Chapter 217
An angry looking Tilly had stepped up on to a small makeshift platform that had been set up next to the wooden display boards that would normally be used to post the daily schedules. The crowd quieted down when she stood silent with one raised eyebrow in front of them.
Up on the platform she looked somehow far larger than her usual five foot something body. She wore a flowing green mage robe with bright purple stitching and she raised two hands to her head and lowered her hood. She waited until the crowd had settled a bit before she began to speak.
“The Library, as you are all by now aware, has been temporarily closed,” she began and the crowd began to mutter again in anger before she gave the crowd a disgusted look. The crowd quieted once again.
“This was due to an incident that involved the actions of one man. That person is being dealt with but the damage has already been done. The library has been shut down for one week as a penalty for their actions. So deal with it. Like adults! Things going wrong is 90% of being an adventurer. Get used to having to find imperfect solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. Think of this as practice,” T'lly said with a grin.
There were no grins in the crowd however. T'lly let the grin drop off of her face and replaced it with her normal scowl.
“Classes are canceled for today. We'll see what happens come Monday but as for now, you have the day to yourselves. I suggest you make the most of it. Graduation exercises begin tomorrow!” T'lly reminded the crowd who murmured nervously in response.
“Instructors will be available throughout the day inside the Training Hall and will be offering individualized training to any interested students. Having trouble with your blocks? A specific trap giving you trouble? Keep forgetting what to pack for adventures? Stop by the Training Hall any time today for a session with a certified Guild instructor,” T'lly said with a wave of her hand as if it weren't a big deal.
It was a big deal though and the crowd quieted substantially at the news. One on one classes were usually not offered. Private instruction was notoriously expensive. Classes were normally structured and designed to teach a group of students skills one skill at a time.
T'lly was offering the opposite – just show up and a trainer knowledgeable in whatever question you had to ask would be happy to help answer any questions. Normal classes were often far too busy for a student to get that kind of attention from a trainer.
It looked like there would be plenty of trainers too as there were no longer any classes scheduled for that day. The trainers had nowhere else to be.
“Training Hall is optional of course. You do not have to go. If you're a student and you want to attend then you're welcome to. Whatever you decide to do today, come tomorrow you must be at the main Guild courtyard at dawn for your graduation exercises. Do not be late! Come dressed and ready for combat and adventuring – you will most likely be doing both. Be prepared to be gone all day. That is all. Good day.” T'lly said and stepped down off of the platform without entertaining any questions.
The crowd hadn't gotten all of the answers that they had wanted to hear but they had gotten some answers. It was preferable to silence. With the added offer of individual instruction in the Training Hall though the gathered mob of students all seemed a little less upset. So what if they couldn't go to a specific class – they could go to the Training Hall instead and possibly get a one on one session with a trainer – a far better opportunity.
With their anger blunted the crowd gradually broke up in to smaller groups. T'lly walked off and entered the Training Hall which left no one for the students to direct their anger towards – directing their anger towards T'lly had been a bad idea to begin with.
“What now?” Jay asked as he turned to face M'redith and the others in his group.
Norri shrugged. “I think the Training Hall is a great idea. I'm going to see if they can help me with my staff work and see if there are any trainers familiar with transformation class abilities.”
“Transformation?” Aiden asked in confusion as he scrunched up his face.
Norri nodded, “Sure. I can transform in to a bear, remember? I'd think it would be tough to forget,” she mentioned with a playful grin.
Aiden smiled and nodded, “Got it. I guess I thought it would be something else but no, your explanation makes sense. Anyone else?”
M'redith smiled and nodded, “I'm going to head out for a bit on my own. I have some things to do and take care of before tomorrow. But you have fun Norri!”
Aiden didn't wait to be asked. “I'm going to hit up the Training Hall and see if I can talk with a Healer about a few things I've been meaning to ask. Might as well, I've no idea when we'll get another opportunity like this. What about you, Jay? You going for training?”
Jay tilted his head to one side. “I don't know. Maybe? I might stop by to see if they have anyone who could increase my knowledge of traps and triggers. That might be helpful.”
Aiden laughed, “Considering the fact that you are the only one of us that we can rely on for traps and triggers I'd say it'd definitely be helpful.”
The others grinned at his little joke and Jay nodded.
“Agreed,” he said before he let the matter drop. “Should we all go in together?” Jay asked.
Aiden shook his head. “I'm heading off campus for a bit. I think I'll go visit Aisha first. That way the crowd will have time to thin out a bit.”
Norri nodded and gave Aiden a teasing look, “Say hi to her for us!”
Aiden nodded with a smile. “Absolutely not. I want her to think I'm normal!”
M'redith grinned. “I'll go in with you Jay.”
“Me too!” Norri said with a child like grin. She always seemed so happy and excited about everything.
“So, what? Meet up at dinner?” Aiden asked as he realized he wouldn't have any easy way of finding his friends once they split up.
M'redith shook her head. “Not unless you want to miss the fun tonight! Let's agree to meet up at the main courtyard at 6. That should give us plenty of time to get dressed, meet up, and ride over in time for it to start. We want to get there early so that Jay can fix any last minute problems.”
Aiden nodded, “Ok. Good points. I guess I'll see you all tonight at seven then!”
“Six!” M'redith corrected him with a shake of her head.
“Fine! Six then!” Aiden said with a shrug and a smile that let her know he had just been teasing her.
“See you then!” Norri said with a wave as Aiden turned and walked away towards one of the many paths that led off from the Training Hall area.
“Come on, let's go!” Norri said excitedly as she grabbed M'redith's arm and tried to drag her towards the entrance of the Training Hall.
“Ok, I'm coming!” M'redith said with a smile as Norri pulled her off balance. The group of three friends filed in through the entry door and were stopped by a young scribe. The boy was younger than Norri and had a sheaf of papers in front of him.
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“What training are you looking for?” the young boy asked in the high pitched voice of youth as he smiled at Norri. The young boy seemed a bit flustered at the large number of students that had been filing in through the doors. The line had grown and he tried to work quickly without sacrificing quality.
Norri pursed her lips. “Staff fighting. Also, do you have anyone that knows about transformation? Becoming something else due to a class ability?”
The boy shuffled the pages until he had found the one he wanted and ran down the list printed on it with one finger until he found what he was looking for. “Staffs...” he said. “Basic or advanced?”
Norri grinned with an evil glint to her eye. “Advanced.”
The boy nodded. “Great! That way over there, line number 3. Ask for Bolivar, he can help you out.”
Norri smiled and said “Thank you!” She moved to head over to line number 3 but the boy stopped her.
“Wait! Didn't you want transformation too?” the boy asked as he riffled through his stack of papers in search of someone that would fit Norri's criteria.
“Oh, yeah!” Norri said as she flashed an embarrassed look at the young boy. “Sorry!”
The boy nodded but didn't speak as he was in the middle of running his finger down another list in search of something that would help Norri. His finger stopped on a very long word and he tried sounding it out before he gave up entirely and moved on to another entry.
“How about this one? We have a blood mage that can turn in to a crow? Or we've also got a beast master than can change in to a bull?” the young boy asked seriously with wide eyes. “I didn't know we had either one of those until you asked!”
Norri clapped her hands in excitement. “Oooo – the bull one! That sounds a lot closer to what I can do.”
The boy looked momentarily curious, something he wasn't supposed to be while on the job. One tiny question wouldn't hurt though, right? The boy decided to take a gamble and asked his question. “What can you do?”
Norri narrowed her eyes, “I turn in to a very furious giant bear.”
“Oh – so you turn in to a bear? That's cool!”
“No. Not a bear – a FURIOUS and GIANT bear. You'd be able to easily tell the difference in person, trust me,” Norri said with a wide grin.
The young boy nodded with wide eyes and looked suitably impressed. “Ok. Willard can help you out. Line 10. Good luck!” he finished with a smile.
Norri didn't wait but waved to her friends. “See you all tonight!” She headed towards the row of lines towards the back of the cavernous hall.
The young boy turned to M'redith and smiled. “Who would you like to see?”
M'rdith shook her head and pointed at Jay. “I'm just here for moral support. I think he wants to see someone though,” she said as she poked Jay in the ribs – or would have if it weren't for his leather armor.
The young boy turned his gaze to Jay and offered up his usual smile, “Who would you like to see then?”
“Traps and triggers. Intermediate detection and disarming,” Jay said, and then, after a moment, “please?”
The young boy nodded and smiled at the 'please.' He rearranged his papers until he had the list he was looking for. His finger stopped on a group of entries.
“Standard or enchanted?” the young boy asked as he scratched at one ear.
Jay hadn't had any training yet on enchanted traps – he was still making his way through learning the mundane ones. “Standard please.”
“Line 8, Aowin, Ned, or Kathy, all have a great deal of experience with mundane traps, basic, intermediate, and advanced. Any of them would be able to help you out. Did you have any other questions in need of answering?” the young boy asked with a smile.
Jay shook his head, “No, thanks.”
The young boy nodded and turned his attention to the next people in line.
Jay thought of something and reconsidered. “Actually,” he said as the young boy looked over at him, “do you have anyone that specializes in non-standard menu items?”
The boy squinted his eyes as he pondered the question. “Like, interface menu items? Such as displaying titles, bringing up your inventory, that sort of thing?”
Jay nodded. “Ya – but I'm looking for someone who has studied the menu items that not everyone gets. The rare ones. You have anyone like that?”
The boy gave it some thought as he scanned the stack of papers he held one at a time. Finally he thought of something and rearranged the entire stack of papers until he had found what he was looking for.
“You want Natasha. Small woman. Fierce. You won't find her in line, or at all really, unless she wants you to. She's weird and the other instructors tend to think that she's a bit crazy. You sure you want to see her?” the young boy asked a bit worriedly as if Jay were asking him to do something he'd really rather not.
Jay nodded. “If she knows that kind of thing, absolutely.”
The boy shrugged before he looked up at Jay with a beseeching look. “Don't tell her I told you where she was, please! She can be a real terror when she wants to be.”
Jay assured him he would keep him out of it and the boy seemed relieved and nodded.
The boy looked around before he whispered to Jay who had to lean in to hear him. “Go out the front doors. Go to the rear of the building. Natasha will be there feeding ducks. Or she won't be. That's really up to her and whether or not she wants to speak to you. Good luck. She hasn't taken a student since I've been here.”
Jay sighed and frowned. “Just my luck. Oh well. I guess I'll give it a try, right? Nothing to lose.”
M'redith smiled. “That's the spirit! Besides, you'll still get to learn about new traps in the meantime!”
Jay nodded, “I'm actually looking forward to that. The more traps I know about the safer we all are on our adventures.”
“Well I, for one, am not looking forward to traps class, so I will leave you here for the day. Good luck Jay, see you tonight.” M'redith said as she leaned in and gave Jay a quick kiss.
The kiss might have been quick but M'redith was a good kisser and when she pulled back Jay was smiling widely. M'redith squeezed one of his hands with her own and then turned and melded in to the crowd as she made her way to the exit doors.
Jay stepped aside to make room for the next people in line so that they could talk to the young boy and get directions. Which should he do first, Jay wondered. Traps or crazy teacher lady? He chose traps and got in to line. He had all day, might as well get it out of the way.
Line 8 was short and had a number of instructors who were all currently occupied with students. Jay waited patiently and watched as students attempted to solve various traps laid out on the floor that were strewn about the instructors.
A sharp cry came from one of the students in front of him and Jay saw that the student had lost a finger.
“Well? Don't just sit there and look at me! Your finger is still in the trap! Go and get it! No I'm not going to do it for you, it's your finger!” one of the instructors said to the student loudly in an attempt to jostle him out of his shock.
The student continued to sit on the floor motionless and the instructor finally leaned over and flicked him in the forehead with one finger.
“Oi! Get your finger back and then go get it healed. Come back when it's reattached and you can give it another go, ok?” said the instructor in a reasonable and kind tone of voice. He waited for the student to awkwardly fish out his finger from the trap housing and then walked him over to a Healer.
The Healer examined him and then shook her head and walked him out of the room. He'd need to visit the Infirmary to get it fully healed.
Jay felt a little nervous as the instructor wiped the trap housing clean using a cloth rag until he'd gotten most of the blood off. How often did he need to use that rag, Jay wondered.
“Next!” the instructor yelled and Jay stepped forward nervously.