When Tenthé and Elishua walked into Testing, the room was dark; obviously the Magister was having a late lunch or had called it an early day. After turning on the lights, Elishua asked the College to page Magister Lang and sat back to wait. If no-one showed up, she would hunt the Magister down and harass him until he did his job.

In the meantime, it was a good time to clear up a few issues. “So… you’re older than I am? Don’t know how I feel about that. It’s kind of creepy.”

Looking over, she found that he wasn’t listening, instead had a sock in his hand and was trying to find where he’d put his other one. Elishua had noted that his cloak seemed to hold more than it should. She suspected he had a few Pockets, the uninspired term for magical larger-than-they-ought-to-be… well, pockets.

She’d also been surprised that he was now dressed in proper clothing. Somehow, he had changed without her noticing. Some things were missing, like his shoes and socks, a deficiency he was currently attempting to remedy.

After rooting around for a while, instead of a sock, he pulled out a piece of bread, put it on the floor, then arranged a few stones beside it. She blinked, and suddenly each stone had a rodent on it. Each of them immediately hopped off and began fighting with the others over the food.

Although storing objects in stones wasn’t easy, it wasn’t terribly special either. Even so, Tenthé did the spell with no effort, no waving hands or mumbling; it just happened. Elishua couldn’t have cast it so easily.

“Uh… why do you have mice and rats?”

“They make a good distraction. People see them and can’t figure out if they’re important or not. Same for other things.”

“Things?”

“Yeah. Gods, spirits, avatars, sprites, pixies… those types of thing, um, things.”

“You’ve run into all those?”

“All the time.”

“Really? The City’s kind of boring.”

“You have to know where to go.”

Just then Magister Lang rushed in, hurried through the waiting room, and disappeared into the back, completely ignoring the two of them. The door slammed behind him. Elishua and Tenthé looked at each other. When Elishua stood up, Tenthé stored his animals away and followed.

Elishua knocked on the door to the Testing chamber and called out, “Hello, Magister! Can we come in?”

There was no answer, so she opened it a crack, peeked in, then entered. Tenthé trailed after.

Magister Lang was going from one stone block to the next, tapping on each one, all the while mumbling to himself. He seemed to find something interesting and started casting some spell, when there was a sudden burst of lightning and he flew backward, smoking and a little bit on fire.

Singed, he lay quietly on his back with his shields dissipating. Elishua and Tenthé walked over.

Tenthé helpfully suggested, “You have to check for traps. You know. Sir.”

“Yes. It would appear that you are correct.”

Magister Lang struggled to a sitting position, where he paused for a moment before heaving himself onto his feet. He looked down at Tenthé. “You made it look easy.”

Tenthé wasn’t listening. Instead, he was examining the block that had zapped the Magister.

Elishua spoke up. “Sir, I have some further information that you would probably like to know. Concerning…” she pointed to Tenthé, who was doing something, likely clearing one of the aforementioned traps.

Leaving him to continue, the two moved over to the desk and huddled in conference. Occasionally, their conversation was punctuated by various exclamations from the Magister. Tenthé finished and pulled a panel from the block, revealing an empty chamber. It had either been cleared previously or, more likely, was a snare for the unwary.

At that point, the room went quiet, with Magister Lang staring at Tenthé.

“So. Boy. What’s this garbage about you being a ten-year-old who’s at least twenty? Utter nonsense! What do you have to say for yourself?” he demanded with some vehemence.

“I don’t know, sir. Can’t count.”

Elisha didn’t like how this was going, so she stepped in. “Sir! As I told you, he’s stuck. He really is ten… ish. And, if any of the rest is true, he could be important. Remember, he did find the sword.”

Elishua was spewing out whatever she could think of, trying to head off the confrontation she feared was about to happen. She suspected that the outcome of such an event might not be as predictable as one would assume. In any case, it would be best to avoid the whole situation altogether.

“And, sir, it’s your job to plumb the capability of the students, not beat them up. It could mean your position.”

That point seemed to have scored. Incoming evaluation wasn’t the most prestigious post. Almost every student entering the College was a well-known quantity, since their families had spent years training them as soon as they showed any sign of power. Rightly or wrongly, the practitioners assigned to Admissions were not regarded as first rate, which made Magisters like Lang somewhat touchy. Cases that pushed the boundaries, such as Tenthé, were very rare. In fact, Elishua had never heard of anyone with no history at all. As with everything else concerning Tenthé, this caused an upset to the natural order of things, and Magister Lang was not the most flexible of individuals.

Surprisingly enough, though, she seemed to have said something right, since the Magister calmed a little.

“In that, my dear, you are correct. It is my job to evaluate the student. Sometimes that involves going outside the established doctrine. Yes, indeed. Sometimes it does.”

“So, sir, how do you think we should deal with this? Wait, I have an idea! I understand you have your process, but my informant told me he has studied several martial arts and is fairly proficient. Aren’t you some kind of expert? Maybe we should start there, just to get a feel for things?”

Elishua hoped she wasn’t laying it on a little too thick.

“Ahem, yes. I am, you know, accomplished in the Art of the Flowing River, being one of the continuation founders left after the event.

Elishua had covered it in her Tactics class. It was an example where the City defenses had gone awry in a way that allowed a few of the Horde to get in. Wisely, since the average Horde warrior only had a weak level of offensive magic, they had targeted the studios where physical techniques were taught. There were many fatalities. The Flowing River studio had been hit particularly hard with the entire host of senior members being slain.

Magister Lang had been one of a few advanced students left alive afterwards, and the remaining survivors had done their best to recreate the style. Unfortunately, certain techniques had been lost, and quite a number of the training methods were still being refined to attain their former potency.

After a quick look at a parchment, the Magister asked, albeit in a condescending tone, “So. You claim here to have been trained in the art of the Flowing River. I find that hard to believe. I have no memory of you. Although, you would have been in one of the introductory classes, and I don’t handle those. Who was your teacher?”

“Um, yeah. As best I remember, they didn’t go by their names. We called them First, Second, Third, and Senior.”

It had been a trick question and the boy’s answer was correct. The teachers were always referred to by their titles. No names were used.

“Well… your response is adequate, but there haven’t been any Senior teachers since the incident. How much of the dance have you learned?”

But then the Magister had a thought and pounced. “Wait! You said you couldn’t count! Then, how do you know of the terms First, Second, and Third?” he yelled.

“Uh, what? That’s just what we called them. Do those words mean something else?”

“Hmph… let’s leave it for now. So, back to the dance. How much can you perform?”

“Maybe all of it, I s’pose.”

The dance was a training method where a student demonstrated their abilities by going through a series of moves. For this style, there was a basic dance, but the details were altered and forms added as the student progressed. It was one of the things that had suffered in the event, since none of the remaining teachers knew all the steps for the highest level. This was part of what they were trying to recreate.

“Well then, boy. Do the most advanced version you know.”

“Okay.”

Tenthé took out a short rope and used it to tie his cloak down. He then moved to the center of the chamber where there was room to maneuver, genuflected to the east, and struck a diving swan pose. Magister Lang was surprised. That was the proper starting position. But then, any beginner would know that.

After watching Tenthé flow through the initial common forms for a couple of minutes, the transition to the next set was completely wrong and everything went strange. Magister Lang paused before stopping the boy. The steps he was executing were tickling something at the back of his mind.

It suddenly came to him. The kid was doing a higher-level form that Magister Lang hadn’t seen since the incident! As he watched, half-remembered movements were being pulled from the depths of his memory.

Gods damn it! If he wasn’t mistaken, that kid knew the lost parts!

So that was how those sections were supposed to be connected! Excitement grew. He could be the one to restore the school back to its glory days!

It took another three minutes for Tenthé to finish, and, as far as Magister Lang could tell, Tenthé had performed flawlessly. Much better than he ever could have done, even at his best.

Tenthé stood at rest, without any sign of being winded. The Magister rushed over.

“That was phenomenal! Can you show me the link between the Skipping Stone and Long Reach forms? I can’t remember what you did.”

Elishua watched with her mouth hanging open. Not only was she shocked by the enthusiasm Magister Lang was showing, but she had taken some combat classes and knew a master when she saw one. It verified what the Lady had said. She would be screwed if they fought without magic, despite their huge size difference. It was difficult to keep up with all the moves he was doing, but she did pick out a few eye, ear, knee, and ankle attacks. And he was so damn fast!

Tenthé and Magister Lang were chatting like old friends. Elishua watched as Tenthé admitted he knew a number of other styles. He performed some other dances, and Elishua could see that he was proficient in them all. She wasn’t sure about the ones that depended on size and power, since he was so small, but maybe he had a bit of hidden strength. Of course he did; he was probably holding back, the sneaky bugger.

When it became apparent that there was no impending crisis, Elishua retired to a chair. She was starting to understand some of Tenthé’s problem. The College couldn’t teach him anything about physical combat. She was almost sure he could wipe the floor with anyone here, even without his tricks.

This would be an issue. Many of the senior students, and to be honest, most of the Magisters, had very high opinions of themselves. It was inevitable that they would clash with Tenthé. She would have to discuss the situation with Tomas.

She sighed. This little job was becoming a major pain. She wondered if Magisters Tomas and Graf had known any of this when they had handed her the assignment. It was looking more like the College would have to become acclimated to Tenthé rather than the other way around.

Tenthé and Magister Lang came over to the desk and took their respective seats. The Magister faced Elishua.

“Quite a boy, here. I fully concur with your initial assessment. On some subjects, he has an understanding that only comes from years of study, but even with this level of expertise, he acts like a kid. He’s surprisingly open once he understands we are not adversaries.

“This is an auspicious start, but after the events of this morning disrupted the process, it is even more important to run him through the regular suite of tests to identify his strengths and weaknesses. Give me a moment to take some notes and we can begin.”

With this, he started scribbling, ignoring everything else.

Elishua took the time to think back to when she had gone through Testing. One might expect that with her size, she would primarily have muscle-based powers, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, her most powerful ability was a mental proficiency, and if that got out, she would be feared even more.

Most of her life, she’d kept it hidden and had used her lesser talents to hide what she could really do. Of course, her family knew, and Testing was the first time she had displayed her full strength to any outsider.

The way Testing worked seemed simple; there were a series of puzzles that the student was challenged to manipulate. It sounded easy, but the reality was that it was quite stressful. Not all could make it through all the challenges, and those that did were usually quite drained at the end of the process.

At this point, the Magister put aside his papers and faced Tenthé.

“All right, young sir, it is time to begin the formal procedure. You are going to be presented with several challenges. Just do your best.”

With this, he brought out a box from his robe and took off the cover.

“As you see, we have a spring with a weight attached. Push down on the weight as hard as you can and hold it. With your powers only!”

Elishua wasn’t sure why he added that last bit.

Tenthé screwed up his face, and the spring compressed a slightly. It stayed there for a few seconds before Tenthé let out his breath and the weight bounced back. Elishua remembered the spring was stronger than it looked. Even this small amount was fairly impressive.

“Okay, that’s good. Let’s get on to the next.”

The Magister replaced the cover and returned the box to its place in his robe, then pulled out a glass sphere filled with plants. Tenthé was directed to make them grow, move, and find out if he could talk to them.

The tests went on, exercising various abilities. Now that she was older, Elishua could see the process was extraordinarily comprehensive. Each test would give hints as to multiple talents. Her respect for Magister Lang grew.

As for Tenthé, he didn’t seem to be tiring, but neither were his results spectacular. If she had to guess, she thought his best abilities lay in manipulation, which was a complex power, but still, she wasn’t sure.

He had a weird version of a shield that didn’t appear to faze Magister Lang, although she’d never seen anything like it before. It collapsed with a minor kinetic strike, or a firm hit from a stick the Magister pulled from his robe. He was asked to generate a normal shield, and it too worked adequately, but was nothing spectacular.

Not surprisingly, he was very weak in the sciences, nature-based techniques, and controlling the thoughts of others. On the other hand, he had other abilities Elishua had never heard of. Things like, he could make invisible hands and feet that felt real, although they weren’t very strong. He could grow hair on rocks. Why in any God’s name would someone want to do that?

The Magister rose to the occasion and devised ways to see how strong these strange techniques were, even though some were so odd that they simply passed on to the next test without gaining much information.

Eventually, after a much longer time than usual, Magister Lang tucked the last puzzle back into his robe, pulled out a sheaf of parchment, and began writing. This continued for quite a while, with Tenthé becoming more and more restless. After fifteen minutes or so, the Magister held up the summary sheet and looked it over one last time, then faced Elishua.

He began, “The results are interesting. He has abilities I have never seen, although nothing I would say was exceptionally strong. Even his magic cancellation, which I had to devise a test for, isn’t as powerful as it appears. What he casts is a hybrid. Yes, he can absorb some magic, but when he uses it, it’s coupled with a shield and a stun. Each of these are moderately weak on their own, but together they can shake even me. He is adept at using several small spells to accomplish what we perceive to be one big spell.

“I would like to meet with him again, when there’s time, and investigate what he is able to do in more depth.

“As to his strongest ability… that’s a problem. I judge his powers to see and negate magic, as well as transmute objects, to be the best, but not overly strong. Never have I seen anyone with such an eclectic range of talents. Why he’s this way, I have no idea. I asked the boy, and he doesn’t know either. He thinks it’s normal to pick up magic just like that,” the magister said as he snapped his fingers.

“In my judgement, it is his use of weaker abilities in novel combinations is what makes him appear powerful.

“At the moment, I am going to recommend that he audit some classes to find out where he fits in. His fighting experience leads me to suggest strongly that he take an advanced Combat course. If he can’t handle it, we’ll drop him to a lower level.

“I have to think over the results and will update his class list once I’ve reached a conclusion. After a week or two, you, me, and Headmaster Tomas should review how things are going. I must insist that someone… that would be you, Elishua… set up a remedial study to address his issues with writing, reading, and counting.

“Oh yes, I also asked about his scars. He wasn’t very forthcoming, but implied he thought it was normal to be beaten as part of the learning process. It’s not my job, but we should show him that’s not the case, here at the College.”

Then, with a surprising amount of insight, he added, “We’ll have to take care to match him with Magisters who are able to deal with his issues and, shall we say, eclectic mix of skills?”

Elisha reassessed her impression of Magister Lang. Maybe he really was suited for his job. Yes, he was pompous, but she thought his evaluation of Tenthé was reasonably well done. Too bad he would forget everything in a day or two.

“Magister, if I may suggest something?” she responded. “We know you’ll start forgetting in a few days, especially if you don’t see Tenthé often. We’re developing a theory that if you write down what you want to remember without mentioning him in any way, and have your friends transcribe what you have written, then perhaps the knowledge will remain accessible. One thing we have discovered is that direct records concerning him are overlooked and forgotten. We are researching approaches to mitigate this issue, but are still experimenting.”

Magister Lang thought this over. “Yes, this forgetting is something we need to look into. I couldn’t get a handle on it using the tests I have.

“More to the point, though, it is paramount that we retain the dance forms Tenthé used. I must have my nimbler compatriots at the Flowing River learn what he has shown me. I hope that will be enough for us to restore our style, even if we don’t remember where we obtained the information. Perhaps we can make it look like we found an old document, or something in that vein. I judge that it’s worth a try. Let’s get together in a few days and see if it worked.

Stolen story; please report.

“Now,” the Magister added as he brandished his parchment, “Here is the summary of my findings. Hopefully it will stand up as things progress.”

Elishua took the sheet, glanced through it, then stood up. Tenthé followed suit. Magister Lang had returned to writing, scribbling frantically as if he would forget everything any second. He didn’t look up as they left.

“Well. That was different,” Elishua commented outside the door to Admissions. Tenthé watched her.

“Testing is supposed to tell us your strengths, so we know what classes to pick for you. It appears more like what you can do is weak, but weird. Not sure I agree with that. If you ask me, you aren’t weak.”

After staring at him for a short time and getting nothing back, she continued, “Okay, Mister Small and Silent, let’s take a breather. If we eat now, we’ll avoid the dinner rush.”

Maybe she could coerce him into talking while they ate.

Without waiting for an answer, she turned and started walking. As they traversed the halls, Tenthé kept up, but Elishua noticed he would occasionally drop behind and look down different hallways.

“See something interesting?” she asked.

“No, but we can get there faster if we go that way.”

“You sure?”

“Uh-huh. Yeah. Um, probably.”

“Okay then. Lead on.”

Tenthé took off down a passage tucked in an alcove that Elishua had never noticed before. Unlike the regular hallways, this one was narrow and twisted back and forth. Occasionally they had to climb up or down a few steps, which were oddly slanted and of varying widths and heights. The lighting got dimmer and things seemed to be moving high up above the rafters. Which was another difference, because instead of a plaster ceiling, there were beams spanning the hallway, with the actual ceiling hidden in the gloom above. Elishua was sure she’d never seen a part of the College like this until now.

She jogged around a corner and the small dining room was right in front of them, looking the same as ever. She glanced back to check the weird little hallway, and it was gone. Elishua didn’t know what to think, so after a vacillating for a few seconds, she joined Tenthé as he heaped food on a tray.

“Hey Tenthé!” a girl’s voice called from across the room. Tenthé nearly lost control of his tray as he turned to look. Somewhat deftly, he steadied his load and made his way to a table where a boy and girl were seated. He plopped down beside them and began demolishing his pile of food. Elishua still wasn’t sure if magic was involved in the process. Occasionally he would grunt at something one of the two said, but his attention was on wrapping himself around a prodigious amount of food.

After selecting, she debated where to sit. Concluding it was her job to keep track of Tenthé, she decided to join him and his friends.

The boy and girl looked up in alarm as Elishua towered over their table. She was used to it.

“Hey,” she said. “I’m Elishua. I’m helping Tenthé get settled here. Mind if I sit with you?”

“Um… no. I suppose,” the girl answered. “Are you a student here? Oh, and I’m Isabell and this is Anders. We’re starting this year.”

“Uh-huh. I’m an Under-Magister, studying with Magister Graf in Tactics.

The girl was anything but slow.

“An Under-Magister? Wow, I wouldn’t have… I mean, sorry, I didn’t know. Uh… aren’t you a little senior to be babysitting a new student?”

Elishua sighed at the slip.

“Yeah, pretty much everything about Tenthé’s unusual,” she responded.

The two of them turned to look at Tenthé. At the moment, he was gagging as he tried to eat a bird leg in one bite.

“So,” Elishua ventured. “How do you know him?”

“We met him in Testing. He got bumped by a more important student, and I wondered how he did.”

That answered why she thought they looked a little familiar; they were two of the students she had seen in the recording from Tenthé’s first time through Testing.

“We had a few problems and had to reschedule,” Elishua answered. “But finally, it went pretty well. He’s cleared to audit some classes. Tomas and I have to figure out which ones are a good fit.”

“Tomas? Oh yeah, Headmaster Tomas. He told us. I wasn’t sure it was true.”

“Yeah. He’s his sponsor.”

The two of them looked at Tenthé. Elishua could see the gears turning in their heads as they tried to understand where he fell on the social ladder and if it was worth their while to seek a closer relationship.

The boy, Anders, spoke up.

“What’s special about him? Is he related?”

Elishua thought over her answer.

“Not for me to say. At this time, all I can tell you is that he is being sponsored by the Headmaster.”

This implied that there might be some less-than-respectable relationship, along the lines of an unexpected child or something like that. It was a good rumor to start to give some weight to Tenthé, since most would think twice about upsetting someone powerful by bullying a connected offspring.

Elishua picked at her food. She could tell the two teens were still unsure what to make of everything.

“So, what’s your focus?” she asked the girl. “Maybe you and Tenthé are going to share classes?”

“Oh, I’m Combat, and Anders is primarily Healing, with an affinity for Alchemy. We were talking about what subjects we should take. The recommendations from Testing just gave us a standard set of classes. If that’s all we do, then we won’t, uh, do better than most.”

This was a common issue. Since the wealthiest had an advantage in training and resources, people from the middle class had to be smart and aggressive to get the most out of the College.

“If you want my advice, I would suggest going to a few classes and talking to the Magisters in charge. It will be hectic for a few weeks, so I would be quick about booking office time for some one-on-one, and see if you can find a fit. They may have more in-depth recommendations.”

Once again showing a bit of surprise, Isabell responded, “Why, what a good idea! If we book now, we’ll avoid the rush.”

Elishua frowned ever so slightly. Isabell, like many others, only saw her as a big dumb farm girl. With a pang of annoyance, she opted for a little revenge.

“Might I also suggest you sign up for a class called Social Graces? Don’t be offended, I mean no disrespect. It is very helpful in showing who is who, and the proper etiquette for unusual circumstances. It helps you get to know the hierarchy of the City, but also instructs you how to treat visitors from other places.”

This was all true, but the class involved reams and reams of memorization and was one of the most difficult courses offered by the College. The level of detail was far beyond what they would cover in the more popular classes. Elishua smiled innocently.

“Thank you. We’ll look into it.”

By now Tenthé had come up for air. What he hadn’t eaten had disappeared into his cloak.

Isabell turned to him. “So, Tenthé, how are you finding life here?”

“Um. Don’t know.”

“What? Aren’t you proud to be accepted here? Not many receive scholarships.”

“Nope.”

Anders laughed.

“What do you like so far?” he asked.

“Uh, food’s good, Guardians are okay, the hallways smell funny, and my room’s nice.”

Anders looked at Elishua. “What’s he taking?”

“Oh, an assortment. Some remedial ones to get him up to speed on the basics, possibly a tactics course, and a few others to find out what he can do.”

“Combat?” Anders queried.

“Maybe,” Elishua answered. She didn’t expand; let them come to their own conclusions.

“Yeah, he’s pretty small. Perhaps when he gets bigger, but it is best to lay a solid foundation when they’re young.” Isabell injected.

Tenthé glanced at Elishua. Obviously, he had been listening when she and Magister had been talking.

“How about magic?” Anders pressed, “Is he strong in something?”

“He has some talent, but it’s complicated. We’ll have him take some courses to find out what he can do and go from there.”

Isabell was not shy.

“You’re avoiding the question,” she stated.

“Yep. Just leave it at saying that in spite of his age and size, Magister Tomas sponsored him because he has interesting abilities.”

Elishua knew this would add grist to the rumor mill. Might as well fan the fire.

“The other thing is that he appears to be cursed. If you don’t see him every day or two, you’ll forget that he exists.”

“Really?”

“Yep, really.”

Isabell and Anders studied Tenthé, examining him for any sign of the curse. For his part, Tenthé was shifting around in his seat. Elishua was beginning to suspect that he didn’t have much of an attention span.

Isabell broke the silence.

“Well… we should get going, probably book time with the Magisters, like you said. I’m sure we’ll see you around. Bye Tenthé.”

The two of them got up and Tenthé waved as they headed off, then turned and looked at Elishua.

“You lied to them.”

“No, not really. I simply let them to come to their own conclusions.”

“You conned them.”

“I guess you could say that. Now that they think you’re someone with connections, they’ll be more careful.”

“You know, I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, but sometimes it’s better to avoid things than run into them face first. Who knows, someday you might need these people.”

“Maybe.”

“If you sign up for Tactics, you’ll probably understand more about what I’m saying.”

“Uh-huh.”

Elishua felt she’d done what she could. A few seeds had been planted.

“Um, Elishua?”

“Yes?”

“Do you know someone who can fix a toy?”

That came out of nowhere.

“What?”

“A toy.”

Tenthé dug through his cloak until he hauled out the most pathetic stuffed animal she had ever seen. She looked at Tenthé. He didn’t seem to be the type that would carry around that sort of thing.

“Is this something special?”

“Yeah, kinda. It’s Bear. He needs a body.”

“Hmm. Have you had him long?”

“As long as I can remember. He helped me when I didn’t know anything, but now all he does is sleep. He says he’ll be better when he’s fixed.”

“Your toy talks?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he magic?”

“I guess.”

“Can’t you tell? I thought you could see something that tells you about magic?”

“Kinda. He’s just Bear, ‘cept he can talk. And some other stuff.”

“Would he talk to me?”

“I dunno.”

“Is he talking now?”

Tenthé looked at her like she was dumb.

“No, he’s asleep.”

“Can you wake him up?”

“I’ll try, I s’pose.”

Tenthé started beating what remained of the toy on the table. After a few seconds, he stopped and listened. “Nope. It isn’t working. Maybe he doesn’t want to talk to you.”

In a world of magic, anything was possible. Elishua added this tidbit into the mental file she was keeping about Tenthé.

“So, do you know someone who can fix him.”

“Well, kind of. But, you can’t tell anyone.”

“Um, okay?”

“Follow me. Remember, this is a secret. Don’t tell anyone!” she repeated with some vehemence.

“I won’t, I won’t,” he replied, just like a petulant ten-year-old.

Elishua led them toward the seniors’ rooms. Generally, lower level students found in this area would be killed, shot, burned, hexed, then killed again. The rare exceptions were for tutoring or if money was involved.

There weren’t a lot of people about, but even so, the odd pair received a fair share of curious stares and whispers. Reaching her chambers, Elishua placed her hand on the locking glyph and ushered Tenthé in before slamming the door behind them. She immediately spun and whisper-yelled into his face.

“Don’t you ever tell anyone about this!”

She didn’t wait for an answer, but turned and stomped toward a large wardrobe that filled most of one wall. Tenthé took a quick look around the room. It was furnished in a fairly spartan style, with only study related paraphernalia scattered about.

Elishua grabbed the handles of the wardrobe doors, shot Tenthé another glare, then yanked them open.

Tenthé’s mouth dropped. The shelves inside were packed with stuffed dolls! Animals, people, even some small houses. They were very colorful and quite… feminine. Tenthé understood Elishua’s reluctance to reveal this side of her. She had an image to uphold.

“They’re so… pretty,” he said.

“Don’t you ever say anything!”

She reached down to the bottom shelf and dragged out a large basket from which she pulled needles, thread, yarn, a bag of stuffing, and some half-finished figures.

“Here, hand me your, um, Mr. Bear… and let me see what we have to work with.

Tenthé fished out the head, which he passed to Elishua. She took it with some distaste. It was on the bad side of filthy. She then walked over to her bathroom, pulled out what was left of the stuffing, and proceeded to give the remains a thorough wash.

“Oh, it’s light blue,” she muttered after a few rounds soap and rinse. Once she was satisfied, she used a small spell to dry it and returned to sit on her bed with the contents of the basket spread around her. She went through her half-finished items and selected a few bodies that might match up with the head.

She lay her choices out on the bedcover and turned to Tenthé. “Which ones do you think are best? I can make one from scratch, but these all look good.”

Tenthé stood up from where he had been sitting and examined what she had laid out.

“Um, they’re kind of flat,” he said.

Elishua laughed, “Haha, yeah. We’ll put stuffing in them and replace what was in the head.” She laughed again.

Tenthé took the little that remained of Bear and placed it on all the bodies. None were right and after a time he gave up.

“Bear wouldn’t want any of these.”

“Okay, then, what do you think Mr. Bear would prefer?”

Tenthé still didn’t see anything on the bed, so he looked at her finished figures. Generally, they were cute and very frilly, but tucked in a corner he saw a more human one. He pointed it out.

“What about that doll?”

“Oh, Strongman? I’ve had that for a long time. It was one of my first good dolls. I tried to make the perfect man. Um, for… reasons.”

She was turning a little red. Tenthé didn’t notice.

“Yeah, I think Bear would like that. He always said he wanted to be strong.”

“All right. I guess I can put these together.”

Elishua took great care while removing the original head and replacing it with Bear’s. Tenthé watched as she stitched everything so that the join was nearly invisible except for the obvious color difference. She even fixed up Bear so the rips and tears were hard to find.

After adding stuffing and finishing off the stitching, she held the result up for Tenthé to judge. Tenthé had her turn it around. For the most part, it looked exactly like a blue bear head stuck on an idealized human body.

Perfect!

Elishua handed it to Tenthé, who took more time to inspect the work.

“Yeah! That’s good. I think he’ll like it.”

“So, when is Mr. Bear going to tell you? Or is he only something you can see? Your own little friend?”

Tenthé was fairly sure Elishua was teasing him. At least it was nicer than when the street kids did it. But in this case…

“I don’t know. Let’s ask him.”

Tenthé took the doll and examined it. He moved it closer, then screamed in its face, “WAKE UP!!!”

Elishua saw the figure jerk. It could have just been Tenthé, but then it reached up and rubbed its eyes and yawned.

“Oh, I had the worst dreams. I was living in a dark sack, next to a pair of old socks, and I can tell you, they reeked! Hey, wait! I have arms! How can that be?”

Elishua peered closer. The doll wasn’t anything as simple as a cloth figure anymore. A sheen flowed over its outside, and the eyes were now more like moving drawings than buttons. As she watched, its body changed into more of an idealistic representation of a muscleman, missing detail, but portraying the essence. Even the head didn’t look entirely out of place.

Just then, the doll looked right at her and screamed, “OGRE! Run for your lives!” It leaped out of Tenthé’s hands and dove under the bed.

A muffled voice emerged a moment later. “Tenthé? Tenthé! Where are you? Run for it! You shouldn’t sacrifice yourself to save me. Uh, not unless you really have to. I’ll miss you.” Followed by a few snuffles.

Then, “Oh, wait! If you die, so do I. Quick! Do something else! Don’t die!”

Elishua looked at Tenthé, who didn’t seem alarmed at all. More like exasperated.

“Are you done?” he queried the bed.

“You’re still alive? Way to go, kid. You’re a good man. Take all the punishment you can and be brave, but remember, whatever you do, don’t die!”

“Bear. This is Elishua. As far as I know, she’s not an ogre. Just a very large person. Now, come out.”

“Elishua? Elishua? That’s the noise a body makes when an ogre eats it! No way I’m falling for that! Maybe she’s able to change her voice to sound like a weak and pathetic little boy too! I’m not coming out there to get eaten by an Elishua. Oh, such a horrible name!”

Elishua looked at Tenthé. “I’m impressed. In just a few sentences he has insulted both of us. Is this normal?”

“Normal? No, this is great! Usually, he screams about how dead he should be, and sometimes he stays awake enough to answer a few questions. This is the best I can ever remember him being for a long time! You do good sewing!”

Elishua observed one of her misplaced crochet hooks poke out from under the bed, then get snatched back. Eventually, a small head peeked out, and soon after, the rest followed.

“Well, I guess you’re too afraid of me to try anything.” Bear blustered as he brandished the hook. “And, remember, I’m ready for you! I know what you’re thinking.”

Elishua had taken a class that included care and handling of pixies, sprites, imps, and so on. Basically, smile and nod, but don’t make any agreements. The small folk believed in them, and the consequences of not abiding could be very bad. Having your carriage brake fail at an inconvenient time could be somewhat annoying.

“Hello, Mr. Bear, nice to meet you.”

“Mr. Bear, is it? Oh… Oh! I like that. Tenthé, from now on I will be Mr. Bear. Yes, I really like that.”

“So, Mr. Bear, come over here so we can admire you. I want to verify how good you look,” coaxed Elishua.

“You aren’t going to eat me? Or torture me, then eat me? Can’t trust anything the kid says.”

Bear glared at Tenthé, who shrugged, and said, “I did get you back from that dog. Eventually.”

“Yeah, right. I still remember everything. See how much you like passing through the digestive tract of an animal.”

“Sorry, but you’re so much better now.”

“Okay! Let me have a look at myself. Lift your head.”

Elishua wasn’t sure what was going on. When Tenthé raised his chin, there was something on his collar that looked just like one of Bear’s eyes. It even blinked!

“Oh yes! Very handsome, check out the four-pack! And these biceps!”

Bear was posing now. “This is most excellent! The rats will run when they see me coming. I’ll rip them apart! And I can really move!”

Bear started running around the room, rolling on the ground and springing to his feet. Turned out he didn’t know how to do cartwheels, but this did nothing to stop him from trying. He then made a dash for the door, only to slam into an invisible barrier that set him back on his butt.

“Oof! Forgot about the limit.”

Tenthé explained, “Yeah, he can only go a short way away from me, unless I let him, or something takes him. I’ll show you how it works.”

He picked up Bear and handed him to Elishua, who wasn’t sure how she should hold him. She opted to sit him in the crook of her arm, where he wiggled his butt then looked up at her and winked.

“Now, walk as far as you can,” Tenthé told her. She carried Bear across the room to the door, with no issue.

“Come back. This time, Bear, you tell her.”

Bear commanded, “Take me from here and have your way with me!”

“Do what he said. Just the first part,” Tenthé clarified, unnecessarily.

Elishua walked toward the door, but after three paces it felt like Bear hit a wall. She tugged, but he wouldn’t go any further.

Tenthé explained, “See. He can be taken away if something carries him, but if he tries to escape by himself or tell someone to do it, it doesn’t work. He’s stuck with me.”

Bear spoke up, “I swear I’ll find a way! Not having a body was a bit of a problem, but now…” He started flexing again. Elishua found this a little disconcerting and put him down.

Holding a pose, he looked up at her.

“Act quick, girl! If you’re lucky, you can have a piece of this!”

“Well, thanks, you tiny, tiny man, but I think I’ll have to pass.”

“You insult me, I am not a man! I am the Man! Uh, Man-Bear-Man!”

He was flexing his whole body. Elishua wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to offend him, it, whatever.

“Bear, stop teasing. You know she doesn’t understand the rules. In fact, I don’t either, you keep changing them. Come here.”

Bear walked stiffly over to Tenthé, moving like his pants were too tight. Elishua figured he was trying to walk and flex his butt and leg muscles at the same time. She was very proud of the straight face she held. With a final flex, Bear jumped up and sat beside Tenthé.

“Bear and me came up with a way so I could read and stuff. We put one of his eyes on my collar and he’ll tell me what the glyphs say and things like that. If I have to write then he can move my arm and do it for me.”

Elishua gasped. “What! You let a magical creature possess you! Don’t you know how wrong that is!”

“It’s okay, it’s just Bear!”

“No, it isn’t okay! That’s incredibly dangerous!”

“Hey lady, I’m right here,” Bear injected. “There are two reasons why that wouldn’t happen: one, because it’s not mine to take, and two, I can’t, anyway. Like the barrier, it simply is not possible. It’s my job to help Tenthé, not to usurp his position.”

Elishua was surprised. Bear was sounding different from the comical posing doll he had been up ‘til now.

“Well, that brings us to the big question: Who are you, really?” she asked.

Bear squirmed. “Can’t tell you.”

“Can’t, or won’t?”

“A bit of both.”

“What does that mean?”

“I made a pact to help Tenthé, and that is what I’m doing. It involves a very strict set of rules regarding what I can and can’t do. It also involved re-arranging my memories so I can’t give away too much before I’m supposed to. Right now, I am doing what I agreed to: helping the kid.”

“We could force you to talk.”

“Actually, you couldn’t. This pact is very powerful. And besides, would you like to make an enemy out of him?” He motioned toward Tenthé.

“Do you work for the Dreamer?” Elishua suddenly barked.

“Ah, Tactics! I see the curriculum hasn’t changed too much, the surprise question is still a thing. Good.”

“What? What do you know about the College?”

“Nothing.”

Elishua stopped and thought, then mused, “You’re trained. You must have been a Magister, or something.”

“Maybe. Perhaps I’m just talented? And obviously handsome.”

Elishua rounded on Tenthé, “Tenthé, who taught you magic?”

“Oh, the old gods, and other things, mostly in the Pools. Some of it was easy, and for a lot of it, I just fooled around ‘till I figured it out.”

“Did Mr. Bear help?”

“Not so much. He just likes to laugh at me when I screwed up.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I used to screw up all the time. But, that was long ago.”

“No, not that! Did Bear help you learn magic? Did he teach you spells?”

“Uh, not really. He had me watch how others did stuff and made me try to do the same over and over until I got it right.”

“Did he read any books to you?”

“Nah, we came up with that idea after we came here. Before that, I didn’t know what a book was.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Elishua sat back. If she tried for more, he might quit talking. It would be best if she took the time to develop a proper approach. She would never have allowed the access that Tenthé had given to Bear, but it did appear to be a short-term solution to his problem. And, to be honest, Tenthé would probably do what he wanted to, anyway.

“All right, I suppose. But, we can’t have Mr. Bear running around the College, I’m sure there’s a rule, or something.”

“Oh, it’s okay. We’ve had to deal with things like this before.”

Elishua wasn’t too happy about it, but also didn’t have any better ideas. Classes started in two days and Tenthé needed to be able to read and count. She would have to talk with Tomas and see what he thought. If he remembered Tenthé at all, that is.

This whole thing was becoming quite a mess!

On that note, she sent Tenthé and Bear off. It would be best if the kid got to know his dorm neighbors without her lurking nearby. Hopefully, the wards and Guardians would stop any fights that broke out.

Once they had left, she closed the doors on her secret and scurried off to track down Tomas.