The Quantum Wanderer

The girls are very excited during breakfast, except for Cecilia. She is eating silently. The dragonesses are talking about strategies to use. They know it is a battle simulation.

Cecilia is playing with her food. I want to know what is the problem.

“What is the problem, Cecs?”

She turns to me, kind of distracted.

“Nothing. I am just a little underwhelmed with the task for the exam. I mean… I understand most killings. You can be hunting for food, or you can be protecting yourself. But killing a pig just to display magic…”

“Well, if it helps, I would guess that the dead pigs are probably going to be given to poor or something. I don’t think they would just throw the pigs away. For those, it is going to be a rare delicacy.”

“Yes, you are probably right. What would be the most humane way to kill it?”

I think for a moment.

“It is hard to say, but the silent death is probably the least painful one. But you have to use something that they taught you, right? Otherwise you are going to have to answer a lot of questions. In that case, something that hits hard on the head. It may look violent from the outside, but if you don’t give time for the brain to realize, it should be painless.”

“Like a stone bullet to the head?”

“That should do it. Just make the first hit counts, so that there is no agony.”

“Will do, thanks.”

She picks up the pace she was taking while eating.

“What time is your exam, Cecilia?” Lucille asks.

“It is going to be at 11 o’clock. There is a line, so I don’t know the exact time.”

I turn to the dragonesses.

“What time is yours?”

“Ours is supposed to be in the afternoon, my  lord.”

“That is actually great, I will be to watch both!”

The girls all smile. They finish their breakfast and go upstairs to dress up and go to school. I am left with Charles and Lucille.

“I never imagined that our little girl would ever be part of the magic school. It is one of the most elite institutions in the land! Elites from other nations come to Ironhold to be able to attend! And now she is about to do the exam to progress to next year!” Lucille says. She is drying a tear with a napkin.

I just smile.

“Give her some credit, she is incredible. I gave her opportunities, but she grabbed them. And those were not easy. She threw herself in front of hordes of ants and termites to be able to get those levels. I had her back, of course, but it is still amazing. It is like tying yourself with a rope and jumping from a really high place. Some people just won’t be able to jump. You have to have a kind of courage to do it.”

Charles is smiling and nodding at what I am saying. He has this proud expression. I continue.

“What about Cecilia’s brothers and sisters?”

“We are a small family of farmers. We only had 8 children. One of them, unfortunately, didn’t make it. The kids are now all grown up. Cecilia was the last one to get married. We thought she was going to be the aunty.” They both laugh. He continues. “I am amazed you managed to stay childless so long, actually…”

I smile.

“We are in no hurry to have children yet. There are some ways to avoid…”

“Yes, it always amazed me how nobility had so few children. I really don’t understand why, though. They can help a lot…”

I clear my throat.

“So, what happened to Cecilia’s brothers and sisters?”

“Cecilia is my youngest daughter. She was the rebellious one, the one that decided to start out as an adventurer. That caused some problems, some 5 years ago, when she decided to leave the land and become an adventurer. Her sisters were more resigned with reality – they married nearby farmers, they have their families right now. They had a big fight, they said that Cecilia was supposed to share the load as well. She went far. In a couple of letters that the priest read to me, she told us of the job in the guild. We were happy for her. Something better than a farm, I grant you. We thought that the adventurer life would be too dangerous, we were happy that nothing bad happened to her.”

“And what about Cecilia’s brothers?”

“They are close to our home. I asked the guild to talk to our oldest so that he could take up our farm. The others are working on some noble’s land.” He shrugged. “That’s just life. They are happy, though. Even the ones that are working for nobles aren’t paying too high a tax, so everything is good. And they are not risking their lives as adventurers.”

“I am glad.”

“What about you? May I ask where you are from?”

“I am just an adventurer from a land far away. I thought Cecilia would have told you that already.”

He makes this weird face, as if he is taking one of the hardest decisions in his life.

“Would you let me know if I overstep?”

“Sure.”

“I am sorry, but you do realize that none of this “ He gestures around to the mansion “ says adventurer, right?”

I laugh.

“So… The place I am from has a different education. Due to that, I was able to get ahead, specially on understanding a bit how magic works. That allowed me to get ahead in levels… And levels are very important in this world. Then some high placed people wanted me near, so they offered this to me as a gift. The rest is history…”

“Are you not afraid of someone trying to kill you or something?”

I giggle.

“Among us, the weakest one is Cecilia. I don’t think the hero would be able to do that. So, right now, I don’t really worry about it…

“But that being said, I am attached to the people here, to you, Lucille, Rudolph, Roberta, the maids… But I am not really attached to the house itself. This mansion is just a thing. What makes it a home are the people in it. What I mean by that is that although I value the mansion, I am not really tied to it.

“A person with little to loose is a free person. I don’t really need much.”

Charles is thinking about the things I am saying. I take a look through a window.

“I think it is time we start preparing to go to the magic school? It is a long walk.”

I go up to my room, Rudolph is in there, he places a selection of clothes on the bed. They are way too fine for my taste.

“Rudolph, don’t we have anything more casual?”

“Lord, do you think you are the only one going there? There are going to be a lot of nobles present for their sons and daughters. I am already toning down.”

“Toning down? From what?”

“Magic school and knight school? Lord should be going using his armor.”

I sigh, but Rudolph may be correct. I don’t want to embarrass the girls. I pass my hand through the cloths. It is spider silk. Rudolph helps me with the elaborate clothing. He also pours some scents on me. He takes some distance and looks at the result.

“Now you are proper, lord.”

“Thank you, Rudolph.”

 “It is my job, lord! I wish you would allow me to do my job in a proper way!”

I giggle. I look at Muninn, on a high perch.

“Let’s go?”

He flies down, landing on my shoulder.

“Is Huginn with the girls?”

“Yes, father, she is with Cecilia.”

“Great.”

I go down the stairs. Charles and Lucille are waiting for me downstairs. We come out of the mansion. One of the guards is looking at us. He signals another one on the shoulder, and that one takes out running, towards Edward’s house.

We walk through the gardens to the gate.

“Good morning, sir! Are you going to the schools?”

“Yes.”

“Sir, can you wait for a couple of minutes? I was told to have a carriage ready, but we thought you were going to leave later. We are going to get the carriage.”

I think of Charles and Lucille.

“Sure, that would work. Who should I thank for this?”

“His grace, the duke.”

“Thank you. I will let him know I appreciate.”

Some time later, the carriage is in front of our gate. It has Edward’s crest on it. There are two people on the driver seat. One of them jump down from his position, does a courtesy and opens the door to us.

I let Lucille and Charles enter, then I join them inside the carriage. The ride is a lot faster than what it would take by foot. Given that the noble district is not that far from the schools, we arrive there early.

People around the schools are moving excitedly. There are some parents arriving, but it is still very early. People keep opening passage for the carriage.

After some time, the carriage stops. I hear some sort of fireworks going out. The door opens, the same helper is there. We step down. I turn to him.

“Do you know where the exams are going to take place?”

“I don’t, sir. I am just following instructions. I was told that I was to wait for the chaperon, sir.”

I keep thinking about the luxury surrounding the school. Placing a chaperon to escort each group of parents to the area of the exam sounds expensive.

We wait for some time, and people start whispering. I turn to where they are looking. It is a group of four people. Edward, his secretary, Ambrose and Tacitus. When they get near, the two professors get ahead of Edward.

“Professor Marcelo! How nice to meet you here. Have you come to watch the exams?”

I smile at Ambrose.

“Yes, professor Ambrose. Can I assume you were informed that my wives are going to take them?”

“Yes, we have heard.” Professor Tacitus takes a step forward.

“Good morning, professor Tacitus.”

“It is indeed a bright morning, professor Marcelo.”

I giggle.

“You do realize that I am no professor, right?”

Ambrose sighs and Tacitus snorts.

“Of course, of course. We-“

Edward clears his throat behind them. His secretary holds both elders by their ears and turns them around.

They are facing Edward now.

“I told you that you could come, but only if you were discreet.”

“Ouch! We are being discreet!” Ambrose complains.

“We are just around in case he mutters something, you know!” Tacitus tries to use that as a defense.

Edward stares them down. The secretary sighs.

“You guys have a serious problem! All three of you! And you!” She looks at me. “Please don’t cause any trouble!”

I smile, this whole thing is fun. I raise my hands in surrender. Edward laughs. I feel like Muninn wants to laugh, but he is in his crow mode.

She turns to the two professors.

“Are you going to behave?”

They nod, with a somewhat scared expression. She lets them go.

“Very well then.”

Edward guides us to an arena. The same arena commonly used for mock battles. It has a protection so that normal magic does not hit the expectators.

The first contestant enters the arena. He goes to the middle of the sand. He does a courtesy towards Edward. He looks around at the stands, and finds a group that is waving enthusiastically at him. He waves back. He turns back to the opposing gate.

The gate he is staring at nervously comes up, and a feral pig runs in the arena. It is definitely not tame. It is the size of a normal pig, but it has tusks. A professor, in another reserved skybox, turns an hourglass upside down, sand starts coming out.

The student starts throwing fireballs on the feral pig. I turn to Edward.

“How hard is this exam for the average student? How many generally pass?”

“It is not supposed to be too easy. The advanced classes are supposed to be available only for a small group of talented and hard working mages. We are expecting about half of the students to pass.”

In my previous life I have seen worse numbers in college, specially in public colleges in Brazil. But that would be a very harsh number for a high school, so I am divided into whether this number is bad or not.

The pig is running for it’s life. The mage was too far away from the gate when the pig was set free, he mage is having trouble hitting the pig at that distance. I again turn to Edward.

“Is  there a rule about the distance the mage has to be from the pig’s gate?”

“No, it is their choice. But the pigs are feral. They go under a very light berserk spell to get agitated. If the mage fails and is too close, he will get attacked by the pig. And the students know that we are going to let the pig have some fun before splitting the two of them.”

“Can’t a mage use a sword?”

“We don’t care, but they just don’t.”

I turn to the scene in the arena. The guy is trying to hit the pig with lighter spells, but he is missing the target again and again. The pig starts to slow down. The mage gets a little closer. He throws two fire spells, each to a side of the pig. The mage is getting his mana close to depleted as well. The pig turns toward the caster, and starts running in his direction.

“TIME!!!”

The spell caster shoots a fireball right on the head of the pig, that falls down, hard breathing. A team of older students go down into the arena. They put the pig down, and drag it out to the gate it came from.

The student is looking at the professor, dejected.

“STUDENT ANGUS NERVILLE, YOU DID NOT DELIVER DEATH IN TIME! YOU FAIL!”

The group that was waving before that is really sad. The kid looks at them, then he looks at the gate that is right under Edward’s skybox. He slowly leaves the arena. He cleans his eyes twice with this sleeve. I get a little curious.

“What happens to the students that fail?”

“They can’t move forward. They can re-take the course, but they have to go through the entrance exam. The worst is not that, though. Since they studied magic, they should generally pass the entrance exam without issues. But once inside, they have an stigma of not being good enough. The other students know about this, and are going to pick on him. For a noble’s son, that is a stain on their name.”

Another student goes to the arena. Before anything happens, he gets close to the pig gate. He tasks two walls of fire, so that the pig is going to run towards him. He takes out a dagger. The same thing happens, the gate opens, the professor turns the hourglass upside down.

The pig goes straight into the mage, that sidesteps and place the dagger into the pig’s ribs. Then a small fire explosion happens, some fire leak out from the place the dagger is stuck. The pig falls down, limp, sliding on the sand of the arena.

The professor announced the student passed.

The exams had different levels of success. The third student passed, he used water magic. The fourth student had to be saved from the pig. He was taken to the infirmary with a piece of his leg bitten out by the pig.

“STUDENT ROBERT DI LOVIA, YOU LOST THE BATTLE TO AN ANIMAL! YOU FAIL! YOU ARE TO BE PLACED IN THE HALL OF SHAME!”

At this point, I turn to Edward.

“Hall of shame?”

Edward shrugs.

“If they just don’t manage to win in the allotted time, it is deemed a fail. But if they loose to the pig, they go to the wall of shame. Sometimes the wall of shame is checked out before a mage is hired somewhere. It is a big stain to their personal history. Even more so if they are nobility.”

After an hour of other students doing their exams, Cecilia comes out in the arena. She looks at our box, and waves at us. We wave back. Then a strong war cry silences the whole arena.

“SISTER! FOR THE HONOR OF OUR HUSBAND! DON’T DISAPPOINT!” Opal shouts, as if she was talking normally. The mana is not normal. The girls are in an area reserved for other students. They probably decided to be normal students. I see Opal, Shandon and Aquamarine. I can’t locate Ruby.

The whole audience goes silent. The weight of the mana weights on everyone, it is possible to hear a cricket.

Cecilia puts on her game face on. She stands in front of the gate the pig is going to come out of. I can feel the mana pattern, the place after the gate is pure CO. The gate opens.

“TIME!”

Cecilia puts a lot of mana on a stone bullet. Way more than needed. I wonder if she is aware. The wild pig takes a step. The stone bullet breaks the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom.

The pig’s head explodes. Blood and brain matter spread inside the gate, the pig never had a chance to leave the enclosure.

Again, the arena is silent. Opal, Shandon and Aquamarine clap. I try to locate Ruby, but no luck.

Edward turns to me.

“Where is your fifth wife? Isn’t she going to take the exam?”

I shrug.

“I have no idea. They didn’t mention anything.”

“STUDENT CECILIA, YOU PASS!”

I sense Cecilia casting a breeze to remove the carbon monoxide. She retreats to the area reserved for the participants. After some time, I see Cecilia joining the other girls. She waves again at me, and throws me a kiss.

The other students went through with their exams. Of the ones that failed, about half ended up being attacked by the wild pigs, and into the hall of shame.

Edward turns to me.

“It is time for us to go watch the knight school exams. Are you sure it is safe to let your girls fight the teachers?”

“They promised me that they would use only as much strength as a level 30-40 human. It should be safe.”

Edward’s worried expression gets a little better, but just a little.

I take a look at the arena, the exams just keep going. Since I have the others’ exam to watch, I don’t pay much attention.

Cecilia joins us on the way to the second exam in the day. She gives me a peck on the lips. I can feel some death looks from students around.

“Congrats, Cecs. Nicely done.”

“I think I went a little overboard, though.”

“Yes, but it is better to err on the side of caution.”

We walk with the group, holding hands, while we follow Edward towards the other site. We walk up a path. On the end of it, there is a chasm. Down below, there is a construction that looks like a small fortress. It is much smaller than a real fortress, of course, but it still had a high enough wall that could not be jumped over. Not normally, at least. The girls and I would be able to jump or fly, but flying magic is not that widespread, and it is not possible to have that applied to very big groups.

The stronghold is occupied by teachers. Two teachers against four students. The scene that happens is not that much different than the ones I had seen in Romuela’s war. Just on a very small scale.

Of course, students were trying to scale the wall, shooting bolts up, trying ways under the towers.

Their level of success is varied. I looked at Edward.

“Are there any winner here?”

“This is a tough one. Invading a keep is a hard one, specially with a time limit. Usual tactics like waiting out the hunger to come will not work. The professors grade on creativity for strategies, the level of attack. They make a list a sorted list of the groups according to that, and pass the top groups.”

“Has any students ever won?”

“No. Students, against seasoned teachers, in a keep? Of course, if your girls go all out, they could just erase the stronghold from the land, but in a normal situation?”

The students fail in different ways. One of the professors is using bow and arrows, the other one is using a crossbow. When students stop to look over their shields, they receive a hit with either an arrow or a bolt, with a padded tip. It looks like it still hurts, though. Some students end up on the ground.

Some groups try to climb up the walls, some groups try to break the wood gate, some of them are really creative. The walls are apparently easy to climb, several of the students reach half way before being shot down.

After several groups, it is time for my girls. The three of them gather in front of the strong hold. They advance slowly, under the professors’ bolts and arrows.

They are moving in the diagonal, the professors accompany them from the top of the wall. Then a head starts popping out from the wall, just outside their line of sight, that is focused on the girls in front of them.

When the bow user notices Ruby, she is already too close. He tries to turn the bow towards her, but she holds the bow and pushes him down the front of the fort. She gets out the wood sword and puts it close to the throat of the second professor, that was still loading the crossbow.

Ruby taps the professor on the back with her wood sword, and goes down. She unlocks the gate, and the wood gate comes down. The girls invade mock stronghold, and end up waving the flag towards us.

Edward stands up, laughing and clapping.

“BY THE FUCKING GODS! HAHAHAHAHA”

He claps for a while. I stand up and clap as well. He turns to me.

The students around are all cheering loudly. There is a celebration as if they were the ones winning over the professors.

“Did you instruct them on this?”

“Nope. That is all them.”