Alchemist Apprentice (The Alchemist Book 1)

by Dan Michaelson

  Another green-robed person walked to the seat across from him. “Mind if I sit here?”

  Sam looked up. He was a heavyset young man, maybe a few years older than Mia but probably younger than Sam. He had around face short brown hair and dark rings under his eyes.

  “Be my guest,” Sam said. “I didn’t know if people had places where they tended to sit or if I was taking someone’s spot.”

  The boy chuckled. “You’re new, too, I take it.”

  Sam nodded.

  “I didn’t know. You’re older than most newbies.”

  “I heard,” Sam said.

  “We get people from all over, and sometimes the talent shows itself later than in others. At least, that’s what I was told when I was tested.” He took a bite of bread, chewing slowly. “I’m older than most who come here, too. Most are fourteen or fifteen and finish up by the time they are… Well, your age.”

  Sam looked around the room. As he did, he realized that there were people of various ages here. The younger ones seemed to have an uncertain look in their eyes or a hesitance to grab their trays of food.

  And here, he had thought that he wouldn’t stand out quite so much once he was dressed in his robes.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I heard the oldest student the Academy has ever taken was in their twenties. I can’t imagine what that would have been like. But then, learning the Arcane Arts is still learning the Arcane Arts. What does it matter when you start to develop your talent?”

  “I didn’t know,” Sam said with a shrug.

  “Most people think that if you don’t show it by the time you are in your teens, it’s not going to appear.” The boy artist finished his roll, and he moved on to another one. He had almost as much food as Sam had stacked on his plate. Maybe he had suffered on the streets as well. Though, from the looks of him, Sam had a hard time thinking that was possible. He was too soft. “Mine appeared. I just didn’t pass.” He flashed briefly, hiding his face but behind the roll. “I wanted to pass. I just couldn’t. I think my father bribed the last instructor that came to the city. I doubt they expected me to pass.”

  “There were people who tried to bribe their way in from my hometown, too.”

  “Oh? Where is that?”

  “Erstan.”

  The boy took another bite of his bread. “Not familiar with that.”

  Sam started to answer when somebody jostled next to him. He looked up to see an older student in a deep blue robe striding past him. He had bumped Sam and didn’t pay any mind to the fact that he had done so.

  He was walking with two others, and a line of others followed behind them, all probably younger students.

  That was his sister’s tower.

  “Don’t mind them,” the boy said. “They like to think they’re superior from the rest of us. At least, that’s what I heard before I came here. I’m still surprised that I was placed into tolath. It’s pretty rare. And, being that as it is, I figured that maybe it would give me an opportunity to learn faster.”

  “I didn’t know anything about the towers before I came,” Sam admitted.

  “How could you not? Everybody knows… Wait. Where did you save you’re from?”

  “Erstan.”

  The boy leaned back, he rested one arm on his belly, and the other squeezed his roll. “I think I have heard about that place, actually. It was in the most recent annexation. You’re from all way out there?” He leaned forward, his eyes slowly widened. “I didn’t think we had anybody who had potential all the way out there.”

  “I don’t think they expected us to.”

  Sam had been trying to think about what he was going to answer somebody asked that and had not really come up with a satisfactory answer. He had to play the part, though. What he didn’t care for was the fact that he was going to have to lie to people that he met. How much magic was he expected to actually use in the time that he was here?

  Havash would have had to consider that, but either he had, and he didn’t care, or he hadn’t, and he was leaving it to Sam.

  If he wanted Sam to succeed, he probably should have spent more time considering the possibility of what Sam is going to have to do and how he was going to have to hide within the Academy.

  “What’s it like out there?”

  “I suppose it’s like anywhere else,” he said carefully.

  “I grew up in Nebel. Not too far from Tavran, but far enough where we don’t have the same influence. But you’re from the Barlands!”

  Sam leaned toward him. “Would you keep that down?” he whispered.

  “I’m sorry,” the boy said, shaking his head. “Now I understand why you’re older, though. Not that your gift appeared late, it’s just that they didn’t come to test you.”

  “That’s right,” Sam said.

  He turned his attention back to eating, chewing quickly. When he had lived on the street, he had learned to eat as quickly as possible, not knowing when his next opportunity would be. And with his food, he wanted to take every advantage he had and fill his belly. The way he was eating, he might feel it bursting.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” the boy said. “Listen. We’re both new. I’m James, by the way.”

  He held his hand out, clutching one of his muffins, before realizing what he did, and jerking it back, and switching hands.

  Sam reached for him, taking his hand and shaking. “Sam.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Sam. We don’t have too many new students in the tolath tower, so between the two of us, and those three,” he said, pointing to three younger girls sitting about the middle of the table, “are it. Now, sure all five of us will become fast friends, and we will study together, and we will master all of the different subjects that they want us to learn in the Academy in no time at all.” He waved his hand around and then paused. “Or not. Tolath has a little bit of a reputation, after all.”

  “What reputation might that be?”

  “You didn’t know?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “Again, Barlands,” Sam said, keeping his voice low.

  James chuckled. “That’s right. Anyway, you probably haven’t heard much about all the towers. I can tell you about them, though, don’t worry. My parents made sure that I knew when I started to develop my abilities. They wanted me to come to the Academy for as long as I did. Maybe longer.” He took another bite and spoke through a bite of his bread. “Tolath has been the least successful in getting new students. Something about the aptitude of the students, or some such nonsense. I can’t really say that I know much about it. The only thing that I do know is that tolath had better success with the Alchemists, but now that they are gone…”

  “What happened with that?”

  James shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t tell whether any of the stories I’ve heard are true or not. As far as I can figure out, something happened in the Academy, and several of the Alchemists were hurt. Or died. Or just left.” He shrugged. “Something went wrong. They’ve sealed off the alchemy section, and no one can go in. Of course, you heard the Grandam. Unless you weren’t there when she gave her talk?”

  “No. I heard it,” Sam said. He looked up, searching the sharan table for his sister, but didn’t see her anywhere. “I was just curious about it.”

  “I’ve been warned not to be too curious when it comes to that,” James said. “If you are, you end up drawing the wrong kind of attention.”

  “What attention is that?”

  “Well, in this case, from the Grandam. She’s not somebody you want to mess with. She’s supposed to have been the youngest to have risen through the Academy in generations. I don’t know that much about her, but she has been in her position for a few years now.”

  Sam’s gaze settled on Mia. He found her sitting with a group of others who looked about her age. She was smiling, waving her hand, and eating, though not with nearly the same speed that Sam had been.

  It was good. Let her fit in. That was the entire reason behin
d all of this. He wanted her to have a place here. He wanted her to fit into the Academy so that he wouldn’t have to worry about her when he left.

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for class to begin,” James was saying, and Sam realized that he had no idea what else he had been talking about, only that James had been going on while Sam was contemplating. “Everything I’ve heard tells me that classes are at a faster pace than what I think I can keep up with. At least, what I thought that I could keep up with.” He shook his head. “I don’t know, though. Maybe I can?”

  “How much experience do you have with the Arcane Arts?” Sam asked, not really paying much attention.

  “Not as much as some. I didn’t have a chance to study some of the basic studies before coming here. I know a little bit about angulation. Some about mathematics, and figured that I am decent with my chemistry.”

  Sam blinked, turning back to him. He had no idea about some of these topics.

  Everything that he had read about the Academy had told him that it was primarily on magic. Angulation? Mathematics?

  “What’s angulation?”

  James started to smile. “Wait. You’re serious?”

  Sam nodded. “I don’t know what it is. I’ve not heard of it before.”

  “Angulation is the study of how you orient the arts.” James shrugged, grabbing more food off his tray and taking another bite. “Or so I’ve been told. Again, I don’t know all that much. I just have the talent.”

  It was more than Sam had known. And that was without any talent.

  “I think I’m going to have to do some reading,” Sam said.

  “If you don’t know even the basics, you’re going to have a hard time sticking.”

  “I’m a quick study,” Sam said.

  He shrugged. “I hope so. Some of the instructors can be pretty harsh. But hey, I hear we at least get to take some courses on the theory of alchemy. That’s new. We haven’t been able to do that for the last year, or so I’ve heard.”

  Alchemy might be useful. Sam had some familiarity with it, and it was a topic that he actually found intriguing. If he could learn more from it, he couldn’t help but think that maybe he might be able to use it and understand even more.

  “I don’t know why anybody would really want to learn about alchemy,” James was going on. “It’s not useful. Not when you have the Arcane Arts. It’s why I intend to focus on angulation and mathematics. Though, in tolath, we all have a little bit of an affinity for angulation.”

  Sam realized that his mind was wandering again, and he tore his attention back to James. “What was that?”

  “Angulation? That’s our aptitude. Didn’t they test you for it?”

  Sam shook his head. “I didn’t pay any attention to it.”

  “Maybe they have another way of testing out in the Barlands?”

  “Maybe,” Sam said.

  “Out in the what?” a voice called out, and Sam sat up. He saw the blue-robed young man who had bumped into him. He had to be about Sam’s age, with deep blue eyes and a strong chin.

  “It’s nothing,” Sam said.

  “Are you from the Barlands?” the man asked, approaching the table and leaning toward Sam.

  Sam swallowed. “So what if I am?”

  The other one shook his head. “I didn’t know that we had anyone from the mines come to the Academy. Did they let you out, or did you have to escape?”

  “Easy, Gresham,” a tall man in a green robe said. He glanced down at Sam, his brow furrowing for a moment, before turning back to Gresham. “Would you leave the tolath table alone and scurry on back to sharan. I’m sure you all have something to be studying. It’s going to be pretty hard for you soon.”

  “I think our numbers speak for themselves, Wallace.”

  Wallace just shrugged. “They might speak for themselves, but you lose the most students each year.”

  “We also start with the most students each year.” He grinned. “But then again, losing even a few matters much more to you here at tolath. I suppose you would take anyone you can get. Even someone from the Barlands.”

  Gresham glowered at Sam for a moment, a hint of a sneer curling his lip, and then he turned away.

  “Thanks—”

  “Don’t,” Wallace said.

  “I didn’t start anything with him,” Sam said.

  Wallace started off and left Sam looking after him.

  Somehow he had offended him?

  It seemed that his position here was going to be even more tenuous than he realized. But it was more than just that. Mia needed to keep the truth of where they had come from quiet.

  He looked over to the sharan table, trying to catch her eye, but she was busy with the other students.

  “Don’t worry about it,” James said. “I’m sure that we can hole up in the library, make sure that you learn everything that you need, and get you up to speed. You said you had a quick mind?”

  Sam nodded.

  “Me too. Maybe we can study together, help each other out.”

  Sam turned his attention back to his tray. Even though his stomach rumbled, he found that he didn’t have nearly as much of an appetite as he had before.

  Chapter Ten

  Sam crept toward the alchemy section, moving slowly, looking around him. At least now that he had his robe on, he felt as if he had some ability to fit in, such as it was. It wasn’t perfect, though.

  Then again, Sam didn’t know if anything would be perfect for him to blend in.

  He pulled the robe around him, and he glanced over to the doors of what smelled like a kitchen, though he had never been this far down to investigate. This part of the Academy was empty, at least compared to where the students resided, and no one ventured this far, either afraid of doing so or unwilling to.

  The further that he went, the more that Sam began to feel self-conscious about even being here in the first place. What was he thinking? If he was caught, it would put him in trouble with the Academy. The Grandam had made it quite clear how she felt about anyone caught coming to the alchemy section.

  The door to the kitchen came open, and Sam froze.

  A lie quickly sprung to mind, one that he formulated the further that he got. He could claim that he was here simply because he was hungry, though there had been more than enough food in the kitchen at lunch. There were possibilities, though each of them was increasingly far-fetched, making it so that Sam doubted that he could pull that off with any real ease.

  The only other thing that he thought might be effective would be that he was lost.

  The person who came out of the kitchen was dressed in a white shirt and pants of the kitchen help. It was an older woman, with dark hair pulled back into a bun, and she smiled kindly at him.

  “I’m sorry,” he started.

  Her eyes widened as if she hadn’t expected him to say anything to her, and she scurried off.

  So much for niceties.

  Sam lingered in front of the door.

  He had caught a glimpse of the kitchen. Nothing more than that, but it was enormous. He had never seen anything quite that scale before, though he couldn’t imagine feeding as many people as the Academy had to feed, either.

  He moved forward. The door here would lead down to the alchemy section. That much Havash had shared with them, but beyond that, Sam didn’t know what else he might find. Maybe nothing.

  Going through this door was either going to reveal his presence or lead to something else. He suspected that he could pull off ignorance for a day or two, maybe a little bit longer than that, but anything more, and he doubted that it would be very effective.

  He hesitated a moment and then pushed open the door.

  The stairs stunk.

  That was the first thought that came to him. The second one was that the light that glowed along the stairs was unique. It was the pale yellow of the alchemy lanterns, but there was a hint of green to it, nothing more than that, and barely enough that it would have caught his attention were it
not for the fact that it was so distinct compared to the other lanterns he had seen around the Academy. It was different than lanterns that he had seen Arne make in his hometown, as well.

  He smiled at it, knowing that he shouldn’t be impressed by the alchemical lanterns, but couldn’t help it. There was something intriguing about them. He suspected that those who made them had to have some tendency toward the Arcane Arts, but there were aspects of alchemy the didn’t require any magic. Aspects of what he had seen Arne doing that hadn’t required any real Arcane Arts, just knowledge. That was its own kind of magic.

  And better yet, it was the kind of magic that Sam thought that he could one day acquire. Knowledge wasn’t beyond him.

  He crept downstairs.

  He didn’t hear anything, though he didn’t really expect to find anything here. The students had been warned way, and if this was toxic to those with magic, then he doubted anybody would be foolish enough to risk it.

  He reached the end of the landing. The stairs continue downward, though it was darker there. On this level, he caught sight of a door, then another, but nothing more.

  He contemplated testing that doorway out, as this was what he was supposed to do and what he was supposed to investigate, but he hesitated.

  He heard something.

  It was a faint sound, but it came from behind a door.

  Had somebody else come down here to investigate?

  He stayed close to the wall and crept closer to the door.

  A humming sound floated through the door.

  Sam leaned close to the door, listening. It was a woman’s voice.

  He lingered near the door for too long. It started to open.

  Sam’s immediately debated his options.

  Wait here, or…

  The only option was to run. If he was caught here, he would be expelled before he had a chance to uncover anything, before he had a chance to help his sister, and before he had a chance to acquire the stipend of silver that would give him an opportunity to thrive once he was sent from the Academy.

  He sprinted toward the stairs.

  When he reached them, he heard, “Hey. You!”