by Peri Akman
“Yes,” Kole replied immediately. “Will that reflect badly on this assessment?”
He stared at her in silence, and she returned the staring in kind. After a few moments of awkward silence, he heaved a deep sigh, and resumed the questioning.
“How long will you be here for?” he asked.
“Uh, I’m a freelancer. I can be here for as long as needed. I’m unaffiliated. That’s the law,” Kole corrected.
“How. Long. Will you be here for.”
“There is no point to asking me that. If I say a month, and I stay here a month and a day, and you realize this, and send the paperwork out, they will run my name through their elaborate and complicated database, find out that I am literally just a warlock for hire, and stop caring, and then it will stay in a box somewhere while you wait for an arrest warrant. The only issue is if I cause a public disturbance or break the law, or there is legal reason to believe I am stealing jobs needed by the residents,” Kole replied, her voice constricted.
“Right. You gonna keep doing this? Because I can just shut you out,” the man said, his voice straining. He seemed tired, like he wanted to be sleeping.
“Fine! Two months! We will leave in here exactly two months! No longer, no shorter!” Kole hissed.
He stared at Kole, and rolled his eyes. He briefly made eye contact with Quinn. The look made Quinn shiver slightly.
“I think that will be it. Please wait out here as I process the paperwork.” He left through the archway, and disappeared into the night.
“That went terribly!” Quinn nearly spat in surprise.
“Actually, that was pretty good. I mean he’s gonna make us wait for an hour, but no, that was incredibly smooth. Get used to that. Unless you go the opposite of me, and be a good boy. Then you’ll only be waiting twenty minutes tops.” Kole seemed rather upbeat.
“I… I know this is rude to ask—” Quinn began.
“Ask it. I’m your guide for the next year. I get to be your filter for all sorts of colorful and rude things,” Kole prompted.
“You have the Sigil of Magic in the same place as Asim of Trell,” Quinn stated.
“That’s not a question, but yes. Clearly, you can still see. That’s good. Sensory loss is pretty normal for warlocks. So you’re ahead of the curve,” Kole said, but there was venom on her tongue. It made Quinn shrink. He didn’t want to disappoint her, so he stopped talking.
They spent the rest of the wait in awkward silence.
Kole was wrong. They only had to wait about forty-five minutes, not an hour.
The man didn’t return, but the big gates opened, revealing the bustling city behind it, tinged by the setting sun.
“You wanna get back in the carriage, or do you want to walk with the carriage?” Kole asked, picking up a cheery tone, as if nothing had happened.
Quinn flinched at the sudden noise, but brightened at the question. “Yeah actually, my legs are feeling better, I want to walk.”
Kole nodded and went to the carriage, but instead of climbing inside of it, she climbed onto the driver’s seat with her clay homunculus.
“I’d walk with you but… leg. So instead I’ll just enjoy the hot city air. From up here,” she informed him. Quinn smiled and nodded, and he gripped onto the harness that held the clay horse.
It was odd how slowly the carriage went. Surely it hadn’t gone this slowly when they were travelling? Of course it wasn’t the speed, Quinn supposed, but the consistency. It could travel at a slow pace for weeks, without ever stopping for a break. That alone was pretty impressive.
The night was alive in Shorne, just as it was alive at Haldon. But there was… more wariness to it. Passersby clutched their bags. Small children pointed, only for their parents (or unrelated guardians… or long-term kidnappers) to shush them and strike their hand down. A man was walking up and down the streets, yelling from a thick tome about accepting Alamiel into your hearts. The streets were also narrower, made of far thicker cobblestone. It would be annoying to walk down these roads every day.
Then again, he was apparently, out of the blue, going to be living here for two months, so he might as well get used to it. It was a weird, arbitrary number. He would have to ask for her reasoning later.
“Where are we going?” Quinn asked.
“The nearest hospital,” Kole replied. “I always have an easy time getting jobs there, because for some reason, I’m always just as good and competent as their current warlocks. It’s a mystery.” She waved her hands mystically. “From there, we see where we can park this, and you help with the labor until you can get your own magic noggin working. Any objections?”
“Are we going to stay in the hospital for two months?” Quinn asked, frowning. That amount of dead people did not sound fun.
“Nah, I was figuring a week or two, unless it’s really bad. That’s the part about being a freelancer. I know they taught you this,” Kole shot back.
“They did. But learning about it and applying it are… two very different things,” Quinn pointed out.
Kole gave a barking laugh. “That sounds like a motto you should keep in mind for the rest of your life, Quinn.”
Quinn smiled slightly. The heat of the night was almost pleasant. After a while, they had to stop advancing into the city and ask for directions, which consisted of Quinn awkwardly going up to individuals he had never met before in his life and stuttering out a question.
On the first attempt, an older lady pinched his cheek, called him adorable, and told him that she didn’t know where the hospital was, as it was bad luck for someone as old as her to know where it was.
After her, a haggard and tired middle-aged man. He took one look at Quinn’s tattoos, draped his arm over him, and started trying to sell him something. It took half an hour for Quinn to finally convince the man he honestly had no money.
Then Quinn made the mistake of going up to a mother carrying her child. The minute Quinn started talking, the child began to violently cry. Quinn did not stick around to ask the question.
There was a guard that Quinn considered asking, but he decided against it. He was worried that the guard would be as… odd as the guard at the gate.
Another was a nicer woman who said she would tell him if he would come with her on a trip to a Star Spire. Quinn said yes by accident before shaking his head and running away in confusion.
Quinn was just about to give up and ask Kole to step in and just beat the answer out of the next passerby when he hit a stroke of luck.
She was a tall woman, leaning against a building. It was weird; she had tattoos on her face too, three daggers segmented from her eyebrow to her chin, but unlike Quinn’s they didn’t glow. Quinn had never actually seen a “normal” tattoo. It was almost bizarre. She smiled politely at Quinn as he asked for the directions.
“I’d normally ask for money, but sure, you want to go down this road until you hit Farcee District. You’ll know when you see it. It’s better lit there, too. I don’t know why you went down this road. You’re lucky you got them tattoos. Otherwise you would’ve been mugged the minute you stepped foot in here. It’s a big white building with purple tapestries all over it,” she explained, her voice slightly raspy from exhaustion.
Quinn brightened, thanked the woman, and practically leaped onto the carriage, now suitably emotionally exhausted from such an excursion. Kole seemed to be chuckling under her breath as they headed towards the Farcee District, but Quinn suspected it had to do with the fact it had taken him over an hour to have a successful conversation with someone.
The lady had been right, the Farcee District was practically glowing. Although…
“Hey Kole. Question.”
Kole nodded to indicate she was listening.
“So it just took us several hours to get here, right?” Quinn asked.
“Well, it would have taken us less time if I had remembered the way, but yeah.” Kole waved her hand vaguely.
“So… there is ONE hospital in this city. One hospital that is hours away
from people, to the point that when I asked for ‘the hospital’ no one questioned it?” Quinn continued.
Kole chuckled. “Well you’re right and wrong. Most folks hear ‘the hospital’ as less specific than it should be. I ask for the bathroom, no one asks which bathroom I am referring to. They assume my necessity outranks my pickiness. Also there isn’t one hospital. Well… actually there probably is one hospital. Everywhere else probably has clinics of some sort.”
“What’s the difference?” Quinn prompted.
“Government and private funding, mostly. As much as I would prefer to check out the walk-in clinics, I am actually not allowed to perform warlocky duties in places that don’t have a passed and proper approval rate. Absolutely annoying.” Kole had venom on her tongue.
“Wait… so say I was a healing warlock… and I went around to random people and healed them… that would be illegal?” Quinn sputtered.
“Depends on what you have been legally ordained to do. You would have to place yourself as a Charity Worker. Unfortunately, Charity Work is not a very profitable job, and even then it doesn’t mean you can just go out and help people, you have to set up a whole process. Some try and get multiple jobs, but the red tape on the bureaucracy is a nightmare. Normally I’d just laugh and do it anyway, but fun part about being on parole—they don’t take kindly to you being an arrogant little snot,” Kole rattled on.
“That’s… that’s stupid!” Quinn nearly yelped. “That is legitimately and completely… stupid! Why can’t I help people on my free time?!”
“Technically any sort of recreational magic that hasn’t been approved by the government is illegal,” Kole said in a dark, cheery sort of voice. “It’s just hardly ever enforced, because you can’t really stop a warlock from doing things from the privacy of their own home. It’s one of those annoying laws that's only still around so they can prosecute the warlocks who’ve been too uppity for their tastes.”
“Although the official reason is because you could be casting magic on someone without their consent, in an area where you have no expertise. So take your healing example, I see a guy with an open wound, and I go and help him cause he’s desperate with no money. I accidentally calcify his organs when trying to seal up his bones. Now I’m responsible for the death of someone. I’m a murderer. Is that fair?” Kole looked at Quinn, waiting for an answer.
“I mean… no… but the law seems a bit extreme… don’t you think?” Quinn replied.
“Oh I do think. I agree completely. I just need to make sure you also understand the logic behind it so you can make the proper decisions. Anyway, even if people don’t know the law, they are aware of the way things play out. Hence the escort giving you instructions here. Even if she wasn’t aware of why warlocks only show up in the nice, big, well-furnished hospitals, she certainly knew it well enough to not question it.” Kole got off the carriage and stretched her back a bit.
Quinn followed suit. The clay homunculi stayed still as ever. Here, underneath the practically glowing hospital, they stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Should we just leave the carriage here?” Quinn asked.
“No. One of us goes in, one of us makes sure no one tries to pet the random horsey. Which do you want to do?” Kole asked.
He had been outright told to get the directions, but that was because a random bandaged lady with a stick was a warning sign in any culture.
He would prefer to stand guard, but he also wanted to impress Kole with his competence. Maybe if he buttered her up enough he could re-approach the conversation about Asim of Trell. Probably not. Actually… definitely not.
“I’ll stand guard,” Quinn said.
Kole gave a nod and began to walk into the hospital.
The Farcee district was far more alive than the district they came from, even at this late hour. There were more carriages, although none seemed to be carted by fake creatures. The weirdest part was how bright it was. Or was it more accurate to say Haldon was just a very dark city? It had its own lights at night, but… this place seemed to outshine it by a mile.
The clothes were also different. He wasn’t sure if they were fancier, or worse, because all he had to compare it to was his own clothing. They didn’t seem to be as… wooly as his clothing. Some even had a sheen on them. Maybe that was to stop the rain? That made sense.
After a surprisingly short amount of time, Kole exited the hospital with a bit of a skip in her rather slow and limping step. She seemed to be holding something in her hand. It was a face mask. She handed it to Quinn and he put it on. It smelled annoyingly musty. On closer inspection, Kole had awkwardly strapped one on her bandaged face as well.
“Good news. There are a few warlocks here who’ll set us up. About three healing-inclined and someone with a specialized sensory input. Think the sensory one is an apprentice too, so you might have someone to talk to while we stay here,” Kole exposited cheerfully. “They said we could park out back.”
The carriage turned into a darker road, and, sure enough, there seemed to be some sort of building behind the hospital that had no floor. Kole guided the carriage into the building, and then instructed the two homunculi to get into the carriage itself.
“They have buildings to hold carriages?” Quinn asked, befuddled.
“Of course. They also do in Haldon. Did you just… never notice them?” Kole asked, amused.
Quinn blinked. “I… so what if I didn’t?”
“Then it means you are now smarter. Congratulations, the speed at which you learn is unprecedented.” Kole’s voice seemed laden with dismissal. With that, the conversation died and the two headed into the hospital.
It was the most modern thing Quinn had ever walked into, and it was crawling with people. Some were on gurneys, others were carting around the people on gurneys. Everyone in the hospital who seemed to be in authority wore white. This surprised Quinn, as their own head doctor at the Academy had worn white, and in fictional books, the healthcare professionals also always wore white. The only parts of the outfits that weren’t white were rather small clasped hands embroidered on the chest, which seemed to vary in color from person to person.
It was… almost amusing, to see the fashion correlation. Quinn felt like laughing, but he stifled it. It did not seem the proper place to laugh, especially with the hecticness involved, everyone running somewhere. The face mask didn’t help either.
A dark thought occurred to him: if this was the best hospital in Shorne, what were the other hospitals like?
This train of thought was swiftly interrupted by a woman coming towards them. She was rosy-faced, much like Teacher Tellack, but she was far shorter. She also had extremely short hair, nearly a buzz cut, which struck Quinn as very strange. She seemed to conduct power and influence around her naturally, but Quinn was beginning to suspect that was merely one of the quirks of being a fully fledged warlock.
She folded her arms, and her sigil was vaguely visible underneath her elbow. Quinn also noticed that the clasped hands on her outfit were blue, and, more noticeably, had a circle around them, like a sort of simplified sigil.
“This is your apprentice?” she asked, breathy.
Quinn nodded with Kole in unison.
“And what’s he inclined to?” she asked, in the same tone.
Quinn opened his mouth awkwardly. Kole took the reins.
“Hasn’t figured it out yet. He’s a good boy though, he’s fifteen, he’ll do whatever you put him to. You have an apprentice, you said? Have him shadow yours,” Kole spoke quickly.
She gave Quinn an oddly withering look. “Very well. You can call me Doctor Travitz. You want to find my apprentice, Sennta. He’s selectively mute, so don’t bug him, so help me. He should be on the third floor.”
Doctor Travitz looked at Quinn expectantly.
“I… what?” Quinn sputtered.
“Are you going to go or not?” she asked, sterner.
This threw Quinn for a loop. They had just gotten here! He had been stuck in a
carriage on and off for a day and a half. He wasn’t exactly tired, but he was sore all over from the meditations, and just completely mentally exhausted.
He turned to Kole, almost pleading in his eyes.
Kole folded her arms and said nothing.
“For… for how long?” Quinn nearly forced out. Kole gave the slightest of approving nods.
“We’re currently doing a thirty-six hour workshift. So in about twelve hours we get out,” Doctor Travitz said, craning her neck and motioning to a few orderlies.
“Is that normal??” Quinn nearly yelped.
“Yes. I was informed you would be hard workers. Are you not?” Travitz spoke. She definitely wasn’t Teacher Tellack. Not only was her voice nearly squeaky, but she seemed just about ready to bite Quinn’s head off. It wasn’t harshness. It was coldness. It was a cold, calculating, judgmental tone. She had no time for Quinn.
It made his blood freeze.
Kole motioned. “He’s a bit new to this. He’s been out of the academy for two days. I’ll walk him up and come back, all right?”
Travitz was about to reply when one of the caretakers muttered something to her, and she immediately stiffened. She dismissively nodded and left.
Quinn stared at Kole, his eyes wide.
“Sorry, Quinn. I forgot,” Kole admitted.
“Forgot what, exactly?” Quinn nearly whispered as they headed to the stairs.
“That you’ve never done something like this before. It’s not as hard as it sounds. You’re granted naps and meals. They even have a room where doctors nap. I’m sure the apprentice slacks off anyway, you’ll be fine. But if you’re honestly not, come find me and I can get you out. But otherwise I heavily recommend you stick with it now and not give up. Can you do that?” Kole quietly spoke.
Quinn chewed the inside of his mouth. “I guess…”
Kole stopped at the stairs. “Oh void no, these things are way too steep. I know I said I’d walk you but you’re on your own. This would take me an hour to go up.”
Quinn sighed. “You know, I wasn’t expecting to be just randomly dumped.”
“Only way you’ll swim, kid. But like I said, if you really think it’s too much, just say the word,” Kole responded.
