Sign: Snake

  Buffs: Serpent’s Kiss (Romance twice as easy)

  Debuffs: Curse of the Unspecified (Start the game with no gender, no name, and no other identifying feature)

EXP: 1,119

Alchemy

  Coagula (LVL 0, 24 SKP)

  Solvé (LVL 0, 9 SKP)

  Theoria (LVL 0, 23 SKP)

Botany

  Tending (LVL 0, 5 SKP)

  ?

  ?

Cooking

  Fire (LVL 0, 21 SKP)

  Water (LVL 0, 11 SKP)

  ?  

Homesteading

  Fire Tending (LVL 0, 7 SKP)

  Tidying (LVL 1, 5 SKP)

Dirt Buster: The magical branch of Purification lends this Sorcerer the ability to ‘Bust Dirt.’ Dust and grime accumulate at a infinitesimally slow rate on objects you have cleaned.

  ?

Speech

  Logic (LVL 0, 33 SKP) Ready to level up!

  Linguistics (LVL 0, 7 SKP)

  ?

Total SKP: 160

Inventory:

  Auros: 0

  Cards of Destiny: 5 of ?? Discovered

Names: 2

  Gillygad, The Stiched-Up Wonder (Pitchfork)

  Zinia, The Serpent’s Caress (Snake)

She strode into the house like she owned the place. Well, she did, actually. Aleister and I quickly moved to get out of her way.

The cold air clung to her, and the dark gray cloak she wore exhaled the freshness of a rain soaked forest.

She strode right by us, to the middle of the front room, then stopped in her tracks. She looked around, her blue hair bouncing merrily, which clashed with the cross expression on her face.

I looked around too, and saw clearly the state of calamity in which the house was. I felt a bush creep into my cheeks.

Without saying a word, she continued through, to the kitchen. Aleister and I sheepishly trailed behind her.

The tall woman took off her cloak, hung it in front of the fireplace, and settled into a chair at the table, barely glancing in our direction. She had a very pleasant, round face, and large, dark eyes. I guessed she was in her late thirties, but it was very hard to gauge.

“Shall I assume the rest of the house looks like the front room?” She asked without preamble. This lady got right to the point!

“Not all of it…” I answered. The kitchen wasn’t a complete disaster. Although, every other room was.

“Have anything to eat?” She followed up. Her voice had the easy grace of someone used to giving commands.

“I was just about to send Cheerful…” I started to explain. She held up her hand. She produced a leather bag. She took out a few dried sausages, and a large hunk of cheese. She started to cut them up with a small blade. I didn’t see where she had gotten the knife.

“At least put the kettle on.” She told me. I got the strongest urge to salute her, and quip ‘Ma’am, yes, maam!’ But I stopped myself.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

That’s all I was good for it seemed. Making tea. Maybe I could just be the tea-keep. Or a tea-peddler. Was that a profession?

I did as I was told, and brewed some of Mr. Solomon’s gifted tea. There was a thick atmosphere of tension in the kitchen, noticed by myself and Aleister. The cat and I kept stealing furtive glances at the woman, expecting her to say something.

She seemed in no hurry.

After cutting up the cheese and sausages, she took a few quick bites, and pushed the rest to the center of the table. Were we meant to help ourselves? My stomach rumbled, but I kept my hands to myself. I did not want to displease this woman any more than I already had.

Working in a methodical and fastidious manner, she undid the clasps and then untied her leather boots, the color of charcoal. After she had taken them off, she placed them by the fireplace as well.

For a second, I was nervous that this woman, who barely acknowledged our presence, would continue stripping her clothes. I wasn’t sure if I should stay in the kitchen, if that’s where this was going.

But the woman seemed content on warming her boots and her cloak by the fire, and kept the rest of her clothes on.

I poured out the tea, and took a seat at the table, across from her.

She took a slow sip, placed the cup down, and looked me dead in the eyes.

“You didn’t pass your initiation.” She stated simply.

“WHAT?” The objection did not come from me. Aleister hopped up on the table, his tail twitching with fury, and the hair around his neck standing up.

“You can’t be serious!” The cat spat.

“How often do I joke?” The woman retorted.

“Your Apprentice had the worst bout of luck imaginable! Despite all odds, Adrian played the Midnight Game, Mistress! And, won! You’re worried about the initiation? And to not pass it after…”

“It doesn’t matter. The instructions are clear. The enchantments are broken, and the Apprentice didn’t unlock them properly. Rules are rules, Aleister.” She said simply.

“But surely in such an extreme circumstance-“ Aleister began making his case again, but the woman interrupted. She held out her hand to me, over the table.

“Mistress Addlebern. You can just call me Tess.” We shook hands. Her grip was like iron. She looked over at Aleister, and pointed at the cat. “You can call me Tess as well, seeing that we’ve known each other for a decade.”

“I’ll call you Mistress when you’re being this obstinate.” The cat retorted. The woman, Tess, scowled at the cat.

“What would you have me do? The Guild will expect an explanation.”

“Simply re-initiate. Tell the Guild to stuff themselves up a hat.” Aleister said.

“That’s not done. And it would defeat the whole purpose if we burned bridges with the Guild.” She said, waving her hand like she was waving the notion away.

Despite the appearance that my fate hung in the balance, I just couldn’t follow the argument Aleister was having on my behalf. My stomach growled at me again. How long had it been since I last ate? All I could think about was the morsels of food laid out on the wooden table. The cheese had a shiny glint to it, and I could smell the spice in the cut up sausages.

The woman, Tess, must have noticed my plight. She held up her hand to interrupt Aleister’s spiel, and motioned toward the food.

“Help yourself.” She said. And I did. While Aleister and Tess went back and forth, I stuffed my face. It was so good.

At first I tried being polite, and only took a few bites. But once I started eating, I couldn’t help myself. I ended up consuming a large portion of Tess’s food before I could finally make myself stop.

I noticed her glancing at me as I ate. She seemed concerned.

When I was full, I could finally pay attention to the argument. It was going much worse than I thought.

“And you don’t think this matter might deserve a deviation from the norm?” Aleister was saying in a haughty manner.

“I don’t see why. Apprentices never stay after a failed initiation. It would be highly irregular.” Tess replied easily.

Was she going to kick me out? I had to intervene!

“I’ve no place to go!” I cried out, looking at the woman. Her concerned expression deepened, soft wrinkles appearing around her taut mouth.

“Mistress, you must understand. Your Apprentice is no common layabout.” Aleister said.

“The condition of the house proves otherwise.” She refuted.

“Of course it looks like that! I keep telling you about the Midnight Game!” Aleister’s words were becoming more and more yowl-like. I was afraid he might start hissing.

“Even if that were true, how would I prove it to the Guild? There’s no evidence that the Midnight Spirit was here. I’m not even sure I believe it myself.” The woman said.

I had an idea!

I quickly brought up my inventory, and took out one of my Cards of Destiny. The most battered one, with dark brown spots on the face.

The Midnight Candle

I slapped it on the table, the noise alerting Tess to its presence.

She looked at it for a long time, her eyebrows drawn together. Finally she picked it up.

She dug something out of her pockets then. It glinted in the light. She placed it over her eyes and I realized it was a pair of glasses, with a nose clip instead of earpieces; a pince nez. She examined the card through the glasses for a long time. Aleister and I held our breath.

After what seemed like ages, she seemed satisfied, and she put away her glasses, but kept my card.

“Have you increased any of your skills?” Tess said, looking at me. Did she mean level up?

“Just one, Tidying…” I answered, unsure.

“That’s fine. Do not increase any others.” She answered.

She took another long moment, before speaking again.

“Consider your initiation failed.” She started. Aleister and I both drew breath to start another protest, but she held up her hand to silence us. It was almost like a spell. My mouth shut itself, as if on its own.

“With a caveat. I will think about this. I will give you my answer once I’m sure of it. You may stay. For now.”

With no parting words or assurances, she got up from the table, collected her boots and her cloak, and left the kitchen. I heard her going up the stairs, presumably to her own bedroom.

I felt weak, and every muscle slacked when she was out of sight. I put my hands over my face. I was in a lot of trouble!

It’s one thing to get chased by a spirit of darkness. It’s a wholly other thing to potentially become homeless! I couldn’t believe this was happening, after everything else.

I never even considered that failing my initiation might leave me with no place to live!

“You mustn’t be too cross with her. Tess is a good woman. But she can be very difficult when it comes to rules. I’m sure she’ll see that we’re right. Eventually.” Aleister tried to comfort me.

I thought I saw what he meant about Mistress being a stickler for rules.

“I’m sure she doesn’t really want to kick you out.” Aleister said.

“I hope not.” I replied. What would I do if she did?

“Adrian…” Aleister started.

“Yeah?” I peeked at the cat.

“You should know something. If that’s how it goes, I’ll come with you.” Aleister said.

I looked at the white cat which had squared off his shoulders. What a brave little guy.

“Thank you Aleister. That means more to me than I can say.” I finally answered.

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