The Protectors (Royal Institute of Magic, Book 3)

by Victor Kloss

The carriages were quickly filling up, and the platform was busy with students hurrying on. Hanging from the ceiling was a large analogue clock, which currently read 12:57pm.

  “All aboard, people!” said a familiar, high-pitched voice. Ben could just make out a pot-bellied goblin near the back of the train. “We’re leaving in three minutes, whether you’re on board or not.”

  Ben, Charlie and Natalie quickly boarded the only carriage left where they could find enough room for the three of them. The clock struck one o’clock and the dragon lurched forwards.

  It had been only a week, but somehow it seemed longer.

  Excitement and anticipation coursed wonderfully through Ben’s body, but his smile wasn’t quite as wide as usual on this occasion, for one good reason.

  His parents.

  They had been captured by the dark elf king, and their spirits had fled to the void in order to protect their bodies. As long as they remained in the void, not even Suktar could touch their bodies. But how long could they survive? Ben remembered only too well Dagmar’s expression when he posed that question. As much as she respected Ben’s parents, it was clear that she didn’t think they could last long. And yet Ben was stuck, unable to even attempt a rescue until he had assembled Elizabeth’s Armour.

  Ben ran a hand through his hair and gave a tired yawn. He had lost a lot of sleep recently.

  “You thinking about the void again?” Charlie asked.

  “A bit,” Ben admitted. “Sometimes I can’t take my mind off it.”

  “Remember, we can find out more about it at the Institute,” Natalie said. She turned to Charlie. “Right?”

  Charlie nodded. “Yes, we can. But it might not make pretty reading. Do you care?”

  “No,” Ben said firmly. “I want to know what my parents are up against.”

  “Fair enough.” Charlie made an imaginary tick. “I’ll add it to the list, alongside completing the second-grade apprenticeship and finding the next piece of Elizabeth’s Armour, the helm. I can sense the fun and excitement already.”

  — Chapter Five —

  Dagmar’s Photo

  The moment they pulled into the Taecia Dragonway, Ben could tell something was amiss. At first, it was nothing more than a slight unease in the passengers, who boarded the carriages quicker than normal, their chatter hushed and furtive. On more than one occasion he spotted someone looking over their shoulder.

  Ben kept his eyes peeled as they exited the station and started up the hill towards the Institute.

  “Wardens,” Charlie muttered. “Is it just me or are they everywhere?”

  “It’s not just you,” Natalie said. “And it’s not just Wardens, look.”

  Natalie pointed out a couple of Spellswords, both with two green diamonds floating above their shoulder. They were standing either side of the wide, paved road, inspecting the passing crowd.

  “I’ve never seen this much security before,” Natalie said.

  As they progressed up the hill, people started to relax, as if the aura of the Institute protected them. The smiles returned and the shopkeepers had their doors open, bellowing or crafting their wares. Ben spotted the usual plethora of elves, dwarves, goblins and trolls all going about their business. Most looked unconcerned, though Ben couldn’t help noticing a few unusually sombre elves.

  “What’s causing this?” Charlie asked, as he sidestepped a mounted pegasus trotting down the road.

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Ben said. “It’s got to be the dark elves. They’ve been threatening war for a while. Maybe they’re really going to act.”

  “I think you may be right,” Natalie said. “I can’t imagine what else it could be.”

  Ben wasn’t surprised when Charlie shook his head. “I don’t want to rule anything out until we’ve got a few facts under our belts.”

  They didn’t have long to wait. Soon they were passing through the Institute gates, receiving a nod from the guards and making their way through the paved gardens and past the water fountain, towards the entrance. They followed a bunch of other students up the grand staircase to the first floor, and wound their way round the corridor until they reached the room for muster.

  Ben was pleased to note that he and Charlie were no longer at the very back. Since they had qualified for the second grade, they were now in the penultimate row. Ben glanced at the two colourless diamonds hovering over his shoulder and smiled. He looked to his left and saw that, to his surprise, Aaron also had two diamonds. How was that possible? Ben had been gone from the Institute for only a week. Surely Aaron hadn’t completed the entire first grade in that time?

  “Time for muster.”

  Dagmar’s calm, unflappable voice cut through Ben’s thoughts. She stood at the front of the room, with her familiar baton tucked under her arm. Her short, round figure did nothing to deter the effortless authority she exuded even without the four white diamonds floating above her shoulder. Ben couldn’t help taking a little glance at her clown-sized feet and had to resist a smile.

  Seeing Dagmar again reminded Ben of the photo she had given him, and his hand went to his pocket. Ben, Charlie and Natalie had dissected it with a microscope, but there were still some questions he was hoping Dagmar could answer. After all, the photo was the only clue to the whereabouts of the next piece of Elizabeth’s Armour.

  Muster was rattled off in typical military style, with every apprentice present.

  “I have a few announcements before you begin your studies,” Dagmar said. “You have no doubt noticed the Institute has increased its security measures. All major entry points in Taecia are now monitored.” She paused for a moment and surveyed the class without emotion. “The dark elves are showing signs that they are planning an attack on the Unseen Kingdoms. I am not at liberty to say much more on this right now. However, I will add that the last time the dark elves struck, they also caused considerable chaos in the Seen Kingdoms.”

  Ben assumed the Seen Kingdoms referred to the normal, non-magical lands.

  “They do this to distract the Institute,” Dagmar continued. “To draw our attention away from their intended target.”

  She paused again, to let her words digest. Ben, like the rest, was listening with rapt attention.

  “The Institute has only so many resources. It has only so many eyes, which is where you come in.”

  There was a soft murmur, which Dagmar silenced immediately with a raised eyebrow.

  “Everyone except first-graders will be given varying degrees of scouting and reporting duties to help us monitor any unusual Unseen activity. You will be briefed individually throughout the day on these. Any questions?”

  A few of the kids near the front rose their hands, as did Ben.

  “Jesse, David and Adam,” Dagmar said, noting the raised hands, “see me at lunchtime. Ben, see me in my office. Dismissed.”

  Ben filed out of the room, alongside Charlie and Natalie. While the rest of the apprentices went to the common room or headed for the stairs, Ben went round the corridor until he arrived outside Dagmar’s office.

  “You think she will tell us anything more about the photo?” Charlie asked. He and Natalie had joined Ben in waiting for Dagmar.

  “We’ll soon find out,” Ben said.

  It wasn’t long before Dagmar’s loud footsteps could be heard and her head popped round the corner. She seemed unsurprised that Charlie and Natalie were also there, but then Ben wasn’t sure Dagmar was capable of surprise.

  “Come in,” Dagmar said, as she marched into her office.

  Inside was just as Ben remembered – modest, functional, and without a paper out of place. There were several baskets with papers neatly stacked and files on the shelves that were most likely sorted alphabetically. He was drawn to a large portrait of a pretty woman with steely brown eyes, with the Royal Institute of Magic in the background – Charlotte Rowe, the original Director of Scholars.

  Dagmar circled round to her desk, sat down, and immediately began writing.

&nbs
p; “Start talking,” she said, without looking up.

  Ben exchanged glances with Charlie and Natalie before stepping forwards. He took the photo out of his pocket and placed it on her desk, sliding it purposefully within her line of sight.

  Dagmar stopped writing, put her pen down and gave the photo a good look. Ben had inspected every angle of it a hundred times, but he still couldn’t help thinking he might be missing something. It was a black and white photo of a school that looked, by photographic standards, to be dated somewhere in the fifties. There was a sign in the foreground that they assumed was the school’s name. Unfortunately, only three of the seven characters were visible, and it read as “E––u––s”.

  “We were wondering if there was anything else you could tell us about the photo,” Ben said.

  “I regret to say there isn’t,” Dagmar said, after a moment. She turned the photo over and the words “vesa” were scribbled. “I assume by now you have worked out that ’vesa’ means helm in Elvish?”

  They all nodded.

  “I inherited this photo from my grandfather when he passed away,” Dagmar said. “I do not know how he came about it.” She turned the photo round so it was facing up again. “I assume you have done the research?” Her eyes flickered to Charlie.

  Charlie cleared his throat, caught by surprise. “We are fairly certain the school is ’Edmund’s’. There are six such schools dotted round the country, but only two that closely match the photo. One is in Yorkshire and the other is in West Sussex, less than ten miles from our old school.”

  “And which do you think it is?”

  “Having recently visited both schools, we are fairly certain that the school in the photo is the Edmund’s in West Sussex.”

  Dagmar nodded. “I agree.”

  “But what about Edmund’s will lead us to the helm?” Natalie asked.

  “That I do not know,” Dagmar said. “But I suspect you will find out. The helm could be buried there or there could be a clue within the school leading to its location; or perhaps the helm’s Guardian is connected to that particular school.”

  “Those are a lot of possibilities,” Ben said. “How are we supposed to narrow them down?”

  “You will need to visit the school again,” Dagmar said. “If the Guardian is there, you will need to track him or her down. How many students are there?”

  “Twelve hundred and forty-seven,” Charlie replied instantly. “Plus one hundred and eighty-eight faculty.”

  “You’d better get started, then,” Dagmar said.

  “But how are we supposed to investigate the school when we’re either here or at Barrington’s all day?”

  Dagmar appeared to be expecting the question, because she was nodding before Ben had even finished talking.

  “I will arrange for your scout and reporting duties to be as close to that school as possible. You should have enough time each scouting trip to visit the school and do your research.”

  With nothing further to add, they headed for the door, but as Ben was about to turn the handle, he stopped and turned back to face Dagmar.

  “Are the boots safe?” he asked.

  Dagmar stopped what she was doing and gave Ben a look that could have cowed a hill troll. But Ben didn’t flinch.

  “I’m responsible for gathering the Armour,” Ben said. “It’s within my right to ask about its security.”

  Ben could feel Charlie and Natalie flinching from the expected backlash, but Dagmar’s only reaction was a subtle nod.

  “The boots are safe,” she said. “I have relocated them, and have retained the services of George to stand watch.”

  Ben relaxed. If George was watching over them, they were safe. The forreck was just about the scariest living animal Ben had ever seen. He decided not to push his luck and ask where exactly the boots were being kept.

  With nothing further to ask, they left Dagmar to her papers and headed up towards the locker room to get their books.

  “How are we going to get into the school to investigate the helm?” Natalie asked. “Won’t they realise we don’t belong there?”

  “It’s a huge school; they won’t notice as long as we keep a low profile.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Charlie said. “I think I could go in unnoticed, but you two could run into difficulty.”

  “Why?” Natalie asked.

  “Well, you’re pretty,” Charlie said, suddenly talking very quickly and going red. Natalie smiled at him, which only made it worse, so he hurried on. “And you, Ben – because of football.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ben smiled. “We played Edmund’s regularly. I scored quite a few goals. I don’t think they like me very much. But that doesn’t matter. We’ll keep a low profile.”

  Charlie didn’t appear convinced, but thoughts of finding the helm took a backseat the moment they sat down in the common room with their Institute handbooks, poring over their grade checklists.

  “There’s a lot to do,” Charlie said, appearing pleased by the prospect.

  Ben slapped his hand on one of the open pages and broke into an ear-splitting grin. “You know what lesson we’re going to do first?”

  “I think I can guess,” Charlie said, skimming over to the Spellsword section. When he read the first steps of the checklist, his eyes lit up, with a smile almost as big as Ben’s.

  It was time to get their first spellshooters.

  — Chapter Six —

  Spellshooter Testing

  Natalie headed off to the Department of Wardens to continue her own studies, leaving Ben and Charlie heading to the library, handbooks tucked under their arms. Ben was desperate to get to the practical stuff, but there was always some theory to study first. They made their way to the spacious study room, which was criss-crossed with long tables, each with lamps that cast a welcoming light. They plonked themselves down at the end of one of the emptier tables, and eagerly opened up their books.

  The checklist instructed them to read the first three chapters of a book titled The Fundamentals of the Spellshooter. Charlie, who knew the library far better than Ben, dashed off to get a couple of copies, and within ten minutes they both had their heads buried in two large, well-worn tomes. Neither of them moved for the next hour, as they devoured the chapters, eyes glued to the books. For once, Ben finished only a few minutes after Charlie, and almost caught up to him while answering the questions. Once finished, they closed the books with a thud, and headed for the grand staircase.

  “Do we have to run?” Charlie asked breathlessly, as he tried to keep up with Ben, who was taking the steps two at a time.

  They reached the Department of Spellswords and passed through the double doors into the corridor, inspecting each door they passed.

  “Here it is!” Ben said, pointing at a sign that said “Spellshooter Testing”.

  Ben took a deep breath. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he had discovered spellshooters. He touched the door, almost reverentially.

  Cheering and clapping could be heard beyond the door.

  “What’s all that about?” Charlie asked.

  “No idea. Let’s find out.”

  Ben opened the door into a large, spacious room filled with a dozen apprentices whooping and cheering. Their attention was on a boy emerging from a glass-partitioned section of the room. It was Aaron, sporting an exquisite new spellshooter. The apprentices had formed a line of honour and were patting and slapping him as he passed. There was a sheen of sweat on Aaron’s pale face, but he was grinning, accepting the congratulations with a broad smile.

  “I can’t believe it. He qualified for a G6!” Amy was saying, looking genuinely flustered.

  “That’s good, is it?” Ben asked.

  Amy turned, registering Ben for the first time. “Good? It’s incredible. I don’t think anyone has ever scored that high before.” Something seemed to dawn on her, and her eyes widened. “Are you here for the test as well?” Without waiting for an answer, she shout
ed, “Hey, guys, Ben’s also going to do the test.”

  Several heads turned, though a few lingered on Aaron.

  Before Ben could calm anyone down, Simon stood up on a nearby chair, and bellowed, “Alright, I’m taking odds of 3–1 that Ben equals or beats Aaron’s score. Who’s in?”

  Several boys took Simon up on the offer; others countered it with odds of their own.

  Ben squeezed past the crowd, towards the testing room. He passed Aaron, who gave Ben a respectful nod.

  “Good luck,” Aaron said.

  Ben thanked him and opened the glass door to the testing arena.

  “Hey, what about me?”

  Ben turned, and realised he had almost shut the door on Charlie. He hastily re-opened it.

  “I’m really sorry,” Ben said, feeling like an idiot. “I had completely forgotten you were doing this as well.”

  “So has everyone else,” Charlie said, nodding to the dozen apprentices staring at them. “I thought someone might have accidentally fired an invisibility spell on me.”

  Ben turned his attention to the glass room. In the back corner, next to where they entered, was a desk, and behind it sat a friendly-looking lady. Ben noticed the single green diamond hovering over her shoulder. She had a fresh, youthful face that couldn’t have long left her teens.

  “Hello there. You are here for spellshooter testing?” she enquired.

  “That’s right.”

  “May I see your handbooks please?”

  Ben and Charlie placed them on the desk and the lady inspected the checklist.

  “That seems to be in order,” she said. “I don’t do the testing myself. Let me go and get the man who does.”

  With that she disappeared out the doors, leaving them alone.

  “I hope she hasn’t gone to get the Viking,” Charlie said.

  Ben took the opportunity to inspect the room further. A rack of spellshooters ran along the back wall. At the opposite end was a huge circular target, with concentric circles painted in different colours. The target was so big it looked impossible to miss. Ben wandered over to the spellshooter rack to take a better look. The differences between each one were subtle. The spellshooters on the very right had barrels that were quite simple, some almost straight. The further left he went, the more gnarled and knotted they became. The wood also became darker and felt more solid. Finally, at the tips of the barrels there was a small metallic band. The ones on the right were yellow, but as Ben walked left, they progressed to green, blue, red, and finally black.