“Good morning, Apprentices,” Rafiq smiled. “How was your first day in tactics?”
“Slow,” Gregory replied. “The first month is going to be that way, though, since they have to cover the basics of Empire’s Gambit.”
“Yes, that’s how it normally goes. Are you fine with the reading you already have?”
“We are, but we’ll probably need new books tomorrow,” Yukiko answered.
“Very well. I wish you good studying.”
~*~*~
They were just finishing making the Magi Squares for the day when the novices arrived.
“Good morning,” Daciana said brightly.
“Good morning,” Gregory replied, looking up to see Victoria yawning. “Tired you out, did they?”
“I’m not sure I would have made it yesterday if not for them,” Victoria said, nodding at Nessa and Daciana. “If not for the little bit of training ahead of time and the breathing technique they taught me, I would’ve been one of the worst in the class.”
“It’ll improve after the first few weeks,” Jenn assured her.
“I’m sure it will,” Victoria agreed. “History was as bad as we thought it would be.”
“We’re dropping that class,” Daciana said.
“We’re going to spend an hour of that time doing history, and the other hour working on whatever we want,” Nessa said. “It’ll work out better for us. None of us were worried about having a posting here or in the capital, anyway.”
“Just as long as you keep to your training,” Yukiko said. “That’s the important part.”
“A question?” Victoria asked slowly. “In your aether introduction class, did a magus strip side-by-side with a student to show the difference in what the body path can do?”
“Yes,” Yukiko said, “though it was Proctor Bishop for us.”
“Bishop?” Victoria asked with wide eyes. “I can’t imagine her down to her small clothes.”
“Gregory was the one beside her, helping,” Yukiko added, her lips twitching, fighting the smile as she watched the three novices process that information.
Gregory shook his head, recalling the memory. “I was so thin when I first got here. I’ve filled out since then.”
“Yes, you have, indeed,” Yukiko smiled as she watched cheeks flush and all three novices start sneaking glances at Gregory. “Now, we have studying to do. Papers to the left today.”
~*~*~
Finished with the Magi Squares, they all became absorbed in their books. Gregory was just finishing his when the fifth bell began to toll.
Not a lot of real information on the gem. Maybe I’ll go up to the second floor tomorrow and look at the books there. If we stay here for the Magi Squares and just go up after that, it’ll still give us time to spend with them. Ah, well, thoughts for later, he told himself.
“I had no idea that Aether’s Guard was one of the oldest clans,” Victoria said as she shut her book.
“Yes,” Daciana nodded. “One of the first three. It fell, but with us in it, it’ll rise to be among the great clans again.”
Gregory smiled at her words. Always so damned confident. Clearing his throat, he spoke up, “Daciana, I was wondering… when you approached us to begin with, was it because your father pushed you to?”
Daciana blinked. She stared at him for a moment before looking down, her cheeks flushing. “No. I wanted to join your clan for my own reasons.”
“Oh, okay. I just worried that maybe you were being pushed into it,” Gregory said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just know what it’s like to have a father telling you to do what he wants and not what you might want.”
“We should go,” Yukiko said.
“I wanted to say,” Gregory coughed, getting to his feet, “I’m going to check out a book upstairs tomorrow. After Magi Squares,” he added quickly, seeing the sudden downcast expressions on the younger women.
“We understand,” Nessa said once he’d added his addendum. “We don’t want to hinder your studying.”
“You haven’t, and won’t,” Yukiko said. “We want to help our friends grow. Gregory is right, though. We do need to check the books on the next level. Starting tomorrow, we’ll split off after Magi Squares.”
“We understand,” Victoria said. “Thank you for studying with us.”
Daciana clearly didn’t want to agree with the other two, but she nodded her head.
With their goodbyes said, the two groups went their separate ways.
“The book on ryuite was nearly a bust,” Gregory sighed. “It was almost identical to what was in the clan archive.”
“The book on mythrum was okay, but it mostly extolled the virtues of it in enchanting,” Jenn sighed. “I hope the second floor has more information.”
“What have you been working on Yuki?” Gregory asked.
“I was reading a history on Empire’s Gambit,” Yukiko said. “It was explaining why Lionel Lighthand started it, and how much simpler it was to begin with. I hope the second floor has books about the emblem in the temple.”
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Gregory said.
~*~*~
The rest of that day went as the previous one had. The only difference was that the group training session was Inda, Indara, and Dia. While the apprentices didn’t win, they did much better against the three they’d been pitted against.
Before they retired for the night, Gregory went to speak with Dia.
“Excuse me, Dia, do you have a moment?” Gregory asked, finding her in the garden.
“I will always have time for those of the clan,” Dia smiled. “What can I help you with?”
“I had a question, and I don’t know if you have the answer for it… I heard there was a way to regrow lost fingers. Is that true?”
Dia considered for a few seconds. “There are a few ways. A healer could manage it, if they were of a high enough tier. There is a salve that is said to help with freshly lost extremities, and there is another salve for older injuries, but that costs a lot more. Why do you ask?”
Gregory moved over to take a seat across from her. “One of my friends back in Alturis, Gunnar… he lost two fingers. I wanted to help him, if I could.”
“How did he lose the fingers?” Dia asked.
“Bane wolf,” Gregory said. “A bane wolf came into the village on age day. It came for me, but when I hurt it, it went after a friend. Gunnar saved her, but it cost him his fingers before I could pull the wolf off him.”
“Ah. This would be the one Bishop killed?”
“Yes.”
“The salve he would need is nearly a hundred thousand vela.”
Gregory exhaled, shaking his head. “I see… I shouldn’t be surprised, but I’d been hopeful.”
Dia watched him. “He was your best friend?”
“Yeah. Married another of my friends after I left.”
“Hmm… the stipend we give you. You’ve spent very little of it, haven’t you?”
“Not much for me to spend it on with Yukiko’s family paying for the alchemy supplies.”
“I could deduct part of your stipend and set it aside for the salve to be purchased and sent for you,” Dia offered.
Blinking slowly, Gregory just stared at her. “What?”
“I can halve your stipend, set it aside for the salve, and send it to him. If you’d like me to, that is.”
“That would take years to afford.”
“Four years, in fact,” Dia nodded. “The choice is yours.”
Gregory thought about it before nodding. “Please?”
“Very well,” Dia smiled. “I will make sure it’s handled.”
“Umm… could I get you to send one of the staff to run an errand for me, too?” Gregory asked.
“Of course.”
Gregory took the money pouch off his belt and handed it over to her. “The Rough Gem is the shop I’d prefer to do the work.” He pulled a piece of folded parchment from his bag. “This is what I would like made.”
Dia took the paper and opened it. Her lips curled upwards and she nodded. “A fitting gift. Three of them, I see. Are you sure the sizing is correct?”
Gregory coughed, looking away from her. “I measured thrice.”
“Very well. You know this might take some time.”
“Ask if they can have it done before the tournament, please?”
“Is there anything else?”
“Nothing that I can think of,” Gregory said.
“Very well. Have a good night,” Dia said.
“I will. We have a bit of studying to do before we sleep, though.”
“Studying is good,” Dia said, laughter touching her words.
Gregory blushed lightly as he stood. “We do study.”
“I know. You three are even more studious than I was when I was in your place, and I was teased by my friends for it. I apologize if it bothered you.”
“Oh,” Gregory chuckled. “That’s fine. Friends need to be able to joke with each other. Good night, Dia.”
“Good evening to you three, as well.”
~*~*~
Gregory joined Yukiko and Jenn in their room. “Sorry for the delay.”
“Was Dia able to help you?” Yukiko asked.
“She answered my question, and yes.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Not really,” Gregory said as he sat between them at the table in their room. “I was asking her about ways to regrow fingers.”
“For your friend, Gunnar?” Yukiko asked.
“Yeah. I told him when I left, I’d help him with it if I could. Dia told me that there is a salve that can accomplish it. The downside is the cost of it, but she’s going to withhold half of my weekly stipend to buy the salve and send it to him.”
“But…?” Yukiko prompted when he stopped.
“You read me so easily,” Gregory said. “It’ll take four years to pay it off.”
“We can help,” Jenn offered, Yukiko nodding in agreement with her.
“No,” Gregory said softly. “Thank you, but no. This is one of the things I want to do for my old village. I’m not going to go home, so the least I can do is make some things better for the people I left behind.”
Both of his wives leaned into him, their arms wrapping around his waist. He exhaled and put an arm around each of them.
“We understand, dear one,” Yukiko said. “If you change your mind, please let us know? You became the man you are because of where you came from, so we’d like to thank them, too.”
“She’s right, Greg. We’ll wait, though.”
Gregory swallowed and he pulled them a little closer. “Thank you,” he said, his voice was husky with emotion. “I want to help the village as a whole, too, but I don’t know how or what.”
“Let me think on it, as I’m sure you want it to be sustainable, and not just vela,” Yukiko said.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, dear one. Jenn, why don’t you get the door? We can skip studying for tonight,” Yukiko said.
“That sounds good to me,” Jenn said, rising to her feet.
