Mallick had been very kind in directing Asper to Spirit House. Asper had, of course, asked, “What’s that?”

The response came with a wary shrug, “An old unused teacher’s house. Not sure why they assigned you to it.”

Asper’s thoughts went to the irritated comments he had overheard when he played at being asleep. Getting sent somewhere, maybe being unnatural. Asper had never dreamed about being in a specific dorm. Just getting into Pricore Academy had been it, and any of the dorms would do. When he first heard the list of dorms was coming, he figured his lone skill as a Generalist would put him with the Sphinx dorm. Now that he wasn’t going to any of them, he did feel a bit disappointed.

The walk from where he was isn’t that bad. The closest dining hall would be the one between the Sphinx and Shade dorms. Except the house was off all the paths, nearly backed up to the wall to the second ring. Looking at it, Asper could see unused, was a kind word. It was the only building in the academy that he’d seen in disrepair. The landscaping was wild, thorny vines strangled some of the walls, and an overgrown bush half blocked the steps to a door that was stuck open with a door dangling from the top hinge. What completed the look was broken windows, burn marks, and cracked bricks. It didn’t look safe in Asper’s judgment.

Out of the door stepped a tall man in a loose shirt, but muscled enough to look like a fighter. A streak of gray traced the left side of his head and through his beard. Asper found himself frozen for a second in front of this stranger, wondering if it could be a teacher. “Oh, there is Two. I wonder where Three is.” Raff came out close behind the man. “There she is now.” He said, looking into the distance behind Asper.

Asper turned to look. He had to strain his eyes before he got a glimpse of movement through the overgrown field that led up to Spirit House. Eventually, he recognized the form of Rian heading in their direction with a look of annoyance on her face. “Hi!” Asper said awkwardly as she got close. She ignored him.

“Now that you are here, my little Zeros. I should introduce myself to all of you. I’m Mox, your proctor. That means I’ll assign house chores, direct you to classes, basically manage you during your first year. If you need help. I’m here for you to ask. Most importantly, I’ll be staying here in Spirit House to help keep you out of trouble. Any questions?”

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Rian spoke up first. “Why are you so old?”

Mox huffed liked he was sensitive about his age. “There is no age limit on paying for attending the academy. Just tradition.”

Asper wondered if Mox was in research or like them, something that didn’t quite fit with everyone else at the academy. Is this a privilege or a punishment to ride herd on the three of them? Raff spoke up next, “Is this really where we’re staying?” Asper didn’t hear any accusation in the statement about the condition of the place.

Mox shrugged, “Yeah, it’s a mess. Last-minute accommodations. The first task for you three will be to clean this place up. I assign who gets what bedroom, so don’t skimp on them. I’ll be getting you the Zero uniforms and fresh bedding for everyone. Tools are in the shed. I’ll be back before it is too dark.”

Mox left, and the three Zeros to stood around for a moment. Raff took off first like he knew where he was going, and Asper supposed the barefoot boy did since he had been at the house first. While Asper had that thought, he saw Rian start moving as well, and only then did he will his tired legs into action.

The shed was behind the house, backed up to the wall that separated the first ring from the second. It was large enough to be a small house and one large door sealed by a padlock. Asper watched as Raff examined the door and the hinges. Rian was poking around at the lock. He knew Mox had expected them to get in somehow, or he would have just handed them a key. His dad had always left a key hidden around doors because he’d lose them otherwise, especially if they were to a place he didn’t go to frequently.

If there was a key, he knew it would either be back in Spirit House or near the shed. The disrepair around the house made it unlikely. He searched the surrounding area until he spotted what was off. A black stone that was a shade darker than any other stone in the wild field. Too large to be accidentally moved, yet not too big.

No harm in looking, he figured. He picked up the rock. He was a little smug when he saw the thick iron key there. He carefully set the stone down and reached for the key. A rock soared in and crashed into the key. It was only then that Asper noted the dark metal jaws of a trap swing shut. The force caused a stirring of air near his hand and him to flinch as the closed jaws were nearly at his fingertips. “Watch yourself.” Raff chided him.

Asper took his right hand and cradled it a little grateful it was still there. “Thanks.”

“And a good job figuring out where the key was.” Raff continued.

Asper watched Rian take off after the key that had been knocked into the field and heard her mumble, “Idiotic showoffs.”