Situated in the guild district directly beyond the carriageway, the entrance to the guild building was at the top of a grand staircase. Heavy, twin doors barred the way inside, with a single guard positioned outside, spear in hand.

“Are you sure they’re taking visitors?” Celaine said. “Maybe we should have sent a message ahead.”

“The guard wasn’t here last time,” Hump said. “Maybe they’ve added some extra security after the warlock attack. People are bound to be suspicious of wizards right now.”

“Even with the rumours of their White Flame protector circulating the city?”

Hump shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.”

Approaching the doors, Hump only had to give his name before they were allowed inside. The entry hall was overly extravagant—polished wood fixtures, gilded carvings and tapestries, fancy paintings that no doubt cost a fortune. The old man had always complained about how too many wizards wanted to show off how wealthy and powerful they were rather than actually doing anything useful with it.

As they made their way up to the reception desk, an old man walked out of the library to their left to greet them.

“We’re here to see Wizard Lindle,” Hump said. “I’m Wizard Humphrey Woodrow.”

“The White Flame.” The man beamed. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, young man. A pleasure. The name is Norman Dosseer.” They shook hands. “And who might this lovely lady be?”

“I’m Celaine,” she said. “Not a wizard but interested nonetheless.”

“You’re both welcome. If you would have a seat, I’ll inform Wizard Lindle of your arrival. Or feel free to peruse the library.”

He gestured to the room he’d just come from. Through the glass panels of the doors, Hump made out rows of bookcases. It was here where he’d purchased the Burning Wisps spellbook.

“Might as well go inside,” Celaine said. “We could be waiting a while.”

“Sure.” Hump let her lead the way, smiling when she reached the doors to the library and couldn’t open them. “Here, let me try.”

He pushed them open with no trouble.

“What did you do?” she asked. “Is there a spell?”

Hump snorted. “You’re just weak.”

“Hump.”

“And you lack a guild medallion. That helps too.”

“Why’d you let me lead the way if you knew that?”

Hump gave her his most innocent look and shrugged his shoulders. “I thought it would be funny.”

She rolled her eyes and headed inside. “I cannot wait to join up with the others. I’ve had too much of you by this point. I need some people to share the burden. I don’t know how…”

Hump let Celaine rant, nodding along as if he were listening as he walked up to the index card on the bookcase closest to him, finding the aisles with spellbooks. There had been a few he’d wanted when he was here before, but they’d been too expensive. Now, that wouldn’t be a problem. If his memory served him correctly, most were only cantrips, and none were above Tier 4—the more powerful spells were likely kept under more powerful restrictions. If things went to plan, he’d be able to gain access to a few today. Specifically, he wanted the Magma Grunts Tier 5 spell mentioned in one of the wizard’s handbooks he’d read here.

Scanning through the books, he recognised a few that had interested him before. Orbiting Shield was a Tier 2 spell that combined the standard Shield spell with earth, surrounding the caster in rocks. He could probably figure that one out on his own easily enough. Stone Golem on the other hand was one that would be useful. He pulled the book from the shelf and continued through the others, soon coming across Stonewall. Last time he’d been here, it was a spell he’d needed, but he’d made a record of it in the Daston Library before going to Drakalyn. He would need to learn that one while he had the time too.

Unfortunately, there were only a few nature affinity spells. Hump ended up settling for two—a cantrip called Calm Animal and a Tier 1 ritual spell called Sense Life. The latter allowed him to attune himself to his surroundings and slowly sense large animals and plant life around him. Not immediately useful but given time he might be able to speed that process up. Perhaps most interesting was a book of shaping exercises called, An Introduction to Plant Manipulation, that caught his eye. He added it to his pile.

“Someone’s here,” Celaine said.

A moment later, the door to the library opened and Lindle’s apprentice, Quinton, stepped inside.

“Good morning,” he said hurriedly. “Apologies for keeping you waiting. I’m afraid my master is currently occupied with classes, and I’ve been asked to give you a tour in his place until he’s finished.”

The apprentice was dressed in his black wizard robes as he was before, though there was a wand at his hip that hadn’t been there before.

“How are you, Quinton?” Hump asked. “It’s good to see you again. You remember Celaine, don’t you?”

The man smiled smoothly. “How could I forget? Did you both need a few more minutes here, or are you ready to get started?”

Hump held up the pile of books in his hands. “I think I’m good.”

Quinton squinted. “Is that… I thought so! I had no idea you had an affinity for nature magic. Weren’t your specialisations in Earth and Fire?”

“I thought I’d branch out,” Hump said. “Never a bad thing to spread your wings.”

“Absolutely. It’s admirable that you’re still so attentive to shaping exercises. Many of the newly enlisted wizards here will do anything they can to get out of them.”

“My master would never let me miss a day. There was nothing more important for a wizard to practice as far as he was concerned.”

“Was he someone I might know?”

Hump shook his head. “A hedge wizard. He raised me as his apprentice on the road.”

“I’d heard as much, but I hardly believed it. You must tell me that tale when we have the chance. I’m mighty curious. I’ve not heard of a single wizard outside the Society that has successfully manifested their soul.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Perhaps one day,” Hump said. “What should I do with these? I’d like to purchase all of them.”

Quinton instructed him to leave the books on the front desk for when he left, then led them through a heavy, ornate door toward the back of the entry hall, toward the rooms unavailable to the public.

The moment a gap in the door opened up, Hump sensed the magic coming from within, thick and rich in the air. Inside was a large room with high seatings, well-lit by essence stones and with many comfortable chairs spread out around it. Portraits hung on the walls; the name of the subject engraved on a small gold plaque at the base of the frames. Quinton explained that they were former guild leaders and other important members. It was a communal room, and usually would have some occupancy however many of their members were away in the Fallen Lands at present.

He led them through a number of rooms, showing them the various facilities they had available, from alchemy labs to entire enchanteries. Perhaps most interesting to Hump were the scribe halls. Wizards were at work creating spellbooks such as the ones he’d taken from the library. The process was intensive, requiring the spell to be manually copied down along with the intent behind each of the runes. While still possible to learn a spell from a simple imitation of the runes, it was far simpler this way. Another reason why Hump’s spellbook was so valuable.

“If we follow the hallway we’ll come to two lecture halls,” Quinton said. “Nothing I think you will be particularly interested in, however.”

“What’s the topic?”

“Focus.”

“Ah. No, I’ve had more than enough lectures on the importance of focus.”

Quinton laughed. “I thought as much.”

“Do you have a lot of students here?” Celaine asked.

“Far from the number at Elenvine Academy, but a few. At present there are just under fifty wizards enrolled here, only half that number full time. I’d like to introduce you both to some, if you wouldn’t mind. I was in study hall when I heard you arrived. The others are dying to meet you.”

“I don’t know…” Hump said, looking to Celaine for help.

“I’d love to,” Celaine said, smirking. “Hump and Vivienne are pretty much the only wizards I’ve met, other than a few that have tried to kill me. Those ones didn’t talk much.”

Quinton gave Hump a look as if to ask if she was serious.

“She’s talking about the warlocks,” Hump clarified.

“Yes, well, I suppose those were wizards in a sense. Fallen wizards, mind you, but the description still fits. I assure you though, the wizards here won’t try to kill you.”

They tried to kill my master, Hump thought. He knew it wasn’t a very logical response to Quinton’s remarks, but it was difficult to walk through the halls of someone the old man had considered an enemy and not think as much.

Quinton led the way up a staircase, gesturing to one side where there were many dormitories and visitor’s rooms, and then leading them right toward the study room. They came to a closed door.

“Now, you had best brace yourselves before we enter this one,” Quinton said. “Wizards can be quite ravenous when they’re curious about something.”

Hump found himself gripping his staff more tightly. “Sure.”

Quinton pushed the door open, and they stepped inside to see ten eyes watching them.

“Morning again, everyone,” Quinton said, stepping inside. Then he gestured dramatically to Hump. “Allow me to introduce you to the White Flame Wizard.”

There were eleven wizards inside, their ages ranging from their early teens to around thirty. All of them but two were men. The sound of scraping chairs filled the room as a handful of those inside stood to greet them. He spotted eight wands on the belts of the wizards, while only three carried staffs—a ratio that surprised him. Hump tried to keep track of the names—Brayden, Hadrian, one of the women was called Gavriel. He started losing track after that so simply smiled and politely nodded.

Gods, I hate crowds.

One of the older fellows stepped forward, extending his right arm for a handshake, only for Hump to realise his left was missing. A hint of recognition sparked in Hump’s mind as he tried to place the man.

“Gordon, right,” Hump said.

The man seemed taken aback. “Don’t tell me you can read minds.”

Hump laughed. This was the man that had greeted him and Vivienne when they had first come to the Wizard’s Society, back before Stonebark Forest and the Battle for Sheercliff.

“We met before,” Hump said. “I bought a Burning Wisps spellbook from you about a year ago.”

Gordon studied his face and then his eyes widened. “No! That’s… You were only just registering for the guild!”

Hump grinned. “That’s me.” He nodded at the man’s arm. “You weren’t missing the arm though.”

Celaine elbowed him. “You can’t say that.”

“Of, that’s quite alright,” Gordon said, standing a little straighter. “It’s a battle wound.

“Oh, here we go,” one of the other wizards—Hadrian—said.

“Let him tell his story,” another said—this one Hump had forgotten the name of. “It cost him an arm and a… well just an arm, but that’s still quite the price.”

Gordon recounted the tale of how he’d been stationed on a nearby residential street during the Battle for Sheercliff. They’d managed to establish a barrier out of furnishings and rubble alongside a number of guards and adventurers, when a woman and her mother burst out of their home behind them. Monsters chased them through the door—a dozen of them, if not more—when Gordon stepped in and barred their path. He fought them back until help arrived, losing an arm in the process.

“She’s my wife now,” Gordon said.

“The woman, or the mother?” Someone asked. “I forgot.”

A round of laughs filled the room and Gordon gave them an unamused look.

“The woman, of course. Really now! Must you try to ruin my moment.”

There were a few more chuckles but Quinton grasped him by the shoulder.

“It’s a heroic tale, and one to be proud of. Don’t let these pricks ruin it for you.”

“Absolutely,” Hump said. “I’ve always said—nothing like a battle wound to get the ladies.”

“Is that why you’re always getting injured?” Celaine asked.

Hump waved her away. “She exaggerates.”

The group asked him about his own feats in the battle. He wasn’t much of a story teller but did his best to recount their battle to reach the Tree of Damnation, leaving out mention of the shadowy figure he’d seen within. They asked him about his roots, hardly believing that he was just a hedge wizard, though most were too polite to press further. All but one.

“Are we really going to overlook the fact that the White Flame Wizard was allegedly not a member of the Wizard’s Society only a year ago? And that he lacks any formal education?”

The one that spoke was toward the back of the room. A tall, lanky fellow that had just risen from his chair. He couldn’t be any older than Hump—eighteen at most. His face was covered in bad acne, and his wizard robes too big for him.

He pushed up his round glasses. “It’s impossible that someone like him managed to burn down the great tree, let alone trigger a chain reaction throughout the city. I mean, look at him.”

“Relax, Kabul,” Quinton said. “You’re being rude.”

The young man appeared affronted. “I simply do not buy everything we hear from the Upper City. Forgive me for questioning it.”

“He has a point though,” Gavriel said enthusiastically. “Not that I don’t believe you—more, I’m just curious how you did it. You’re what, twenty?”

“I heard he was eighteen.”

“I am eighteen,” Hump said. “And I had some help. My party, of course, was the only reason I made it to the tree at all. As for the spells, the Dastons lent me a phoenix feather with the power to temporarily infuse me with the strength of a gold ranker.”

“Have you already manifested your soul?” one of the wizards asked, a look of confusion on their face.

Hump gave them an awkward look. “That’s—”

“I think that’s a little too probing,” Quinton said. “Sorry, Wizard Humphrey. I told you they’re ravenous. They mean no harm by it. It’s just in our nature to uncover secrets.”

“I understand completely,” Hump said. “I’d be curious too.”

Quinton looked past the group to the back. “How about you, Kabul? Are you satisfied?”

There was an awkwardly long silence as Kabul thought. “I don’t know. What is this white flame anyway? I’ve never heard of such a spell, or is it simply very hot fire?”

“Oh! Can we have a demonstration?” It was the other woman that spoke this time. A short girl about Hump’s age. “I’m incredibly curious to see what you can do, Wizard Humphrey.”

“You want me to demonstrate White Flame?” Hump said, unsure.

Excitement spread throughout the wizards. From their reactions so far, Quinton hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d told Hump that they really wanted to meet him. So what if one of them was a bit of an arse? A little demonstration wouldn’t hurt.

“I can do that,” Hump said. “Have you got somewhere that I can cast without destroying anything?”

“Really, you don’t need to do this,” Quinton said.

“It’s fine,” Hump said, an idea blossoming. “Actually, I have a suggestion. Perhaps we can make a show of it. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?”

Quinton’s brow raised. “You want to see our magic too?”

Hump nodded enthusiastically. “I haven’t met many wizards, let alone practiced with them. I’ll admit, I’m incredibly curious to see what type of magics you have.”

“What do you say?” Quinton asked the group. “Shall we teach Wizard Humphrey here what a Society Wizard is capable of?”

There were a few semi-enthused cheers amongst the group, and a few more that didn’t seem quite so sure of themselves.

Perfect, Hump thought, petting his spellbook. You keep your eyes peeled, Glyndaril. I’d like me a few new spells.