"Mister Perdinar I know you are in there, I heard the door lock as I approached. Please I just want to ask a few questions." said Tercius as he knocked at the locked front door for the hundredth time. It was late morning of the fifth day of the week, and Tercius had spent the last 15 minutes hoping for Perdy to open the door.

When two days ago he saw Perdy perform such acts as teleporting an object, moving objects seemingly telepathically, then as a cherry on top when he refused to leave without at least a few questions answered Perdy just snapped his fingers and he flew out of the shop like a leaf carried by a raging storm. In that brief moment where his feet left the ground, he felt something envelop him, dragging him up, then back and he had no way to resist. It just made the flames of desire that burned within him that more intense.

He literary didn’t sleep the whole night and went straight the next day to wait for Perdy to open his shop. Which to his disappointment didn’t happen. Tercius was not dissuaded, he sat there on the stairs and waited. He figured that if someone came to buy a book then Perdy would open for them and maybe he could slip in. As luck would have it not a single person wanted to buy books that day.

Tercius just sat there until his mother came and dragged him away by force. He knew that he was rude and probably doing the exact opposite than what he should, yet somehow it didn’t matter. He just knew he had to do this, his being burned to know how to do those things at the snap of his fingers. In his mind one fantasy after the other flew by, some not even finishing before a new, better one began.

Then this morning, when he breezed through his chores with a speed that disturbed all residents of his household, he came running here and saw a woman leave the shop with a newly bought book tucked in the crook of her arm. His heart almost stopped then and there and he made a rush for the door. Yet as his foot stepped on the first of three stairs he heard the locking mechanism of the door engage and the same heart that was in flames a moment before, suffered a dowsing by the coldest of waters.

That is how he came to be here, looking like a madman, arguing with a door. Yet he knew that a chance existed that Perdy could hear him and he was sure that he would be able to persuade the man if he got the chance.

"Mister Perdy please let me just talk to you for a moment, I have some..." he went on and on, sounding more like an aggressive door salesman by the minute. Oh God no. he thought.

"HEY KID!" he heard a voice bellow, booming up and down the street raising dust in its passing. When he started to look for the source the bellow came once more. "YES YOU LOUD MOUTH ON THE STEPS!" Tercius spotted the man, his torso almost fully out of the window, pointing his massive finger at him, his massive bald head held on an even more impressive neck muscles completely red with rage. He was on the second floor in the house to the right of him, barely 20 meters away.

His tongue twisted in his mouth as his legs suddenly wanted to somewhere else, anywhere was good as long as he left right away.

"I JUST PUT MY KID TO SLEEP, IF YOU WAKE HER UP, I WILL…" the man did not get to finish that sentence as even Tercius heard the wailing start. The man’s face that previously looked filled with rage, now turned a shade darker, magma like, just waiting to burst.

"Fuck me." he murmured as he went to heed the advice his legs gave him just a moment prior. As if on a cue, there was a whoosh of air above him, making him raise his arms in protection of his head, yet nothing happened. No hit came. I though he threw something. he defended his actions to himself. Tercius moved his arms a bit to get a better view and there just above him a piece of paper slowly went left then right, then left again, falling like a feather. His left arm snatched it, yet he had no time to see what was on it.

"YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!" the man’s voice boomed a couple of meters away from him, the sound of the door hitting a wall following a moment later and he knew his time here was up. If he stayed an instant longer, this giant would make minced meat of him, probably with just his fingers.

Felling a bit apologetic to both Perdy and this man, he ended up yelling sorry as he ran away, the man not being able to follow him in the crowd.

***

Tercius went to his mothers shop, after taking a few twist and turns to make sure he got himself rid of that hulk. As soon as he was inside, he was pressed into helping with the crowd that his mother had trouble handling by herself.

"Mother you should really hire someone to help you out here. I know you can afford it." Tercius said as he just charged the tenth customer since his impromptu entrance five minutes ago. I do your accounts, I know what I am talking about. he thought to himself. Yet his mother refused ever since he started suggesting, the reason being that Tercius was help enough. And it was true that he was enough, yet he now had other things he wanted to do. Like reading that paper. he just knew it was from Perdy. I mean a paper mysteriously appearing above me while I stand in front of the door of the only wizard I know. And I have seen him do this exact same trick. Spell. Whatever. Who else could it be from?

"I will think about it." she used the other automatic reply she used about the subject, her tone suggesting to him to let it go.

The rush of customers was particularly large this day and he had to spend almost an hour of just going to fetch what they wanted, then charging them for it. There was one rude old lady that kept insisting that he made an error in calculating what she wanted to buy and held up the line for over ten minutes as she wanted for his mother to come and do it. And surprise of surprises for the old lady, his mother confirmed the price he calculated. The old biddy then went to complain of large prices and how it was practically a robbery in broad daylight on and on, like a broken phonograph.

His mother just took back what the woman ordered and asked the squawking old crow to try the prices in the neighbouring shops. Of course, his mother did not use such language when she escorted her out. And the woman was probably going to have a stroke when she sees the prices elsewhere.

As soon as he was able, he left the shop using the back door. There he had some peace and quiet to finally glance at the note.

You need to be 11-13 cycles old.

Admission is during the first month of each year.

Each year is 600 tretas, food and accommodation provided.

6 years total.

The best 3 in the generation get the next year free of charge.

Good luck.

Was all it said. Tercius recognised the handwriting as Perdy’s, and the man had distilled the important details of the book he wanted to read. A large part of him felt sad, because by doing this, Perdy sent a message other than what was written. I am no longer welcome there. he felt. The man is doing this for some reason, and I know that he is not angry with me. Yet now he felt angry at himself, because this felt like a goodbye that was caused by his actions.

Tercius stood there, in that lonely grey alley with only a slow stale breeze as his companion, just looking at that handwriting then carefully folded the note and started running with it still in hand. He ran to the hospital, then to the north exit out of the town, then turned around and went all the way down Market Street to the inner wall, where his head finally felt a little pressure and remembering that today he had another task to do, he headed home.

***

Tercius and his father came into the "Sleepy Inn" and as expected of the time of day, it was packed. People coming home from work stopped here for a pint of some brew, to unwind, enjoy a conversation or an occasional gossip, listen to some live music and maybe taste the divine meals of the best cook in whole town.

Maya’s son-in-law greeted them from behind his bar and pointed them to a table they could take while promising to bring something to eat and drink in short order. When we are already here, it would be a shame to skip a meal. Tercius thought as his stomach busied itself with making more space for good food. I should have skipped lunch.

"Are you sure you want to do this Tercius? It’s a big decision to make." his father asked while they waited for the food to come.

"I am." he answered shortly, with no doubt whatsoever. If he had any any doubt before, then that note made the sky clear and the answer visible. There is only one path I would miss. he knew.

"All right, I was just checking. Oh look who it is, Marissa you grew into such a beautiful girl. Isn’t she beautiful Tercius?" his father said to the girl that came to their table. At first he had a moment where he was not sure if he ever saw her, yet the name sounded familiar. Then he saw another who had a strong resemblance to Marissa pas by and he figured it out in a second. Maya’s daredevil grandchildren.

"Father just sent me to tell you that it may run a little late, we are swamped." she said in melodious voice.

"Oh, that is no problem, we are in no hurry. Tercius? I asked you something." his father pushed further when he saw that Tercius promptly ignored him. But how could he know that those two were the pranksters who made his first day of learning to write and read a lot more difficult than it needed to be.

"…I guess." he answered because he knew that if his father repeated the question once, he would do so again until he got his answer.

"…Thank you." she said and with a twirl of her skirt went away.

"What was that?" his father asked as he suddenly felt a small sting on the top of his head. Did he just whack me on my head? he asked himself in disbelief.

"What was what?" Tercius tersely asked back while his hand went to soothe the pain he briefly felt.

"That. Your behaviour. I was just trying... " yet before Septimus even finished what he wanted to say he saw where this was headed. What Septimus actually was doing.

"Father she is 16 maybe 17." he said as a matter of fact.

"So?" his father said with a genuine confusion written on his face.

"So... I am 10." he said in the same voice as before.

"Let me tell you son, when I was your age, I..." Septimus went on to describe his great many conquests at the tender age that he was now apparently in. Tercius suddenly just wanted for the whole thing to be over. Madam Maya please hurry up. he complained internally. Because if your food doesn't force his mouth to stop talking, I will have to find something to do it.

Luckily for Tercius food arrived soon and he did not have to endure the tales of Septimus the Lover any longer. Halfway through the meal, the reason they came here entered the inn.

Balon.

Tercius saw him in his civilian clothes, as he pushed his way through the crowd and went over to the bar, from where he got sent to the table right next to theirs. The man spotted them on his way over, and instead of going for the table he was sent to, he came over to theirs.

"Good evening gentlemen. A pleasant meal I hope." he said in the way of polite conversation.

"Meals here tend to be that way." his father said and then gave the invitation for him to join their table. They spent the meal with a light conversation, and only moved to the main topic after the meal was over, as the custom dictated.

"So you came to a decision?" Balon asked finally.

"Yes, I did. Should I give it to you..." Tercius started.

"No, the Commander asked you, so you will answer to her. In fact, I think we can go right now. Shall we?" Balon got up and made his way to the bar, as Tercius and his father took a look at one another, both of them surprised because they expected to just come here and arrange a time for the meeting. His father could just shrug at that.

After they paid, they took a long walk to the inner walls, where with a light search and Balons guarantee, they were allowed in. All of the streets here were clean, each stone carefully placed, each tree and bush finely trimmed. Just by looking at the clothes people here wore you could see the difference in status and wealth, and that’s not even mentioning the flashy jewellery.

The women he saw as they went on their way to the Commander were dressed lightly, their dresses colourful and diverse, while the men he spotted preferred darker shades of red, blue and grey. Many were also in their uniforms.

He didn’t like how these people just stopped walking and then stared, and in their eyes he saw question marks appear. Tercius felt how they looked at him and his father, making him quite a bit uncomfortable and driving him to speed up his walking.

The walk to where Commanders office was not too long, taking them ten minutes at most from the inner gate. Once again they went into the bowels of the earth, three floors down where Tercius had trouble recognizing anything, probably because everything was so uniform. No decorations, after every stairs you had a hallway to the left and right and another set of stairs down. Every door was the same, made of the same metal, the only thing that differed was a symbol on the door, yet he had no way to interpret it.

With his Visualization he could manage to navigate, yet he didn’t have the time to stop and nor did he need to, Balon was there as their guide.

They stopped near a door where Balon told them to wait as he knocked. There was silence for a few moments, then he heard the familiar voice asking them to come inside.

The office was the same as before, with large imposing furniture, made of wood that was not from these parts, probably brought during the initial settling of the land. The Commander was in the same spot he saw her the first time in, behind the table, sitting in her chair, her hands busily writing something on a piece of paper.

"Ma’am," saluted Balon as he came near the cluttered table. "As per you order I have brought Tercius here."

"Good, at ease Balon, let these men sit. Now I trust you gave some thought to my offer." she said once everyone but Balon was seated.

"I have." Tercius said shortly, as inside he felt both at peace with his decision and feared the possible consequences.

"Then, you will present yourself tomorrow at dawn at the barracks, Balon can show you where that is. You can bring with yourself a small personal object and nothing else. All will be provided. Then..." she said and then Septimus spoke from the side.

"Actually ma’am Tercius has decided that he will pass on your most generous offer."

"...I see." Tercius saw that she did not expect this. Yet after just a glimpse of surprise, her face settled back into its usual resting position she had at all times. She cast her gaze at both him and his father, and he suddenly had a feeling that her eyes could see every deep secret he had. "Can I know why that is?"

"Please don’t get the wrong impression here ma’am, I am grateful for what you wanted to do here, but I have since chosen another path for myself, one which will take all of my time." Tercius said.

"I see. I thought to do a favour to a talented young man, and this is how it turns out… You are free to go, Balon escort these people out." she gave the order in the same voice as before, yet his back suddenly felt colder.

"Actually that is something I wanted to talk to you about. Can I ask if..." his father started.

"You. May leave! Now." she said with a steely voice, the last part practically a growl, her eyes cold yet blazing with a smouldering tinder, and he heard Balon come closer to them.

"Thank you for seeing us." said Septimus.

Tercius made sure to make a small bow as he stood up, just as his father instructed him previously, and they made their way out under the blazing gaze of Balon, who escorted them out all the way to the outer town with not a single word spoken, the man that had dinner with them seemingly vanished with that conversation he heard.

"That went well." he said, his voice laced with bare sarcasm.

"You think so, son?" his father smirked, then turned his face hardened, "Something is going on here, and I never liked being the last to figure it out. Not one bit."