Honor's Price

by Sever Bronny

  “And I brought goodies, y’all!” Alyssa sang, stepping aside to reveal two bountiful baskets brimming with all sorts of goods, from wheels of cheese to candied salmon, as well as bananas and oranges. “Snagged them from what remains of the warlock markets. The only shopkeepers about are ones who can afford to bribe the Canterrans. I know some of these are excessive purchases, but I got a deal because my lord shops there all the time. Besides, keeping up morale is important, and that means having a satisfied belly.”

  “We … we don’t know what to say,” Leera whispered. “And what made you decide to become an Arcaner with us?”

  “I gave it a lot of thought,” Alyssa went on, “and did some reading. Turns out one can be a rascal and still have the heart of an Arcaner. You’re walking proof of that.”

  “And we brought Sir Pawsalot,” Haylee said, loosing the little furball to start his merry quest of sniffing and exploring the mammoth room.

  The trio beamed with crimson cheeks at their assembled friends.

  “They’re speechless,” Alyssa said, shoving Olaf forward. “Go give Bridget a hug already, will you?”

  Everyone chortled at the awkwardness as Olaf hugged Bridget, patting her back, their faces tomato red.

  “This, uh, will turn into a paying gig, right?” Olaf asked. “Because I do want to move out of the house eventually.”

  They laughed at the jest. They were all taking a leap of faith and knew it, and their lives would forever change in the attempt.

  Jez pointed at the blood spot on Augum’s robe, one of several. “What happened there, mister? In fact, the lot of you look a little worse for wear today.”

  “The Arcaner course is taught in the old way,” Augum replied.

  “Say no more. And we can get that out with a proper cleaning enchantment. Who’s this, anyway?” Jez waved a hand before Dragoon Pelagia’s face. “Refuses to look me in the eye. She slow or something?”

  “Oh, that’s Dragoon Pelagia,” Bridget replied. “And she won’t respond to non-Arcaners. She’s a ghost. Sort of. They can be physical when needed, but usually aren’t.”

  Jez poked Pelagia only to find that her hand went right through her. “Huh. Ancient arcanery then.” She glanced around. “So this is where you’ve been holed up. Doesn’t look like much of a Trainer if you ask me.”

  “That’s because it’s all done by portal,” Bridget said and explained how it all worked before reiterating the range of dangers involved.

  “I’ll try to be here to watch your backs at night when I’m not out there watching Arinthia or sneaking Dreadnought armor into the academy,” Jez said. “Don’t exactly have a home to return to, do we?”

  “So what happened with the Canterrans who were chasing you?” Augum asked.

  “I didn’t survive two wars without learning a thing or two. Bribed them with crowns, a case of Titan wine, and my amazing personality, but mostly the wine and crowns. Should have seen their greedy little eyes light up. Turns out they’re like all invading soldiers—totally susceptible to corruption. Marked me as not missing and I went on my way.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that.”

  Leera brought her hands together pleadingly. “Wait, so you’re sleeping here with us?”

  “As long as they serve wine. They do serve wine, right? I jest, I jest. So where are the dorms, anyway?”

  “Uh, you kind of have to become an Arcaner to use them,” Augum said. “You could reconsider and take the first Arcaner quest to become a squire.”

  Leera raised her hands higher. “Oh, please do—”

  “I’d fail, monkeys, which could mean death. From everything you’ve told me, it’s designed to weed out anyone whose heart truly isn’t in it, and my heart isn’t remotely in it. Heck, I’ve read people have perished even when their hearts were in it. No, the sand here is fine for me. I’ll dig up some blankets, don’t you worry. There’s a bathing room every twenty doors or so out in the hall. Just got to tiptoe to avoid the overseers, eh?” She chortled, but Augum hadn’t even thought about that. Who would be around the academy at night? The answer was obvious—a skeleton crew of sleepy overseers, as well as those overseeing the dig.

  “Besides,” Jez went on, “being in the academy brings back good memories, although the place doesn’t feel the same without Mrs. Stone as Headmistress. And Abe and I have a lot of business to attend to.”

  Leera’s face scrunched in disgust.

  “Yeah, like you’re one to talk, you little fiend,” Jez muttered. But then she brightened. “Now, how can I help train you poor fools?”

  And so they began coordinating the venture. Everyone who wanted to take the Arcaner trial was once more duly warned on how dangerous it was, and then directed to the initial quest stone, where they would need to solve the puzzle and take the test. Augum explained how to activate the block, and hinted that it was a moral test.

  “But you can’t just take the test right away,” he said. “You’ll need to memorize the Sacred Chivalric Code of the Arcaner and read up on the history, expectations, common practices—”

  “Don’t you worry, no one’s taking the test without studying their butt off,” Jez interrupted. “You got that old Arcaner tome lying about? In fact, give me everything you got on the subject.”

  Augum grabbed it out of his satchel and handed it over, while Bridget withdrew a few more scrolls and parchments from her satchel. Their friends also proclaimed they had much more research and could get the rest from the library.

  “This will get us started. Now buzz off and let me do some of the heavy lifting. We’ve got a lot of prep to get through before they’re ready.” Jez swatted at him. “Go, shoo, Stone, and focus.”

  The trio wished their friends the best of luck and once more warned them to be cautious. They hugged them or shook hands, and walked back down to the center of the arena to continue their training.

  “I really hope we’re doing the right thing,” Augum said, watching their friends crowd around Jez just beyond the top of the bleachers. It was risky as they could perish in the first Arcaner quest. And he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive himself if one of them did.

  “They need to be allowed to try to defend their kingdom too,” Bridget said. “Becoming an Arcaner is more than just an occupation.”

  They watched for a moment more before Leera turned toward the dragon desk. “Dragoon Pelagia, portal to Birth of the Dragon class, please. First hour, all three of us.”

  “Birth of the Dragon class, first hour, for Squire Jones, Squire Burns, Squire Stone.” Pelagia stood, strolled over to a spot behind them and drew the outline of a portal while speaking the sacred words that would trigger the Portal spell. “Portus ea ire itum,” she said, finishing the phrase just as her finger touched the initial draw spot. A portal ripped to life, shooting out a moderate wind that blew at the trio’s hair and robes.

  * * *

  “Summano elementus minimus draco!” Bridget said, the index fingers of both hands coming together after drawing the complicated outline of a small dragon. A waist-high dragon made of leaves, twigs and bark appeared in front of her, before fizzling out with a branch-breaking crack.

  Augum and Leera, also unsuccessful thus far, dropped their ready-to-celebrate arms in disappointment.

  “A valiant effort, Squire Burns,” Rebecca Von Edgeworth said, stepping beside her. “Watch and observe.” She drew the outline of a dragon, but more precisely and more connected in tempo to the trigger phrase, “Summano elementus minimus draco.” A dragon walloped into existence before them. It was the size of a war horse and made entirely of dense, violently spinning miniature tornadoes. The dragon hovered, gently flapping its wings, its great horned head watching Augum as if wanting to take a bite of him. “Your visualizations must coincide with the correct syllables at the correct point in time and at the correct point in the drawing. The casting should take no more than two heartbeats. Now try again.”

  It was the last
quarter of the second hour. They had completed the first with Trintus already that morning. Four more would theoretically make them proficient in the spell.

  Bridget tried twice more without success, then Augum and Leera gave it a go, yet it was evident they still had a lot of practicing to do before a successful casting would come. And that was in a calm setting. They knew the arduous portion came in the last two hours, when they expected to be tested in the old way.

  After the conclusion of the second hour, the trio returned to the sandy floor of the arena to find their friends sitting together in a clump on the bleachers, trading and discussing Arcaner research notes.

  Olaf glanced up and beamed at Bridget, who smiled back, only for Jez to snap her fingers at him. “Eyes down, lover boy. They need to focus, as do you. What you’re attempting isn’t a joke.”

  “Yes, Ms. Terse.”

  “Atta boy.”

  “That goes for you too, Fleiszmann and Lavo. I see the two of you trading looks. Stop gawking at each other and focus. How many times do I have to remind you how dangerous this trial is? You’ll be attempting it within the hour and yet you still giggle like youngling fools.”

  “Yes, Ms. Terse,” Caireen and Isaac chorused, abashed.

  “And you three,” Jez called down to the trio. “Eat something before taking the next class.”

  They did as she instructed, quietly munching on bananas, apples, bread, cheese and salted beef. Augum looked forward to Mirror of the Dragon class, which would come later, as that spell was by far the most important one they would learn. Being able to reflect a spell back on the caster, any spell, as many times as their arcane stamina would allow, would be an incredibly useful and powerful skill. It would take twenty hours of diligent training in the old way, but it was the spell they were determined to master most.

  Up next, however, they would study the first two hours of their individual choices of spells—Roar of the Dragon for Augum, which meshed the Summon Weapon spell and the Slam spell; Awe of the Dragon for Leera, which meshed the Summon Weapon spell and the Fear spell; and Bluster of the Dragon for Bridget, which meshed the Summon Weapon spell and the Confusion spell.

  “Catch you in two hours,” Augum said after he finished eating.

  “Good luck,” the girls chorused as Augum asked for the portal. Before stepping into it, he glanced up at his other friends, a few of whom had raised a hand in blessing or thrown him a nod. He raised his hand in turn, wishing them well and all the luck in Sithesia, for by the time he returned, they would have likely gone on to attempt the first Arcaner quest.

  * * *

  Two hours later, after taking two highly productive Roar of the Dragon classes in a row, Augum returned to the arena floor to find Jez pacing back and forth in the sand, the first stone ring of bleachers hovering above her. Besides Sir Pawsalot, who lay curled in a ball on Leera’s satchel, she was the only one there. The girls had yet to return from their classes.

  “Everyone gone on the first quest?” he asked.

  “They left shortly after you went on your second hour.”

  “Been gone this whole time?”

  She nodded as she paced, wringing her hands like a mother hen worried about her brood. “I did the best I could to prepare the monkeys. Now it’s up to them.” She stopped. “Are Isaac and Caireen dating? Because I swear they stole a kiss before stepping through the portal, and their hug was unusually long. Not to mention they kept flirting throughout my teaching.”

  “Yes, they are,” Augum replied.

  Jez resumed pacing, muttering, “Damn fools should have told me. The lot of you seem to be pairing up like ferrets.”

  Augum suppressed a smile, refraining from making a remark about her and The Grizzly.

  A regular portal opened near Augum and out popped Bridget. “They gone?”

  “Attempting it now,” Augum replied.

  Leera soon emerged as well. She asked the same question and received the same answer.

  “You three need to snack,” Jez said. She snapped her fingers. “Chop, chop, monkeys, I’m not jesting around here. You have to keep focused no matter what happens.”

  “She’s really concerned,” Leera whispered as they sat, munching on food and watching Jez pace to and fro.

  “You recall how dangerous that quest was,” Bridget replied, tearing a chunk of bread. “All sorts of things could go wrong.”

  “All too well.” Leera fed Sir Pawsalot a piece of candied salmon. He chewed on it awhile then licked the back of his paw and cleaned his head. Leera scratched his chin before turning her attention to Augum. “How’d yours go?”

  “Roar of the Dragon? There’s something absolutely awesome about smacking a dummy with my longsword and having a crack of thunder go off. Damn intimidating for enemies yet morale-boosting for us, is what it is. But it’ll still take some getting used to.”

  “Wait, you successfully cast yours already? In the first two hours out of eight?”

  “Only once, and only at the very end after a long bit of concentration. But then I got to smash the dummy with seven hits, and each one let off this massive rip of thunder. It was amazing. Nowhere near battle-ready, obviously.” He tore off a chunk of beef with his teeth. “I take it you didn’t?”

  “Not even close.” Leera glanced at Bridget.

  “Not even close here too,” Bridget said.

  “I want to take that class some more later if we can,” Augum said, chewing. “Made huge progress and I want to keep up the momentum.” He was exhausted, but they hadn’t had to attend academy classes today, which helped immensely.

  The large floating ring shimmered with a portal before Laudine launched out of it, slamming onto the arena floor and rolling across the sand. When she came to a stop, she looked up and burst with a cry. Everyone ran to her aid.

  “It was horrible, horrible,” she said between sobs as Jez led her to a seat. “You were all there. And you were hurt bad. And I thought I let you down. I had a choice. And someone died. But then two others would die if I didn’t—and it was so hard because I could either do the right thing, or …” She kept shaking her head. “I can’t repeat it. I can’t repeat what I saw. It was too real. ‘Like fires lambasting fires, so thus the crypts sang in lament.’ Too real …”

  “Shh, it’s okay, we understand,” Bridget said, rubbing her back soothingly. “You don’t need to talk about it.”

  Leera squeezed Laudine’s knee. “Did you, you know …”

  Laudine looked at her as if lost, then stuck out her left arm and flared a shield of fire, showing the words, Semperis vorto honos. She smiled bittersweetly.

  “Congratulations, Squire Cooper,” Augum said, echoed by the girls and Jez.

  Soon others emerged. Isaac, Alyssa, Jengo and Olaf. All burst with cries upon their return and were comforted by friends. Thankfully they had all passed too, flaring their shields and exchanging congratulatory hugs. And nobody wanted to talk about what they had seen. It was too difficult, too personal.

  “Only Haylee and Caireen remain,” Augum said as they waited anxiously.

  Finally, Haylee was spit out of the portal, shrieking in sorrow before she even hit the sand. There she remained, shoulders heaving. As her friends gently consoled her, Augum’s worst fears were realized when the giant stone portal ring began returning to its place.

  “No, wait!” Isaac shrieked at Dragoon Pelagia along with the others. “Caireen’s still in there!”

  But the portal, like a great millstone, ground to silence.

  Panic

  Amongst the cries of anguish barely stifled by the young men and women rocking back and forth and holding each other in grief, Augum stood with his hands on the dragon desk, voice frantic as he leaned forward. “Dragoon Pelagia, is there any way to know how our friend is doing?”

  “Please rephrase, Squire Stone.”

  Stop being so damn calm, woman! But Augum forced himself to think. What wording would yield him the answer he needed? And then it came to him
. “Dragoon Pelagia, what is Aspirant Caireen Lavo’s status in the first Arcaner quest?”

  “Aspirant Caireen Lavo has perished, Squire Stone.”

  A renewed chorus of anguished cries rose behind Augum. His knees went weak, forcing him to grab the desk for support. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. “D-Dragoon Pelagia, is this part of the first Arcaner quest?” he stuttered. “Am … am I still in it?”

  And that’s when Dragoon Pelagia looked straight into his eyes and said something unexpected. “The trial has concluded for you, Squire Stone. Dwell not in self-doubt or paranoia, for many a warlock has gone mad using every random occurrence to justify their fear that the trial never truly concluded for them. And thus the test tests the aspirant once more, for those who cannot accept the end of the test are also doomed to fail it.”

  Her words were a hammer blow, but in his state, he could not quite grasp their importance. Behind him, the wailing and denials and sobbing continued unabated. No one had heard Dragoon Pelagia’s response but him. Yet it was important.

  Isaac shot to Augum’s side, swaying like a drunk and crying, “Dragoon Pelagia, please end the test!”

  “Your test is over, Squire Fleiszmann. Congratulations, you have passed.”

  “Of course you’d say that! It isn’t over. You know it isn’t over—”

  Augum realized the danger. He grabbed Isaac by his robe and forced himself to speak as calmly as he could. “Isaac, it’s over. She’s gone. She’s gone, Isaac.”

  Isaac’s eyes were wild. “No, you’re part of it too. You’re in my head, part of my head. It’s not real—”

  “I know you two were close. I know. But Caireen’s gone—”

  Isaac violently shoved Augum away. “She isn’t gone, stop saying that! This is part of the test. I just have to figure out what the remaining challenge is.”

  The others, seeing Augum hit the sand, took notice through their tears.

  “Isaac, you’ve got to calm down and focus,” Bridget said, eyes red as she stepped away from a distraught Olaf. “Don’t get caught in the trap of—”