The Wandering Inn_Volume 1

by Pirateaba

  “And I don’t have a master right now and I could really use some magical instruction…”

  “And?”

  She was going to make Ceria say it again. The half-Elf took a breath.

  “Teach me magic.”

  “No.”

  “You did it last year.”

  “Because I had to.”

  “I would really like you to be my master. Please?”

  “No.”

  “Can I change your mind?”

  “No.”

  “What if I got you breakfast?”

  “No.”

  “What would you like to eat today? They’ve got mashed potatoes and sausage, but there’s also quite a good spread of greens today if you want—”

  “Go away.”

  “If you taught me magic, I’m sure I could help you out so much.”

  “No.”

  “Please?”

  “No.”

  “Pretty please?”

  “No.”

  “What if I—”

  “No.”

  —-

  Ceria didn’t get Illphres to teach her magic that day. Or the next. Or the next. But every day she found herself standing outside of Illphres’ door, and every day the ice mage looked more and more annoyed to find Ceria standing there. But she never wavered, and Ceria never gave up trying to persuade her, much to the amusement of her friends.

  “It’s not exactly uncommon, what Ceria’s doing. She needs a master, you see. Someone to teach her magic.”

  Calvaron explained to Montressa as the young woman sat with them and studied. She’d quickly become a part of their group and sat with them when the students ate or studied—usually in Calvaron’s room. She was earnest, enthusiastic, and, Ceria was happy to find, not at all bothered by other species. She treated Ceria exactly the same as Pisces, which was a refreshing change of pace.

  “Do all second-year students have to get a mage to teach them?”

  Montressa, or Mons as everyone had grown to call her, looked up from her spellbook as Pisces muttered to himself and frowned over his spellbook. He’d managed to figure out how to turn himself transparent, but that was a far cry from true [Invisibility].

  “Not at all.”

  Calvaron shook his head and sat up importantly. He gestured to Beatrice, who was sitting next to him and leaning against his lower half. They were sharing a blanket.

  “You see, older students like Beatrice and I, well, we have to have masters because it’s simply too hard to progress otherwise. There’s a limited number of spellbooks and besides, older mages can help us in so many ways.”

  “But it’s hard. Masters don’t always need apprentices.”

  “Exactly, thank you Beatrice. Many mages don’t want to have to teach younger mages, so we have to persuade them. Sometimes it’s with services we can provide—I can get my master almost anything he needs thanks to my connections and Beatrice helps her master with his spells. But it’s all variable. Some mages like my master have multiple apprentices and teach them all, and others have only one like Beatrice’s.”

  “And some don’t want apprentices. Like Illphres.”

  “But if she doesn’t want one, then why—”

  “Ah, well, only Ceria could tell you why anyone would be crazy enough to want Illphres as a teacher.”

  Ceria raised her head from her spellbook and scowled at Calvaron.

  “I think she’s an excellent mage, okay? And I want a master who knows actual combat magic. Illphres is the only mage I actually know, and I think I can convince her.”

  Calvaron winked at Mons.

  “There’s a running bet on. Fifty-to-one says Ceria doesn’t manage it by the end of the year. But she’s doing her best, and it’s been done before. Bothering the older mages constantly is a valid tactic.”

  “So long as she doesn’t freeze Ceria’s ears off.”

  “She wouldn’t do that, would she?”

  Ceria just shrugged.

  “She might. But I think she likes me.”

  —-

  The first month had passed in a blink of an eye, and the second was almost over as Ceria walked through the hallways of Wistram. She was looking for Pisces so they could get together and study after their class on enchantments. She passed by students and mages, nodding to some, smiling at others, wondering where Pisces had run off to.

  This was Ceria’s life in her second year at Wistram. A lot had changed, but much had stayed the same. She still took classes, although they were harder, and she actively pestered Illphres every time she saw her. Being a second-year student only meant you studied more; a student was still a student and Ceria had already gotten used to classes and practicing spells day in and day out.

  But one thing was different. Ceria found Pisces by following the excited voices. She heard a roar as she pushed her way through a crowd of students and saw Pisces, rapier in hand, pointing it at another young man who had both hands raised.

  “My victory, Ramon.”

  Pisces smiled at the third-year student. The other mage flushed bright red, but he reluctantly dropped the sword and wand in his hands.

  “That was unfair! I never saw—”

  “A victory’s a victory. Pay up.”

  Pisces didn’t lower his rapier until Ramon tore a pouch from his belt and hurled it at him. The bag slowed in midair and Pisces snagged it. He sheathed his rapier with a flourish as the crowd began to break up. Ramon stomped away towards another group of Humans who glared at Ceria as she approached.

  “Another duel? Dead gods, how many is that this week, Pisces? Six?”

  “Eight, in fact. And you won’t believe how much I won this time. Six gold pieces and ten silver.”

  Ceria whistled as she fell into step beside him. Pisces grinned widely as he added the coins to his bulging purse. He had come to this academy poor, but now he was rich in both coin and secrets.

  “They must have been very certain they’d beat you this time. What did that Ramon fellow have? A wand?”

  Pisces nodded.

  “A dancing sword enchantment on one of the daggers and he had a wand with a frost spell attuned to it. He must have thought he could corner me with his sword, but he’s a poor fighter. It was a simple victory.”

  “In that case, you’re paying for drinks tonight. Come on, I want to go over what we learned in class. Let’s go.”

  Pisces frowned as he stowed his money pouch at his side.

  “Where? A library? I told you I prefer solitude. Our room are back that way, if you recall.”

  “Don’t be stupid. Montressa invited us to her rooms, remember? And they’re a lot less messy than yours and far bigger than mine.”

  “Oh. Of course.”

  It was now Ceria and Pisces’ custom to study with Montressa if Calvaron and Beatrice were busy. And the two older students often were. Aside from their more difficult classes, the two were officially an item now, which came as no surprise to anyone that knew them. Calvaron’s obvious affection for Beatrice made Ceria sick sometimes; not the affection itself mind, but the lavish compliments he heaped on her every second.

  Pisces sniffed as he adjusted his robes. Ceria eyed him as she walked.

  “You need to wash your robes again, or learn a cleaning spell, Pisces. Dead gods, if you can learn [Invisibility] in one month you’d think you could look up [Cleanse] or something!”

  He looked down at his robes with a frown.

  “I don’t think they’re that dirty.”

  “I can see stains all over them! Go buy some new ones—I’m sure Calvaron could find you some nice ones enchanted against messes.”

  “I prefer to save my coin for more important things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Spellbooks, Springwalker, spellbooks. Even with what I can earn in duels, obtaining a new spellbook will be extremely expensive. I need to save all the secrets and coin I can. Why, a wand would set me back—”

  “Just don’t be surprised if Montre
ssa kicks you out of her room for being too messy.”

  “She wouldn’t do that, surely?”

  Pisces looked worried. Ceria paused.

  “No, I don’t think she would. She likes you, I think.”

  “Really?”

  He brightened. Ceria made a face at him.

  “You can’t tell? It’s pretty obvious. And don’t tell me you haven’t seen Praemla making eyes at you in class.”

  “Well, I—I might have seen, but you know—”

  There was no accounting for taste. Pisces grew flustered as Ceria kept teasing him. He was fairly popular with the female sex it seemed, if only because he was a genius at magic. Ceria could only roll her eyes when someone brought Pisces up as a potential boyfriend. He was far too messy, distracted, and besides—

  She poked him in the back. Pisces yelped and glared.

  “What?”

  “There’s rat dropping on your robes, Pisces! How have you not cleared those things out yet?”

  “As a matter of fact, those as mice droppings, Ceria. I happened to run across a few briefly earlier this week.”

  “Again? Do you seek out rodents in your spare time or something?”

  “I—”

  He faltered. Ceria glanced sharply at him.

  This is what was different. In the time since they had become second-year students. Pisces had made a name for himself with his prowess in magic and dueling. He could beat students with several years on him thanks to his talent with a rapier. But he was also rich in secrets.

  Very rich. In fact, Ceria sometimes wondered if Pisces had more secrets than Calvaron. It certainly seemed like Pisces knew everything sometimes. People could be whispering in the halls and he’d somehow pick up on it.

  Naturally, everyone suspected Pisces of mastering an advanced eavesdropping spell, but no one could tell when he was using it or which spell it was. More than once Ceria had seen other students casting [Detect Magic] to try and observe him using the spell, but so far they—and she hadn’t been able to figure out how Pisces was doing it.

  “Something on your mind?”

  “A bit.”

  He turned down a corridor and Ceria saw him whisper a standard ward against listening. He kept talking casually with her, as if nothing had happened.

  “You know, I’ve been meaning to speak with you, Ceria. There’s something I’d like to show you later.”

  “Really? What?”

  “A secret. A big one. Remember when we found the spellbook last year? Well—”

  Pisces broke off and Ceria felt the ward around them vanish. He raised his voice and called out.

  “Mons! Ah, good. We were just coming to see you.”

  She hurried towards him, smiling widely, holding a stack of books in her arms. Ceria greeted Montressa and in a moment they were in her rooms.

  Montressa had been given a large room—probably because her family had bought her way into Wistram. Ceria and Pisces sat at a wonderful table inlaid with ivory while they chatted in between periods of study.

  “Did you go to Illphres again, Ceria? I can’t believe you stand outside her door every day!”

  “It’s a habit. I think I’m getting to her—she’s started waking up earlier to try and avoid me.”

  “I don’t see why she doesn’t turn you to ice. Everyone says she has a temper. She’s so scary!”

  “Like I said, she likes me. And—uh, I think she might get in trouble if she does it. I hear she did it once and got in a lot of trouble with the Council. So I’m…probably…safe.”

  “How many days has it been, Springwalker? Fifty six?”

  “Yup. And I told you, stop calling me Springwalker, Pisces.”

  He shrugged.

  “As you wish. However, I must inquire. Isn’t there another mage with suitable qualifications that might serve as a master instead of Illphres?”

  “There are. But they all already have apprentices or they’re like Illphres. I want a master who can teach me one-on-one, you know?”

  Pisces and Montressa nodded. He frowned, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the table.

  “I support your efforts, but it would be prudent to have a fallback plan. Illphres is…”

  “I know. If I can’t persuade her by the end of the year I’ll give up. Frankly, I hope I can get her to give in before that or passing the yearly tests is going to be tough.”

  “Yearly tests? No one told me about yearly tests! I thought there were only the entrance exams for new students!”

  Montressa sat up, looking alarmed. Pisces chuckled and waved a hand.

  “You need not worry, Mons. You see, the yearly tests only apply to second-year students and beyond. And they’re not so much tests as…qualification exams.”

  “That’s a test, Pisces.”

  Ceria sighed and rubbed her head as she closed her spellbook. She tried to explain to Mons.

  “You see, at the end of the year all mages have to prove they’ve learned something while studying at Wistram. It can be anything from a spell they’ve learned to reciting something they’ve studied or presenting something they’ve made—it’s just to prove they’re worth keeping. Otherwise the mage might be forced to pay to stay—it can be only a bit for food and lodging, or a lot if the mage is a lazy waste of space like Charles de Trevalier.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “Ceria doesn’t really need to worry that much, in truth, Mons. Second-year students don’t get tested nearly as harshly as older students like Calvaron and Beatrice.”

  “That’s rich, coming from the mage who mastered [Invisibility] in one month.”

  “Ah, well, all the better to spy with you see?”

  “Just so long as you’re not caught peeping in any of the female student’s rooms, Pisces. I’ve heard some of them have learned anti-invisibility spells already.”

  Pisces drew himself up indignantly.

  “I would never stoop to such behavior! If you want to accuse anyone of voyeurism, try Quesm. You don’t think he’s taking scrying classes for purely academic reasons, do you?”

  Both Mons and Ceria made noises of disgust. Talk turned back towards spells—this time on wards to prevent scrying and who might be willing to put them up in their rooms. Ceria never did get to ask what Pisces was going to say in the hallway, but she sometimes wondered if he would tell her.

  She thought he would, eventually.

  —-

  “There are more and more raids by pirates each week, it seems.”

  Ceria pursued Illphres down the corridor. The mage ignored her. Doggedly, Ceria continued, trying to keep up a monologue.

  “A lot of people think it’s the Drowned Men—not all of them obviously, but probably a few ships of them. They’re hitting all the major sailing routes, and some of the ships going to and from Wistram. Some nations have offered Wistram a reward if we destroy the ships. What do you think about that?”

  “Pay for magic. That’s common. So what?”

  “Well…I was thinking I might join in if the Council decides to send a hunting party. There’d probably be a lot of older students going, but it would be a good way to test my abilities in battle.”

  Illphres turned her head to stare at Ceria.

  “You? You wouldn’t last five minutes against a group of raiders.”

  “Not by myself, but Wistram would hire a group of mercenaries and send a bunch of combat-capable students. Pisces said he might go. Calvaron and Beatrice wouldn’t, but it seems safe enough, don’t you think?”

  “Arrogance.”

  That was Illphres’ only comment. She walked out of the corridor and Ceria had to shade her eyes as she stepped out into the light. She found herself on a large walkway directly over the ocean.

  This part of the citadel hung out over the calm seas. Ceria wondered why Illphres had come here. She stared down queasily into the water below. They were quite a ways out over the ocean—magic enabled the walkway to stretch far further than normal architectural engineeri
ng could allow.

  Illphres stopped at the edge of the walkway. It had no guard rails, and so the mage could stare down straight into churning surf. She turned and passed a hand over her face. She was smirking a bit as Ceria halted a few steps back.

  “You aren’t going to follow me over here like always?”

  “I uh, don’t like heights that much.”

  “I thought half-Elves all swung around on branches and lived in trees.”

  “No, no…we don’t do that.”

  Ceria cursed as her stomach roiled. Illphres was clearly enjoying herself. How had she found out Ceria was afraid of heights?

  “Looks like the secret I paid for is true. You hate heights.”

  “I—it’s more than I’m afraid of falling. Why did you come here?”

  Illphres gestured to the open air around Ceria. She stared hard at the half-Elf.

  “Four months you’ve followed me around. It’s annoying and you won’t stop.”

  Ceria swallowed hard.

  “No, no I won’t. Look, I know you don’t want an apprentice, but I need a master and you’re—well, brilliant. Please, won’t you teach me? I learned so much from you last year.”

  Illphres considered this. She passed a hand over her face and her smile was slight and mischievous this time.

  “I might. That’s why I’m testing you today.”

  “A test?”

  Ceria’s ears perked up. She was going to be tested? She took a deep breath, hope fluttering in her chest.

  “I’m willing to do whatever I need to.”

  “Really? Good. In that case—jump.”

  Illphres said the word lightly as she pointed down to the ocean below. Ceria’s heard stopped.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Jump. And I’ll make you my apprentice.”

  For a few seconds Ceria stared at Illphres. The woman was smiling at her. Just smiling.

  “No. Hell no. That’s stupid.”

  “Oh? I thought you’d do anything.”

  “I’m not an idiot. Who’d jump just because you said so?”

  Ceria glared at Illphres. The woman looked amused. She shrugged and walked past Ceria.

  “At least you’re a bit intelligent. I wouldn’t teach you if you did jump. Be careful not to slip.”