by Pirateaba
“The wards have been broken. It is safe to read.”
“Many thanks!”
Pisces stared delightedly at the spellbook in his hands. He beamed at Cognita.
“I cannot thank you enough. Please, accept my profuse gratitude for your help rendered in—”
Ceria kicked Pisces in the shins. He yelped, but she just smiled at Cognita.
“Um, thank you Cognita. This was a big help. We couldn’t have gotten the spellbook alone.”
“No. You could not.”
Cognita’s eyes found Ceria’s, and the half-Elf saw only cold marble there. But there was something in Cognita’s tone that suggested the Golem understood what she’d done. And she’d done it anyways, knowing it would help Ceria and Pisces.
“Most mages would not have turned to me for help. Your decision to do so is interesting.”
Ceria had no idea what to make of that. She cleared her throat nervously.
“Um, well, Cognita, about this. We’d prefer to keep this secret—would you mind not telling anyone you helped us?”
Both she and Pisces held their breaths as the Golem pondered for a moment. Cognita shook her head.
“I care little for squabbles between mages. I am bound to be truthful, so I shall be. Thus, I shall relate all I have seen here.”
Ceria closed her eyes and Pisces groaned aloud. Cognita continued calmly.
“If I am asked about these specific events, I will share what I have seen. But only then. I suspect your secret will be safe, young mages.”
She nodded at Ceria and Pisces. The half-Elf and young man saw the Golem’s lips curve upwards slightly, and then the Golem turned.
“I must be going. I have other duties. I am pleased to have been of assistance to the two of you tonight. Sleep well.”
She walked away quickly, leaving Ceria and Pisces at a loss for words. They stared at her back, and then jumped as the Golem closed the double doors with a click. Ceria immediately began hurrying towards the doors, but Pisces called her back.
“Wait! We’ve got to cover our tracks! Let’s get this bookshelf back the way it was.”
“How?”
“I think we just replace the two books in their original positions.”
Sure enough, the instant the two books were in the right spot, the bookshelf became real again. Ceria and Pisces pressed on the books and shelf, but it refused to budge.
“Impressive magic.”
“Admire it later! Let’s go before someone sees us!”
The two hurried out of the library, closing the door securely and moving quickly back towards their rooms. On the way, Ceria questioned Pisces, who was trying to walk and stare at the pages of the spellbook at the same time.
“That was—did you know Cognita could do that?”
“I had an inkling after she shattered that ice wall. If she can break Illphres’ enchantments, why not the trap spells on a book? And it seemed easy enough to ask her for help. After all, the Golems of Wistram are bound to help the students, are they not?”
Ceria had to agree with that, although she would have never considered the idea. She doubted the older students would have either. She frowned as she led Pisces down a passage and flight of steps.
“How did you send Cognita a note?”
“Secret.”
He grinned at Ceria impishly. She glared at him and he raised his hands.
“Really, it is a secret Ceria. I…it’s rather complicated. I’m sorry.”
She frowned, but let the matter drop. Soon, they were back in Pisces’ room and only then did Pisces open the spellbook on his table and let Ceria peer at it.
“Dead gods. Look at all the spells!”
Pisces had a wild grin on his face as he and Ceria flipped through page after page of uneven handwriting. Whoever had written the book had done it in a foreign language, but the nature of the magic spells was something any mage could decode with enough effort.
“I can’t understand what that spell does. Do you see…?”
“No. But I’m sure it will come in time. And look! This is clearly some kind of flame-based spell. Can’t you tell from the way it’s formed here?”
“You’re right!”
Ceria was giddy with excitement. They had a spellbook! A real spellbook, not one filled with useless spells! Her excitement faded a bit as she realized it really wasn’t her spellbook, though.
“I guess you’ll be able to learn a lot, huh?”
“What do you mean?”
Pisces turned to Ceria in surprise. He held the book to her.
“This was a joint effort, Ceria. This book is as much yours as it is mine. We can take turns reading it—”
“No, it’s yours. You didn’t need me at all! You could have done all of this by yourself!”
Pisces shook his head, offering the book to Ceria as she backed away.
“Not true. Your expertise in subversion and stealth were quite essential. And the addition of another pair of eyes and another mind to cross-check my conclusions were invaluable.”
“What does that—”
“Look, we worked on it together. And I want you to study it as well. If we can learn some spells from this, we might stand a good chance of passing the exams at the end of the month! This is an opportunity for both of us, Ceria.”
Slowly, it began to dawn on Ceria that Pisces had intended to share the book with her the instant he’d figured out how to take it. She looked at him awkwardly, not sure what to say.
He was a Human, but he was genuine and clearly wanted to help her pass. She smiled at him, and Pisces grinned back in delight.
“Well—okay. We can study together. Two arrows are better than one. But it’s your book, okay? After all, you’re going to have to give Cognita your other spellbook.”
“True. I’d better pretend I lost the other one.”
Pisces nodded at Ceria. But then he smiled widely again, overcome with delight.
“Let’s see how many spells we can identify! I’m sure there’s at least one Tier 4 spell in here!”
The two got back to pouring over the book. Ceria squinted at the magical writing, guessing some of the spells with Pisces.
“Hey. Isn’t that…[Stone Fist]? That’s a good Tier 3 spell!”
“Really? I thought it was Tier 2?”
“I think it’s Tier 3. You see, when you use it you create this rock armor around your hand.”
“Isn’t that really heavy?”
“You’d think so, but I saw a [Druid] using it once. He cracked a boulder like it was nothing!”
“I bet we could learn that in time for the exam. What do you think?”
“Maybe. But look here. This is some kind of movement spell, I’m positive of it! Can you see what the nature of it is?”
Ceria bent forwards to look at the spell Pisces had pointed to. In doing so, she realized that she was sitting in a room in the middle of the night. With a young Human man.
A few years ago—she would have put an arrow in Pisces’ head, or run away. But now she was sitting next to him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Ceria paused.
He was a good person, albeit a bit clumsy and wordy. But she liked him, and thought of him as a friend already. In fact, she quite liked him. Ceria had no idea how she felt about that.
—-
The next day, Ceria had trouble keeping her eyes open in all of her classes. She was exhausted from staying up and trying to puzzle out the spells in Pisces’ book. She nearly fell asleep twice in her class studying basic enchantments and how to decode magical auras, but she didn’t dare close her eyes in Rievan’s class.
“I trust you’ve all memorized the lessons from yesterday?”
He stared around the classroom, staring at each student in turn. When he met Ceria’s eyes Rievan’s nose wrinkled slightly and he looked past her. He pointed.
“You there. Pisces. Where is your spellbook?”
Pisces jerked upright, blinking rapidly.
> “My spellbook?”
“Yes! Where are your notes?”
Pisces folded his fingers together as Ceria tried not to stare at him.
“I lost my spellbook, sir. But I can recall my notes from last class quite well.”
“Really?”
One of Rievan’s narrow eyebrows rose as he glared at Pisces.
“Then you will surely be able to recall my statement regarding the dangers of overabundance of mana in the system? Repeat my words back to me.”
Ceria winced, but Pisces just cleared his throat, looking quite calm.
“Mana, sir, may over accumulate in any living being’s body as a result of a spell or influx of mana in a charged environment, but more often than not it is a result of imbibing a mana potion improperly. For a mage, casting any spell will usually resolve the issue, but for those without mana, time and rest are the only usual solutions. A competent mage may attempt to drain the excess magic from a person, but this action is not without risk. And in high concentration, excess mana may well lead to rupturing of blood vessels or parts of the body overloading or shutting down.”
Ceria and the other students in the room gaped as Pisces delivered a perfect summary of Rievan’s lesson from yesterday. The [Mage] stared hard at Pisces as the young man finished and sat down.
“Very…good.”
He said it grudgingly, and turned away from Pisces without another word.
“We will continue our lessons from yesterday! Clear your desks and begin forming your spells again. I want to see more attention to detail, Springwalker! And you—Elkrin, is it? Your control of your [Fire Orb] spell is abysmal! Focus your flames or don’t bother to cast the spell at all!”
The lesson ended without incident, which was to say Ceria ended up being scolded for her lackluster performance. But she was more concerned with Pisces. After it was over, she walked down the corridor with him.
“I can’t believe you memorized all of that!”
“I paid attention in class, and I have a good memory.”
Pisces scratched at his hair self-consciously as they entered the banquet hall. Ceria saw Calvaron and Beatrice at their usual spot and waved to them. She got her food and made her way over. She and Pisces had to pause as an older man carrying a tray nearly ran them over. He grunted and without a word of apology went to sit at an empty table.
“Stupid Human. I nearly dropped my plate!”
Ceria grouched as she sat down. She’d taken some pork chops roasted in a sauce that smelled like peanuts today. Pisces had a more balanced meal; he’d taken one of the pork chops and several sweet red fruits that tempted Ceria. He stared after the man, frowning.
“Isn’t that poor Elkrin? He seems upset.”
“Shouldn’t he be? You two were in Rievan’s class just now, weren’t you?”
Calvaron laughed and cleared part of their table so Pisces could put his food down. He and Beatrice were nearly finished their meal—some kind of small, round pasta-like food drizzled with a thick sauce and accompanied by steamed vegetables.
“That’s right. Rievan tore a strip off of Elkrin for his spellcasting.”
Ceria nodded as she began to cut her meat apart. She still felt grouchy from having to deal with Rievan. She paused and narrowed her eyes at Calvaron.
“Wait a second. Isn’t that a secret I should be charging you for?”
He laughed and slapped at the lower, horse half of his body.
“Not everything is a secret, Ceria. Something as normal as that is just juicy gossip. But it looks like Elkrin’s not taking the dressing down well, is it?”
Ceria half-turned in her padded seat to look. Elkrin did have a murderous scowl on his face and no one was sitting with him. Calvaron shook his head as he tsked.
“Attitude problem. He may be a good adventurer, but you have to be willing to learn if you want to stay here. I bet he’ll be gone within the week.”
Pisces and Ceria exchanged a glance at this. They could understand not liking Rievan, but leaving because of that? Wistram was their dream.
Calvaron noticed the look.
“Only a few people actually quit, but they’re usually only adventurers. Some of them—even the good ones like the Gold-rank adventurers who come here to improve their craft—they don’t like being told the magic they practice is inefficient. So they leave.”
“Stupid. Arrogant.”
Beatrice put that in. The Dullahan was spoon-feeding her head on the table as usual, and she seemed content to let Calvaron do all the talking. Ceria had to agree with her, but she yawned as she opened her mouth. That made Pisces yawn too.
“Oho! You two look tired! Did you keep each other up at night, or is it just a coincidence?”
Calvaron dodged the rolled-up napkin Ceria hurled at him. He twisted his fingers and the ball of cloth flew back at her, forcing Ceria to duck or let it smack her in the head.
“Don’t throw things unless you can catch them when they come right back at you, Springwalker. Telekinesis and levitation spells come later in the year though, I’m afraid.”
“Great. I’ll be sure to heave my plate at you when your back is turned, then.”
Ceria growled as she picked her napkin up from the floor. Calvaron just laughed again. He was already ready to smile, which made Ceria wonder if all Centaurs were so good-natured. Beatrice on the other hand was as prone to smile as a rock.
“How were your other classes? Did you like learning about enchantments? I always found that class dull, myself.”
Ceria shrugged and Pisces smiled.
“Our teacher—Fedric—is fairly good at saying as little as he needs to.”
“Fedric? Oh, he would be. Dullahans are like that, aren’t they, Beatrice?”
Calvaron nudged Beatrice’s body, and her head on the table scowled at him.
“I say what I have to. I don’t run my mouth, Calvaron.”
“I’m surprised to see so many Dullahans in Wistram. No offense, but I’d barely heard of your people before coming here.”
Ceria looked at Beatrice with interest. Fedric, their teacher for their class on enchantments, was an old male Dullahan. She’d seen a number of them in the corridors as well.
Beatrice just shrugged her shoulders as she swiveled her head to talk to Ceria.
“Not too many. But all good spellcasters get sent here from Baleros. One continent means lots of Dullahan applicants.”
“True enough.”
Calvaron nodded. He pointed across the banquet hall, and Ceria saw a group of six Centaurs walking down the hall. They were far bigger than most students, and so they had to walk single-file to get in line.
“My people don’t usually go in for spellcasting, but like Beatrice said, the best come here and there are a lot of us on Baleros. That’s why you’ll see quite a few species that are rare in most places. Selphids, for instance.”
Ceria and Beatrice shuddered a bit at the mention of that race. Ceria had seen the deathly-white students walking the halls, dead bodies controlled by their parasitic owners. Calvaron shrugged stoically.
“They’re not so bad when you get used to them. I know they get a bad rap back home, but the ones here are all very polite.”
“Wistram truly does have more species than I’ve ever seen before.”
Pisces wiped at his mouth with a napkin. Calvaron grinned.
“We’re way more diverse than most cities, it’s true. Anyone who can become a mage or learn a magical class is welcome here—if they’ve got talent and coin. Of course, not all races are as gifted as others. That’s why you won’t see many Minotaurs, although I’ve heard they can make good mages. But most Minotaurs don’t like to use magic, so they’re not inclined to study here anyways.”
“And I bet some species aren’t as numerous or trusting of Wistram.”
Ceria said that thoughtfully as she chewed on some cow’s tongue she’d found under one of her pork chops. Calvaron grimaced and looked away as he replied—he hated to eat id
entifiable body parts, although he was surprisingly unconcerned about eating cows. Ceria had wondered if he would have been bothered by meat, but apparently Centaurs were far enough away from cows to eat them without guilt. She wondered how they felt about horses.
“You mean half-Elves, Ceria?”
She shrugged. She’d seen a few half-Elves roaming the halls, but they were far from common. She’d been tempted to talk with them, but it wasn’t as if she was back on Terandria and she had to stick with her own kind. Plus, she was a new student and she wasn’t sure if she’d make it past the exams.
“I know my people are naturally good at magic. But…I can’t say I’m surprised there aren’t many around. We’re not exactly welcome to strangers.”
“You and the Gnolls. You know, of all the species in the world, the only race who won’t set foot on Wistram are the Gnolls?”
“Really?”
Both Pisces and Ceria frowned at Calvaron. Ceria tried to think of a Gnoll, but only had a vague image of a furry dog-like person, similar to one of the Beastkin tribes from Baleros. She’d never seen one in person before; she heard they lived on Izril and seldom ventured as far as Terandria.
The Centaur nodded, frowning a bit as he explained.
“It’s a real pain too, apparently. A lot of Gnolls are famous [Merchants] and [Traders], you know. They’re pretty resilient and their tribes like to move about exchanging goods. But none of them will do any kind of business with Wistram, even through middlemen. It’s some kind of grudge, although I’ve never heard what it was about.”
“Really? A Gnoll grudge? I hear they keep those for lifetimes.”
“Too right. It’s a shame too, because I’d bet their tribes would benefit from having a few of their number learn magic. But…”
Calvaron shrugged. Beatrice raised her head so she could get everyone’s attention.
“A Gnoll did come here to study once, though. About a decade or two ago.”
“A Gnoll? You’re pulling my hoof, Beatrice.”
“Nope. He came but dropped out before his first year was up.”
