Professor Dunwich stood front and center before The House of the Delvers, the words she spoke rippled through the room. Primrose expelled. Gideon sat in shock. Was this real? Some kind of joke? He waited patiently for someone else in the house to speak up, to protest. Her students were well disciplined and did no such thing. They waited for Dunwich to tell them of this horror. Gideon could wait no longer. “But Professor, that seems harsh. They can’t do that!”
She looked him in the eye before she spoke. “Mr. Daniels. First it’s pleasure to meet you under different circumstances. I hope you are well? We will talk later. That being said, yes they can, and yes they would, but only if the circumstances were as they appeared.” She paused and looked Gideon in the eyes. She then looked from person to person around the room. “Summoning a Lesser One while unlicensed is not an action taken lightly. The other houses are calling for an expulsion and a replacement to be brought up. Young Miss Verao has an interesting ability. It’s hers to share if she chooses. It is not what the others think it is though. That is what will save her from expulsion. Know this, the Lesser One was triggered by a convergence of happenstance. It was not intentional and likely will never happen again.” She walked over to Silas, “Mr. Osmond, the floor is yours.” Gideon watched her leave the room. I’ll never be able to match her confidence and presence. She was amazing. She must control every room she enters, her aura like a beacon of power.
“I had a speech and everything wrote for this moment, but after the trial, then the auction debacle, Dunwich interfering with the introductions, and an almost expulsion on top of all that. I think the routine has been thrown out for this year. I’m just done with the chaos. Welcome freshman, welcome to the Academy of Rime.” He said as he threw his hands in the air.
“You never could handle stress,” said the dark skinned girl that Silas had called Elli earlier. “Bloody hell Silas, don’t worry. I’ve got your back.” She gave him the same grin she had earlier. The other Delvers laughed at this. They must banter back and forth like this all the time, he thought.
“You were already introduced to my mighty group leader Silas Osmund,” She said, gesturing to the boy that was now reclining in a chair, his leg over the side arm. Silas raised a hand and waved at everyone in acknowledgment. “He doesn’t look like much, but he is a solid tank and will keep you alive. I’m Ellison Fisk, you all can call me Elli if you prefer. I’m the DD or damage dealer of our group.” She walked across the room and placed her hands on Gage’s shoulders. “And this beautiful little brunette here is Gage McClane, our healer and life saver.”
Gage blushed at this proclamation. With the blush in her cheeks, he noticed Gage again, really noticed her. He couldn’t pull his eyes away from the girl who was beaming with a smile, yet also tried to hide behind Elli to avoid the attention at the same time. She seemed to be glowing, full of life and color. While everyone and everything else in the room was faded, out of focus, the colors muted and lifeless. Only Gage was real. Gideon shook his head. I’m getting really tired and seeing things. It must be the after effects of the large amount of healing magic she used on me, the physical drain from the recovery is overwhelming. He blinked a few times until the world came back into focus. Ellison had continued on, but he missed whatever she’d said.
Silas stood back up and walked over to the other two, apparently ready to assume his role as lead. He placed a hand on the shoulder of each girl, the closeness of the group was apparent. “We will be your trainers this year, your mentor group. We are currently in the recruit wing of the House of the Delvers Guild. It will be just the three of us and you six staying on this floor of our guild’s wing. The others you see here today will be staying on the upper floors. Our class only had nine recruits, three per house. That gives you the privilege of having our group to train you, but it gives us the burden of having two full teams to mentor.” Gideon listened intently and thought, This sounds like part of that speech he talked about earlier. Guess he decided to deliver it anyway? “There are nine empty rooms off of this wing. Before we head to dinner you’ll all need to pick one.” Silas finished. He pointed to the doors around the central area that they sat.
Ellison took over where he left off, while Gage continued to be the silent partner. “Before that though, we have the meet and greet. By law, your abilities are private, however we need to build two groups from the six of you. So if you all could, without giving specifics, we need you each to introduce yourselves. Tell us about your general combat effectiveness. We already have some idea, but we want to hear things in your words.” Ellison pointed to the tiny red headed girl. “You can lead us off.”
The girl stood and shyly took her place in front of the group. “I’m Phoenix Cross. I’ve lived in Rime my entire life. My father is Hayden Cross, the Grand Priest of C’thazi,” she said softly. “Murmurs could be heard amongst the upperclassmen around the room.” She sat quietly, giving the information time to sink in. “I wanted to clear the air and get it over with. I am not my fathers daughter. He wants me to be High Priestess some day. I am here to make another path. I think I’m a little bit of two of the group elements you mentioned. A little bit of a healer and a little bit, what was it that you said, a DD? I don’t know if I’m great at either, but I’m willing to work hard.”
Ellison clapped her hands softly. She had heard enough from Phoenix apparently. “Thank you Phoenix. We appreciate your candid way of speaking and trusting us with your personal information. It really showed a high level of trust and vulnerability to the guild. Having a pedigree from a Grand Priest isn’t anything to sneeze at, whether you want to associate with it or not.” Ellison said, then she looked to the remaining five. “Next.”
Maximus stood and took Phoenix’s spot. “Hello, I met quite a few of you already on the train ride up, he said to the first years. I shared some of my story, but with Phoenix as motivation, I’ll tell more. I am Maximus Killian, I inherited an advanced UI from my grandfather to aid me in starting my adventure. He has been aiding me in training for this since I was a little kid.” Maximus stuttered over the words, getting choked up. “My grandfather was a retired adventurer and a great man up until his passing. He was known as the Dreadnought of Rime, but I knew him differently. I knew him as Axis Killian, or Papa. Like my Papa, I’m a tank.”
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Maximus didn’t wait for questions or comments. He quickly took his seat. The word Dreadnought and Grandson were repeated around the room.
Primrose quietly got up and went across the room. She gave Maximus a hug before taking his place in front of the stirring crowd. “Hello, I’m Primrose Verao.”
Hank stood before she could say anything else. “Sorry to interrupt Prim, but are we really just going to blow right by THE DREADNOUGHT OF RIME.” he asked, putting emphasis on the title. “He’s a legend in this city. Anywhere else, I could see it being glossed over and ignored. Come on people, this is a Rime hero from before the breaking. We have to talk about this!”
“Hank!” Primrose began. She stopped when she heard a soft laugh that escalated to a full belly laugh. She looked to see who it was coming from, who was so inconsiderate. It was Maximus.
Maximus stopped laughing and after the room remained silent he addressed the issue. “Of all the people here Hank, you are the last person I expected to fan-boy out on Papa. If anyone I expected it to be Riley here.” Maximus said to his friend. “We can get together later and I can tell you all about him, I promise. And thank you, I needed that. Seeing the love for Papa is heartwarming.” Maximus gestured to Hank and tapped his chest, showing the boy the same love he had shown his grandfather.
Riley interjected, “Hey I take exception to that. I’m not from around here. Sure I’ve heard of the Dreadnought. But fan-boy?” Riley asked them. “Taggart Paxton might be another story,”
Hank wiped his eyes with his hand. Clearly showing frustration with Riley for not sharing in his excitement.“But the Dreadnought man.” Hank tried one last time. “Come on people, you really don’t want to know more?” Everyone in the room laughed at the boys failed attempts to get the full story.
Primrose cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. “As I was saying, Prim. That’s me,” she said awkwardly. “I’m not from Rime and just arrived this morning. My caravan got delayed several times and I wasn’t sure we would make it on time. I’m from the western city of Lythel. Like Phoenix, my family and the city had thoughts and expectations for me. That is their plan, not mine. I am here to prove there is another way. Like Phoenix, I believe I am a combination of a DD and support class.”
Gideon saw Ellison raise her eye at this proclamation. Primrose barreled forward, obviously uncomfortable being in front of the group and wanting to finish. “I’d like to address the Lesser One. I have a power that can use a random skill or ability. This was the first time it crossed into a summoner power set. I hope to master the ability and have more control over it in the future. For now, mistakes will be made as I try to gain control of my power.” She looked to her friends, “To my new friend Maximus, I’m so sorry for getting you eaten. I know I’ll never be able to apologize enough. But still, sorry all the same.”
Riley smacked Maximus on the back of the head playfully at the same time Hank jabbed him in the ribs from the other side. “Told you so.”
“I know, this sucks. Bloody hell, I’m never going to live that down.” Maximus said.
Ellison spoke up and talked over the two. “Since you’re keen to talk, you can take your turn,” she said and motioned to Riley.
Riley nodded, then stood and took his spot at the front of the room. “Riley Gunn. I’m from a small town none of you have ever heard of on the other side of the ocean. I’m here to study magitek from Professor Taggart Paxton. Plain and simple. I deal damage, entertain the masses, and provide all around comfort for the group. Oh and this is Lucinda,” He said as Lucy stuck her head out of the backpack.
Phoenix squealed with delight and jumped out of her chair. The tiny girl was across the room in a flash and was stroking Lucy’s head. “She is so cute. Oh my goodness, I love her. Lucy, do you want to come to Phoenix? Oh yes you do. Come here pretty girl.” Riley stood there at a loss for words, the apparent cuteness of the girl too much for him to handle. Gideon watched the two and laughed aloud. This is so ridiculous. Gage entered into the mess of cuteness now and was petting the little ferret and giving it kisses.
“Well Gideon, unfortunately we all know your story. Recently awakened, against all odds. Then anyone that can take a shot like that from Dunwich is obviously a tank. Is there anything else that you want to share,” Ellison asked.
“No I think that covers it. Well, I’m a tank, but my armor is a summon ability so I don’t need to carry around or wear armor like the rest of the tanks do. I don’t like speaking to crowds, so I think I’ll reserve the rest of what I can do for my delving group.” Gideon said.
“Okay then, I guess that just leaves you fan-boy.” Ellison said.
“Hello everyone, I’m fan-boy Hank Steel. I’m a local. Sorry, I don’t have any cool relatives. I come from a modest family that is trying to earn their way through life. We each hope to make things a little better for the next generation. I get to benefit from a few generations of progress and I hope to find my place in the Delvers Guild. I hope to earn coin and some prestige before I’m done here. I’m so glad and privileged to be here and just wanted to say thank you. I primarily think I would be a DD for the time being. Maybe when my beta and gamma abilities unlock my role will change or become more solidly grounded in damage”.
Gideon listened attentively, because he hadn’t spent much time with Hank. It was humbling to see the boy accepting his role in the family and wanting to help them do better. He hadn’t known his story and felt a little guilty over not asking. He felt that he and Hank had similar motivations, that they were more alike than he would’ve thought if someone had asked.
Silas took his place in front of the group again, assuming charge of the event. “That's great everyone. We have a lot of potential here today. With the kind of potential coming into the Delvers Guild this year, we should dominate the competition. The guild house is going to have a great year, it will all start here today with the first years. You six can look around while we go talk with our mentors. We’ll discuss the best combinations available to form two groups. Find a room, mingle and get to know each other,” Silas told them. Congratulations were given from some of the upper classmen as they left the hall.
“Good job everyone, I’m so happy to meet all of you. I hope to get to talk to each of you on an individual basis,” Gage replied as she stood to walk out with Silas.
“Don’t go into my room, or your first semester will be hell!” Ellison said as she scowled at them. Then she smiled. “Tootles.” Gideon saw Gage roll her eyes behind the girl. She shook her head. The Elder Delvers all left the room, followed by the mentor group. The first years were left alone for the first time in the Delvers Guild House.”