by Victor Kloss
“Here are your weapons,” Zadaya said.
Ben's excitement took a little knock when he accepted the plain wooden sword Zadaya offered. He had been eyeing up the shiny red ones near the end of the rack.
“This is all you need,” Zadaya said. “It will be enough – trust me.”
“What are we facing?” Ben asked, testing the sword in his hand.
“More importantly, can we get hurt?” Charlie asked, with a look of anxiety.
“Do not worry. You will feel impact, but little pain,” Zadaya said. He grinned, showing a set of clean white teeth to rival Joshua's. “Ready for fight?”
“No,” Charlie said, his voice rising as panic started to set in. He was shifting left and right, looking as though he was ready to bolt. “What am I supposed to do with this?” Charlie asked, indicating the sword. “I haven't the faintest clue how to sword fight.”
“Do not worry, my friend,” Zadaya said. “Just do your best.”
Before Charlie could reply, Zadaya lifted his spellshooter and fired a pellet into the centre of the box.
Ben had been expecting a fairly straightforward opponent for their first fight – a child goblin or a clumsy swordsman perhaps. What he didn't expect was an old-fashioned broomstick, complete with slender arms and a brush of bristles for legs. It had no face, but it did have a small wooden sword in its right hand.
“What is that?” Ben asked.
“Isn't it obvious?” Charlie replied. Some of his anxiety had dissipated on seeing their opponent. “It's a magical sword-fighting broomstick.”
“Do not underestimate your enemy,” Zadaya said. “Now, fight!”
He fired another spell into the broomstick and it suddenly came to life, lifting its sword and turning this way and that, until it identified its opponents.
The broomstick shuffled forwards.
“What should we do?” Charlie said, holding his sword a little unsteadily.
“Surround it,” Ben said immediately.
That proved easier said than done. Every time Ben shifted to his left, the broomstick shuffled with surprising speed, managing to keep both Ben and Charlie in front of it.
It soon became clear the broomstick wasn't about to charge into them, and after a few minutes of careful dancing around the floor without a sword being swung, Ben started to lose patience.
“I'm going in,” he said. “Back me up if I'm in trouble.”
As soon as Ben approached, the broomstick turned his way. Ben swung his sword, aiming for the middle of the handle, hoping perhaps to snap it in half. The broomstick lifted its sword and blocked. Ben struck again, and again. Twice more the broomstick blocked, with what seemed like relative ease, though it was difficult to judge as it had no face. Ben was about to strike again when the broomstick launched a counterattack. Ben got his sword up just in time for the first two blows, but the third one rapped him on the shoulder, and he felt a dull sting. Before he knew it, he was backpedalling fast, frantically blocking and occasionally dodging.
“Charlie!”
Backup arrived just in time. Charlie came in from the side, sword swinging. The broomstick was forced to block its new attack, giving Ben a bit of breathing space. But he had no time to recover, for Charlie was instantly on the retreat, barely blocking each attack.
“A little help!” Charlie cried. “Ow!” The broomstick had caught him on the side.
Ben ran in to help, aiming for the broomstick's unprotected “back”. But somehow the broomstick spun and parried.
“Together!” Ben said.
From the corner of his eye Ben could see that Charlie was exhausted, but to his credit he launched himself at the broomstick with a cry. For a moment, Ben thought they were about to win; the broomstick was on the defensive and slowly shuffling backwards. It stumbled, and Charlie went in for the kill. But it turned out to be a feint, and the broomstick deflected Charlie's sword easily. With a surprisingly graceful pirouette, given that it was a broomstick, it spun and stabbed Charlie in the stomach. Then it was on to Ben, with renewed ferocity. Ben managed to block it twice before he too was stabbed.
A spell fired into the broomstick and it vanished in a puff of wood chips.
“You are both dead!” Zadaya said.
Ben was bent over, hands on knees, panting heavily. “I can't believe we lost to a broomstick.”
“Ahah! Your first mistake,” Zadaya said, raising a slender finger. “I told you: never underestimate your enemy – even a broomstick.”
“Good advice,” Ben said, standing up straight. “So was that a test to show us how useless we are?”
“A test, yes, but not to show you anything. It was to show me what natural talent you have.”
“Absolutely none, as I'm sure you can see,” Charlie said.
“Not so!” Zadaya said. “You both have heart – that is good. Come with me.”
They followed Zadaya back into the lecture hall and to the wall on the far end. On it was a large poster that went up to the ceiling, and on that poster was a chart of monsters. There were pictures of each enemy from the weakest at the bottom to the strongest at the top. Next to each enemy there were small labels, each scrawled with initials.
“Write yours here,” Zadaya said, handing them each a label.
Ben scrawled “B.G.” on his and then, with a rueful smile, stuck it at the very bottom, next to the broomstick. Thankfully there were a couple of other names there.
“Good!” Zadaya said, clapping his hands. “Now, let us learn how to fight properly.”
Ben had a natural distaste for lectures, but he had never had one with Zadaya before. Rather than the painful drone of the teachers he was used to, Zadaya was all exuberance, often dancing around the floor demonstrating a skill or principle. Several times he had them come up and duplicate an action he was demonstrating. They studied the key basics, from stance to poise and balance. By the time they had finished, Ben felt ready to give the broomstick another go.
“That wasn't too bad, was it?” Ben asked, as they left the combat room a couple of hours later.
“No, I quite enjoyed it actually, other than the humiliating defeat to the broomstick,” Charlie said.
“Yeah, that was a bit— what was that?”
Ben threw out a hand and stopped both of them in their tracks.
“What?” Charlie asked.
Ben stared at the end of the corridor for a full twenty seconds before relaxing.
“Nothing – it was nothing.”
Charlie didn't believe him for a minute. “Was it another sighting?”
“Possibly.”
Ben's senses were on hyper alert since the incident in the diplomacy room and he was beginning to believe someone might be following him. At first it was nothing more than a hunch, or a faint movement from the corner of his eye – something he would have discarded before the diplomacy room incident. But as the week continued, they became more noticeable: a shadow in a window; a buffering of a curtain; a soft footstep when nobody was about. Both Ben and even Charlie had been buzzing from their combat training, but Ben's sighting put them back on alert for the rest of the day, until they had left the Institute and were on the Dragonway heading home.
The following afternoon Ben, Charlie and Natalie all had practicals in the Department of Wardens and set off up the stairs together.
“The one good thing about this staircase,” Charlie said, breathing a little heavily as they climbed, “is that it's too busy for our spy.”
“I know we said not to tell anyone, but I'm wondering if we made the wrong choice.”
“Absolutely not,” Ben said firmly. “The Institute are on my arse enough as it is. I don't want them freaking out about someone spying on me, especially as he's not made any move to do anything.”
They made it through the Warden doors and circled round the hallway until they reached a room with the words “Rogue Goblin Control”.
“This is our stop,” Ben said, his worries fading as his attention turn
ed to the upcoming practical. “We get to track a rogue goblin somewhere in Taecia. Should be fun.”
“I'll see you guys at three,” Natalie said, giving them a smile and a wave.
Ben made to return the wave when something brushed his shoulder. He lashed out instinctively but caught only air. Ben whipped his head round to follow the intruder's path, down the luxuriously appointed hallway. Just before the corner was a door. Ben saw it open a fraction, and then shut soundlessly.
“There!” Ben said, pointing. “Did you see that?”
Both Charlie and Natalie nodded.
“What should we do?” Natalie asked.
“We go after it,” Ben said, rubbing his hands together.
Charlie gave him an incredulous look. “Are you serious? That thing could be a killing machine.”
Natalie looked torn between the two. “It would be good to see what is following you, Ben,” she said. “But it is risky.”
“I know. Are you guys coming?”
“Of course we are,” Natalie said, looking affronted. Charlie didn't look quite so eager, but he didn't complain.
They tiptoed to the door with no more alarms, until they set their eyes on the door sign.
“Warden Director.”
“Draven's office,” Charlie said. “That is interesting.”
“I can hear voices, but they are too soft to make out.”
Natalie was right. There were at least two people in the Warden Director's office, but he could hear no more than a murmur with occasional increases in volume.
“I doubt Draven's going to welcome you with open arms and flowers if you barge into his meeting.”
“Assuming it's him,” Ben said.
Natalie put an arm on Ben's shoulder. “I should go in first. He won't get as mad with me.”
“No,” Ben said firmly. He couldn't offer a rational explanation to back up his refusal, but the idea that he wouldn't go in first didn't sit well. He grabbed the handle and gave them both a little smile. “Be ready.”
Ben held his breath, turned the handle, and poked his head through.
Draven's office was far more extravagant than Wren's. It looked more like a royal suite, with deep red furnishings and elaborate gold leaf decorations everywhere he looked. There was one large carpet on the floor, red with a huge symbol of a map on it. But Ben's eyes went straight to the two people standing on the carpet, engaged in a heated conversation that stopped the moment Ben popped his head through. Side by side, Ben hadn't realised how similar Draven and Dagmar were.
“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Draven asked, his anger temporarily masked by astonishment.
“I hope you have a very good explanation for not knocking,” Dagmar said. There was a rare anger in her voice that was somehow even scarier than Draven's fury.
“I'm sorry,” Ben said, feigning surprise. “I got lost and thought this was the 'Rogue Goblin Control' room.”
Draven raised a hand and looked ready to explode, but Dagmar beat him to it.
“Hurry along, and be quick about it.”
Ben apologised again. His heart was racing, but he managed to close the door calmly, and turned to face an expectant Charlie and Natalie.
“Draven and Dagmar,” Ben said, as they all hurried back down the hallway.
“Just the two of them, together?”
“Yep. I didn't have time to look further into the office to see where the intruder might be.”
“Could you tell what they were saying?” Natalie asked.
“No, but it seemed like they were having a heated discussion about something. I can't imagine those two getting along that well.”
“I wonder what they were talking about,” Charlie mused, tapping his chin. “That is interesting.”
“But not very helpful,” Natalie said. “It gives us more questions than answers.”
— Chapter Sixteen —
Night-time Prowling
Friday arrived overcast, the summer sun hidden behind dark, ugly clouds.
“You off to hike Mt. Everest?” Ben asked, as Charlie met up with him on their morning walk to the station. He was carrying an extra big backpack and his face had a slightly pained expression.
“I want to be prepared,” Charlie replied. “Part of the size is due to a sleeping bag, in case we're forced to sleep at the Institute. Then there's food supply, if we get stuck somewhere.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven't you?” Ben said.
Charlie gave him an appraising look. “What about you? You're just carrying your same bag.”
Ben shrugged. “I don't see this as being a long mission. The lockers will either open or they won't.”
“What if they do?” Charlie said. “And what if whatever we find leads us to some crazy adventure?”
“You can't plan for every eventuality.”
Charlie pulled the straps on his back, and his whole backpack jumped up, almost knocking him over. “As I said, I like to be prepared.”
The strict targets imposed by Dagmar ensured their minds didn't wander too much at the Institute during the day. After a morning of sweeping hallways, they spent an enjoyable afternoon trying to convince a pretty runaway elf girl to return to her family, who had pleaded with the Institute for help. The mission had started poorly. Ben tried using his charms, but that had only earned him a slap in the face. It was Charlie who had come to the rescue. Noticing the chess-like game called Captains of Magic on her desk, he challenged her to a game, the victor getting their stated reward. Charlie had lost, but it was close. The elf girl, as it turns out, was a regional Captains of Magic champion, and her admiration for Charlie's quick aptitude for the game convinced her to come with them back to her parents.
“That was frankly quite brilliant,” Ben said, slapping Charlie's shoulder as they climbed the hill back up to the Institute. “I thought you'd lost it when you sent your two battle mages into her dragon.”
“That was one of my finer moments,” Charlie admitted, thrusting his chest out a little. “It's just unfortunate I didn't spot the winged assassins creeping past my entire royal guard.”
“Doesn't matter; we got what we came for,” Ben said, with a shrug.
By the time they had put their handbooks back into their lockers, it was almost 3pm. The day was still dreary, but Fridays were always extra busy, and the buzz around the place more than made up for the weather. Ben and Charlie had to dodge left and right going down the stairs, where they saw Natalie waiting, alone for once.
“So what's the plan?” Ben asked. To his surprise, they followed Natalie out of the Institute and into their favourite café on the hill.
“Apprentices aren't allowed to stay overnight at the Institute. They say it's too dangerous.”
“How is it dangerous?” Charlie said, bits of his cake falling from his open mouth.
“I have no idea. My parents are the same, though – they are very firm in never allowing me to stay there. At 8pm they do a security check of each floor, both magical and physical. It's pretty thorough, so hiding would be pointless. I know some friends who've tried it and got in trouble.”
“Promising,” Ben said, munching on a biscuit. “So what's the plan?”
“There is one way to stay in. It's magic proof and impossible to find. The only problem is that it's not very nice.”
When Natalie told them her plan, Charlie gave an unrestrained groan, contained only by their sound bubble spell. Ben too wasn't happy. He put down the biscuit he was eating, suddenly finding he had no appetite.
“There has to be another way,” Charlie pleaded, putting his two palms together.
“Nothing that would give us such a high chance of success.”
“Anything in the 80% range? I'd take that.”
“No,” Ben said, slapping a hand on the table. “Charlie, stop being ridiculous. We'll do it. Just tell us what to do.”
Natalie looked at her watch. “Well, our first move doesn't happen for another hour and sevente
en minutes.”
With time to kill, they wandered into Taecia Square. Ben perused the shops and almost lost track of time browsing the spellshooters on offer at the peculiarly named “W” shop, which offered magical goods of every type. He had plans on getting a good spellshooter, though he had no idea how he was going to afford one.
When 5pm came, the three of them headed up the hill towards the gates of the Institute.
“The guards are still there,” Charlie said, noting the two sturdy-looking Spellswords standing either side of the entrance.
Natalie glanced at her watch. “Not for long.”
Sure enough, both guards suddenly left their positions and headed back into the Institute.
“Okay, now! We've got less than two minutes before the new guards come out,” Natalie said.
They walked quickly up the remainder of the hill and through the gate. Ben kept his eye on the front door as they passed into the courtyard, praying they wouldn't see the two replacement guards emerge. It was still five hours away from their planned excursion, but according to Natalie, now was the only time the guards left the gates open.
They made it just in time. The new guards took up their positions seconds after they entered the Institute.
“First hurdle jumped,” Ben said, smiling. “Where to now?”
There were still a fair number of older apprentices, as well as Institute members at work. The Institute never truly closed.
“They do the security check at 8pm,” Natalie said. “That's when we need to be in our secure hiding place. Until then, I think we should just find a nice quiet place where we won't get in anyone's way.”
“The library?” Charlie suggested hopefully.
Ben rolled his eyes, but Natalie nodded. “Good idea. There are so many nooks and crannies, no one will disturb us there.”
“We could even catch up with some of our studies,” Charlie said, looking more enthused than he had for a while.
“You can; I'm not,” Ben said.
“I might find it a bit hard to study right now,” Natalie admitted. “But I don't mind trying.”
The library was filled mostly with Scholars so involved in their own research they didn't even turn their heads when Ben, Charlie and Natalie entered. Likewise, the few apprentices present were in their own worlds, clearly cramming for final tests.
