The Farstep Knight in the name given to the Bearer of Boldyn’s Blade. Archmage Boldyn was a master of the Font of Space. The blade granted the wielder the ability to teleport as well as the ability to cut portals in space others could pass through. The blade also allowed the wielder to pass into the Ethereal Realm.

  -Bladed Knights by Kysin, the 195th High Librarian

  ---

  Kole was relieved to learn that the men he’d cast Shatter on would live. The spell had burst all of their ear drums and broke enough bones that they’d been unable or unwilling to engage in the fight.

  The two that had been asleep had gotten off easier and had been in a much better state to answer questions when the campus arm of the city guard appeared. There had been an apparent administrative mix up with the routes that night, leaving this section blank, and the men that appeared assured them that it would be investigated.

  As was protocol when a student was attacked on campus, the guard notified the school, but Kole and his friends had been free to leave after giving a statement.

  The next morning, Kole was summoned to the administration building between classes to go over the incident. Dean Cornwall had requested he come but had given a precise time at which to do so, so Kole took the request more as the command it had been meant to be.

  The dean was an older human man, somewhere in his sixties, dressed in a very brown suit that made him blend into the room’s elaborately adorned floor to ceiling with wood panels and carvings. It might not have stood out in a normal building, but everything in the Academy of Illunia was constructed of stone by dwarves, so the wooden facade in this room must have taken some deliberate effort to pull off.

  The dean wasn’t alone in the room, Professor Underbrook was with him, and they were talking as Kole entered.

  “Ah, there he is,” the dean said. “Come, sit.”

  “Can I assume this is about last night?” Kole asked.

  The dean nodded, and Underbrook gave him a nod of approval and a thumbs up that the dean couldn’t see from his vantage point behind the desk.

  “Yes,” the dean said. “The city guard has completed its investigation, and we wanted to give you an update and assure you that you will be facing no consequences for your actions.”

  “Consequences?” Kole asked, surprised.

  It hadn’t even occurred to him that that would be a possibility, but he supposed if he’d been wrong, and those men hadn’t actually been after him there would have been consequences for his actions.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Underbrook said. “The thugs admitted to being paid to jump you and take anything of value on you and drop it at a dead drop.”

  “Did you find out who paid them?” Kole asked, “Because I have some ideas.”

  Underbrook shook his head, “The thugs didn’t know, they’d been hired via an intermediary who the guard hasn’t yet tracked down. And, before you ask, we can’t go and interrogate the Oldhill kid under a truth spell without some sort of evidence.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “So, why are you here?” Kole asked.

  “As your sort-of-mentor, I get notified anytime you get into trouble,” Underbrook said.

  “That was all, Kole,” the dean said. “You are free to leave.”

  “Want a lift to class?” Underbrook asked.

  He held out a hand to Kole.

  “Sure?” Kole said uncertainly.

  He reached for Underbrook’s hand, and the halfling snatched it up.

  “Try not to barf,” Underbrook said, before Kole felt the world fall out from underneath him.

  One instant he was in the dimly lit room of the overly wooden office, the next he was in the brightly lit corridors of the Dahn.

  The trip had been instantaneous, but the part of Kole’s mind attuned to the Arcane Realm had experienced an array of sensations that seemed to have lasted hours.

  Those memories stood with him as he stood in the hall, a wave of nausea flooding through him.

  “It’s always the worst the first time,” Underbrook said, taking a step back just in case.

  Kole schooled himself, taking deep breaths until he was confident he wouldn’t throw up.

  “Nice job!” Underbrook congratulated Kole. “That’s going to make training you a lot less horrible.”

  “So,” Kole said, gathering his thoughts. “Is there anything I can do about Corbyn?”

  “Plenty,” Underbrook said as he began walking down the hall to class. “But most of it will land you in disciplinary trouble.”

  “What should I do then?” Kole asked. “I doubt he’s going to give up.”

  “Stay vigilant and beat up whoever he sends at you next,” Underbrook advised.

  “That seems rather short sighted. What if he hires better thugs?” Kole asked.

  “Well,” Underbrook said. “I advise against walking across campus at night alone, but I don’t think you need to worry about him hiring anyone much more competent than that. Those morons were the cream of the crop of ingrates a student could hire on his own. All the powerful muscle won’t be taking the job.”

  “How do you know?” Kole asked.

  Corbyn’s family had a lot of money, and if he had connections to the Academy, as he seemed to have at least partially proven, he might have connections to the underworld of Edgewater.

  “Zale got Runt to spread word that you were off limits,” Underbrook said, giving Kole a knowing smile. “Runt was privy to some of Shalia’s contacts in the city, and I highly doubt the Oldhills have the coin to pay the price that would be demanded if asked to go against her.”

  “Wow,” Kole said, unsure of what else to say.

  “You really should have just asked her out to the dance,” Underbrook said.

  It took Kole a moment to process the words.

  “What!?” Kole asked. “How did you know about that?”

  “Don’t worry about that. I lost coin on that bet,” Underbrook answered. “Tigereye thought she’d ask you, and I bet that neither of you would ask the other out.”

  “Wait,” Kole sad, holding up his hand. “Tigereye is in on the bets?”

  “Who do you think comes up with the odds?” the halfling asked, smiling in a way Kole couldn’t be certain if he was being serious.

  Then the other implication of the words struck him. Tigereye thought Zale was going to ask me out?

  He didn’t know how good of a judge of adolescent drama Tigereye was, but the fact that he knew Zale well and thought she’d ask him strongly suggested that Kole really should have really asked her out.

  “Go sit in your seat,” Underbrook told Kole, “Class is starting soon.”

  Kole complied, lost in his thoughts. He went undefeated in his duels that day, not revealing the any more of his new spells. With the sealing of the rift, it had been announced midweek that the hardball tournament would resume. In light of this, Kole had decided to keep the full extent of his abilities secret until he found need of them.

  He’d been hoping the hardball league would resume so he could make another showing in an effort to find a mentor, but now that he tentatively had one, he wanted it to resume so he could win.

  There were eight undefeated teams remaining, and it had been explained that they would have one more round of one on one matches before having a battle royale final. Kole was both eager and excited to resume the tournament. He'd had high hopes for their chances at victory before, but with both his and his friends’ recent improvements, he didn't see how they could lose.

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