“So, what are the essential materials you used for this wand?” Rum picked up a wooden stick displayed on the shop’s counter. He brushed a finger across its surface: it was hard, smooth, and its color a greyish blue. Along most of the stick’s length snaked a trail of silver, likely melted into the wood, he figured. A soft leather handle comforted his grip on it.

“The essential ingredients of all wands are trees that’ve been bathed in the organic substances of a magical creature.” Replied Fareris slowly, the owner of the wand shop that Rum and Veish were in, on the university grounds. “Mages sometimes donate or sell their bodily fluids in order to infuse young trees with mana.”

“Bodily fluids?” Veish asked, eyes frowning, and one eyebrow raised.

“Yeees” the elf said, soothingly.

“What kind of fluids?” Rum pressed on, his own tone speedier, more academic of interest.

“Well.” Fareris smiled. “Blood is of course the most sought after. Mages down on their luck will sometimes sell vials of their blood to make ends meet. But, for more leveled mages, it is practically any kind of fluids available. The magical dendrologists who take care of the trees may pay handsomely for, well... daily excretions.”

“What!?” Veish exclaimed, surprised and disgusted. “You’re telling me these wands are made from trees treated with mage poop?”

Fareris shrugged. “Magical fertilizer is magical fertilizer. You won’t care if the tree nourished on some high level mages’ after dinner produce, will you, when you’re in a dungeon fending for your life?”

“You know how agriculture works, right Veish?” Rum raised his own eyebrow and looked at her.

“What you mean?”

“The potato you ate today. That potato plant likely drew its nutrients off of some cow-made fertilizer. Excrement is part of the circle of life. Why not part of the circle of magic as well?” Rum shrugged at her.

Veish didn’t know what to do with her face so she just darted her eyes everywhere, while inhaling inwards and looking a bit exasperated, apparently wanting nothing more of the topic. She turned away from them both and breathed out, as if feeling better just by looking elsewhere.

Rum went back to Fareris. “So when we’re talking of high level mage fertilizer. At exactly what level does the fertilizer start getting useful for good wands?”

Rum discussed with the urban elf at length the origins and makings of a good wand. Veish, meanwhile, decided to sit down at a nearby table for customers, and simply stared into the table’s wooden surface for most of their time.

“So” Rum went after a while, “you’re saying it’s theoretically possible to accelerate the mana-infusion?”

“Well, yes” Fareris admitted, “but that’s like trying to speed up the fermentation of a good wine. It’s not really the same.” He shook his head slowly in disapproval at the idea.

“And level 30 and above will make for a good wand?”

“Yes, but my shop can provide wands infused with the mana of mages much higher than a level 30! Just take a look at this wand over here.” Fareris turned and walked over to a shelf, reaching for a small box.

“Ah, no thanks Master Fareris. But I think my friend – I mean colleague – and I” Veish perked up from her table and met Rum’s eyes, “should think about heading home for today. Perhaps we’ll visit again sometime soon.” Fareris looked disappointed, but not very disappointed. Rum and Veish shuffled out of the building, and started walking through the park again, heading the way home from which they’d come.

“When we get back, Veish” Rum started, “I’ll have an appointment to keep with my little brother.”

“Fine.” Her mood remained neutral. Though her eyes betrayed interest as she kept looking and staring at all the different students along their way. Rum gave her a few glances as they walked, and at one point he saw a look of longing in her face. That look, where have I seen it before? It kinda reminds of the expression of a dog, forced to watch on as its owner chews into a huge roast of meat. But – Veish doesn’t want to eat the students, does she? Nah, that sounds implausible. But what else could she want with that look of hers? Rum made a face of dismay at his own incomprehension.

The duo arrived at the backdoor of Amez’s shop after another long stroll. “Hmm. You’ll probably need some food again soon, won’t you?” Rum looked at Veish.

“Probably.”

“Hmm.” The wizard pondered. “This way.” They walked over to the next street over, though not the one where Amez’s shop front door was. Instead, what they came upon was a dirtier street, where blacksmiths, woodworkers, leatherworkers, glassblowers and the liked worked in open shops, the smokes and fumes of their labors spilling out into the street air. They walked down the street for a bit, before the air cleared slightly. There, they came upon a food store, a plaque announcing its name as the “Breads and Butter“ shop. Going inside, half the store was revealed to look a bit like a bakery, except they sold no forms of pastry, only an assortment of bread. The other half, meanwhile, displaying various jars of diary products like butter, several cheeses, and even milk, as well as various jars of jam in a little corner to the side.

Rum looked at Veish, whose eyes were busy hungrily taking in all the different items of the shop. “Pick a loaf of bread to your liking, and something to put on it.” Rum gestured at the whole wide array of available foods. Although many items of food were of course missing this late in the day, having already been bought out by earlier customers.

Veish searched Rum’s face for something. Rum didn’t know what, but the look she gave him soon ended, as she turned towards the foods, and started inspecting each item from a close distance, staring at each like a little wonder to behold.

As Rum waited for Veish’s fascination with the food to end, a few other separate customers entered the shop, including a dwarf woman, and 2 human males. Veish looked on as the dwarf woman bought milk, a large cheese wheel, butter and a loaf of thick brown bread. She watched more anxiously as the 2 human men picked similar breads and butter, but then picked up jars of jam instead, turning the assortment of jam into a dwindling supply of just 3 jars, though different flavours. Veish stepped over to the selection of jars, and eyed them longingly. Perhaps she did actually want to eat the students? Rum reflected. At least that face of hers now, it kinda looks like how she looked at the students back then. Such longing, such hungry eyes. When the doors behind them opened a 4th time, Veish’s eyes shot back at the door, giving the entering human female a definite look of annoyance. Rum just raised an eyebrow. Veish though, seemed to finally have decided what she wanted. She picked up a jar of wild strawberry jam, and sat it on the counter. Next she selected the last item of the same butter that the previous customers had seemed to favor, before lastly picking a whiter, softer kind of bread to go with. Rum stepped up to the counter next to her.

“You’re decided?”

Veish nodded. Rum put money on the counter, and so they went back to Amez’s store, whereupon Rum put a finger to his lips for them to be quiet, as they sneaked in through the backdoor, trying not to let Amez know they were there.

Inside, Rum and Veish stepped over into the middle of the room, next to the bed. Veish just standing there, the bread, her jar of jam, and her jar of butter, all in hand. Rum bent over and whispered to her: “I will now go into the shop. I’ll probably be joining Amez for a drink. You must stay here meanwhile, and don’t make yourself known.” He pointed at the closet.

“But it’s so cramped!” Veish complained in return whisper.

“Hmm.” Rum looked at the closet and stroked his beard. “Okay. Under the bed then. Stay there until you’re more or less sure that we’re gone. Okay?”

Veish half-sighed, but then gave a slight nod, and complained no further.

Rum turned over to White Rose which had been standing in the room all day long while they’d been gone. He had to raise an eyebrow though, as he began to understand what White Rose was carrying in her hands. “The sailor novel!” He exclaimed in a hushed voice. He stepped over to ze. “I’m sorry White Rose, but I won’t have time to read to you this afternoon or evening.” The disguised skeleton shook zes head, as if to say ze disagreed with his conclusion. Rum smiled. “You know, you’re quite cute sometimes for a–” he stopped himself, and turned around, remembering whose company he was in. However, his thoughts pivoted. “Veish. Do you want to earn a little money? You know, to spend for yourself, the next time we go out?”

“Huh?” She looked at him confused.

“I have a little easy job for you. Are you interested? I’ll pay you coppers.”

“Eeeh. Sure.” She said, not at all sure about what was about to befall her.

“That’s settled then.” Rum fumbled a pocket for coin. “Here, I have 10 coppers. They’re all yours.” He put them down on a nearby stool.

“Huh? Wait!” She stepped towards him. “What am I supposed to do?”

Rum pointed at the book, but didn’t reply her. Instead he locked gaze with White Rose’s veiled face. “Make sure she” he gestured at Veish, “reads for you while I’m gone. Unless to eat or visit the outhouse, she’s supposed to be reading for you, and teaching you how to read. Okay?”

White Rose’s head produced a double nod, and Rum turned around again, smiling at Veish. “Congratulations Veish! You just landed yourself your first honest job in Ermos! Now you’re a teacher, helping White Rose learning how to read. A noble profession.” He gestured with a wave of his hand at his bony friend.

“Heh?” Veish’s face took on puzzled and slightly bewildered expression, her voice jumping up an octave. “Teacher?”

“Have a good time.” Rum said, and stepped over to the workshop door, waving goodbyes at both the student and the new teacher. Stopping at the door, the wizard turned around for one last thing. He pointed his finger at Veish, and then below the bed. She followed his finger. The expression she returned was one of still unresolved confusion, but, Rum figured, she understood enough. And so, the wizard, satisfied about things, turned back to the workshop, pulling at the handle. Before Veish could utter even a single other sentence the door was opened, although at a small angle, just large enough for the fat wizard to slide through. And that was what he immediately did, holding the door open only long enough for the voice of Amez’s enthusiastic greetings to be cut off half-way, and for the light, which’d suddenly emanated from the workshop room, to disappear. Altogether leaving Veish in a sudden, quiet, awkward, darkness.

Veish looked over at White Rose. The veiled one was tapping gesturingly at the sailor novel, before, rather weirdly, ze slid a pair of gloved fingers down the book’s cover, stroking it and then caressing it like a little precious keepsake.

“What did I just sign myself up for.” The witch let out to the audience of an unresponsive air.

She stepped over to the bed, lips hanging but otherwise apathetic. There, she knelt down, only to be greeted by heaps of dust colonizing her new hiding location. She immediately starting blowing and swiping away at it with her hand.

“I might actually have to use my broom for this in the future.” She muttered, before coughing a little as some of the dust she blew away swirled back, straight into her face.

Finally managing to make the space somewhat acceptable to lie on, she slid the jars and loaf of bread under first, before crawling in after the food. Now under Rum’s borrowed bed, Veish held her food tightly in her arms, the items like her own little precious things. Lying there her mind went blank, and she went into a mode of merely processing the situation at the back of her head. She stared, silently, into the planks of the bed.

“Teacher...” the word tasted strange.