"And how long does the journey take?" Tercius asked.

He and his parents were sitting in the inner garden a little over two weeks after the whole break-in incident, taking their time lazing about in the shade. His mother finally took his advice and hired a woman from their neighbourhood to tend to the store for two days every week, and now suddenly didn’t know what to do with that free time.

Today’s lunch in particular was a victim of that free time, with Petra making so much that they had to share half with the neighbours.

"That depends on many factors. Will you go entirely by land routes? By water? Maybe both. I have made some inquires with a few of my friends and they told me that you can get to Spheros by river barge in some 10 days, give or take a day. You travel north passing by two towns on the way there and many, many small and large villages. Preferably you will make a stop for every night, it’s not wise to travel by water after sundown, many predators lurk so it’s not worth the hassle. The travel time can go up to some 10 to 11 hours each day, that is why it takes so long, even by river." his father explained, as he placed small stones in an outline of the river, starting and ending point.

"And that is if nothing happens while you travel, like your father said, there are beast that do manage to evade the extermination, yet those are rare. But at times they are known to damage boats and that can extend the travel time until the boats gets repaired." his mother said.

"And then?" he inquired. "What after you get to Spheros?"

"Then you find a boat for sea travel. Preferably some reliable captain with her," "Or his" his father piped in. His mother grinned prettily. "Or his vessel, and then this should be the easiest part of the journey, some 10 to 12 days, where your vessel hugs the shore and goes for some port city of the northern continent. Oh," she said snapping her fingers and raising a brow, "do you know the names of the continents?"

Tercius nodded. "Nogea, the northern, then Sogea, the southern. Western is Zagea and why someone named a collection of islands a continent, I will probably never understand, but they go by Isgea. Someone should really make up a word for a collection of islands. And name the months. And days." he lamented, melancholic for a time when the days of the week had names.

"…… well done. Now, the city where you disembark will probably be Dilene or Tessos, but ultimately it will depend on the captain and his schedule. From what I know the best place to get off the ship would be in Lissea, it’s the closest port city to the Pyramid. Then from there it will all be uphill, I am afraid." his mother said.

"I’ve read of Lissea, it’s mentioned in the book, there is supposed to be a secret passage there for those who can find it. It takes you straight to the Pyramid, otherwise it’s a 15 day journey by foot up the hills." Tercius said in a voice giddy with excitement, his stomach gently twisting in an anticipatory way. "And, and it changes every year, the mages from the Pyramid leaving clues all over the city to figure it out. The first clue if always left in the library of the city, and then with it…"

Septimus and Petra listened the presentation their son gave them with a small smile, they liked seeing the boy so bright and upbeat, and they easily saw his pure desire for this, dispelling any doubt they previously reserved over his choice.

"So lets assume the best case scenario for travel time. We have 10 by barge, then 10 by boat then 15 on foot. That is a week over a month, and the golden rule we merchants take for travel is to add another third on that. That takes us to some 46 to 48 days. It’s always better to be early." his father said.

"Now we only need to decide when you and Septimus will go." his mother said. "If they take in new students only during the first month and only after they have eleven cycles under their belt, then Tercy you will need to wait for the next time they admit. If we take into account let’s say a month and a half for travel, then you two should go somewhere around the middle of the eleventh month and you will still have a lot left over time."

"Only I feel as if I shouldn’t let you go so soon, maybe a year more?" his mother asked with misty eyes. He hated when she did that. The worst part was that it worked in 9 out of 10 tries.

But this is where I must draw the line. Tercius thought. I allow for one, and then another is probably just around the corner, and I lose my opportunity.

"No mother, I must go the first time, what if I don’t manage to get in? If I go when you suggested, I would not have a second chance." he said firmly.

"Ha, you not get in?" a brief laugh escaped Septimus. "Don’t make me laugh, you probably know everything they teach during their first year. All the Hells that exist boy, you could give them some lessons." his father said proudly, finding the doubt his son carried as easily dismissible.

"Yes, well, it’s still a prudent thing to do. Please, don’t go over this again, I will not budge, not on this." he said while looking in the eyes of the real decision maker.

"…"

Septimus and Petra saw that their son meant what he said, and although both of them wanted for him to stay. Hells, if they were completely honest, maybe not even go at all. But they had many talks about this ever since Tercius told them about his wishes, and they knew it would be wrong to deny the boy this.

In their heart of hearts they even wondered if they could stop him even if they tried their best.

What he did to his uncle just two weeks ago showed just a glimpse of the potential the boy possessed.

In those rare few moments where they dared imagine what their children would look like in some 20 years, their eldest son was the one destined for greatness, like some hero straight out of those songs and stories they heard when they were children.

But even knowing that it was still difficult to let go of someone you cared about.

With an exchanged glance the couple made a personally difficult decision.

"Alright."

At least they had 13 more months with the whole family together.

***

The money for the admission was the second they had to go over.

1 kvartas was 100 tretas, that was 5000 dwetas, the coins most people used for your everyday purchases. One dweta, for instance, could buy you a loaf of bread and there were many people in this Empire for whom that one loaf was the only meal of the day, if even that. With 15-20 dwetas you could have a decent meal in a nice inn, 30 and you could sleep there for one night. There was also unta the smallest of the currency, but a very small percentage of products were priced using just it, making it almost exclusively used as change, if used at all. One dweta went for 10 untas.

Most of the population of the empire used dwetas and untas for trade, with smaller percentages as you went up the currency ladder. A treta was priced at 50 dwetas, and used for transactions involving pricier furniture, services that skilled artisans provided and when used in the thousands to buy property, houses and land.

Then there was kvarta, priced at 100 tretas, and from his uneducated guess probably used for ease of transport. Everything that went for tretas went for it. Perdy once mentioned that kvarta was the coin that regularly travelled the continents, while it’s smaller cousins stayed at home. There were large vaults in one city on each continent that could take your change and upgrade it up the currency ladder.

Each of these coin had a large letter stamped on one side, stretched from edge to edge, U for unta, D for dweta and so on. On the other side of all the coins was a small landscape design, showing The Capital in all its glory. The official name of The Capital was Augusta Belia, but that was a name largely forgotten ever since the then kingdom spread its borders to what now encompassed the four continents. Official history books put the current Empire at just over 600 years old, and the kingdom from which it sprouted goes back 200 more.

And finally we have the Coin of the Emperors. Each Emperor or Empress had just one made during their rule, and it was said that such a coin could buy you anything the Emperor possesses, or could afford.

And that was, in Tercius humble opinion, quite a lot.

12 existed so far, with the tradition beginning with the 8th Emperor, who in his desire to reward a loyal subject for a great boon he received, and then the said subject being unable to decide what he wanted as reward, had ordered a coin made with his image on the front and his name on the back. That coin went to the hands of this man or woman, it was not specified in the book, with the order that the bearer of the Coin could seek audience with the Emperor at any time for any boon, and if it was in the purview of the Emperor then it would be granted.

And let’s face it, what wasn’t within the purview of the Emperor?

The tale went on that this loyal subject was killed for the Coin and when the killer went with it to the Emperor, he did indeed grant the killers wishes.

But he also killed him with his own sword as soon as the wish was granted.

From there on out, it was known that the Coins were to be used only by that person that received the coin and if not used then it could be passed down to someone else in the presence of the current Emperor, making these Coins highly coveted and so far not one had been chipped in by the receiver, other then that first one of course, but instead were used as a sort of relic indicating the favour of the Emperors.

Tercius could just imagine the moment when the man/woman regretted that he/she didn’t make a decision, his/hers eyes mourning to go back and just say something, anything.

As far as I know the current Emperor has yet to gift his Coin. Tercius mused.

His grandfather, Neiran and he had over the past 5 years done numerous jobs, where according to his kept records on an average month all three of them combined earned some 100 tretas, when all expanses were paid for. Neiran and Tercius, as the custom for apprentices usually went, should not have gotten paid for their work. It is customary for the teacher to provide the lessons, food and shelter and only pay his apprentices when they were thought as ready to strike out on their own.

Yet Ciron was never a stickler for these rules and each boy got one tenth of the pure profit as a wage when they finished the job. Tercius had in his stash exactly 409 tretas, and he would have had more if he kept every single treta, but needs must and he mostly spent on books, exactly 39 tretas, building a modest library of just 13 books in his room.

The books at Perdy's cost an arm and a half.

Neiran, on the other hand sent a part to his mother and her new family, keeping the leftover for his own stash with the hope of getting his own piece of land someday.

There were a lot of talks about whom would pay for his admission, but his grandfather insisted, considering that he had the largest money bag. Tercius initially wanted to use his, but his proposition was dismissed out of hand.

He was only instructed to get into one of those three spots that got the following year free of charge, which Tercius vowed solemnly on the spot to do.

His grandfather was nearing his 65 birthday and the older man already had trouble with his back, that the healers had no way to treat, saying that since it was a consequence of ageing, that it could not be healed. Who knew how much longer his health would hold up and how much longer he would be able to do his work.

His grandmother on the other hand was 55, and although still spry was also nearing that age where work required more energy than she had to give. Tercius would sometimes find both of his grandparents napping at their respective work areas.

Petra on the other hand was 31 and her shop did make a profit, even with the new employee. It was around half of what his grandfather could make in a month, because the woman insisted on keeping prices as low as possible, while still profiting. She planned to do it that way for as long as she could.

Septimus on the other hand had over the years stopped going with his friends that traded food and supplies to the nomads that were known to pass through the area to the west, where the great deserts ruled supreme. His brush with Rala had the man committed to raising his martial ability with the sword and shield so he mostly stayed at home and practised for hours on end, helping Ciron, Rona and Petra should need arise. But he mostly took care of the Aurelia and Leo.

Those months around when Leo was born Septimus tended to the store, and when the little guy turned six months old, he convinced Petra that he would take care of the baby, which he did. A couple of friends of Septimus did have a few laughs at him for it, but Tercius always saw that their attempt didn’t quite reach his father.

So while he and his father went to central Nogea, the rest would stay in Nurium. The trip there and back for Septimus could take up to four months, a long time for anyone to be away from his family, especially when you leave small children behind.

And Tercius had an idea how to spare his father the separation.

Now he only had to make it work in the next few months.

***

Every day, Tercius would transfer Energy to all members of his household allowing easier levelling of skills, which made a lot of impact.

New skills were acquired, then raised along with the old ones at a speed that would startle anyone observant enough to notice.

There was one in particular that happened to his grandfather.

It was a cloudy day, and everyone expected the rain to start at any moment. The air had a tinge of moisture that the lungs used to dry air found confusing and caused some light discomfort in some who were especially susceptible to it.

Tercius, Neiran and Ciron were going over a few alterations they made and checking their calculations over and over again.

"It will break under its own weight." his grandfather argued.

"My calculations said it would hold." Tercius said back, convinced of his result, and not willing to back down.

Neiran watched owlishly from the side, just blinking and keeping himself out of their way.

His eyes, almost completely covered by the brown mop that he called hair, were flying from grandfather to grandson as they went back and forth in this manner for close to an hour.

"So you said, and yet I know from experience that it will." Ciron said.

"Then it would break because the formulas you gave me were at fault." Tercius finally lashed out.

"…" the eyebrows of his grandfather looked to be in some kind of twitching competition.

The older man released a slow breath through his nose, even the sound of it sounded frustrated with Tercius. Then the elder got up and simply said: "Move." with a great deal of repressed vexation entwined in the word.

Tercius instinctively backed away to the side at the command, and watched as his grandfather went to the small stone pavilion they built near the vegetable garden.

His grandfather stepped inside and observed the reddish stone dome that was held up by the nine ivory stone pillars.

Getting near each pillar he took a few measurements and looked at the numbers scribbled on the paper in his hand, then went for a few small stones of the same ivory colour and Tercius watched as the stone simply melded into the pillar, adding to its volume just a bit.

Then one more stone, and another after that.

His grandfather added one by one until the last pillar was the only one that looked like a twig.

Yet his grandfather stood frozen.

"Grandfather?" he said suddenly worried about the older man. They did just have a longer bicker.

"Tercius." his grandfather said in a whisper. He ran over to him. "I did it."

"… Grandfather I don’t mind, I mean it looks a bit weird like this, but if you want it this way then this is how it will stay." he said a bit confused about why the older man behaved like this about something so trivial.

"Not that, Tercius. I did it. I am now officially an Expert." the man said in the same low voice, small tears in the corners of his eyes.

Tercius needed a moment to process that. "Oh. Congratulations then. Is it Stone Shaping?" His grandfather just nodded.

"Anything… different about it now?" he asked tentatively.

"Just this."

At first nothing happened the moments passed as he looked around, searching for what Ciron meant.

Then he noticed the dome above them was moving a bit, then some more. A few moment after, it was flowing down the pillars in thin red snake like strips and pooled around their feet.

"Wow." was all he could say, his eyes glued to the sight.