Florian waited in front of the heavy wooden doors that would lead to the impressive dining hall that he had once been invited to sit in not too long ago. Though it had only been a handful of weeks, Florian found himself unsurprised to be called here. Jones was looking for answers that Florian did not have.

But among the key rules of business was to never reveal a hand until absolutely necessary. If he could eat what passed for a king’s dinner, he would eat. With any luck, Hellwolf meat would be on the menu; he hadn’t had any since the last time he’d been able to meet with Anna and Hornbeck. Though his growth was still explosive compared to the other disciples, it had turned more sluggish than it had ever been. Florian grinded his teeth – the thought of not doing more grated at him.

The crier’s announcement derailed his train of thoughts. “The Wizard Florian Cale!” the boy called, dressed in a vibrant spring green outfit. But the stupid outfit wasn’t what caught his attention; it was his title. That was very different than on any previous occasion.

Stepping into the room, Florian found it empty except for Jones and himself. Only two sets of dinnerware were prepared, indicating that Theo would not be joining them for this meal, cementing Florian’s suspicions as to what this could be about.

“Sit, sit!” Jones called out, a wide smile on his face as he waited with one hand gripping a glass of crystal-clear wine. The food had already been placed in front of them, a selection of three different dishes occupying their corner of the long table. The chicken and the pork dish represented an immense display of wealth, and while he hungered at the thought of eating them, his eyes were drawn immediately to the slabs of almost-grey meat that looked to be seasoned by a variety of spices.

Finding his way to the seat at Jones’ left hand, Florian asked, “Is that Hellwolf?”

Jones’ smile only grew, his eyes twinkling in delight. “You might not have guessed it, but their meat is delicious!” he said loudly before drawing his voice down to conspiratorial whisper. “And I think that it helps my magic!” he whisper-shouted in total seriousness.

“Really?”

The lord grinned, clearly happy with himself. “Of course! I overheard it from one of Theodosius’ chosen students. And It really works!”

Florian feigned surprise, quickly reaching for the meat and digging in without respect for table manners. It actually wasn’t all that hard; it had been quite a while since he had free access to this much of the meat, and he suspected it would be the last of it for a while. “This is amazing!” he exclaimed between bites.

“I’m glad you think so, Florian,” Jones relaxed in his chair, putting his hands on the table as he watched Florian eat. “Now, I assume you’re interested to know why I’ve brought you here today?”

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“I am.”

“The traders from Tonbridge are returning in a few days or so, and despite the recent drop in the number of Hellwolves we face, they’ve requested that we offer support to their caravan on their return to their city.” Jones rubbed his temples as if to mitigate a headache. “I can’t afford to lose any of the Warriors, nor will I send my guardsmen. I would like you to accompany the caravan and protect them.”

A specter with green eyes floated into Florian’s vision. He shook his head to clear away the phantom and spoke calmly. “I would rather stay here, Lord Jones. I still have much to teach the students: particularly yours.”

Jones sighed. “They’re our largest – and only – trading partner, Florian. You’ll have to fight either to protect the caravan or to protect the castle, if I send my Warriors in adequate numbers to protect them.”

“But you said the number of Hellwolves has gone down,” he protested.

The small, portly man took a sip of his wine, cooling the liquid down with a thought. Florian watched as the mana moved around the man’s body, empowering the magic. It wasn’t anything grand, but it showed that despite Theo’s hopes, the lord proved to be a decent student of magic.

“They have, but there are those that fear that this is the calm before the storm. The traders don’t want to be stranded on the road alone when our luck reverses. Their guns will last only so long. I ask you, Florian, to please accompany them. In return, I’ll give you as much of this Hellwolf meat as you can eat when you return.”

The offer seemed to be made in earnest, and unlike Theo’s, Jones’ voice didn’t carry any hint of deception. “How far away is this place?”

“It’s a long day’s hike, but if the roads are clear, it’ll be much faster with their trucks.”

The odds of encountering any monsters, then, was fairly small. He remembered the trip he’d made with Theo and the children, and while they had fought their fair share of Hellwolves, they had been on foot and it had taken far longer than a few hours to arrive here at Leeds. Though a nasty cocktail of fear and self-doubt plagued him, when faced with the alternative of returning the wall and facing the possibility of even more people dying, his choice was made for him.

“I’ll do it.”

The rest of the meal went well, and Florian ate as much as he could, annihilating the entire plate of Hellwolf steak before the lord could even get to it. He had sensed some kind of frustration at that from Jones, but he’d ignored it, feeling the mana the meat contained suffuse his body.

And then, watching the sun rise further into the sky, Florian excused himself to return to the classroom, where a group of students were excited to begin testing their ability to create fireballs. Over the past week especially, Florian felt that the advanced students were remarkably close to the level of being able to meditate for thirty minutes straight, which if he remembered correctly, was about the level of Control he had when he first was able to set a tree ablaze with single spell.

Using that as his baseline, Florian hoped desperately that they’d be able to accomplish a similar feat, especially now that he was going to be leaving the safety that Leeds Castle afforded him. When he arrived, he found his students standing at the edge of where the window used to be, until Florian had it removed in order to give them space to practice magic. There simply wasn’t any available land in the castle apart from the training grounds, and Florian doubted Hornbeck would appreciate all their things being burnt to smithereens.

“Alright, disciples! Let’s see what you’ve got!”