Two weeks earlier.

Turning the handle, Oskar pulled the door open and stepped in to the bakery, out of the rain. A bell rang as the door opened, and again as he closed it behind him.

He walked up towards the register. A bored looking girl watched him through wire-rimmed eyeglasses, a book open on the counter in front of her. She was dark-skinned, short and plump, and there was a hint of an old bruise at the base of her neck. But she looked around the right age. And—yes. There was something there.

Over the last year or so, Oskar had begun to get feelings about the ones that were worth testing, and this girl was giving him a good feeling. Probably only a minor talent, but minor talents paid his salary. Oskar mentally thanked the inn-keeper for the tip.

"How can I help you?" the girl said, voice flat. Her eyes crept back to the book.

"Hello." Oskar put on his best smile. "My name is Oskar Capello, and I'm a recruiter with the Qalarian Academy." He picked a card out of his pocket with practiced ease and held it out.

He'd been doing this for quite some time, and he had pitches tailored to a variety of circumstances prepared and ready to go. Looking at the girl, he discarded the approach he'd taken with the last child. This one was older—perhaps she'd already heard some of the criticisms of the academy. Though this far out from the city, he doubted that he would need to address them directly. No, he knew the right approach to take.

The girl glanced up. "Don't get many of you around here." She took the card and closed her book. "How can I help you, Mr. Capello?"

"Have you been tested to determine your capacity to work with potentia?"

"What's that now?"

"It'll tell us whether you can enroll in the academy. Whether you can learn to draw power from the invisible energy that's all around us, and whether you can learn how to use it."

"Is that rare?"

"Not especially. Most people can learn to work with potentia, and perhaps one third of everyone I test has enough capacity to study further. But every now and then, I come across someone with true potential for greatness." He smiled. "Who knows: you just might be the next great hero, defending our world from the horrors outside."

"Is that really necessary?" The girl said. "When was the last time a monster breached the town walls?"

And here it was.

"Well, that's up to you—the question of whether it's necessary, I mean. But don't you want more from your life than staying here in this two-penny town, cowering behind the walls? With power—enough power—you can go where you please, when you please."

The girl was nodding, which Oskar took to be a good sign.

"No matter your goals, no matter your inclination, the academy exists to help practitioners be the best that they can be."

"Hmm." The girl gave him a small smile. "No, I haven't been tested."

Oskar leaned in a little. "Would you like to be?"

"What happens? If I say yes?"

"The test is painless and only takes a moment. I'll ask you to take my hands and hold on firmly, and then I'll perform the diagnostic working."

"And then what happens?"

"If you have capacity, I'll go away and let my supervisor know, and depending on how much—depending on the results of the test, you may receive an invitation to the academy, and you can decide to join us for studies—or not." He gestured with open hands. "No pressure from me or anyone else to join up if you don't want to, and no obligation one way or another—some people worry about that with the testing." He took a breath. "But if you do have capacity, we hope that you join us—that's why I'm all the way out here, of course.

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"We have the finest program for practitioners on the continent, if I do say so myself. And of course, graduates are all honorary citizens of the city, which is quite the perk."

The girl was nodding slowly.

"And I'd have to go to the city? When?"

"Yes. Admissions examinations for the new year start in just over twelve weeks."

"How would I even get there?"

"As I understand it, there are caravan routes that go north to Tenbury from here, and then on to Geth, where you can catch a train all the way to Om Qalar."

"Expensive trip."

"Think of it as an investment—in yourself. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. There are no guarantees that any of this is necessary."

"Right."

"Would you like to take the test?"

"Yes, I think I would."

Oskar took out the notepad from his breast pocket, along with his fine black pen. "What did you say your name was?"

"Hina. Mahina Gardiner."

"Mahina—Gardiner—Grambe." He checked the spelling with her, and scribbled it all down. "You can read and write, Hina?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now, I'll ask you to hold out your hands for me, one over the other like this." He put the notepad and pen down on the counter and demonstrated.

Hina held her hands out. They trembled a little.

Oskar held both of her hands with his right one. "Okay, this will only take a moment."

He closed his eyes while he shifted his mind into the correct state, forming familiar patterns and empowering the working. This was his eighth test of the day, and there were more to come.

Oskar's eyebrows went up. The results were not at all what he'd been expecting. "Very interesting." He opened his eyes and smiled at Hina. "Very interesting indeed."

"Well? What did it say?"

"You certainly have some capacity. I'll have to get in touch with my supervisor, but you should—you'll definitely be hearing from us soon."

"How long will that take?"

"A few days, no more than a week."

The girl let out a deep breath. "What about fees? For the Academy? Accomodation in the city?"

"Yes, I suppose we should talk about that," he said. "Fees vary—depending on the candidate's capacity—they're typically outlined in your letter of invitation, and loans are available for those who need them. Accomodation is provided for students. Or if you don't want to share a room with other students, cheap private lodgings are available in the city. But you'll have to arrive early." Oskar smiled. "Any other questions?"

"How would you travel to the city, if you were me? Assuming I wanted to go."

"And assuming that"—he gave her his most reassuring smile—"I couldn't afford the train fare?"

The girl nodded sharply.

Perfect. Just perfect.

"I'd walk south," he said. "It's a long trip, but it's the only way to get there without spending a lot of money. I'd join up with any reputable caravans I could find along the way, but if there were none available, I'd walk. You have long enough to prepare and to make the trip, but not long enough for any substantial delays."

"What about the wild?"

"Move fast. Keep your eyes open. Don't attract any attention."

"That's all?"

"Most of the time when people run into trouble, it's because they're careless, noisy, or slow. Caravans are slow, which is why they're so heavily guarded. But even they only rarely run into serious trouble. One or two ordinary people walking through the wilds are much less likely to run into problems. If they're careful."

"Have you done it?"

"Oh, yes. I walked here from Tenbury, and I'll be heading along the river towards Rocli when I'm finished here. But it's a little bit different for me. I'm a practitioner, and I can protect myself. Once—"

"What's going on here?" came a deep voice from behind the counter. A pyramid of a man filled up the doorway, frowning and wiping his hands on his apron.

"Lagi." Hina took a step back. "This is Mr. Capello. He's a recruiter from The Academy."

"Oh? What's he doing here?"

"I'm in the area performing capacity testing for student candidates." The man looked older than their usual intake range, but perhaps: "Have you been tested to determine your capacity to work with potentia?"

"Not interested." The big man shook his head. "I've got cakes in the oven, and I could use a hand." He looked pointedly at Hina. "So if there's nothing else?"

"My apologies, I see that I'm interrupting." Oskar collected his notepad and pen. "Hina, it was a pleasure to meet you. You'll hear from us soon."

"Thank you."

Oskar turned and left. The bell above the door rang on his way out.

It was still raining outside, but Oskar didn't mind. He absent-mindedly performed a minor working to keep the worst off, but his thoughts were on the girl.

This was why he loved his job: it was full of surprises, and this one could turn out to be an excellent pay-day. The best candidates came from the least likely places—a less thorough man might have skipped the bakery entirely. And a less thorough man would have missed out.

There had been other visits in Oskar's schedule for this afternoon, but they could wait. He had to get a move on before someone else stumbled upon the girl and snapped her up.

He'd have to send a message to the academy right away: they had first rights, they were paying his salary. But he wondered which of the secondaries was most likely to bite: Jhalarn was hungry for candidates now more than ever, but the politics was always difficult. It wouldn't do for Qalar to take offense. Silversong were still paying below market, but the girl was right up their alley. And The Grove was much more active lately, or perhaps even The Eyeless?

Oskar supposed that for this one, he could send out messages to all of the likely parties and see who was interested. An unaffiliated prize of this magnitude was worth smoothing a few ruffled feathers.

In his room at the inn, he sat down at the desk and began to write the first of many letters.

This was turning out to be an excellent day.