Tamora Pierce owns the entire universe of this story, all the characters,
the world they live on and the very air they use to sustain life. Only the
vague plot and dialog I have attributed to TP's characters in this tale
belongs to me. I freely give my permission for anyone to use any or all of
the plot/story/dialog if they are so inclined.
Blame all lousy spelling and grammar on the California Education System.
Chapter 30
A week later Briar entered the family room carrying a handful of parchments, moving over to where Tris was reading and Igor and Moglee was playing a game of Yanjang checkers using a new set of stone markers made by Evvy, "I have an answer on the costs of four years of general/magic education at Winding Circle and four years at Lightsbridge University."
Daja stood and joined them, "I really never thought of it but you and I, Briar, also owe Winding Circle for our educations."
"I realized that when I found out what it cost to teach us. Fortunately we have the funds to pay for the education we got and I think we should do so." Handing Daja the parchment displaying the amount of funds that would be needed.
Turning to Tris, he handed a copy to her and said, "Since you were still eighteen when you finished Lightsbridge University you were still legally a minor and you father is responsible for funding your education."
"Want to rattle your father's cage? It could bring him to face you in order to settle accounts. Chances are he has forgotten that you exist and I doubt that he has heard of your rise to the nobility, any merchant would be trying to use a connection like that to make a profit."
"The Duke is having a letter sent to house Chandler to inquire into Moglee's parents estate. We can send this letter with the same courier. We can handle this in two ways, we can let the temple collect the funds or we can pay the temple and then the funds will be owed to Trisana Chandler Baroness of Green Acres."
"Well Tris, it is up to you."
"Owing the money to me would force him to deal with me, I think I would like to face him. Send the letter, I'll make arrangements to pay Winding Circle and Lightsbridge University."
"Do you want to write it, or should I?" asked Briar.
"I'll write it, it will be ready in the morning." Tris replied.
"No hurry, the Dukes letter can wait a while."
Moglee asked, "Tris, do you know when Shakeprod's new play going to be preformed?"
"We are printing up posters in the print shop announcing the first performance in two weeks."
"Could I get two tickets to the first show?"
"Who are you taking?"
"I thought I would ask Evvy if Briar does not object."
Briar stared at him, "I will have to check you out, are you a good man, have you a steady job? Can you afford to support my ward in the manner she would like to become accustomed to?"
Daja punched him on the arm.
"Knock it off cabbage head." She told him.
"I prefer onion head." Briar told her.
"Why?"
"Because I have layers, like an onion."
Daja shook her head and went back to her chair.
"No problem getting tickets," Tris told Moglee, "I was given a block of twenty-five tickets for printing the posters."
"I made him pay for printing the tickets for the play."
"Tris, did you hear the latest about harrier Homs?" Daja asked.
Tris peered at Daja over the top of her lenses. "No. What has he done now?"
"Well is seems that Sherluk Homs and his assistant Watsun went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night, and went to sleep.
Some hours later, Homs awoke and nudged his friend.
'Watsun, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.'
Watsun replied, 'I see millions and millions of stars.'
'And what does that tell you?' Homs asked.
Watsun pondered for a minute. 'Chronologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that the Gods are all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?'
Homs was silent for a minute, then he spoke.
'Watsun, you idiot. Somebody has stolen our tent!'"
Tris ignored her.
Laughing Briar went to the cooler and got some fruit juice, taking his drink he moved to watch the game between Igor an Moglee.
Igor made a move and glanced up as Briar asked, "I've been wondering when you and Mog are moving up out of the cellar?"
"Well, I kind of like it down there, It's quiet and there is no hallway traffic to worry about. Now that Evvy gave us the light sticks it's well lit and with the curtains it is warm." Igor told him.
"What about you Mog?"
"I'm undecided, like Igor, I like the quiet and having spent so much time without having crowds around I get a little tense when I'm in a crowd for to long."
"Well if you want to stay down there we can make it a lot more comfortable for you, we could replace the curtains with walls, formalize the space for you."
"Why would want to do that?"
"Just how much do you know about Me, Daja and Tris?"
"Some of the rumors floating around, you are all mages and were raised to the nobility by the Empress for saving the life of the Duke and his niece. And there have been stories for years about the four mages who lived through an earthquake collapsing the cave they were in, having a major part in defeating a pirate attack, stopping a forest fire, curing a plague, catching killers and other stories."
"What have you heard about out lives before we came to Winding Circle?"
"Nothing."
"You know Tris's story."
"Daja was cast out of her family because the traders thought she was bad luck, Niko brought her here."
"I was a member of a street gang convicted three times for theft and headed to the life on the docks before Niko found me."
"Sandry's parents died in the plague and she was locked in a concealed storage room with no survivors knowing where she was, then Niko found her."
"You can believe us when we say that we know what it is to be different, and because of that we are more tolerant of others who are different."
"We have gotten to know and like you, in one short week you are becoming very useful in Tris's printing shop, Mog is really earning his way with the animals."
"You don't have to make any decisions quickly."
Just then the door to the cellar opened and four staff members carried in a crate, "Baroness, this one is full of books." They sat the box on the floor next to a large table and removed the lid.
As the staff members headed back down to the cellar Tris stood and started taking the book from the crate and piling them on the table.
"History, fiction, math, fiction, joke book, maps, fiction." Tris muttered as she read the titles of the books, placing each category in a separate pile except for the joke book, which she tossed to Daja, "Here find some better jokes."
Igor moved to the table and started examining the book Tris was placing on it. Reading the titles he suddenly stopped and put all the books back on the table except one. Opening the single book he scanned the first page.
"Hey Mog," he said as he turned to Moglee, "here is the next book in the 'Protector of the Small' series. The one that follows 'Lady Knight'."
"Oh, what's the title?"
"Kel's Quintuplets"
Blame all lousy spelling and grammar on the California Education System.
Chapter 30
A week later Briar entered the family room carrying a handful of parchments, moving over to where Tris was reading and Igor and Moglee was playing a game of Yanjang checkers using a new set of stone markers made by Evvy, "I have an answer on the costs of four years of general/magic education at Winding Circle and four years at Lightsbridge University."
Daja stood and joined them, "I really never thought of it but you and I, Briar, also owe Winding Circle for our educations."
"I realized that when I found out what it cost to teach us. Fortunately we have the funds to pay for the education we got and I think we should do so." Handing Daja the parchment displaying the amount of funds that would be needed.
Turning to Tris, he handed a copy to her and said, "Since you were still eighteen when you finished Lightsbridge University you were still legally a minor and you father is responsible for funding your education."
"Want to rattle your father's cage? It could bring him to face you in order to settle accounts. Chances are he has forgotten that you exist and I doubt that he has heard of your rise to the nobility, any merchant would be trying to use a connection like that to make a profit."
"The Duke is having a letter sent to house Chandler to inquire into Moglee's parents estate. We can send this letter with the same courier. We can handle this in two ways, we can let the temple collect the funds or we can pay the temple and then the funds will be owed to Trisana Chandler Baroness of Green Acres."
"Well Tris, it is up to you."
"Owing the money to me would force him to deal with me, I think I would like to face him. Send the letter, I'll make arrangements to pay Winding Circle and Lightsbridge University."
"Do you want to write it, or should I?" asked Briar.
"I'll write it, it will be ready in the morning." Tris replied.
"No hurry, the Dukes letter can wait a while."
Moglee asked, "Tris, do you know when Shakeprod's new play going to be preformed?"
"We are printing up posters in the print shop announcing the first performance in two weeks."
"Could I get two tickets to the first show?"
"Who are you taking?"
"I thought I would ask Evvy if Briar does not object."
Briar stared at him, "I will have to check you out, are you a good man, have you a steady job? Can you afford to support my ward in the manner she would like to become accustomed to?"
Daja punched him on the arm.
"Knock it off cabbage head." She told him.
"I prefer onion head." Briar told her.
"Why?"
"Because I have layers, like an onion."
Daja shook her head and went back to her chair.
"No problem getting tickets," Tris told Moglee, "I was given a block of twenty-five tickets for printing the posters."
"I made him pay for printing the tickets for the play."
"Tris, did you hear the latest about harrier Homs?" Daja asked.
Tris peered at Daja over the top of her lenses. "No. What has he done now?"
"Well is seems that Sherluk Homs and his assistant Watsun went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night, and went to sleep.
Some hours later, Homs awoke and nudged his friend.
'Watsun, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.'
Watsun replied, 'I see millions and millions of stars.'
'And what does that tell you?' Homs asked.
Watsun pondered for a minute. 'Chronologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that the Gods are all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?'
Homs was silent for a minute, then he spoke.
'Watsun, you idiot. Somebody has stolen our tent!'"
Tris ignored her.
Laughing Briar went to the cooler and got some fruit juice, taking his drink he moved to watch the game between Igor an Moglee.
Igor made a move and glanced up as Briar asked, "I've been wondering when you and Mog are moving up out of the cellar?"
"Well, I kind of like it down there, It's quiet and there is no hallway traffic to worry about. Now that Evvy gave us the light sticks it's well lit and with the curtains it is warm." Igor told him.
"What about you Mog?"
"I'm undecided, like Igor, I like the quiet and having spent so much time without having crowds around I get a little tense when I'm in a crowd for to long."
"Well if you want to stay down there we can make it a lot more comfortable for you, we could replace the curtains with walls, formalize the space for you."
"Why would want to do that?"
"Just how much do you know about Me, Daja and Tris?"
"Some of the rumors floating around, you are all mages and were raised to the nobility by the Empress for saving the life of the Duke and his niece. And there have been stories for years about the four mages who lived through an earthquake collapsing the cave they were in, having a major part in defeating a pirate attack, stopping a forest fire, curing a plague, catching killers and other stories."
"What have you heard about out lives before we came to Winding Circle?"
"Nothing."
"You know Tris's story."
"Daja was cast out of her family because the traders thought she was bad luck, Niko brought her here."
"I was a member of a street gang convicted three times for theft and headed to the life on the docks before Niko found me."
"Sandry's parents died in the plague and she was locked in a concealed storage room with no survivors knowing where she was, then Niko found her."
"You can believe us when we say that we know what it is to be different, and because of that we are more tolerant of others who are different."
"We have gotten to know and like you, in one short week you are becoming very useful in Tris's printing shop, Mog is really earning his way with the animals."
"You don't have to make any decisions quickly."
Just then the door to the cellar opened and four staff members carried in a crate, "Baroness, this one is full of books." They sat the box on the floor next to a large table and removed the lid.
As the staff members headed back down to the cellar Tris stood and started taking the book from the crate and piling them on the table.
"History, fiction, math, fiction, joke book, maps, fiction." Tris muttered as she read the titles of the books, placing each category in a separate pile except for the joke book, which she tossed to Daja, "Here find some better jokes."
Igor moved to the table and started examining the book Tris was placing on it. Reading the titles he suddenly stopped and put all the books back on the table except one. Opening the single book he scanned the first page.
"Hey Mog," he said as he turned to Moglee, "here is the next book in the 'Protector of the Small' series. The one that follows 'Lady Knight'."
"Oh, what's the title?"
"Kel's Quintuplets"