by Brian Keller
The guards had passed but the three of them remained crouched behind the building, conversing. Felis suggested, “Show me where this poisoner lives. If he has more poison there, I’ll find it.” Miss Camilla was shaking her head. “This poison is surprisingly lethal. Now that we know it works when inhaled, anyone can use it. You wouldn’t know what you might be walking into. We’ll all come back out tomorrow night and get him if he comes out.” Felis grunted, “Assuming we aren’t all forbidden to leave the Guild house when the Masters find out what we’ve done tonight.” Miss Camilla shrugged, “If anyone gets restricted, it’ll be me. The two of you shouldn’t be affected. And you don’t need me to come along tomorrow night, anyway.” Cooper peered around the corner, “I think the guards are gone. Are we still working on trying to get a sample tonight?” Miss Camilla, usually so self-assured, seemed uncertain, “We’re almost as likely to get poisoned by any sample we find. But we need to make sure no one else gets killed here. That’s what this is for.” She held the paint and brush in her hand. “Take another look to make sure it’s clear.” Cooper slipped around the corner and looked around. The guards had moved on. Once he called back to them, they emerged and Miss Camilla began painting. When they left, there were words on the door visible from across the street, “Danger! Poison! Death!” along with a skull and crossbones. As they walked away Felis was chuckling, “Great, now the guards will raid the place thinking they’ve located the dumbest pirates ever.” For that comment he was awarded a playful punch to the shoulder.
Chapter 12
The following morning, things seemed unchanged on the surface but Cooper could almost sense the undercurrents and couldn’t help but notice the urgency in the movements of some people who would normally blend with the background.
Cooper’s first two classes that day progressed as if nothing had happened. Once he reached Miss Camilla’s classroom, however, it became apparent that their activities last night had garnered significant attention. Two old men and one middle aged man hovered over Miss Camilla’s shoulder, watching her progress as she added drops to some flasks and vials and poured contents from some bottles to others and periodically jotted down a quickly scribbled notation. Every time she stopped to write, the three men crowded in closely so as to read what she’d written. At one point, the middle aged man started to speak, “Camilla, I think you are neglecting to consid-“. She interrupted him, “Sir, no disrespect, for most certainly you are my senior, but if you wish to make observations I suggest you go out and procure samples of your own.” This seemed to effectively silence the man, but he certainly did not appear pleased. Cooper suspected the conversation would likely be revisited, when efficiency was less important. He wondered if Miss Camilla hadn’t just overstepped her bounds. Cooper doubted whether there was anything he could do, but he was already involved so he felt compelled to ask. He walked to the front of the classroom. The older men watched him with interest as he drew closer. Cooper cleared his throat, “Anything new, Miss?” Miss Camilla looked disoriented for a split second, as if she recognized his voice but took a moment to identify it. She recovered immediately and looked up, “Cooper! Is it that time already!?” she looked around the room. Her eyes seemed to glaze for an instant and that’s all it took for Cooper. He walked quickly around her desk and gathered a handful of her robes and guided her to stand and walk with him. Being much smaller, he required her cooperation to make this possible, but the unexpectedness and insistence of his actions caused her to allow him to lead her. Once they’d walked a few steps, her mind caught up with the proceedings, “Cooper! What are you doing?! I have work to do!” Cooper spun her slightly and sat her down on a nearby stool. He looked into her eyes and asked, “How closely have you been working with the samples? How much contact have you had with it?” Miss Camilla shook her head, “Closely, of course. But no direct contact. Why?” His tone became one of concern, “Because you’re acting a little confused, Miss. I might be overreacting, but I’ve never seen you act like this before. Any chance that you’ve breathed any of it?” She considered, “Well, there’s always a chance. But nothing that would be considered a significant exposure. We’ve even closed the windows, to avoid the chance of drafts…” she trailed off as though she had a memory she was trying to grasp, “Master Corwell, didn’t you sneeze sometime within the last ten or fifteen minutes?” The middle aged man reacted as if he’d been stuck with a pin, “What? Me?” One of the older men nodded, “Yes. He did.” the older man turned to Master Corwell, “Which way were you facing when you sneezed? Surely you turned and faced away?” Master Corwell’s expression looked like a combination of indignation and desperation, “I have no recollection of sneezing at all! I think you’re all imagining things. I won’t stand here and listen to this!” He turned to Miss Camilla, “Keep me informed of your progress. I’m leaving.”, and with that he stormed off in a huff. Miss Camilla couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she turned to the two older men and asked, “I still have much to do, but in case Cooper is correct, I will take a break in the greenhouse for a few minutes. The air in there is purified. Could either of you please make sure the classroom doesn’t fall into chaos during my absence?”
Cooper walked her partway across the room before she half-dismissed/half-shooed him away, “I feel confident I can manage.” Then she paused and turned to look at him directly, “Thanks, Cooper. Even if you are overreacting. Thanks.” Cooper smiled, gave her hand a squeeze, and returned to his seat. He spent the next ten minutes writing out the formula for the reagents that were the assignment of the day. After he’d completed it, he left his seat to walk to the back of the classroom and looked through a window that separated the lab from the greenhouse. Miss Camilla was leaning over a patch of hellebore, pruning away some dead material and harvesting a little as she went. She’d noticed Cooper from the corner of her eye and she turned to look at him directly. She then winked as she put a stern expression on her face and made a playful snipping motion at him with her shears before she waved him away. Fifteen minutes later he looked in on her again, she had moved on to some of the other plants. He returned to his seat and five minutes later, Miss Camilla entered the classroom. Her complexion was normal and her gaze was sharp and bright again. Cooper lifted his head from his assignment to look at her and she gave him a slight nod as she returned to her workbench. The older men had been walking around the room, stopping briefly from time to time to take a look at whatever a nearby student was working on. As soon as she came back into the room, the older men each began slowly making their way back to her table. By the time she’d seated herself and started reviewing her notes, the old men were hovering over her shoulder, as if they’d never been interrupted.
Cooper stood and returned again to the front of the room. He spoke quietly but clearly, “I apologize for intruding again, Miss, but is there anything new? Anything that I or a colleague might want to know?” When Miss Camilla looked up from her notes she had an amused expression. “There’s no reason for the attempt at being cryptic, Cooper. The Council knows everything… Everything, and our plan is approved. You and Felis will go back out tonight.” Cooper dropped his head as his shoulders sagged. He had hoped she’d be more discreet. He heard a collective gasp from his classmates behind him. He knew that now he’d be stuck explaining, or trying to avoid explaining, for the next several days. He’d already accepted that he likely had no remaining chance for anonymity, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t try.
Lunch started with a salvo of questions, and the cluster of students continued to grow as the rumors spread. Cooper stood by what had become a standard answer, almost a mantra. “I shouldn’t talk about it right now. There’s too much still to be done.” A few upperclassmen started to act like they wanted to strong-arm an answer out of him. The press of the crowd parted as they became more insistent, “You’re going outside with Felis. What’s the project? Why should you be going on a job with him?” As this questioning escalated, they began to handle him a little more v
igorously. Cooper managed to break the hold on him as he tried to sound menacing, “If you need to know so badly, why don’t you go threaten Felis?” A couple of the upperclassmen looked like they were considering grabbing him again, but something about Cooper made them pause. Within moments Cooper had almost a dozen of his classmates lined up or edging their way closer to him. Cooper heard Kolrem’s calm but clear voice above the general buzz of the crowd. “Maybe you don’t know this, but Cooper here is the kid that tested out against Mister Skran in less than fifteen seconds. Now maybe that was a fluke, maybe it wasn’t, but the fact remains. And right now… he’s not alone. Get me?” The upperclassmen backed off, one of them spoke, “Just curious. Never heard of anyone accompanying Felis before. What’s going on?” Cooper replied with his standard answer. The expressions he got in response made him glad for Kolrem and his classmates’ presence.
When Cooper walked into the Training Room he had another surprise waiting for him. Felis was talking with Mister Skran. Neither looked to be happy at the moment. Cooper entered to hear Mister Skran to say, “This is my classroom. I decide what the students’ lessons will be.” For just a moment Felis held his palms towards Mister Skran to indicate he meant no harm, but they only remained in that position for a moment. His reply was, “And I’m not dictating what your lessons are. In fact, I couldn’t care less. I just want to work with one student for about thirty minutes. The Council knows I’m here and they’ve already approved of my reasoning. You can go take issue with them, but by the time you’ve returned, you’ll know that I’m not only speaking the truth but I’ll also already be finished with what I came here to do.” Felis paused for a breath while Mister Skran tried to tower over him, and nearly succeeded. Felis continued, “I am not disputing your position, but you know I have the authority to insist.” Mister Skran glared at Felis but said no more. He turned his back on him and walked away. He had only taken two steps when he saw Cooper standing at the entrance to the room. Mister Skran yelled, “Cooper, come in here and work with your next sparring partner.” He spoke over his shoulder to Felis, “You have thirty minutes. Starting now. Pick a corner and stay there.”
Cooper crossed the room to join Felis. As he drew nearer Cooper felt compelled to speak, “Both you and Miss Camilla are making it a challenge to be an Apprentice today.” Felis was nodding, “It doesn’t get easier as an Adept, believe me. Enjoy it while you can.”, he paused while sizing Cooper up. “You’ve received blade training?” Cooper nodded. “Dual Handed?” Felis asked. Cooper nodded again. “Any good?” Cooper figured this would be Felis’ last question so he replied with one of his own, “Isn’t that really why you’ve come? To see how much protection I might need tonight?” Felis grinned, “Then let’s see”. With that he dropped into a crouch and advanced. Cooper snatched the blades he had secured across his back, just above his hips. He went from standing up, empty-handed to being in a dual handed, reverse grip, fighting crouch in the blink of an eye. It was a good thing too since Felis was already upon him. The attack was so smooth and fast that Cooper had to concentrate to keep his field of view wide enough to include both blades. Once he found the rhythm that Felis had established, the rhythm abruptly changed. Cooper caught himself tightening up in his efforts to keep the pace. He shifted his footwork to try to create some space to allow him to shake off the tension. Felis shifted with him and did not relent. Cooper tried surging forward behind a block to capture an inside line within Felis’ guard. Felis shifted and swept Cooper’s feet from under him, sending him to the floor in a heap. Felis transferred both blades to one hand as he stepped forward and offered Cooper a hand up. “Good instincts”, Felis said, “and pretty fast for a new fighter. The rumors are true after all. My original hunch about you might just be right.” Cooper waved off Felis’ offer to help him up. By the time Cooper had regained his feet, the Assassin had a blade in each hand and was crouched again. Felis spoke, “Come on then. Strike me, if you can.” Over the next ten minutes Cooper tried every trick, combination and unexpected modification of technique he could think of. Felis countered each with no apparent distress. So far, Felis had not shown any enhanced speed. Any time Cooper tried to press, really press, Felis would simply stymie him, bind up his options and then counter attack. In the span of ten minutes Cooper would’ve been killed dozens of times. At one point Felis stepped back and disengaged. Cooper let his hands drop to his sides and his chin drop to his chest. His eyes remained downcast as he quietly spoke, “I suppose you won’t want me to go with you tonight, after all.” Felis was chuckling, “On the contrary, I’m impressed!” When Cooper gave him a doubtful look, Felis continued, “Most Journeyman students would’ve done no better. I’m using techniques and patterns that you won’t see for at least a year and, for the most part, you kept me from getting through your defense. I doubt you have anything to fear from anyone in the east half of town, except perhaps for a few sellswords.” He appeared to debate for a moment, “I’ve learned what I came to learn. I’ll thank Skran again before I leave. Hopefully that, along with me leaving earlier than expected, will smooth his ruffled feathers. I’ll complement him on your progress, that shouldn’t sound too condescending. I recruited you, after all.”
After Felis left the room, Mister Skran looked no happier. “Cooper! Would you care to rejoin the class now?” Cooper responded immediately, “Absolutely, sir!”, and he ran toward where Mister Skran was standing. While he was closing the distance, Mister Skran pointed at Kolrem, Cooper adjusted his direction. As Cooper joined up with Kolrem, Mister Skran was speaking again, “Kolrem, let me know if Felis ruined Cooper’s technique.”