Menacing Misfits: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Darkthorn Academy Book 1)

by Robyn Wideman

  Colin laughed. “Let me get this right, you’re worried and stressed out about the tests, but you have no idea what result you are wanting?”

  Jack nodded.

  Colin shook his head. “That is messed up. You’re getting all worked up over nothing.”

  “Do students ever get kicked out for failing the tests?”

  “Ah, I see now. These aren’t those kinds of tests. No one gets kicked out for having a bad testing day. All the tests do is give the school an idea of what you’re good at, relax. It will be fine.”

  Jack hoped Colin was right. Jack had never wanted to come to the Academy, but now that he was here it felt important that he succeed. He liked his new friends, and Ramy had wanted him to come here. That meant something. He’d let his grandfather down once already during his death. He didn’t want to do it again. He owed it to Ramy to make it work.

  They were just walking out the door of the Chargrin building when they spotted Stannerios on the ground.

  Jack frowned. “What are you doing?”

  Stannerios wiped a bit of blood off of his lip. “Nothing.”

  Jack looked around; there was a large female student walking away from them. She turned and looked back at them. The way she looked at Stannerios told Jack all he needed to know. She was an orc, and obviously not happy that Stannerios was attending the school.

  “A friend of yours?” Colin asked.

  “Valgreth, she was the champion this year.”

  “She looks mean,” Colin said.

  Stannerios nodded.

  Jack and Colin both grabbed one of Stannerios’s hands and pulled him to his feet.

  “You weigh a ton,” Colin grunted as they lifted the larger student up.

  “Maybe you need to do more pushups,” Jack said.

  “Ha, ha,” Colin replied. “Come on, let’s go get a table before they are all gone. The cafeteria is going to be much busier today.”

  Jack noticed the campus was much busier. As Colin had said, it seemed that there were a lot more students walking around.

  As they entered the cafeteria, Jack glanced around. Almost all the tables were filled. There were a few open tables at the far corner, and one in the middle of the room. But sitting next to that table was Isaac Dixon. Jack turned to Colin. “Perhaps we should take one of the far tables?”

  Colin followed Jack’s glance towards Isaac. He nodded. “Not a bad idea.”

  The found a table and sat down. Jack watched as more students came in.

  “It is really busy,” Stannerios said.

  “Yes,” Colin said. “It won’t normally be this busy.”

  “Why not?” Jack asked.

  “Today is testing day. Normally, breakfast is spread out. There are morning classes with dragons for older students, so some eat an early breakfast, while others come later. You’ll hardly ever see the cafeteria this full. Same with the lunch and dinner crowds. Dinner is usually the busiest of the day, but even then, there are always students on different schedules.”

  It seemed logical to Jack. It was probably way easier for the staff to feed a couple hundred students in waves instead of all at once. Scheduling classes to start at different times would be an easy way to ensure students ate at different times.

  “Do you mind if I sit here?”

  Jack turned. There was a blonde girl standing there with her tray of food.

  “Sure,” Colin said. “We don’t mind, do we, guys?”

  Stannerios shook his head.

  “Not a problem,” Jack said.

  The girl grinned widely; her bright white teeth almost sparkled. “Thanks. I’m Cara Dale.”

  Colin slid over, making more room for her at the table. “I’m Colin, and this is my roommate Jack. The big guy is Stannerios.”

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Cara said. “Where you all from?”

  “Dard,” Colin said.

  “Oh, I’ve been there. Lovely city.” Cara turned to Stannerios. “And you?”

  “Mosh Dagh,” Stannerios mumbled.

  Cara laughed. “My father is a diplomat; I’ve been to Mosh Dagh before. What part are you from?”

  “Jurgon.”

  “I’ve never been there. That is in the northern part of the kingdom isn’t it?”

  Stannerios nodded.

  “And what about you, Jack? Where are you from?”

  “I was born in Sunder, but I moved around a lot,” Jack said.

  “I know what that is like,” Cara said. “I’ve travelled everywhere because of my father’s work. I’m actually excited to be at the Academy just so I can stay in one place.”

  “I think diplomat is a cool job,” Colin said.

  “It can be, but it can also be very boring. And it can be stressful. I have to admit I love the traveling-by-dragon part. That will never get old.” Cara smiled. “Before I talk your ear off, you guys should get your breakfast. I’ll save your seats.”

  “Thank you,” Jack said. He got up and followed Colin and Stannerios to the serving stations.

  “Wow. She’s cute,” Colin said as they stood in line.

  “‘I think trade diplomat is a cool job?’”

  Colin groaned. “That was lame, wasn’t it?”

  Jack laughed. “At least you managed to say more than two words.”

  “Ya, what’s up with that, Stannerios?” Colin asked.

  “I don’t know. I just get tongue-tied around women. I can’t help it.”

  “That’s alright. Girls like the strong silent type,” Colin said. “But we better not fight over her.”

  “I’m going to be too busy trying to survive school to be worried about girls,” Jack said.

  “Me too,” Stannerios said.

  Colin laughed. “Well, that was easy enough. But let’s agree now: no fighting over girls. We have enough problems without doing that.”

  “Depends on the girl,” Jack said with a wink. He agreed with Colin, they had enough problems without fighting over girls, even pretty and friendly ones like Cara.

  They headed back to the table and Colin and Cara chatted while Stannerios and Jack sat in silence. While Stannerios’s silence was due to there being a girl at the table, Jack was thinking about his grandfather and the quiet breakfasts they used to have together on the road. He missed old Ramy something fierce.

  “Jack, let’s go. It’s time for testing,” Colin said.

  Jack took a deep breath. “OK.”

  …

  The first two tests were done, and Jack wasn’t feeling too good. The first test had been a written exam with a whole bunch of math, geography and history questions. Jack thought he might’ve done OK at that one. He’d travelled to much of the Westdrift Empire so the geography was fairly easy, and Ramy had liked to tell stories, so he knew a fair amount of history. He figured he’d gotten a good number of questions right, but there had been a large number of questions where he’d totally guessed.

  The second test had been a little different. Jack had been given several puzzles to solve and they recorded how long it took him to solve the puzzles. The test had taken half an hour and he’d solved six of the puzzles. He had no idea of whether that was good or not, nor did he understand why they tested on puzzles.

  After the second test, Jack walked out of the room into the hallway. Each test was in a different room. He started following the signs towards the next testing station. Colin came over and found him. “How you doing so far?”

  “Good, I guess. The first couple tests weren’t bad.”

  “How many puzzles did you solve?” Colin asked.

  “Six. You?”

  “Thirty-four.”

  Jack stared at Colin. “Thirty-four.”

  Colin shrugged. “What? I like puzzles. I actually could’ve done more, but I went slower so that I wouldn’t score too high on puzzles.”

  “Why would you to that?”

  “Because if you are elite at puzzles you might get put into a questing class. I don’t want anything to do with qu
esting. That is dangerous. If I’m going to face danger it’s going to be on the back of a dragon, not in some dingy and dusty tomb trying to avoid booby traps.”

  “I thought you said testing wasn’t important.”

  “I lied,” Colin said with a grin. “Now go do your next test.”

  Jack frowned. “What’s the next test?”

  “Magic,” Colin said as a teacher came over and tapped his clipboard.

  “We don’t have all day, gentlemen. Who’s next?”

  Colin gently pushed Jack forward.

  “I guess that would be me, sir.”

  “Very well. Come with me.” The teacher went into a room and Jack nervously followed.

  The room was empty except for one other teacher sitting at a desk.

  “Sit at the table across from Professor Campbell,” said the teacher with the clipboard.

  Jack walked up to the table and sat down.

  Professor Campbell smiled. “Hello. And who are you?”

  “Jack Vance, ma’am.”

  “Have you ever been tested for magic before, Jack?”

  “No, ma’am, but a healer said that I might have some,” Jack said as he nervously picked at his shirt collar.

  Professor Campbell smiled again. “A healer would know. Now, there is nothing to worry about. This is completely painless. This is just a simple test to see if you possess any unique latent magic abilities. What I need you to do is put your hands on the table. There are three crystals on the table. I want you to pick up the first crystal.”

  Jack looked at the three crystals. They looked like semi-translucent eggs. He picked up the first one and held it in his hand. The crystal started to change color. It started to turn a light purple.

  “Your healer was indeed correct, Mister Vance. You certainly have a degree of magic. Now put the first crystal down and grab the second one.”

  Jack put down the purple crystal and it started to go back to its original color. He picked up the second crystal and it started to turn pink. It then got slightly deeper to the point of being almost red.

  “Excellent, we’re almost done. Now, put that one down and grab the third crystal.”

  Jack did as Professor Campbell asked. Again, as soon as he put the crystal down it returned to looking like a translucent egg.

  Jack picked up the third egg, but this time nothing happened. The egg looking crystal didn’t change at all.

  “Well, that is intriguing… Just wait here a moment.” Professor Campbell got up and walked to a large desk at the corner of the room. She opened a drawer and then returned to the table and Jack. She placed a fourth crystal on the table. Instead of being shaped like an egg, this one looked more like a piece of expensive jewelry. It was almost rectangular, except instead of being six sided it had more like a hundred sides.

  Jack picked up the crystal and it started to glow. It continued to get brighter and brighter but the color never changed from a bright white. Jack’s hand started to feel warm.

  “That’s enough now, Mister Vance. You can put the crystal down now.”

  Jack placed the crystal on the table. He rubbed the palm of his hand where the crystal had been. It was hot. “Does this mean I have enough magic?”

  “Everyone has magic, Mister Vance—well, almost everyone, there are a few exceptions. The tests aren’t about if you have magic or not, but how easy it will be for you to access it, and what type of magic. You’ll learn more as your schooling progresses.”

  Jack didn’t know what to do next, so he just stood there.

  “Thank you, Mister Vance. We’re done now,” Miss Campbell said.

  “What did the crystals tell you?” Jack asked.

  Miss Campbell smiled. “Your future, Mister Vance. Your future. Now, you run along, I have many more students to test today. I’ll find a time later to properly explain to you what the crystals tell us about magic.”

  “OK.” Jack wanted to know more, but it was obvious she had no intention of continuing the conversation. Perhaps Colin would be able to tell him more about the crystals. Jack headed back out into the hallway. Colin wasn’t there, but Stannerios was. He was waiting in line for the magic test. There was only one student in front of him.

  Jack waved at him and smiled. Stannerios waved back and then seconds later was gone into the room for his test.

  Jack wasn’t sure where the next test was supposed to be, so he decided to wait for Stannerios to come out of the room. A couple students came out, then finally Stannerios came out.

  “How did it go?” Jack asked.

  Stannerios shrugged. “I touched one egg and it started to glow. I touched the second egg and it turned black. That was the end of the test.”

  “What are you two doing lollygagging around?” Colin came around the corner. “Come on. It’s time for the dragon tour.”

  13

  Between the three main buildings of the academy were a pair of wide paths that Jack had never noticed before. They followed one of the paths and soon were behind the main buildings, looking across a large but narrow valley that climbed up into a series of hills and then a small mountain with a massive building that looked like it was built right into it.

  “Woah. Is that where the dragons live?” Jack asked.

  “Some of them,” Colin said. “Originally it was a castle, but once this became an academy the castle became the dragon facilities, and they built the rest of the school around it.”

  “Cool,” Jack said as they started walking towards the old stone building. There were dragons perched on the building and Jack could see more further up the mountain, sitting on the edge of a rock face. “What are the dragons doing?”

  “Sunning themselves. Dragons love sitting in the sun.”

  “Not all dragons,” Stannerios said. “Some like the dark.”

  Colin nodded. “That is true. There are many different breeds of dragons, they certainly aren’t all the same. But lots of dragons love the sun. You’ll see them every day sitting on the valley floor or up on the mountain ledges.”

  As they walked along the path across the valley, Jack watched wagons going to and from the castle to the main buildings.

  “What are the wagons for?”

  “Supplies, food for some of the dragons, and the staff that stay in the castle. There are wagons going up the path all day. Dragons can eat a lot.”

  Jack nodded. He could only imagine how much a dragon could eat. “What do dragons eat anyways?”

  “Depends on the dragon,” Colin said. “There are some that are carnivores, and others that eat plants. Most of the really big dragons are.”

  It was a ten-minute walk to cross the narrow valley and anther ten-minute walk before they reached the converted castle.

  At the doors of the castle stood a man in black leathers. He waited as all the first-year students walked up. Once all the students were there he spoke. “Alright, all you first-year bootlickers. Someday, if you manage to survive, you’ll get the opportunity to train with dragons. That won’t be happening any time soon. The very earliest anyone gets to work with dragons is in their second year. However, we at the Academy recognize that dragons are one of the main reasons most of you have decided to attend Darkthorn Academy. To remind you why you’ve decided to come to the most prestigious dragon training school in the world, you are getting the opportunity to see something most people never get to. You will get up close and personal with dragons today, get to see the birthing cave, and then ride a dragon.”

  A murmur went through the crowd of students.

  Jack looked at Colin, who could barely hold back a grin. Jack shook his head. Colin had been keeping this a surprise.

  “Settle down,” the instructor said.

  “First, let me introduce myself. I’m Blair Morgan. I’m captain of the Darkthorn Brigade, and the head flying instructor at the Academy.”

  Jack knew about the Brigade. It was a dozen of the fiercest soldiers and dragon riders in the land. It was said that the Brigade cou
ld turn the tide of almost any battle. Jack knew some of the stories about the Brigade had to be exaggeration, but at the same time, seeing Captain Morgan in person he wondered if there was more to the stories than he’d thought. Captain Morgan was tall, and stood with an erect military stance. He had dark hair and dark eyes that scanned the crowd of students. He had a scar across his cheek and another along his neck. The scars were somewhat surprising, as any magical healer could probably get rid of them. Maybe he wore them to intimidate his enemies? They certainly were intimidating Jack. Captain Morgan looked like the kind of man you didn’t want to piss off or meet in a dark alley.

  “Isn’t he gorgeous?” a voice whispered into his ear.

  Jack turned. Cara had snuck up beside them.

  Colin rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

  Jack ignored his friends and continued listening to Captain Morgan.

  “The first thing you need to understand about dragons is that they are smart. And looking around at the faces of you lot, I would say the average dragon is far smarter that a Darkthorn student. They are also fierce and loyal creatures with claws the size of a large knife. I do not recommend pissing a dragon off. You’re likely to find your head removed from your body. Remember, dragons have immense value. Students are easily replaced. If you are attacked by a dragon while at the Academy it will be you who is sent home.”

  The doors to the castle started to open behind Captain Morgan. “We’ll be starting the tour at the birthing pens. We have a few dragons that are close to having their eggs hatch, so you may be exceptionally lucky today. Follow me.”

  “Oh wow, seeing a dragon being born would be amazing,” Cara said.

  “It would,” Colin said. “Last year there was only one dragon with eggs and she’d just laid them, so there was no chance of seeing a hatching.”

  “You were here last year?” Cara asked.

  “Yes. I had to leave for a family emergency, so I have to redo the year,” Colin said.

  “That’s terrible. But at least you’ve already done part of the year, that puts you ahead of the rest of us. I’ll be sure to come to you when I have questions,” Cara said with a smile.

  Colin nodded. “That would be great.”

  Jack smiled. It was obvious that Colin was into Cara, and she didn’t seem to mind that he was now a scholarship student, something that seemed to matter to a lot of the normal students. Maybe Colin had been overly worried about it. Sure, there would always be plenty of jerks like Isaac out there, but if they had a good group of friends then it didn’t matter.