CHAPTER VI (6)- Dormitory
A glass window circled around the room in a semicircle, with the only interruption being a patch of stone wall behind Kizu where a painting showcasing the hallway hung. To his left, a ladder led up to a loft overhead, but that seemed to be as high as the tower reached. He glanced out the window and wondered how far the fall would be if thrown out it. Any ground below them was concealed by a layer of fluffy clouds.
In the center of the room, a brazier let off heat with several chairs and couches around it. Only one other boy was in the room. His features were plain and utterly forgettable. Brown hair cut to the brow. While not especially chubby, the boy still had a soft face that accentuated his small eyes. He looked up from his book and glanced at Kizu. A frown slipped onto his face with distaste showing as his eyes flicked to Mort on Kizu’s shoulder.
“Lost? This is the third-year’s common room. Go back out the way you came.”
“I am a third year,” Kizu replied coolly. “Where are the living quarters at?”
The boy laughed with no humor. “I know all the third-years. In fact, I have for three years even, if you can believe that. You’re not one of them. Get out, monkey-boy, or I’ll make you get out.”
“Gladly. Just point me in the direction of my quarters.”
The boy vaulted to his feet. Only then did Kizu finally notice something abnormally memorable about him. His beady eyes glinted with an unfettered fury. Pure, bottomless hatred. He drew a wand from his waistband and pointed it at Kizu.
“Down in the stables with the horses,” he said quietly. “Pretty lucky for you. I heard your kind likes them. They’re supposedly well-endowed.” He flicked his wand between Kizu and the painting behind him. “Last chance.”
As if reflecting the pulsing anger from the other boy, something in Kizu snapped. He lifted a hand and the entire room darkened. Outside the window, blocking out the sun, the silhouette of a dragon descended on them. It grew closer with each powerful pump of its dark wings. It roared in the distance.
The boy visibly froze in place, wand dangling in his hand as he gawked in horror at the creature descending on them.
Kizu stepped forward and slammed a fist into the boy’s jaw, sending him tumbling to the ground. The wand skittered uselessly on the stone floor.
“How’s that for confusion?” Kizu muttered to himself as he dropped the illusion. It would have faded in a moment anyway; audible illusions were tough to maintain.
He flexed his fingers. His knuckles ached and on his head. On his shoulder, Mort purred his satisfaction.
Turning away from the downed boy, he looked around the room again and noticed a spiral staircase leading down on the other side of the couch. He left without a glance back.
Scores of doors lined the walls in the hallway down the stairs. Each of the chambers was labeled, just as James had mentioned earlier. Kizu scanned them, looking for his name. He had to descend down another, second staircase before finally locating his room at the very end of the hall. Kaga Kizu and above it, Basil.
He slid open the door and was forced back out again, coughing his lungs out as he was assaulted by the aroma of hundreds of perfumes. Blinking ferociously and taking control of his breathing, he dived back inside the room again. A quick glance showed him a room full of outfits. And not just men’s clothes. Women’s clothes lay draped over the desks and hung from the ceiling. Everything from a girl’s uniform, to an elaborate ballgown.
With shallow breaths, Kizu began to adjust to the odors. He tried to process what he was seeing. He noticed that many of the outfits were incomplete in some fashion. And, on one of the desks, there was an assortment of threads next to a cloth ball pricked by a dozen needles, looking like a sea urchin.
“A tailor,” Kizu said to himself. “Basil must be some sort of tailor.”
He lifted up a pile of men’s jackets off of what he assumed to be his bed and set them over on the opposite bed, which looked more rumpled and slept in. The room seemed in scarce supply of storage, but thankfully he barely owned anything to unpack. He left his one outfit from the crone in his satchel, not even bothering to open the closet.
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Finding a single empty drawer in the desk (the rest being filled with different threads and needles) he deposited some basic brewing supplies he had gathered from his family’s surrounding gardens, along with the few peaches he’d preserved.
On his pillow rested a small silvery orb. Assuming it to be Basil’s, he picked it up, intending to move it over to Basil’s bed.
It lit up and floated just above his hand.
“Welcome, Kaga Kizu. I will be your guide these next few years. Please ponder and establish a name for me in the near future.”
“What do you think, Mort?” Kizu asked.
Mort climbed down his arm and quizzically reached out to the floating orb. It bounced slightly at his touch.
“Information. Owl Monkey. Sometimes known as a Specs Monkey or a Night Monkey. A species named for its owl-like eyes and nocturnal habits. In the known world, it is the only fully nocturnal monkey. Like most primates, they’re highly intelligent, rivaling the smartest non-magical creatures. This specific breed is known to be found most commonly in the Hon Basin.”
“This is Mort,” Kizu told the orb. “He’s my familiar.”
“Connection established.”
Mort cocked his head and hummed.
“What can you tell me about my roommate, Basil?” he asked it.
“Basil, Third-Year- Combat-299, Astronomy-346, Divination-411, History-398, Politics-401, Rejuvenation and Restoration- 182, Conjuring-532, Brewing- 501, Alchemy- 396, Music- 377 (Piano), Enchanting- 291 , Illusion- 212, Elemental 233.”
“So, if there are 800 students, for a third year, he’s pretty average?”
“That would be an appropriate evaluation. With the exception of his Rejuvenation and Restoration talents which are almost in the A class.”
In a way, he found it concerning that anyone could look up his placements with only a few words. But he also understood how it might motivate students. Nobody wants to be the absolute lowest person in any given subject. Which pretty much meant, nobody wanted to be him. At least it would be extremely difficult for him to fall down in the rankings.
“What can you tell me about him though, besides his academic standing?”
“You are not authorized to access any behavioral or disciplinary records.”
He tried rephrasing a couple times but received the same response. He gave up, better to come to that conclusion himself anyway. Instead he changed the subject.
“What is my schedule for tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow all students have a settling in period. You have nothing recorded for your schedule.”
“What about for the semester? What classes am I signed up for?”
“Period I- History, Period II- Combat, Period III- Astronomy, Period IV- Enchanting, Period V- Music, Period VI- Elemental, Period VII- Brewing. You are signed up to attend three classes a day and they will rotate through the seven classes throughout the week.”
“And which three for my first day?”
“Your first day of classes will be an exception. You are scheduled to attend all seven classes for shortened periods for an orientation class.”
He lay back in his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Mort swung from the hanging clothes like vines.
“What do I do for food?” he asked the orb.
“The cafeteria is open from six until ten in the evening for students in the dormitories.”
“And the current time?”
“6:23 in the evening.”
Kizu looked over at the orb, floating and glowing softly. It was incredibly helpful.
“How difficult would it be to enchant something like you?”
“Based on your current enchanting ranking, impossible.”
“What ranking would I need?”
“S for the mere slim possibility to present itself.”
He considered that, then changed the topic. “Do I have books to study?”
“Yes, you will be presented with the required texts tomorrow after your first lessons. The library is also available to all students from six in the morning to midnight. Though certain texts may be restricted based on your ranking due to the danger of the contents. And the Living Library is strictly off-limits without consent from faculty.”
The Living Library? That piqued Kizu’s interest. But any follow-up questions were met with a wall. The only thing he seemed authorized to know was that it existed. But he had plenty of time to get answers later.
“What do you think, Mort?” Kizu said, giving up on getting any more information from the orb. “Dinner or the library?”
The monkey answered by jumping on his shoulder and nipping at his ear.
“Dinner it is. Orb, show us the way.”