Chapter Fourteen: Breakfast of Champignons
There were two Halflings leading the charge; Noah Britewine and Sallan Slowland. They were both shameless gossips.
“So you have a date with Chayah Runsfaster. On your first day of school. That seems suspicious. Your robes look contrived. Are you an agent for the Horde? I have to say you’re quite good.” That was from Noah. It was later explained to Zuglah that he was a druid who was not the most mentally stable person in the world.
“Are you really a wizard? A Troll wizard? I’ve never even heard of such a thing. Why don’t you switch to Sorcerer or Magician? I’ve heard that you guys make fantastic Sorcerers. Warlocks are the best of course, but where is a Troll going to find a qualified Magician to teach him?”
The steady stream of babble that came from Sallan, the Warlock, was as confusing as it was abrasive. Was he saying quit being a Wizard? Whatever for?
He was feeling very tired, and told them so. They mostly agreed that it was a good time to turn in. He was used to being up with the sunrise, and sleeping an hour or two after it set. He went and found his bed. Then, he went to find the Kaeet.
He led Dundindun over to his chest, the furry mage exclaiming the whole while how it had been ages since he had been over to this side of the dorm. Zuglah ignored it all and lifted one side of the empty chest. “Kindly remove those.” Dundindun snatched the smallclothes from under the chest and hissed at him. He ran back to his own bunk on all fours, tail lashing.
The next morning was a little surreal. His new surroundings were a far cry from his den in the Ardent Glen. When he emerged from his dorm, Betsie was there to greet him. She reminded him that he was supposed to go meet with Slorric to discuss his learning schedule. His stomach gurgled loudly, and she specified after breakfast. Whew.
The mess hall was huge, and currently there had to be close to a hundred people all in the same room. The noise from that many people quietly talking made him feel alive with energy. He bounced on his toes as he went to sit with his roommates.
Zuglah took a seat on the end, happy enough to be away from the Deep Rock Gnome and Dwarf. It wasn’t so much that they made him uncomfortable, but they were hard to look at. The pewter and slate tones of their skin were specifically designed to baffle Ultravision, a survival trait that was vital to any race that did not want to be eaten by Goblins. So he sat with the Driole, who was a class four Illusionist named Pliesson, and the Kaeet, who was, it turned out, a Mage. The two Halflings and the Forest Gnome were in the middle. Zuglah was the tallest person at the table by at least a head.
Perhaps because he was a head taller and blue, but Chayah spotted him and started waving. He waved back. She immediately rose, picking up her tray. “She’s not coming over here, is she?” Pliesson was suddenly nervous, washing his whiskers, then his eyebrows with his hands over and over.
Chayah and Stuglas came to sit with them. Chayah placed her tray beside Zuglah’s and squeezed onto the bench alongside him delicately. He shoved hard against Pliesson, who slid down the bench with an indignant squeak. Stuglas was forced to find a chair and sit on the end.
“Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Zuglah.” Chayah smiled as most of the people at the table muttered some form of greeting or other. Pliesson just squeaked again, so Zuglah nudged him a little with his elbow. What was wrong with the Enchanter?
“Hello, Chayah. Good morning, Stuglas.” Zuglah kept his head down over his plate. He wasn’t sure why the two High Elves had joined them, but it was clearly making his new friends a little less comfortable. The last thing he wanted to do was alienate these guys.
“So?” Chayah spoke loudly, addressing the table at large. “Did you guys hear about Zuglah’s quest? He was telling us about it last night. Isn’t it amazing? You’re so lucky, Zuglah. I’m not even allowed to talk to dungeon denizens, much less quest givers.”
“We may or may not have heard every word you guys said.” Pliesson did not look up from his plate either. The two ate as if they were racing, while Chayah gushed.
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“I can’t wait for lunch. I want to hear all about your Instance, without a bunch of macho male Elves shouting questions.”
Zuglah nearly choked on his eggs. Perhaps Elves had a different standard for what was considered ‘macho’ among people who couldn’t grow facial hair. But he said nothing, hoping she might give him some hint as to her real motivation for this lunch.
“Yes, well I have to go see the Dean, so who even knows if I will be available?” She turned to look at him, a mock-serious expression on her face. “I’m just saying, maybe tomorrow would be better?” Or never? There was no world where this girl was not pure trouble. She wasn’t even allowed to talk to Emperchees, so it was a good bet that a Troll would be way out of bounds.
“I will be here, at the entrance to the mess hall by second bell. You have until third bell not to disappoint me.” She rose gracefully, her tray in her hands. She smiled at him sweetly, but when Stuglas stood up, she shoved her tray into his chest hard without looking at him and stormed off.
“She hasn’t had anything to get excited about in a while. What her father actually pays them for is to hold her back. Excuse me.” He set down her tray without looking, and rushed off after her. Not for the first time, Zuglah wondered why he stuck to her so closely.
When he arrived at Slorric’s office, Zuglah was told to just knock and go right in.
“Ah, perfect. Welcome, Zuglah Glun. Wonderful, wonderful. Sit down please.``
They talked for most of the morning. Slorric asked detailed questions about the Instance, focusing on his spells and tactics during the battle. Caldwell’s notes had all been effusive praise, but Slorric was a little more impartial. “Zuglah, there were a couple of times when your Shocking Grip would have come in quite handy. Also, being a wizard means being natural at solving riddles and puzzles. From your story alone, you have missed clues that have been dropped for you.”
He didn’t think that he meant Stanish, because he didn’t hint at things. He had stated them outright. He thought about Caldwell. He had said that he tried to warn him about a hint.
“You mean because I got my arm broken? I should have caught Redda Mo’s meaning?” Slorric shrugged.
“That and others. I will just say that there is more to find.”
“About Redda Mo?” He thought for a long moment. Not about what Redda had said to him, but rather what he had relayed to Slorric. The wizard had spotted something in his own words that he himself had missed. Finally, he opened his Bag of Holding and retrieved Redda Mo from inside.
“Redda Mo, when you said that you could cast with the best of them, does that mean that you will enhance my spellcasting?”
“No.” Hmmm.
“So what is the advantage to casting a spell through you, then?”
“You can’t cast a spell through me, silly wizard!” Redda Mo laughed, breaking character from the enigmatic hint giver momentarily.
“I can’t? But you said you could cast spells with the best of them. Does that mean-”
“I can cast spells, yes.”
“That’s stupendous. What kind of spell? Wizard? Warlock? What level?”
“I can cast any tier one spell that you have a scroll for. I just need to wrap it around me for a whole day, and one sleep later I’m ready!”
“Wow. I should have cast Identify on you a long time ago.”
Slorric cleared his throat. “I’m glad we got that sorted out. I think that this quest of yours is going to have to wait as well. It sounds intriguing I’ll admit, but you will want a full party of your friends around you from here on out, I think. A Cleric and a Fighter at the very least. Once you start fighting the undead, you can be sure that you will see more of them. Perhaps a Cleric and Paladin would be better.”
Zuglah nodded, thinking about how he was supposed to find the stable and the Inn that Stanish told him about.
But Slorric did not bring him in for a simple debrief. Rather, he explained to him how his mornings would be spent with a group of low level wizards, learning the theory and foundations first, then going over all of the cantrips, then all of the tier one spells, in order.
“I know that a lot of it will be redundant to you, but bear with it, please. Think of it as a refresher, or in some cases, a more correct way to do things, knowing Caldwell. I mean, if you’re going to stuff one dimension inside of another, you should at least be aware that you are risking all of your loot. Also, I feel like I should mention that a lot of your new classmates are… shall we say… of the Human variety. They are not nearly as hearty as yourself. Which is why they tend to be housed on separate floors, you see. We’re extremely fragile. And unfortunately, overly excitable.”
“I promise that I will not kill any of them. If that’s what you mean.”
Slorric smiled benignly at him. “I know that you won’t. I am worried rather about their foolishness. You see, Zuglah, I’m afraid that we’re the reason that Trolls don’t become Wizards. Because we tend to kill them all.”