Meeting In The Castle
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The castle was a tall, sprawling structure of stone and wood. It sat on the edge of an open field that stretched out to where it met the forest beyond. A large wooden gate stood at one end, with two guards standing beside it. They were dressed in simple leather armor without any markings or insignia. Their swords hung from their belts as they watched everyone who entered through the gates.
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, my eyes scanned over everything around me. There was no sign of anyone else besides myself and the guards. No other people walked about; there wasn’t even a single bird flying overhead.
This place felt like some sort of fortress built for defense against enemies both within and outside its walls.
I looked up towards the top floor windows lining each side of the building’s front wall. All but three had shutters closed tight, blocking off what little light made it inside. Only one window remained uncovered by curtains or blinds. That particular window seemed to be staring directly down upon me right now.
“Is this your first time here?” asked a voice behind me. “It is quite impressive.”
Turning back around, I saw a man walking toward me across the courtyard. He wore his long hair tied back in a ponytail, and he carried himself with confidence. His clothes were well-made and expensive looking, though not nearly so much as those worn by Lord Tearmoon’s men. Instead, they appeared more along the lines of something you would see on nobles visiting the capital city.
He stopped just short of me and smiled warmly. “Hello,” he said again. “My name is Sir Rufus. Welcome to our humble home.”
Sir Rufus? Who does this guy think he is? I thought to myself.
Before I could say anything, however, another man approached us from the direction of the main door. He was also wearing fine clothing, but unlike Sir Rufus’ outfit, it didn’t look particularly new or fancy. Rather, it looked like something someone might wear if they wanted to blend in with commoners rather than stand out among them.
This newcomer spoke before either of us did. “Good day, sirs! My apologies for interrupting your conversation. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Master William, headmaster of the academy located nearby.”
Master William bowed slightly when he reached us. Then, after straightening back up again, he continued speaking. “You are most welcome here today. We have been expecting you since yesterday evening. Please follow me.”
With that, Master William turned away and started walking toward the main entrance. Sir Rufus followed close behind him, while I stayed put. After all, I still needed answers.
“So…what exactly do you want with me?” I called out to the master teacher.
His reply came quickly enough. “We wish to speak with you regarding your recent achievements. Your work has already earned great praise throughout the kingdom, and we hope to learn more about how you achieved such success.”
That’s pretty vague, I thought to myself. But then again, maybe that’s because I’m not sure what kind of ‘achievements’ these guys are talking about.
“What do you mean by my ‘recent successes? What exactly is going on here?” I pressed further.
“Please forgive me for being so brief,” replied Master William. “But I must ask that you allow me to lead the way. If you will come with me, please.”
No matter how many times I heard the word ‘please,’ it never failed to make me feel uncomfortable. Especially when coming from someone who looks like they’re trying too hard to sound polite.
Still, I decided to play along. At least until I got answers to my questions. So, I nodded once and began following Master William and Sir Rufus towards the main doors.
“And what exactly is this academy?” I asked as we walked. “Are you some sort of school for magic users?”
“Yes, indeed!” answered Master William. “Our academy is dedicated solely to teaching young mages the ways of the arcane arts. We offer classes in several different fields, including basic spellcraft and advanced techniques. Our students can choose to specialize in whichever areas interest them the most.”
“Sounds interesting,” I admitted. “How old do you have to be to enroll?”
“Students may begin attending our academy at age ten,” explained Master William. “However, only those who reach the proper level of maturity are allowed to advance past the lower levels of study. Those who show promise early on are often invited to join the upper ranks of the academy.”
“I see…” I mumbled. “Do you accept non-humans, too?”
“Of course,” answered Master William. “In fact, we take pride in having a diverse student body comprised of humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and even a few others. It is an honor to teach any child, regardless of their race or species.”
“Really?” I exclaimed. “Then why haven’t I ever seen a dragon here before?”
The two men standing next to me fell silent at my question. They stared blankly ahead, seemingly unable to answer. Finally, Master William cleared his throat and responded.
“Dragons are very rare creatures, especially ones who possess the strength necessary to become adept at magic. Few dragons have shown themselves capable of mastering the art of spellcasting. In fact, there are fewer than twenty known individuals in existence right now. Of those, only three are currently enrolled in our academy. One of them is yours truly.”
“Oh,” I muttered. That makes sense. I guess dragons aren’t really interested in learning how to use magic.
After a moment of silence, Master William continued speaking. “As I was saying, our academy takes great pride in its diversity. However, we are also extremely selective when choosing which students to admit into our program.
This is done both to ensure that each individual receives the best possible education, and to prevent any dangerous situations that might arise due to differences between the various races. For example, we would never allow a dwarf to attend the same class as one of our human students.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because dwarves are notoriously shortsighted,” replied Master William. “They cannot focus well if they are forced to look directly at something far off in the distance. Their eyes simply don’t work properly that way. And since our classrooms are designed to accommodate everyone equally, we need to keep things fair for all of our students.”
“Huh…” I said. “Well, that actually explains a lot. I’ve always wondered why I couldn’t see anything beyond the other side of the room whenever I looked down the hallway outside of my classroom.”
Master William chuckled softly at my response. He seemed amused by my comment, but he didn’t say another word. Instead, he just kept walking forward. As we did, I noticed that the building around us had begun to change.
The walls were no longer made of stone; instead, they appeared to be constructed entirely of wood. There weren’t any windows either. Just rows upon rows of bookshelves lining the entire length of the hallways.
Eventually, we reached a large wooden door set against one wall. Master William opened it without hesitation, revealing a long staircase leading downwards. Beyond the stairs lay a wide open space filled with dozens of tables arranged in neat little groups.
Each table held a single person seated across from another. Some people wore robes, while others wore simple clothing. Most of them were busy studying their textbooks, though a few of them glanced up at us as we entered.
At first glance, it almost reminded me of the library back home. Except everything was much more organized. Every book sat neatly stacked atop its own shelf. Even the desks were lined up perfectly straight. Everything about the place felt clean and orderly.
We followed Master William deeper inside the academy, where we eventually came to a stop in front of a small desk near the center of the room. A thin man wearing glasses stood behind the counter. His hair was dark brown, and he had a pair of bushy eyebrows above his piercing green eyes. When he saw us approaching, the man quickly rose to greet us.
“Welcome! How may I help you today?”
“Good afternoon, sir,” began Master William. “My name is Master William. I’m the headmaster of this fine establishment.”
“Ah yes, Master William,” agreed the man. “It’s nice to meet you again. My name is Mr. O’Leary. I am the assistant principal of this school. If you’ll follow me, please?”
Mr. O’Leary led us through the main entranceway and out onto a balcony overlooking the rest of the academy. From there, we could see that the entire facility consisted of multiple buildings connected together by covered walkways.
Each building was separated by several yards of empty grassland. All of the trees surrounding the academy had been cut down, leaving nothing but bare earth beneath their branches.
There were so many students attending the academy that I couldn’t begin to count them all. But I knew that there must have been hundreds of them scattered throughout the grounds. They were everywhere: sitting on benches, reading books, working quietly alongside one another… It was like watching ants scurrying about in a giant anthill.
I turned to Master William. “So what exactly do these kids study here? Is it just magic or does your curriculum cover all sorts of different subjects too?”
“No, it isn’t,” answered Master William. “Our primary goal is to teach our students how to master the art of spell casting. We believe that magic can solve nearly every problem imaginable and that knowledge of such power should be available to anyone willing to learn.
So we devote most of our time teaching young mages the fundamentals of magic theory, along with advanced techniques used to cast spells safely and effectively.”
“That sounds pretty cool,” I admitted. “But I still think it’s kind of weird that you guys only accept humans into your academy.”
“Yes, it is strange,” agreed Mr. O’Leary. “However, we feel that allowing other species to enroll would create unnecessary complications. Our classes are designed specifically for human beings. Dwarven students wouldn’t fit in very well, and neither would elves or halflings. Not to mention that some races possess magical abilities that make them unsuitable candidates for our program.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” I said. “You mentioned earlier that dwarves aren’t allowed to attend your school because they’re short-sighted. That makes sense now. Elves probably shouldn’t come either. And I bet goblins might get eaten alive by the other students.”
Master William smiled. “Indeed. In fact, we’ve already encountered a number of dangerous situations involving nonhuman students over the years. One of our former students even attempted to murder an elf once.
Fortunately, she was caught before she managed to harm him. However, if we allow those kinds of incidents to occur, then we risk damaging the reputation of the Academy of Magic forever. For that reason alone, we decided not to admit any other species besides humans.”
“Wow…” I muttered. “This really is a special place, huh?”
“Quite right,” nodded Mr. O’Leary. “The Academy of Magic has always prided itself on being a safe haven for aspiring wizards. Students who join our ranks are guaranteed a life free from prejudice and discrimination.”
“And yet you still discriminate against dragons,” I pointed out.
“Of course!” exclaimed Mr. O’Leary. “Why else would we refuse admission to creatures whose scales contain toxic metals? The last thing we want is for one of our students to accidentally inhale dragon breath during class. Or worse, swallow a mouthful of poison when trying to eat lunch.”
“Yeah, I guess that does sound bad,” I conceded. “Still, it doesn’t seem fair to exclude everyone except humans. Why don’t you ever let any other species apply?”
“Because we simply cannot afford to take chances,” explained Mr. O’Leary. “We need to ensure that no student will pose a danger to themselves or others while studying at the academy. As long as we keep our standards high, we won’t have anything to worry about.”
“Well, I sure hope you’re right,” I sighed. “Otherwise, the next person who tries to kill me might actually succeed.”
***
After leaving the academy, we headed back toward town. Once we reached the outskirts of the city, we stopped off at a nearby inn called the Golden Goose. There, we ordered dinner and spent the evening chatting with each other. By the end of the night, I felt much more relaxed than I did after my first day of training.
When morning came around, we got up early and went straight to the Adventurers Guild. After filling out the necessary paperwork, we paid our registration fees and received official membership cards. Then we set off for the dungeon.
As soon as we entered the labyrinth, we started exploring its depths. Since this was my first time inside a real dungeon, I had no idea where to start looking. Luckily, I didn’t have to go far to find something interesting. Just down the hall from the entrance lay a huge pile of treasure chests.
“Hey, look at all these chests,” I remarked. “Maybe we could split them evenly between us.”
“Splitting things equally never works out in practice,” replied Mr. O’Leary. “It’s better to divide everything according to individual needs and desires.”
“Hmmm… You know, I’m starting to see why you guys are so good at adventuring,” I mused. “You’re both really smart and resourceful. It must help a lot having someone like you around.”
Mr. O’Leary grinned. “Thank you. But I’d say that I’m merely following in the footsteps of my father. He taught me many valuable lessons growing up. Most importantly, he emphasized the importance of keeping yourself healthy and strong.”
I looked at Master William curiously. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “My dad used to tell me stories about how his grandfather was able to survive on nothing but raw meat for weeks at a time. Apparently, the old man ate nothing else until there wasn’t enough food left to feed himself anymore.
My grandpa eventually starved to death, but he lived longer than anyone expected. His story inspired my father to adopt a similar lifestyle.”
“So what happened to your dad?” asked Mr. O’Leary.
“His body finally gave out,” answered Master William sadly. “But he died happy knowing that he had done everything within his power to protect the people under his care.”
“That sounds pretty amazing,” I admitted. “If only every adventurer were as tough and resilient as you two.”
“Don’t forget about me,” added Mr. O’Leary. “I can hold my own just fine.”
“True,” I agreed. “In fact, I think you’ll be surprised by how well you handle yourselves once we reach the deeper levels of the dungeon.”
“Oh yeah?” said Mr. O’Leary. “How so?”
“Let’s just say that I’ve been working hard to improve myself over the past few months,” I told him. “Now that I’ve gotten stronger, I feel confident that I can defeat any monster that gets in my way.”
“Really?!” exclaimed Mr. O’Leary excitedly. “Then maybe we should try fighting some monsters together! Maybe we could even get a few experience points for defeating an enemy.”
“Sounds great to me!” I responded enthusiastically.
The three of us decided to explore the rest of the dungeon before heading into battle. After a couple hours of exploration, we found ourselves standing in front of another large pile of treasure chests. This time, however, they weren’t filled with gold coins. Instead, their contents consisted entirely of weapons and armor.
“Wow, this is awesome,” I commented. “Do you think we could buy all of these items with the money we earned today? If not, then we might want to consider selling them instead.”
Master William shook his head regretfully. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t possibly sell most of those pieces. They would fetch too low of a price compared to the amount of effort required to craft them. Besides, we wouldn’t make nearly enough money to cover our expenses if we sold them individually.”
“Huh…” I muttered. “Okay, so what kind of equipment do you recommend buying?”
“I suppose it depends on your personal preferences,” Master William began. “For example, if you prefer using swords or spears, then I suggest purchasing a weapon and shield combination. Or perhaps you’d rather use magic spells and a staff. In either case, I believe that you should invest in several sets of leather armor. The cloth armor you currently wear isn’t very durable. Leather will provide you with greater protection against attacks.”
“Good point,” I acknowledged. “And what about you, Mr. O’Leary? Are there any specific types of gear that you need right now?”
“Well, I don’t mind wearing whatever you choose for me,” he replied. “Just remember that I’m still new to this whole adventuring thing. So please give me plenty of advice along the way.”
“Sure,” I assured him. “We’ll figure out what kinds of equipment you should purchase later. For now, let’s focus on finding more treasure chests. We can worry about choosing our purchases after we’ve collected everything we need.”
With that, we continued exploring the labyrinth. And sure enough, we soon stumbled upon another huge pile of treasure chests. However, unlike the previous ones, these chests contained various magical artifacts. Amongst the loot were several enchanted rings, bracelets, necklaces, and amulets.
There was also a set of golden boots that glowed brightly whenever I stepped onto the ground. Finally, there was a black cloak that seemed to absorb light from its surroundings.
“This stuff looks really cool,” I noted. “Do you think we should take one of each item?”
“Maybe,” Master William suggested. “However, keep in mind that many of these objects are extremely powerful. That means that we shouldn’t risk taking anything unless we’re certain that we can afford to lose it.”
“Right,” I nodded. “So which items do you think we should pick up first?”
“Hmm… Well, I’d like to start off by picking up a ring that increases my strength,” he explained. “Afterward, I’ll grab a necklace that allows me to teleport short distances instantly. Then I’ll go ahead and collect a pair of boots that allow me to walk through walls without getting hurt.
Lastly, I’ll probably end up grabbing a cloak that lets me see hidden enemies.”
The End