Guild Mage 107

Chapter 107: Spirited Debate

“Where are we headed?” Tephania asked, as the group spilled out of Blackstone Hall into the courtyard at the center of campus.  

“The landing of High Hall,” Liv answered.  “There’s plenty of room up there, and a table we can use.

Sidonie glanced over to Arjun.  “Rosamund is fine,” she said, “But we aren’t really supposed to have boys up there.”

“You can blame it on me,” Liv told her.  “I can’t imagine it will make the rumors any worse, after the other morning.”

They nearly made it up the stairs without being interrupted, but Cade must have been waiting for her - or set someone to watch for Liv’s return.  He rushed out of one of the side wings and tromped up the stairs behind them, calling out Liv’s name.

“You all go on up,” Liv told them.  “This will just take a moment.”  Then, she turned to face down the stairs, and waited until he’d gotten close enough to speak to without shouting.  Above, the sound of boots and the creaking of wood told her that they would have at least a modicum of privacy.

“I’m glad to see you’re back safely,” Cade began, placing one hand on the wooden rail.  “I wanted to apologize for the other morning; I shouldn’t have argued with you, and certainly not in front of all of those people.  I hope you can understand that I was speaking from a place of concern for you, and forgive me.”

Liv sighed.  “In all honesty?  Yes, I think I can,” she said, and then winced at the clear relief in his expression.  “But that doesn’t change anything.”

“What do you mean?” Cade asked.

“I’ve really enjoyed our time together, Cade,” Liv said.  “You were the first person who ever showed any interest in me, do you know that?  Sometimes it felt like a dream, that anyone would.  Like at any moment I’d wake up and find out it was all a joke, or something.  Back in Whitehill, I was always the bastard halfbreed, too old or too young for anyone, just looking on while the girls mooned over my - my brother.”

“I did like it,” she continued.  “Quite a lot.  Which is probably why I let it go on so long, and I shouldn’t have.  It wasn’t fair to you.”

“Liv, I -” Cade began, but she cut him off.

“Let me finish,” Liv said.  “It’s hard enough trying to get this all out at once.  I’m not going to be your wife, Cade.  There were times I thought maybe I could be,” she admitted.  “In a few years, after I’d had time to go north for a while.  That maybe you could have come with me, and then we’d both go back to Bradon Bridge.  I would have liked to see it with you, honestly.  And I would have liked to show you the mountains.  But that’s not going to happen, now.”

“My grandfather is dead,” she said, and had to look away from him, turning to look over the railing at the wall, so that she could blink away tears.  “They killed my grandfather, and not just him.  They attacked my people, and I can’t pretend it's just going to go away, or that it won’t reach me.  Maybe you can, maybe Lucania can for now, but I can’t.  I should have done something years ago, when I first saw her, and I didn’t, and that’s my fault, but I’m going to do something now,” she rambled, half-aware that she wasn’t being entirely coherent.

“Who?” Cade asked.  “Liv, I can help you.”  

“Ractia,” Liv said.  “The Lady of Blood.  No, you can’t.  You are your father’s only heir.  You need,” she continued, turning back to him, and taking a step down the stairs, “someone who’s going be a wife, and a mother, and that isn’t me.  I’m sorry, I should have stopped this sooner.  I guess I was just enjoying it too much.  You’re caring, and honest and loyal, and you’re going to make someone very happy, but it isn’t me.”

She turned around and hurried up the stairs, pausing for just a moment to shove the heels of her hands into her eyes and rub away the wetness she found there, before continuing up to the landing.

“Everything alright?” Rosamund asked.  Liv’s friends had gathered around the dining table, with Tephania and Arjun sitting on the side nearest the windows, with Rosamund and Sidonie facing them.  Edith was lingering in the doorway of their rooms like a hungry ghost at the edge of a battlefield.

“Yes,” Liv said.  “I sent him on his way.”

“Who?” Edith asked, then lifted her hand and pointed at Arjun.  “You aren’t supposed to have boys up here, though I suppose for you it hardly matters anymore.  The rest of us have some care about our reputations, at least.”

“Cade,” Sidonie answered her.  “You broke it off, then?”

Liv nodded, watching as the news struck Edith like a wolf picking up the scent of prey.  “That poor man,” Edith murmured.  “After all that, you threw him away?  Perhaps I should go make certain he isn’t too upset...”

“You can feel free to chase after him,” Liv said.  “It’s nothing to me, now.  But don’t be surprised if he sends you right back, Edith.  You’re a nasty piece of work, and he’s smart enough to see it.”

With a glare, Edith rushed down the stairs, and Liv waited until her footsteps had receded before she took a seat and began.  “The book is probably the easy part,” she said.  “That’s just a matter of writing down what I already know, and Sidonie doing the sketches.  Moving everyone up classes is what’s going to take the most work, honestly.  Rosamund, how do you feel about Tephania joining us for practice?  If she's willing, that is.”

“Fine by me,” Rosamund said.  “I can throw around three people as easily as I throw around two.”

A hurried rush of footsteps sounded from the direction of the staircase, and Liv glanced over to see Thora hurrying up to the landing.  “You’re back, m’lady!” the maid exclaimed.  “Do you want to get that armor off?”

“Not quite yet,” Liv said, though she did remove the leather helm and set it aside.  “But perhaps a pot of tea, or even some snacks to go with it?  We’ve ridden quite a long way and only just sat down.”  Thora curtsied and dashed back downstairs; it was only after she’d gone that it occurred to Liv that she should have asked where Wren was.

“I told you already, I don’t want to be useless,” Tephania said, after a moment.  “If that means letting Rose knock me around a little bit, I guess I can put up with that.  But I don’t have a word of power.”

“Which means we need to get you tested up to apprentice as soon as we can,” Liv said.  “Which is my goal, too.  Honestly, that’s where everyone but Sidonie is at.  What I figure is this: every evening, after dinner, we meet up here to study, or down at the training yard to practice.  We can set up a schedule.  Arjun, can you lead the study group for healing?”

The young man from Lendh ka Dakruim nodded.  “Easily.”

“Good.  Rose for non-magical combat,” Liv repeated.  “Guild Law and History - Sidonie, can you help us out there?  You’re a journeyman, after all.”

“I can,” she agreed, adjusting her spectacles.  “You probably need my help for Enchanting, as well.”

“And between the two of us, we can help everyone else with grammar,” Liv said.  “Which leaves only Magical Combat and Beasts.  I can help with both of those, I think, so we aren’t overloading Sidonie.  The goal is for everyone to test out of the basic courses as soon as possible.”  She looked around the table, taking a moment to meet the eyes of each one of her friends.  Not one of them looked away; instead, they returned her glance with nods or smiles.

“It’s a plan,” Rosamund said.  “So let’s get to it.”

☙

They began with Grammar and Spellcraft, over tea.  Thora had managed to get them a tray of pastries to go with the pot, which were devoured in short order, and it was a good thing, because between everything, they’d all missed lunch.  Classes had resumed, and that meant they split up at third bell, so that the entire day wasn’t missed.

For Liv and Rosamund, that meant Basic Guild Law, back in the ballroom with Journeyman Barnabas. When they walked in, Liv felt that sensation she’d always hated: the feeling that people were staring at her.  She did her best to ignore it, and the two of them settled into their seats in the front row.  Before the king tide, they’d been reviewing the laws regarding under what circumstances a guild member was excused from their duty to aid in the culling of a rift, and Barnabas picked right back up where the class had left off.

“Most exemptions are medical,” he explained, sketching out a list on the slate board at the front of the room as he went along.  “Incapacitated sickness, for example, as attested by a chirurgeon of the guild.  If you’re unconscious with a fever, no one’s going to try to wake you up and throw you at a horde of mana-beasts.  Loss of one or both legs gets you permanently excused,” he continued, and Liv raised her hand.

“If the legs are still there, but non-functional?” she asked, thinking of Baron Henry.

“Treated the same,” Barnabas said.  “But losing an arm doesn’t get you out of your service; you have to lose both for that.”

“What about pregnancy?” Arianell Seton asked from somewhere behind Liv.

“That’s not even an excuse, it’s mandatory,” Barnabas answered.  “No one wants an unborn child exposed to the wild mana of an eruption.  In fact, a guild member who knows she’s pregnant and deliberately conceals it to enter a rift can face a tribunal of masters.”

Liv nodded, recalling how frustrated Julianne had been that she couldn’t go with her husband.  

“Now, a subject of some debate at the last great council was to what extent these obligations apply outside the borders of Lucania,” the journeyman continued.  “The way the laws were originally written, a member of the guild visiting Lendh ka Dakruim, or up north with the Eld, or even in Varuna was still obligated to offer aid.  But there’s a lot of people arguing the guild is a Lucanian organization, and should only be concerned with Lucanian eruptions.”

“Of course,” Arianell broke in.  “We’ve lost far too many people wandering around Varuna doing trinity knows what.  It’s a waste.  Let the Eld or whoever else handle their own problems, it isn’t our responsibility.”

“Eruptions don’t care about lines on a map,” Liv said, before she even realized that she was talking.  “If a rift on the northern border doesn’t get culled because we didn’t help, those monsters could overwhelm one of our towns.  If fields of peppers and dye get destroyed in Lendh ka Dakruim, they won’t have as many to sell us, and the prices will go up.”

“That sort of argument is the reason the laws haven’t yet been changed,” Barnabas said, before Arianell could respond.  “That, and the fact one of our teams recovered a lost word of power from Varuna a few decades back.  But it's an ongoing debate, and that means we should all be aware of it.”

“I think it should change,” Hubert Carver said.  “I don’t mean we should just ignore them other sorts, but we should focus on Lucania first.  This is our home, after all.  We shouldn’t waste our people somewhere else if we need them here.”

Liv heard something snap, and looked down to see that she’d broken her quill.  “It isn’t a waste,” she said, setting the two broken halves of the quill on her desk.  “Just because something starts outside Lucania’s borders, doesn’t mean it won’t affect us.  Look at the Day of Blood, or the wave of eruptions across the north this year.  All of these things are connected.”

“Look, we understand it matters to you because you’re half Eldish,” Arianell said.  “But the rest of us are never going to go north.  It’s none of our concern what happens there.  We should look to our own people before we worry about yours.”

“Are you only accidentally stupid, or is it deliberate?” Liv shot back, and the classroom filled with murmurs.  “The Cult of Ractia’s already attacked the Eld twice, and you think they won’t come here too?  They’re not going to leave Lucania alone just because you don’t want to deal with it.”

“That’s enough!” Barnabas shouted.  “While I normally encourage a spirited debate, my job is to drill these regulations into your skulls.  If you girls want to argue over this any further, you can do it after class.  And without the insults, Apprentice Brodbeck.”

Liv sighed, fetched her spare quill, and went back to taking notes.  She managed to keep her mouth shut until the end of class, through a supreme act of will, and had calmed down enough to decide she should apologize to both Barnabas, and Arianell. 

“I’ll be just a moment,” Liv told Rosamund, gathered up her things, and walked up to the slate at the front of the room.  “I’m sorry for speaking so bluntly and interrupting your lesson,” Liv told the journeyman, while the rest of the students began making their way out of the ballroom.

“I understand that was a topic on which you have strong feelings,” Barnabas said, adjusting his spectacles.  “I was informed that you’d gone north to attend a funeral, and that you might miss a class or two.  You have my condolences.  However -”

A crack of flesh on flesh and a cry echoed across the ballroom.  Liv spun around to see Arianell Seton on the floor, hand to her face, with Rosamund standing over her, fist clenched.

“Miss Lowry,” Barnabas said, “what is the meaning of this?”

“Just teaching a lesson,” Rose said.  “That words have consequences.  After all, we’re here to learn, aren’t we?”

“I don’t suppose either of you ladies would care to share what was said, would you?” Barnabas asked.  He was met only with silence.  “Very well.  Miss Seton, to the infirmary.  Rosamund, you’ll walk with me to visit the archmagus’ office.  Come along.”

Liv watched the two of them leave, feeling as if she’d missed something important.  Why had Rose hauled off and hit the girl?  She was obnoxious, that was true, but Rose hadn’t even taken part in the argument.  She didn’t have another class, so she decided to follow them and wait.

“She won’t always be around, you know,” Arianell said.  Her nose was bleeding, and looked like it might be broken: it lent an odd quality to her voice.  “And she can’t punch everyone who says it.”

“Says what?” Liv asked.

“That you’re gutter trash,” the other girl said, getting to her feet.  “And you’ve gone and proved it.  Sleeping with a man you aren’t going to wed?  It’s one thing to have a kiss and a cuddle here or there, or get ahead of yourself when the date’s set.  I guess like mother like daughter, is it?”

Liv reached for her wand, then stopped herself.

“Go ahead,” Arianell said.  She shook out her arms, and the silver bracelets clacked against each other.  “Let’s have a rematch, then, and see what happens.”

It would be so, so satisfying.  To punch a spike of ice right through the girl’s stupid face.  To grab her with a hand made of ice, and just squeeze, like Liv had done with the great bat beneath Bald Peak.  She took a deep breath, like Master Grenfell had taught her, and let her eyes half-close while she held it for a moment, then let the air out.  By the time Liv had done it three times, she was confident that she could walk out without committing murder.

“I’m trying to tell myself that you aren’t really the person I want to hurt,” Liv told the girl with the broken nose.  “There’s a lot worse people in the world than you.  But I have to say, if that nose heals crooked, you deserve it.”  Then, she rushed out of the ballroom and down the hall, making for the stairs which would lead up to the second floor, where the professors’ offices were.

Barnabas had already gone by the time she arrived, but Liv could hear the archmagus’ raised voice through the door while she waited.  When it finally opened, revealing Rosamund standing with a carefully straight back and a rebellious expression, Liv stepped over.

“I suppose I should not be surprised that you are here, as well,” Caspian Loredan said.  “Your friend will be washing dishes in the kitchen for the rest of the week, Apprentice Brodbeck.  Best you get her out of here before I make it a month, I think.”

“We’ll just be going, then,” Liv said.  She took Rosamund by the hand, practically pulling the larger girl away.  “There’s something I’m supposed to ask you, Archmagus, but -”

“Come back tomorrow,” Loredan told her.  “You can sit with me for lunch, as there are a few topics I wish to address with you as well.  Now.  This is the second time you’ve both come before me in one day.  Do not allow there to be a third.  Is that understood?”

Liv nodded, tugged Rose out the door, and shut it behind them.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Liv said, once they were alone in the hall.

“No regrets here,” Rosamund said.  “Except maybe that I stopped after one punch.  Come on, then.  Let’s round up the others.”