Zibnizik wasn’t at the room.
Bin checked around, confused. He knew the gnome was not at class, and he usually preferred to do his experiments in his personal lab. Zib must have been out doing…something.
Bin didn’t know what to think about that. He would have liked to have talked with Zibnizik, ask the gnome’s opinion. Sit down in a chair and talk about his day, while the gnome grunted and continued on with his own life. Then again, if Zib were actually in the room, he might hear what Bin was considering, and even try to stop him.
This seemed like a bad idea. Missing his classes struck a fundamental chord for Bin. He was there to go to the classes, to study and become a better mage. He couldn’t go to class and be a week away at the same time. He hadn’t learned that spell yet.
But there were struggles. He didn’t know how to get through the massive vocabulary that the Masters just assumed he knew. And the theories were so far beyond what he was used to. It was not another language so much as another body that Bin was being asked to inhabit. Some help from those two girls would be really great.
But classes…
Bin welcomed the distraction of packing. Even if he decided not to go, the very act of packing might help him for studying later. However, he barely had a chance to weigh the pros and cons before, he found himself finished.
He took stock of the small bag filled with clothes, foodstuffs, and a single notepad. It wasn’t just a bag filled for the week. Even after months of classes, Bin could fit his entire life into that bag.
Not again. That wasn’t him anymore. Not the little boy who was always ready to move, ready to get out of the way for someone else who might have a problem. He had gotten into the Circle not by being questioning, by being unsure. He had looked at the problems he had, and bowled over them.
The young ogre was without friends. There were more waiting for him. He was lacking in respect. A lost relic would help a long way in getting it. He was going to be the greatest mage the world had ever seen, and the greatest mage knew what he was doing.
The future greatest mage in the world had one last bit of preparation to do. It involved the kitchen’s stupid and spoilt foie gras, some eggs, milk, and a bucket. Raemillin would find it in the morning, wedged above his door. Hopefully he knew how to dodge.
Goldmight and the rest of the Leaves found Bin asleep in their carriage, with a blanket settled over his face and a disgruntled driver demanding an explanation. When the fairy could stop laughing, the driver was paid, and they were gone.
copyright 2018 Jack Holder