Melanie gave Ril a quizzical look. “Schools?”

“Yeah. You know. A location of learning. Perchance a place of pedagogy.” Ril eloquated with a smile.

Melanie blinked several times at Ril. “Uhm... what’s peda-- ped--.” she stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

Ril scowled slightly, his goofy grin fading as he realized that his carefully crafted rhyme passed entirely over the young urchin’s head.

“It’s just a fancy term for learning.” Hauke said, smiling smugly at Ril while he munched on some nuts that he had bought from a street vendor some time back. Ril gave him a reproachful look, but decided to drop it.

“They usually have a bunch of books there. Lots of people with glasses. That sort of thing.” Ril turned back to Melanie.

“I know what a school is.” she said with an annoyed expression.

“Ok. Wonderful, I never doubted you.” Ril said.

“Did too.” Hauke muttered around a mouthful of nuts. Ril immediately slapped his arm causing him to drop the next nut he had pulled from his pocket, and elicited an affronted “hey” from the boy. Ril gave Melanie an expectant look, as she glanced back and forth between Hauke and Ril, as if unsure of what to make of the pair.

“Well? Could your eminence direct a humble servant such as myself to such a one such institute of instruction?” Ril said, still in a silly mood and determined to instill upon the young urchin at least a modicum of familiarity with the craft.

“Dunno about any institutes of instruction but there is the public school over on fourth street next to Burns square. It’s where I go,” Melanie hesitated, “...or used to go. Don’t go all that often nowadays.” she said with a shrug.

“Are there any other schools in the city?” Ril asked. It seemed unlikely that there was only one school present in such a large city. Unless it was a really large school. But then it would have to be really, really large. Like, how many kids would there be in a city this large. Ten thousand? A hundred thousand?

Well it probably depends on the definition of what a child is, Ril mused. If a child is between the ages of five and fifteen, and we assume that there are...

Ril was interrupted from his reverie when Melanie replied. “Well, duh. But I wouldn’t know about them now would I. You could go there and ask them about fancier schools that would suffice your emimence.”

She smiled rather smugly at Ril, which he found rather confusing.

“Ok.” he said, drawing the word out. “Well, me and bucktooth here are going to check your school out. Bye.”

Melanie nodded. “In that case I’ll be off. Don’t hesitate to never find me again!” she said cheerfully before slipping back into the dark abyss that was the Warrens.

Ril looked after the girl, mostly envious that she could take the Warrens while he and Hauke would have to navigate the crowded streets to get to Burns square. At least for a little while. Their current entrance into the Warrens could take them to Burns square but would lead them along a circuitous route that would take a lot longer and would likely involve a decent amount of climbing.

Ril sighed and turned towards the crowded streets. The low roar of thousands of marching feet and shouted voices distinctly unpleasant even from their relatively sheltered alcove.

“To the school we go.” Ril said to Hauke, eyeing the path leading to the crowd with a hint of distaste.

Hauke poked Ril in the ribs hard. Ril jerked and slapped away the kids hand with the speed of long practice. “Ow, what was that for?” he said, as he looked upon the affronted kid.

“What did you call me?”

* * *

“I don’t even have crooked teeth!” Hauke said, for what felt like the thousandth time. “Look!” he said, pointing at his open mouth and admittedly very straight clean teeth. “

Ril sighed, regretting his slip of the tongue more than anything. The two had departed towards Burns Square. The trip through the crowded streets had only lasted a short time, before they had blissfully found a tunnel into the Warrens that would lead them almost directly to the school. Unfortunately, the silence of the Warrens had prompted Hauke to start complaining about the nickname that Ril had inadvertently given him. No amount of shushing and warnings regarding the dangers of talking in the warrens placated the boy. He instead reverted to hushed whispers and claimed that since they were so close to the city the powder beasts wouldn’t be able to hear him.

“Look, I said I was sorry.” Ril said, his voice defeated from being worn down for nearly half an hour by Hauke.

“I mean, sure I forgive you, but that’s not the point. I need a cool nickname. Something epic. That everyone will be able to recognize me by. It’s just that bucktooth is really bad and It would be really bad if someone heard you say that and it caught on. You know?” Hauke nearly shouted behind Ril.

They had exited the Warrens and were now standing in front of a stone building covered by the blue fungus. It didn’t seem any different from any of the other buildings that surrounded it except for a simple sign that read ‘School’ in bold letters, and a pair of torches that were inexplicably lit on either side of the wooden door.

The torches did provide a refreshing contrast from the matte blue that the mushrooms provided, but to Ril it seemed like a waste to use torches to light up the entranceway when there were plenty of blue mushrooms available for that very purpose. Although perhaps they had some other function.

“Look, kid. Could you drop it? Let’s just go in, and get you registered.” Ril started before he was interrupted again by Hauke, who jumped up and down twice while pointing an accusatory finger at Ril.

“See! That’s exactly what I am talking about.” the young boy said.

“What?” Ril asked, perplexed at what he could possibly have said to have merited such a reaction from the boy. At least they had moved on from ‘bucktooth’, much to Ril’s relief.

“You called me ‘kid’! No self respecting adventurer would be caught dead being called kid as a nickname.” Hauke said.

Ril blinked, recalling that he had in fact called Hauke kid. He would need to watch his language around the boy, damn, no, around Hauke or else. This fiasco cannot be allowed to continue.

“That’s not true. What about Billy the Kid? You know the famous bandit king who travels the lands and lives outside of cities. Everyone is super scared of him, and he has the kid nickname.”

Hauke hesitated at that, but then continued full bore. “Well. But how about The Destroyer. Hauke the Destroyer has a nice ring to it don't you think? Or maybe Hauke, Lord of the Flame!”

At that he grabbed one of the torches that adorned the entranceway to the school and waved it triumphantly over his head. The fire made a whooshing sound as it shrunk from the rapid movement. A small dollop of the heavy pitch fell away from the main ball, and landed, still burning on Haukes shoulder. Hauke didn’t seem to notice, still proudly waving the torch above his head as he looked at Ril.

“Hey, Lord of the Flame, your shirts on fire.” Ril said dryly, as Hauke's shirt began to blacken as the still burning dollop of pitch burned cheerfully on his shoulder. With a yelp, Hauek spun around, nearly conking Ril with the torch before he frantically tried to dislodge the hot goop without burning himself.

Ril dodged back before grabbing the torch from Hauke’s hand, and with a quick motion flicked the pitch onto the ground, and smothered the remaining flame with the sleeve of his shirt. Hauke sighed in relief, then a fearful expression crossed his features as he glanced furtively around him, settling his gaze finally on Ril who watched him with a bemused expression.

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“That didn’t happen.” Hauke whispered, his voice lost in the noise of the crowd but somehow clearly understandable.

Ril nodded gravely, as he mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key.

Hauke relaxed, but then jumped as the door to the school slammed open with a crash. An aging gentleman strutted out tapping a polished black cane rhythmically on the stone floor with every other step.

“What in...I told you boys. How many times do I need to tell you not to steal mah torches. They are mah torches. If they were your torches then you can steal them all you like. But they ain’t. They are mah!”

The old man stopped at the edge of the small entranceway of the school, and waved his cane in the air directly at Ril who was caught holding the torch in his hand. The man was very old. Wrinkles covered his face, and what visible portions of his skin there were. His body was covered by a well kept suit, not a single wrinkle visible along its entire length. Orange glowing eyes peeked out from under a shock of white hair. Wispy white strands seemed to poke out from every which way, including his nose, and gave him a slightly crazed appearance.

“You!” the man said, pointing his cane threateningly at Ril. “Torch thief!”

Ril blinked, curious as to how the man had even known that they had taken a torch from one of the sconces. Then he dropped that line of inquiry in favor of returning the torch to the crazed gentleman. The glowing eyes that seemed to peer into Ril’s very soul didn’t help with the matter.

Ril himself also had glowing eyes now. A byproduct of achieving above 10% warp, but unlike the old man, he wore a set of contact lenses that hid the effect from sight.

“Here you go.” Ril said, carefully passing the torch over to the old man.

Suddenly the torch was jerked out of his hands and floated all on its own towards the sconce before it thudded into place.

“Mah torche.” The old man said, glaring at Ril.

Ril stared at the man. Unsure of the best way to deal with him. On the one hand, he had come from the school which they wanted to enter and try to enroll Hauke in for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, he looked like a rabid wolf wearing the body of an old man.

Hauke was less than helpful as he was glaring at the man with a sour expression while massaging his jaw. He would periodically wince as he moved his tongue around his mouth. What had happened to cause him to act that way, Ril had no idea.

In the end he decided on the polite approach.

“Hi there. My name is Ril. I’m sorry that we took your torch. It was only for demonstration purposes and we were planning on putting it back immediately afterwards. We are actually here because we would like to enroll Hauke here into the school. If that’s possible.”

The man squinted at him, then at Hauke who stiffened under the scrutiny.

“Ehh? Enroll? No need for that, come in, come in.” Then he froze. His cane slammed down into the ground with an ominous click. Ever so slowly, he turned his glowing eyes towards Hauke, who gulped audibly.

“There is only one rule.” the old man said dangerously. His voice seemingly several octaves lower than what it was before. “These here, be mah torches. Don’t touch them, or I eat you.”

He turned into the building. But paused once more at the door frame. Almost as an afterthought he said. “Oh, and don’t eat the other children.”

Ril and Hauke glanced at each other nervously, before they followed the scary man inside the ‘school’.

* * *

The moment Rli passed the threshold, he felt something strange pass over him. It felt not too dissimilar to Eren’s Empyrean effect but in the reverse. Instead of feeling every part of his body slow down and wither, he felt invigorated, as if he could get up and run a marathon.

“Whoa...” Hauke said, as he stepped passed the doorway and stood next to Ril. They stood in a hallway that was lined on either side with torches that were burning merrily.

“Never felt the touch of an Enforcer, have you?” The man in front of them cackled, resuming his sedate pace deeper into the building. Every other step he took was accentuated by the rapping of his cane on the stone floor. Ril and Hauke followed him, passing by the torches with curious glances.

What was surprising, was that the flames of the torches seemed to pulse and writhe with each of the man’s steps. In an eerie fashion, it seemed as if the fires leaned towards the man as he passed by them.

Despite the torches, there was not a hint of smoke or the scent of burning in the hallway. No soot covered the ceiling, and none of the pitch dripped to the floor. The torches were different from any torch Ril had seen before in his life, and yet they still emanated a comforting heat that filled Ril with energy.

“What’s an Enforcer?” Hauke asked, bewildered at the torches that seemed so much more magical than the mundane world they had just come from.

“A silly name for a broad category of powers that when applied to a living creature tend to exhibit an empowering effect. The history of the name is long, and mostly full of misunderstandings. Suffice it to say, that when the broad populace hears a descriptor that they find endearing, it is oft a pointless endeavor to change that which they have set in stone.” The man had settled into a lecturing tone, while he plodded through the empty hallway.

“The power of the crowd is a marvelous thing. On their own, people are so weak. So stupid, and frail. It takes decades of learning, practice and patience to nurture a human to something even resembling the terror of even the most basic of powderbeasts. And yet, when collected into a crowd, they have power. Whether it be ideas, or cities, a crowd can bring even the most unlikely thing into reality, if it is large enough.”

“Regardless, Enforcers are one of the seven basic combat classes. I myself am one such Enforcer. Erdell Bellington of the Thousand Torches. But you may call me Professor.”

Hauke leaned over to Ril and whispered. “See he has a cool nickname.”

Ril shook his head wryly, before responding. “You mean the Thousand Torches, or Professor?”

Hauke gave him a long suffering look, to which Ril chuckled. Then he turned back to the Professor. “So why the torches? Why not use the blue mushrooms for light?”

“Bah.” The Professor spit onto the floor. The globule immediately burst into flame upon contact with the ground and vanished without a trace. Both Hauke and Ril stutter stepped from shock. “Glowshrooms. Terrible things really. Horrid light. Horrid taste. Horrid look. Can’t imagine why they are still here. Someone ought to burn this entire cavern down, and replace that terrible fungus with some good, honest torches. That’s what I would do, except the city council keeps telling me they haven’t decided yet.”

“To answer your question, mah torches are better in every way. Red light is better on the eyes than blue. And it stays nice and toasty in here even in the dead of winter. But the real reason is I have to keep mah thousand torches somewhere. It wouldn’t do if they went out. It took me forever to collect them all.”

“Wait, you actually have a thousand torches?” Ril asked.

“Of course I do. You didn’t think my name was just for show. A thousand enforcing torches. Mah thousand enforcing torches. Helps the little ones learn.”

“Really?” Ril asked. If the torches actually raised the intelligence stat that would be interesting. Even a temporary boost would be interesting. Considering he was in a school, Ril decided to just ask. “Do your torches just help the kids learn, or does it actually increase Intelligence?”

At that the Professor paused. He turned around to look at them with a delighted expression on his face, which Ril found slightly discomfiting.

“Oh! It is only a temporary thing. But imagine the possibilities. A permanent increase to one's basic abilities. Such a boon would be a gamechanger. It is really very exciting. The end goal of my research. Unfortunately I am not there yet, but initial testing looks promising. Did you know over that last year, I managed to increase the effect of my torches by over thirty percent? A truly staggering statistic when you consider that most abilities remain stagnant for much of their lives. Truly staggering.”

“To think, that abilities can grow along with the user. It would change the current method of the military drastically. No longer would they stuff each of their recruits with as many abilities as can fit. Now they can try and hone each recruit to be the best they can be. Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous.”

“Yes, I--.” Ril started but the Professor wasn’t finished yet.

“Too bad the alternatives are so nasty. Not easily gotten, with terrible, horrible side effects. But you would be familiar with such things would you not?” the Professor said, directing his question towards Ril with a twinkle in his eye.

“I, uhm, what?” Ril asked, not really following.

“You have a piece. One of the seven. Don’t deny it, I can see the changes in you. Your very blood glows with his power.” The professor cackled before turning around and resuming his march through the house.

Ril froze. He stared after the decrepit man for a moment before Hauke poked him out of his daze.

“The Fragments of the Chromagnum. The greatest of the abilities that humankind can acquire. Each provides a unique power. A power totally unmatched by any other single ability. Sure some of the effects can be mimicked temporarily by a combination of other abilities, but not easily, and more importantly, not permanently. In addition to all this the Fragments provide a permanent boost to one’s ability scores.”

“But to acquire such power, a price must be paid.” He sighed, before jumping into a chant-like poem.

“Empty Lungs to rush one's flight

Silver Bones for thoughtless might.

Heart and Mind,

A hollow fire,

Smothered by the Hungry Stomach’s endless desire

Around the shell,

The Wrathful Skin protects,

And through it all the Blood connects.

It ebbs and flows,

To heal the rest.”