In Cliff’s dream, the annoying pounding on his chest was a sheep ramming him as he tried to shear it. In reality, it was Thalos smacking him until he woke up. “Cliff,” his roommate growled. “Cliff. Get up. We’re meeting the girls for breakfast.” For good measure, Thalos gave him another two thumps on the chest.
“Wassat?” Cliff grumbled, pulling himself up and giving his armpit a scratch. His eyes hurt, and there was a seed of a headache in the back of his eyes that he knew would take root before the morning was over. “Wha-” He started, cutting off with a cough. Wetting his mouth, he tried again, “What’s going on?”
“Breakfast,” Thalos said. He was already half-dressed, pulling on his uniform top over an undershirt.
“I don’t-” Cliff said, blinking when his mind finally caught up, “oh, right. The inquiry.” Normally, Cliff skipped breakfast, but they’d made plans to eat breakfast before marching off to the gallows. Cliff clicked his tongue. “Our last meal as a team, is it?”
Thalos sighed, frowning towards him. “Might want to save the jokes when we’re eating breakfast. We talked about it last night, and everyone’s feeling a little uneasy – where’d you run off to after the demonstration, anyway? We kept expecting you to show up, but you never did.”
Cliff tugged one shoe on, then the other, scooping his uniform shirt up and giving it a good sniff. He frowned, tossing it into his laundry hamper and going for another of the identical shirts in his dresser. “I got caught up in an argument that didn’t want to end.” One of the Magepriest engineers had witnessed the catastrophic depressurizer explosion and wanted the details from him. Somehow that spun off into a discussion about magetool vehicles, which an army engineer saw fit to join, and before Cliff knew it, he was in the middle of a group of irate engineers who demanded his opinion on every facet of magetool engineering imaginable. “By the time I managed to extract myself from the discussion and sneak out of the bar, it was well past midnight.”
“Cliff,” Thalos said, a warning in his tone, “we’re still on probation – was it really smart to break it the night before our hearing?”
Cliff shrugged, though the gesture might have been lost as he pulled his shirt on. “There was a professor there, so I figured it’d be fine.” Not one Cliff recognized, but he’d asserted as much half a dozen times throughout the discussion, trying to encourage Cliff to take one of his classes. “Any chance I could grab a shower before breakfast?” He figured he still probably smelled like tobacco – engineers were big smokers, it turned out.
“None,” Thalos replied. “Loria and Nym are probably already downstairs, wondering what’s taking us so long.”
They were, as it turned out. When Thalos and Cliff showed up in the dining hall, Loria started to ask as much, but stopped when she got a good look at Cliff’s red eyes and frazzled hair. “I suppose I should be glad you showed up for breakfast at all,” she said with a frown, “Don’t you own a comb?”
“Yes’m,” Cliff said between mouthfuls of food. The breakfast was eggs and hash – good stuff, even if the eggs were a little runny for Cliff’s taste. “Want me to run back upstairs and take twenty minutes to brush everything nice-like?”
“That won’t be necessary, Cliff,” Roose said as he placed a tray of his own next to Cliff’s, taking a seat, “I think you look rather dashing.”
“Thanks, professor,” Cliff said, smirking towards Loria. She sighed and turned back to her food.
“Do you need something from us, Templar Roose?” Nym asked. She was already finished with her food, but Nym was always a pretty quick eater, so that wasn’t surprising.
The magepriest smiled her way before looking around the group. “Not at all, Nym. I just figured I might as well join the war council. What’s the strategy?”
“Sir,” Cliff said, raising his fork in a mocking salute. “I’ll be giving the panel a piece of my mind, tell them that they’re wasting my time, sir.”
Loria glared at him, and Roose gave him an amused look. “Not exactly what I had in mind. Nym?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t really think about it. We’ll answer their questions, I guess.”
“Oh?” Roose said. “You haven’t planned out something, gotten your stories in line to make sure you don’t contradict each other?”
“Sir,” Loria cut in, “so far we’ve just been honest, and our plan, if you’d call it that, is just to continue as we have been.” She frowned. “We don’t believe we’ve done anything wrong, after all.”
Roose clapped his hands. “Good,” he said, “good. I had hoped you would say something like that. And that’s exactly what you should do. Just speak truthfully – don’t worry about what everyone else is thinking, or me, or anything else for that matter. Just be honest.” He grabbed his fork and started working through his breakfast.
“And why would we worry about you?” Thalos asked, eyes narrowed towards Roose.
Roose paused his eating. “Because you’re such a worrier, Thalos.” He was smiling still, but there was an undercurrent of tension there, strong enough that even Cliff noticed it. He thought of a few clever things to say, but he held them back, focusing on his food. It seemed like no one much felt like talking, and things got pretty quiet after that.
***
As he settled into his spot second from the right, Cliff was relieved to find the chairs were comfortable, at the very least. Thalos was on one side, and Loria the other. Nym was past her, looking more nervous than Cliff thought she really ought to.
They were in a different room than had been used for the interviews over the past week. This one was bigger, better decorated, and had more tables and chairs. Their own seats were placed squarely in the center of the room, facing towards their panel of judges. Dr. Ignis, Professor Jericho, and Professor Muldon were lined up before them, expressions neutral as they looked on. Cliff was surprised to see Thalos’s Auntie Esmer seated at a table off to the side – presumably in her capacity as the academy’s headmaster – but he was even more surprised to see who she was whispering to, Loria’s Poppa, the Fireshell General. Cliff felt an odd mix of emotions when he saw the man – he didn’t exactly like him, but at the same time, it was refreshing to see him show he at least cared about Loria enough to show up to her discipline inquiry. Cliff gave her a glance. Sure enough, her eyes were fixed on her poppa, and she was frowning.
Roose filed inside behind them, taking his own place at one of the tables in the back of the room. When they were all settled, Dr. Ignis spoke. “Good morning, Thalos, Clifford, Loria, Nymia. Thank you for coming – I know you’re missing class to be here. You’ll have to forgive us.”
“I think we’ll get over it, ma’am,” Cliff said. Thalos’s elbow shot into his side only an instant before Loria’s did. No jokes, then.
Despite his teammates’ reactions, Dr. Ignis was smiling, and Professor Jericho had raised an eyebrow in amusement. Professor Muldon was still frowning, but Cliff judged him nearly as humorless as Loria, so that wasn’t particularly surprising.
“Of course,” Dr. Ignis resumed, “you’ve been summoned here for a discipline inquiry with regards to the incident that occurred during your Second Hands-on Training. In an encounter with a Spike Spitter, your team engaged in rule-breaking behavior, specifically with regards to the academy’s policy on tinkering with PMTs outside of a controlled environment. As a result of these violations, Loria’s PMT was destroyed, though no one was injured. These facts are not in question. What is in question, and thus the topic of this inquiry, is whether you acted judiciously or with undue recklessness.” She paused, looking each of them over. Cliff was chewing on a comment about how that was a damned twisted accounting of what had actually happened, but he knew better than to pipe up now. “Do all of you understand? If you have any objections to my explanation, please raise your hand now, and we’ll be more than happy to address them.”
Loria’s hand immediately went up, and Dr. Ignis nodded her way. “As I am the commander of team B, I believe that the rest of my teammates should be excused from this inquiry. Should this panel decide on a punishment, I should be the only one to suffer it.” Nym made a shocked noise, but Cliff wasn’t surprised. It was the exact kind of backwards logic he’d expect out of Loria.
Professor Jericho was the one to answer. “Your appeal is denied, as it was in your initial interview.” His eyes swiveled to Cliff. “A similar appeal was made by Clifford, and it was similarly denied.” It was Loria’s turn to be surprised, and she gave Cliff a frown that he shrugged off. He’d been the one to actually build the hacked-together medical node – he was the only one to actually break the rules, right? “If this were the military, then perhaps your appeal might hold water, Loria,” Professor Jericho continued, “But among Couriers, it’s understood that the commander role is one of a tie-breaker as much as anything else. Courier teams have a much more collaborative approach to decision-making, so we believe you all should share responsibility. Do you understand?” At the question, Loria finally looked away at Cliff, giving Professor Jericho a quick nod. She didn’t look particularly satisfied, though.
“Good,” Dr. Ignis said, “Let’s continue.”
***
Cliff had to admit, their summary of everything that happened during the Second Hands-on was, at the very least, accurate. Still, everything they said felt incomplete. The facts were there, but they failed to account for the abject terror of watching a friend slowly bleed out on the ground. That was the point of the panel, though: to find where facts met feelings. He also knew that even if he tried to explain how he’d felt when he was bootlegging the medical node, he knew he wouldn’t be able to give them the right idea.
“Now, that’s the incident as we have put it together,” Dr. Ignis said. “Any objections to our recounting?” There was a moment of silence, but no one raised a protest. Dr. Ignis nodded. “Alright. Before we continue, I’d like to give you all a chance to comment on the incident as summarized. Anything that you think we should hear before we pass judgment. We’ll start with Nymia.”
Nym made a surprised noise. “Well – uh,” she started. “I think – I don’t have anything to add.” She sounded disappointed in herself for saying as much.
“Very well,” Dr. Ignis said with a nod. “Loria?”
“My objection has already been ignored,” she said. “Nothing.”
Another nod. “Clifford?”
Cliff was chewing on his lip as he turned over an idea in his head. He looked at Dr. Ignis for a moment before looking between his team members. Finally, the thought came together. “It’s just bad luck.”
Dr. Ignis shared a look with Professor Jericho. “Would you mind elaborating?”
With a hiss of breath through his teeth, Cliff continued, “Everything that led up to us deciding to break the rules, it was bad luck. First, we got unlucky that a spike spitter showed up – it’s quite a rare monster, one of the strongest we could have seen. Next, it was foul luck that Thalos, our medic, was the one who got hit. And where did he get hit? Straight through the PMT, destroying his healing node and leaving us with just a shoddy first aid kit to try and keep him alive. And finally, it was bad luck when everything went south and Loria’s PMT blew up.” Cliff worked his jaw for a moment, shaking his head. “The one bit of luck in our favor is that we had the right group of people to fix everything up – the right set of PMT nodes to mash together, the right person to build the node, the right person to operate it and judge when it was about to explode.” He shrugged. “That’s it, I guess.”
“And what’s the point of this explanation?” Professor Muldon asked.
“No point, really,” Cliff said, giving the professor a sour look. “You asked if there’s something I thought you should think about before you decide whether we hang, and that’s it.”
“Thank you, Clifford,” Dr. Ignis said after an awkward moment of silence. “Thalos, anything to add?”
“Just that if my team didn’t break the rules, I’d be dead,” Thalos said dryly.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“We’re well aware of your opinion on the matter,” Professor Muldon said, “is there anything new you’d like to say?”
Thalos smiled thinly. “I just thought it bears repeating.” At that, Cliff couldn’t contain a small snort of laughter.
Professor Muldon looked like he was about to snap, but before he could, Professor Jericho cut in, “Thank you for your thoughts.” He turned a look on Professor Muldon, one that reminded Cliff of the type of look his momma gave him when he spoke out of turn, before continuing, “from here, we’d like to move on to whether you believed yourselves adequately prepared for your Second Hands-on Training.”
“We were,” Loria said before they had the opportunity to ask another set of obscure questions.
“Clifford mentioned the first aid kit just now,” Dr. Ignis said. “Do you believe that the supplies were inadequate for the task assigned to you?”
Cliff clicked his tongue. “Do I need to explain about luck again?” Normally, the first aid kit was completely accessory – they’d have to pack a whole hospital wing to match the function of the node tucked into Thalos’s PMT.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Dr. Ignis said. She looked between the professors flanking her. “Well,” she finally said, “I believe we have enough information to come to a judgment.” Her eyes scanned team B. “Each professor on the panel will now share their conclusions before we take a final vote. Professor Jericho?”
Despite how farcical Cliff believed this whole affair to be, he felt himself tensing. “I was assigned to this panel as an expert on Courier practices and procedures,” Professor Jericho said. “I understand the importance of decisive action in an emergency. Decisive, however, is not the same as correct, and I find it difficult to condone such dangerous breaches of academy policy. However, my Courier instincts say that results trump all else, and we can plainly see that despite the rule-breaking actions taken in the Second Hands-on – or perhaps as a result of them – all four of you are sitting in front of me.” Cliff swallowed – a good start, if he was reading Professor Jericho’s tone correctly.
Dr Ignis nodded before speaking. “As for me, I was assigned to this panel because of my experience in emergency medical situations. I was a doctor in the military for thirty years before I came to teach at this academy, and I know first-hand how procedure can be glossed over when a life is at stake.” She smiled. “A life was saved. There’s not much to add.” Cliff felt himself relaxing – two out of three meant they would be fine, even if Professor Muldon voted for their expulsion.
“If Clifford was a student in my class and attempted half of what he did on your Hands-on training, I would have failed him on the spot.” He paused to glare at Cliff. “But,” he reluctantly continued, “this was not in my class, and though I find the idea of designing a PMT node on the spot preposterous, I have warmed to the idea after reviewing Clifford’s accomplishments with his professors. I am far from convinced that it was the safest or even the smartest course of action, but through the twisted logic Clifford’s Gift seems to function on, I concede that it was a course of action.”
Cliff turned to smile at Thalos, but his roommate was still wearing a frown for some reason. He spared a glance for Loria, and found she was similarly less than enthusiastic. Before he had time to think about it though, Dr. Ignis spoke. “Right. Now that the information is before us, will all members of the panel in favor of punishing Nymia, Loria, Clifford, and Thalos for their conduct in the Second Hands-on Training, please raise your hand.” A beat of silence passed as no hands went up. “All those against punishment?” Dr. Ignis and Professor Jericho quickly raised their hands, and Professor Muldon’s went up only a little slower. “That’s zero in favor of punishment and three against.” She smiled towards team B. “As the panel has reached a unanimous decision, I conclude this disciplinary inquiry.” There was a finality to her words, and Cliff breathed a heavy sigh. “You four are dismissed,” she said. He was going to enjoy teasing the others for worrying so much about this inquiry.
Cliff started to stand, but Thalos grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down. Cliff frowned towards his roommate but didn’t protest and sat back down. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he trusted his team. “If you don’t mind me asking, may we take Templar Roose with us?” Loria said. “We’d like to discuss this inquiry with him.”
Cliff blinked in surprise, and Dr. Ignis suddenly wore an awkward expression. “We have some further questions for Templar Roose. He’ll be available later.”
“Will he?” Thalos said, “or will he be out of a job because of us?”
Cliff was all caught up now. “You can’t be serious. Roose is the only reason we made it out of the Hands-on alive – what kind of mud-for-brains idea is it to push the blame his way?”
“This panel’s business with Templar Roose is none of your concern,” Professor Muldon said sourly. “Your inquiry is concluded. I suggest you leave.”
Loria crossed her arms stubbornly, her head turning towards her father, who was still silently observing. “So, this is why you’ve come today.”
“Loria, you’ve been dismissed,” her poppa said, “leave. Now.”
“Hey Thalos,” Cliff said before the familial spat could escalate, “I reckon we ought to stick around and see what happens to our professor. What do you think?”
Thalos looked at him for a moment before nodding. “I think you’re right, Cliff.” He turned to his auntie. “Headmistress, I think we deserve to see what happens to our professor, considering our involvement in this incident. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Dr. Ignis spoke before the headmistress could respond. “Ma’am, I don’t believe this is appropriate. These inquiries aren’t public.”
“If they’re not public, why’s he here?” Cliff asked with a nod towards Loria’s poppa.
The Fireshell General started to say something, but before he got a word out, the headmistress placed her hand on his shoulder. “Leave it, Kratus. They’re right, after all.” There was a twinkle in her eye – mischievous, if Cliff wasn’t mistaken. “You all can stay,” she said to team B, “but I’d ask that you observe silently. General Faldmen has offered the same courtesy after all.”
“Not a peep,” Cliff agreed, though by the way the headmistress raised her eyebrow, he knew she didn’t believe him.
***
It was an odd thing, switching from participant to observer. For one thing, sitting alone in the center of the room, Roose looked a lot more exposed than Cliff had felt. For another, his new chair was significantly less comfortable than the old one.
“Templar Roose,” Dr. Ignis began, “I know it’s unconventional, but we’ve allowed your students to observe this professional review.” So for them, it was an inquiry. For Roose – a review. “Do you have any objections to their presence?”
“None whatsoever,” Roose said. Although he was facing away, Cliff could hear his characteristic half-smile in his voice.
Dr. Ignis didn’t appear to be happy about his answer, but she continued nonetheless. “As for the topic of this professional review, questions have been raised as to your decision-making. As such, it has been decided to review your qualifications as the advisor to the first-year Apprentice Couriers. Do you understand?” Immediately, Cliff wanted to break his promise to the headmistress, but he held himself back.
“Yes.”
“Well, ah-” Dr. Ignis continued, her eyes flicking to where Thalos’s auntie was sitting with Loria’s poppa, “following multiple incidents – both in the Second Hands-on Training and the First – objections have been raised as to your conduct. Firstly, after reviewing the preparations for the First Hands-on, it became clear that you did not prepare your students for emergency combat situations. This resulted in the severe injury of a young woman under your care at the hands of a monster your students were woefully unprepared to deal with. In the Second Hands-on, questions have been raised as to the emergency readiness calculated in your plan. Despite following procedure exactly, team B was left for nearly half an hour before a proper emergency response team met them.” She paused to frown towards Roose. “Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
There was a long pause, and Cliff wished that he had a good look at Roose’s face. He himself was caught somewhere between confusion and boiling anger – Penny was fine, Thalos was fine. Where did they find the gumption to complain about it?
“Dr. Ignis,” Roose replied, “I don’t like to repeat myself – no teacher does, I assume. You already know my answers to these questions, especially because you were an advising party in the First Hands-on.” His tone was neutral, but the way Dr. Ignis twitched, Cliff figured that was a sore spot. “I believe my conduct speaks for itself. I thought we were in agreement on that fact, though apparently I was mistaken.”
The members of the panel shared an uneasy look, and Professor Jericho spoke. “Roose, we’re not trying to hang you out to dry. We simply want to understand your perspective before we come to a decision.” He frowned. “Be reasonable. You do understand what the result of this panel might be, correct?”
There was a hint of irony in Roose’s voice when he spoke again. “You may stick me with a caretaker, dressed up as an assistant or advisor, of course – presumably from the military. Or, if my sins are deemed unforgivable, I may be removed from my position as advisor to the Apprentice Couriers.”
Cliff’s eyes widened – that was absurd. Remove Roose? Because – because they screwed up? He had to say something. He worked his jaw for a moment, preparing a tirade, when there was an awful, guttural sound beside him. Turning, he was surprised to see Loria shaking in her chair, rage naked on her face. “Is this why you came to this inquiry, father?” she growled. “Do you truly trust me so little that you would try to insert one of your subordinates to watch over me?” She pressed her palm to one eye, and Cliff realized with dull horror that Loria was crying. “Roose didn’t do anything wrong – if you’re going to punish someone, at least punish me. Anything else is beyond embarrassing.”
“Loria, be silent,” the Fireshell General snapped, turning towards the headmistress. “Esmer, I can’t believe you would allow-”
“Oh, won’t you shut up?” Nym yelled, cutting him off, “for once, just listen to your daughter!” She was on her feet, looking positively enraged. “Do you know what she told me at the dueling tournament? That she was relieved you didn’t show up. How bad of a father do you have to be for your daughter to be happy for that? Please, just let her talk!” As she spoke, Cliff’s eyebrows started to climb, and by the time she paused and remembered where she was, they were about as high as they could go. “That is-” Nym said, suddenly skittish as she looked around the room, “well – I mean, maybe-”
“I think you’re right, Nym,” Cliff said. He didn’t have nearly the context she did, but it sounded like Loria and her poppa really could use a good talk, and with him as a captive audience, now was as good a time as any. “I’m sure this farce of a trial on poor Roose here can wait a couple of minutes.” The panel wore a range of expressions – Dr. Ignis, concerned; Professor Jericho, actively disinterested; Professor Muldon, annoyed – but none seemed too keen on cutting in. Loria’s poppa looked horrified, but that was kind of the point. “Loria, Give him a piece of your mind.” He raised an eyebrow towards the Fireshell General. “And not a word out of you, sir, until she’s finished, hmm?”
Loria took a deep, shuddering breath. It didn’t look like she was crying anymore, but there was a tremble to her voice when she finally started. “I am so sick of your pity, father.” Cliff blinked. That wasn’t exactly what he expected. “Everything you do is just to coddle me, and I’m tired of it. You don’t talk about me because you don’t want people to compare us. You avoid me so I don’t get the sour looks of people disappointed at the Fireshell General’s daughter. And now, you’re even trying to interfere at the academy to make sure I’m being coddled now that I’m out of your reach. Why do you think I enrolled in the Courier college? I didn’t want you to force all your underlings to give me an easy time at the academy.” She shook her head bitterly. “No, I don’t have a Gift, and no, I’m not the fighter you were when you were at the academy. But I’m not weak. By grades and by performance, I’m one of the most accomplished first-year students at the academy. I’m near the top of my class, I have a team that trusts me, and I am happy. So please – stop trying to distance yourself from me for my sake and stop coddling me. I’m tired of your pity, and I believe I’m starting to hate you for it.”
Her words hung over the room like an oppressive blanket, and not even Cliff had the urge to say anything. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Loria’s poppa sighed. His steel facade had crumbled, and to Cliff, he looked extremely fragile. “I’m just so worried,” he said breathlessly, “It’s – I hear the way they talk about you, and – it must be so hard.”
“I can handle it, father,” Loria replied softly, “I’m strong.” She was smiling now, but her poppa had started crying. It was – well, eye-opening, in some sense, but much more immediately – awkward.
The headmistress brought her hands together, clapping loudly and shattering the tension. “Well,” she started, “I believe Loria and Kratus ought to take this discussion somewhere more private.” She turned to Loria’s poppa, placing a hand gently on the crying man’s shoulder. “Well, General?”
He coughed suddenly, rising to his feet. “Right,” he said, smearing his eyes with a sleeve. “Come now, Loria. We must talk.” He nearly fled out of the room, pausing only to grab Loria by the hand on the way out. It was almost endearing how embarrassed he was. Cliff hoped they’d be able to resolve their issues, but he knew how hard-headed Loria was, and he suspected she’d gotten that trait from her poppa.
“The rest of you, get out too,” Esmer said, “I think there’s been quite enough theatrics for one discipline inquiry, so I’m hereby closing this one off. We’ll finish up with Templar Roose quick enough, so feel free to wait for him. Your probation is over, but take care not to break any rules anytime soon.” She smiled at them. “Enjoy the rest of the festival. I hope to see you all at the Dance tonight.”
***
“That was – something,” Thalos said when they were out of the building. Nodding, Cliff sat himself down on the top step of the entryway to wait for Roose.
Nym was still flushed red from embarrassment. “After seeing Loria’s dad cry like that, I almost feel bad for yelling at him.” She crinkled her nose. “Maybe not, though, considering he tried to get Roose fired.”
“I’ve dealt with stubborn mules before,” Cliff agreed, “you can’t compromise with them – you’ve got to give everything to them straight or they won’t understand what you’re trying to do.”
“He definitely needed a good lecture,” Thalos said, “and Loria’s certainly no stranger to giving one. It does feel like we witnessed something we shouldn’t have – I think that was the first time I’ve ever seen Loria cry. Maybe we owe her an apology.”
Cliff chuckled. “I reckon she got teary-eyed with the rest of us when we saved your life, Thalos – but this is a bit less life-or-death than that was.” He shook his head. “No, I bet she’ll be thanking us – takes a lot of guts to stand up to your poppa, and without the rest of us around, who knows if she’d have managed it?” Nym made a noise of agreement, and Thalos reluctantly nodded. “But thats their problem now. How long do you think until Roose is done in there? I think if we owe anyone an apology, it’d be him.” Though Cliff couldn’t imagine he’d be punished, not when General Faldmen had all but admitted he’d organized the whole situation to meddle in Loria’s life.
“Not so long at all,” a voice said from behind them. They turned to see Templar Roose exiting the building, a wide smile on his face. “I’ll spare you the tension – I get to keep my job.”
Cliff hopped to his feet and shook Roose’s hand. “I hoped as much. Sorry you had to go through that on account of us.”
Roose’s smile turned awkward. “In actuality, I believe I should be the one to apologize – at least to Loria. She bared so much of her private life, but in reality I was in no danger of losing my job. The headmistress organized the performance review to appease General Faldmen, but she’s not the type to let another tell her how to run her school, even if he is the Fireshell General. Why do you think I told you not to worry about me at breakfast this morning?”
Cliff frowned. “I’m not sure if I should be pleased at that or irritated that we were put through a song and dance for no reason.”
Roose shook his head. “Oh, your discipline inquiry was quite real, even if the performance review wasn’t. Though privately, I believe you had nothing to worry about.” He smiled mischievously. “After all, I doubt Auntie Esmer would punish the ones who saved her beloved Thalos’s life.”
Cliff snorted, and Nym turned a frown on Thalos. “I’ve been meaning to ask – you have some kind of relationship with the Headmistress, don’t you? Is she the relative you’ve been having dinner with?”
Thalos sighed. “I’ll tell you later. For now, we should get back to class.”
“Oh no you don’t,” Roose said. “The Discipline inquiry excuses you from the full day of classes. Now, I have to be back for the afternoon Courier class, but until then – I was hoping we might head into town and grab lunch. Your probation is over, after all, and I think that’s something worth celebrating.”
“Oh, great Templar Roose,” Cliff said, voice full of mock emotion, “what would we have done if you had been fired? It would have been pure tragedy.”