The room that Nosal was led to, had its walls lined with bookshelves upon bookshelves that were laden with books and scrolls of all sorts. The amount of knowledge that was on casual display in the study left the Capyban boy in wonder as he stepped onto the plush green carpeting as he followed Xerneg inside.

“Take a seat,” the Hebdican asked as he rounded a great polished desk that was the centerpiece of the room before falling down into the majestic velvet-colored chair that sat behind it.

Nosal who was lost in thought but then he turned to follow the gesture. His eyes then befell upon his proffered seating that sat in the corner of the room all on its own. The white chair he was offered had a fearsome visage, but the boy chose to approach the thing anyways and sat down upon it.

Earlier in the day Nosal had thought that there was nothing left that could even surprise him anymore, but he was wrong. For now the boy was sitting on the comfiest chair he had ever sat on in his entire life.

He had his doubts when he was first asked to take a seat in the horrid looking white chair. This was because the white leather chair also had the unfortunate skin donor’s skull adorning atop of it. With the large triangular skull sporting three eye sockets, fearsome teeth and four spiraling horns. But as soon as the boy sat down after the insistence of his new Master, he was left in bliss.

For the warm leather molded to his skin and made the boy feel like some sort of babe cradled in its mothers arm. Also fortunately for him, was the fact that the skull was not so noticeable with his eyes closed as he relaxed in his seat. But with the interrupting coughing from his Master, Nosal was broken from his reverie.

“Hrmm, HO-harhar! It is great indeed to see that you find old’ Boney there to your liking, and fret not! Little-Reed also was as white as you were the first time she was asked to sit in it!” joked the old Hebdican jovially with a twinkle in his eyes as he leaned forwards on his desk.

This left Nosal feeling quite embarrassed once more as he had been blissfully lost in the moment. This in turn made him to squirm uncomfortably in the comfortable chair shyly as the boy felt the hot rush of a bush creep up his neck.

“Well it’s good to see that old thing making itself useful once again, seeing as how little-Reed likes to study in the library and leave her dear old me all lonely in here,” whined Xerneg. He spoke those words as he pretended to whip away at some fake tears along with one pudgy hand gesturing to the expansive room around him.

What does the library look like, if the study has this many books already? Oh my this chair feels so good! Nosal thought to himself in wonder and amusement as he smiled whilst gazing around the room. Also little Reed? I’m sure he doesn’t use that in front of her for a good reason! he added to himself before chuckling softly at the thought of the stern girl being called such a name by their Master.

“Well we might as well get a move on and get started with your studies! We only have three hours before lunch!” exclaimed the Hebdican before pulling open some drawers in the desk before him. Xerneg then produced a tiny stack of blank brown papers and a large blue feather quill. Then the old Hebdican hefted himself out of his chair along with some loud grunting, before rounding the desk and handing over the things in his hands to the boy. He then collected a small portable table from a nearby stand that it rested upon, before placing it on Nosal’s lap and thus creating mini-table for him to work with.

“Sorry Xer-Master, do you have a pencil? I don’t know how to use this,” the boy nervously asked towards the retreating figure of Xerneg.

His question was ignored at first and only received a small booming chuckle from the fat Healer that sent his night-robe fluttering at the hem that hung by his pudgy ankles. Xerneg then sat himself back down into his chair along with a booming fart and smiled at the small giggle that it elicited from his new apprentice.

“Oh my would you excuse me!!.... Anyways there is no need for such crass tools my boy, for in your hands, is a quill that made using the feather of a the Octo-Cornu, Tar Accipitridon!” Xerneg explained with his voice full of pride. He then waited with a wheezing and bated breath for the boy to ask him about his prized possession. But instead, he was met with an awkward silence as the boy only nervously fidgeted whilst looking down into his own lap below the portable-table.

“By the Divines! Aren’t you going to ask me what makes that Quill so special boy?!” Xerneg exclaimed excitedly after his short patience had quickly ran out.

“What does-” Nosal began before the Hebdican cut him off.

“Well you see! The Octo-Cornu, which means eight-winged by the way! Tar Accipitridon is a mighty Monster of at least Adamant-ranked when fully mature! *huff* And this bird can only be found in the Deathly shadow ranges that border upon the blighted lands of the now defunct portal to the accursed Realm of undeath!" explained Xerneg happily before taking a large gulp of air as he observed the boy who was now deeply engrossed in the quill.

“But!” he then shouted and startling the little Capyban boy to his glee. “That is not why it is so valued! For if the easily excitable bird is under duress or backed into a corner, it can magically create ink and expel it from it’s feathers in such quantities that it would be able to easily slather your whole Ranch boy!” he then concluded with spittle foaming his mouth as he smiled manically at Nosal.

Nosal then looked down at the quill with wonder for a few moments before looking back towards the Healer with a broken smile on his face.

“But I don’t know how to use it or even how to write with ink Master Xerneg..” spoke the boy nervously and cusing the Hebdican’s smile to fall off his face and be replaced by a frown.

“Well why didn’t you say so! And here I was explaining all about my fancy and expensive Quill for nothing!” he grumbled to himself before pulling open some drawers and fishing out a pencil.

The old Healer was then about to lift himself off his seat before looking over towards the boy. He then seat the pencil flying by lobbing it using his left hand whilst shouting, “Here catch!”

The thrown pencil was off the mark as it feebly sailed through the air, before falling halfway short of the five man-spans between them. The Master and Apprentice was then left looking at the pencil that sat on the carpet between them, with the Healer being mightily embarrassed at his poor throw and the boy wondering how he was going to get out of the extension that sat over his lap.

But with a fit of giggling, the boy slid out from underneath with his vest riding up and exposing his belly before he landed on the floor in a heap.

This silly display caused the Hebdican to also break into laughter as Nosal then ran forwards to fetch the pencil. After having done so, he quickly scuttled back under his portable table and into his seat and squirmed back round to face the Healer all the while giggling happily.

“Jolly good of you boy! Now that is some quick thinking that like to see in a apprentice!” spoke Xerneg before the pair once more shared in laughter. The Hebdican's booming laugh was joined in by the boy's childish giggling as the pair shared in the candid nonsensical moment that broke the ice between them.

Xerneg was glad that the boy was able to come out of his shell and the timid mood he was in before, for it would have been quite the headache to work with someone who was scared and unresponsive like a nervous child.

“Ok, now are you ready boy?” Xerneg then asked with a huge smile as he struck whilst Gloomhydra was still headless.

“Yes Master!” replied Nosal eagerly as he mirrored the Hebdican’s smile with one of his own, before it faltered slightly at the prospect of the unknown lesson before him.

“Now for the first lesson, we will keep it simple and see where you are with the basics,” explained the Hebdican in a calm and measured tone with the smile still in his eyes. Seeing the boy slightly nod he then continued.

“So what I want you to do, is to write all the basic stats down and explain to me, in your own words, what you think they represent….Do you understand?” asked Xerneg as he transitioned into his familiar teaching role.

The small Capyban boy then nodded twice in understanding before he sat looking down at the paper, he then proceeded to start writing down his answers after a brief moment of consideration.

“If you forgot any of the names or need to ask anything, then do not be afraid to do so. For feeling like the fleeting fool for a question asked, is always better than the foerever fool who has never learnt the answer,” wisely concluded the Hedican before the room feel into silence that was punctuated by the scritching and scratching of the pencil in Nosal's hand.

Seeing his new apprentice was also another one of the diligent ones, left Xerneg feeling happy as he fished out some more letters from his old colleagues to read whilst he waited.

Some of these letters contained nothing of import and only pertained to the everyday correspondence between old friends. But some letters were markedly of a more serious nature, as they sought the consultation of the Grandmaster-Healer concerning the patients in the Union hospital.

One of such letters was the current letter that Xerneg had in his hand that was penned by a Beling Wisecrackle, the Goblin Director of the Union hospital. With the contents of this very letter concerning the problematic pregnancy of the Union’s Minister of Agriculture’s wife. For the lady in question was a tiny Gnomish lady and her husband the Minister, a Moss-Giant. With this issue leaving the second Grandmaster-Healer of three, from the whole of the Union slightly stumped. For the unfortunate couple having a undoubtedly painful term and subsequently complecated birth in the future ahead for them.

Xerneg pondered upon the problem for awhile before coming up with a few solutions. He was just beginning to write down the first solution after having drafted a letter addressed back to his long-time friend and colleague just as Nosal had finished his task.

“Done master,” the boy declared in a quiet whisper even as he slide out from his chair. He then grabbed the brown sheet of paper as he nervously walked across the room before handing it to his Master and then running back to the safety of old’Boney.

“Hrmm lets see here,” Xerneg mumbled before adjusting both of his glasses to read better.

Strenk is how strong you ar and how much you can lif. So if you have a lots of strenk you can lif hevy things like my dad.

Enjurance is how tuf you are. If you have lots of enjurance then you can take many hits from the blinkers in the orcard at home.

Vitality is how tired you will get after you go running.

Dextirity is how well you can move and if it is higer then you can move good.

Agility is how fast you can move.

Percepcion is how good you can see and here. I have better percepcion now then before so I can hear gooder.

Charisma is how good you are at lying.

Intelligense is how smart you are and how fast you can fink. My brother says it also efeks your spells.

Wisdom is how well you can remember things and it affekts your mana points.

Sensitivity is how well you are at detecting magic and feeling it in the air. Like percepcion but for magic.

Faith is for people who wrk in church.

Luck is luck.

Firstly as soon as he read Nosal’s work, Xerneg wanted to question the boy about his level of spelling and grammar.

But then the old Healer was reminded of how Flowing-Reeds was exactly the same if not worse when he first took her on. This is due to the fact that they lived in a remote village that was rarely visited by traveling teachers.

To even get this level of writing was a boon that he was thankful towards Lem, for it meant that he did not have much to do to bring the boy up to speed. Only half a year’s worth of writing lessons as homework at the most, depending on the boy’s Int and Wis stats. But then Xerneg wasn’t really worried about the boy in that regard, considering he already garnered that Nosal had some sort of rare healing class from his last visit to the ranch.

But the problem came with how poor the boy’s understanding of the fundamentals were, which was to be expected considering he had just classed not long ago.

“Now boy we’ve got quite the conundrum here,” began the Healer as he tapped the brown piece of paper before him.

“Firstly I have to congratulate you for the stellar performance here,” he decalred with a smile and receiving a frown in return.

The small Capyban then fidgeted nervously before raising his hand.

“Yes?” asked Xerneg with amusement.

“What’s Stellar?” Nosal asked nervously.

“It means stars boy, like Paek or Mentor. But if used to describe someone’s performance, such as I just did in this case, it means it is admirable or great in a way that is bright or shining… like the star,” explained Xerneg with another smile through his bushy green beard.

“Oh ok,” the boy replied lamely before settling back into his seat and looking less nervous than he was before.

“Now there is quite a major gap in your understanding of the stats, but worry not for I shall explain them to you. Also the answers given were acceptable, except for Endurance and Vitality which you clearly have gotten the answer mixed up between each other.” Xerneg corrected as he began his lecture.

He then tilted his head slightly as he looked down and over, towards the boy who was now wearing a sad little frown.

“Now another thing that is of issue here is that your spelling is not up to scratch, but worry not for we shall get it up to speed,” continued Xerneg as he furiously scribbled onto another sheet of paper he had pulled out from the desk and placed beside Nosal’s answer. He continued on for a quick few moments before grabbing both sheets and walking over towards the boy.

“Here these are yours,” he explained as he handed back Nosal’s answers.

“And these are the same answers but with correct spellings, you can take both home for reference today after we have concluded your lessons today,” he added as he handed his own sheet to Nosal.

The boy then read the corrected answers in his Master’s clear and neat handwriting as Xerneg walked back to his own seat once more.

Strength is how strong you are and how much you can lift. So if you have a lots of strength you can lift heavy things like my dad.

Endurance is how tough you are. If you have a lot of endurance then you can take many hits from the Blinkers in the orchard at home.

Vitality is how tired you will get after you go running.

Dexterity is how well you can move and if it is higher then you can move better.

Agility is how fast you can move.

Perception is how good you can see and hear. I have better perception now then I did before, so I can hear better.

Charisma is how good you are at lying.

Intelligence is how smart you are and how fast you can think. My brother says it also affects your spells. (affect is the verb or how something affects something and effect is the noun or name to describe how you are affected)

Wisdom is how well you can remember things and it affects your mana points.

Sensitivity is how well you are at detecting magic and feeling it in the air. Like perception but for magic.

Faith is for people who work in church.

Luck is luck.

He found the blocky writing of his Master to be very easy to decipher and pleasant to read, but unbeknownst to him was that Xerneg preferred to use joined handwriting normally. He also wanted to ask more about effect and affect, but refrained from doing so as noted that Master was about to say something again.

“Now this I shall explain to you what each stat is in my learned opinion,” Xerneg declared with a nod after he had settled back into his seat.

“And I want you to dictate, or write as I go along as best as you can in your own words, and you may ask me to pause if I am going too fast whenever you feel the need to do so,” continued the Healer.

“Now are you ready?” he asked once the boy was given a short moment to fully prepare. For the task he had now set may seem simply, but would undoubtedly be formidable for his newest student.

Xerneg then registered the curt little nod and commendably brave look he received from the boy, which was slightly ruined by the bead of sweat and the massive gulp the boy took, before he began.

“Now to determine Strength, we have to understand that it does not necessarily mean that a person is strong…”