Chapter 173
The group walked a little slower than usual as they digested their meals and gradually made their way over to the administration buildings. There were a number of lines and it appeared that Jay's class trainers were not the only ones offering final evaluations. After some searching M'redith managed to guide them to the correct line as she recognized a few of the students.
“Are you sure this is the right line?” Aiden asked as they got in line.
M'redith sighed, “Do you seriously not recognize any of your other classmates?”
Aiden shrugged, “It's dark out!”
He wasn't kidding, it had gotten quite dark out. The night was moonless and the administration buildings area was packed with students, but was barely lit.
The line moved forwards and they all took a step forwards to keep their spots.
“So Jay, what are your plans for the week?” M'redith asked happily as she leaned up against him while the line wasn't moving.
Aiden and Norri were watching the people in front of them play with a tiny board game they had brought with them. Two people were playing, each with a small board with nine squares on it, like a tic-tac-toe game. The two boards were pushed up against one another to form a long board, three spaces by six spaces.
Jay shrugged, “What day is today? I lose track easily it seems...”
M'redith smiled warmly and replied simply, “Tuesday.”
“Right. So tonight I have free, tomorrow night we have the auction, then I'm free Thursday. Friday is the big opening for my mini-golf course, then Saturday we have our graduation exercises. After that I've no idea.” Jay explained slowly as he tried to remember all of the appointments he had that week.
Aiden and Norri were still watching the people in front of them play their game. They each had four game pieces. They put their pieces wherever they wanted to on their side of the board but cupped their hands so that their opponent couldn't see them set up the game. Once both had set their pieces up they removed their hands and began to play.
Players moved one game piece one spot per turn. Pieces could only move forward one space at a time. If you landed on a space already occupied then you captured the opponent's piece and took their place on the board. If a player reached the last square in a row then the piece was removed and 'scored' as a point for that player. The game ended when someone ran out of pieces. Whoever had the most points was the winner.
M'redith nodded at Jay, “So a busy week. Not a lot of time for doing much else.”
“Well we won't be in class all day from now on either, just the classes we pick.” Jay pointed out.
The line moved up and everyone paused what they were doing to move further in to the administration building.
The people in front of them were still playing whatever the game was called but it was clear one of them was a beginner and the other experienced. The beginning player had placed all of their pieces as close to their opponent's side of the board as possible. Whereas the more experienced player had set three of their pieces further back, giving themselves more turns to respond to their opponent's moves. Their last piece they had set one space back from their own front row.
The new player would be forced to move one of their pieces, but one of those pieces would be in jeopardy if they moved it. Another piece was behind one of their other pieces and so it couldn't move. This meant that the newer player only had two pieces which it could move without sacrificing one of their own pieces.
The game went quickly – it was more about where you originally placed your pieces in comparison to the other person. Once the pieces had been placed and the game started there wasn't a lot either player could do to maximize their chances at winning other than by managing the order in which they moved their pieces. It was all about the setup.
The line moved a few more times and Aiden and Norri continued to watch the people in front of them play their game, but as time went by Aiden and Norri began to place bets on who would win. They only bet coppers, of which Norri had a far greater supply of than Aiden thanks to everyone who had given her coppers that evening for her new apprenticeship.
As Jay and M'redith talked Aiden struck up a conversation with the people in front of them for a bit. They talked about the game they were playing and explained that it was called 'Fours' but wasn't sure what the real name of it was.
They let Aiden play with one of their boards and he played a game against the beginning player, which he lost. They offered Norri a turn but she refused and said she'd rather just watch so the original two players went back to playing against each other.
Norri was up by a couple of copper coins by the time they all arrived outside the doors of T'lly's and Warren's offices.
“WHO TOLD YOU TO STAND IN MY DOORWAY! YOU LIKE FATAL FUNNELS?” T'lly screamed before she continued in a more reasonable tone of voice, “Do you find them somehow comfortable or relaxing? No? THEN GET OUT OF MY DOORWAY NOW! Don't come in here! I don't want you here! Go back to the end of the line and wait there while you think about it! YES I am serious!” T'lly yelled at one poor student who had stupidly stood motionless in T'lly's office doorway as they had tried to decide where to sit.
T'lly shook her head as she looked at the line. “NEXT!” she yelled and the two students in front of Jay's group walked towards her office.
“One at a time! This isn't couple's counseling!” T'lly yelled and one of the students turned around and got back in to line ahead of Jay's group as some of the other students laughed - quietly. The other walked quickly in to T'lly's office and made sure not to stop in the doorway. T'lly shut the door behind them with a thud.
“Next please!” someone called out from the office next door and Jay turned to see Warren's smiling face. Warren kindly waved in the next student and shut the door behind them.
Jay's group was next.
Jay and M'redith's conversation had tapered off after T'lly's outburst. Their group stood quietly and digested in silence as the students around them all carried on hushed conversations. They'd been waiting in line for roughly an hour by the time T'lly's door opened and she waved one of them inside. “NEXT!”
Aiden looked spooked by her less than welcoming attitude but he was next. He turned to look at the rest of his group who shrugged. “You're up buddy-boy.” Jay said with a smile.
“Buddy-boy? Where do you come up with this stuff? It's awful!” Aiden muttered as he walked in to T'lly's room. He quickly stepped through and then to the side of the door so that he wouldn't be blocking it. The door shut solidly behind him.
Aiden had been in there for ten minutes by the time Warren opened his door and waved Norri inside happily. “Norri! I hear I owe someone a copper and a punch! That was you, wasn't it?” he said as he waved one fist in the air. He ushered her in to his office and shut the door behind them.
“Well someone seemed like they were in a good mood,” M'redith remarked.
Jay laughed, “They act just like they always do. T'lly's grumpy and always ready to snap, and Warren acts like he doesn't have a care in the world. I have no idea how those two get along.”
M'redith smiled, “DO they get along? I've never seen them outside of class really.”
Jay nodded, “I guess they spend so much time together in class they probably want some time to themselves when they're not.”
“So I've been thinking,” M'redith said and Jay instantly went on alert.
“Okaaaaay...” Jay said noncommittally.
M'redith laughed and shoved Jay playfully – and carefully. She could send Jay flying across the room if she wasn't careful and one of her Combat Abilities kicked in. “It's nothing bad. I just think we should make time to meet up with Sha'li this week. I don't know when we'll all be split up but it seems like that will happen soon. I'd like for our group to spend some time with her before that happens.”
Jay nodded, “Ok, sure. I think that'd be fun too, but this week is pretty full. Are you sure it couldn't wait until after we all come back?”
M'redith turned to fully face Jay and that was when he realized he had missed something. M'redith usually gave him her full attention when she was about to try and teach him something. Such as now.
“Jay,” she said with a crooked smile, “we just spoke with her a short time ago. If we ask her out now it would seem like a normal social progression as we recently saw her in person. If we wait for over a month and then ask her out it would be taken as socially awkward as so much time had passed in between. If you're trying to make a new friend you don't want them to think you forgot about them for an entire month.” she explained patiently.
Jay smiled, “Ok, I get what you're saying. In that case we could do Thursday. If none of us have any afternoon classes we could even leave early. You want me to reach out to her?”
M'redith shook her head, “I'll ask her, I don't mind. Just make sure that Aiden and Norri know about it too. I'm excited, this is going to be fun!”
Jay laughed, “You haven't even asked Sha'li yet, how do you know she'll say yes?”
M'redith shrugged, “I just do. I have a sense for these things.”
Jay wondered at that. M'redith did seem to have a sense for what other people were thinking, or more importantly, for what other people intended. She often was aware of subtle social cues before anyone else and had a knack for pinpointing a person's motivations that often lay underneath their spoken words.
She had been a constant blessing to Jay who at times had no idea what people on Eden were talking about, let alone their underlying motivations.
“Send in my next victim!” yelled T'lly as Aiden exited with a serious face.
“I don't want to talk about it,” Aiden said before he walked off to wait for the group near the exit.
“Not all news is good news.” M'redith said with a shake of her head.
“What's that?” Jay asked as he turned to her.
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She shook her head as if to shake the thoughts away, “Nothing. I'll go next. That way you get to meet with Warren instead of T'lly.”
M'redith gave Jay a quick kiss on the cheek as he opened his mouth to protest. Before he could get a word in she'd already walked in to T'lly's office. The door shut behind her just as Jay spoke.
“Wait!” he said, but she had been fast and he was already too late.
Jay smiled warmly. That had been completely unnecessary as it really didn't matter who he met with. T'lly even seemed to like him in her own twisted way and he doubted that she would have given him a bad evaluation. Still, M'redith had taken T'lly just so that Jay would have a nicer evaluation. It was a sweet thought on her part and Jay appreciated it.
Things got a little louder as yelling could be heard from T'lly's office and the students outside quieted down in an effort to try and listen in. The words were too muffled but by the tones it was clear that there was more than one person yelling. Jay assumed that M'redith was giving as well as she got.
Jay couldn't imagine getting in to a shouting match with T'lly. What were they arguing about?
Eventually the yelling subsided and morphed in to a more normal tone of conversation between the two women. Jay wondered what was going on.
“Jay! Good to see you! Come on in!” Warren said and as Jay turned he saw that Norri had left and joined Aiden near the exit.
Jay walked in to Warren's office and Warren shut the door behind them.
The room was maybe twelve feet square. One half was taken up by a desk, its surface divided in to neat sections. Trim piles of paperwork, writing kits, reference books, schedules, lesson plans – it seemed that if it had anything to do with teaching then it was somewhere on his desk.
Warren settled in to a high backed leather chair behind his desk and let out a sigh, “Have a seat, Jay.”
Jay sat down on a plush green two cushion couch. In between the couch and the desk sat a low coffee table on which had been set a platter of lemon-anise sugar pizzelles. Jay took one and bit in to it. It tasted of sugar and sharp lemon. The cookie crumbled in to dust in his mouth and he chewed happily. It was delicious.
“Well Jay, you've done well for yourself here, I have to hand it to you. When you started we were a bit worried about your potential as a Guild recruit but you've certainly grown in to a valuable potential member.” Warren offered happily.
Jay smiled at the praise in between bits of his pizzelle. “Thank you!” he mumbled with a mouth full of lemon-anise cookie.
“So let's talk strengths and weaknesses, shall we?” Warren offered as he opened up a thick folder with Jay's name written on the front and a little photo of him attached to the top right corner.
“Traps. You scored outstandingly well on them. I would score it as one of your strongest subjects. You do know that we are offering an intermediate traps class over the next few days?” Warren pointed out helpfully.
Jay nodded, “I saw! I already signed up for that one.”
Warren nodded and flipped to a different page before he grunted and nodded, “Right. Says so here. Good for you! Great pick.”
“Can I say something without offending you too much? I don't mean this in a bad way, so try and take it in the spirit it's offered. You're not a fighter. I'd honestly hoped to see a little more progress from you with your combat skills. You barely passed.” Warren pointed out with a frown.
Jay began to look worried and Warren waved it off. “If you were another student I would hold you back, make you repeat the course. Yes, the entire course. If, that is, it weren't for the fact that your class is Adventurer and not one of the primary four – fighter, mage, scout, healer.”
Warren waved at Jay to pass him one of the lemon-anise pizzelles and which he accepted with thanks. He took a bite out of one before he continued. “Listen,” he said then stopped to wipe some crumbs off of his lips.
“Listen,” he tried again, “I've done some research on the Adventurer class and as it turns out, it's not your fault. You're not intended to have the same level of combat skills as the primary four classes. So it wouldn't be fair to judge you as I'd judge one of those four classes. So I'm giving you a break.”
Jay let out a breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding, “You scared me for a minute there!”
Warren grinned. “Good! Don't think of it as a good thing. You're deficient in your combat abilities. You need to work on improving that. It will take time and practice, not something we have any time left for here, so you will have to pursue that on your own.”
Jay nodded, “What about additional training?”
Warren looked at him silently before he shook his head, “Jay, I'm honestly puzzled. Aren't you rich at this point? I'm pretty sure you already have more money saved than I do and I've been saving for a while now!”
He stared at Jay for a second before he continued, “I'd half expected you to walk in to my office and tell me that you really didn't need a final evaluation any more. Or worse, offer to bribe me, as some students have been known to do. You say you want additional training. For what? What is it you are looking to accomplish that you haven't already?”
Jay looked confused, “I want to be an adventurer and run dungeons. I want to be a valuable group member.”
Warren nodded, “Sure. But can I just point out that you already are running dungeons? And I'm pretty sure people have already figured out how valuable you are to a group. You may not be aware but a number of students have shown interest in joining the Glimmerhides – we had to explain to them that we don't determine who joins the Glimmerhides – the Glimmerhides do. So why are you still here? What is it you're looking to do with the Guild?”
Jay nodded and shrugged, “I have something I have to do. Before I do that I need to make sure I am as prepared as I can be. That is where the Guild comes in. I need to become a better dungeon runner.”
Warren grinned, “Ok. So you aren't going to become a master of the staff any time soon. Knowing that, what do you feel would make you a better dungeon runner?”
Jay wiped at his head with one hand, “I'd like to get some skill with lock picks. As for the staff I had an idea – I mean the staff is great but I have to get so close to attack with it. What about ranged weapons?”
Warren seemed to agree with Jay, “That's a great point. I'd encourage you to find someone to train you in a ranged weapon of your choice, but that isn't something we offer over the next few days.”
Jay didn't seem to know what to ask for.
“Let's do this. You are already important to have in a group not just because of what you know but because of who you are. Your Traveler status gives you access to events and rewards that other groups wouldn't even be offered. That by itself makes you a vital part of any group.” Warren offered.
Jay saw his point but wasn't prepared to entirely agree.
“So. You take the classes you want over the next few days – I see you picked one on secrets, that's right up your alley, good for you – and as long as you pass your graduation exercise myself and T'lly will graduate you,” Warren said but paused as Jay's face grew excited.
Warren smiled, “Yes, I'll pass you, but in the meantime try and figure out what you're looking for. If the Guild doesn't have a class on it I can reach out to some people I know in K'tharkle and see what I can do for you, ok?”
Jay nodded happily.
“I'd also like to suggest you reach out to some scouts, talk with them, try and learn from them. My research has shown that there was once significant overlap between Adventurer classes and Scout classes before they became what they are today. I would strongly suggest you work on your hiding, sneaking, and stealth abilities. If you can't fight you should know how to hide.” Warren pointed out.
Jay laughed, “Hiding. Great. Just what I wanted to learn how to do.”
Warren brushed some crumbs off of his desk and in to his cupped hand which he then emptied in to the trash. “Better hidden than dead. It's a good skill to have.”
“Ok. I'll put it on my list of things to look in to. Thanks Warren!” Jay said happily. His evaluation had gone even better than he had hoped. He had somewhat expected to be called out on his combat ability and perhaps even given remedial training. Instead he had been offered graduation.
“Ya, well, it is kind of difficult to fail a group of students who transformed Kagan's Dome. It would be difficult to explain. Difficult, but not impossible mind you,” Warren pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
“No worries!” Jay said with upheld hands, “I'm not looking to fail out.”
“Well I don't see what good sending you out for additional training after graduation would do when we can't even decide what training you should have. For now I'm going to recommend no further training, but if you find something let me know and I'll see if we can get you in. That's all for me, any questions?” Warren asked before he stood up and walked around the desk towards the door.
Jay shook his head no, “I appreciate all the help Warren. Thanks for the advice.”
They shook hands before Warren opened the door and guided him back out in to the poorly lit night. He walked over to his waiting group who had already finished their evaluations.
“Next! Becca come on in! Great to see you again!” Warren said as he ushered a young woman in to his office and closed the door behind them.
“How'd you do?” Norri asked with a smile.
“I get to graduate. No additional training after graduation.” Jay offered happily.
Aiden huffed, “I don't. Get to graduate. I have to attend remedial traps first! Why do I need to know how to handle traps when I have you?! And then after I graduate I have to attend some advanced healer course. I can already heal you guys just fine!”
Jay wanted to smile but knew better than to do so at that moment. “I'm...sorry to hear that? You'll do great! And after you do your traps class you still graduate, right?”
Aiden nodded crossly. He would graduate with the others, he'd just have to do double the work to do so. While attending the optional classes over the next few days he would have to also attend remedial traps classes. Not fun at all.
“How about you guys?” Jay asked the women.
Norri grinned, “I'm graduating! And I get to spend the month after with Alize! I asked and Warren thought that was a great idea! Woohoo!” she said and she hopped in to the air, once, in excitement.
M'redith shrugged as everyone looked at her. “I get to graduate. Afterwards I'm headed off for Leadership school, then back here to manage you lot.”
“Can we go in to town for snacks?” Aiden suddenly begged before anyone could ask where they should go next.
“Oooo! I want snacks too!” Norri said and hopped in place again.
“Why not? Anyone have a place in mind?” Jay asked.
“Something with chocolate. I think I know of a place. We'll have to head over to baker's square though and that's on the other side of the city.” M'redith pointed out.
Jay shrugged, “Short ride or long ride, I won't be the one pulling the cart so I don't care.”
Aiden grinned as his belly rumbled loudly. “Now I have a mental picture of you trying to pull a cart by yourself.”
Norri giggled at that and M'redith shook her head.
“Come on, lets head out one of the smaller entrances,” M'redith said with a happy smile as she grabbed Jay's hand and ran off down a path. Aiden and Norri were forced to either run after them or be left behind. They all ran along the path until they reached a wider road and turned on to it. After a few minutes they turned once again and went down a less traveled path before they reached a pedestrian gate.
They waved to the gate guard as they passed through one of the various pedestrian entrances that dotted the border wall between Guild and City land. Back out in K'tharkle proper M'redith easily managed to flag down a passing cart. She gave the driver a coin and a destination before she walked to the rear of the cart and hopped in after her friends.
The cart remained motionless for a time as it waited for a break in the line of carts and carriages. Finally a spot came up and the driver smoothly pulled in to the flow of traffic and began the long ride towards baker's square.