Jeb started to think about all of the things that he wanted to tell his family. As he opened his mouth to speak, though, he felt a flicker of embarrassment. He’d just met Margaret a few days ago, and now he was about to bare his heart out to her.
She clearly noticed what was going on in his mind, because another book fell, nearly clipping him on the shoulder as it did. “Librarians cannot, under any circumstances, be compelled to reveal any requests made by a patron.” Closing the book, Margaret added, “there’s a number of other cases that add up to the fact that this will count for that confidentiality.”
“I guess that I’m also concerned that other people will be able to read what I send through the system,” Jeb said.
She shrugged. “Your hometown Librarian will be able to, but that is because he needs to read anything before he is able to transcribe it. That being said, I can guarantee that he has seen far more incriminating stories than anything you would put in a letter to your family.”
“What about you?”
She grimaced slightly. “Would it help if I told you that I would forget anything you told me?”
Jeb brightened. “It would!” He caught the nuance in her words almost instantly. “Will you forget anything I tell you?”
“No.”
Jeb sighed. “Ok, should I give you a letter or just tell you what I want the letter to say?”
“Whatever is easier for you!”
Jeb nodded. “I’ll figure out what I want to say after class today.” Now that he knew that he could talk to his family, at least in one direction, he found that he suddenly had nothing to say. Returning to the cafeteria, he was more than a little surprised to see that his plate was still there.
As he started eating, Jeb watched the students slowly trickle into the cafeteria. Most of them seemed less than half awake, groggily walking over to the urns of tea and coffee. He watched a few of the older students mutter something and watched as sparks flew into their mugs. Those students seemed to perk up far more quickly, and Jeb jotted down a quick note to look for Magics to make more effective stimulants at some point in the future.
As Jeb finished up his meal, he saw Declan enter the cafeteria and waved him over. “Good morning Jeb,” Declan said over a large mug of coffee. He eyed the empty plates in front of Jeb. “How early did you get here?”
“A few hours ago,” Jeb replied, glancing at the clock on the wall.
“What were you doing up so early?”
“That’s just when I woke up,” Jeb said, taking a sip of his juice.
Declan shook his head. “I’m not awake enough for this. Are you ready for our laboratory section today?”
Jeb brightened. “Yeah! I have no clue what to expect, but I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be a good time.”
Declan frowned. “Have you done the pre-lab work yet?”
“No, where did you see that there was one?”
“It was in the syllabus.”
Jeb pulled the syllabus out of his bag. Paging through, he saw that there was an entirely different set of assignments and due dates for the laboratory portion of the class. “Well,” Jeb said, standing up, “I need to go work on this. I’ll see you in the laboratory in,” he glanced at the clock again, “two hours. I hope that’s enough time to do the first laboratory assignment.”
“You have plenty of time,” Declan replied. “It only took me about twenty minutes. Plus, it isn’t like there’s anything in this assignment that wasn’t in any other Enchanting Class’s first pre lab worksheet.”
“How long did it take you to do your first one of those?”
“An hour or so, why?”
“It’s my first ever pre lab. This is my first term in a formal classroom.”
“I have many questions.” Declan took a long draw from his mug. “Or, at least, I’m sure that I will have many questions when I finish waking up. Good luck working on the pre lab. If you wanted to work on it here, I could also help answer any questions you might have about it.”
Jeb shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but I think that this is something I want to try to do alone. Thank you, though! If I struggle too much, I will absolutely come back here.” The two chatted for another couple of minutes until Jeb finally left to go back to the Stacks.
Once there, he started writing out the pre laboratory assignment. It was much more straightforward than he had expected. It had him read the expectations for the laboratory component of the course, sign off that he had read and understood them. The expectations were more or less what he expected, in that he was not supposed to intentionally injure anyone or be reckless with the materials or reagents. After that, he just needed to go through the relevant safety information for each reagent he was going to use for the period. According to the manual, they were not using anything except for gold leaf that day. The book listed no hazards associated with gold leaf, and so that was what Jeb put on the piece of scrap paper he was using for his lab notebook.
When he finished, he looked around, hoping that the unstable geography of the Academy might have somehow also included a clock showing up. He still couldn’t find one, though he did hear the bell toll out the time as he started weaving through the Stacks once again. Jeb still had an hour before the laboratory section was going to begin.
Maybe Declan will want to compare answers with me, Jeb thought, willing the Academy to take him back to the cafeteria. He saw Declan sitting where the two had parted and walked over. The two had similar, though not identical, answers to the few questions that were not rote repetition from the guide.
“So,” Jeb said after they had compared their answers and were sitting in silence, “where are you from?”
Declan looked at him with confusion and doubt clear in his eyes. “I’m from the Seventh District. Before you say anything, yes, I am the first in my family to attend the Academy, at least within memory.”
“What’s the Seventh District?”
“Hold on.” Declan held out his hands. “Where are you from?”
“I’m from Humdrumville,” Jeb replied. After a moment, he followed that with “it’s somewhere in the middle of the Republic.”
“Is your family somehow out of favor with the President or something?”
Jeb shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of, at least. The rest of my family are all Farmers, though, so it was a bit of a surprise to everyone when I got a Magical Class.”
“What was your First Tier Class, if you don’t mind my asking? I know that is terribly improper of me to ask, but I must admit to being curious.” Declan’s expression seemed somehow far more wooden than it had.
“I was a Least Mud Initiate. What about you?”
“I was a First Tier Enchanter,” Declan replied. “How did your family manage to push you into Mud Magic so far from the Capital?”
“I don’t think that they did. Everyone seemed surprised when I came home with a Magical Class.” The two both looked at each other, confused at the other’s experience with getting a Class. The eye contact grew a little too intense for Jeb, and so he glanced at the clock.
“Oh, it’s almost time for our laboratory section!” Jeb exclaimed, leaping up out of his seat. Declan looked at the clock and quickly hurried after him. Exiting the cafeteria, the two found themselves in a room filled with standing desks. Each desk was absolutely covered in Enchantments and Glyphs. Even with just a single glance, Jeb could tell that they were all active, despite the lack of glowing or humming. How he knew that, he was not entirely sure.
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The two found an empty desk and Jeb followed Declan’s lead in setting the homework assignment in the front of the desk. Jeb wanted to ask what Declan meant about his family choosing his Class, but the laboratory handbook had said that idle conversation was not permitted in the laboratory. Declan clearly felt the same way, because they stood in relatively comfortable silence as they waited for the bell to ring. Just as the bell rang, a woman in deep emerald robes came rushing in.
“Good morning everyone,” she said, “my name is Candidate Therese. I will be managing you all during the laboratory portion of this course.”
Jeb looked around, shocked that he would not be seeing Professor Bearson in the laboratory. No one else seemed surprised, though, so he mentally shrugged it off. Apparently that was just how they did things in the Academy. He did wonder what Candidate Therese was a Candidate for, though.
“Oh no,” Declan muttered to Jeb. “If she’s only a Candidate then we’re going to have to deal with something experimental in her teaching style, I can already feel it.”
Jeb wanted to reply, but Therese arrived at their desk just then. “Jeb, is it?” she asked as she took his homework.
Jeb nodded. “Yes, Candidate Therese.”
“Just call me Therese for this course. Where is your laboratory notebook?”
Jeb quickly glanced around and noticed that the rest of the class all had a bound book in front of them. “I do not have one,” he replied. “I did not see it on the requirements for the course.”
She rolled her eyes. “I just want to clarify this now. Are you planning to be a pain on purpose, or is this a legitimate miscommunication?”
“A miscommunication!” Jeb hurried to say. “Wait, would anyone actually admit to intentionally trying to be a pain?”
“You’d be surprised,” Therese muttered. In a louder voice, she continued, “a laboratory manual is required. I think that there was something in my notes about what to do if someone came without one. Wait here.” Jeb hadn’t noticed anyone else moving after she’d come to their desk, but didn’t say so. A comment like that clearly fell more into the “pain on purpose” camp than a legitimate miscommunication.
Therese went to the rest of the tables as she referenced the block of notes in her hand. Jeb was surprised that no one else had needed to be told that they needed a laboratory notebook. Then again, he thought, Professor Bearson did imply that I was the only new student in the course.
“Here is a notebook,” Therese said, handing Jeb a weathered looking notebook. “I would ask you to talk with your laboratory partner about the standard practice for writing a laboratory notebook, though I cannot require it. It is very easy to miss a piece of crucial information if you do not follow standard practice, however.” Jeb nodded and she moved back to the front of the classroom.
“Now, then,” she said, drawing on the whiteboard behind her. “Today’s goal is reproducing the experiment that proved the existence of a thaum. Are there any initial questions about how to prepare your reagents?”
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Humdrum Human Age: 16 Class: Wizard Level: 3 Experience: 775/204
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Total Statistic Load: 623 Physical Load: 228 Strength: 52 Dexterity: 53 Endurance: 54 Vitality: 55 Presence: 14
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Mental Load: 395 Intelligence: 78 Willpower: 85 Magic Affinity: 84 Mana Depth: 74 Charisma: 74
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Mana: 1755
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Glyph Attunement: 31 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient (Modified) Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Meditation Spell Glyphing Gift of Gab Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Glassblowing Magic
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic Glyph Specializer
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)