The Fool
Sometime in the Summer of Year 685
Il' Aluk, Darkon
Chapter 6
Admission to the University of Il' Aluk is no simple task for those not born of the aristocracy which I most assuredly was not. For those of the upper crust of society a simple letter by the well known parents that identifies their intent for a child to attend a given college is enough of a declaration to ensure that child's name appears upon the school rolls for the appropriate year. I have heard these notes are often accompanied by a significant stipend to slide the matter through without any administrative issues as well. Whether this serves as a proof of intent to pay or is perhaps an alumni donation to an institution that receives no tax monies for the local government I do not know. Either way it served to ensure the university was still in existence as I was coming of age to attend and that the universal golden rule, those with the gold make the rules, was properly maintained.
For those not of the upper crust, admission was a far more complicated process, depending especially upon the course of study one sought to enter. Medical school, which was of course my intention, was by in far the most difficult to join in spite of its known rigorous study requirements which were outweighed by the prestige associated with this occupation and the few numbers of students, only a dozen per year, kept its admission board always having many more names than available slots for students. In part to alleviate this issue the board instituted a process where potential enrollees actually met the board three full years before they hoped to attend.
This process was designed to weed out those without the patience and dedication to see the process through to the end since no one wanted their village doctor to be quick to give up a challenge. It also meant to pursue my career dreams that I would be returning to Il' Aluk in the summer of my fourteenth year.
Seventeen years of age was the earliest age that a student could begin attending classes at the university and by the summer after I had just turned fourteen my parents were in agreement that I should begin attempting to enroll at the earliest opportunity because I faced a rather uphill battle in the process. First of all, as I said I was not noble born. Secondly I came from one of the villages rather than the capital city. And thirdly it was not unheard of that individuals wanting a medical degree would first attain a different diploma, theology and philosophy I have heard are often popular choices, before reenrolling and being accepted in the medical college.
My father and mother prepared me for this last option saying that I should not worry about the price of eight years of study compared to the average four to five to become a doctor that they would still see to funding it. My focus was to remain solely upon my studies and not be concerned about the financial aspects. While that was agreed to in principal I felt it was important for me to somehow make it into the medical school as early as possible and save my parents this additional expense. By now my father was not enjoying the road nearly as much as just four years ago when I had began travelling with him, and my mother was feeling the weight of age as well as I watched her hair turn silver over the past two years.
So for the first time in four years it was decided that I would not accompany my father on his travels, at least initially, but instead I would travel to Il' Aluk and submit my admission request to the university. There I would wait for however long a period it would take for the board to meet with me to review my records and grant me an audience for admission. I had been informed such things could take up to a month which is why my father could not afford to linger in the city with me.
There was a bittersweet solution to my dilemma created by this situation since my mother was hard set against her fourteen year old boy living by himself at an inn for a month or more. Eldrenn's father over the fall had been forced to give up his silver smith practice because silver ore had nearly doubled in price in response to another buildup for war in Falknovia, the hostile nation to our south. This made silver objects too costly for any but the richest to afford, and there were few such families in Rivalis to support a year's worth of work by Eldrenn's father.
Eldrenn's family still had a significant savings from the good years such as the selling of his holy symbol artifact, but Eldrenn also had three younger siblings by this point so the family also spent money at a much higher rate than my own did. His father was not one to sit idly by as the money slowly ran out so he decided he needed to expand his opportunities by learning a new, if similar trade. For that reason in the spring, even before my father was preparing to leave, Eldrenn and his father departed for Il' Aluk where both were going to apprentice to a tin smith.
With the increasing spread of iron and steel for weapons and other implements of war, bronze had over time been relegated to fewer and fewer such tasks because it was not as reliable or as sturdy as these other alloys. That meant mines that produced copper and tin were now in lower demand. The former of course still supported minting of the most common coin used in the land, but there were no similar tin pieces of currency at least here in Darkon or any other place I had heard of.
But tin was found to be a light and sturdy metal to use as a replacement for silver in other arenas such as cookware and utensils and was significantly cheaper as a raw material. Tin plates, cups, bowls, and silverware were some of the most popular in the land, right after wood of course that certain races such as the elves used almost exclusively. Also Darkon had its own tin mines and therefore was not subject to fluctuations in price of such ore as we were with silver. Based on all these factors Eldrenn's father determined there was always demand for tin smiths.
As I have said before Eldrenn was hardly pleased with smithing of any sort as a perspective occupation but he also realized that with three younger siblings if something were to happen to his father, his mother would be looking to him to help support the family so he grudgingly accepted the role in life he was forced to follow at this point. He did tell me however right before he left that in a way he was pleased with this temporary move because it put him close to the College of Magical Studies, most referred to it as the College of Wizardry or Magic, which was another of the University of Il' Aluk's courses of study that focused upon teaching spells to young enchanters with a magical gift, something Eldrenn had always claimed he felt he had.
So the solution to my own enrollment issues was that I would stay with Eldrenn and his father, who insisted I do so as a partial payback for the summers his son had traveled with my father, while I awaited my acceptance hearing. My parents made a point of giving me a small number of coins over the protests of Eldrenn's parents in case I saw something for purchase. They also provided me a second more significant stash of such coins that I was to keep hidden from my host to use to ensure I was not a burden on the limited funds of the pair during their apprenticeship when neither yet made the full wages for a day of work as a certified tin smith assistant would.
On the way to the city the only oddity I recall was that my father and I passed a Vistani troop of four of their brightly painted wagons on the road between Rivalis and Il' Aluk. Neither we nor they seemed interested in stopping to converse about what lay ahead of our perspective paths which was perfectly fine with my father. It was not that he had any personal dislike for the Vistani, he just had no desire to get entangled in encounters with people who were on the Witch King's bad side.
A momentary chill passed through my body as I recalled I still owed these people a service by a promise I had made three years ago and I half expected one of them to jump off their wagon and make this claim on me here in the middle of the Darkon countryside but of course that did not happen. They rode on past us with only a head tilting acknowledgment to my father who responded in kind out of politeness as he would to any other travelers.
As the last wagon passed us I could not help but turn my head to follow its course. I noted immediately that there was an old woman riding in the back of this conveyance smoking a rather large pipe. When she noted my attention she blew a rather large smoke ring and gave me a smile and a knowing wink that made me turned immediately around and look once more to the road ahead of us as we pulled farther away. Even then I am still certain I could hear soft feminine chuckling riding on the wind for sometime even after their wagons had disappeared from sight.
I submitted my admission letter to the College of Medicine and specifically to a rather skeptical looking clerk who noted the cut of my clothes compared to those of my well off contemporaries and nodded and shook his head at the same time. He then informed me that it was my duty to come back to this building by the seventh bell each weekday morning where the names of that day's interviewees would be announced to those present. If a perspective student failed to attend their scheduled meeting they would not be accepted into the starting class for year six hundred and eighty eight. I could hear the laughter of the clerk about my application and likely my appearance even before I made it out of the building.
For the first week of course I diligently attended the announcement and determine that my name was not one being broadcast for that day's interviews. This therefore left me with a full day to spend by myself since Eldrenn and his father had apprentice duties to see to. I spent that time investigating the city, or at least the parts of it that seemed safe to me and where one dressed in moderate clothing was not shoed away as beggars might.
I found many tasty places to eat at reasonable prices and watched travelling street performers, none of which Vistani of course, beg for coins in exchange for their entertainment. While not rich I did drop a copper of my own for these if I felt they had earned this.
One such performer called himself a medium who was supposedly able to speak with the spirits of the departed. I spent more than a few days that first week watching him perform this skill as he told widows where their departed husbands had left secret caches of coins or parents who wished to talk with children they had put to rest. I could not attest to the truth of his performances, but I did admire that if it was merely a hoax the man was also a skilled ventriloquist for the living loved ones seemed to always recognize the voices that spoke from his body to them.
I also found two small bookstores that I was warmly welcomed into after I demonstrated both my ability to read and that I had coins to pay were I to find something that struck my interest. Since I was both cautious with my funds and carefully not to take up too much space in Eldrenn's house I refrained from making purchases but instead worked an agreement with the two owners that I could sit and read the volumes they had available to them for the price of a single copper piece a day. I think both men were rather lonely and neither could afford to pay for any additional help so they looked at me as a solution to these issues, especially when I convinced them to let me bring some order to their stacks of books.
It was on the ninth day of my morning travels to the university to be again disappointed that I saw the elf standing in the street waving his sword around to get the attention of those who passed by. This in itself was a rather remarkable situation in the city which was only increased by the detail that the elf himself was also a ghost.
Although I was in a rush I could not help but pause and take a closer look at this situation. I weaved through the crowd, whose members did not seem to mind because none of us were sure whether the phantom sword that he held could cause real damage or not. As I got closer though I could also see that the elf's rather animated motions were being matched by facial expressions that could only be attempts to scream words to those of us watching. Much to his obvious frustration either he realized his words made no sounds or his entire audience was deaf.
I felt the charm the Vistani had given me years ago on my chest began to warm and I called to the elf, thinking perhaps its magic would allow us two to communicate somehow. But like all the others that had tried and failed, my own attempts to converse met with a complete lack of success. Finally, knowing the time to be at the college was fast approaching I regretfully departed and ran the entire way to the building.
To my relief the clerk had only just emerged from within but this did not stop him from noting my almost tardy arrival and shaking his head in obvious disappointment or dissatisfaction. Not surprisingly my name was not one of the six called out that morning either. I also noted that the crowd that stood there each morning was not shrinking by any significant number though some of the familiar faces from the previous week were no longer present. Did this mean more were still applying or did the well off applicants send servants in their place rather than wake up so early on a consistent basis?
As I left the university grounds again to spend my day organizing and skimming through more books I noted the elven ghost was no longer standing across the street. Except for the university security personnel at the gate, there was no one immediately available to ask what had happened to the spirit and the watch members did not seem to have any interest in talking to me more than they had to.
The next morning as I was on my way to the announcement the ghost was once again standing in the same spot, silently shouting and waving his sword trying to communicate in some way with those of us living and passing him on the street. Once again my charm seemed to warm against my skin but after trying a second time to speak with him and failing I knew I had to not be late again so I departed. However, this time I offered one of the homeless beggar children, a half elven girl it turned out, who camped out along this road a copper coin if she would keep an eye on the ghost until I returned in an hour or so at which time I would pay her for telling me all that happened.
The girl of mixed parentage, whose name was Chanella, would likely have made a successful merchant if she had been born into a deserving family for she demanded, and received an agreement from me of, one copper up front as proof of my intentions and a second to be paid upon providing her report. I agreed partly due to the lateness of the time and even more so because I found her argument quite charming.
It goes without saying that my name was again not one of the six called. However I did note that it seemed to me as I looked over the crowd during these announcements in the previous days that there always appeared to be at least one student's name called that did not evoke the standard gasp or display of excitement as if they were absent from this process for some reason. I wondered if perhaps the clerk was under orders to call such names if he did not see their owner present as yet another means to weed out those without demonstrated dedication.
I wandered back to the street urchin and after turning over my second coin, which was going to have paid for my lunch I might add, the half elf told me the ghost had stayed in the same spot for nearly an hour before finally giving up and fading away into nothingness once more. I thanked her and spent a few minutes asking after her situation and her parents until she politely asked me to move along as my standing here was costing her business in donations to her pathetic looking act. I had to smile about Chanella as I made my way back to the book stores.
The issue with the elf ghost continued to trouble me because I knew, and the charm seemed to indicate as well, that the spirit needed help in some way but was being prevented from getting this by its lack of ability to communicate. Be it fate or happenstance I found the potential solution to this problem sitting outside the steps of the bookstore in the form of the medium who had been talking to the dead for coppers.
It was still early for his performance and I noted he had merely taken a rest on a convenient set of stairs while he munched away at a ham filled roll that served as his breakfast. He recognized me as one who had given him coins in the past but had never asked to speak to any of the dead myself so a grudging nod of acknowledgment was all he offered as he finished his meal expecting me I assume to enter the shop where I was now recognized as a regular by all who lived and worked on this particular street.
Instead I paused on the steps and took a seat right beside him patiently waiting as he swallowed the last of his meal. He took a swig of water since the bread was a bit dry and then turned his full attention to me. "Is there something I can do for you good sir?" He asked.
"First I would be honored if you would call me Rudolph." I replied trying to break the ice.
"Okay young Rudolph, my own name is Ivan, and what can I do for you?" I noted the odd way the medium rolled his letter Rs when he pronounced them and being familiar in my travels with just about every portion of Darkon I realized he was not from our land.
"Sir I do not mean to be rude but is the power you claim to have true or is it merely entertainment?" I asked. I knew for example that while there were true magicians and students at the College of Magic, there were also a number of street illusionists who used flash powder and other tricks to amaze and delight an audience. I saw no harm in such things provided the performer did not overly fleece their gullible audience which I knew Ivan had never done.
He looked offended at first and then actually fearful. "I suppose if I were to say the wrong thing you would inform your Kargat or Kargatane masters and I would find myself under more detailed and thorough questioning?" While upset, he whispered this accusation to me for no one spoke of these two groups in anything louder than a whisper; especially in the city of Il' Aluk.
"I understand your concerns." I said. "But I truly have need of someone who can converse with dead spirits." This caused him to stop and stare at me for a long silent minute.
"Then I ask your forgiveness." He seemed to calm down more. "You must understand we former citizens of Barovia who found displeasure with our lord and lived to escape still do not find much acceptance here in the land of his sworn enemy either."
I knew through my history classes that Lord Azalin and the leader of Barovia were sworn enemies and it was rumored even that assassins had come to our land more than once to seek the death of our king. Since these had likely been sent from Barovia it seems understandable to me why people from that land were looked on with suspicion in much the same was as the Vistani were. What a terrible choice to make when the enemy of your enemy sees you as an enemy as well.
"So you have a dead relative you wish to speak to?" He asked likely interested to part me with a few of my copper coins.
"Not exactly which is why I need to know if you truly have such a gift as you claim to." I replied.
He seemed to consider my request for a moment before sighing and responding. "I do indeed, though in truth rarely am I able to speak to the dead requested." He answered somewhat guiltily. "In the Village of Barovia I found I could let the spirits of ghosts enter my body and speak to the others they had known in life. At first this was a blessing for I did indeed tell people where loved ones had hidden treasures and such. But later I had an accident while using this power."
I was intrigued and leaned forward while he whispered to me. "I allowed a ghost of a murder victim into my body and she claimed that her killer had been none other than our land's leader, whose name I shall never again speak." He shuddered at the memory. "What she said to the small group of us scared me, but it was made worse by the fact one of our number was an informant for the Count himself. It was only by mere chance that I was not present when his wolves broke into a house and killed all who had been present when the ghost told her story. All that is except myself and one other based on what I could observe from the remaining parts of bodies lying on the floor. I do not know for certainty who survived but obviously it was the informer who had turned us all in to save their own life."
"I realized my own was also forfeit if I stayed in Barovia so I fled the border with the Vistani who I always thought served the Count but were willing to help me escape for a price." He continued. "They dropped me off outside this city saying that it was here I would find safety from the Count as well as be able to use my gifts but I think they said that merely as a joke, knowing all the time we Barovians are not loved here in Darkon."
"What is it like to have a ghost enter you?" I asked somewhat in awe since seeing the effect General Athoul's arm had on his informer I could not picture what an entire spirit might do to a living body.
"It is like making a deal with a merchant." Ivan laughed at a private joke. I decided now was not the time to explain what my father did for a living. "The spirit is made to promise to answer questions, usually three, if in exchange I give it the means to feel alive again if only for that short period of time. The trick is, like with merchants, trying to determine which are attempting to cheat you with their false promises."
"So are you afraid?"
"Not usually." Ivan replied. "Although sometimes I have to experience the feelings related to the moment of the spirit's death which is rarely a pleasant memory to relive."
"So what do you charge?" I asked hoping I could afford to part with such funds.
"Here on the street five copper." He replied. "Few people who seek me out could afford more and in truth I rarely find the spirit they are seeking so my conscience will not allow me to ask for more. I do sometimes work on a contingency basis, answering questions in lieu of a percentage of the funds recovered, but only if I know for certain that I will actually be channeling the spirit in question so that I have some hope of making a few coins on this deal in the process."
"I know of a spirit I would like to channel." I replied after a few moments of careful thought. "And I will offer you a silver piece to do so."
Ivan cocked his head either at my request coming on the heels of his admission he was usually a fraud or at the larger than normal sum I was offering to pay. "So what is the job?"
The pair of us sat there on the bookstore stoop for nearly an hour as I described what I needed and the plan I had in mind. Ivan was polite and even offered up wording suggestions to improve my questions saying that some spirits who want to keep their secrets try to use loopholes in the way a question is phrased to avoid answering it honestly. I thanked him for this and made an agreement to meet him tomorrow with the promised funds regardless of whether my plan succeeded or not.
The next morning found me once more outside the walls of the University of Il' Aluk watching the elven ghost's increasing frustration at not being able to communicate with the living around him. This was made even worse still for him, because after three days of appearing in this same spot and at the same time he had become more of a local eye turning curiosity now rather than the attention grabbing spectacle he had been for the previous days.
The people on the street on their way to work or the store or wherever other such actions in their lives required them to travel now only cast him a glance in passing rather than stopping to try and speak to him as we all had done the first day he appeared. In a week I doubt most locals would even notice him anymore and he would become just a background part of the local scenery like the building or the trees that stood above the university walls yet no one stopped to admire.
According to my plan I was of course an exception to all these others. At the appointed time and when I knew all the parts of my scheme were in place I strode right over to the ghost and began to try and communicate with it once more waving my arms dramatically and shouting without speaking to drawing its attention to me. I failed as miserably at the former as I had for the previous two days but succeeded in the latter, seemingly stunning the elf with my display, making him wonder perhaps if only the mentally disturbed now were going to take him seriously.
At the next moment I saw him startle as if her had sensed something odd and quickly look around in confusion but at that point my savior, the young street waif Chanella, came running up to me waiving her arms every bit as dramatically as I did as we had a seemingly boisterous almost to the point of violent conversation right in front of the ghost. Once again his eyes were drawn to the pair of us, even though I could see he was still feeling that something was not right. The increasing warmth coming from my Vistani charm made me hope that I had worked out a proper solution to this problem because my plan was not without risk.
Ivan, looking no different than any of the other people currently walking this street and heading for destinations of their own, was upon the ghost before the elf knew it or was able to react. The medium had told me that there were a series of chants he was required to speak aloud to open his body up for possession by another spirit and to help bind it to his will to answer questions and I suspect these being spoken aloud as Ivan walked our direction was what the elven ghost had sensed.
In my travels to Staunton Bluffs I had learned that elves more so than any other race as a whole respected what the spirit of an individual represented. They saw the undead as even more than an evil like the other races treated it but more as an abomination against the natural world order. Free will, which was the very essence of the spirit, was the most sacred gift to an elf. It was for this reason that elves and half elves cremated their dead so that the spirit was able to go free and not be locked in the body of a rotting corpse for all eternity. And it was why I assumed, rightly, that elves would take a very dim view on possession by spirits even if the victim of the crime was the spirit and not the one being possessed. This confirmation came immediately when Ivan stepped inside the spectral ghost and literally drew the spirit into his body like one might were they to breathe in a cloud of smoke.
"Damn you humans for your treachery once more!" Ivan spoke in a language that I did not initially comprehend but whose fluid tones I could only assume was elvish. Thankfully Chanella at my side knew this language having learned it on her mother's knee and translated the ghost's comment to me along with a few additional words I would rather not print and am still shocked a girl so young even knew. I quickly offered her a full silver piece as well if she would continue to perform as a translator for me which she agreed to without any further debate.
"Let me free humans!" He cursed us. "Is it not enough that you kind slew me and in so doing kept me from a promised afterlife by my failure to keep my oath, but now you must taint my soul in this way as well?"
"Ghost tell us why you haunt this place." I ordered and made sure that the girl knew to translate this with the same level of demand that I had infused the demand with. I heard her do so and though I do not know the words she used, the tone matched what I expected it to be.
The elven warrior in Ivan's body tried to resist but the hold the medium had over it was stronger, at least for the duration of the three questions we could ask of it. Through clenched teeth it was forced to reply. "I must have proof that I kept my oath to protect the child of the Royal House of Tethyr from the assassins that dogged our steps. I know only that he fled to this city not where he may be now."
The answer surprised me but I could see by the sweat on Ivan's brow that I did not have time to think over these events at present but must instead ask my next question. "Tell me ghost of the events that still bind you to this world." Once again the girl repeated my words in elvish with all her skill and no sense of fear, and admirable trait in one so young.
"The young prince of Tethyr was given into my care and I was told to flee to where I could to keep him safe." He began. "No one asked my destination for then there would be no one to torture to reveal it. In truth I had no idea of where to go though I decided that the great city of Waterdeep to the north would be a good initial location to lose us both in a crowd."
"Assassins roamed the countryside slaying distant heirs and looking for those who had escaped. I knew they had magical lists whose names would fade from the pages when the heir was slain and through this process all the killers knew who was still to be found." He explained finally accepting his fate for the moment. "It was not long before groups of assassins were on our trail and while I could stay ahead of some, I knew it was only a matter of time before they would catch us so when the fog arose before us I was happy to be able to use this for additional cover and to perhaps lose my pursuit."
"We emerged here in this land, though I do not know where this place is for the stars do not appear as they did in my home." He explained. "We could see the lights of this town in the distance and began to ride toward it. Unfortunately the assassins had not been so easy to lose and they were soon once more bearing down upon us. With regrets I gave the prince my horse and ordered him to hide in this town. And out there in the fields south of your city I did battle with the forces of the assassins, those who had been called The Scorpions, slaying many of their number before finally falling to their poison coated blades."
None of the details that the elf spoke of to me were any of which I as familiar with. I knew of no land of Tethyr or its now likely dead royal family, nor had I ever heard of The Scorpions. It was with trepidation that I asked my final question exactly as Ivan had told me to speak it. "Tell me ghost what will it take to set your spirit free!"
Sadness came to Ivan's visage that I knew must be a reflection of the elven spirit's feelings. "I must know that the bloodline of Tethyr lives on. That the boy I gave my oath and life to protect is safe from The Scorpions who sought his death."
The battle seemed to go out of the spirit at this point and with a moment of convulsion I saw the ghost float free from Ivan's body and stand before us once more. No longer was he the fierce elven warrior holding his sword. Now he looked merely like a tired elf hoping to be released to his afterlife. I swore to myself as I paid my two helpers that I would do what I could for this stranger to my land.
I returned first to one than the other of the bookstores that I spent my time to see what I could learn of these events the elf had spoken of. As I saw it I had a few specific clues to start my research with and a full day at least to pursue these leads.
I started by asking the owners of the bookstores if they were aware of any of the major events the ghost had spoken of. First had they any knowledge of the land called Tethyr? To my disappointment neither had ever heard of such a place and while one of the stores had a rough map of our land and its countires, none of them were known by such a name nor were any of their listed cities. This led me to fear that the elf and his charge were not from our land but instead carried by the mists like other strangers I have spoken of before were. If that were true then Tethyr would likely be beyond my abilities to research with any chance of success.
The next question I posed to each of them was where would orphans and strangers be taken if they arrived in the city with no means to support themselves? I learned to my dismay that a city the size of Il' Aluk had no established orphanage and that most children would likely end up in similar straight to the half elven waif who had assisted me for the past two days. Of course there were always benevolent institutions like churches that would take some in when they could. More often it was the charity of individuals that would bring such children into their homes and see to their needs, effectively adopting them as one of their own in all but name.
In some occasions they may actually be formally adopted in order to pass on worldly possessions in the event of an unexpected tragedy or death, incidents that occurred far too often unfortunately. Those legal transactions and their associated records were maintained by the university's College of Law since they were not seen as an issue of law enforcement and thereby under the jurisdiction of those organizations who will not be named.
Such adoption though was a slim hope but I left it in the back of my mind as a last chance course of action if nothing else panned out. I decided that since I would be at the university tomorrow morning I would try then to see what I could learn about such situations.
While legal adoption was the pinnacle of my optimism, the alternative was described to me to be far more likely. Children without parents or means of support in Il' Aluk often fell into the hands of the criminal elements. The luckiest ones that showed a level of promise became thieves and beggars and as long as they produced wealth for their masters, they were fed and given a safe place to stay during the hours of darkness. Those that failed consistently to meet these quotas were useful examples to the others when they were tossed out into the night, or into the sewers to fend for themselves. Others were said to e sold into slavery for the pleasures of their new masters.
I did not spend much time speculating on what would happen to the elf's charge if this had been his fate. The guilds of thieves did not keep records of their members and were even less likely to keep records of their victims. These types of things were too useful as a tool to be used against them by their rivals or law enforcement if they were lost. Without them one could not speak of what one did not know.
My last potential lead was the name of the assassin band; The Scorpions. It seemed likely that if they had taken such a name to inspire fear in their rivals and victims then it was likely they would continue to use it out of common practice. To my surprise both bookstore owner's recalled this band though they did not remember all the details since it was events that had occurred in their respective childhood, possibly as much as fifty years earlier. Once again they suggested I research this more at the university library where records of such events were maintained.
By the evening meal I found my excitement of the morning's plan succeeding had led me back to the reality that my chance to help the elf ghost was unlikely at best. I consigned myself to the idea that if the university library did not offer up any useful leads I would be forced to likely surrender this quest to something beyond my ability to solve.
I paused outside the university that morning to allow he elven ghost to see me. While our eyes met his expression showed nothing but contempt for me since I had violated his spirit to learn all that I did. I spent a moment talking to the half elven girl before leaving her a copper piece to keep watch on him again today. In truth I wanted to give her the coin and needed a reasonable excuse now that we had become friends somewhat. The stories I had heard of yesterday about the lives such children led made me feel guilty for the blessings of my own and in a way responsible to help where I could with Chanella. She asked what the copper was for and my response was so that she would stay close in case I needed her to translate again later. She quickly pointed out I had paid her a silver for that yesterday. I laughed and said the price would remain the same, the copper was only so she would stick around in this area at least until the ghost disappeared.
I walked to the back of the registration hall and stood for fifteen minutes while all the others gathered as well. By now many of us knew each others' faces and we nodded a hello so to meet the propriety rules of good manners without having to actually get to know anything about the people we were competing with to attend this school.
I was in the process of trying to figure out which building on campus was the college library when I heard my name announced by the clerk, shocking me out of my musings. "Excuse me sir I am Rudolph Van Richten and I am here sir" I said trying to be respectful.
"I know you are here Van Richten, what I was asking you is if you intend to make your scheduled appointment or instead would rather give up this notion of becoming a doctor and return to your village where you belong?" His arrogant nature set my teeth on edge but I dared not say anything that could get me in more trouble, especially at this point. Unfortunately that left me in a bit of a predicament.
"Yes sir I will be there." I said
"That is good to know boy now if I may get on with my announcements?" He asked.
"Of course sir." I replied. "Except…"
"Yes Van Richten?"
"What time did you say my appointment was sir?" This instituted a round of snickers from the rest of the members of the crowd who were still waiting their own names to be called.
The clerk of course was anything but amused. "The tenth bell Van Richten, that is if that meets your needs. I am certain the board would be willing to change to a more convenient time to match your schedule if that were necessary."
"Yes sir…I mean no sir… I mean I will be there at the tenth bell sir." All in all this was the most humorous announcement I had observed in the more than ten days I had been coming here. It was only unfortunate that I was not able to share in the humor being the source of the jokes and all.
I thankfully found the library without inventing yet another means to be the brunt of this morning's humor. It was a seven story structure, though only three levels were above ground. Six of the levels were individually dedicated to the major colleges on the university and those seeking to enter them had to show membership in those schools to be allowed entrance to that level and its contents. While some readers may find this odd the reasons for this were two fold. First of all some of the works were nearly priceless and were required reading for students in that college. Copies were scheduled for these books but such things take time and resources.
The second and more important reason for this caution was since one of the schools was the College of Magic the materials available to those students had the potential to cause great harm and even death if just handled by the wrong person. To protect against such accidents all colleges could designate works as belonging to their school only. If some were needed for multiple colleges, the university had sufficient copies produced immediately and each level then had their own.
Thankfully the ground floor was open to all students for general research and it was in these materials that I was likely to find my answers to my investigations if they even existed. That was until I got my first look at the potential size of the problem.
The bookcases on the south one third of the level were laid out in ten rows of ten, each with five shelves. The north side of the room was exactly the same in reflection. In the center of the room were the stairways leading up and down along with the research tables and chairs and the librarian's desk.
I have no doubt I looked like a fish out of water, my mouth opening and closing as I spun in place realizing the impossibility of my task. Books came in all shapes, sizes, and colors and only some of them had any writing on the binding to identify what they contained. The closest shelf that I looked at first had only books in foreign languages which almost finished the work of completely confusing me until I realized they were purposefully segregated this way for easy research.
At this time thankfully the librarian noted my plight and called me over to her desk. This early in the morning there were few students about doing research and none of them were working on this floor so she had little else to occupy her mind. I could see her studying me as I took a closer look at her as well.
Like the stereotypical librarian she was a woman well past her prime age. Her hair was dull gray and pulled back in a ponytail and held in place by a single black ribbon. Her clothes were well made but rather out of style in age by at least two decades. She in every way looked like a woman who should be resting in a bed somewhere not one who was in charge of this level. But I noted a wisdom and a youthful fire in her eyes that whispered to me there was more here than I was seeing.
"A bit young to be a student aren't you Master…." She asked in a rather sweet and kindly old voice.
"Rudolph Van Richten ma'am." I replied. "My friends call me Rudolph and I would be honored if you would as well. And I do not think anyone has ever called me master."
"Now I know you can't be a student of THIS school." She said aloud to no one in particular it seemed. But after a moment she turned her full attention back to me. "You do look rather young are you actually a student?"
"No ma'am but I am applying to the College of Medicine." I replied. "I assume it is ok for me to be here?"
"Actually according to the rules it is not since you are not currently enrolled." She replied nearly crushing my spirits with that one statement. Then she turned them around in the next breath. "But those old fuddy duddies' rules make no sense if they are actually trying to be the institution of learning they claim it to be. If that is so how can we turn away anyone seeking knowledge I ask you good sir?" She smiled at me and I knew right then she and I were going to be friends.
"That you Miss…"
"The students call me Tess my young sir, at least to my face or I toss them out through the very doors you came in through." She smiled at me.
"I will try to remember that Tess."
"Please do. Now what brings a fine young unpresuming man to my library at so early an hour?"
"I am trying to find someone who was lost ma'am."
"Shouldn't you be talking to the authorities then?"
"No ma'am, I mean Tess" I saw her frown at my failure again to use her name. "I think he was lost many years ago so I am trying to do research to find out what happened to him."
"Well that is surely an interesting mystery that has pricked my curiosity." She replied. "Since I have read every book on this floor how about you let me help you with your research? What was his or her name?"
"I don't know what his name was Tess." I replied sheepishly.
"That will tend to complicate things." She said but did not seem at all deterred. In fact if anything this seemed to inspire her. "What do you know about him for sure?"
"I know he was being pursued by a group of assassins called The Scorpions if that helps."
Her eyes lit up. "It does indeed Rudolph." She motioned for me to follow her weaving through the shelves heading for a specific area. "The Scorpions were indeed a group of cutthroats and kidnappers operating in this very city as a matter of fact." She explained as we walked. "It was forty seven years ago that the Kargat destroyed their group after letting them operate for years before that with no interference. This change was supposedly for planning an attack on Lord Azalin himself. So that means the person you are looking for is at least fifty years of age."
"Actually ma'am I was told the person I am looking for was one of the first of The Scorpions' targets."
"Really?" She stopped to consider this information for a moment. "The earliest records of the group's existence date back about thirty years before their extinction. That would meant the person you are looking for is at least eighty years of age son."
"Yes ma'am."
"Is he human?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am…I mean Tess." Her eyes flashed at my repeated formality before think more about this issue.
"You realize it is unlikely that he is still alive right?"
"Yes ma'am, but in that case I am hoping to find his descendents."
"Why?" She asked. "Is this part of a will?"
"Not exactly Tess."
"Rudolph I think you better tell me the entire story so I can help you as best I can." She pointed me toward a rather comfortable looking couch and bade me to sit down and get comfortable while I told my tale. She sat as well, though on the puffy arm of a great chair so that she could seeming spring up and race me to her books once she knew what it was I was looking for.
Over the next hour or so I explained to her all I had learned of the elven warrior and what it would take to free him. She sat patiently and listened to it all without so much as a glimmer of doubt. Finally when I finished she sat silently and pondered it all for a few more minutes before finally speaking.
"Rudolph this is an incredible story." She said. The word incredible was said in a monotone voice level to mean hard to believe rather than excitement creating. "What do you hope to gain from this?"
I looked at her cocking my head in confusion at her suggestion. "Nothing Tess." I replied. But if I do not help this ghost he may be trapped here forever. You said that the one I am looking for is at least eighty, I would guess closer to ninety based on his likely age at the time of my story. Any more time wasted will only make the trail that much harder to follow so if I do not help him now who knows if the next person who tries to help the elf will even have any trail at all to begin with?"
She nodded at me in understanding. "You will make a fine doctor one day Rudolph." She said. "I just wish all your contemporaries had the same level of compassion and concern for others that you show."
"Thank you Tess."
"One last thing what was the name of the land you spoke of?"
"He said it was called Tethyr, though I have not found any record of such a place existing." I answered
"Tethyr?" She spoke the word slowly and clearly. "You are sure that is what he said?"
"Yes Tess."
"Then Rudolph my boy I think I may just be able to help you." She smiled before raising her palm and showing me a pentagram shaped birthmark upon her skin. I looked at her confused so she explained.
"I told you to call me Tess because no one ever seems to pronounce my name correctly." She started. "That is until you did. My name is actually Tanischa Tethyr and I think the one you are seeking was my grandfather who took this name but until now none of the family knew why."
"Then he is dead?"
"Yes Rudolph, for some thirty years now I am afraid.
"Then the elf can not be set free?" I said with a profound sense of sadness.
"On the contrary." She replied. "According to your story he simply needs proof that the bloodline was protected. I think I qualify as that proof don't you? He should recognize me since all born of my grandfather's line share this same birthmark."
"No offense Tess but might he only see you and still question if the line is safe? You are only a single person not proof that there are others." I rationalized.
"Of course you are right about being the last." She smiled. "Except for my four children, eleven grandchildren, and currently three great grand children." She laughed. "And that is ignoring the descants of both my brother and sister plus my two uncles as well. All in all I suspect there are nearly four score of our bloodline here in Darkon. If that is not enough proof then I fear your ghost friend will be impossible to convince."
I knew the ninth hour bell had rung recently but I still hoped I had enough time. I asked Tess to accompany me and the pair of us walked briskly across campus to the gate, she was very spry for a woman her age I will admit, and out into the street where the elven ghost looked to be surrendering for the day and beginning to fade.
I ran headlong toward him, nearly getting killed by a slop cart in the process, waiving my arms and trying to get the elf's attention. Since I knew my words were not heard by the elf nor even in his language I screamed instead for Chanella to come quickly and join us. She was startled but was up on her feet immediately and coming to join us.
Thankfully the elven ghost saw my approach and this gave him reason to reverse his fade though he did seem to take a quick look around to make sure I was not attempting another possession on him. We were suddenly face to face and I realized I still had no way to communicate our success. I growled in frustration asking my companions for any ideas.
"Can he read?" Tess asked drawing forth a coal stick and a small journal she kept in a pouch by her side.
"I think so but probably only in Elvish."
"I can write in Elvish." Chanella injected. "But it will cost you a second silver." She smiled as she negotiated. I placed the two coins in her hand, looks like another day without lunch at least, and told her to write the Elvish alphabet since there was no way he would be able to fold the stick if he needed to ask more questions.
The ghost looked as she wrote the letters on the page and nodded his understanding at what we were doing. Once complete Tess tore those pages from her book and lay them at the feet of the ghost. Meanwhile I directed Chanella to write exactly what I said.
"Noble elf, your oath was kept and you honor unstained." The elf looked at these words with a question in his eyes but happy to see I had found a way to communicate. "This woman here is the descendent of you charge. She is the proof that he lived to assure the bloodline."
At my words Tess raised her palm and showed the elf the mark upon her hand. The ghost smiled in recognition of what that meant. Still holding his sword he pointed to a series of letters at his feet which Chanella dutifully copied down until she understood what he was asking.
"How many live?" Chanella translated.
"Tell him eighty two." Tess spoke up before I could answer. Chanella immediately made the symbols and the elf nodded his head in a look of contentment and happiness. He raised his hand to clap me on the shoulder but his hand passed right through me. Instead he bowed to me and then to Chanella in thanks. Finally he looked to Tess and went down on one knee while offering her his ghostly sword.
She looked at him and spoke aloud. "Find your deserved rest protector of Tethyr." Chanella began to scribe the words but there was no need. The elf's spirit understood the command and he faded one last and final time from sight. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was until the ten hour bells began to chime back on the university grounds.
"Oh dammit!" I said, cursing for the first time that I can recall and without a word of explanation began running back across campus to my appointment that I was now officially late for.
I raced up the steps to see the clerk shaking his head at me as he was obviously closing the door to the interview room. Realizing that my future was slipping beyond my grasp I pushed past the surprised clerk and into the room where four middle aged men and one woman sat behind a cold looking desk with alternating looks of shock, outrage, and humor.
"May I assume you are Rudolph Van Richten." The centermost gentleman who was the very image of outrage asked.
"I am master." I replied.
"The correct term is Master Professor or Doctor." He replied. "Both of which are title I do not think YOU shall ever earn Mr. Van Richten."
His cold demeanor silenced him until the woman to his left, the only one of the group who appeared amused spoke up. "Let him at least explain his tardiness Gunther." She offered. "We have the time and it might at least be entertaining."
I stood there stunned without knowing where to begin or what I might say to be able to convince these people who literally held my future in their hands to give me a chance to interview. But nothing at all came to my mind except that I would have to tell my father I had failed him.
Then a voice called out from behind me. "Gunther sit your aged arse back in the seat and let this boy tell you how he saved not a life but an immortal soul this day and that is why he was a few minutes late to your little inquisition." Tess's voice spoke up from behind me and I found that not only she but a rather dirty and offensive smelling street waif had come to my defense as well. In truth they were the only army I was going to get and I was happy to have them that my face actually beamed for a moment.
With Tess's encouragement I related how I had spent my nearly two weeks of time in Il' Aluk culminating in the events to put to rest the elf's spirit less than an hour ago. At each point where the crowd seemed ready to throw us out thinking my story totally unbelievable, Tess or Chanella would provide collaboration of their own silencing the argument before it had a chance to get a hold.
When I had finished and stood in silence it was the woman at the table who spoke up first. "That is without a doubt the most fantastic story or most boldfaced lie that I have ever heard spoken in this chamber which is saying allot!" She started with a smile. "I vote for your acceptance just based on the likelihood you will be vastly more entertaining to watch than any student I had ever before seen."
Master Professor Gunther scowled at this. "I reject him for the very reasons you stated." He replied with a scowl. "We are here to educate not entertain. Go become a bard and leave medicine to those who take these responsibilities seriously!"
The younger man immediately to Gunther's right though was more solemn and brooding during my story and had not seemed to give any indication of which way his thoughts on my future lay until he spoke. "Rudolph, by helping that ghost you have likely damned your own future." He said in a serious tone. "Was it really worth that son?"
I thought for a moment only before responding. "While I never actually considered that at the time sir, now with a moment to look at it I must admit yes sir it was." I replied. "What are the few decades of my life against the possible eternal pain he would feel?"
The man nodded at me. "Then I agree you should be admitted. People with the temperament to risk their own future for the sake of others are the types of students we should be seeking out to recruit into this college and profession not to reject." He looked to the last two undecided professors at the table as he spoke rather than to me and with his simple speech swayed them to my cause as well. This was much to the obvious frustration of the Master Professor who did not even try to hide his displeasure.
"Well young Van Richten it seems that I was outvoted so I must therefore bow to the will of the board and accept your enrollment beginning in the fall of year 688." Gunther spoke through clenched teeth. "It is however within my prerogative to make your acceptance contingent upon your demonstration of dedication to your studies. Therefore I shall assign you areas of research each year upon which you are to come back and report to me about each summer. If you can answer my questions sufficiently you will be accepted."
"To make it fair Gunther we will ALL be in attendance for his reviews." The female professor injected. "I would hate to see an error in correcting his test cause a fine young man to be rejected from pursuing his dreams."
"With that caveat then Van Richten you may depart for now." Gunther replied. "Return in one week from today and see the clerk. He will have our homework assignments ready for you by then."
I merely nodded at this, afraid anything I might say would wake me from this dream. I could not believe all that had occurred. I let the idea truly sink in for the first time and realized that I was going to be in medical school.
Tess and Chanella walked out with me of course congratulating me for this achievement. Finally Chanella paused which drew us all up short. "Something about those words sends a child down my spine." She said looking at the two of us.
"What words?" I asked. "That I have been accepted?"
"No the name that goes with it." She said before shaking her head and beginning to walk beside us once more. "Doctor Rudolph Van Richten. Why do I think it is a name I will hear a lot about in the future?'
Just over a week later I was enroute back to Rivalis on a wagon with a merchant who made this trip every other week, picking up food stocks from our village and selling them at the inns and open markets in Il' Aluk. He was happy for the company and I was happy not to be wearing out the soles of my shoes. I wanted to be able to save as many costs on my parents as I could since my tuition was hardly going to be a simply thing to pay.
My study list the clerk had given me was also going to be a challenge because it required me to learn about many subjects I had never heard of before. Tess, however, had come to my rescue in this saying that she would arrange to 'acquire' the necessary texts from the school library and have them sent to me, through the very farmer I was riding home with, as long as I studied them and sent them back with the next trip. I of course agreed and asked her how I could repay her but she just waived me off saying there is never a debt between friends.
As busy as my own future appeared to be, I had to have sympathy for Chanella. Tess would not hear of letting the girl go back to her life on the street so offered her a choice. She first offered to see the girl adopted by the Church of Hala and put on the road to becoming a priestess. Chanella turned pale white at this idea. The librarian then offered she could come live with Tess, however if she chose this course she would be expected not only to wear some clean clothes that the librarian had as hand me downs from her own children's children but to help around the house as well.
Chanella said she was a terrible cook and by the looks of her it did not seem that cleaning was her forte either. Tess took this all in stride though and said the girl's primary job was going to be reading to her each night as her old eyes were starting to fail her. Chanella smiled at this an accepted, whispering to me how easy a life that would be and never understanding like I did that Tess was really giving the girl an education without her knowing about it. "How hard can reading a few books be?" She asked me as we said our goodbyes outside Tess's three room apartment.
I thought over the size and contents of the library and smiled. "No not too hard at all."
