡¯t go for the wall either. We¡¯ve been teaching ourselves for a long time. We


    don¡¯t need you as much as the regular students.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure about that?,¡± asked Quince.


    ¡°You have a fire magician that can¡¯t ignite a fire, two brothers whose spells change


    elements uncontrollably, a magician with one spell that he can use reliably, a


    magician who can¡¯t learn other spells unless he forgets one he already knows, and a


    magician that specializes in runic structures,¡± said Calliope. ¡°I don¡¯t know what Crow


    can do, but she seems to know what she can do better than we do. I just don¡¯t see how


    you can help us beyond the written part of things which I am sure we will have to


    cram to learn until we are at the level your school wants. And I feel that at least half


    of us would rather be at their real home on their own territory than here. I don¡¯t think


    your regular lesson plan will work in this situation. So we¡¯re going to settle in for


    at least tonight, talk to you in the morning, and decide what we want to do when


    we are thinking straight and not emotionally involved in the decision process.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of words,¡± said Will.


    ¡°Shut up you,¡± said Calliope. ¡°We have to find our rooms so we can settle in. Thank


    you for bringing us over.¡±


    ¡°Madam Quince?,¡± said Steve, walking into the room. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to


    know where I can get some tea, would you?¡±

 Burglars

    Nick looked around his room. It was on the second floor. He could maybe get to the


    top of the wall if he timed things just right. Then he could drop down the other side


    and be on the street. He wanted to check the position of the magic market before he


    turned in for the night.


    He felt that he could use that to buy things inside the Academy building if he had


    enough spirit money. He might be able to put together a kit he could use to get out of


    the city and on the way back home.


    He figured that Carol and the others would love to stay in the big city. He couldn¡¯t


    blame them. They had more of everything in the city, and could work less.


    Back home was where he felt special. At the school, he was one of many children


    sussing out the system and trying to avoid the lumps it was handing out. He would


    rather be on familiar ground.


    And if he ran into the Lords of Death, he was sure he could do something to protect


    his town.


    He didn¡¯t trust the teachers at the Academy to have his interests at heart.


    He still picked up some soft dashes. They were in the central keep, and the other


    wings on the other side. He shrugged at what they could mean.


    Someone might be showing off over there.


    Nick opened his window as gently as he could. He looked around the yard and saw


    nothing. He would have to sneak back in, but it was a small price to pay.


    He swung his legs over the sill and pushed away from the window. He made a gesture


    with his hand. His fall turned into a floating descent that let him absorb the impact


    with a small effort. He looked around. No one was in the yard, and he didn¡¯t see


    anyone in the windows.


    It looked like a clean escape.


    Now he just had to get back into the central building they had left earlier, and find the


    market. Then he could take as long as he wanted to order things.


    Nick found the door unlocked. He walked inside and headed toward where the


    indicator was pinned on his sphere of influence. He paused when he was where it


    should be, but it wasn¡¯t there. He looked at the sphere again. The marker was below


    him.


    He needed to find stairs leading down. Once he had that, he could find the market


    with some careful searching.


    There was a couple of places back home with a market, but he only needed them


    when he was deep in the forest hunting. One stood a small distance from the


    orphanage. If he had the money, it was close enough to use in case of an emergency.


    A couple of monsters had got through the wall around his village. He had killed the


    first with the thunder cracker. Fighting the other one, he had been able to get a


    magical attack, and used that to fling his enemy into the air.


    Master Slown and Sister Anne had asked him what happened. He had lied and said


    lightning must have done for the monster.


    He wasn¡¯t going to admit that he had launched twin streams of blasts into the monster


    and chewed it up. He would never hear the end of anything.


    ¡°They say the Academy has a monster problem and people shouldn¡¯t walk inside it


    alone at night,¡± said Crow. Her white hair and pale complexion glowed in the small


    torchlight.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember asking you to come along,¡± said Nick. ¡°Who¡¯s they?¡±


    ¡°They said that you should go back to our quarters and let others deal with the


    monster colony,¡± said Crow. ¡°I can see that you don¡¯t want to consider that at all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m looking for something,¡± said Nick. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°I had to answer when you snuck out,¡± said Crow. ¡°If something bad happens to you,


    you will attract even more problems to the school. Please, can we just go without


    problems?¡±


    ¡°Hold on,¡± said Nick. He found some stairs leading down. He followed them until it


    looked like he was on the right hall as the market. A few more minutes of searching


    showed him a blank wall where an arch should be.


    ¡°They say something is here, but they don¡¯t know what it is,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°It¡¯s a market,¡± said Nick. ¡°Can you keep watch, and keep out of sight?¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°How do I do that?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°This will only take a second,¡± said Nick. ¡°I can¡¯t really buy anything, and come


    morning anything I could get will be gone. I just want to make sure this works like


    the ones back home.¡±


    ¡°They say there are features that you haven¡¯t looked at that will help you,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°Do they know which ones?,¡± asked Nick. He didn¡¯t think Crow¡¯s mysterious them


    knew anything, but he was willing to listen for a second before dismissing her. She


    already seemed to know more than she should.


    ¡°You can cut on the listening device,¡± said Crow. ¡°It will give you a warning about


    whom is in the area with you.¡±


    ¡°Really?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Crow. ¡°They also said you can party with others and let them know what


    you think inside your sphere of influence.¡±


    ¡°I have never done either of those things,¡± said Nick. He realized he could have asked


    Carol to party and then he could talk to her about this castle of doubtful characters.


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°They say there is a room to one side where you can work on your main spell,¡± said


    Crow. ¡°It¡¯s called Showroom.¡±


    ¡°How do you know any of this?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°They tell me things,¡± said Crow. ¡°I use that to help others when I can. I don¡¯t know


    why I am here, but I do know that the teachers and the Lords of Death are looking for


    a particular person with particular scars like mine.¡±


    She raised the front of her tunic to show a pattern of markings in a circle over her


    stomach. She dropped the tunic.


    ¡°I have markings like that too,¡± said Nick. ¡°I don¡¯t know where I got them from. I


    have always had them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a seal,¡± said Crow. ¡°They don¡¯t know what it seals, but something is inside of


    me, and probably you too. And that means the Warlord is looking for us.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to stay out of his clutches,¡± said Nick. ¡°Let me do this, and then we¡¯ll go


    back to our quarters. We can hash out what we can with Granny Bitter in the morning.


    Maybe she will give us a straight answer to our questions if we brace her with the fact


    we know we possess something inside of us.¡±


    ¡°I think we should keep this to ourselves,¡± said Crow. ¡°As soon as word gets around,


    all of the other students will be at risk, including your friend from the fire magician


    table.¡±


    ¡°So we wait and see what happens?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Patience is our friend,¡± said Crow. ¡°Eventually we will have to fight to keep


    ourselves safe. That is when we will have to leave and wander the world.¡±


    ¡°They tell you that?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°They don¡¯t have to,¡± said Crow. ¡°I will wait for you.¡±


    Nick pressed the wall, keeping the indicator on his mental map. The wall opened and


    he stepped inside. He didn¡¯t know if it was a mental trick, or if he had stepped inside


    another space, but the wallboard faced him with the items for sell on it. He quickly


    went over everything. He could get the same things here as back home. The prices


    were a little lower too.


    He spotted the Showroom that Crow had mentioned. He walked over and looked


    inside. All of his spells were on hooks in the wall. Another shelf of something called


    fixtures stood next to it. He walked over and picked one of the fixtures up. He


    received a mental message of what it was for, and which spell to add it too.


    Better versions of fixtures could be had if he could use the spells often enough.


    He doubted he would be able to do that unless open war broke out at the Academy.


    Below the weaponized spells, and fixtures, were things marked equipment. Those


    were the things that made him faster than normal, gave him better reflexes, allowed


    him to track his enemy, and other skills.


    He couldn¡¯t use any of this yet. He didn¡¯t have the money to buy a spell off the wall


    with the right fixture, or the equipment or body skills. When he could get the money,


    he could buy what he wanted.


    He walked back out into the main room. There was a side niche. He walked into that,


    and saw a switch for enemy hearing on the wall. He flipped it to open.


    Below that was a chart with six lines. His name was on the first line. He picked the


    letters for Crow from a roll bar under the second line. He saw his sphere of influence


    put up a number two next to the market. He decided to save the rest of the party lines


    for later.


    Four more lines would get him most of the misfits if he wanted to let them join him,


    but one of the twins would be out of the action.


    He didn¡¯t feel right just cutting one out. That would just cause hurt feelings. It was


    better to wait, and just add whomever on a temporary basis, and then subtract them


    when he no longer needed them to do things.


    He stepped out of the market. The hall still looked empty except for Crow. He heard


    some kind of mumbling. A mental designation said Corpet. Another voice reached


    him. This one said Captain Blooge.


    He couldn¡¯t see them, but felt they had to be close. He made a silence gesture at


    Crow, before pointing back the way they came. He wanted her safe outside the castle


    before he did something stupid.


    She shook her head. She pointed toward the center of the castle. He raised his hand


    and pointed in the same direction. Something lit up for a second as he marked


    movement. He closed on the ping, wishing he had enough money to buy a faster


    weapon from the market.


    Several more pings lit up ahead of them. He didn¡¯t know what was going on. He


    looked at Crow. She nodded. She was using his system to mark the enemy.


    He made a face. He hadn¡¯t expected that. He also had never invited anybody to


    partner with him either.


    He crept closer. He didn¡¯t want to shoot without a clear picture. Putting a hole in a


    teacher would not be good for him leaving the Academy and going home.


    He frowned when he found a small swarm of goblins. He couldn¡¯t kill them all with


    the thunder cracker. He didn¡¯t have enough stopping power. He still had to do


    something. If they got loose in the student rooms, there would be blood spilled.


    He took aim at the one that seemed to be giving orders. He steeled himself. This


    wouldn¡¯t be like the quick exchanges in the forests around his village.


    He willed his spell to operate, and keep operating. Pressure tried to jerk his hand off


    his targets as he ran through his charges in a matter of seconds. He had a bunch of


    wounded, but no kills. He dropped back behind a decorative suit of armor and willed


    his spell to recharge, loading the spare twenty strikes in a few seconds.


    Some of the goblins were down, some charged him in the hopes he wouldn¡¯t be able


    to finish the job and kill them at close range.

 Lead Farmer

    Nick waited for a count of three before he pointed at the lead goblin. He didn¡¯t see


    any bows, but that didn¡¯t mean anything. They might have dropped them as they


    charged at him from down the hall. He lined up his arm and let his magic fly.


    He killed the first two goblins running at him with four, or five, of his spell charges.


    He needed more energy. He shot at the last one before it could reach him. It went


    down on its face and skidded to a stop at the other side of the armor the misfit was


    using as a shield.


    The last charge went into the back of that goblin¡¯s head.


    A pile of energy popped out of the goblin¡¯s back. A small pile had erupted from the


    other two dead targets out of the magician¡¯s reach. He had to arm up with what they


    had given him. There were four more downed, but still ready to heal up and come at


    him down where he had first seen them, and a trio heading the other direction.


    He had done nothing to the trio yet. He had to finish up what he was doing and chase


    them down, and then get back to his quarters.


    He pulled the loot from the first goblin as he advanced. The magic exchanged his


    thunder cracker for a longer bow, and ball spitter. He had some special skin that he


    could use as armor. And the last two things were area effect attacks.


    The first goblin didn¡¯t give him charges.


    He found charges on the other two goblins and a bird. He took those and left the


    spells. He didn¡¯t need them now that he had the more powerful spells loaded in his


    hands.


    He advanced as the rest of the enemy tried to pick themselves up to defend


    themselves from him. He took one of the area of effect spells from its place in his


    mind. He threw it in the middle of the crowd. It hit and stuck to the floor. A blinding


    explosion gave him another pile of loot amidst torn and burned bodies.


    The trio was moving faster now after the roll of thunder Nick had produced in the


    hall.


    Nick found some equipment spells in the pile and applied those to his body. He was


    a little bit faster, and little bit stronger, and could detect people looking at him. He


    didn¡¯t see anything else that would help boost his speed.


    ¡°You killed all of them,¡± said Crow. She looked amazed. ¡°You¡¯re a monster hunter.¡±


    ¡°Can you get back to our quarters on your own?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°I don¡¯t mind getting


    kicked out, but I don¡¯t know what they would do to you if they found you here.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?,¡± asked Crow. She studied the scene as she tried to avoid


    the green blood and fragments of body parts and stone.


    ¡°There are three of them left, moving away from us,¡± said Nick. ¡°I can¡¯t let them run


    loose. Go back to our quarters and wait for me. We¡¯ll talk then.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Crow. ¡°I don¡¯t like it, but I will go.¡±


    ¡°As long as you are in my sphere of influence, I can see your pointer,¡± said Nick. ¡°If


    you get into trouble, try to mark the target like you did with the goblins.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± said Crow. ¡°Be careful.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll never see me coming,¡± said Nick. He rushed down the hall. His equipment


    made him faster, but was he faster than a troupe of goblins with a headstart?


    He ran until he was about where the pings were in his sphere of influence. He didn¡¯t


    see them. Had they turned around? Were they going home since the rest of their


    troupe had been loudly murdered in the sleeping school? He needed to find them, and


    luckily he had the spell to do it for the duration of his search.


    He grabbed the bird spell from his reserve. He flung it upwards and waited. His


    sphere lit up with pings. Most were in the same areas, but three of them were moving.


    He realized they were above him somewhere. He had to catch up before the bird wore


    off.


    He saw some stairs to his right, and ran to them. He started up, listening. The special


    hearing that Crow had relayed from her Them, lit up as he neared his targets. He


    didn¡¯t pause as he heard one of them say that someone was coming down the hall at


    them. He had to wrap this up and get out of the main keep before the teachers wanted


    to know what happened.


    He wasn¡¯t giving them any reason to keep him if he could help it.


    The goblins hid in the hall. He could tell because their pings stopped moving. He


    readied the ball spitter as he advanced. The bird died, and he didn¡¯t have a picture of


    where the monsters were any more.


    What did he do?


    His one area of effect spell could potentially stun anyone in its net for a certain


    amount of time. That would give him some kind of warning if he hit. If he threw it


    and missed, it would just light up the hall in a flash and he would be blinded and none


    the wiser.


    He didn¡¯t anything to lose, and he could hear other voices in the mental space as


    teachers and staff woke up and wondered what the problem could be.


    He readied the stunner and tossed it down the hall. It exploded in a hexagram of light,


    reaching around it with flailing tentacles. One of the goblins was caught in its


    embrace, lighting up in his sphere of influence. That was enough for the magician to


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.close and dump half of the charges in his spell into the body of the green hunter.


    The other two lit up again on Nick¡¯s sphere. They were still moving toward whatever


    goal they had. He switched spells and took aim. He emptied the whole reserve of


    magical energy down the hall, hoping to hit one before they took cover.


    ¡°I¡¯m hurt,¡± said the one goblin. ¡°Got a hole in my leg.¡±


    ¡°I will go on without you,¡± said the other goblin. ¡°The master will punish me if I


    don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me,¡± said the first goblin.


    Nick switched spells at the ready and reloaded the ball spitter. He decided not to pick


    up any of the loot around him as he moved forward. There was nothing there that he


    could use indoors, or for an advantage. If they were outside, he might have picked up


    the lightning strike and used that to send his target flying through the air.


    He readied the spell as he advanced. He saw the two goblins. The wounded one had


    a grip on the other¡¯s ankle. They both looked at him in surprise when they noticed


    him in the hall. He unleashed clouds of stone rocks into both of them until the spell


    ran out of power.


    He had to get out of the hall and back to his quarters before he was found. He didn¡¯t


    need better hearing, or a bird, to know he would be surrounded if he stayed where he


    was.


    He ran back the way he came. There was nothing in his spells or equipment, that


    would help him move faster. There were certain spells he could loot to help his speed,


    and the reflex from his equipment, that would turn him into a blur of motion.


    He ran down the stairs and toward the market. He realized he could buy what he


    needed from there if he hurried. He had the spirit money after the killing he had done,


    and it would be gone as soon as he started a new day. He could get what he wanted


    and escape back to his quarters easily.


    He marked the market again on his map. His pointer headed right for it in his mind.


    Crow¡¯s marker was at the edge of his awareness, outside of the keep. She was clear


    unless a teacher saw her on the grounds.


    Her white hair stood out at night like a flag saying here I am.


    Nick reached the market. Voices were all around him, wondering what was going on.


    He needed to cut off the hearing until he was out of there. It was driving him a little


    crazy. He put his hand on the wall and slipped through to the selling room.


    He quickly checked the board. It would give him the increased speed. He bought it


    and put it in his reserve. He decided to buy a bird and a rope. He wanted to cut off the


    hearing, but he didn¡¯t know how much time had already passed. He needed to move


    if he wanted to avoid any entanglements.


    He left the market and threw the bird up immediately. There was a large group of


    pings coming down the hall toward him. It looked like he had woke up the whole


    castle. He had to get away as fast as possible.


    He pulled the diamond from his reserve and swallowed it. He felt energy and power


    rush through his body. He headed for the door as fast as he could. He had no idea if


    he had been seen, and he didn¡¯t want to find out. He hit the door and ran out into the


    courtyard.


    The bird went away as he threw the end of the rope into the ground. He threw the


    other end upwards to an invisible anchor in the sky. He grabbed it and was instantly


    thrown into the air, above the wall. He spotted the misfits¡¯ dorm. He activated his


    glide spell and steered toward it. He let go of the glide so he could fall before anyone


    sent out something that could spot him falling from the air. He activated the glide


    again to sail toward the upper floor windows.


    He realized that he didn¡¯t know which window was his. He deactivated glide so he


    could drop straight down with a thump. He reached for the door, but it opened for


    him. Crow grabbed his arm and pulled him in.


    ¡°We have to get to our rooms before the faculty check on us,¡± said Crow. ¡°We have


    to hurry if we want to pretend we were in our quarters all night.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way I can do that,¡± said Nick. He walked toward the stairs leading to his


    room. ¡°I need to go to sleep. That will erase the spells I have now, and give me back


    the thunder cracker. And let¡¯s face it, I¡¯m covered with blood splatter and dead goblin


    smell. I need a bath and I need to get rid of these clothes. You can hide your


    involvement pretty easily, and I won¡¯t mention you were there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can lie,¡± said Crow. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t like it. If I lie once, why wouldn¡¯t


    I lie all the time? I can try to dodge the question, but I can¡¯t lie about it.¡±


    ¡°I got it,¡± said Nick. ¡°Let me get cleaned up, and then I need to take a nap.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for trusting me,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°We¡¯re in this together whether we like it, or not,¡± said Nick. ¡°Let me do what I can


    about things before the teachers come to check to see if we¡¯re still alive.¡±


    ¡°I will try to stall,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. He jogged up to his room and slid inside. He stripped his


    clothes and soaked a clean shirt in the water basin they gave him to clean up in the


    morning. He quickly cleaned up as much as he could.


    He still stank. It was just fainter than it had been before he had fled the castle. He


    needed something to cut it down to being unnoticeable, but he didn¡¯t have anything


    in his bag to do that.


    A knock sounded on his door. He saw that it was Crow with his sphere of influence.


    She stood outside his door from her marker. He pulled on a clean pair of pants and


    opened the door a crack.


    ¡°Rub this in,¡± said Crow. She handed him berries on a twig. ¡°Then wash it off as fast


    as you can. Give me your dirty clothes. I will hide them.¡±


    He gave her the pile of stinky clothes. She headed back to her room across the hall.


    He crushed the berries against his skin and rubbed the juice in as fast as he could. He


    took the shirt and cleaned off the juice. He threw the water in the basin out the


    window.


    He looked around the room and wondered how long did he have before Granny Bitter


    showed up to ask him some pointed questions. At least nobody knew he had access


    to different but similar types of missile spells. That might be the one good thing about


    this.


    He would have to visit the market again to turn down the sound. It had been helpful


    when facing the goblins, but the various teachers and students in his range had given


    him a headache with all their questions.


    At least Crow was safe after what he had done.


    He fell on his bed and wondered how long did he have before someone visited their


    quarters. He also wondered why Crow had berries that removed goblin stink in her


    bag. He started wondering about what her speciality was, and knew whatever it was,


    it was unique like his.


    He could see her moving around in her room with her pointer. She probably saw him


    laying down on his bed from her point of view.


    A ping of magic approached their quarters. That had to be Granny Bitter. He noticed


    another ping in the keep. He supposed they were cleaning up the bodies and the


    damage he had done.


    All he had to do now was resist telling the teacher what she wanted to know by


    pretending ignorance. He hoped Crow could avoid answering any questions if she had


    to tell the truth as a restriction on her ability.


    He definitely was not letting the old bat know he could share his sphere of influence


    with people. They would want to know how he was doing anything like that.


    No one else had ever been able to do anything like that as far as he knew. It would


    make him a prize testing project. He would never get out of the school if that


    happened.


    He should think about getting a rope and going over the wall as soon as possible.


    He heard the door open downstairs. He felt something brush over him and figured it


    was the old lady checking to see if he was there. He waited to see what happened


    next.

 Secret Circle

    A knock sounded on Nick¡¯s door. It seemed too tentative to be Madam Quince. He


    figured it was Crow, or one of the twins. He checked his sphere of influence. Crow


    was already downstairs.


    ¡°Go away,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯m getting my beauty sleep.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been trouble in the main building,¡± said Steve. ¡°Come out. I¡¯ll make us some


    tea.¡±


    Nick pulled on a shirt over his ruddy skin. There was nothing he could do about that.


    Hopefully, Madam Quince wouldn¡¯t ask for an explanation.


    He opened the door on Steve¡¯s droopy face. The younger boy still wore his traveling


    clothes from the day before.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Steve?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°They aren¡¯t supposed to drag us out of bed


    until morning.¡±


    ¡°Someone killed eight goblins in the main hall,¡± said Steve. ¡°Madam Quince is here


    to make sure we¡¯re unhurt.¡±


    Steve led the way down the hall, and downstairs. He indicated that Nick should join


    them in the kitchen for the promised tea. The rest of the misfits had taken the table.


    Madam Quince had been forced to stand since they didn¡¯t have an extra chair.


    ¡°Steve said some goblins got into the school,¡± said Nick. He wished he had


    something to drink.


    Steve set out cups and started boiling water. He found tea bags in one of the cabinets


    and parceled them out to each empty cup.


    ¡°Someone killed them,¡± said Madam Quince. She studied her suspects, hands clasped


    in front of her.


    ¡°Calliope did it,¡± said Nick. ¡°She steals people¡¯s cigarettes. She could snoop around


    the school and kill some goblins.¡±


    ¡°That is an excellent point,¡± said Will. ¡°You did steal the cigarette before Madam


    Quince¡¯s stealing my second cigarette. You goblin killing cigarette thief.¡±


    ¡°When did this fight happen, Madam Quince?,¡± asked Calliope.


    ¡°About twenty, or thirty, minutes ago,¡± said the teacher.


    ¡°So I was asleep in my bed at the time,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°Were you alone?,¡± asked Will. He smiled as he put his new acquaintance on the spot.


    ¡°What are you saying?,¡± said the girl. Her voice had turned deadly cold.


    ¡°If Felix, or Calvin, was in the room with you, you would have an airtight alibi,¡± said


    Will.


    ¡°I am going to rip you into tiny pieces,¡± said Calliope. Her arm glowed as she stood.


    She looked at Will sitting in his chair without a cigarette for once.


    ¡°How were the goblins killed, Madam Quince?,¡± Steve asked as he poured out the


    boiling water for the tea into the cups. ¡°You may put the bags in and wait until the tea


    steeps.¡±


    ¡°Some of them had holes in them,¡± said Madam Quince. Everyone looked at Nick.


    ¡°At least a small group was set on fire and ripped apart.¡± Everyone looked at Will.


    ¡°Set on fire and blown apart?,¡± said Calliope. ¡°Like a fire magician could do?¡±


    ¡°I was in my room,¡± said Will. ¡°I don¡¯t have the want to set goblins on fire.¡±


    ¡°Can I go home if I admit I did it?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°Mystery solved and I am on my way


    back home where I want to be. Carol and Bradley and the others will be safe enough


    under your care as soon as you fix your monster problem.¡±


    ¡°Did you do it?,¡± asked the teacher.


    ¡°Can I go home?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°No,¡± said Madam Quince. She frowned down at the this orphan from the edges of


    civilization.


    ¡°Then it seems like you are on your own, Granny,¡± said Nick. He steeped his tea bag


    and drank his tea in one gulp before starting back to his room.


    ¡°Are you walking away from me, young man?,¡± asked Madam Quince.


    ¡°You have nothing I want,¡± said Nick. He paused in the door of the kitchen. ¡°Except


    for my freedom away from here. The other orphans are all fair magicians and can be


    trained in your system. I can¡¯t. And I don¡¯t want to be. I¡¯m going back to bed. If you


    need anything else, talk to Will. He knows more about this than I do.¡±


    Nick headed up the stairs. He supposed since they didn¡¯t know he could switch spells,


    they didn¡¯t think one boy had done what he had done. He might have dragged Will


    into this by accident, but he had protected Crow the best he could.


    He doubted whatever skill she had, despite the hidden knowledge she showed, was


    offensive in any way. No one would believe she had set someone fire with her own


    magic.


    Would Crow tell on him? He didn¡¯t know. He wanted to say he didn¡¯t care, but if she


    did, he would be stuck at the school until he could get enough spirit money and


    supplies to get away from the place and head home.


    He doubted Master Slown could defend the village from a serious incursion by the


    Lords of Death. He needed someone to help him fight back. And his friends would


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.be safe at the school while he was doing what he had to back home.


    He slipped inside his bedroom and lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and tried


    to drift off to sleep. A knocking interrupted his relaxation. He saw Crow was outside


    the door with his sphere of influence.


    ¡°What can I do for you, Crow?,¡± Nick asked.


    ¡°Can we come inside?,¡± asked Crow.


    We? He had just told everyone standing with Crow that he knew she was standing


    there without looking. That would raise some questions.


    He got to his feet and went to his door. He opened it. Will and Calliope stood with


    Crow. Will still didn¡¯t have a cigarette, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about fire damage


    to his bedroom.


    ¡°Can we talk for a second?,¡± asked Calliope.


    ¡°Where are the other three?,¡± said Nick. He stepped out of the way, gesturing in a


    come this way wave of his arm.


    ¡°They are trying to plan out how to get through the assessment in the next few hours,¡±


    said Calliope. She waited for Will and Crow to precede her before she stepped into


    the room. ¡°It might be a while before they can get back to sleep. Do you want to talk


    about this attitude problem of yours?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°You¡¯re not getting out of here unless they decide to take your magic away from


    you,¡± said Calliope. ¡°I don¡¯t think you want that to happen. It¡¯s your only advantage.¡±


    She sat down on his bed. She propped her head up with her hands while her elbows


    rested on her legs. The tattoo covering her arm glittered in the lamp light.


    Crow went to the window. She looked out on the yard.


    Will took the only chair, sitting at the small desk provided for the students. He leaned


    back in the chair.


    ¡°I can get out of here tomorrow if I can get three thousand spirit coins,¡± said Nick. ¡°I


    could have left tonight, but I didn¡¯t have any supplies to get me started, and I didn¡¯t


    want to hunt the whole way home.¡±


    ¡°You can get over the wall?,¡± asked Will. ¡°I thought you only had one spell.¡±


    ¡°I lied,¡± said Nick. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°What are we going to do about the goblins, and other things?,¡± asked Crow. ¡°They


    say there are more monsters under the school.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that is my problem,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°But you took time to kill some of them in the main hall?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°Crow was there,¡± said Nick. ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave her there on her own. They would


    have killed her.¡±


    Calliope and Will looked at each other.


    ¡°Crow was there while I was checking on my ability,¡± said Nick. ¡°We saw the


    goblins, and they saw us. So I had to do something. Otherwise, I would have backed


    up and let the teachers handle things.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you for a second,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°Born monster hunter,¡± said Crow. ¡°They were right about that.¡±


    ¡°The different variations of your spell confused them,¡± said Will. He smiled. ¡°They


    think they have some kind of rogue fire magician running around, but it¡¯s really you.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll figure it out,¡± said Nick. ¡°Granny Bitter didn¡¯t check on us to see if we were


    okay. She was checking to see if we collectively caused the damage they saw.


    Eventually they¡¯ll realize that I can do more than one thing if I have access to spirit


    money.¡±


    ¡°Is there a reason we should cover for you?,¡± asked Calliope. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get


    kicked out. I always wanted to come here and learn more about the runes. I don¡¯t


    want to lose this chance.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care either way,¡± said Will. ¡°I was doing okay in the school back home. I


    definitely didn¡¯t want to come here and transfer to another teacher I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Crow?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°They say we can flee and wait for the Dark Lord to figure out whom he is looking


    for, and then he will look for us,¡± said Crow. ¡°Or we can wait to see who arrives and


    deal with them like the goblins.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about a Lord of Death getting into the school,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°One of them is already here,¡± said Crow. ¡°He is waiting to see who fits the


    requirements of his search. They don¡¯t know who he is yet, but they expect that he


    will reveal himself when they have no way to warn me.¡±


    ¡°So our options are wait and see who starts doing dirty work for the Dark Lord, or run


    until he figures out what he needs and starts trying to get it after we are dispersed and


    on our own,¡± said Will. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like good choices either way.¡±


    ¡°We are partially blended in here,¡± said Crow. ¡°Eventually he will figure out which


    one he needs, and try to take that one. Everyone else will suffer.¡±


    ¡°Do you know who he is looking for?,¡± asked Calliope.


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Crow. ¡°I assume it is orphans with seals like me and Nick. I don¡¯t


    know how many others are here in the school. Eventually I think one of us will be


    attacked so the Dark Lord can get what he wants.¡±


    ¡°If you run, you will be on your own, Nick,¡± said Will. ¡°If you stay, I¡¯ll protect you.¡±


    ¡°I think I would rather take my chances,¡± said Nick. ¡°Can you guys pass your


    assessment in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Calliope. ¡°At least I can.¡±


    ¡°All I need is a light,¡± said Will. ¡°Crow?¡±


    ¡°I have a minor trick I can do to show I do possess some skill and do belong here at


    the Academy,¡± said Crow. ¡°Anything more expansive will be Their choice.¡±


    ¡°So we protect Crow from anybody trying to get at her?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°That¡¯s our


    plan?¡±


    ¡°At the moment,¡± said Calliope. ¡°She¡¯s the only one of us that doesn¡¯t seem to have


    any offensive spells. We can trade her partial forethought for a place to ambush


    anyone in our way.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. ¡°It¡¯s against my better judgement, but if we have to protect


    Crow, I will stick around to do that. If I start taking too much static from the teachers


    here, I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    ¡°We should try to go back to bed and get some sleep,¡± said Calliope. ¡°There¡¯s no


    telling when we have to be ready to be tested.¡±


    ¡°Probably when we least expect it,¡± said Will. He put on his mimic voice of Madam


    Quince. ¡°You better hit that target. Do better than that.¡±


    ¡°She is going to rip your tongue out if you keep doing that,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°It will be great if she does,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°What should we tell the others?,¡± asked Crow. ¡°They are going to want to know


    where they stand in all this.¡±


    ¡°We tell them that monsters have a way to get on the grounds,¡± said Calliope. ¡°And


    we might have to defend ourselves with our abilities.¡±


    ¡°And Nick?,¡± asked Crow. She gestured at the boy in question.


    ¡°He¡¯s stuck here until we figure out what we want to do, and how we are going to do


    it,¡± said Calliope. She frowned at Nick. ¡°Please stop antagonizing the staff. Some of


    us need this school so we can move on to jobs we want. That won¡¯t happen if you get


    all of us kicked out, or locked down away from the school but still unable to go


    home.¡±


    ¡°We might have to figure out how the goblins got in if the teachers can¡¯t,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°They will point me in the right direction as soon as I can wander around the school


    some more,¡± said Crow. ¡°I just need time.¡±


    ¡°So we need to pass these assessments, and see what a real class is like here,¡± said


    Will.


    ¡°You guys will be able to do that,¡± said Nick. ¡°I need to rest, and when I do, I will be


    back to my starter spell and spirit money.¡±


    ¡°Which means what exactly?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°I won¡¯t have a variant, or any of the equipment I picked up,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯ll have


    to start over and build my resources if I need to do something after the school is


    closed.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Calliope. ¡°Maybe we can come up with some way to get you your


    spirit money.¡±


    ¡°I need to beat someone,¡± said Nick. ¡°Once I do that, I can take what they have to buy


    things at the market.¡±


    ¡°So we have to hunt bullies now?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°We won¡¯t have to hunt them,¡± said Nick. ¡°We just have to be ready to exploit them


    for the greater good.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t kill them,¡± said Crow. ¡°The teachers will frown on that more than the use


    of unknown powers.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can,¡± said Nick.

 Breakfast

    Madam Quince arrived as the sun fell through Nick¡¯s window. He sighed as he got


    ready for the day. He checked his sphere of influence and noted the soft dashes of


    magic already in use around his mental map.


    He supposed that the teachers were getting ready for the day, or were already running


    tests on the other kids.


    He briefly wondered how his dormmates would do in their testing.


    His mind turned to Crow for a moment as he checked to see he was put together. She


    was already downstairs.


    What could she do?


    She was the only one of them that showed no sign of any affinity. Either she wasn¡¯t


    an elementalist like him, or her magic touched her in ways he wasn¡¯t sure of.


    Knowing that she knew how the market worked confirmed she could gather


    knowledge in ways that no one else could.


    And it meant that she might be right, and a Lord of Death was already on the grounds


    and looking for whatever they wanted.


    What did he want to do about that?


    If he wanted to protect the other orphans until they could protect themselves, and by


    extension, his new acquaintances, he would have to keep his temper under control


    and not do anything to get thrown out without his magic. That meant being nicer to


    Granny Bitter to start.


    He didn¡¯t know if he could be that under control.


    ¡°All right, children,¡± said Madam Quince as she looked over her gathered charges.


    ¡°We¡¯re going over to the hall to have breakfast. From there, we will go over to the


    assessment hall so we can see what you can do. Then we will tour the building, and


    make sure you have your schedules for your classes. School books and uniforms will


    be provided. Then we will have lunch. The afternoon until the dinner bell will be


    yours, as will the time after the dinner bell.¡±


    ¡°Classes?,¡± asked Calliope.


    ¡°They will start the day after tomorrow,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°The headmaster


    wanted you to have a few days ahead of the returning classes to get used to things.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want us moving through the school?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°Only Will and


    the brothers seem able to do things here.¡±


    ¡°Shut up you,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°The Academy stands to help people with magic,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Just because


    your magic seems strange, doesn¡¯t mean we haven¡¯t seen a variant of it before. We


    have been teaching a long time.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ve seen something like what I can do before?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Not yours specifically,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°But we have seen runic structure


    building, faulty magical expressions, and some knowledge gathering things in the


    past. I will have to see what I can do for you after your assessment.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± said Nick. He looked at his inner checker. He had one thunder cracker,


    forty charges, and one thousand spirit gold to spend. His sphere of influence still


    tracked the soft pushes for magic across what it could reach of the school.


    ¡°I think we should be going,¡± said Madam Quince. She gestured for the kids to fall


    in line behind her.


    ¡°My assessment is going to be short,¡± said Nick as he walked beside Crow.


    ¡°Mine too,¡± said Crow. ¡°My ability is very limited.¡±


    ¡°So we¡¯re thinking Will and the brothers should be the stand outs in the class?,¡±


    asked Nick.


    ¡°Among us,¡± said Crow. ¡°But not among their own specializations of fire and water


    mages.¡±


    ¡°I only have one trick without being able to gather power,¡± said Nick. ¡°If another


    monster shows up, I hope it¡¯s small like goblins.¡±


    ¡°We should see something else,¡± said Crow. ¡°They don¡¯t know how soon. Monsters


    are usually afraid of invading a space controlled by magicians.¡±


    ¡°What can you do?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°I talk to things,¡± said Crow. She smiled at his expression. ¡°It¡¯s not something with


    a lot of viability against traditional magicians, but it is just enough that I could use


    it to be a hedge witch unless I lose my ability.¡±


    ¡°So neither one of us belong here,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Steve is also in the wrong place,¡± said Crow. ¡°If all he can do is memorize a set


    number of spells, it would behoove the Academy to train him on the most powerful


    spells they have and hope he doesn¡¯t go mad with power.¡±


    ¡°I can see that,¡± said Nick. ¡°He could build something like the airships we rode in on


    with minimal effort as long as he can use the spell.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± said Crow. ¡°Then we can use that to fly around and help the helpless.¡±


    ¡°I never thought of that,¡± said Nick. He hid his eye roll behind his hand.


    Crow smiled.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    They walked at the back of the group, away from their teacher and their fellow


    misfits. They could see groups from other buildings heading into the main building


    in front of them. They would be sitting at the back of the room again.


    The kids walked into the hall. Madam Quince directed them to their table from


    last night. Nick took his spot at the end, looking around. The students milled around


    as they found places to sit with new or old friends. He spotted Bradley first. The


    bigger boy looked lost before finding a place to sit.


    He got up and walked over to Bradley¡¯s table. The other orphan smiled when he


    saw his testier friend in the aisle.


    ¡°Nick?,¡± said Bradley. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you. Where are you sitting?¡±


    ¡°With the misfits in the back,¡± said Nick. He indicated his table with a thumb.


    ¡°How¡¯s things going for you, Bradley?¡±


    ¡°I can honestly say I don¡¯t like it here,¡± said Bradley.


    ¡°Same here,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯m stuck in place for a bit until I can figure out what I


    want to do. If I go over the wall, I¡¯ll take you with me.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Nick,¡± said Bradley. ¡°Have you seen Carol?¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± said Nick. ¡°She was with the fire magician class last night. She¡¯ll be


    behind you I think if they haven¡¯t already started their testing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll look out for her,¡± said Bradley. ¡°I don¡¯t like how they separated us. I only saw


    Monty and Dominic this morning.¡±


    ¡°I want you to keep an eye out,¡± said Nick. ¡°There might be some monsters under


    the building somewhere. Don¡¯t say anything about it to anyone, but I want you to


    be careful if you leave your dorm alone in the middle of the night.¡±


    ¡°So the school isn¡¯t as safe as they promised us,¡± said Bradley. ¡°Typical.¡±


    ¡°Just be careful,¡± said Nick. ¡°If you want to eat with us, you can. I don¡¯t have a


    problem with it.¡±


    ¡°I think I have to stick with the class to get this testing stuff over with so I don¡¯t have


    to live here with no way to talk to anybody,¡± said Bradley. ¡°They won¡¯t let us stay


    here if we can¡¯t pass. And they won¡¯t let us go back home. I don¡¯t want to be on the


    street begging.¡±


    ¡°Who told you that?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Some of the older guys,¡± said Bradley. He pointed down the row of tables. ¡°They


    said the school won¡¯t let someone who can¡¯t do anything stay.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird,¡± said Nick. ¡°I can¡¯t do anything and I am going through the


    assessment too. The teacher says they will try to expand my spell work.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯ll be able to do more than shoot at things?,¡± said Bradley.


    ¡°It would be good to get one of those flying magic things if I could arrange that,¡±


    said Nick. He moved his hand through the air to emphasize the point.


    ¡°It¡¯s at the top end of a earth magician,¡± said Bradley. ¡°You have to be able to build


    something, and then be able to power it.¡±


    ¡°I would still love to do something like that,¡± said Nick. ¡°Just killing stuff seems


    so small now.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± said Bradley. ¡°Thanks for talking to me. I feel alone here.¡±


    ¡°We have free time after lunch,¡± said Nick. ¡°You can hang out with us if you want.¡±


    One of the teachers approached with a white suit, black tie, and school crest on his


    breast pocket. He adjusted his glasses with thumb and index finger as he frowned at


    Nick standing in the aisle.


    ¡°Why are you bothering my student?,¡± he asked.


    ¡°I was asking Bradley if he wanted to sit at my table,¡± said Nick. He indicated the


    general direction of his seating. ¡°There are only seven of us. An eighth would allow


    us to post up Ring Em.¡±


    ¡°I think you should go back to your own table,¡± said the teacher. ¡°We are going to


    have breakfast, and then we are going to be working until lunch, and then we will


    work after that.¡±


    Nick put his hands behind his back. He could feel the charge building up to be


    released through his fingers. He didn¡¯t want to get mad and try to unload on a teacher.


    He wanted an escape route first.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯ll see you around, Bradley. We¡¯re in the old building in the


    back if you want to visit.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Nick,¡± said Bradley. ¡°Let me know how you do.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be great,¡± said Nick. He waved as he walked away.


    Madam Quince waited at their table with one eyebrow seeming to ask what that was


    about. He smiled at her.


    ¡°I invited Bradley over to visit when he gets done with his testing and stuff assigned


    by his teacher,¡± said Nick. ¡°He¡¯s an okay earth magician.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°So he is going through the assessments with the other


    earth magicians?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Nick. ¡°He says he hasn¡¯t seen anyone else from home so he doesn¡¯t like


    it here as much as he thought he would.¡±


    ¡°I have no objection to how he spends his free time,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°His


    teacher is Master Cairn, who is a good earth magician, but wants to be the best, and


    he drives his students hard so they improve under his watch.¡±


    ¡°He would be frustrated with our crowd almost instantly,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°Thanks, Granny,¡± said Nick. He looked over the room for any of his other friends


    from the orphanage.


    ¡°You¡¯re being too familiar, Master Sever,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°So everyone was scattered and put in different classes than with their friends,


    Granny?,¡± said Will. She turned a jaundiced eye on him. He smiled as he lit up a


    cigarette. ¡°Different issues?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Some of the students are summoners, some are distance


    specialists, some are body alterers, and so forth. The assessment will move them into


    classes with similar skillwork. Obviously my class, you seven, is a catch all since


    none of you quite fit in with the rest of the classes.¡±


    ¡°What do you teach, Madam Quince?,¡± asked Steve.


    ¡°I teach general preparedness, and some thinking about skills,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°Because of the uniqueness of your students?,¡± asked Steve.


    ¡°And my own magic style,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I thought you were an air magician,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°I am,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°It is just as specialized as your ability. I call it the wind


    blade.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that pretty common?,¡± asked Felix.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I will show you during your assessments. My ability


    is why I was asked to teach you seven instead of an air magician class. I don¡¯t


    have the general skills needed to show what can be done.¡±


    ¡°How many misfits have you trained?,¡± asked Calvin. ¡°I would love to be among


    an elite number.¡±


    ¡°I have trained thirty classes of varying numbers over the years from start to


    finish,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°The middle numbers fought for the school when


    the Warlord attacked.¡±


    ¡°You were here when that happened?,¡± asked Felix.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°They say you should have received a little more glory but didn¡¯t because of your


    mastery of one spell,¡± said Crow. ¡°You could have had your own school.¡±


    ¡°To be a headmaster of an academy like this one,¡± said Madam Quince. She gestured


    to take in the building beyond the hall. ¡°You have to be a master of all four branches


    of study, and have ten major spells under your control. I am automatically


    disqualified because of my own uniqueness.¡±


    ¡°They say you would need a special dispensation for the position if you didn¡¯t have


    the qualifications,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°And I could not get one,¡± said Madam Quince. She made a face at an old ache that


    couldn¡¯t quite be quelled.


    Nick felt bad for a second. He pushed the sympathy away. There was nothing he


    could do for his teacher to help her get her dream. Thirty other classes had spent years


    coming through, and none of them had been able to help her. He doubted the seven


    of them could do anything, even if Crow and Calliope seemed to be taking this as a


    personal insult.


    He was more worried about more goblins roaming the halls with his friends in the


    danger area.

 On The Range

    Breakfast went smoothly for the misfits. They finished before the bigger classes and


    Madam Quince led them through the castle to the assessment hall toward the back of


    the main building.


    Another class stood in line at the door. Avere stood by the door, looking for a signal


    from inside before he sent the next air magician in training into the room. He waved


    the glum student through the door as soon as he got the signal.


    ¡°Madam Quince,¡± said Avere. He bowed slightly.


    ¡°Master Avere,¡± said the older magician. She bowed too. ¡°How are your classes


    doing?¡±


    ¡°Middle of the road like I expected,¡± said Avere. ¡°Some had great teachers out in the


    wilderness, some didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°I am sure you will be able to impress a certain amount of skill on all of them,¡± said


    Madam Quince.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± said Avere. ¡°Seven outliers this year?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I expect that they know more than we do about their


    abilities.¡±


    Nick reached into his sphere of influence. Soft dashes were ahead, and on the sides.


    Magic flew as the students used their spells. He wondered what the misfits would


    have to do to pass the test.


    What was the bare minimum for passing in this situation?


    Could he hit that?


    ¡°Can we see what the air assessment looks like?,¡± asked Steve.


    ¡°Do you have an air magician in your number?,¡± asked Avere.


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Steve. ¡°I can do things, but I am not an air magician.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us are,¡± said Calliope. She watched as another student was


    waved in to deal with whatever was behind the door.


    ¡°I will talk to Madam Quince about any observations of air magicians after your


    assessments,¡± said Avere.


    ¡°Thank you very much for your consideration, Master Avere,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°We¡¯re hosting the Tournament this year,¡± said Avere. ¡°Even the outliers have to be


    ready to participate.¡±


    ¡°I doubt any of these kids are ready for anything like that,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Still


    I will do what I can to get them ready before they are picked.¡±


    ¡°I am hoping my own kids will come up to snuff before they have to face the


    challenges,¡± said Avere. ¡°Let me get back to work. The line is slowing down.¡±


    ¡°There is a tournament?,¡± Calvin asked. He vibrated with excitement.


    ¡°I doubt you seven will be able to perform,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°It requires a huge


    outlay of magical power usually. You would have to be able to do more than what I


    think you can do at the moment.¡±


    ¡°No single talents allowed,¡± said Calliope. She flexed her hand to show what she


    thought of that.


    ¡°It would have to be a single talent that could flex across the board,¡± said Madam


    Quince. ¡°Most teams have a generalist, a summoner, a body alterer, and one mover.


    You seven have four generalists with quirks, one semi body alterer, and two


    unknowns. You would have to think fast against a team fielded by another class.¡±


    ¡°We could have Nick shoot them,¡± said Will.


    ¡°Would conflict be allowed?,¡± asked Calvin. ¡°I would love to win such a


    tournament.¡±


    ¡°They say other schools take part,¡± said Crow. ¡°So if we entered, we wouldn¡¯t just


    have to fight whatever classes were fielded here, but others.¡±


    ¡°And the teams put together here will be of the best of their classes,¡± said Madam


    Quince. ¡°They will begin training together as soon as the first moon is over. The


    teachers will have an idea of who is the best at what they teach by then, and they will


    be coached to do better with each other.¡±


    ¡°Will Master Cairn be putting a team together?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°And they will be very good. I doubt such a ragtag


    company such as yourselves will be able to stop any earth team he puts together.¡±


    ¡°That guy?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°We can beat any team he puts together as long as he


    doesn¡¯t pick Bradley. Bradley may not look it, but he was a good earth magician back


    home. He will only get better with practice.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Master Cairn¡¯s teams have won the last three out


    of five tournaments. Master Avere has won the other two, as well as a few in the past.


    I have won two with teams that were more brute force than anything.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean brute force?,¡± asked Felix.


    ¡°I have had single spell holders such as myself,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°But their


    spells ran in ways to cut down barriers and face opponents without worry. Their


    combined team abilities allowed them to punch through anything in their way with


    a minimal effort.¡±


    ¡°They say Sir Reynolds is still guarding the Rain Pass,¡± said Crow.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°His spell made him a body alterer,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°He wrote me from there


    a few weeks ago.¡±


    ¡°Rain Pass is close to where my village is,¡± said Crow.


    Nick noticed how Crow glossed over how she knew this one magician had been


    trained by Granny Bitter before taking on his watch duty. He doubted their teacher


    missed the glossing. She seemed too sharp for that.


    ¡°I think we can do the same,¡± said Calliope. ¡°It depends on how strong everyone¡¯s


    spells are.¡±


    ¡°It depends on what the battleground looks like,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°It will be one


    of the deciding factors on how you have to face your opponents.¡±


    ¡°If we have to face anyone with any kind of mobility, we¡¯re wrecked,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°It will make things harder,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I would like to win this tournament even if it¡¯s the first I have heard of it,¡± said


    Calliope.


    ¡°It will be a nice declaration to show people,¡± said Calvin. ¡°It will mark us as very


    good students at a very good school.¡±


    Nick thought if they crashed and burned, they would be looked down by the rest of


    the students for the rest of their stay at the school, however long that would be.


    Calvin had a point. It would feel good to rub the other students¡¯ face in losing to a


    team of people who couldn¡¯t do regular magic.


    ¡°You guys want to try this?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°You¡¯ll have to carry me and Crow. Our


    abilities are really specific.¡±


    ¡°And you aren¡¯t allowed to kill the other students,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°That goes without saying,¡± said Calliope.


    Madam Quince kept her focus on Nick.


    ¡°I will see about not shooting people in the face,¡± said Nick, begrudgingly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not as good an assurance as you think it is, Master Sever,¡± said Madam


    Quince.


    ¡°Sometimes things happen,¡± said Nick. ¡°In the heat of the moment, someone could


    take one to the face. Nothing can be done about that. I will try to not shoot my


    enemies in the face so they can live and get some kind of healing.¡±


    ¡°And I will be there to put down any enemy first,¡± said Calvin.


    ¡°You will need some control to do anything like that,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I admit that maintaining a singular aspect is hard for some reason,¡± said Calvin. ¡°But


    I can throw mud balls with the best of them.¡±


    ¡°Mud balls?,¡± asked Will. He smiled at some future plan in his head.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Calvin. ¡°I can throw mud a far distance too with my magic.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± said Felix. ¡°I have seen him hit the neighborhood cats with them.¡±


    ¡°Hitting animals is cruel,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°They started it,¡± said Calvin. ¡°They are generally feral and mean.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± said Felix. ¡°One of the old ladies in the neighborhood died. They broke


    into her house and ate her.¡±


    ¡°Animals will do that,¡± said Nick. ¡°Dead people are the easiest prey for them.¡±


    ¡°The last of Master Avere¡¯s students are going in,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°We will go


    next to see what you can do.¡±


    ¡°The others should go first,¡± said Nick. ¡°My one spell will be easy to evaluate.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Let¡¯s line up and get ready.¡±


    The children did that with Will at the front, puffing on a cigarette. Nick took the last


    spot. He only had forty shots with no equipment. If he could get enough spirit money


    before the tournament started, he could rig up a surprise for anyone trying to scout


    him before the competition.


    Just adding the rest to his party would allow them to talk and mark enemies in the


    competition.


    That would make things that much easier if they had to fight the other students, and


    he could mark them, or his friends could use his map to mark them. He doubted he


    could carry them on the rope, but maybe some of the other things would be useful.


    Being able to call lightning down on an enemy might be a game changer.


    The others went into the room one by one. Madam Quince stood by the door to usher


    them like Avere had done before her. Finally Nick stepped into the room and went


    to the small desk set up to one side. A man sat behind the desk in a blue suit with the


    school¡¯s crest on the jacket pocket. He gave Nick a bored look.


    ¡°Name?,¡± demanded the functionary.


    ¡°Nick Sever,¡± said Nick. ¡°Ess eee vee eee arr.¡±


    ¡°What is your magical affinity?,¡± asked the assessor.


    ¡°I shoot things with magic energy,¡± said Nick. ¡°I guess air is my affinity.¡±


    ¡°Any movement, summoning, alteration powers?,¡± asked the assessor.


    ¡°No,¡± said Nick. ¡°I don¡¯t have any of those.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said the man. He handed Nick the paper he was writing on. ¡°Go down and


    turn to the right. There is a target range there. Just show the assessor what you can


    do.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. He did as instructed.


    A woman waited in front of a room full of scarecrows mounted in the floor. Nick


    handed her to the paper. She frowned at the contents.


    ¡°This says you can only shoot magical energy, Master Sever,¡± said the instructor.


    ¡°I only have forty charges a day,¡± said Nick. ¡°So to pass, I just have to shoot


    something?¡±


    ¡°I want you to knock down as many targets as you can with your spell,¡± said the


    assessor. ¡°That will determine if you can receive more training.¡±


    ¡°Do I go in the field?,¡± said Nick. ¡°Or shoot from some place?¡±


    ¡°I want you to shoot from the line in the floor,¡± said the assessor. ¡°That should be


    close enough to the front row.¡±


    Nick nodded. He went to the line, letting the energy of the thunder cracker fill his


    hand. He took a moment to study the range and the targets.


    He had no idea how many he could knock down with his forty firings.


    ¡°Ready?,¡± asked the assessor.


    Nick nodded.


    ¡°Shoot,¡± said the faculty member.


    Nick blew down the nearest scarecrow in an explosion of straw. He worked his way


    right to left, clearing a column directly in front of him. He took aim at the farthest


    target across the range and put the last two charges he possessed in the dummy¡¯s head


    so that it would fall over.


    ¡°Sphere of influence?,¡± asked the assessor. She wrote on Nick¡¯s exam paper.


    ¡°The thunder cracker doesn¡¯t use it,¡± said Nick. He didn¡¯t want to explain that his


    sphere acted as a map, and he could see Crow wandering around on it, as well as soft


    pulses telling him where magic was being used. ¡°And I am out of magic for the day.¡±


    ¡°You exhausted all of your power on this?,¡± asked the assessor.


    ¡°I don¡¯t draw a thing from the environment, or from my inner self,¡± said Nick. ¡°I have


    forty charges. Once I am out, I have to wait until I wake up from a night¡¯s sleep for


    another forty charges.¡±


    The assessor looked at him like she didn¡¯t believe that. She would have been right.


    More charges could be gathered from a market, or from defeated enemies. Why tell


    the school that?


    It was better to hold things back in case he needed them, than let the school know he


    could be cut off if they pinned him up in a room and let his power run out.


    ¡°All right,¡± said the assessor. ¡°Go back to the main corridor and leave out the other


    exit. The rest of your class should be there.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much,¡± said Nick. ¡°Be seeing you.¡±


    He did as directed and found the others waiting just outside the other door. He put his


    hands in his pockets.


    ¡°How did it go?,¡± asked Felix.


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯ll probably be out of here tonight. I¡¯ll be back home


    on one of those flying earth birds by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Your exam papers will be ready in a few minutes,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I take it


    nobody had problems?¡±


    There was a chorus of negatives, and a maybe from Nick.


    ¡°Did the assessor say something to you?,¡± said Madam Quince. She squinted at her


    student.


    ¡°Nope,¡± said Nick. ¡°But she didn¡¯t seem to like that I used up all my power on the


    targets.¡±


    ¡°All of it?,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°Yep,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow until I can shoot again.¡±


    ¡°That might not be enough to get you released from the Academy, Master Sever,¡±


    said Madam Quince.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll think of something else,¡± said Nick.

 The Tour

    Madam Quince took them from the assessment hall to the supply center. She got them


    books and uniforms after some talk with the suppliers. She looked at the sky.


    ¡°I think we have some time to walk around the school before lunch,¡± said Madam


    Quince. ¡°Put your things away, and meet me back at the great hall.¡±


    Nick trailed behind the rest of his group. He needed to go to the market and cut off


    the sensitive hearing. Conversations dropped on him from anybody close by. It was


    distracting him from the conversations he wanted to engage in.


    Once he did that, he could ask Crow if she wanted to continue to be in the party with


    him.


    She had been a big help against the goblins. If anything else came out of the


    underground, he might need her ability to pinpoint things.


    His main problem was he didn¡¯t have enough spirit money to buy equipment to help


    him.


    If he did have to take part in the school tournament, he would have to do his best to


    put one of the other students down hard enough to get equipment and spirit money


    to buy more equipment. The rest would depend on the way the thing was set up. He


    doubted he would be able to use lightning from the sky if everything was inside.


    If he could get fire sticks, that might be a way for Will to use his fire spells without


    having to worry about smoking. And the sticks burned through things the short time


    they were alive.


    He had stuck two in a tree back home, and almost burned the forest down when they


    wouldn¡¯t go out like he thought they would.


    Did he really think he stood a chance against real magicians? Even students should


    be able to stop him with the right element at their command. His thunder cracker


    wouldn¡¯t pierce a competent shield.


    If he caught them unawares, he might be able to put any single magician down. He


    didn¡¯t have anything in his repertoire to stop heightened senses other than the thunder


    clap, so he might be exposed as soon as he tried to match up with one.


    Maybe he should knuckle under and ask Granny Bitter what she thought.


    He decided he would do that when every other choice had been stripped away and he


    had nothing to lose.


    Will and Calliope could ask her any relevant question they needed to know before


    they engaged with their fellow students.


    Their skills would allow him to pick places to ambush their opponents and take them


    out of the fight. He had no doubt they could fight, but he doubted they could shoot


    someone in the leg from yards away to take them out of the picture.


    Nick stored his new books and clothes in his room. He went back downstairs. He


    marked the market on his sphere of influence. He needed to turn the hearing off


    before he went crazy. Even going back and forth from their building, he could hear


    people complaining about this and that.


    He entered the hall and walked down to the spot in the wall. He looked around, but


    didn¡¯t see anyone. He put his hand on the wall and opened the door to the market.


    He walked down to the little room. He turned the switch off. He breathed a sigh of


    relief as a name vanished in mid-talk. He looked at the party lines. He decided to keep


    Crow in his party in case he needed her in the future.


    She would be hurt that he cut her without asking if she wanted to be cut. He felt that.


    It was better, and less embarrassing to keep her on as long as possible, and then cut


    her when he decided to leave.


    He didn¡¯t plan to stay at the Academy after the tournament. And he knew he could


    take some of the spirit money from winning and go over the wall before he could be


    stopped. He just needed to be ready with starter supplies when he went.


    He didn¡¯t want to hunt all the way home from the school.


    Maybe if he could horde real money, he could get a carriage home instead of walking.


    A horse would be better, but he had never ridden a horse, and didn¡¯t want to take care


    of a beast in the wild. That would add on to the trouble of moving along without


    helping him other than covering the ground faster.


    Speed didn¡¯t matter that much to him.


    Nick stepped out of the market. The hearing would have given a warning in a fight,


    but he would rather not hear the complaints that filled his mind from the others close


    by. Now he had to find his class.


    He focused on Crow and headed for her marker in his sphere of influence. He


    doubted she had split from the class and was waiting patiently with the rest of the


    misfits. He hurried to catch up.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He spotted her white hair before he saw Calvin and Felix. They stood in the hall


    together, but no one else was there. They seemed to be talking about the hall itself.


    ¡°Where is everybody else?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°They are ahead of us,¡± said Calvin, pointing down the hall. ¡°We stopped to talk


    about this hall. It was built with earth magic.¡±


    ¡°Most things are,¡± said Nick. Even in his tiny village, earth magic had built a wall


    around the buildings, and most of the buildings themselves had stone walls.


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± said Felix. ¡°Most places you go to, teams of magicians build


    large constructions like this. You can see the joints where two of them meet. We think


    one man built this whole thing.¡±


    ¡°All of this went up at one time,¡± said Calvin. He lifted his hands in an arc over his


    head.


    ¡°Is that important?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°If we meet the man who could do this, he would be one of the greatest earth


    magicians who ever lived,¡± said Calvin.


    ¡°Maybe not the greatest, but certainly a power,¡± said Felix. ¡°Most magicians would


    not be able to do anything like this by themselves.¡±


    ¡°They say we have seen the man who did this on the first night,¡± said Crow. ¡°I think


    we should move along and catch up with the others. Madam Quince will want us to


    stay with her for the whole tour.¡±


    ¡°It is impressive,¡± said Calvin. ¡°I would love to do something like this if I had some


    control of the earth.¡±


    ¡°We need to get control of our watery mastery first,¡± said Felix.


    ¡°One guy did this,¡± said Nick. ¡°That is kind of impressive.¡±


    ¡°Kind of impressive?,¡± said Calvin. ¡°What would it take to impress you?¡±


    ¡°A ham sandwich as big as my head,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°They say he built the whole school in one night,¡± said Crow. She made a wave of her


    arm to indicate everything they had seen so far.


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Nick. ¡°That is impressive.¡±


    They found Steve questioning Madam Quince while Will and Calliope examined the


    furnishings. Calvin and Felix rushed forward to join the discussion.


    ¡°Do you want to stay in my party?,¡± Nick asked in a low voice.


    ¡°I think so,¡± said Crow, keeping her own voice down. ¡°There will be trouble ahead,


    and we might need to talk faster than what I can do.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. ¡°I had to cut off the hearing. It was irritating me.¡±


    ¡°Not used to hearing other people¡¯s voices?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°No,¡± said Nick. ¡°And I like my own counsel more than most.¡±


    Madam Quince took the group through the building, pointing out classes they would


    have to take to move on. A large library was down behind the classrooms. A set of


    steps led to offices, and the faculty¡¯s quarters.


    Rooms were set aside for practical demonstrations. The assessment hall was under


    those rooms, and led to the outside.


    Nick doubted assessments would help him except to show him how to aim better.


    It might help the others. Calvin and Felix might be able to fix their problems with


    their spells switching so they could be pure water magicians, or able to work the


    alternates in true spelling instead of having their water spells transform in midcast.


    He wondered how testing would help Will and Steve. They were the other two


    affected by the testing for general magicians.


    He didn¡¯t know what Crow could do. He doubted she could do anything with


    elements. Who were They? He wondered if he should be scared about them and their


    nature.


    He wondered if They could use his sphere of influence like she could. Did they need


    to?


    How did he want to approach that question?


    ¡°What can you do as a magician?,¡± he finally settled on. It was simple, and direct. He


    wanted to know but he didn¡¯t know what she could reveal to him.


    They might not like the question.


    ¡°I just talk and listen to the voices in my head,¡± said Crow. ¡°It¡¯s like a sphere of


    influence made of people.¡±


    ¡°And they tell you things?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°More often than not,¡± said Crow. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s hard to get their attention.


    Sometimes it¡¯s easy. Like now, they are interested in you because you are prying, but


    if you weren¡¯t here, they might be pointing out things about the building instead.¡±


    ¡°So if we weren¡¯t talking, they wouldn¡¯t be saying anything about me?,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°If you weren¡¯t trying to figure out how they work, and what they tell me to help me,¡±


    said Crow. She smiled gently. ¡°I think when They want you to know what¡¯s going on,


    they will tell me, and I will tell you.¡±


    ¡°That seems fair and a little bit cranky,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Much like you,¡± said Crow. She smiled wider at the words.


    ¡°I¡¯m not cranky,¡± said Nick. ¡°I just want what I want.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t everyone?,¡± asked Crow.


    Nick made a face to show he couldn¡¯t fight that logic. He walked with her to join


    the group. Madam Quince was pointing out some kind of lab to the rest of the group


    for summoners.


    ¡°I thought summoners needed real animals,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°No, they just need a base for their construction, and an element to build with,¡±


    said Madam Quince. ¡°Summoners are a specialized training area where most


    generalists can¡¯t move a summons, and most summoners can¡¯t do general skills.¡±


    ¡°But a really good generalist can do both?,¡± asked Will.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°But you would have to be a really good generalist.¡±


    Will shrugged.


    ¡°Are you really a good generalist?,¡± asked Calvin.


    ¡°I could be if I didn¡¯t have to have an outside source for ignition,¡± said Will.


    ¡°That is the key to fire, the ignition. While I know a lot about shaping and immunity


    and other things, but not being able to start a fire cripples me.¡±


    ¡°So if you could figure out how to ignite, you would be good enough to pass your


    classes?,¡± said Calvin.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Will. ¡°Maybe there is something here that I can use to fix my talent.¡±


    ¡°There are classes on that,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I don¡¯t teach them, but most fire


    magicians here are taught ignition by Mistress Herve. She teaches this as well as


    her own classes of beginning magic.¡±


    ¡°So I will have to take her classes,¡± said Will.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I plan to have you back for general classwork


    afterwards.¡±


    ¡°I was good at that back home too,¡± said Will.


    ¡°Do you think one of the teachers can help us?,¡± asked Felix. He held up a ball


    of water that turned into a light haze of heat as he shook it out.


    ¡°We have three very good water magicians on staff here,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°One


    of them teaches alchemy also. I am sure they can help you.¡±


    ¡°What about the rest of us?,¡± asked Nick. He indicated Crow, Calliope, and Steve


    with his hand. ¡°None of us have any general spellwork to build.¡±


    ¡°I am going to have to teach you some things myself,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°You


    four do represent things outside the norm. It has been a while since the Academy has


    seen unique magic.¡±


    ¡°So we have a chance?,¡± asked Steve.


    ¡°I would say so, even if you don¡¯t become master magicians,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°You should still be able to increase your skills with what you have.¡±

 Talking About a Challenge

    Nick walked the building with the others. His sphere of influence allowed him to pick


    up the directions fast enough. He had a clear compass marker to their quarters and


    could get there from anywhere in the main building.


    He wasn¡¯t so sure about individual rooms inside the keep itself.


    He did learn where the hall was for eating with the rest of the class, where the


    kitchens were in case he had hunger attack in the middle of the night, and how to get


    to the three markets he could feel, see on his sphere of influence, inside the castle in


    case he couldn¡¯t get down to the main hall to use the original market from the goblin


    killing night.


    He thought it would take him a while to learn where all the rooms were, but he was


    okay with that. If he could raid the kitchen enough and gather and store traveling


    supplies he might not be there all that long anyway.


    He would have to write a note for Bradley and Carol to explain why he was


    abandoning them to this huge place. He hoped they understood that he hated the


    school, and it didn¡¯t offer him anything.


    He supposed he would be leaving the other misfits in trouble, but they could take care


    of themselves. And Granny Bitter would be looking out for them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about running,¡± said Crow. She had sidled up next to him so they could


    talk without the others hearing. ¡°They say it¡¯s plain that you will abandon us in a


    second.¡±


    ¡°And I think I would be better off at my home village, minding my own business,¡±


    said Nick. He grimaced at Them having their agent trying to warn him off. ¡°I don¡¯t


    need to be here.¡±


    ¡°You know this is all about you,¡± said Crow. ¡°Don¡¯t act dumb.¡±


    ¡°Enlighten me,¡± said Nick. He gestured for her to keep talking. ¡°What am I missing?¡±


    ¡°The Warlord is coming back,¡± said Crow. She looked around the hall. ¡°Once his


    agents find the heart stone they need, he will be able to grab the nearest body that


    suits his purpose and be reborn. The Lords are looking for it, and they know it is with


    someone our age, or close to it. Going back to your village will just allow them to


    eliminate you from the list. Then they will come here to search your friends for it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°You should be,¡± said Crow. ¡°What happens to your village if they can¡¯t find the rest


    of the magically aligned children?¡±


    ¡°I can hold them off if I can get spirit money,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°You know better,¡± said Crow. ¡°The force opposing you will be better than a bunch


    of goblins you shot down from behind.¡±


    ¡°You need a guardian more than I do,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Which is why I am staying here and out of trouble,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°I don¡¯t consider it trouble,¡± said Nick. ¡°I consider it defending my home.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what all troublemakers say,¡± said Crow. She nodded at some unheard voice.


    ¡°They would like you to stay at least until the tournament so we can win it.¡±


    ¡°Really?,¡± said Nick. ¡°I don¡¯t see that happening.¡±


    ¡°You are underestimating our capabilities like the teachers,¡± said Crow. ¡°In a free for


    all, your ability to buy magic spells will be incredibly helpful, and you will be able


    to loot others competing against us. And Steve has some kind of hidden talent that is


    useful against other magicians.¡±


    ¡°Steve?,¡± asked Nick. He glanced at the taller boy. ¡°Our Steve?¡±


    ¡°They say he has ranked his skills, and here in the best center for magic, he can easily


    change his repertoire into something that will smooth over any complication,¡± said


    Crow. ¡°He may be able to use variants of his spells as they are now to make better


    ones.¡±


    ¡°He can expand his spell list?,¡± said Nick. ¡°Does he know?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t asked him,¡± said Crow. ¡°Maybe we should before the tournament.¡±


    ¡°I guess he would like that as long as he didn¡¯t lose the general spells he has now,¡±


    said Nick. ¡°He did say he only had twelve spells.¡±


    ¡°He lied like you,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°Really?,¡± said Nick. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie.¡±


    Crow shook her head. She brushed back some of her white hair from her face.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying now,¡± said Crow. ¡°You are obscuring the rest of your talent so that


    people don¡¯t know what you can do. Steve does the same thing. I admit they don¡¯t tell


    me everything, but they have told me enough, and I have seen some of this for


    myself.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t want to tell everything about myself,¡± said Nick. ¡°There¡¯s no law


    against that.¡±


    ¡°There is a law that says you have to disclose your abilities for your license as a


    magician, or get into trouble for using magic without one,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°No one will be able to prove that,¡± said Nick. He waved the thought away. ¡°Besides


    I doubt anyone will care about that back home.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t accept your limited help if they don¡¯t know what you can do other than


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    shooting people in the head with magic bullets,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°And I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s my problem,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Why are you so contrarian?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°Reflex,¡± said Nick. He smiled at her exasperated expression.


    ¡°I think Calliope needs to punch you in the face,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°What¡¯s her deal?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°What do you mean?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to have any magic at all,¡± said Nick. ¡°Why is she here?¡±


    ¡°Her arm is magic,¡± said Crow. ¡°That¡¯s what the tattoo does.¡±


    ¡°She can cast spells with the tattoos on her arm?,¡± said Nick. ¡°That seems okay. I


    guess I don¡¯t know enough to see the point.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± said Crow. ¡°We can ask her. I doubt she will be mad about it


    if we do.¡±


    ¡°I think she will be,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°I think she will be more inclined to answer because we asked,¡± said Crow. ¡°She is


    going to be on our team. We¡¯re going to have to sort out her ability when we go into


    the tournament.¡±


    ¡°I doubt the seven of us will have a chance against a real team from the school,¡± said


    Nick.


    ¡°I think that you are wrong,¡± said Crow. ¡°I¡¯m willing to test out against any other new


    team that forms up before the tournament so we can have practice.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to ask Granny to match us up against last year¡¯s teams if they are still


    here in the school?,¡± asked Nick. ¡°Bradley¡¯s teacher is supposed to be the champion


    trainer.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to try?,¡± said Crow. ¡°We would be much better against a newer team.¡±


    ¡°I would like to see what a real team can do against us,¡± said Nick. ¡°I don¡¯t have a


    problem if you don¡¯t have a problem.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask Madam Quince what she thinks,¡± said Crow. ¡°It might be what we need


    to train for the Warlord when he arrives.¡±


    ¡°The Warlord is dead,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Everyone thinks that,¡± said Crow. ¡°Let¡¯s talk to Madam Quince.¡±


    They hurried to catch up with the rest of the group after falling behind during their


    talk. Will had a cigarette in his mouth but he wasn¡¯t smoking at the moment. The


    twins exchanged comments about everything in the current hall with Calliope. Steve


    stood in the back, looking around with a distant expression.


    ¡°Granny?,¡± said Nick. ¡°Crow wants to fight last year¡¯s tournament champions.¡±


    ¡°Granny?,¡± said Madam Quince, squinting at the boy.


    ¡°I said we should see if we had the means to challenge them with the seven of us,


    Madam Quince,¡± said Crow. ¡°See what we can do, and that sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°She expects to stomp them into the ground,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°I do not,¡± said Crow. She frowned at him. ¡°I would like to see how we would stack


    up against an experienced team before the tournament so Nick can work on helping


    others.¡±


    ¡°I help others fine,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is necessarily true,¡± said Steve. He raised his hand to forestall any


    backlash. ¡°I¡¯m just saying you¡¯re a lone Ganber; unfriendly, unhelpful, and prone to


    doing harm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m friends with Crow,¡± said Nick. ¡°And I have friends here at the school.¡±


    ¡°Friends with Crow?,¡± asked Felix. ¡°We¡¯re all friends with Crow.¡±


    ¡°Are you a special friend with Crow?,¡± asked Calvin.


    ¡°I was going to ask that myself,¡± said Will. ¡°Are you special friends?¡±


    Crow¡¯s pale face turned red. She glared at Calvin and Will.


    ¡°We¡¯re not special friends,¡± said Crow. She huffed as she calmed down. ¡°But I¡¯m


    attempting to shape Nick into someone valuable to my purposes. So I would like to


    see how we do against last year¡¯s champions, Madam Quince. Can you arrange it?¡±


    ¡°I will speak to Master Cairn about such a match up,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Will all


    of you be participating?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take Steve, or Calliope,¡± said Crow. ¡°Three of us against three of them.¡±


    ¡°Why not Calvin, or me?,¡± asked Felix.


    ¡°Whomever we get will be ready for generalists,¡± said Crow. ¡°They won¡¯t be ready


    for Calliope, or Steve.¡±


    ¡°Nobody is ready for me,¡± said Will. He grinned around his cigarette.


    ¡°Seven on seven is the standard,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I will see what Master Cairn


    thinks. He might want to try out this year¡¯s team against you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Granny,¡± said Nick. He smiled at her with the fakest, happiest smile he


    could put on.


    ¡°I¡¯m not your granny,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I¡¯m an orphan,¡± said Nick. ¡°How would you know?¡±


    ¡°I have never had a child,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°That precludes having a


    grandchild.¡±


    ¡°If you say so,¡± said Nick. He shrugged.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a chance against a good team of generalists,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°I think we will do better than we think we can,¡± said Crow. ¡°And I think it will be


    enough to shock the rest of the school into changing their outlook.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°But a private challenge might be something to


    show you all your strengths and weaknesses.¡±


    ¡°Will you give us some kind of reward if we win?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°I will take you into town if you can beat Master Cairn¡¯s team,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise that,¡± said Nick. ¡°But I will do the best I can.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s finish the rest of the tour so we can move to our afternoon break, and I can talk


    to Master Cairn,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°Do you really think we have a chance?,¡± asked Calvin.


    ¡°No way,¡± said Nick. ¡°I just want to shoot somebody.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I expected,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± said Crow. ¡°If Master Cairn agrees, we can put a strategy together


    around whomever he chooses to fight us.¡±


    Madam Quince raised an eyebrow at that. She regarded the group. She had dealt with


    many such over the years. These children seemed the most in control of their abilities


    than even some of the faculty of the academy.


    She supposed that when you only had one ability, then you already knew a lot about


    it, maybe more than people with a similar talent.


    ¡°Come along,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Let¡¯s finish our walkaround, and then I can let


    you have the rest of the day to practice.¡±


    Crow touched Steve on the shoulder so he would fall at the back of the group with her


    as the others followed their teacher along the hall to some steps leading to a tower.


    Nick noticed and stayed behind also.


    ¡°Are you special friends?,¡± asked Steve. He smiled quietly, but still maintained most


    of his hangdog air.


    ¡°No,¡± said Crow. ¡°I¡¯m turning Nick into my guardian until the Warlord falls again.


    I wanted to ask you if you knew how to create altered spells for what you possess.¡±


    Nick doubted he would be a good guardian for his classmate.


    ¡°No,¡± said Steve. ¡°Do you?¡±


    ¡°They say that you can create a variant of something you can already do,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t tell me how.¡±


    ¡°A variant?,¡± said Steve. ¡°So I could potentially gain more specialized spells for the


    general ones that I use.¡±


    ¡°I believe so,¡± said Crow. ¡°They said it¡¯s in the learning process part of your spell


    creation.¡±


    ¡°Can you do the same thing, Nick?,¡± said Steve.


    ¡°No,¡± said Nick. ¡°All of my abilities are already there. I just have to buy them with


    spirit money when I can get it. It takes three thousand coins to buy a larger spell for


    instance.¡±


    ¡°How many monsters would you have to kill for that?,¡± asked Steve. He rubbed his


    chin in thought.


    ¡°Depends,¡± said Nick. ¡°Do you have an idea on what Crow is talking about?¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± said Steve. ¡°I need to test it tonight when we get done with things. I¡¯ll have


    to use my least useful spell for it.¡±


    ¡°Least useful?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°I have a spell for creating bubbles,¡± said Steve. ¡°Maybe I can turn that into


    something else.¡±


    ¡°Making bubbles?,¡± said Nick. He smiled at the thought.


    ¡°It¡¯s not particularly useful right now,¡± said Steve. ¡°Don¡¯t you have something that


    isn¡¯t useful, but you like?¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Nick. ¡°All my spells are monster hunting pointed. I don¡¯t have


    anything that doesn¡¯t go to that. The closest thing I can think of is the decoy that I can


    use if I buy it.¡±


    ¡°What does that do?,¡± asked Steve.


    ¡°It makes a sound like a duck,¡± said Nick.

 Runaway

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

 The Old Crow Medicine Show

    Crow sat at her desk. She had a journal of her thoughts opened in front of her. A pen


    made of bone stood in an inkwell as she considered what she had written.


    Nick was off her version of his sphere of influence. There was a pointer in the


    direction where he had gone, but it was beyond the cut off she enjoyed from his


    natural map.


    Where had he gone?


    She decided to send him a message. She knew she could do that from his sphere of


    influence. She admitted she didn¡¯t know how far the range was. He might be out of


    range from the Academy.


    ¡°Where are you, Nick?,¡± she asked the air.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading home,¡± said Nick. ¡°Good luck on your tournament.¡±


    ¡°You said you would stay,¡± said Crow. She fumed at her fellow misfit.


    ¡°The basics of a plan must change due to unforeseen consequences,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Really?,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°Master Slawn taught us that,¡± said Nick. He didn¡¯t seem to guilty about breaking his


    word and running off.


    ¡°What are you not telling me?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± said Nick.


    She heard whispers and her face pinched at the new facts she had been told.


    ¡°They say you got into a fight with Madam Quince,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a fight,¡± said Nick. ¡°She said she wanted me to do another assessment and


    then they were going to seal off my magic. So I said no.¡±


    ¡°And now you are out of the city, and on the run,¡± said Crow. She pinched the bridge


    of her nose. ¡°Come back, please.¡±


    A notice that Nick had killed something flashed in her vision. Had he killed Madam


    Quince?


    ¡°Did you hurt Madam Quince?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t hurt Granny,¡± said Nick. ¡°I killed a paw and got a better weapon and


    more charges for the thunder cracker.¡±


    ¡°Just stay where you are and I will come out there and get you,¡± said Crow. ¡°We will


    discuss this and iron out the problem.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good as is,¡± said Nick. ¡°It won¡¯t take a second to put a hole in Granny¡¯s leg so


    she will stop chasing me.¡±


    ¡°You will not,¡± said Crow. ¡°I order you to come back to the school and not shoot


    Madam Quince.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have the authority to order me,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± said Crow. She poured all of her power into making contact with Them


    and asking for some help with her demand.


    Crow became a spirit of white feathers exploding out of Nick¡¯s body. He fell to the


    ground in agony. She turned one black eye where the ping of Madam Quince stood.


    ¡°Come out, woman,¡± said Them. ¡°I would have words with you.¡±


    Madam Quince stepped into view. She held a blade of air in her hand. She squinted


    at the thing on the tree branch. It glared at her with its black eye.


    ¡°You will take my servant home,¡± said the feathered demon. ¡°You will not seal his


    magic, or do another assessment. Am I clear?¡±


    ¡°I can fight you,¡± said Madam Quince.


    The white thing flexed a talon. The teacher fell to the ground, pain shooting through


    her body. She lost control of her spell and it vanished.


    ¡°You will do what I say, or else,¡± said the demon. ¡°My oracle is fond of you, but I am


    not. Boy, there will be no more foolishness. My oracle thinks you can save the world.


    I do not. I think you will die from stupidity. If you see me again, it will not be good


    for you. Go home with your teacher. Do not think about disobeying again.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the boss of me,¡± said Nick. He couldn¡¯t quite move his hand to point at


    the giant creature glaring down at him.


    ¡°The oracle is your boss, and you will do what she says.¡± The feathers of the thing


    ruffled in anger. ¡°Do you understand the words that I am putting in your stupid little


    brain, mortal brat? Because if I keep this up, there won¡¯t be much left of that peanut


    sized lump. Go back to the school, and maintain watch. Do not make me look for you.


    It has not been that long since I have had a human heart.¡±


    The feathers exploded and Crow woke up in her room. They gave her their


    assessment. It was not the stuff of unicorns in her opinion.


    ¡°I need him to help me find the Warlord¡¯s heart and get rid of it once and for all,¡± said


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Crow. ¡°Do you think he will keep this bad attitude?¡±


    They thought she was making a mistake trying to deal with this monster hunter. He


    would always pull left, when she needed him to go right.


    ¡°I will do what I can with what I have,¡± said Crow. ¡°Thank you for your help. Maybe


    you have scared him into doing the right thing.¡±


    They laughed at the suggestion, noting her idiot had tried to summon enough of his


    ability to try to shoot at them. He was obviously not too bright despite being brave


    to a fault.


    ¡°I know,¡± said Crow. ¡°Again I have to work with the clay that I can find and not the


    finished vase that I want.¡±


    They receded to the back of her mind. Their whispered discussion did not fill her with


    confidence. She had to plow ahead, or get someone else to help her with her burden.


    The other misfits might try, but they didn¡¯t have the same eye that Nick did.


    ¡°Nick?,¡± said Crow, touching the mind link she had tricked Nick into opening up for


    her. ¡°Come back to the school.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re having trouble moving,¡± said Nick. ¡°That thing took out Granny with a look.¡±


    ¡°I will get the others and we will come get you,¡± said Crow. She rubbed her face.


    ¡°Try to stay in one place and out of trouble until we get there.¡±


    ¡°I doubt either one of us will be able to move for a while,¡± said Nick. ¡°I might be able


    to kill something for a stimulant to get me back on my feet. Granny looks bad from


    where I am laying.¡±


    ¡°Act with a little more prudence,¡± said Crow. ¡°Let me see what I can do.¡±


    She removed her touch from the thread connecting them. She decided that Steve


    might be able to help with his spell work. He might be able to fly out and get the both


    of them under his own power.


    He might be able to fly out and not be able to fly back with either one of them.


    She decided to ask. Maybe he could help her fashion a solution to this without the


    whole school getting involved.


    That Nick! Why was he causing trouble on the first day?


    They told her where to find Steve. She went to the kitchen and found him puttering


    over the hearth, cooking something over the open fire.


    ¡°I need some help, Steve,¡± said Crow. ¡°I¡¯m hoping you could point me in the right


    direction.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?,¡± asked Steve. He stabbed whatever he was cooking with a


    long fork.


    ¡°Nick and Madam Quince went over the wall, and I need to get them back,¡± said


    Crow. ¡°Any suggestions?¡±


    ¡°You ask one of the air magicians to go out and get them,¡± Steve said. He winced at


    the glare that got him. ¡°I suppose you want to do this without anyone knowing what


    is going on.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Crow. ¡°I need transportation without the school becoming involved since


    Nick opposed Madam Quince and I need him in the school until things are done,


    Madam Quince wanted to have Nick reassessed which he vehemently opposed, and


    I had to ask them to interfere and now Madam Quince knows something more of my


    own talent. So I need to get them back without anyone knowing so we can hammer


    something out without any more personality problems.¡±


    ¡°Have you really took a long look at Nick?,¡± said Steve. ¡°He is nothing but


    personality problems.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to fix him for what I need him to do,¡± said Crow. ¡°Can you do something,


    or should I ask one of the others?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the brothers have a movement power. I am not sure about Will or


    Calliope,¡± said Steve. ¡°Will might be a good enough generalist to have rocket


    power.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask him,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°How much stealth do you require?,¡± said Steve.


    ¡°You have a transporting spell, don¡¯t you?,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Steve. ¡°And no.¡±


    Crow crossed her arms as he winced from her attention.


    ¡°I know a spell,¡± said Steve. ¡°But I need a cart, or sleigh.¡±


    ¡°Why?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s a summons I can¡¯t ride so I need something for it to pull behind it,¡± said


    Steve.


    ¡°All right,¡± said Crow. She nodded as they murmured to her. ¡°Come with me.¡±


    Steve followed as she led the way to where Calvin and Felix were practicing their


    spell work. They looked up at their frowning classmate and backed up a bit.


    ¡°We need you to create a sleigh body,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have the expertise for something like that,¡± said Felix. He glanced


    at Calvin. ¡°We can create a pile of mud, but we have never been able to shape it into


    something.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the shaping,¡± said Steve. ¡°Whatever happens, you are not to tell anyone what


    you see. It will get you into trouble.¡±


    ¡°How much trouble?,¡± asked Calvin.


    ¡°Not as much as Nick is in,¡± said Crow. ¡°Or how much he will be when we get him


    back.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t special friends?,¡± asked Felix.


    ¡°Nick took off and led Madam Quince a merry chase into the forest outside the wall,¡±


    said Crow. ¡°The both of them are getting a piece of my mind. But first we have to get


    them back to the school. Now please create the mud.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Calvin. He held up his hands. ¡°That is a lot more serious than we


    thought. Let¡¯s see what we can do.¡±


    The brothers focused on the empty space where the aircraft had landed the day before.


    They muttered their activation phrase as they cupped their hands in front of them.


    Water rained upwards, but became mud on the way down.


    Steve clapped his hands together and called for hundred hands. Invisible forces


    caught the mud and shaped it into a bowl spinning it around as it worked. Wheels


    were built and mounted on axles jammed through the soft mud before it could harden.


    The front stretched out into a yoke arrangement with a simple rod for steering


    emerging from the bowl.


    ¡°How did you do that?,¡± asked Felix.


    ¡°I have a spell that allows me to use a bunch of hands from the air,¡± said Steve.


    ¡°That¡¯s how I lit the lamps when we were given our building.¡±


    ¡°What did you need this carriage for?,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°To carry us,¡± said Steve. ¡°Climb in.¡±


    Crow grabbed the edge of the bowl body and pulled herself into the carriage. Steve


    joined her with a lot more effort. He righted himself and got to his feet.


    Steve clapped his hands again, calling for the beast of balefulness. Flame erupted


    from the ground, turning into a horse of fire. The wheels of the carriage caught


    fire as the animal stepped into the yoke the magician had made and was harnessed


    by the remains of the hundred hands.


    ¡°Remember,¡± said Steve. ¡°You didn¡¯t see anything.¡±


    ¡°I certainly did not see a flaming horse pulling a flaming carriage with two insane


    people inside of it,¡± said Calvin.


    ¡°Neither did I,¡± said Felix.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Steve. He cracked the yoke control. The beast of balefulness


    headed directly at the wall around the Academy. At the last second, it started climbing


    the wall at the head of a trail of fire. Then it was up and over and out of sight.


    ¡°How do we deny we saw that?,¡± asked Calvin.


    ¡°By pretending we don¡¯t know anything about magic,¡± said Felix. ¡°I¡¯m going to raid


    Steve¡¯s tea stock.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right,¡± said Calvin. ¡°No one would believe us hearing Crow through


    the wall.¡±


    The brothers headed toward their dorm.


    Crow maintained a white knuckled grip on the edges of the bowl as the carriage


    careened through the streets of the city. She had run out of breath to keep screaming.


    They whipped through the open gate in the wall and out of the city in a flash of flame.

 Soup for the Soul

    Nick struggled to move. He thought if he had some of the other options from his spell


    work, he could shake off the effect the white bird had applied to him. He needed to


    be a lot quicker if he wanted to shoot that thing before it did whatever it did.


    ¡°How are you doing, Granny?,¡± asked Nick. He could barely move his head to see


    where she had fallen next to a tree.


    ¡°I will be able to walk in a bit,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°What was that?¡±


    ¡°Crow¡¯s them from the way it talked,¡± said Nick. ¡°There¡¯s no market around for me


    to buy an antidote for me. We¡¯re stuck until someone comes and gets us.¡±


    ¡°Marvelous,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell anyone about these


    markets?¡±


    ¡°Why would I?,¡± said Nick. ¡°They¡¯re no one else¡¯s business. Crow¡¯s coming along


    fast. Get ready for a tongue lashing.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?,¡± asked Madam Quince.


    ¡°I can see her approaching,¡± said Nick. ¡°Someone must be carrying her at the speed


    she is going.¡±


    ¡°This is embarrassing,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°Tell me about it,¡± said Nick. ¡°All right, I can move my hand and take you hostage


    so I don¡¯t have to go back to the Academy.¡±


    ¡°You will bring that thing back to finish the job,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Then Crow


    will have to bury you after fixing what¡¯s been done to me.¡±


    The roar of a fire pushed against Nick¡¯s ears. He tried to look around. A fiery horse


    pulled an odd carriage into view. He winced at the unhappy face glaring at him.


    ¡°Look, Granny,¡± he said with some false cheer. ¡°Crow is here to rescue us from the


    woodland creatures and such.¡±


    ¡°Please load Madam Quince in the cart, Steve,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°Nick?,¡± asked Steve.


    ¡°You can pick him up in a minute,¡± said Crow. She waved him to get their teacher


    loaded up to be taken back to the school.


    ¡°How¡¯s it going, Crow?,¡± said Nick.


    She walked behind him, took aim, drew her leg back, and kicked him in the rump.


    Then she did it again because it made her feel better.


    ¡°Ow!,¡± said Nick. ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°For breaking your word, and forcing me to ask them for a favor,¡± said Crow. She


    kicked him again. ¡°This is great. I should do this more often.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not great for me,¡± complained Nick.


    ¡°That¡¯s the point,¡± said Crow. ¡°If it was great for you, then there would be no point


    in doing it. But since it¡¯s great for me, I might want to do it some more to get my


    point across.¡±


    ¡°I think you should kick him some more at the Academy,¡± called Steve. He made sure


    that Madam Quince was as comfortable as he could in the chariot. ¡°I don¡¯t think we


    should stay out here without more preparation.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Crow. ¡°Let¡¯s get him in the chariot so we can get the both of them


    to our quarters.¡±


    Steve summoned his hundred hands to get Nick in the chariot. He climbed in, and


    made room for Crow to get in. He asked the fiery beast pulling the vehicle to get


    going.


    Nick blinked and they were at the wall around the city. He blinked again, and the


    screams of people in the street were gone. They rumbled over some rough stones, and


    then the chariot rolled to a halt. His stomach told him it was happy with that


    development.


    ¡°How do you feel, Madam Quince?,¡± asked Crow.


    ¡°Much better now that we have stopped,¡± said the instructor.


    ¡°Steve, if you could take Madam Quince and Nick into the dining room, we will have


    our meeting over some tea,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°Do I have to be there?,¡± asked the generalist. He let the beast go back to where it


    wandered when he didn¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°I think your presence will prevent me from strangling these troublemakers,¡± said


    Crow.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a troublemaker,¡± declared Nick.


    ¡°I will kick you if you tell that lie again,¡± said Crow. ¡°You are a big troublemaker.


    Steve?¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Steve. ¡°The cart?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll store it behind the dormitory for when we need it,¡± said Crow. ¡°Maybe we can


    make something bigger for all of us if we need to later. Right now, it did the job we


    wanted done. So it was useful for what we needed.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Steve. ¡°Let me call on the hundred hands again. I¡¯ll move the cart


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    later after we have our talk.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Steve,¡± said Crow. ¡°Let me get some water boiling for soup. I think that


    will be what our two troublemakers need to get their strength back.¡±


    Invisible hands carried Madam Quince and Nick into the kitchen and put them in


    chairs. Crow followed. She took some tinder and put it in with the half-burned logs


    in the kitchen hearth, then lit the paper and twine with a flint and steel. She fanned


    the small spark into a roaring flame. She got a pot and put water in it from the indoor


    pump. She hung it over the fire as she searched the pantry for anything she could put


    in for soup.


    Crow found some carrots and tomatoes. She cut them into discs on a cutting board


    and dropped them into the water to cook as the pot heated up. She put the knife on the


    sideboard so she wouldn¡¯t be tempted to use it on her weakened guests.


    ¡°So why did Steve and I have to go out to the woods to carry you back to town?,¡±


    asked Crow. She leaned on the counter, looking at the two problems on the verge of


    upsetting any ability she might have to protect the school from the Warlord.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that,¡± said Nick. ¡°Granny would have been able to come back


    on her own after I shook her.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try again,¡± said Crow. She frowned at Nick. He sagged in his chair. ¡°What did


    you two think you were doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be scolding the both of you,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I think the both of you need to talk to them again, and have a better explanation for


    all this,¡± said Crow. ¡°Otherwise, I think I will stab the two of you until I am happy.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that against the school rules?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Guess which one of us isn¡¯t covered by the school rules since they deserted,¡± asked


    Crow.


    ¡°I think he can only be declared as leaving the grounds,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°There


    is a time limit to pass before someone can be considered a failure.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Crow. ¡°Then I will have to commit a minor crime of murder by


    accident. The knife slipped. I can live with that.¡±


    ¡°I suppose I would have to be stabbed too,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°No witnesses,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°If I had known this was going to happen, I definitely would have tried harder to get


    away,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°You were going to shoot Madam Quince in the leg,¡± said Crow. ¡°That was the whole


    reason I asked them to intervene.¡±


    ¡°You were going to shoot me in the leg?,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Your magic is going


    to be sealed. You¡¯re a public menace.¡±


    ¡°His magic isn¡¯t going to be sealed,¡± said Crow. ¡°I need him for the moment. I am


    using him as a shield. So he has to be functional and able to do what I want him to do


    without whatever this was.¡±


    ¡°This was Granny telling me she wanted me reassessed and if I didn¡¯t go along, she


    was going to seal my magic,¡± said Nick. His hand curled on the table top as he tried


    to aim his arm.


    Crow slapped his hand off the table. He frowned at her, but it was an effort to lift his


    hand up. She shook her head.


    ¡°He stepped out of the city wall,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°He didn¡¯t put that down on


    his assessment form.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s only useful to me,¡± said Nick. ¡°It¡¯s not magic. It¡¯s just how the


    skill works so I can get things to shoot if I have the money.¡±


    ¡°It kind of is magic, Nick,¡± said Steve as he entered the room. He pulled down his


    teapot and filled it with water. He hung it on the central bar next to the soup pan.


    ¡°It¡¯s a temporary thing where I can work on trying to modify my weapon,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°You still should have put it down so we could figure out how to make it work


    better,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± said Crow. ¡°Just like you can¡¯t teach Steve how to modify his spells,


    or me how to talk to them. There¡¯s nothing the Academy can do for us. You are


    optimistic, but our abilities don¡¯t work like normal magic, and can¡¯t be shaped


    like normal magic.¡±


    ¡°I told you,¡± said Nick. He tried to smile but half of his face refused to pull up.


    ¡°On the other hand, Nick was wrong to break his word and try to take off when


    he knows I need him to take care of my business here at the Academy,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°They were amused but told me I should get someone better like the brothers to


    help me.¡±


    ¡°The brothers?,¡± said Nick. ¡°Those guys?¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t do something stupid just to see what would happen,¡± said Crow. ¡°The


    soup will be ready in a bit. I need to take a lie down. Please keep them from trying to


    kill each other, Steve. I know I am imposing, but I am tired after what happened.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have some tea, and share the food when it¡¯s ready,¡± said Steve. He waved her


    off. ¡°Take care of yourself.¡±


    Crow stood to leave the room. She kicked Nick in the leg as she passed him. Then she


    was in the hall, leading to the base of the stairs to their rooms.


    ¡°Why the kicking?,¡± asked Nick. He couldn¡¯t rub the pain out of his leg.


    ¡°Because you are a pain,¡± said Steve. ¡°I admit I expected better out of you, Madam


    Quince. You let me down.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± said the teacher. She didn¡¯t sound sorry.


    ¡°Oh well,¡± said Steve. ¡°How was the meeting with Crow¡¯s masters?¡±


    ¡°It dropped us in our tracks,¡± said Nick. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get a bead on it either.¡±


    ¡°Mentally accomplished too,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°It referred to Crow as its oracle.¡±


    ¡°Probably is gathering information to give her so she can carry out whatever it wants


    her to do,¡± said Steve. ¡°And she needs Nick and his fireballs for that. Some kind of


    monster hunting might be in the offing.¡±


    ¡°The headmaster needs to know about this,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°Needs to know what?,¡± said Steve. ¡°We don¡¯t know what is going on ourselves. I


    doubt he will be able to wave a wand and do something about an event that hasn¡¯t


    happened yet.¡±


    ¡°So we have to wait until Crow knows something to tell us?,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°And you have to keep your head down, and quit acting stupid,¡± said Steve. ¡°How are


    you going to help us if you separate and get murdered before we can look at the


    things that are happening?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not giving up my ability because of people I don¡¯t care about,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Is there going to be a problem, Madam Quince?,¡± said Steve.


    ¡°I will keep this to myself, but I am not happy,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I am sure Crow¡¯s them would love to talk to you again,¡± said Steve. His eyebrows


    went up as his tea kettle whistled. ¡°Shall we have tea?¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can hold a cup,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to sip from the cup,¡± said Steve. He put down three cups and put tea


    bags in them. He got the kettle with a heatproof mitten. He poured the hot water into


    the cups.


    ¡°Give it a couple of minutes to cool to make it easier to drink,¡± said Steve. He waved


    the kettle in the air to cool it before placing it in the kitchen sink. ¡°Then I will serve


    the soup.¡±


    ¡°Is Crow right about your ability to spell cast, Steven?,¡± asked Madam Quince.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Steve. ¡°It¡¯s the way of things. She did suggest a way to train more spells


    that maybe I can use. I have to look at it.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°I suppose you need someone to help with that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Steve. ¡°I will look at it and see if there is anything I can do on


    my own first.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Madam Quince.


    They sipped their tea, and Nick felt strength returning to his limbs. He nodded as he


    felt more normal with each passing moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going in for a reassessment,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°And how should I explain all this?,¡± said Madam Quince. She waved her hand to


    take in the building.


    ¡°I¡¯m the weakest mage on the grounds,¡± said Nick. ¡°Which is true.¡±

 Apologies

    Nick sipped his tea as best he could without being able to pick it up. He had to do the


    same for the soup until he could pick up a spoon. He nodded as his mobility came


    back bit by bit.


    Madam Quince used her air blades to help her. He had thought you needed to gesture


    the spells to life, but apparently he was wrong.


    ¡°Feel better?,¡± asked Steve. He sipped his soup and tea while sitting at arm¡¯s reach


    from the table.


    ¡°I think I can walk again,¡± said Nick. ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°We let Madam Quince get back on her feet while we move the chariot to the back


    of the building,¡± said Steve. ¡°It was a rough thing but it got the job done. Maybe


    Calvin and Felix can help build something better if we need it.¡±


    ¡°There was a summons pulling it,¡± said Madam Quince. ¡°Is that what happened?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Steve. ¡°I have a spell called the Beast of Balefulness. It summons a horse


    made out of fire. The problem is I can¡¯t ride it since I don¡¯t have a spell that makes


    me fireproof. So the only way to use it is to tie it to something that won¡¯t burn up


    while the spell is active.¡±


    ¡°That is a strange balance between practical and useless,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where I picked it up from,¡± said Steve. ¡°It¡¯s one of the few spells I


    have had all my life.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help with the chariot,¡± said Nick. ¡°I¡¯ll have to think about some of the classes I


    have to take.¡±


    ¡°Apologize to Crow sometime,¡± said Steve. ¡°It will help heal the anger.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that first,¡± said Nick. ¡°Then we will move the chariot, and then I will look at


    the classes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take Madam Quince back to her quarters,¡± said Steve. ¡°She should be fine with


    some sleep.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. ¡°Good night, Granny. See you in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Madam Quince is the proper way to address me,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°Then who would be my granny?,¡± said Nick. He smiled as he stood on shaky legs.


    ¡°Might have to grab something else to eat.¡±


    ¡°Dinner will be in a couple of hours,¡± said Steve. He stood also.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± said Nick. ¡°Let me talk to Crow.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t run,¡± said Steve. He went to Madam Quince and offered a hand for her to


    stand up. ¡°We¡¯re in this together until we get out of school.¡±


    ¡°As soon as we deal with the Warlord, I¡¯m going home,¡± said Nick. ¡°This isn¡¯t the


    place for me.¡±


    ¡°Come along, Madam,¡± said Steve. ¡°The faster you have your liedown, the better you


    will feel.¡±


    ¡°What did he mean about the Warlord?,¡± said Madam Quince. She balanced herself


    on a blade of air, holding on to his shoulder so he could pull her to the central tower.


    ¡°Nothing important,¡± said Steve. ¡°Shall we go?¡±


    Nick went to the stairs while Steve and Madam Quince negotiated their way to the


    front door. He climbed up the stairs, following Crow¡¯s indicator on his sphere of


    influence.


    He knocked on the door.


    ¡°What do you want, Nick?,¡± asked Crow through the wooden barrier.


    ¡°I would like to apologize,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± said Crow. ¡°I should have trusted them, and their assessment. Maybe the


    brothers are better for what I need to get done.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right,¡± said Nick. He looked down at the floor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Crow.¡±


    ¡°I will talk to the others about getting you enough supplies so you can go home,¡± said


    Crow. ¡°They will probably be glad to help you out. I will take care of it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± said Nick. He turned and headed down the hall. Dinner would be served


    in a bit and he wanted to take another look at the city beyond the academy walls.


    Magic use pinged on his sphere but he ignored it. He wasn¡¯t planning to hunt down


    every teacher and student. He supposed he could practice with the thunder cracker,


    but felt that it wouldn¡¯t serve him to do that.


    He needed to hunt things to get better. He didn¡¯t see that happening inside the castle


    walls.


    He climbed to the top of the wall. He started walking along to his left. He passed the


    point where he had jumped down into the city, and kept walking. He supposed the


    academy didn¡¯t need guards. Who wanted to rush a place where the Warlord had been


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    defeated.


    He saw a man standing on the wall ahead of him. He paused to think what he should


    do in this situation. He really didn¡¯t want to get into another confrontation so soon


    after the first.


    ¡°Come ahead, young man,¡± said the man. He turned toward the boy. Nick recognized


    him as the man who had told the assembled classes what was in the cards the first


    day. He looked like he hadn¡¯t seen sleep in a while.


    Nick started walking. He decided to put up with a scolding. After all, he wasn¡¯t


    supposed to be on the wall in the first place.


    ¡°How do you do?,¡± asked the teacher. He tried to smile, but it was more like a rictus.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Nick. He decided to stick to one word answers like he did back home


    when he didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone.


    ¡°Are you enjoying your stay?,¡± asked the teacher. Apparently he had some experience


    with uncommunicative students.


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Nick. He looked for a way to go around this stranger without being


    rude.


    ¡°Most children don¡¯t,¡± said the teacher. He turned and started walking away. He


    didn¡¯t gesture for Nick to follow, but the boy did.


    ¡°What about the few who do?,¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°It¡¯s a chance to impress their relatives, and be bullies,¡± said the teacher.


    ¡°I guess you don¡¯t approve,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°The academy is supposed to be teaching responsibility and altruism,¡± said the


    teacher. ¡°I am afraid that we are failing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± said Nick. ¡°I have only been here a couple of days.¡±


    ¡°What have you learned since you got here?,¡± asked the teacher.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make my dormmate mad,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°I suppose that is something,¡± said the teacher. He looked up as the dinner bell started


    ringing. ¡°I suppose we must be going.¡±


    ¡°I guess,¡± said Nick. He thought about Crow. ¡°Maybe I should skip dinner tonight.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± said the teacher. ¡°You should never turn down food. You don¡¯t know


    when your next meal will be. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll smooth things out with your teacher. What


    class are you in?¡±


    ¡°Madam Quince¡¯s,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Agatha and I are old friends,¡± said the teacher. ¡°I will be glad to talk to her about


    your tardiness. Come along.¡±


    The teacher found a bridge leading to rooms in the central keep. He walked to the


    castle, and then showed Nick some stairs leading down to the central hall. The classes


    were already filing in for dinner. The pair worked their way to the back of the room.


    Madam Quince stood beside her other students, frowning at Nick.


    ¡°Evening, Agatha,¡± said the teacher. He smiled at the misfits. ¡°How do you do?¡±


    ¡°Is Master Sever in trouble?,¡± asked Madam Quince.


    ¡°Oh, no,¡± said the teacher. ¡°Nothing like that. We were having a pleasant chat and


    decided to come into the hall together.¡±


    He ignored the snorts of amazement from the misfits at the table.


    ¡°Are you Granny¡¯s special friend?,¡± asked Calvin.


    Madam Quince gave him a glare that he blithely ignored.


    ¡°No romance for me, I¡¯m afraid,¡± said the teacher. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to offer


    someone as good as Agatha anyway. She needs someone who isn¡¯t as broken down


    as I am.¡±


    ¡°They say you could get us a dispensation to fight other teams in the school before


    the tournament,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°True,¡± said the teacher. ¡°But I would need an example of your readiness before I


    allowed that to happen, mistress.¡±


    ¡°What kind of example?,¡± asked Will. He had a cigarette in hand, but hadn¡¯t lit it yet.


    Crow looked like they had told her what kind of example they would have to present


    and didn¡¯t like it.


    ¡°It is only the first week,¡± said the teacher. ¡°I will give you two weeks to get ready,


    and then you will be able to show me how good you are.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is a good idea, Barnabus,¡± said Madam Quince.


    ¡°If they want to be in the tournament and fight the other students who will be sent


    here, then they have to be ready,¡± said Barnabus. ¡°I expect them to lose on their first


    outing together, but I could be wrong.¡±


    ¡°So you are going to set up a test for us to see if we can fight someone else?,¡± asked


    Calliope.


    ¡°If you have the courage, then I will make the time,¡± said Barnabus. ¡°But I warn you


    now, if I win, I will gloat until you graduate, and no dispensation before the


    tournament starts.¡±


    ¡°You are on,¡± said Nick. ¡°But if we win, you can expect us to rub it in every time we


    see you.¡±


    All of the misfits except for Crow groaned at the declaration of war.


    ¡°We will be ready, Headmaster,¡± said Crow. ¡°You should get ready too.¡±


    A smile crossed the headmaster¡¯s thin face.


    ¡°I am going to let you enjoy your meal,¡± said the headmaster. ¡°I will meet you in two


    weeks.¡±


    Everyone looked at Crow. The expressions on their faces asked her how they had got


    roped in to fighting the academy¡¯s most powerful magician. Nick smiled.


    ¡°I like these kids, Agatha,¡± said Barnabus. ¡°They will be a trial, but do your best with


    them.¡±


    ¡°They are certainly not what I expected,¡± said Madam Quince. She glanced at Nick


    trying to take his place at the table.


    Barnabus smiled. He turned and headed toward his table in the front of the hall.


    ¡°Have you two lost your minds?,¡± asked Calliope. ¡°You just signed us up to fight


    anyone the headmaster decides we should fight from students to teachers.¡±


    ¡°As long as we have Will and Steve, they are giving us good odds,¡± said Crow. ¡°And


    we need this to get our skills working together so we can get rid of the monsters


    under the school.¡±


    ¡°What monsters underneath the school?,¡± asked Madam Quince.


    ¡°I am not sure what kind of monsters are living under the school, but I expect them


    to continue their search of the main building,¡± said Crow.


    ¡°But they aren¡¯t under our building?,¡± said Felix.


    ¡°No,¡± said Crow. ¡°Whatever they are looking for is in the main building. They don¡¯t


    know, and neither do I right now.¡±


    ¡°Crow,¡± said Nick. ¡°I want to apologize for the way I behaved. I am sorry.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can trust you any more,¡± said Crow. ¡°You broke your word.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s fair,¡± said Nick. He grabbed his plate when the food arrived and left


    the table. He headed for the exit nearest their building.


    He found a perch on a block of stone next to the door. He sat down and slowly ate


    his food. He thought it tasted like ash, but knew it was the only good meal he would


    have for the day.


    A presence created a shadow over his face. He looked up, one hand charging up.


    He released the charge when he saw it was Calliope. Her arm glimmered in the


    moonlight. She wore her stern expression as she looked down on him.


    ¡°Want to talk about it?,¡± she asked.


    ¡°Nothing to talk about,¡± said Nick. ¡°I showed off too much and caused some trouble.


    Crow is mad at me about that.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to fix it?,¡± asked Calliope. She sat down on the stone across from


    his perch.


    ¡°Can¡¯t,¡± said Nick. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said I would stay when I never wanted to.¡±


    ¡°This scrimmage against the headmaster is something,¡± said Calliope. ¡°Don¡¯t


    you want to take him on?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s old,¡± said Nick. ¡°Steve can beat him down with a club.¡±


    ¡°You know better than that,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°I think I have a lot of thinking to do,¡± said Nick. ¡°Could you take my plate back?¡±


    ¡°Crow will forgive you eventually,¡± said Calliope.


    ¡°No, she won¡¯t,¡± said Nick. He stood. ¡°I¡¯ll be back before lights out. I¡¯ll see you in


    the morning.¡±


    Nick walked into the darkness surrounding the keep, heading for the wall.