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455. Light Friendship

Although the journey to the Undercroft weighed on Martel's mind, he had accepted that it could not be avoided. He would have to trust that his magic, along with his vigilance, would be enough. Ruby and her compatriots were gathering information, he was given to understand, and perhaps they might learn what they could expect to face once below ground; this left Martel with little to do but wait.

He did have something he wanted to deal with beforehand, just in case. Taking out the dormant...

454. Under the Hood

The next day brought another surprise, shaped as a scrap of parchment.

Master Martel,

I request a meeting.

Tonight if so convenient.

Same tavern as our

previous get-togethers.

Your Keeper of secrets

A rather short and to-the-point message for someone so wont to waste words as the Keeper; the coy signature line was the only part that actually sounded like him. Perhaps, like Ruby's message the other day, it betrayed a concerned mind.

Martel had mo...

453. Services Required

While absentmindedly fending off Edward's feeble attacks with his staff, Martel thought about the journey to the Undercroft. It disturbed him for several reasons. His previous experience in that dark place did not make him wish to return. Getting wounded, fighting another wizard – even if he was much stronger now as a mage, the memories were unpleasant.

This time seemed almost certain to be a repetition, one way or another. And if all the Nine Lords gathered and began fighting, it wou...

452. Red-blooded

It lasted four days before Martel received a reason to leave the Lyceum. As he had guessed, it came in the shape of Ruby's handwriting, still with the red blot below as a signature.

Can we meet tonight?

After last bell.

I'll find you

outside your place.

No details as to what she needed, but Martel assumed similar to last. Which surprised him a little, as he figured Ruby would have given up on that trail. The people she pursued knew about her; enough to set a trap...

451. One Man's Gift

After a decent night's sleep, though not as long as he could have wanted, Martel followed Regnar's advice. He stayed at the Lyceum, attending classes and improving his skills. In particular, he felt motivated to work on enchantment, being something he did for himself rather than because a teacher told him to. When he returned to the workshops on Solday, he found the heating stone still practically glowing with warmth. A good sign, though also a reminder that he had to improve increasing heat ...

450. Hornets

As always, it felt jarring to go from brawls and devastating spells in the night to attending classes in the morning; though at this point, Martel had switched between these masks so often, he could do it seamlessly. Malday also made it easy for him, as the morning lesson never provided him with much of a challenge; none of the other fire acolytes stood a chance against him when fighting purely with staves and empowerment. This allowed Martel to put in a token effort while his mind was elsewh...

449. Dead Ends

"Who are they?" Ruby almost growled the question, aiming her blade at the man they had cornered.

"I'm sorry! They told me to go this way!" He practically bawled the reply; clearly, he had served as bait, which seemed the extent of his usefulness.

"Kill him if you want," came a cold voice from the darkness. Several people appeared, barely visible; what little could be found was reflected in the steel of their daggers. "He's served his purpose."

"Please don’t," he begged. 2023-10-12 07:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post

448. Hunter and Hunted

For his first lesson in the Circle of Fire, Martel was once again paired up against William. Their duel progressed as they often did, exchanging blows and fire spells, until William felt confident enough to attempt his new strategy. Seeing Martel extend himself, he released a blast of air, trying to make the tall acolyte fall.

As it turned out, he lacked enough force to accomplish his goal; staying on his feet, Martel immediately retaliated on instinct, using the same skill. Taken by su...

447. A Resurgent Need

When third bell rang, Martel went to the Circle of Fire. It was strange to enter this place voluntarily, given that he usually felt ill at ease within these walls; normally, he could not wait until he was allowed to leave. But more than his negative experiences, it was the company that made the place unnerving for him; absent Moira, Martel found himself less troubled by it.

William arrived soon after. He gave the other acolyte an apprehensive look, perhaps not knowing what to expect. Ma...

446. Permanence

Entering the workshops, Martel was greeted by a welcome sight. Last Manday, he had enchanted a lightstone as usual, infusing a glowing spark into the otherwise dull sphere that Master Jerome had given him. As he stepped inside the small laboratory, the stone met him with a sparkling light, as strong as when he had left it.

This was the first time that his light enchantment had held a full fiveday; not only that, the spell seemed to have plenty of life left before it would fade, though s...

445. Hot Air

With his shoulder returned to normal, more or less, Martel no longer held back during training in the Circle of Fire. He used his staff to its full potential, whether as an amplifier for his magic or as a blunt weapon. He handily beat both Edward and Harriet; while reasonably skilled with spellwork, neither of them had ever really felt comfortable with a staff in their hands, and they used it solely to channel magic while fighting, leaving themselves vulnerable to physical attacks.

Will...

444. Masks

A fiveday after his stitches had gone in, Martel returned to the infirmary to have them removed. While a bit early, the wound had been small, if deep, and it had healed well enough. With some salve for good measure, Martel felt mostly back to form. His shoulder remained a little stiff, which should wear off soon enough.

Yesterday's ambivalent feelings about the news from home had lessened as well, and Martel had gained enough clarity to simply feel happy about it. Even if he could not b...

443. Family Additions

A fiveday after his injury, Martel's shoulder remained sore and stiff, but by some miracle, he had not torn any of his stitches, and the wound was healing nicely. He still had to exhibit caution during lessons, especially as they had resumed their duels during fire magic. As everyone had mastered how to use gems to strengthen their spellwork, the four acolytes now fought each other using the ruby-tipped staves as both weapon and implement for channelling magic.

Normally, Martel would be...

442. Shifting Alliances

For the next three days, the city and its inhabitants left Martel in peace, until Solday arrived. He had been on his final outing with Mistress Rana beyond the walls to the marshlands, gathering herbs and plants. As they approached the Lyceum, she spoke for the first time in hours.

"That should be enough for now. My stores are full – at least of any plant we can collect within walking distance. Next Solday, we'll resume your training in the laboratory. There's still a handful of simpl...

441. An Ache

Despite his weariness, Martel slept uneasily, and pain woke him early. Glancing to his left, he examined his wound. The blood salve had done its work to prevent further bleeding, and at least it was better than his right shoulder being injured, giving him trouble with his dominant hand.

Today was Malday, meaning combat practice. Those would not be pleasant hours to get through, wielding a staff with every movement causing a pang of agony; perhaps he could rely more on spells or otherwis...

440. Help from Above

Of course it was a trap. But Martel could curse about that later; right now, he needed a way out. He made sure to drape his scarf to cover the lower half of his face and tied a tight knot.

"They're on both sides." Ruby came towards him, having looked at the street north of their house. "Can't see how many. Not sure we can fight them."

Given that most of his spells would be useless against inquisitors, Martel had his doubts as well. "We just have to run. What's our best route out o...

439. Cold Pockets

Solday passed quietly with Martel accompanying Mistress Rana on another trip gathering herbs. But the next day, he received a message with an address in the Khivan quarter, telling him to show up after last bell. As the hour approached, Martel went through his drawers, deciding what to wear.

Showing up looking like a fire acolyte seemed a bad idea. Most of his other clothes were too expensive, however, and would make him stand out among the impoverished residents of the district. In the...

438. Spare a Thought

The meeting in the small tavern did little to ease Martel's state of mind about the task ahead; on the contrary, the idea that three different factions would cooperate made him doubt the whole venture. Given the deep distrust that each of the Nine Lords and their minions showed each other, Martel had his misgivings concerning their ability to coordinate this act of sabotage, involving no less than three mages, all doing their own kind of magic.

Martel only felt good about one thing, nam...

437. Meeting of the Hands

Lessons in the Circle of Fire proceeded as could be expected. They had begun duelling each other regularly with the magical staves involved, now that the other acolytes had mastered channelling through the implement. Martel retained an edge, but he did not think this came from his innate affinity with fire; it seemed only to give him an advantage in terms of how quickly he grasped the spells and magic involved. The other acolytes learned slower, but once they had caught up, their spells had a...

436. The Word of a Wizard

Pelday passed without incident; yet the next day at noon, Martel was given a message with a handwriting he recognised.

Master Martel,

We have to meet.

Grey Brothers' shrine.

Tonight, last bell.

The choice of location served as good as a signature. And despite any mention of why they had to meet, Martel could guess. The Fire Eater, Ruby, and now the Friar. It could hardly be a coincidence. Martel was only confused about why. The issue of the insula being built in ...

435. Red Whispers

Solday meant another excursion to the marshlands northeast of Morcaster. Initially, Martel had felt ambivalent about these trips. He understood the importance of learning how to find and gather herbs, of course; especially those that required to be turned magical before harvesting, which could not simply be bought from any old herbalist. On the other hand, it irked him a little to spend a full day doing this when he could be practising his elemental exercises or enchantment.

But after t...

434. It's Got Pockets

Manday morning, Martel went to the workshops to practise his enchantment. Besides the usual tools and equipment, the small laboratory had the stones that Martel used to train enchanting heat or light; however, as he arrived, he noticed that several clay jars stood on a table along with the oil substance used for making fire pots.

As the bell rang, Master Jerome appeared. "Good, you're here. I have a task for you. I need you to make three fire pots for me." He pointed at the jars on the ...

433. Watchful Eyes

Malday morning, Moira appeared in the gymnasium alongside her students. This was a new development; previously, she had only been present during afternoons when the fire acolytes practised together with the mageknights.

She brought four staves with her, all of them adorned by a ruby, and Martel understood the reason for her appearance. Usually, they practised ordinary staff fighting during this lesson, using no magic other than empowerment. Now, it was time to combine it with using the ...

432. The Fire Eater

For the lesson in the Circle of Fire, Martel noticed that Moira arrived with only three staves. It seemed his training with the weapon of a stormmage had come to an end. Once she had distributed the staves to the other acolytes, Moira handed him the wand of a weathermage. "You look ready to give water another try."

Martel waited for a biting remark to follow; none did. Accepting the wand, he glanced at it; the sapphire at the tip sparkled in the sunlight streaming in from the windows fa...

431. Light Eater

Martel's life settled into the usual routine over the next fivedays. Lessons in fire magic and combat continued at what felt like a snail's pace. At least trying to wield the staff of a stormmage gave him a challenge, even if it did not seem pertinent to his education as a battlemage; he would never control air magic to such a degree that he might prefer it over fire, which he mastered unlike any other element.

While enchantment would not avail him in battle either, Martel preferred spe...

430. Below Luna's Light

The next couple of days passed without noteworthy events until Glunday arrived along with Martel's trip with Mistress Rana, replacing their usual Solday foray. As they would be out late to make the most of the moonlight, he did not have to be ready straight after first bell for once; instead, they would wait for dinner and only leave past noon.

Making the most of his free morning, Martel went to the workshops and checked on the heating stone that he practised enchantment on. Improvement...

429. Birds of a Feather

Martel woke Solday morning to the strange and almost unsettling feeling of having nothing to do. No work in the apothecary, nor the workshops; not even a study session with Eleanor in the library. With this day originally meant to go harvesting for herbs with Mistress Rana, Martel no longer had any obligations on Soldays; with their excursion postponed until Glunday, that left him entirely to his own devices.

As it turned out, he did not know how to spend his newfound spare time. He did...

428. Warmth and Light

With the hope that Sparrow's safety had been ensured, a weight fell from Martel's shoulders. He was able to sleep properly that night, even if his meeting with the Friar remained a pin prick in his side. Not that he doubted the monk's ability to get Sparrow out; for all his apparent frailty, the old man was still a Ninth Lord. His advanced age only made it more impressive that he held such a position, and it spoke to his influence and ability to shape the affairs of Morcaster.

At the sa...

427. Harvestmen

The following day, Martel checked for a message straight after breakfast, and also after first bell had ended. Henry gave him odd looks, but the clerk did not dare say anything other than inform Martel that no missives awaited him.

During his chore in the apothecary, Martel chopped the plants with vicious blows, practically turning them to powder. If Nora sensed his mood, she had the wits to remain quiet and let him work out his anxieties with the herb knife.

Appearing from the la...

426. Help from the Hedge

It was barely midnight when Martel left the Lyceum, accompanied by Weasel. He hurried south to the market district; with speed and a little luck, he would reach his destination before people had gone to bed. At some point, Weasel wanted to go left, but Martel continued straight ahead.

"Where are you going? The Hole is this way." Quickly, the boy returned to Martel's side.

"We're not going to the guards. If we are lucky, they don't know about Sparrow's secret, but a wizard of the L...