by Darkbringer
Dino was preparing to say something when a knocking sounded from the door and interrupted him. “Who’s that?” I asked nervously, thinking that it might be Crystal coming back already. I told her that I’d meet her at school in a few days!
Dino shrugged, and the door opened and a wide-shouldered young man walked in. “Guys, I’m your wing leader. I’m in charge of this floor. You can call me ‘Sir, Yes Sir’!” He yelled the last part, and I half jumped. Dino just groaned and tossed his sandal at him and flopped back onto the bed.
“Shut up Jerad. No one around here is going to Sir you.” Dino waved his hands dismissively and the guy at the door simply laughed it off.
“I see two of you in here. Where’s the other two? It’s almost time for classes to start, and everyone should be showing up by now.”
“Mongo and Skeet aren’t back yet from whatever task they were doing for the school,” Dino answered him. “This stinky ass fellow over here is Michael. He’s our new roommate. And, like everyone else in the world, you know who I am, obviously.”
“Nope. Never heard of ya,” Jerad lied. “I’ll guess I’ll go report that Michael was here, Mongo and Skeet are running late, that I never met the last idiot who was supposed to be bunking here, and some weird jackass was hanging around and who knows what that might lead to.”
“Just stuff it, dumbass. You’ve checked on us, and now you can leave.” Apparently Jerad was another of the guys who Dino couldn’t seem to get along with. Not surprising really, considering how it seems the women all put him up on a pedestal. All the more reason for me to hide my talents and not end up like him. In some ways, I have to be grateful to Dino; I’m learning a lot from him. A lot of the things not to do!
Snorting and ignoring Dino, Jerad walked over and held his hand out towards me. “Hope we’ll get along, Michael.”
“Me too,” I answered while shaking his hand.
“Do you got any questions about the city? School? Anything at all really?” Jerad asked with a grin. “That’s what I’m here for you know. It’s not just to spy on you guys and get you in trouble for breaking any school rules. I’m here to keep an eye on you, help keep you out of trouble, and answer any questions you guys might have about anything. Feel free to come to me anytime. My room is the first one at the corner; 201.”
“I’m good for now,” I told him which clasping his hand in mine. Jerad had a rough hand, with many calluses and a firm grip. From his handshake alone, I’d assume he’d trained long and hard in the fighting arts with some weapon, but I couldn’t tell which one. “I guess the only thing I’m curious about is my other roommates, but I guess I’ll get to meet them in a few days.”
Letting go of my grip, Jerad nodded. From the corner of his lip, however, was a slight frown. “I’m certain they’ll be here soon,” he reassured me. “Don’t worry. I’ll ask around and see if they sent any messages to the school about being delayed for some reason. It happens sometimes, so it’s not a big deal.”
Dino laughed lightly. “As if anything would happen to those two. Mongo probably got in a staring contest with a wall or something. He’s too stupid to get in trouble, and Skeet’s too much of a coward. They’re nice fellows, don’t get me wrong,” he tried to clarify all at once, “but they’re not ones which I’d ever expect to get into anything dangerous. You’ll see, they’ll be along shortly. Honestly, they probably just got lost.”
“Maybe.” Jerad shrugged, but he didn’t look convinced. “I guess we’ll know for certain in a few days after I ask their counselors and some of the teachers at the school. Until then, I’d best head on out for now. I’ve got a few more rooms to check on before heading to bed myself.”
“Good riddance!” Dino called out to him as he headed to the door and out it.
Once Jerad was gone and the door was shut behind him, Dino sat back up on his bed and stared at me. “You be careful around him,” Dino warned. “Jared really is nothing more than a rat and a fink. Claims to be here for you, but anything you tell him he’ll report directly to the school. Claims he’s watching over us when really he’s not doing anything more than spying on us. Be careful what you tell him, unless you don’t mind the world knowing whatever it is. He gets paid to ‘give reports and keep tabs’ on the people on this floor, and the juicier the news he finds out, the better his monthly bonus is.”
“I see,” I told him thoughtfully. The school was a place where all sorts of interesting and different peoples attended. Lots of alchemists, and wizards. Nobles and rich. It really was a hotbed of juicy secrets. I suppose it only made sense that the school would want to sniff out whatever they could, to use to their advantage. I’ll just have to keep a low profile and watch what I say and do around Jerad.
Maybe playing the part of a commoner wasn’t as easy as I’d imagined it was going to be. If I had a private room, there’d be less chance of anyone finding out the truth about my talents and turning me in. Heck, I don’t even know if private rooms have to deal with wing leaders like Jared. It seems you can buy waivers for most things regarding the school – or even the city laws! Though, I imagine doing so would draw some eyes your way in the end after all, anyway.
Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. From what little I could tell about this new city and school I was living in, secrets and intrigue were all over the place! Everybody wanted to know everybody else’s dirty little secrets while trying to hold on to their own as tightly as possible. I guess where Jerad’s concerned, it’s better a case of the devil you know compared to the one you don’t.
I’ll just be cautious about my actions around him, and I’ll warn Crystal to be careful how she acts and what she says around other people as well. I don’t want her slipping up and saying or doing something that’ll get one or both of us in trouble. These people should put a sign at the entrance of the city, “Welcome to West Gondor – Where All Your Secrets Will Be Ours!”
Which in some ways, was kind of worrisome when it came to my other two roommates. For a place that seems to want to keep a lot of tabs on you, it seemed odd to me that no one actually knew anything about Mongo or Skeet for certain.
Taking Action
The several days passed without any issues, but I could tell that Dino was starting to get nervous over the fact that Mongo and Skeet hadn’t arrived yet. All Jared could tell us was that they hadn’t arrived back at the school yet and that no messages had been delivered regarding the status of their team. It was on the third day before classes started when Dino came storming into the room, angry and complaining.
“They still don’t know any damn thing, and nobody is going to do anything about it!” Dino yelled as he threw his staff across the room. “Mongo and Skeet are good guys, and they should send a rescue team out to see why they aren’t here yet, but they won’t do it! Jackass counselor of mine says that they can’t be considered missing until the break is officially over. They aren’t even trying to round up a team to go after them or anything!
“Just because they’re not rich, or influential, doesn’t mean they don’t matter!” Dino was stomping around in circles and waving his fist at nothing. “Dammit! I’m of half a mind to go out myself with some people and see what’s happened to them!”
Hopping off the bed, I stretched a few times to pop my back. “Then let’s go if it’s bothering you that much. How far out is wherever they’re supposed to be whatever it is they’re supposed to be doing?”
Dino stopped, turned, and then stared at me. “Wha… What?” He sounded confused and shocked. Had no one ever called him out on one of his bluffs of action before?
“Where are they? We can’t go look for them if we don’t have a clue where they went to begin with. Where were they supposed to be?” Without a few answers, it’d be almost impossible to hunt them down. “And how many went with them? I think the limit is six on a team, but how many did they actually take? Do you know?”
“Uhh…” Dino still looked confounded. “Four I think, and they were supposed to go t
o an old graveyard northwest of town. From what I remember Mongo and Skeet talking about, it was in the forest about three or four days outside of the city and completely overgrown. They were going out to round up some herbs and samples from the area, to see how old it might be and whatnot. It wasn’t supposed to be dangerous at all.”
“So, Northwest. Three or Four days. Look for an overgrown graveyard in a forest. Sounds like a snap!” Really, it honestly didn’t sound like it’d be too difficult to find them to me. I’d spent a lot of time in forests, and earth magic was a specialty of mine. I honestly don’t think I’d have any issues finding bodies or crypts buried in the ground in a remote place like that.
I’ll need to come up with some excuse to tell Dino about how we found them, but that shouldn’t be too hard. I did sign up for hunting and tracking classes. I can use those as an excuse. Dino won’t know any different; as he’s stuck up on his own magic and considers all those other talents beneath him.
“We’ll miss about the first week of class or so, but that shouldn’t be a big deal. Right?” For some reason, Dino didn’t seem certain about going, so I wanted to find out what the problem might be.
“Are you serious about going?” He asked.
“Absolutely. They’re missing. You’re worried. And nobody else is going out to look for them. Why shouldn’t we?”
“It’ll make it harder on you with the rest of the semester,” Dino warned me. “With only twelve classes total in a semester, you’re only allowed to miss two days total in any class, before you automatically fail it. That’s a lot of time and coin down the drain if something comes up and you miss another day.”
“That’s true, but they’re missing and somebody needs to go look for them.” I reminded him.
Dino half bit his lip and then hung his head. “I can’t. I’d love to, but I can’t.” He sounded almost like he wanted to cry as he went over and plopped down on his bed. “I’ve got a wizard’s scholarship, and if I miss classes, I could lose that and have to pay it all back. I couldn’t afford something like that. I can’t go. I simply can’t.” He looked miserable, half curled up on his cot.
“Then I’ll go without you,” I told him, feeling sorry for him. “A quick dash through the forest to check on them and see how they’re doing, and a quick dash back. Who knows, I might even meet them on the road or something and not even be late at all.”
“You just got here!” Dino exclaimed. “Do you really want to start out getting in trouble right, first thing here? You got to think about yourself too!”
“I am,” I told him honestly. “I’m thinking I’d never forgive myself if something happened to them and I just sat here and ignored the chance to go help them when I had it. I’ll be fine.” I reminded him, “I did travel all the way here from home after all. I’m used to be on the road.”
“Yeah, but the road and the forest are two different things,” Dino said, unconvinced. “And you’re not even certain where they’re at, or where you’d be going.”
“Northwest. Into the forest, a little over three days’ travel. To a deserted and overgrown graveyard.” Picking up my hobo stick, I went over to my dresser drawer and pulled everything out and wrapped them up into a tight bundle for traveling again. “Besides,” I told him to ease his worries, “I know a fighter who would probably join me. I won’t be out there alone. I’ll have someone to watch my back.”
“I dunno. It still sounds like you might end up putting yourself and them in harm’s way.” Dino slowly stood up, frowning. “Maybe I should go with you anyway. They’d probably forgive me for being a few days late. We wouldn’t miss more than a single day out of each class if we get back here by next FirstDay. That’d give us twelve days total. With only seven days out and back, we might find them and be back before a single ninan had passed.”
Time in this new world wasn’t tracked quite the same as it was back on Earth. They didn’t use seven day weeks, but instead nine-day periods of time, called a “ninan”. A month had four ninans in it or thirty-six days, and a year was ten months. At the end of the year was a festival that held the proper number of days to keep the calendar correctly aligned with the rotation of the planet around its sun. Some years, the “Festival of the Phoenix” was five days long, some years it was six. They used the celebration here to keep their calendar aligned, much as Leap year was used back on Earth.
“A ninan should give us plenty of time, I’d think,” I told Dino, reassuringly, “but, I think me and Crystal would be fine on our own. We’re just going to go see what’s holding them up.”
“I’ll come with you,” Dino said, shaking his head from side to side. “My magic can help, and if I go along, I can talk Jess into joining us. If they are hurt out there somehow, either from disease or accident, she can help. She’s a healer. Remember?”
“The big boobed blond?” I asked. “The one we ate with, a while back. Or was that the summoner?”
“Sarah’s the summoner,” Dino reminded me. “And yes, Jess has large breasts and blond hair. She’s a nice girl, so I’m certain she’ll come with us to help out.”
Honestly, I thought we’d be better off if it was just me and Crystal – I don’t need to hide my talents from her – but there was no way I could explain such a thing to Dino. Sighing slightly, I simply nodded at him. “Then let’s split up and head on out. You get Jess and whatever supplies you two might need, and I’ll go get Crystal. We’ll meet up at the North gate in an hour or so.”
“West gate might be better,” Dino said. “That’s the one Mongo and Skeet were going to go out of. I remember part of the map they were looking at before they left.”
“Then we’ll meet at the West gate,” I told him amiably.
“You want to go now?” Dino asked.
“Yes.” Sighing, I confirmed it for him. “Now.”
Turning, I walked on out the door to hunt down Lady Crystal, before Dino could try and come up with some excuse to put off leaving until tomorrow. Tomorrow never arrives, when it comes to doing something you don’t actually want to do, and it doesn’t seem like this is something he really wants to do. Dino’s just tagging along because he’s afraid he’ll end up looking bad if he doesn’t.
At least, that’s how it seemed to me at the time.
Gathering at the Gates
Finding Crystal was a lot more time consuming and difficult than I’d first imagined it to be. She had no magical essence for me to track like Dino did, and I had no clue where she’d gotten a room at, I basically was at a loss as to how to find her. Wandering the town didn’t help any, as the chances of us bumping into each other in such a crowded area were quite low since I didn’t even know which set of streets she might be on, and luck wasn’t with me for the hour I spent wandering and looking for her.
Going back to the school and wandering around, I didn’t luck into seeing her wandering around anywhere either. Sighing with disappointment, I finally worked my way to the North Gate to look for Dino. The school was going to start in a few days, and I’d promised Crystal that I would see her there, but it seems now I wouldn’t be able to for a while. I didn’t have a clue where she was, or even how to get in contact with her. All I could do is hope that she stayed put and didn’t assume I’d packed up and ran from her or something.
When I finally got to the north gate, Dino was already there and waiting for me. Dressed in his normal set of robes, he was chatting amiably with Jess who was wearing an old set of leathers which seemed to have had better days. “Hey Michael,” Dino waved as he saw me approaching. “Where’s that girl you were talking about? Couldn’t talk her into joining us?”
“I couldn’t find her,” I told him honestly. “She just arrived here in town a few days ago, and I don’t know where she’s settled and staying at currently. She should be in the school, and I was going to meet her there in a few days, but I don’t know where to find her now.”
“Did you check the school records office?” Jess asked innocently. “If she’s a s
tudent, they’ll know where she’s staying there.”
“Umm…” Blushing, I didn’t want to admit that I hadn’t thought of doing something so simple. Thinking about it, it’s probably how Crystal found me in the first place. I’ve gotten spoiled with relying on my magic too much, it seems. “I didn’t,” I finally admitted.
“Mageflame and Icould run back and check for you,” Jess volunteered.
“Would the two of you do that?” I asked her. “And, if you can find where she’s at, go see if she’d join us. Tell her that Michael is going and would appreciate her company. She’s a decent warrior from what I understand, and we could probably use the help of someone like her if there is any trouble out there.”
“Hey!” Dino complained, “Why us? What are you going to be doing while we go hunt this girl down we don’t even know?”
“I’m going to do some last minute packing since it doesn’t seem like either of you bothered to pack a tent or anything,” I told him, frankly. “The lady’s name is Crystal Lavaliere, and I don’t think there’ll be any issues with getting her to join us. Just let her know that I’m going and want her to join us if she can. That should be good enough to get her to come along, and I’ll go grab us a tent and some basic supplies like pots and pans and all, since neither of you brought anything like that, and then I’ll meet you back here as soon as possible.”
“Fine.” Dino snorted. “But if she says no, I’m not going to spend time trying to beg and plead for her to come along. I don’t even know who this girl is, so don’t expect me to try and persuade her into joining us. If she turns us down, you’ll have to go ask her yourself, or else we can just go without her.”
