Quill

305. Failing Walls

Martel felt a tinge of nervousness entering the arena for his second lesson. Being the only one threatened by detention, should they lose against the mageknights, the other fire acolytes had much less motivation in the upcoming skirmish. One might think that avoiding being hit should suffice, but it had not proven so in the past. Perhaps he could take a lesson from his teacher and use spite instead.

"I trust none of us want to give the mageknights the satisfaction of victory?" he asked....

304. Flaming Wagers

Martel woke with scant rest in his body, yet pleasant dreams in his mind. Dancing with Ruby had been exhilarating in a way he had not felt in a long time. And the music of the skáld had touched him, nearly moved him to tears. It seemed a wonderful example of what magic could be like, what it might be used for. He wondered if he had been born north of the Frosten river, would he have become a skáld as well? Last night, for a brief while, he had almost wished so.

The price for last nigh...

303. Masquerade

The common room of The River Pearl was transformed. Decorations of all sorts filled the walls and tables. Some of them reminded him of the masks from the Western Isles that he had seen in Maximilian's home; others looked almost Tyrian or perhaps Sindhian, portraying strange shapes or symbols unknown to him.

As for the guests, some were dressed as him, while others wore far less. In fact, Martel could not always tell the difference between the serving girls and boys of the Pearl and some...

302. A Fox in the Henhouse

While working in the apothecary Solday morning, Martel could not help but demonstrate his newest ability. Rather than chopping up the lungwort, Martel awakened the magic within the Sindhian way and showed the glowing result to Nora.

"Well, someone's come a long way."

Martel shrugged, trying to look casual about how satisfied he actually felt. "Just took some practice." In his hand, the herb slowly lost its light as the magic dwindled away.

"Still room for improvement, I see....

301. His Own Choosing

Mandays had started to feel almost reassuring to Martel. Unlike the harsh training of the three previous days, or the often troublesome affairs he spent his Soldays on, Manday reminded him of when he had first started. A lesson with Master Fenrick, teaching him the lore of the continent, and a second with Master Alastair, learning elemental magic.

"Good," his teacher told him as Martel's bolt of earth struck the battlemage on the shoulder. "Still some ways to go before it really makes m...

300. Raising Walls

As the acolytes gathered in the Circle of Fire, their shared looks told Martel they all felt as unhappy and apprehensive as he did. Everyone knew what awaited them once Moira arrived. They stood in silence rather than repeat the arguments from yesterday's failed fight; presumably like Martel, none of them had the energy for it.

Their teacher appeared, giving them all disdainful looks. "You little fools. Did you think one bright idea would take care of the mageknights permanently? I hope...

299. Painful Observations

Another Malday, another lesson spent whacking the other fire acolytes with his staff. He could do it purely on routine, giving Martel time to think about his meeting tonight with Sparrow. If she refused, should he keep trying to persuade her? It seemed an obvious decision to him, choosing education and safety over her current precarious situation, but he could not fault her for being afraid of wizards. Perhaps he should have Flora speak with her. Meeting another mage, a woman who shared Sparr...

298. School Interview

Despite a busy Pelday ahead of him, Martel was not going to let the matter of Sparrow rest. She could this very night be safe and warm inside the Lyceum with a bright future ahead of her. The only question was how to speak with her and present this opportunity without Weasel interfering. Martel had an idea that might work, but first, he had to attend his classes. He would have to go tonight as soon as the supper bell rang, foregoing the last meal; for that reason, he made sure to eat all he c...

297. Trampled

It would be obvious to ask his teachers how exactly children were tested for magic. After all, they had to do so regularly to find their next students. If nothing else, the overseer had to know everything worth knowing. Yet Martel hesitated to ask her or anyone else at the Lyceum. Even if Mistress Juliana, or Master Alastair for that matter, had been willing to keep Martel's secret hidden from everyone, he could not assume anything about how they might treat Sparrow.

In their eyes, perh...

296. The Power of a Potion

The next day saw Martel back in Mistress Rana's laboratory. Stepping inside and looking at the shelves lined with ingredients, he felt a little envious that she had the knowledge, skills, and equipment to pursue her alchemy while he lacked all three. And although every bell spent in this place ostensibly helped to remedy that, they remained outside his grasp; the last in particular, unless he could think of ways to earn more coin. Though before he went down that path, it might be wise to ask ...

295. Unexpected Light

"Since the hours seem to fit us both, I decided to make our switch of lessons on Mandays permanent," Mistress Rana told him. "You will need to practice alchemy regularly, after all, so we might as well have a fixed day for it."

Martel inclined his head in agreement. "Sounds good, mistress." He definitely agreed that regular practice would be needed. He still felt far from any hope of actually brewing an elixir on his own.

His teacher left, and Martel resumed his work in the apothe...

294. The Glow of an Idea

Malday meant another encounter with the mageknights, though not until his second combat lesson. Before noon, Martel practised staff fighting as usual with the other battlemages. He had long since abandoned the notion that this would be anything other than a waste of time. Despite how staff fighting had helped them win their brawl against the mageknights last time, the other acolytes seemed to still consider training with weapons to be beneath them. As probably the only one with experience in ...

293. Gracious as a Scarecrow

With his obligations towards Lady Pearl fulfilled, Martel could focus on his schoolwork again, in particular alchemy. Eager for any advantage he might gain unlocking the Sindhian craft, Martel's thoughts turned towards the library, which might contain tomes on alchemy that could help him; he had not investigated the books on the upper floors, where the real knowledge was shelved. Unfortunately, by the time he returned to the Lyceum, the librarian had left his post, and Martel still needed him...

292. Silken Negotiations

Arriving at the small port that lay just outside the capital, where the river met the sea, Martel remembered his last trip to the place with the Night Knives. That journey had ended with them being ambushed on the return, so he kept his eyes open this time.

Not that he expected anything to happen while still on the streets; the city guards maintained a good presence in Smallport, and given its size, a patrol would never be far away. Added to that, the amount of people and traffic moving...

291. Gemstone

Learning Sindhian alchemy felt like when he first arrived at the Lyceum, struggling to acquire even the simplest control over his magic. He could create a few effects, use his powers a little, but none of it actually helped him accomplish what he was meant to do.

Nora did her best to encourage him, explaining it had taken her almost a month before she had cracked it. Martel had not been trying that long yet, so it was too early to despair. He would have to devote his spare hours to more...

290. Slipping Through Fingers

The next day, Martel went to the apothecary at second bell as usual, even though his work with Mistress Rana had been moved to the sixth bell. Instead, he hoped that Nora could give him some insight into the exercise of awakening the magic in alchemical ingredients. He expected that since she had first learned Asterian magic like him, she might better understand the difficulties he faced.

As he arrived, she greeted him properly for the first time in over a month. As she began to talk, h...

289. Dazzling Pearls

The next day during his apothecary shift, Mistress Rana appeared again. "We shall do the same tomorrow as last fiveday," she told Martel. "You'll join me upstairs during sixth bell instead of the second, and you may work to complete a potion from start to finish."

"Very well, mistress." Martel already felt excited. As soon as he had control of the basic method, he would have to look into recipes; maybe the library had a tome. Getting ingredients would be another obstacle, but the possib...

288. Carrying Water

For the second lesson on Malday, it seemed that they would resume training with fire acolytes and mageknights mixed together. Moira did not appear either, leaving their practice entirely in the hands of Reynard. Paired up with Alain, Martel nodded to him as they prepared to train. They stood against two mageknights, Eleanor and her friend Clarisse.

"Begin!"

Martel immediately retreated one step behind Alain, letting him act as a shield to hold the two attackers back. Fighting pure...

287. Arsenal

As another fiveday started, Martel felt cautiously optimistic that he had escaped any consequences from his latest brush with the inquisitors. He still had to be careful, of course, avoiding the mage hunters' suspicions while watching out for any other ploys by Duke Cheval, but on the whole, he felt good. The vengeful nobleman's plot had been foiled, Flora's life saved, and Martel could focus on his spellwork and alchemy.

His good cheer lasted until a letter arrived for him in a sealed ...

286. Small Glow

Having seen how Sindhian alchemy worked up close, Martel finally understood how different it was. It should not have come as a surprise, given he knew about Tyrian runes, which likewise channelled magic completely different to the Asterian craft. Still, seeing what felt like almost raw or pure magic, floating in water with only a fragile bond keeping it in place, made him realise the limits of his own knowledge.

To Martel, magic had manifested itself as fire. As a child, the two had bee...

285. Liquid Magic

Martel had rarely slept as well at night as he did these days, his body and magic being pushed to the limit. With that in mind, waking up on Manday felt almost relaxing; his first class, Archean language, only required him to sit still and listen. And compared to lessons with Moira, learning elemental spells from Master Alastair in the afternoon was a breeze.

And this particular morning was even more relaxing, as his alchemy work had moved from second to sixth bell. For once, Martel ate...

284. Spite

After several miserable days filled with fear, terror, dread, and plenty of pain, Martel felt vindicated by the victory on Malday. Getting a second full night's sleep in a row did not hurt either, and he faced Glunday in a reasonable mood. He just needed to get through two lessons of fire magic, avoiding detention in the process, and he had two easy days ahead.

Arriving at the apothecary in the morning, Martel quickly set to work making salves. Nora still only spoke when absolutely need...

283. Tactics of a Scarecrow

Waking up on Malday, Martel felt mostly restored after a proper night's sleep; physically speaking, at least. Moira had not kept him for a full bell, but it had still been a long hour of agony and brutal exertion trying to avoid her spells. He stretched his limbs and neck, wondering if such magical attacks left any lasting damage, but his body felt fine. As for his mind, Martel was unsure. He had been in fights for his life, which obviously had been much more fearful situations than this. But...

282. Late Lessons

When first bell rang, Martel figured it was a mistake; he had only just closed his eyes. It felt like he had barely slept at all. Dreading the day ahead, he burrowed under his blanket again. Pelday with two lessons in fire magic when he already felt terrible. He tried to get some more sleep, but soon after, the sounds of other students in the hallway outside his room woke him back up. Resigned, Martel got out of bed and began his morning routine.

***

Arriving at the Circle of Fire...

281. Rolled Up

His decisions and plans made, Martel walked back from the copper lanes. He took an unusual route for his return to the Lyceum, disguising where he had been. His stomach rumbled with the knowledge that he would miss supper, and he had no money to buy any; his wages, given to him this morning by Mistress Rana, had been delivered to Weasel as promised for his services last night.

The little rascal had demanded twice that for helping Martel out with his plan tonight, but thankfully, Marcus ...

280. Slow Means

First thing, once back in the Lyceum, Martel went to the baths. He needed to get rid of the sewer stench; not only for his own sake, but to disguise where he had been. While scrubbing himself, he heard the distant sound of the first bell ringing. Sleep would have to wait. Trying to get any rest now, he would just end up sleeping through his chores at the second and third bell.

Removing the last traces of the sewers from his body, Martel wished he could do the same with his mind. He had ...

279. The First Touch

Walking through the sewers instead of fleeing or sneaking through the streets of Morcaster, Martel had time to consider what a disaster the whole night had turned out to be. He kicked himself for being greedy, letting the promise of coin blind him to such dangers. At the same time, neither Flora nor Marcus had voiced any reservations about taking this task.

It made Martel wonder who exactly had been the target. His first instinct would be that this was all part of the constant skirmishe...

278. Down the Hatch

Bent over with his cloak almost huddled around him, Martel followed Weasel through the copper lanes. Being nearly twice as tall, his long legs could easily keep up with the urchin even with this posture.

They followed a path straight north. After they had walked a while, Martel grew doubtful, wondering exactly at their route. "How much further until we go underground? You're here to take me through the sewers, not through the city." Once they left the copper lanes, streetlamps and regul...

277. Improvised Aid

Three people made their way on the crooked streets of Morcaster, leaving the harbour district to enter the copper lanes. One of them walked in front, moving with hasty steps yet constantly stopping to accommodate the slower pace of his companions, giving him a nervous aura. Behind him came a bulky man supporting a woman half-bent over, staggering her steps. Few people were about at this hour of the night, and any they encountered quickly looked away, minding their own business. All sorts of p...

276. Trouble in the Alley

Flora took a sharp breath as she glanced out through the shutters again. A curse followed. "I think you're right."

"I don't understand. I thought we'd defend this cargo from criminals – why is the city guard here? They would be paid off," Marcus pointed out. "And with inquisitors? How can they know we got mages inside?"

"Good questions to ponder later," the earthmage retorted. "Now, we make our escape."

"What about the cargo? Our payment?" Marcus protested.

Flora sen...