by Andrew Rowe
I wasn’t going to sleep, not immediately. I needed a few moments just to process my situation.
I didn’t get them, of course. A knock sounded on my door mere instants after my eyes shut.
The knocking paused for a moment, then repeated a few moments later. It was quick, insistent. I sighed, pushing myself from the bed, and opened the door.
A black-clad student was standing outside, his almond-shaped eyes narrowed in scrutiny. He had amber skin, which meant his family was probably from East Edria or Dalenos.
He stared directly at me for a moment, then asked a single question.
“Are you a Spider?”
I blinked. “Uh... no?”
He nodded curtly, took the door handle, and shut my door.
I continued to stare at the closed door for the next few seconds.
Well, that was interesting.
Contemplating the encounter, I came to the conclusion that the student was testing for my reaction. I heard another similar knock several moments later... but it wasn’t at the next door down. It was too distant for that. He wasn’t going to every door in sequence — either he had a list of specific people he wanted to check, or he wasn’t going in order because he didn’t want people hearing the conversations at adjacent rooms and taking the time to prepare.
Oh, I like this guy.
He hadn’t given his name, but I’d find it.
***
I kicked off my boots and spent the next few hours reading through runes atop my new bed. The threadbare sheets and single pillow weren’t particularly comfortable, but I was glad just to have a private room.
While I studied the runes, I contemplated what I could potentially build. My few crystals wouldn’t get me very far, but I did have a small discretionary stipend to spend on things outside of what the academy provided. Basic food in the mess hall, lodgings, and uniforms were already covered.
I assumed most of the other students who were lucky enough to have a stipend spent it on the much better food that could be found in the assorted restaurants on the campus, or on things like more books or added conveniences.
My four silver sigils per week were going toward an enchanting fund.
One of my first priorities would be to figure out the local rates on buying various types of enchanting materials. My reading indicated that there were a lot more types of mana crystals than I had initially realized, and that there were some alternatives to using crystals or getting help from other attuned, but that they tended to be harder to come by.
My first priority? Enchanting the flask where I was keeping the water from the pool in the tower. I didn’t know if the effect that had given me my attunement was inherent to the water, or if the water was just a conduit for the goddess to use to give people attunements. If it was the former, I couldn’t know if the water’s magical properties would remain stable forever. Or maybe it would just evaporate if it was left alone. I didn’t want that to happen.
After doing that bit of reading, I grudgingly got back to the stack of paperwork on my desk. I skimmed over school rules and regulations, as well as things like the details on earning points for graduation. I could worry about those later.
I was looking for the campus map. I had something important to do.
Finding the map was easy enough. Actually navigating the campus to find Professor Orden’s office was considerably more challenging. Not only were there several buildings that didn’t appear on the map, many of the labels were out-of-date.
All in all, it took me nearly two hours to find Professor Orden’s office on the opposite side of the campus. She was, predictably, not even there.
I did, however, find a list on her door of her office hours. The next time she’d be present would be Wyddsday, the day before classes. I made a note to come back then. Not only did I want to fulfill my obligation to the Voice, I needed to know how the professor was connected. Was she some sort of servant of Katashi? Or maybe Tenjin?
Valia’s patron visage was Tenjin, the Visage of Inspiration. It was commonly known that the visages often employed mortal help, even outside of their priesthoods. The presence of a foreign visage in our tower was very strange; if Professor Orden worked for Tenjin, it was likely she needed to know about it.
Was there some kind of power play going on, or was I just indulging childish fantasies of visages playing political games against each other? It was the type of thing I’d read about in stories since childhood, but the last known direct conflict between two visages had been over a hundred years ago.
I headed back in the general direction of my room. The trip hadn’t been a total waste of time; I’d discovered the locations of several facilities I intended to visit later, including the mess hall, multiple shops, the apothecary, and my current destination: the library.
Predictably, I found Sera already inside.
She had annexed an entire table, with a massive stack of books on her left and three open tomes spread out in front of her. Most of the pages I could see showed complex diagrams with runic markings. She was scanning one of them intently, apparently oblivious to my presence.
I pulled up a nearby chair, making enough noise that she turned her head with an annoyed look. Her expression shifted from irritation to an inquisitive shift in her eyebrows when she processed who had dared to disturb her studies.
“Yes, Corin?”
I leaned over the table to examine one of the closer books. “Summoning diagrams? Trying to find something powerful to summon to impress everyone before classes start?”
She shook her head, her expression sinking into a frown. “Common misconception. Summoning monsters is actually one of the least common things that Summoners do.”
I blinked. “What do you do, then?”
She stabbed a finger at a diagram in front of me. “This isn’t a summoning diagram, it’s a contract. The runes indicate the terms of the contract, and mana is used to enable it. Summoners make contracts with creatures to draw power from them.”
I scratched my chin. “Like, individual monsters? You have to meet them and bind them personally?”
“Yes. If I want to make a monster do anything — give me power, protect something, or if I want to summon it from a distance — we need to agree to a contract.”
I turned to look at her, my eyebrows knitting together. “How does that work with monsters that don’t talk?”
She flipped the pages to another diagram. “Different diagrams for different monsters. Once I charge it with mana, they basically touch each of the runes to examine them. If they ‘agree’, they contribute their own mana, signing the contract.”
“Huh. Are things like slimes really smart enough to know how to do that?”
She smirked. “Evidently. But I’m not the type to make a contract with a slime.”
“Of course not.” I huffed out a short breath that could almost be called a snort. “Planning out your first contract already?”
Her smirk broadened. “Who says I don’t have one already?”
I narrowed my eyes at the implication. “When would you have had the opportunity? Attunements are given at the end of the Judgment, and I doubt you’ve had a chance to track down any wild monsters in the week since we finished.”
“Maybe when you tell me about the rest of your tower escapades, I’ll let you in on my secret. Maybe.” She tilted her head to meet my gaze. I rolled my own eyes in response, standing up.
“Oh, I think I can figure it out on my own. Enjoy your studies.”
She laughed. “I’ll look forward to hearing your inaccurate guesses.”
I chuckled, already turning over ideas in my head as I continued toward the enchanting section. Removing a list from a pouch on my side — I’d abandoned my much larger backpack at my room — I looked at my list of classes and their book requirements.
I’ve got Magic Theory on Tashday and Fersday, Understanding Attunements class on Kyrsday and Tensday, Physical Combat doesn’t need any books... Let’s see, I need the books for Introd
uctory Runes on Fersday and Vasday and Mana Manipulation on Tashday... And it looks like I need to pick an elective at some point, too.
Looks like Fersday and Tashday will be the busiest, since I’ve already got two classes on each. Might be smart to pick an elective for a different day.
I was sufficiently distracted that I nearly bumped into someone. I looked up just in time, only to freeze in the shock of recognition.
She froze, too. For a moment, our eyes met, and I felt a surge of long-buried emotions.
Clutching her books tightly to her chest, the girl — no, a young woman now — looked away, fleeing without another word.
It was not a coward’s move. I had been about to do the same, and I thanked her for taking the necessity away from me. I wasn’t quite ready to confront the implications of our meeting here. Apparently, neither was she.
I pushed her from my mind as quickly as I could, just as I had for years. Enchanting. I was planning to get books on enchanting.
I picked up some of the first books I came across, too distracted by my mental athletics to properly focus, and headed for the counter.
The librarian, an older man with long and vast gray sideburns, quirked an eyebrow as I set the books down. “A little ambitious, aren’t we?”
Of the three books I was checking out, two of them were marked “advanced”, intended for graduates. Oops.
I offered him a winning smile. “I’d like to get ahead of the schedule.”
The librarian chuckled. “You’ll change your mind soon enough. Sign here and here.” He pressed a slip across the table, which I signed.
With my mind still spinning in circles, it landed on a particular issue I realized I hadn’t sufficiently examined. “Um, I don’t know if you know this, but I’m supposed to deliver a message to Lyras Orden. Is that Professor Orden?”
“Yep,” he confirmed. “That’s her.”
Good. It would have been embarrassing if I told my whole story to the wrong Orden. Embarrassing and potentially dangerous.
“One of the other teachers put you up to errands already?”
My lips twitched. “No.” Not unless I counted Mysterious Book Entity as a teacher. “This is a personal favor for someone, but I imagine the errands will come soon enough.”
“Take my advice — don’t let them make you a servant. Especially not Orden, she’ll work you to the bone.” He snatched my signed papers from across the table. “Enjoy your books.”
I nodded and swept them under my arm, fleeing the scene. I couldn’t help but glance back toward where I had seen Cecily Lambert, but she was already gone.
***
I made it back to the relative shelter of my room, examining my haul from the library. In my hurry, I hadn’t actually picked up the books I needed for the semester, but I suspected any copies of those would be long gone — many students would have rushed straight there to try to save the coin necessary to purchase them. I’d have to hit the book store later.
The ones I had managed to pick up were interesting, though. Ambient Mana and Its Sources by Rellik was the only entry-level book. Advanced Artifice: Permanent Enchantments was something I was deeply interested in, but Inaccuracies in Modern Teachings of Enchanting History sounded considerably duller.
A quick glance through the Advanced Artifice book told me that the smug librarian had been right — I needed a stronger foundation before I could get much out of such an advanced book. I could guess at what a Personal Mana Conversion Ratio was, but I didn’t know the context behind why it was important or how to figure one out.
I spent much of the rest of the day reading through my rune book, not daring to brave the outside again and the prospect of seeing anyone else I was familiar with. My stomach would eventually drive me to the dining hall, but my paperwork indicated it was open late, and a later visit was more likely to help me dodge the horrors of social interaction.
Social interaction, however, would not be so easily denied. It was a pesky creature, incessant in its hunt. A few knocks on my door, slower and more deliberate than the first set, signaled its next move.
I sighed, dislodging myself from my chair and setting down my book. When I opened the door, I found another unfamiliar student on the opposite side.
He was broad, blonde, and muscular, a light layer of scruff distributed across his chin. He gave me a curt nod and extended an ungloved right hand — a sign that he was either not a noble, or that he already had retainers to protect him. “Curtis Maddock, your dorm chief.”
I accepted his handshake, noting the firmness of his grip and the brightly glowing attunement mark on his wrist. A different symbol graced a second attunement higher up on his arm, near the bicep.
I blinked. “Corin Cadence. How do you already have a second attunement?”
He grinned as he retracted his hand and folded his arms, standing a little straighter. “I’m a second year. Made it up to the fifth floor on last year’s final exam.”
I raised a hand to scratch my chin, intrigued. “They send you back to the tower as an exam?”
“Yup. Right at the end of the year. First year, a teacher goes with you. Second year, you’ll have to go by yourselves. You only need to reach the second floor to pass.” He patted his arm. “But like I said, my group made it to the fifth last year.”
Curtis had immediately made himself much more interesting and worth my time.
Naturally, I barraged him with questions. “How’d you make it so far? Was there any particular strategy you employed? Do you remember the specific rooms you had to deal with?”
He chuckled in response. “Can’t tell you about the rooms I do remember; that’s part of the test. Wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. We can talk strategy sometime, though, once you’re a little better prepared. Anyway, I’ve got to get to the other rooms. We’re going to have a dorm meeting in an hour, on the grass outside. Just wanted to invite you.”
I nodded in silent thanks.
I didn’t want to be around that many people, but getting to know someone who had blazed through that many floors in his first year was a worthwhile investment. “I’ll be there.”
He waved amiably. “See you soon.”
I closed my door, going back to my studies.
I’m going to need more books on the tower.
I’d already read several, but they were mostly geared toward the Judgment. The other books on other elements of the tower were still intended for people who hadn’t ever been to one; I needed information that was more applicable toward someone who wanted to make it higher in the tower.
Every floor I explored was one step closer to getting Tristan back and I was far from giving up.
I also needed a book on attunements — I hadn’t recognized the ones on Curtis’ arm at a glance, which was embarrassing. There were only eight local ones, but I could only remember about five of the symbols at the moment. I’d make it a priority to pick up the book for my attunements class soon.
I headed out to the grass after the hour was up, a book still in hand. I stood a few paces away from the gathering crowd while they chatted with each other, awaiting Curtis’ arrival. That took a few more minutes, then it was a few more before the grass was fully populated. Curtis instructed us to gather in a circle.
“All right, people. Looks like we’ve got a few dissidents who aren’t going to show. That’s fine. They’ll just have to miss out on my brilliant sense of humor and style.”
He laughed, and there were a few half-hearted chuckles in reply. I appreciated his effort at humor, even if it fell mostly flat.
“Uh, anyway, yeah. I stayed here last year, and we made a great team. Well, six great teams, actually. Later in the year, you’re going to get split into teams of — you guessed it — six students. So, get to know each other while you can, yeah? Much easier to take the tests if you already can work together.”
He pointed at himself. “I’ll be your dorm chief. You come to me if you have any problems with anyone, from this dor
m or otherwise, and I’ll try to straighten them out. I’ll also answer questions, provided I’m allowed to. We’re going to go around in a circle and introduce ourselves, then I’ll let you guys take things from there.”
He pointed to the guy to his right to start with introductions. I paid minimal attention, only noting people who mentioned experiences that interested me, until the rotation reached someone I hadn’t expected to show up — the almond-eyed teen who had knocked on my door earlier.
“Jin. Pleased to meet you all.”
Jin. Just Jin. He didn’t give his surname, nor his attunement. Both omissions were clearly deliberate.
He must have caught me looking at him. He flashed a half-grin my way, dark eyes alight with amusement.
When the rotation reached me, I kept my own introduction brief, but more informative. “Corin Cadence. Enchanter.”
I wasn’t going to make any claims about being happy to be there; the lie would have been obvious.
A few students later, a short, overweight blond hooked my attention. “Oh, hey everyone, I’m Tom. McCormick, that is. Most of my friends call me Tommy, or Big Tom, but don’t worry, it doesn’t bother me. Anyway, I guess I’m what they call a Mender. Pretty good, huh? I think it’s one of the best attunements, except maybe Summoners, who are pretty much the best at everything.”
His rambling was excessive, but there weren’t a lot of Menders in my dorm; it was mostly other Enchanters. If I needed a Mender for a group activity later in the year, I’d keep him in mind.
After the introductions, we dispersed pretty fast. I noted the general direction Jin was heading — second floor, toward the right — before he disappeared from my line of sight.
I’d figure him out. It was just a matter of time.
Chapter VI — Precautions
Wyddsday, my final day to prepare before classes started, hit me faster than expected. As I’d suspected, all my basic school books were unavailable in the library, so I’d spent some time browsing local shops to find the cheapest used copies that I could. Every coin I saved was one more I could put toward enchanting supplies.
