“Would you join me for lunch, Master Barloch?” Jal stood at the entrance to his work cubicle.

“What do you need, Jal?”

“I’d like to have a conversation with you about fighting and using magic simultaneously.”

Zarlesh contemplated Jal’s request. “I’m not qualified to have that type of conversation.”

“Would you sit with me and toss some ideas back and forth?”

“This sounds like something you might be better off doing with your adolescent friends.”

“I don’t have any friends.”

Zarlesh’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie.”

Jal’s eyes became yellow. “Don’t be a jerk.” It turned on its heel and went back to Sage Elvan’s office.

Zarlesh went to Sage Elvan’s office at the noon hour. There was no one there. Toward the end of the hour, Zarlesh stopped by again. Sage Elvan was in the middle of a conversation with Victor Nacri and glanced at Zarlesh when he came through the door. Jal was typing madly on the computer, trying to finish a writing assignment. Zarlesh walked into the office and stood at the side of Jal’s desk.

“One moment, Master. I need to check this punctuation.” Jal scrolled through the document and hit ‘submit.’ “Master Elvan, I’m ready for -” Jal looked up. “Master Barloch! I didn't realize it was you.”

“You weren’t here at the beginning of the hour. I thought you wanted to have lunch.”

“I did. You didn’t agree to meet with me."

“I didn’t know what to say. You surprised me.”

“Well, this is awkward. I'm seeking information, but I don’t have any idea who I could ask."

“You could talk to your friends from school.”

"My interactions with other students are minimal, unless we're working on a group project.”

“Surely you spend time with them before and after classes."

"No. We attend some electronic lectures at the same time, but I've never met anyone face-to-face."

"You're not here every day.” He was puzzled.

“You’re right. I’m not.”

Zarlesh looked at his timepiece. “Let’s have lunch tomorrow.”

Jal opened its electronic pad. “Would you give me one second?” Jal opened a message from Jasper Neve. It looked at its schedule. “The soonest I have available is... next week, Dinsdag.”

“What? Dinsdag? Why not tomorrow?”

“I’m scheduled to be in the crafting room, Master.”

“Jal, the lunch hour is over,” Sage Elvan interrupted.

“I apologize, Master Elvan. We are trying to set a time to have lunch. Master Barloch, I’m not available until Dinsdag.”

“We're going to Shifos that day, Jal.”

Jal wrote it in. “Would Vrijdag of next week work, Master Barloch?”

“Jal, you're registered for the tournament next weekend. It starts on Vrijdag.”

“I explained to you that I’m not available to fight in that tournament. I can be here in Nik for an hour at noon.”

“I already registered you.”

“You’ll have to unregister me. I’m not available.”

Zarlesh’s face became flushed. “Master Elvan, could we please take a few minutes to have a personal conversation? The three of us?”

Sage Elvan looked at the two of them and sighed. “I suppose.”

“Jal needs to be in this tournament.”

“It just explained to you that it’s not available.”

“You need to make him be available, Sage Elvan.”

“Jal is an adult. It determines its own schedule. It knows if its available or not.”

“An adult? No.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Yes. If Jal tells you that it isn’t available, then it isn’t.”

“I’ll talk to your teacher, Jal. She can reschedule your project.”

“No, it’s not school. I have other obligations. I don’t have very much free time this month.”

"This month?"

"I have a big order to fill."

“A big order? What does that mean?”

“I have an order for four hundred dishes that need to be delivered in three weeks.”

“What?” Zarlesh looked from Jal to Sage Elvan. “What are you talking about?”

“I am a journeyman potter, Master Barloch. I have a huge order to fill.” Jal rose to its feet and picked up a tablet.

“You have two crafts, Jal?”

“Yes.”

“You are crazy! No wonder you race into the gym like a pyricell is after you! Two crafts, school, and fighting, too? It sounds to me like you need to choose between them, Jal.”

“I’ve already made my choice, Master. The order for the dishes was given to me before I was made aware of the date for the tournament. There will be other tournaments.”

“Of course there will. But you need to make fighting a priority!”

“I have made it a priority, Master. When I have the dates ahead of time, they go directly onto my calendar. The information for this tournament was only released last week.”

“That shouldn’t matter.”

“You shared information about the other ones a few months ahead of time. This time was different. It was only a week.”

Zarlesh’s face deepened in color. “That should be plenty of notice!”

“I’ve fought in four tournaments now, and each time I was able to plan my schedule around them. I've worked things out with Master Neve regarding delivery dates for the products he wants. He attends the tournaments and is appreciative of the fact that I’ve been able to continue working for him. He knows it takes discipline to be a student, an apprentice, and a fighter simultaneously. He has bent over backwards to work with me.” Jal took a breath. “I cannot take the time to fight at this tournament. I must spend that time working. He has promised delivery of these products, and if I don’t produce them, his business will be affected.”

“Do something, Master Elvan!” Zarlesh said heatedly. “Jal is your apprentice. He will do what you say.”

Sage Elvan shook its head. “Jal has explained why it’s not able to fight this time.”

“Our team needs a Level 3 fighter on the roster. Jal, you are it," he insisted.

“I can’t do it this time. You’ll have to find someone else. Let me know the date for the next tournament as soon as you know.”

“I think you should find a new instructor, Jal.” Zarlesh turned to leave.

“You’re ending my instruction because I’m not available for one tournament?” Jal was astounded. It sat down on the edge of the desk. "If you had provided information about the tournament further in advance, this situation wouldn't have come up!"

Zarlesh's eyes darkened. “Most students don’t have a problem with short deadlines. They snatch every opportunity to fight that they can. They've made it a priority!"

"How many other students are also apprentices?"

"I have no idea. That's not my concern."

"Maybe it should be your concern. You work here at the Peace Foundation, and you work as a teacher at the fighting gym. If you can have more than one priority, why can't I?"

"You are a student and you have two apprenticeships and you fight! It seems to me that you're overstretching yourself. You should give something up!"

"The only thing you need to be concerned about is my fighting. I'm at all the practices on time. I give it my full attention when I'm there. What I do when I'm not fighting is not your business."

"It is! I don't need a fighter who is stressed and tired!"

"Tell me when I've been like that," Jal demanded. Zarlesh was silent. "You're just mad because I'm not available. If I had received the information sooner, it's pretty likely that I would have been able to schedule around the tournament. I can't be there. My priority this month is to fill this order for Master Neve."

***

Master Barloch slid onto a chair across from Jal at 'Wok this Way.' They had spoken several times since the tournament Jal had missed, and had reached an uneasy truce.

"I don't understand why you don't spend time with other metamorphs, Jal."

"Do we really need to get into this again?" Jal grumbled. "If you didn't want to have a meal with me, you could have said so."

"I don't like raw fish."

"Then choose a cooked dish." Jal pointed to the menu.

"Why are we here?" Zarlesh asked after they had ordered.

“Master Barloch, is there someone who teaches how to fight with magic and regular weapons simultaneously?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

Jal felt the impatience in its gut. "I'm looking for a teacher who uses both."

"Why?"

"I just am."

"What are you planning, Jal?"

"I'm planning to learn how to fight using magic and a sword. I'll understand if you say that you don't know how to do this."

"And then you'll go off to another teacher?"

"Of course I will!"

Zarlesh studied Jal's face as it chewed the poultry dish it had ordered. It was clear that his student would go on to another teacher, if he didn't step up his game. He sighed. "It is possible to use a wand and a sword at the same time. The challenge is that you won’t have the shield to defend with. There are spell sequences that you can learn to maximize the use of your energy.” He reminded Jal that certain magic drained personal energy bit by bit, while others took a large amount all at once.

“It’s like a mathematics problem?”

“Yes. Doing the math in your head while you’re fighting is ridiculous. You’ll want to memorize the sequences. You can also use multiple defense charms. It’s like having those pieces of obsidian on your shield. You could increase your defensive capabilities by wearing special armor,” Zarlesh suggested.

“Armor?” Jal looked at him. “I should talk to the person who made my shield?”

“Yes. You could purchase full-body protection made of metal.”

“It sounds heavy.”

“There’s also armor that’s woven like a fabric and has special elements woven through it.”

Jal was intrigued. “Tell me, where would a person go to purchase such armor?”

“There’s a craftsman next to the hospital here in Nik. There’s another in Kop.”

“Do you use this type of armor when you fight?”

“No. I don't fight using magic. Just weapons.”

“There are contests on Zuphreon for someone with your skill level?”

“Yes, but they’re not as frequent as the ones for beginners.”

“I would like to watch you fight.”

“Some of the people at my skill level meet at a local gym in the evenings to practice.” Zarlesh shared the information with Jal about the practice sessions.

"Will you teach me how to fight using magic and weapons?"

"No."

"How would I go about finding a teacher and a sparring partner?"

"I could ask around to see if there’s an adolescent who is learning this. Are you thinking of giving up your crafts and becoming a fighter?” Jal shook its head.

“If you’re going to seriously learn how to fight like this, you’ll want to have a supplier of health potions.” Jal wasn’t surprised by this comment and wondered how many there were in the crafting room. “Be prepared for injuries every time you practice,” Zarlesh warned. “Don’t expect anyone to go easy on you.”