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Joe smiled, lost in his own blissful thoughts, as he wandered slowly back to the inn. Despite his meandering thoughts, he was hyperaware of her presence beside him, finding himself focusing all of his sense on her, catching what glimpses he could from the corner of his eyes, the sounds of her rustling and breathing, and the odd ‘thereness’ that she seemed to project that he caught by some form of sense he could not identify in any way at all. He just simply knew exactly where she was.
He made sure to keep their path clear and guided her back to the inn, although he did keep his hands to himself this time, realizing that holding hands was a deeply intimate event. Well… no… touching hands is perfectly fine. She had no problem, but … maybe it’s when it’s intimacy or affection in public? Joe’s mind, as always, grappled with issues almost rabidly, unwilling to not consider any detail he could grasp, but Kilniara’s presence quickly washed away those thoughts and he found himself captivated once again by her presence, all five senses avidly seeking her out.
They soon found their way to the inn and when they entered the common area, quickly became found himself focusing on the other two. Zilnek and Garnedell sat at a table, chatting amiably with Kukurnal sitting silently, if anxiously, at the table. The anxiety was washed away by relief and soon replaced with excitement as Kukurnal had been ardently eyeing the door and saw Joe quickly.
Joe smiled and waved at catching Kukurnal’s unguarded moment but guided Kilniara to sit at the table. As he sidled into his seat, he greeted the other three.
“So. Everything going all right?”
Garnedell glanced at him quickly before nodding and smiling, “All’s fine, Joe!”
Joe smiled and nodded back and let him return to his conversation with Zilnek, “How about you, Kukurnal?”
Kukurnal grinned broadly, “I’m doing well. I believe that I have some news I am now able to share with you, my friend.”
“Oh? What’s going on?”
“You seem to be growing popular around town. Rumors have been spreading about a certain strangely named adventurer, Joe.”
Joe hid his grimace, struggling to keep the placid smile on his face, “Mind detailing the rumors? Any ramifications I should be aware of?”
“Hmm. Mostly to do with how you acted with the captain when Kilniara was injured and your exceptional performance in the dungeons. Oh, and how Lord Grugtrim sent his men to seek you out.”
“Lord Grugtrim? Oh, about his knight dying? That wasn’t about me. They were looking for a knight who’d died on the road after they had met me. I’m not sure how they knew he’d met me, but… yeah.”
Kukurnal said nothing, although he seemed to look at Joe with a slight strange look before dismissing it, “Mm. Be that as it may, people know you as one who has standing with Lords.”
Joe said nothing to that, his mind drawing a blank on how to respond, “Hmm.”
Kukurnal waited politely for a response but Joe offered none, “People are curious is all.”
“I could see how they might be. Is there anything I need to be careful of? Or aware of?”
“Nothing of concern. Your name is simple spreading throughout the town”
“Hmm. Then do you have any advice?”
“Do you seek to grow your fame?”
“No. I prefer to remain anonymous and ignored.”
“Then possibly refrain from threatening then paying the dungeon guardians almost half their yearly salary.”
Joe blanched when he realized how much he’d offered the guardians, “That was… definitely not a good way to remain under the rada… uh… hidden.”
“No… truly no,” Kukurnal replied with a smile.
Joe sighed then shook his head, “Well, nothing I can do now.”
“You seem concerned.”
“Not very, but this is not something that will allow for a simple or easy life. I had no intention to busy myself with … fame.”
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“Mm… there is little I can do to help you with your current situation, but I can keep you aware of things in the future.”
“I would greatly appreciate that,” Joe replied with a grateful smile.
Kukurnal nodded then leaned forward eagerly, “Please, let us ‘dig into,’ as you say, another wonderful topic. I wish to know much more about your scholarship. From what you have describe, your people have deeply invested in scholarship and the training of your people. Could you describe it?”
“Mmm… that’s a really broad question. Can you give me a more specific one? I’m not sure where to begin.”
“Hmm… can you describe the education your people receive.”
“Well, I guess it depends on the country, but even today, most countries offer some form of education, although there are still some pretty bad countries where they fail to properly care for their citizens, but most are following suit after what my people have done.
“Education begins young, at around the age of six years old. Everyone receives and is required to take twelve years of education. This education is simply the most basic training necessary to live and work the simplest jobs available in our nation, for the most part. After that, those who wish to pursue further education, something we call higher education, may take another four years of much more advanced and very focused studies to pursue a single higher difficulty or expertise job. There is another tier of education above that, for those who wish to become better trained and seek out even more specialized jobs or to train and teach those at the basic education levels. The third and final tier of education is for those who wish to pursue pure scholarship or to teach at the first to third tiers of higher education.”
Kukurnal had gaped several times throughout the description, opening his mouth to interrupt but Joe wasn’t in the mood for distractions and plowed on through, but when he was finally done, the dam broke, “Twelve years? Three tiers? What do those tiers do? How long are they? What more could you need after twelve years? What basic knowledge do you need to live as a simple member of society? Why don’t you just let the poor do the basic job… wait, you said everyone receives the basic education? But how? And when does…” Kukurnal sputtered through another dozen questions before coming to an end. Joe let him continue as he was too tired to interrupt.
“Well. Which question do you want answered first? You asked a lot.”
“Um… how much … what is your education level?”
“I finished the basic education level. I am…” Joe trailed off, his mind reeling as he realized he wasn’t going back to college. I guess… technically ‘was’ now… Joe sigh, morose. He snapped back to Kukurnal as he heard him begin to exclaim in shock.
“… you be at only the basic level. You are obviously highly educated! It is not possible that you…” Kukurnal’s voice began rising in consternation before being hushed politely by Joe, a quite ‘shh’ and a waving hand brought him back down to a whisper. “You… you cannot be at the basic level! That is truly…”
“Well, I am. I do have a few years of the first level of higher education. We call it a bachelors, but I have not completed it. What I know is mostly from the basic education.”
“But how do you…”
The conversation quickly meandered, dashing down rabbit trail after rabbit trail, but despite this, Joe found himself as deeply invested and interested in the topic as Kukurnal. The two got lost in their discussion even as supper arrived and they began eating without even really being aware of the food, although Joe did feel taken aback as he once again tasted the poor and incredibly bland fare. Despite the poor meal, the conversation more than made up for it while the three apprentices enjoyed their own conversation, leaving the two to their meanderings, although Kilniara seemed to pay closer attention to their conversation but did not interrupt.
Soon, the evening came to an end and Joe shut Kukurnal down, now no longer so embarrassed to stop his questions as he’d long grown used to Kukurnal’s insatiable desire for knowledge and grown quite fatigued with his never ending thirst. Joe bid the good night and headed upstairs, stopping by the front desk to order heated water for their bathing after checking with the two boys to see if they’d bathed yet either.
They arrived at their room where Joe banished all of them to Kilniara’s small room while she bathed in the main room. The two boys seemed truly entrenched in their own conversation and Joe joined in their banter which allowed the time to progress quite quickly. Joe was actually surprised when he felt the door thump on his back when Kilniara knocked on the door, and scrambled out of the way to let her in.
All three guys stood, shuffling out of the room to let Kilniara into hers although Zilnek stopped and called back to Joe and Garnedell, “Please take your bathing first. I wish to speak with my sister.”
Garnedell waved his hand and Joe nodded, “No problem. You want first or me first, Garnedell?”
“Please go first, Joe.”
“You sure?”
“Yes,” Garendell grinned, his smile infectious.
Joe found himself grinning back as well before turning to his bed to shuck his shirt and then sat down on the bed to pull off his shoes and socks, not starting on his pants until the door to Kilniara’s room had fully closed. After making sure the door was close, he was able to fall back into rote memory, letting his body fall into the rhythm of bathing.
As he settled into the small tub, he let his mind begin wandering over his day. He round himself drifting for a time, lost in his thoughts and the warmth of the bath before suddenly coming back to awareness. Oh! Garnedell looks like he’s been waiting a while! Joe put his meandering aside and began to quickly wash himself as he sat up and finished off his bathing.
Joe stood from the tub, drying himself as he stepped out, “Sorry, Garnedell. I didn’t mean to hog the bath. It’s all yours.”
Garnedell stared at him with confusion, eyebrows crowding above his nose as he furrowed his brow. Joe did notice his confusion as he was focused on stepping from the tub, drying his feet carefully before sitting on his bed. When he didn’t hear Garendell’s reply, Joe glanced up to him.
“I said you can take the bath now. I’m sorry if I took too long.”
“It is fine, Joe. I am not offended.”
Joe smiled at Garnedell’s serious reply but also returned a polite but serious one of his own, “I am grateful.”
Garnedell serious façade quickly dropped as he grinned and leapt up to jump into the tub, clothes flying across the room in a storm. Well… he’s still basically a kid, right? Heh.
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