by Lars M.
Ah. That was fair. "Thank you, Wisdom Pallarson. We will consider our approach, over a brew, if everything works out. First, though, I would like to ask you about what to do about my pet. See, he's a bit... bigger than usual..."
Chapter 21 – Plotting, Planning, Playing, Plastered
We parted ways with the dwarf and started on our way down into the city. At this point, we were starting to feel the effect of a full day on the road, followed by a battle and even more walking. Feeling dejected by the dwarf’s refusal to let Atlas join us, I resolved to visit him as often as possible.
"Whoo. I smell like that time my dad tried to cook." Lyle was sniffing his clothes, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"You mean you smell like... food?"
"Yeah, except, instead of cooking, he managed to set an old lacquer-filled rag on fire, destroy dinner, and make the kitchen stink for days. That smell of chemicals and smoke...urgh." He sniffed his clothes again.
"Let's hope they have a bathhouse, and maybe cleaning services or something. Wait, I think that's the place." Walking around a corner, we stared up at an eccentric-looking building. It appeared similar to a lot of the other surrounding wooden buildings: rectangular two stories and a flat roof, except that every corner held a miniature circular wooden tower. It was reminiscent of a desire to create a small castle with too few materials and only a vague idea of how the damn thing was supposed to look in the first place. Still, above the centered front door was a large sign depicting a harpy, merrily drinking in a nest placed on a perch. "Meline's Perch, right? Let's give it a try." The moment I opened the door and was met by the waft of hot air escaping the place, I felt at home. It's hard to explain, but there's something about a bar that just makes my being relax. The handful of conversations that mixed with each other, a myriad of smells from people, alcohol, and food, and behind it all, the sounds of a guitar and male voice intermingling with the noise of the crowd.
Meline was a harpy - and a matronly one of the kind. Her cheeks were red from the heat and her eyes were crinkled from smiling. She had to shout to be heard over the crowd. "Of course. They told me you were coming. Your rooms are ready. They didn't tell me they'd keep you waiting until rush hour, though. That's the Wisdom for you, right? All brains, no savvy. Savvy?" She winked.
I laughed along with her. "Of course. We're staying for a while, I think, so you'll probably want to tell us the rules, so we know how to act."
"Don't burn the place down, unless you intend to pay for it." Her laughter spilled from her. "No, seriously, as long as you behave, there aren't too many rules. Don't start trouble and don't mistreat me and my employees. You get private rooms, and we close at 1 AM on weekdays and open again at 5. Weekends, we don't close. What else? The Wisdom pay for food and lodging; everything else, you pay for on your own. Oh - and the most important rule: no-"
I spoke along with her, "no credit." Laughing, I continued. "Sorry, I work in a tavern myself. Everything sounds good, and we would love to have something to eat and pay for a bath later on."
"I'll check on the kitchen. Bath house is two doors down. They keep water heated and ready at all hours. Find a table, and I'll see to it that you're treated well."
"Perfect. I feel right at home already."
An hour and a half later, I felt like a new person. We'd had a large meal - filling and tasty, if not on par with Gillem's delicacies - before enjoying a good long soak. The wooden bathtubs in the bath house were large and luxurious, and they served alcohol while you soaked. It promised well for the near future - I'd missed these small luxuries.
Lyle and Arack looked like they shared my state of bliss. We sat around a table in the tavern, each enjoying a drink and nodding along to the music. Though, in Arack's case, it might be more nodding to stay awake. The crowd was a mixed one, but even with all the noise, laughter, and arguments shooting back and forth, they seemed like decent sorts. Arack got her share of looks, but nobody acted outright aggressive. In the corner, a male ratling sang a melodious song in a harsh tongue I didn't know, while a female halfling accompanied him on a lyre.
Lyle was sliding further down into his chair every minute. "We need to bring some of these chairs back home with us. They’re so soft!"
I laughed, scanning the room. "Right? No splinters… and they even have pillows. I’m not sure Gillem is aware what pillows are." It was nice to see a crowd as appreciate of the music as this one.
Arack yawned, displaying all her sharp teeth. "Hah. I know that look on your face, Uncle. This is where you, like, say you're just going to ask if you can play a single song with them and end up keeping everybody up for half the night."
I started denying her accusations, but she leaned back and spoke right over me.
"Well, get to it already."
I arched an eyebrow. "What, you're not going to bed?"
"A new city, new music, and new people? What am I, dead? No, I'm staying right here and enjoying myself." Sleepy as she was, her eyes shot every which way, trying to take in everything.
"Well… I suppose you're right. Lyle?"
He squinted at me, eyes blurry. "I guess I'm not that tired, either." Lyle had been trying out the local beers and found them to his taste. I had a feeling he'd not had the chance to indulge before. Heh, there had to be a few perks to getting away from home.
"All right, let's see if they mind a third."
They did not mind. The ratling, Piter's, eyes gleamed at the sight of my violin, and he immediately started reeling off a long list of songs we needed to try. The halfling, Viola, started chattering about all the extra tips they were going to rake in, with Piter rolling his eyes. Before I knew it, we were in the middle of a jolly ditty about a lusty farmer, with me trying to match the two enthusiastic players. The crowd swiftly reacted in the way that onlookers often do when their regular rhythms are broken by something enjoyable - unbridled enthusiasm. Within minutes, the center tables were cleared to make space for dancing, and the hours flew by.
Viola and Piter impressed the hell out of me. They were pretty good players. Viola managed to make tricky passages look simple, and Piter's rumbling, deep voice was excellent at conveying emotions. He also played the flute when he didn't sing, not expertly, but well enough to keep up the spirits of the onlookers and save his voice. Before I knew it, we were approaching closing hours, Piter was taking a break, and I was teaching Viola how to play Lon Lon Ranch. It seemed like the thing to do.
She was speaking over the music as we played - not an easy thing to do. "So, what're you lot running from?"
"Running?"
"Yeah, I mean, most people who come here need to get away from something; the law, past misdeeds, an ugly husband. For me, it was a controlling stepdad. What a cliché, right? Still, here, I can do what I want, and the rules aren't too bad."
"Good to know. No, we're from Grant's Crossing. I need to become a Citizen so we can approach the Wisdom with our plans."
"Huh. Grant's Crossing… that's inside the forest, right? I never really took the time to learn the geography. Good luck, though. From what I hear, they can be pretty conservative, even with all their talk about knowledge. So, you're staying for a while, I guess?"
"Looks like it."
"Well, you're free to join in whenever you feel like it." She gave the lyre case on the ground a nudge, and it clinked with the sound of coins. "Been a while since it's been so full with tips."
"Yep. And we're sharing with Arcangelo." Piter was munching on a piece of bread as he rejoined us.
"Aw. But-"
"No buts. He's earned it, and you know we're still getting more than we're used to," he winked, "and this way, he's likely to be here often. Right, mate?"
I laughed. "Sure am. I've enjoyed myself a lot."
A bit later, I was wrapped in my covers upstairs. My room was nice. The bed was comfy, everything was pristine, if simple, and I had everything I needed. In fact, it felt like your average hotel room. As my tired brain slowly inched its way closer to
sleep, I felt a pang of homesickness - for my room in The Warlock's End. How weird.
Breakfast was excellent. Somehow, somewhere, somebody in High Hold was raising pigs or boars, and I loved him. It meant that our breakfast had two fundamental components - sausages and bacon - to go with the eggs. I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed that back in the village. If somebody were to come up with a formula for ketchup, I might become a morning person. Lyle was clearly ready to join the religion, too. He had a huge chunk of bread in one hand, liberally smeared with butter, while he alternated with bites of sausage and bacon.
At long last, I pushed my plate away with a groan. "So bloody good! Who’s up for stealing a herd of pigs when we go back home?"
Arack laughed at me with ill-concealed mirth. "I want to see that. Glad to see you could rejoin the rest of the world, by the way. So, what's the plan, oh high and mighty general, sir?"
"I like that. In fact, that's what I want you to call me every day. Hah. No plan, though. I have an idea or two, but I was thinking we'd come to a conclusion together."
She nodded. "Fair enough. You start, then we'll see if I hate it."
Lyle agreed. "Mmmph."
"Am I really going to be the one who insists on table manners? Don't talk with your mouth full, young man." I raised a mock admonishing finger. "Let's see. Scholars, fighting, or crafting. Those are our possibilities. Now, the way I see it, we should probably split up a bit. We don't know if one route is tougher than the others, and this way, if one of us falls through, the others might succeed." I cleared my throat. "You might not like this– part, but the way I see it, you guys shouldn't join the fighting parties. I don't mind you risking your lives when we're a group, but doing it when we have alternatives is... unnecessary, to my eyes. I can always be Reborn. So, those are my initial thoughts. I'll join the fighting, while you decide for yourself whether you'd prefer crafting or learning."
Lyle sat back, nibbling a sausage while he thought. "Makes sense to me. I mean, we'd have to make sure that you'd be teamed up with somebody who can guard your scrawny behind when I'm not around. Even so, it's not a bad idea. I believe that I'd want to focus on learning."
I leaned back in the seat. "Really? I figured you'd be working in a smithy faster than you could say Fahrvergnügen!"
"Faster than what? Nevermind. Sure, I wouldn't mind spending my time there. To be honest, I've spent my entire life in a smithy. While I do believe I could learn a lot from a craftsman here, it's nothing compared to how much I believe I can learn from their library. They're certain to have whole tomes on rare items, or smelting procedures, or historic armors." His eyes gleamed.
Arack performed a huge fake yawn. "Oh, so learning about smithing. Wow, yeah. That sure is a change of pace." Lyle glared at her and she grinned and stuck out her long tongue. "Just teasing. Sounds like a fair plan to me." She turned towards me. "I'm obviously going to learn how to become a decent Alchemist. It's about time. Odds are, I'm not going to succeed before either of you, since you've got a lead on me. Even so, if I'm really going to pull my weight on our tiny team, I'll need to learn more."
Lyle and I looked at each other and then nodded. "Solid reasoning, girl," I affirmed.
She smiled and then turned serious. "Thanks. I think you're wrong about the other part, though."
"Yeah?"
"Yup. So, we're in this harpy place, right? They've got Chroniclers everywhere and, as Lyle said, they're likely to have an amazing library. If they have an entire school, or academy, or whatever, then they're bound to have tons of brainy people everywhere. So, if you'd ever have the chance to learn a bunch about magic and stuff, it would be here. If you go off fighting, you'll just become better at stuff you already know."
"Oh. That is good thinking. I hadn't thought of it like that." It was true, too. I could definitely do with raising my spells and stats and earning XP, but damn if the idea of actually learning more about how everything worked didn't sound intriguing.
Arack looked surprised. "You agree?"
"Yup. When you’re right, you’re right."
"Oh. Damn. And here I'd prepared a ton of extra arguments. Like, appealing to your protective side to stay in the city and guard me and whatever."
I laughed and reached over to ruffle her hair... scales. "Don't worry. I'll look out for you. You're likely to get in trouble, anyway."
"Hey, now I feel left out. Who am I going to protect, then?" Lyle pouted, and we laughed.
We spent a while chatting and relaxing before splitting. We had gotten directions from Meline before leaving, and Arack left us for the outskirts of the city, where the craftsmen were located. Lyle and I continued toward the northern part of the city, where the Academy should be. We had agreed to meet every evening for dinner and to share the progress of the day, but otherwise, we'd be running our separate shows.
I wasn't sure what I had expected from a multi-racial Academy located inside a harpy city, but the sight that Lyle and I were staring at wasn't it.
"It's... a school." I could feel the distaste oozing from my mouth.
"Um… yeah. What did you think?"
"Something grand? I don't know. A fantastic place dedicated to learning?"
He smiled. "Learning takes place inside your head, anyway. The looks aren't what matters."
"I guess. Let's get to it." I still allowed myself a pang of disappointment at the appearance of the place. The large, walled-off enclosure held one formidable three-storied building in the center, surrounded by eight smaller one-story buildings. An amphitheater at least attested to something beyond simple book learning taking place, and at the moment, the voice of a dwarf was booming out from the center as he expounded on something.
As we got closer, I had a better feel for the size of the center building as it towered before me. It was constructed entirely from wood, but the damn thing still reeked of institution. I thought I'd escaped my days of school decades ago. There were apparently not too many people wandering around at this time of day. I stopped a young catfolk to ask, "Hey. Do you know where to go if you're new?"
"Right inside the main doors to the left. Wait. You're those people! You came here with the kobold, didn't you? Is it true she was in a fight yesterday?"
Gods-damnit. Gossip. I had so not missed it. I massaged my brows and considered my words, when Lyle stepped in.
"Yes, we're with the kobold. No, Arack wasn't in a fight. In fact, she's a damn nice girl, and if anybody says otherwise, guide them to me and they will be in a fight."
That was new. "Relax, Lyle. Sorry about that. He's right, though. Arack is a lovely girl and not the type to start fights." I pulled Lyle along.
The catfolk was right. Through the main door and to the left was a small half-open office containing a low desk and an industrious half-orc writing something on a piece of paper. Actual paper; nice. I was getting tired of parchment. We didn't enter right away, however, as a loud whistle blew, presaging a veritable deluge of people walking to escape the place. Lyle and I stood to the side, just watching. At least in this place, it seemed there were no social barriers. People mingled, regardless of race and age. A group of young people laughed uproariously at something a middle aged elf said, while two elderly people, a harpy and a half-elf, frowned in disapproval.
Within a few minutes, the stream reduced to a few slackers, and Lyle punched my shoulder. "Come on. Let's get to it."
This was the weirdest experience. For one, it felt like one huge deja vu sensation, with hints of my old school experiences popping through decades of wilful oblivion. Still, I felt like this might actually become a good experience. At the very least, Carth was a welcome surprise.
"I know these first few days will need a few explanations, but it's pretty simple, once you get used to it. You'll need to spend the first day here in the main building while we assess your level of knowledge. Then we'll have a test and discussion before you, hopefully, move on to study your chosen topics." His kind smile stood in stark contrast to his long
dreadlocks and sharp canines. "Then, depending on the topic, you will either move upward or out. The different magic schools have their respective wings surrounding the main building, while our non-magic classes are located on the second story on this building."
Lyle asked, "So, do you have a library here? And anybody can enter?" His voice gave away his eagerness.
Carth nodded. "It's placed on the second floor. Any Citizen or student of the Academy is allowed to enter. Then, obviously, we have additional parts of the library that will remain closed until you reach the respective rank or class. Not everybody gets full access. Otherwise, the section with the naughty elven woodcuts would be worn away from use, right?" He laughed at the blush on Lyle's face.
"And your Repository?"
"Oh. A Chronicler, are you?" At my nod, he continued, "Wonderful. We have a fair share of Chroniclers with us, but when we receive new Chroniclers from the outside, it usually means fresh knowledge as well. Have you passed your test of admittance?"
"I have not. This is the first Repository I've stumbled upon."
He nodded amicably. "Well, Chronicler Jorantyr is knowledgeable. I hope you pass his test. The Repository is on the second floor. In actuality, the Repository and the library are one and the same, though certain areas are only accessible to Chroniclers. Obviously, even within the Repository, you will find different levels of admission. "Here. These are your Academy keys. You will need to touch them to the locks to enter - like so." He held the necklaces carrying dull-looking stones up to a similarly color-coded rectangle on the wall in demonstration. "The key gems in your necklace will allow you to enter the Repository when you are ready for your test. I'll walk with you to the tests. Once you're done, come see me again, and we'll replace those with something that grants you some real access, all right?"