The Price of Friendship

Working in the apothecary or the workshop always stood in stark contrast to Martel's affairs in the city, lately those involving the Night Knives. Previously, he had enjoyed the change of pace after the more harrowing events such as the fighting ring at The Broken Crown; returning to the Lyceum and carrying out mundane tasks in quietude suited him after such intense experiences.

But he was starting to feel different. While the fight last night had certainly made his heartbeat quicken, he could not avoid feeling almost euphoric at casting his spells under such circumstances, pitting himself against numerous enemies and proving the victor. Along with the chain armour, which lent excellent protection, he felt almost invincible. Clearing out brigands who harassed the locals, and getting paid for it, only added honey to his porridge.

In fact, he looked forward to returning to the Night Knives this afternoon, receiving not only his payment but also hearing about the next task. And afterwards, he had arranged to visit Shadi, resuming their tradition of spending Solday afternoons together when possible.

"Martel! Message for you." Jasper got up from his desk and crossed the entrance hall to catch Martel, offering him a strip of paper.

"Thanks," the novice mumbled, accepting the message. Was there a polite way of saying that he only wanted Henry to handle his mail for him? Feeling awkward with Jasper's eyes on him, Martel walked away a bit before reading the note.

Martel, sorry. Have to help my dad this afternoon. Next Solday? Shadi.

That dashed half his plans for the afternoon. A little annoying, since by going to see the Night Knives, he would already be halfway to the Khivan enclave, so it would have been easy to visit Shadi. Nothing that could be done about it, though. After getting dressed for the weather, Martel left the school. The first few snowdrops of the season had begun to fall.

***

Marcus greeted him with the usual grunt, letting Martel inside the apartment. "You did all right last night," the warrior spoke, more verbose than usual. "For a kid, anyway."

A meagre compliment, but Martel accepted it all the same. "Thanks. You make a decent obstacle."

Marcus snorted and walked into the inner room.

Flora sat as usual by the desk. She finished scribbling and put her quill aside. "Have a seat," she told Martel. "I was just detailing our performance last night, writing a report to the captain of our company. I made sure to mention you. You are in good standing among my superiors, should there have been any doubt."

That never hurt, Martel reckoned. "I appreciate that. My payment?"

The earthmage laughed. "You definitely fit in with a bunch of mercenaries." She placed two small stacks of silver in front of him, each holding four coins.

Martel grabbed them and placed them inside an inner pocket. "What's the new task?"

"This one is different. No fighting, but challenging in other ways. Lady Pearl wants us to catch a thief."

"How so?"

"She has a lot of wealthy clients that she entertains at The River Pearl," Flora began to explain. "This attracts cutpurses and pickpockets. Now, she keeps a close eye on everything indoors with lots of guards. But still, lots of complaints lately about theft. So she thinks, someone is watching the place and waiting for them to move out on the street, whenever patrons are entering or leaving the establishment. Probably someone who knows how her guards look by now."

"But not how we look," Martel added.

"Exactly. Most likely, this is some street kid, able to hide in the smallest shadow and slip away in any crowd."

That sounded familiar, though it also made Martel uncomfortable. He knew the life that these children led, and they only stole because the other option was starvation. "Once we catch this kid, what do we do with him or her?"

"Hand them over to Lady Pearl," Flora said. Seeing the expression on Martel's face, she continued, "Don't worry, nobody will waste someone so talented. Lady Pearl will give them the chance to join up, use their skills in a way that doesn't mess things up for the lady. We'd probably be doing that kid a favour."

If it took the child off the streets and maybe also provided protection against thugs like those yesterday, Martel could see the point. "When do we go?"

"It has to be during the day. Kid like that, too slippery at night. But you have classes tomorrow afternoon, right?"

Martel was a little impressed that she remembered. "I do."

"The day after tomorrow. Come by and we'll set a trap for our intrepid little thief."

***

Martel returned to the castle in a good mood. The silver would allow him to repay Weasel, his most pressing creditor. With a few more tasks done for the Night Knives, he might soon have enough for Master Alastair as well. He could even spare a few coins to buy some herbs and create a salve that he might bring as offering at the Basilica. That would be an expensive gift, relatively speaking, certain to please Sol and allow John a speedy recovery.

With these and other plans in mind, Martel removed his cloak and hung it on the dummy for his armour before digging out his newly gained coin from the inner pocket.

A knock on the door. After putting the coins into his small desk drawer, Martel opened it to find Jasper.

"We have some business to discuss." The earth acolyte moved forward, entering Martel's chamber and making him step back.

"I don't think we do. I want you to leave." Martel stared straight at him, not afraid of someone he had handily beaten in a duel.

"We can discuss it in the hallway. If you want everyone to know about the Night Knives."

Martel did everything he could to keep surprise or guilt from showing on his face. "I don't know what that is."

"So you don't mind if I talk about you, Flora, and Marcus? What you were up to last night in the bridge district?"

How did he know? Martel tried to form a response, but he could think of nothing.

Jasper smiled with contempt. "Let's have some privacy." He closed the door.

Martel finally thought of something to say. "I don't care what you know. It's your word against mine."

"Ah, but it's so much more than that. I've noticed, Martel, you're pretty skilled with fire. Few novices who can create a flame hot enough to melt ice."

Martel cursed to himself. "My gift lies in air, as you'd expect from a weathermage. Fire is the closest element to air."

Jasper continued to smirk. "I'm sure that would convince others. After all, if you were truly skilled with fire, it would have been noticed during your introduction to fire magic. With Mistress Moira." His smile widened at the last part.

It took Martel a moment to catch up. Jasper knew he had not taken the course. Martel became acutely aware of his Khivan clock ticking, underlining his silence, his inability to argue in defence of himself.

"One short conversation made it obvious you never took that course, yet I hear you're due to take the novice examination later this month. How can you possibly do that when you haven't been evaluated for fire?" Jasper's expression made it clear how much delight he derived from this. "Someone is protecting you, hiding your abilities. That's corruption among the faculty."

Mistress Juliana would lose her position over this. Maybe Master Alastair as well; he had taught Martel four lessons every fiveday for a year. Nobody would believe he had never suspected Martel's talent. "What do you want?"

"That job you pulled last night. You got paid eight silvers, didn't you?"

How did he know! Martel felt trapped, suffocated. "What of it?"

"I want half. That's all. Plenty left for you. A reasonable arrangement."

Martel could not think, except for the single thought that he wanted Jasper out of here. Pulling his drawer open with an angry motion, he counted out four coins and slapped them into Jasper's waiting hand. "Get out."

"No need to be harsh. We're friends now." Jasper gave a grin. "Keep working with your nocturnal friends. In fact, that's part of our arrangement. Keep earning for us both." He turned to open the door.

Once the earth acolyte had left, Martel sank down onto his bed.