It was early Sat.u.r.day morning. There were no cla.s.ses that day, naturally. Just like any normal inst.i.tute of learning, students of Arcadia"s Knight Academy were given weekends off. Spirits only knew what kind of trouble would happen if students weren"t given a break from professors trying to cram as much knowledge into their heads as possible?and from instructors who felt it was their sworn duty to physically break and remold each student under their tutelage into perfect fighting machines. Chaos, Caspian imagined.
While most students would use the weekend to head into the small town just outside of the academy and spend their time hitting on girls or something, for Caspian, having the weekend off would normally mean hitting the books, or practicing in one of the courtyards that received less traffic.
The library was a place of sanctuary for him, especially on weekends. No one else enjoyed reading simply for the sake of reading. Even he didn"t like it that much. But, it was one of the few places where he could be alone.
He wouldn"t be doing either of those things this day. Last night"s message had pretty much confirmed this. Instead, he found himself standing in front of the headmaster of the school; Lisander Strettelo.
The headmaster was a man in his later years and well past his prime. Despite this, as well as the fact that all of his hair had long since turned gray, he didn"t look much older than someone in their mid to late thirties. There was a youthfulness about him that belied his age. Caspian a.s.sumed it had something to do with his physique. He might not be a muscle-bound brute like Julius, but by the Spirits, did the old man keep himself in good shape.
"Alright, I"m here, old man. What sort of errand am I going to be running for you this time?"
"You"re as rude as always," the old man in question snorted, but didn"t do anything to reprimand him for his apparent lack of respect.
"You didn"t accept me into this inst.i.tute because I was polite."
"It technically wasn"t my decision to let you into this inst.i.tute period, in case you forgot."
Caspian had not forgotten, but he also knew the old man was just giving him a hard time. Headmaster Strattelo was one of the few people who didn"t hate him for not being a n.o.ble. He respected the old man, even if he didn"t know exactly how to show it.
Shrugging, he said, "so what did you call me in here for?"
"I have another task for you." Which basically meant the headmaster wanted to use him as an errand boy for some mundane a.s.signment. This wouldn"t be the first time he"d been sent out, and it most certainly wouldn"t be the last. Caspian was not a n.o.ble. He lacked the funds required to become a student of this inst.i.tute. That was the entire reason Headmaster Strattelo could send him out on missions. This was his way of paying tuition.
"Is it another courier mission?" Caspian asked.
"More or less," the headmaster said, standing up, the many medals he"d earned throughout the years jingling against his dark gray uniform, which signified his position as a former commander in the Arcadian army. Although every countries military had long since been disbanded?with only a small token force remaining?people like Headmaster Strattelo were still in high demand.
The headmaster of the school had once served Arcadia"s army with great distinction, and was well-known for his fighting prowess and brilliant tactics during the Succession Wars. After the war, when Sylvia de Floresca demanded the disbanding of every nations military, she had tasked him with the job of supervising this academy.
In the words of Christo, Lisander H. Strettelo was a bonafide bada.s.s.
Not that Caspian cared about the man"s bada.s.sery.
Walking away from the ornate desk he"d been sitting at, Headmaster Strattelo strode over to the window behind his chair, his steps meticulous and precise. Knowing the headmaster would eventually tell him more about his mission, Caspian remained silent.
While he waited, he took a quick glance around the room. Not much had changed since the last time he"d been in there?which had actually been last week when he"d gotten in trouble for beating up a student who"d been talking down to him. Actually, nothing had changed at all. It looked just the same as it always did.
The room was definitely what most people would consider high-cla.s.s. The dark red carpet compliment the light beige walls. Several paintings and murals were arrayed along the walls, most of them landscapes. A beautiful chandelier hung from the ceiling, its dozens of gems sparkling in the sunlight coming in through the window. The headmaster certainly lived in comfort. And this wasn"t even where he slept. Other than those few paintings, the chandelier and a couple of well-used weapons that also hung along the walls, however, there wasn"t much else in the way of decoration. It was, not so surprisingly, kind of austere, despite its otherwise grand appearance.
"I have a letter that I want you to deliver to the Sorceress, Erica Angelo," the headmaster said, finally turning around to face Caspian again. He walked back over to his desk, reaching down and opening one of the drawers to pull out an envelope, which he then placed on the desk and slid forward.
Caspian picked the envelope up and glanced at it. It was composed of very thick paper. It felt rough against his skin. Holding the slightly tanned envelope closed was the school"s crest, a sword and a mace crossing each other to form an X in front of a kite shield. Underneath the shield was the school"s motto:Forza non risiede nella spada, ma il cavaliere che si prepara.
While Caspian studied the object in his hand, surveying its appearance with a sort of vague fascination, Headmaster Strettelo continued speaking. "Erica Angelo is currently living in the tower of Dorehan in Ashtown. She is the overseer there."
"Ashtown," Caspian tried the name out. "I remember hearing about that city. Aren"t they responsible for refining Spirit Crystals and converting them into the energy needed to use MagiTech?"
"That is correct. It"s also located several klicks from the border of Stelox Grove."
Stelox Grove was one of the last remaining elven bastions in Arcadia. At the end of the Elven Wars, Sorceress Sylvia had left it-along with a few other forests and groves-for those few elves who had surrendered peacefully to settle there. It was said that the few people who dared to venture inside the forest never returned. The elves who made it their home protected the ancient woodlands zealously.
He returned to the matter at hand. So he was delivering this letter to a Sorceress? That meant this wasn"t the standard report, otherwise he would have delivered it to the Sorceress Council. Did that mean there was some kind of trouble going on in this Erica woman"s domain? Caspian shook his head, his hair swaying slightly with the motion. Curiosity aside, if there was some issue going on in Ashtown or the surrounding area, it wasn"t any of his business.
He looked back at the headmaster. The man"s sharp coal eyes stared at him from underneath thick brow ridges. White eyebrows reminding him of caterpillars gave the stern visage an almost comical appearance.
"When am I leaving?"
"I"d like you to leave as soon as possible," came the headmaster"s reply. "I"ve already bought your train ticket for the trip. It"s a round trip ticket to the Ashtown train station and back. The trip there will probably take a day. Ashtown might not be on the other side of the country, but it"s still a good distance away. I suspect this excursion will take you a little over three or four days, maybe longer depending on the situation you find upon arriving."
The situation I"ll find upon arriving, huh? How is that for vague?
"Right." Caspian frowned. It looked like he would be missing school for a few days. That was just fine with him. It wouldn"t endear him to his peers, but nothing he"d ever done before helped in that regard anyway. The only way they would acknowledge him was if he somehow became a n.o.ble. Fat chance of that happening. "I"ll head out as soon as I"m packed for the trip."
"I would advise you to use caution during your trip," the headmaster said before Caspian could leave. "There have been some troubling rumors about highwaymen and bandits appearing in the Dystian province as of late."
Caspian rolled his eyes. "Aren"t there always?"
"These reports are a little more disturbing than what we normally receive." Headmaster Strettelo"s tone held a word of warning. "There have even been rumors that the bandits attacking are elves, though this has not been confirmed."
"Elves, huh," Caspian murmured.
It was true that there had been a number of cases where elves had taken to killing and stealing from humans. Word had it the elves who did such were those who"d been cast out of their homes for crimes committed. Basically, the elves had decided to throw those who were considered criminals into the human world, probably in some misguided hope that it would not only get their own wrongdoers out of their hair, but also cause problems for the humans who beat them in the Elven War. Of course, that was merely speculation at this point. Caspian had no clue if that was true or not, and it wasn"t like the truth mattered.
"That does sound like it could be a problem, but nothing I can"t deal with. Try not to worry yourself into an early grave, old man." He gave the headmaster one of his rare, genuine smiles. It was more of a grin, but that didn"t change how real it was. "I mean, this is me we"re talking about."
As the headmaster turned to the window again, looking out at the grounds below and the high walls that separated Arcadia"s Knight Academy from the rest of the world, the aging yet still ripped leader of the inst.i.tute frowned.
"It is because you are the one going that I am worried," he said with an almost solemn air. Caspian rolled his eyes.
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."
***
Caspian entered his room to find his roommate still sleeping. The other teen was lying on his bed, sprawled out with one leg hanging off the edge, the other somehow resting elevated on the wall, and his arms spread wide. Christo let out loud, vulgar snores in heavy gusts of wind, and his chest rose and fell in time with the intolerable music.
Lazy b.u.m. Not that Caspian could actually blame Christo for sleeping in despite the late hour. Who wanted to wake up early on one of the only two days when they didn"t have cla.s.s? Well, he would have, but that was just because he didn"t like wasting daylight, and sleeping was boring.
Tiptoeing to his dresser, Caspian tried to remain silent so as not to wake his roommate while retrieving some clothes for his journey. The last thing he wanted was for Christo to wake up and start chattering away. The other boy could talk for hours on end if given the chance, and if he was really unlucky, the other teen would follow him all the way to the station. Yeah, there was no way he would be letting that happen. Not in this lifetime.
After gathering enough clothing to last for a couple of days and setting it on the floor, he knelt down and pulled out a small traveling bag from underneath his bed. He thought about what he would need for this journey aside from clothes. His sword, definitely. While common citizens weren"t allowed to carry weapons, Caspian, as a Sorceress"s Knight-in-training, was exempt from this rule. That wouldn"t fit in his bag, though. Too big. He"d have to strap it to his back. Was there anything else he"d need? What about-
"You going somewhere?"
Caspian froze. Oh, please no. By the Spirits no. There was just no way his idiot of a roommate could be awake. Wasn"t Christo supposed to be a heavy sleeper? That idiot almost never woke up this early?or was it this late? Either way, Caspian should have still had at least another hour to get ready and leave, right? Right?!
Turning around, his movements slow and mechanical, like a piece of MagiTech that hadn"t been oiled in centuries, Caspian found his hopes dashed. The young man nearly groaned out loud at the sight of Christo sitting up in bed, swinging his legs back and forth with the exuberance of a kid at a festival, all the while staring at him with that infuriatingly large grin.
He"d really been hoping to leave before the annoying Knight-in-training woke up. This was just great.
"That"s right." He began packing again. Maybe if he ignored Christo, the other boy would realize he didn"t want to talk and go back to sleep. It was wishful thinking, he knew, but wishful thinking was all he had right then.
"Oh man, that is so cool!" Christo practically shouted in his excitement. Caspian winced. "You"re so lucky, getting to leave the academy and go on cool missions all the time."
Caspian didn"t even need to look to know that his roommate was staring at him with the kind of awe that should only be reserved for truly amazing moments, like when something exploded in a spectacular manner. Christo really was too excitable for his own good. Why couldn"t the headmaster have given him a different roommate? One that was quieter would have been most appreciated-or better yet, not given him a roommate at all? That would have been nice.
"It"s really not that great," Caspian grumbled to himself. He was being serious, too. Most of his missions weren"t that exciting. A good deal of them revolved around delivering letters and doc.u.ments that were too valuable to send using carrier birds, and those weren"t even the most demeaning missions he"d been sent on. Of the times he"d been sent out, only one of his missions involved fighting, and the people he ended up fighting weren"t even after him, but had been robbing a small café he"d been eating at the time. They had tried to demand that he, along with everyone else in the café, turn over all their money.
Those people had been sent to the hospital after he"d thoroughly beaten them. Caspian didn"t take kindly to idiots trying to steal from people to make ends meet. If someone needed money, then they should get a job. They shouldn"t go stealing other people"s hard earned coin because they were too lazy to work for a living.
Still, despite his words to Christo, Caspian was fired up. This mission would be different from his usual ones, as he wasn"t delivering a report to the Sorceress Council, but a letter to a Sorceress charged with overseeing a city. He wondered what the woman was like. Despite having delivered many reports to the Sorceress Council, he"d only ever met one Sorceress, and that was before he became a student at Arcadia"s Knight Academy. The letters he delivered were always given to the council by proxy. Would he get to meet one this time? Would she be as beautiful as Sorceresses were rumored to be? What kind of personality would she have? Would he finally get to see someone using Spiritual Evocation?
Well, whatever. It wasn"t like it would matter if he met a Sorceress or not, or so he told himself. The only thing he cared about was how going on this errand meant getting out of school for a few days. That was the real reason he enjoyed these tasks. If he was out there, in the world beyond these walls, he wouldn"t have to listen as people demeaned him behind his back. He wouldn"t have to put up with rumors and whispers and barely concealed hatred. He would be free of all that; just another face in the crowd. That was what he truly liked about these missions.
He also wouldn"t be around Christo, which was a definite plus.
Speaking of Christo...
"Man, I"m so jealous!" The young man crossed his arms and pouted, reminding Caspian of a petulant child who"d been told he couldn"t play outside. "I wish I could go on cool missions like you!"
Why couldn"t he shut up? Seriously, the guy just kept jabbering away like some kind of babbling idiot. Didn"t he realize how annoying he was?
"Look." Caspian interrupted the excited teen before Christo could really get going. Standing up and grabbing his bag, he turned around to give the second biggest pain in his left b.u.t.t cheek a tight glare. "I don"t have time for idle chatter. I"ve got to head out or I"ll miss my train. Hold down the fort while I"m gone."
"I"ll walk with you!" Christo volunteered himself, also standing up and trailing Caspian as he walked out the door.
"No, you won"t."
"Eh? Why not?"
"Because I said so."
Caspian entered the mostly dark hallway, lit only by a few spa.r.s.ely placed MagiTech lamps lining the stone walls. Christo followed him.
"Aw, come on. At least let me walk you to the train station."
"Not happening."
Caspian picked up his pace. Christo matched him, walking by his side. Caspian tried to move faster without breaking into a run, but Christo continued to follow, doggedly sticking with him.
"Come on, man! I was gonna get out and hit the town anyway! Just let me walk with you!"
"No means no!"