Quill

62. Looking for Group

Martel woke feeling a little deflated. He had looked forward all fiveday to see Shadi, and his anticipation had only increased when he found out about the play. Now he felt separated from yet another important person in his life.

He did his work in the apothecary with a muted expression, following instructions from Mistress Rana as usual. "You are quiet," she remarked. "Good I hope that m...

61. Cobbled Streets

On Solday, Martel reflected on the past fiveday. He had attended celebrations in two mansions and eaten more expensive food than he ever knew could be found together, he had proven his magic against more advanced students and in front of Morcaster's nobility, he had seen a play inspired by his own deeds, enjoying another party after that, and tonight he intended to repeat the experience with Sh...

60. Stranger than Fiction

The bare stone walls of the Lyceum felt dull compared to the decorated marble halls where Martel had spent twice an evening this fiveday. Not only the ornaments, but the lack of music, rich foods, and any sign of festivities despite this being summer solstice. The Lyceum could only boast of one thing; it had magic. As he arrived in class, Martel found a seat and waited for Master Fenrick to beg...

59. Encore

The four duellists entered the centre of the hall with all eyes on them. "Martel, let me have your knife. I will subdue Guillaume and we can handle the battlemage together. You just distract her until then."

Having no better plan in mind, Martel silently gave his knife to Eleanor. Opposite them, Cheval drew his dagger with a smirk, clearly relishing the situation. The battlemage simply lo...

58. A Challenger Appears

Glunday morning passed quietly, Martel tending to his chores and classes as usual. Tonight was the feast at Eleanor's home, but he did not feel nervous the way he had before Maximillian's; nothing would be required of him, after all. He would show up, eat as much of their expensive food as he could, and maybe even enjoy himself in Eleanor's company, assuming she had time for him. He gathered th...

57. Plays in Motion

When Martel woke, the events of yesterday felt more like a dream, but a pair of black shoes next to his own boots dispelled any such notion. He opened the drawer to look at his borrowed garments. Inside his commode, the clothes lay neatly folded together. The value of the silk shirt alone made him uncomfortable. Martel pushed the drawer shut and got ready for breakfast and kitchen duty.

~...

56. Marbled Performance

As Martel and Maximilian descended the stairs to the grand hall, they had a perfect view of the ongoing celebration. Across the wide space, tables stood scattered, decked with food and drink. In small groups, the guests congregated around these, supplying themselves with all manners of nourishment. While some of it looked recognisable to Martel, he could not claim to know the dishes. Various ki...

55. Clothes Make the Mage

Shortly after the first bell had awakened the Lyceum, Martel heard a knock on his door. This had happened only a few times, and he wondered at the occasion. Dressed just in his long nightshirt, he unbolted and opened his door. On the other side, he found Maximilian. "Good, come with me. The tailor is waiting."

"Tailor? I have clothes," Martel replied confused.

The young nobleman gav...

54. The Gifts of Friendship

Summer might have arrived with the promise of celebrations throughout the city, but Martel still had his ordinary schedule to get through. That meant two hours working for Master Jerome on Soldays. His tasks had started to become more interesting, though. Because of his work for Mistress Rana, Martel had been entrusted to help making ink. The process resembled what he had learned to do in the a...

53. Early Days of Summer

For more than a month, Martel barely left the school except to spend an hour or two with Shadi on Soldays. He practised his magic diligently, chasing the elusive mastery of air. He worked every day in the apothecary, learning about the properties of the different reagents he prepared. He found time to help Master Jerome on occasion with different chores, earning a few pieces of silver for himse...

52. Standing Against the Wind

Martel stood in the Hall of Elements, listening intently. After a full night's sleep, he felt a lot better and able to focus on his teacher's instructions.

"Air is the most intangible of the elements. It is everywhere, surrounding us, which can make it feel as if it is nowhere. For when you reach out with your magic, what exactly is there to grasp?" Master Alastair stared at Martel, letti...

51. Seeing the Signs

Martel did not appreciate this Solday morning. He had barely fallen asleep, it felt like, before the first bell rang. He continued to doze off in bed, nearly missing breakfast. He dragged his feet working for two hours in the washery; to his luck, Master Jerome did not supervise his work, being busy elsewhere in the workshop.

No such fortune followed him to the apothecary. Both Nora and M...

50. Cutting Strings

Maximilian had surprise on his side as he strolled through the shattered door, wielding a war hammer and a shield. Yet the Broken Blades were all veterans, accustomed to danger and swift to react. Recovering quickly, they grabbed the nearest weapon to fight back, whether club, sword, or spear. In the back, one man reached for bow and arrow.

A spear came against Maximilian, who deflected w...

49. The Broken Blades

Martel could not see, speak, or move. He felt the bandits carry him around before ungently dropping his body down again. The rumbling of wheels told him he lay in a cart, being transported somewhere. All the while, the leather string with golden coins tied to it choked his throat. Worse than his difficulty in breathing was the suffocation of his magic. As he had never been without his gift befo...

48. Strung Along

Arriving at the apothecary for his morning work, Martel once again met only Nora. "It's starting to feel like you're here more than Mistress Rana," he jested.

"Oh, she's here plenty except if she's out of the city to gather herbs and such," the apprentice remarked. "But I think she's waiting to see if you stick to it before investing more time in you. Not a lot who'd work one bell every d...

47. A Cold Touch

Martel woke refreshed after a solid night's sleep, feeling good about himself. He had witnessed an injustice and used his power to correct it. Even his weak skills in magic had been enough to handle that thug and scare him off. He could only dream of what he might accomplish once his powers grew further.

In the apothecary, only Nora was present like yesterday. She greeted him and gave him...

46. Bread and Balm

Martel rarely if ever enjoyed his lessons in combat magic on Maldays, but today, he was more eager to get through them than usual. When he had made it home last night after visiting the homeless children, it had been after last bell, and Eleanor was already asleep. He tried to catch her alone at breakfast, but her friends did not allow that to happen, and Martel was not interested in discussing...

45. The Monster Within

Hitherto, second bell on Peldays had been empty on Martel's schedule. Thanks to his new arrangement, those free hours were now devoted to the apothecary. When he arrived, he saw no trace of Mistress Rana; instead, her apprentice Nora waited for him.

"Hullo," he said cautiously.

"Hey there. Today it's just you and me, so I get to order you around." Her mirthful expression took the st...

44. What Ails the Heart

Next day was Solday and the resumption of Martel's regular schedule with the addition of his new daily task in the apothecary. First though, his old duty of assisting the artificer beckoned. Two hours of doing small works of maintenance followed. Dull, but Martel felt no need for excitement. Between the journey to the Stone of Archen and yesterday's troubling event, his appetite for adventure w...

43. Against the Stream

The journey home proved uneventful, which Martel was thankful for. The visit to the Stone of Archen had given him more excitement than he needed, even if the students themselves were to blame, himself included. And while Martel was no stranger to rough sleeping, he had gotten used to his own bed in his own room. Not to mention proper meals and freshly baked bread that the kitchens of the Lyceum...

42. Burnt Children

The small band took a few branches from the campfire as torches and headed for the ruins. The dark hindered their progress. And they stumbled around a bit until they found the door that led down.

Light still streamed in from above as they entered the moon chamber. Without hesitation, Cheval stepped onto the sigil of the Jester. Alain joined him on the next symbol of the Warrior. All of th...

41. It was Pity Killed the Beast

Since they had arrived one day early, the small band had to spend a day waiting for the convergence. Master Fenrick kept them busy with various exercises as demanded by their teachers back at the Lyceum. In between, they gathered firewood and filled their waterskin, and they explored the ruins further. The latter did not yield any results such; anything of value had long since been removed. Onl...

40. On the Threshold

For another three days, they followed the wide road north until at last, Master Fenrick diverted their course west. Travelling on dirt roads, the land grew wild. As their teacher explained, this was no coincidence; people usually did not dare to dwell near Archen ruins, for good reason.

It took another day before they saw the first signs of civilisation. A broken stone ward, perhaps once ...

39. On the Road

On the morning of their departure, Martel still felt a little apprehensive, but he assumed they were all in good hands with Master Fenrick. And out of six acolytes that he would be travelling with, two were his friends.

Of course, one was decidedly not his friend, but Cheval had kept a quiet attitude ever since his humiliation, especially with Maximilian around.

Once breakfast had b...

38. The Question of Khiva

Note for Novices: I don't think I properly sent out email notifications about the last chapters being made available on your tier. So before you read this chapter, I suggest make sure you haven't accidentally skipped over any of the previous chapters. Sorry for the confusion, and enjoy the chapter!

 ~~

"Master Fenrick? You mentioned how magic is the same in different p...

37. Dancing Stars

"Master Alastair, may I ask a question?"

"Always." His teacher looked up from the pile of dirt in the Hall of Elements. "What is it?"

"Mistress Juliana told me yesterday we're going to some stone of Archen. What is that?"

"Ah, yes. Which teacher is taking you?"

"Master Fenrick, I believe it was."

"Good, good. He knows most."

Martel pushed the dirt with his fo...

36. Silver Lining

After the intense events of the faire, Martel was happy to wake up on an ordinary Solday. He looked forward to assisting Master Jerome and practise his magic according to his own schedule. Since he forgot his chore last Solday, Martel felt particularly eager to make up for it.

His task turned out quite ordinary. An enormous pile of big feathers from geese lay before him along with a knife...

35. The Rooster and the Egg

Glunday passed with little excitement; as Manday came around, it promised to be eventful. It was the end of the spring faire. Besides the final revelry, the travelling players would perform their last play. But first, Martel had two lessons in theory of magic. The second of these could be a drag to get through, consisting of practical exercises to improve their magical endurance, but Martel loo...

34. Shared Spoils

At breakfast, the same spectacle happened as last night's supper. Once Martel had taken a seat, novices and acolytes alike filled the table. A few asked eager questions of Martel, but his curt responses curtailed their inquisitive behaviour; he was not in the mood to relive the events.

"Move over." Maximilian's words made several of the students hurry to make room for him, allowing him to...

33. Staying Grounded

His face still sore, Martel applied Eleanor's balm to his cheek as the first thing when he woke up, just as he had done yesterday when coming home. Relief came quickly and he sank back into bed, dozing for a while longer. Thankfully, his kitchen duties on Pelday lay at lunchtime, not breakfast.

He wolfed down a hearty meal an hour later and went to his first elemental lesson of the day. C...