I cleaned up the ashes from my makeshift fireplace, but left the earthen barrier there. One more fire tonight, just in case. I skipped morning exercise, instead focusing purely on my duties. Bones to the alchemy room, hides to the tanners, scraps to Virgil to be fed to the animals, and the rest burned outside the Spire in a large pit. As I went about my business I reflected on my status.

I was fine, no, I was good. Certainly not crazy, I mean, would a crazy person check their room for shadow monsters? No, only someone who was aware of such things would do that. Would a crazy person salt the periphery of their room and create a fire in the middle of the floor? Hell no, they wouldn’t have the wherewithal and faculties to be that prepared. Would a crazy person stab dark stains repeatedly, thinking them otherworldly Assassins? Of course not, they had far more important, crazier, things to attend to. Would a crazy person adamantly claim that they weren’t crazy?

…

Hmm…

Well damn it all to hell…

Okay, maybe they would. But still, I had three solid points against crazy and only one for, that was good enough in my book.

As I went about my business, my fellow mages ignored me, giving me hope that I wouldn’t have to deal with the question. I checked with Virgil, but the senior mages were now performing most other tasks, leaving me no extra work to keep my mind occupied. Instead I purchased more firewood and powders and ordered some specialties from the kitchen.

Before heading out to the great hall to meet my water instructor, I steeled myself. Best to be prepared for the question and looks, just in case. Battles and situations entered unprepared were unsurprisingly the ones most often lost. I couldn’t prepare for every contingency, but that was no excuse to leave things to chance.

Already seated in my usual spot, sat the lovely water instructor. Godsdamnit, I knew she had a name, but I couldn’t recall. Groaning at what would eventually become an embarrassment I greeted her.

“Hello there!” I inflected some extra friendliness into my voice.

“Tome! You didn’t forget!”

“Of course not…” maybe her name started with a D? Deborah, Diana, Dixen…

In front of her lay two trenchers of roasted meat, potatoes, and mushrooms along with two steins.

“I went ahead and ordered us some food, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” I did mind.

Carefully I scanned my trencher, everything appeared fine. The stein was even more normal, just how I would set it up if I wanted to poison somebody… The woman, Lilah, Lissa, Leandra? Whatever her name was, raised her stein. Silently I swallowed before sitting and raising my own to meet hers. Well, at least if it’s poisoned, I’ll know who it was, Celia, Cornet, Cupia? Okay, I wouldn’t know the name of my slayer, but I’d be able to recognize her.

Slowly swallowing, I carefully studied my potential killer. Her blue eyes were shut in ecstasy as she fully enjoyed her alcohol. Her thick, long blonde hair was draped around the front of her shoulders obscuring her ears and the edges of her face. My eyes strayed from her locks and began to appreciate her sizeable breasts.

Inwardly I sighed before closing my eyes to solely focus on the drink. It tasted like dark beer and had no hints of anything added, but the bitter taste could hide most anything.

We set our steins down, hers more empty than mine.

“Are you not thirsty?”

“Uh, not too much at the moment, after eating a bit maybe.”

She nodded, her right hand playing with her golden locks, “I’m so happy to see you outside your room, I was worried you might hole up in there. You wouldn’t be the first mage to do so.”

“Uh huh, yeah, but… No, I’m perfectly fine.”

She looked at me quizzically. Damn it, got pretend that it affected me.

“I mean, I’m still broken up over Tess, she was a…Really…Nice…” shield?

No, no, no, she was an adequate shield, a nice one could’ve been used more than once.

“…Instructor,” yeah, that was the word.

Hopefully that satisfied Penelope, Perfidy, Peach, P, P, Poetry? AH, no, that one was just stupid, well, so was Perfidy but surely it was closer to a real name.

“Yes, Divine Mage Tess shall be missed,” Alexandra, Antonia, Amara said, her head hung low.

I gave a sad grunt before spearing a potato with my fork. While I regretted her passing, there was no need to let her memory ruin a good meal, poisoned or not.

Nydia, Nephele, Nissa looked up, a smile forming as she spoke, “But we must go on, lest her sacrifice be in vain.”

The fork stopped just before my lips. I nodded solemnly before consuming the potato. She picked up her own cutlery and joined me.

“So I hear you’re friends with one of the other worlders?”

“Yeah, Kevin.”

“Hmm, I hope you’re not becoming too attached to him?”

“Ha, ha, ha! No, of course not! Besides, he’s been actively avoiding me lately, can’t say we’re really friends.”

“Hmm, yes, that lot will never consider you a friend unless you despise everything here and share all of their twisted notions.”

“Yeah, and of course they’re never wrong.”

“…About anything. Ah, it’s so hard to even be around them! I’m assuming you’ve had the slavery, toilets, and interrynet conversations?”

“Yeah, each as bloody annoying as the last.”

We looked at each other and laughed boisterously. It was nice to have someone to share your troubles with. Carefully I reined back my laughter, with women you had to be cautious. Women would sympathize with you, but if you complained too much, they would view you as less of a man.

That being said, this lovely creature certainly wasn’t interested in me, well sexually anyway. I wasn’t bad looking, but my looks were far below her standard. Equally bad, I had no accomplishments, wealth, nor prospects. Women may forgo one or two of those prerequisites, but only if at least one of the others more than made up for the lack.

“Several of my students are from New York and New York, or New York, New York as they claimed.”

“Huh? So they really want you to know that they’re from New York?”

A bit pompous.

“Nope, they’re two different places.”

“With the same name?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re near one another?”

“One is inside the other.”

“So, basically that lot are actually from the same place twice?”

“He, he, he, yes! When I asked them where they were specifically from, they said New York, when I asked where that was, they replied ‘In New York!’”

“Well aren’t they brilliant…”

“After a while I came to find out that their city is called New York, and the country it’s in is also named New York.”

“What the hell sense does that make, did they run out of names or is it some sort of luck thing?” I couldn’t help but reminisce about Kevin and his obsession with clovers.

“I have no idea, they looked at me like I was the stupid one when I asked,” Hesta, Hecuba, Hecate said.

We laughed and clinked our glasses again. My stomach was content, no pains or discomfort, so likely my meal and drink were not poisoned. That, or my beautiful killer was considerate enough to give me a painless death. Either way, I was having a good time, let the dice fall where they may…

“Have you been to the Bath yet?”

I fought the urge to take a sniff. I’d bathed as soon as I left my room, but perhaps my unique smoky aroma was still present.

“Y, yeah, of course, I’ve been to the public baths in the basement.”

“Oh, no, the Bath, not the public baths. It’s only for top water mages.”

“Oh, well, then no. I’m obviously nowhere near the top.”

“Oh but you are! You’re the most promising new mage amongst your peers!”

She beamed at me, my face breaking rank and reddening on its own.

Was this why she was talking to me?

I took a more hearty bite of my meal while I debated on how to respond. Before it was most likely that she wanted to harm or take advantage of me, now it was possible that she thought I had prospects. I could play with that and probably get her into bed, but with everything going on I didn’t feel like spinning any plates. Particularly ones better trained in their arcane than myself.

“Ah, no, I wish, but it’s only due to me training with the Vice Dean. My talent is no better than the others, I’ve just got a leg up on them since I started studying and practicing earli...”

“Oh nonsense!” She pushed forward, her breasts squeezing together, “Vice Dean Agrippina told me how you were able to withstand the etching, without using any tattoos! That’s amazing!”

Lucky, it was actually just lucky. Lucky that I possessed the divine arcane and the Sheriff to heal the damage, lucky that my soul didn’t shatter outright, lucky that my treacherous mentor hadn’t just killed me. Luck was important, you needed a bit if you were to make it in life, but luck was a fool’s bet. Better to play the odds than to rely on luck. Like the Gods, luck always failed you when you most needed it.

“Just luck and my divine arcane.”

“And your SP increase?”

The bloody hell, why was my information now public knowledge?

“One second… Vice Dean Agrippina said all this?”

Flora, Fabiana, Flavia sat back, her eyes nervous, “Oh, I’m so sorry! No, no, well, yes, she did tell me all about you, but only to me. I was assigned to be your instructor by her personally, she wanted someone who could help you better draw out your potential. Don’t worry! No one else knows this, I swear not to tell anyone else!”

I breathed a sigh of relief, while not ideal, this was better than everyone knowing my details. Though there was something I was unsure of…

“So did she tell you anything about Sapphire?”

“Sapphire? Oh, yeah, your hometown. What about it?”

Whew, that was good. While it was very likely Agrippina didn’t have that information, best to be doubly sure.

“Oh, yeah, now I remember, the Siege of Sapphire! That was a few years back, wasn’t it?”

I nodded, gritting my teeth in preparation… Her hands flew forward, cradling mine in hers.

“It must’ve been tough, much like the mimic, but I’m glad you survived!”

I gave a sad smile, “It was what it was.”

Gaia, Gordelia, Gracy bowed her head, “You’ve endured so much! You know, if ever you need someone to talk to…”

“Of course,” I cut her off.

“Have you spoken to anyone else, perhaps one of the other girls I’ve seen you with?”

Her eyes and grip on my hands hardened.

“Who?” It took me a minute to realize that there were women other than Io, Irene, Iphelia…

Godsdamnit I would figure this out eventually…

“Oh, you mean Mintha and Verdia, nah, they’re like Kevin, more acquaintances than friends.”

“That’s probably for the best,” she leaned in close and whispered conspiratorially, “Be careful around those two. Mintha’s never taken off her hood, or gotten too close to any of the other girls. We think her face is disfigured or just plain ugly.”

“Interesting,” while looks were something every man wanted, better a capable woman at your side than a beautiful millstone around your neck.

“Uh huh, but Verdia’s far worse…”

There was a glint of mischief in her eyes as we both leaned in closer.

“She’s from Topaz, and you know what that means…”

“No, she couldn’t be.”

“Yeah, I stole a look at her records in the Vice Dean’s office, her hometown is Topaz. She’s a filthy peasant,” the word filthy said in such a horrible tone compared to Josephina’s, Jocasta’s, Jana’s melodious voice.

“Peasants are expressly forbidden from any positions of authority, including Spire training. Besides, it’s not like there aren’t burghers and a few nobles there…” I said to Osanna, Odetta, Obelisk?

Obelisk, really? Damnit, I needed to study up on female names that begin with an O…

“She probably slept with someone, you know how devious and underhanded they all are.”

No, that was unlikely. I wanted to sigh, but took a swig together with her again. She would’ve had to be a hell of a lay for that to have even the slightest chance of working. Gossip, whether from women or men was something to be taken note of, but never fully trusted. What my assuredly not nameless companion was saying likely held some truth, but not the whole of it.

That, and every woman had their price, not merely peasants.

“Oh, we got a bit distracted!” she exclaimed, regaining her vivacious attitude and voice.

“I was telling you about the Bath, it’s on the second basement floor. It’s a series of giant pools that constantly replenish your SP, it’s the perfect place to practice your arcane and strengthen your affinity!” Stephania, Sera, Silvia, Sidony, Sybillia, Samara, said…

Now names that began with an S, those I could rattle off…

“Really?”

“Yeah! And even better, I asked the Vice Dean and got you permission to enter if you wish!”

Well this was a stroke of luck. A place I could practice my arcane without exhausting myself, safe from most others save my fellow water mages. Though so far I hadn’t pissed any of them off, so I should be fine.

There was a worry at the back of my mind, as I considered those involved. Gradually I suppressed my apprehension.

I mean, surely this was a priceless spot of luck and nothing more…

Surely…

---------------------------------------------

When it rains gold, be sure to look up. It’s remarkably easier than one would think to mistake piss for wealth.

-Aquinas Rimoude, the lone survivor, the fool who never forgot, our founder.