Chapter 10: March

David chatted with Jailla as they returned from David's patrol of the school. Jailla had wanted some flight time, so David had let him out while he patrolled. Little was going on, because it was the Friday before Spring Break, and the school was already mostly empty. Even The Clan was basically gone; David had not encountered a single problem on his patrol.

As he neared his own dorm room, however, he realized that was about to change. His next door neighbor, a girl named Kim, was arguing with someone. The person in question had their back turned to him, so David wasn't sure who it was. Once he got nearer, however, he realized it was Bob.

Just then, Bob grabbed Kim's arm.

"Let go of me!" Kim shouted, and jerked her arm free of Bob's grasp. David sped up his pace.

As Bob took a firmer hold on Kim's arm and started pushing her back toward her dorm room door, David faded through the half-walls separating the patios from each other. He became solid again once he'd reached Kim's patio, and then he grabbed Bob's wrist.

"The lady said to let go of her," David snapped. He jerked Bob's wrist down and back, forcing him to let go of Kim, who instinctively hid behind David.

"This is none of your business," Bob growled.

"Oh, yes it is. First off, Kim is a friend of mine. Second, I'm the head of the Discipline Response Team. Third, I'm a man. All three of those things make you mistreating a woman in my presence, my business. We don't do that kind of shit here."

"I should tear you apart for getting in my way," Bob seethed.

"Don't make us find out which one of us is stronger, Bob. Leave. Now, before this gets uglier than it already is."

David could tell that Bob was considering an attack of some kind. He had his own hand on his wand, but hadn't pulled it yet. He wanted to give Bob every chance to walk away.

Bob glared at David for a long moment, and David stared right back. Dragon gaze versus undead stare ended up ultimately in a stalemate, and Bob threw up his hands, snarled, and moved off.

As soon as David was sure that Bob was gone, he turned to face Kim.

"Are you okay?"

Kim threw her arms around David and buried her face in his chest, weeping with the release of her terror. David held onto her as she let it out, rubbing her back and hugging her tightly.

Finally, Kim's crying ceased, and David let her go as she stepped back.

"Thanks, David. If you hadn't come along when you did..."

"Yeah. I didn't know he was that kind of guy."

"Why me, though? I mean, it's not like I'm the prettiest girl here. I don't dress flashy to get attention or anything..."

"He probably saw you when he'd come to my room."

"You mean, he's your friend?"

"Eh, more of an acquaintance. The dean's asked me to help him with some things. He and I will definitely have further words about this. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"That's my job. You're not going home for break?"

"Can't. My parents are remodeling the house, and my bedroom currently doesn't exist."

David smirked. "Well, that sucks. I'm sure I'll see you around, then. Break can get pretty damned boring."

"Oh, great," she said with a frown.

David shrugged. "I'm sure you'll find something to do. Anyway, I'll let you get inside and try to calm down from Bob's idiocy. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay."

"Oh, hey! Did you want to file a complaint about Bob?"

"I'd just as soon forget it happened," Kim said.

David nodded. "Okay. Good night."

"Good night to you, too. And thanks again."

"Excuse me, do you work here?" the woman asked David, who was standing in the entrance cavern to the school, but off to one side, to stay out of the way.

"Sort of," David said with a chuckle. "How can I help you?"

"We're a bit lost. We just signed in, but we don't know where we're supposed to go from here." The woman's daughter looked terrified.

"Okay, no problem, though they should have told you where you needed to go at the sign-in table."

"I think he got distracted," the girl said timidly.

David nodded. "All right. Well, take the rock lift up to the terrace," David said, motioning to the lift for clarity. "Once there, you'll see a large building, made mostly of glass, off to your left front. That's Byron Hall, and that's where they want you to go."

"Thank you so much, Mister...?"

"Stroud, but everyone calls me David."

"Thank you, David, for your help."

"No problem, ma'am. Good luck," he said to the new student, who jerked her head in acknowledgment before they turned and headed for the lift.

"Now, as I'm sure some of you are aware," Dean Lengel said to the assembled crowd, "Woodward has been facing some disciplinary challenges these last couple years. To counter that, we have formed the Discipline Response Team. The DIRT, as they are called, is a group of upperclassmen who have taken on the responsibility of trying to get things back in order. Their current leader is Capt. David Stroud, and I'm going to ask him to say a few words to you concerning your conduct and safety here at the school. David?"

There was a smattering of applause as David stepped up to the podium. He had discussed at length what he was supposed to say to this group with the dean the night before.

"Good morning. The dean was trying to be formal; no one calls me 'Captain' except one of my teammates. My name is David, and it is currently my honor to serve as head of the DIRT.

"DIRT is here to try to rid the school of misconduct. Now, what do we really mean by misconduct? We mean breaking the rules of the school. You've all received a handbook, and the school rules are in the back of that book. If you follow those rules, then you will have no trouble from DIRT. We're not here to harass anyone who's just having fun, or even someone who is speaking out about something they disagree with. So long as you follow the rules, we'll get along great.

"We are also here to protect you - as best we can - from those who would break the rules. I say 'as best we can' because there are only a few of us, and there are some two thousand students at this school. We can't be everywhere, so don't depend on us to miraculously show up and save your neck. We'll help out if we see you in trouble, but we have to see you in trouble, first.

"Now, there is a reason we talk about your safety here, and that is because there is an ongoing disciplinary issue at the Academy that we are struggling very hard to bring under control. That problem is known as The Clan. They are basically a gang. While their violence has been limited mostly to shoving, pushing, and a couple beatings, we are duly concerned that things could escalate. Believe me when I say, I am personally invested in getting rid of these clowns. They are disrupting the school, and hurting your chances for a good education, and we can't allow that to continue. We will get The Clan under control, but it might not happen fully before you arrive next fall, so we just wanted you to be aware.

"Now, one last thing. There used to be what was called an 'Information Officer' here at Woodward. Their job was to help you out for your first couple months here, to learn the ropes, so to speak. They would help you find your way around, answer questions about the school, that sort of thing.

"That position has now been merged into the DIRT. If you have a question, or if you can't find your way, ask any DIRT member. We all wear a badge, similar to this one," he said, gesturing to the one on his coat. "They will help you find your way, and if they can't answer your question, they will point you to someone who can.

"That's all I have for you. I welcome you all to Woodward, and I hope you'll find this school as worthwhile and rewarding as I do. Thank you."

The crowd applauded politely as David stepped down to sit with the others in charge of the presentation. The dean returned to the podium and spoke for a while longer, but David didn't pay much attention to her words. He'd heard it all several times before.

David was reading through one of his books on pyromandy when the knock came at the door. He answered the door, and was very surprised to find Prof. Qwellyn on the other side.

"Miss J!" David said happily. "How are you? Come on in."

"Hello, David," she said once she'd entered and he'd closed the door. "How have you been?"

"Can't complain... much," he said with a grin.

"That's good."

"How about you? How are things going?"

"Fine. A little dull, actually, but... fine."

David nodded. "So what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, as you know, I generally get ready for the Seedling Festival over the Spring Break."

"Right..."

"And you have always helped me with that. I was wondering if you'd be willing to do so again this year."

"Won't you feel uncomfortable around me, wanting to... uh... have sex?"

Miss J stepped close. "Only when we're not actually having sex," she said with a purr. "I may not be able to handle you long-term, but I can survive a week," she said with a grin. "If you're willing."

"I'm game," David said immediately.

"Good. Now, first thing's first. I know that you can't plant seeds... but we can practice..."

David couldn't respond as Miss J's lips locked on to his. It was a long time before they actually got around to working on the Seedling Festival.

"Good morning, David," Olissa said as she stepped onto his patio. He was already outside, enjoying the view and fiddling with a gadget.

"Hey," he said warmly. "How's it going?"

"Can't complain. Are we going to look for seeds?"

"As soon as Flo gets here. We need to be back before this afternoon. I have to help Miss J with Seedling Festival prep."

Olissa nodded. Just then, Flo showed up. After greetings were exchanged, Flo pointed to the thing in David's hand. "What's that?"

"This is The Trail Hiker's Guide to the Botany."

"What's it do?" she asked.

"It'll help us identify plants. Here, I'll show you with my eternium plant."

David walked over to his eternium, which was still only ten inches tall, even after a full four years of growth, and held the device up to it. The device was a small box, made out of wood, with a rectangular frame, similar to a picture frame, about six inches on a side. He held the device so that his eternium plant was centered in the frame.

"Identify," he said to the device.

A soft tinkling chime was heard, then, after about a quarter of a second, the box emitted a voice.

"The eternium plant. About the eternium plant: The eternium plant is old. I mean really old. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly old it is. You may think that your grandfather's been around since the stone age, but that's just peanuts to the eternium plant. The eternium plant is immortal; the first eternium ever found is still alive, six thousand years later. It is not necessarily the oldest in existence..."

"Stop," David said, and the voice faded into silence.

"It, uh, seems to editorialize a bit," Olissa said with a grin.

"I never said it was an encyclopedia..." David replied. The girls giggled. "Anyway, come on, let's go. I've been told there are some great plants up near Ceram, but that's about an hour from here, so we need to get going."

"Is that why you had us get up so early?" Flo said as they started walking.

"Yeah. I have to help Miss J this afternoon and tomorrow morning, and I have to be down in Bolmont tomorrow afternoon, so unless we wanted to wait until the weekend, this was pretty much the only time I had available."

"You sure do work yourself hard," Flo said.

David shrugged.

After a nice car ride - Olissa sat in the middle - the three found themselves in a wilderness area. Animals were heard scurrying away from them as they walked. The first interesting plant they found was very odd. It was a bush, about three feet tall. Its leaves grew in pairs, and each leaf had lobes that extended like fingers. The pair of leaves looked remarkably like cupped hands. In the middle of some of the pairs was a strawberry-sized blue fruit.

"What in the world is this?" Flo asked.

David held up the guide, and asked it.

"The ginkgo alsatia bush. About the ginkgo alsatia bush: Despite its name, this plant is not related to the just-as-strange ginkgo biloba tree of Earth. It is also not found in the land of Alsatia, which can lead one to wonder just exactly why Martin Dohenderly, the discoverer of the plant, named it thus.

"The ginkgo alsatia grows to four feet tall, and roughly as wide. Its leaves grow in mutually supporting pairs, helping it weather storms and animal encounters. The leaves fold together to protect each other in times of stress.

"The leaves also protect the plant's fruit, known as an alsatiaberry. The alsatiaberry is very tart, akin to a lemon or lime, but with a much different flavor. More importantly for its value to humans, the alsatiaberry, when consumed fresh, has a mild restorative action. It contains a smattering of curative magic, and can restore a small bit of energy to those who consume it. This makes the berry highly prized to humans and animals alike, and this is why it can be difficult to recover a berry from a wild bush. The leaves will usually fold shut to prevent access to any ripe berries."

"Stop," David said, and the voice faded off. "So, are you going to try to get one?"

"Heck yeah!" Flo said. She stepped close and then reached for one of the berries. Predictably, the leaves closed around it.

"I could just pluck off the leaves, you know," Flo told the bush in some annoyance. With those words, three more pairs of leaves shifted to surround the pair with the berry.

"I don't think it likes that idea," Olissa said with a smile.

"Geez," Flo said. "Okay, look," she said to the plant, "I don't want the berry to eat. I need a berry for the seedling festival."

The bush didn't budge.

"Well, darnit," Flo said. Then she got an idea. She reached slowly for one of the berries higher up the bush, which weren't ripe yet. The leaves twitched, but didn't prevent her from taking one. She plucked one, and then plucked a second one, and put them both in her coat pocket.

"Why did you take two?" David asked.

"Just for insurance," she said with a smile.

Further walking hadn't found anything interesting until they came upon a low-lying, flowering plant. The flowers were various colors, but that wasn't the thing that made this plant interesting. The plant seemed to have two halves; from its center stem, it branched out into a left and right side, with very little in the middle. Each half was circular, with the leaves and flowers arranged around a central large leaf. Shimmering from the large leaf on the left to the large leaf on the right was a faint rainbow. Now that they were focused, they could see that each flower also had a slight shimmer to it.

"This is beautiful," Olissa said. "What is it?"

Once again, the Guide was consulted.

"The Rainbow Rose. About the Rainbow Rose: This plant is not a member of the rose family. It does, however, possess a rainbow. Rose in this case refers to 'rosy-cheeked', for the rainbow this plant exhibits is an indicator of its good health. The rainbow will grow brighter the happier and healthier the plant is, and a truly vital specimen may exhibit the rare double-rainbow."

"Stop," Olissa said. As the Guide's voice faded, she said, "This is mine."

The three sifted around on the ground until they found several seeds, and she ushered them into a small envelope she'd brought with her.

Once they were finished, Olissa looked to David. "Your turn."

They'd been walking a long time, and David was beginning to grow concerned that he would not find something suitable for the festival. In the distance, however, he saw something striking amid the other trees. This was a conifer forest, meaning that most of the plants were evergreens, but what he saw was not green, but white.

Finally they came upon it. It appeared to be a pine tree, but it was only six feet tall, and it was the purest of whites. David asked the Guide.

"The ghost pine tree. About the ghost pine tree: Perhaps the creepiest plant ever to come out of the mind of the tivaru, the ghost pine is a small pine tree, growing no taller than eight feet in height and three feet at its base.

"The Ghost Pine has no coloration, and always displays as a pure white tree, from bark to leaves. In darkness, the white leaves exhibit a faint blue glow, which the tree uses to attract certain beneficial insects and sprites.

"During the summer, the plant will cool its surroundings by several degrees to increase its comfort level. This effect is quite noticeable, and can be very refreshing.

"During the winter, if the tree should ever get covered in frost, a strange optical phenomenon occurs, whereby the tree seems to disappear right before one's eyes. The tree has not actually vanished; running into it will still hurt like the devil. The effect is merely a bending of light to mask the tree's presence. No one knows why it does this."

"That's enough," David told the Guide.

"This has to be your plant," Flo said to David with a grin.

David just shook his head at her. "At least getting the seed will be easy." David reached down and grabbed a - white, of course - pine cone.

"Okay, let's get out of here. I've got work to do."

With that, the three headed back to the glidecar.

David walked into the Rimohr office as casually as he could. Walking into a police station was never a normal act. Not unless you were a cop, and David wasn't one. He spoke briefly to Nancy, the woman at the front desk, and then headed back into the main office.

David saw Garibaldi sitting at his desk, filling out some paperwork. He snuck up behind him and said, "Boo!"

Garibaldi jumped, leaving a streak of ink on his report.

"Jumping jefferlopes, David, you scared the shit out of me! And look what you made me do to my report!"

"Tch," David said. "Never gonna get a promotion that way... you really should be more careful."

Garibaldi growled at him and grabbed a new sheet of parchment. "What is it you want, anyway?" Joe asked in not-entirely-feigned annoyance.

"Actually, I came to see Vivian. Where is she?"

"I'm right behind you," she said warmly. "Good afternoon. What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I... um, you know what? I think we should discuss this privately. I don't want to disturb Grumpy while he's working."

Garibaldi glanced up to see David grinning at him. Joe just turned back to his paperwork with an annoyed grunt.

David walked Vivian over to the side of the room, then looked back to see that Joe wasn't paying attention. With that, they both headed into the briefing room. Joe also didn't see Agent Wilson head into the briefing room a few minutes later. He was much too intent on his report.

After a short time, David stuck his head out of the briefing room door. "Hey, Joe, can you come in here a minute?"

"What now? I have this report to finish."

"It won't take long, I promise. Then you can get back to telling them how you saved the world from that pickpocket."

Garibaldi grumbled as he got up from his chair. He didn't take much note of the fact that the office area was empty. He assumed that the others were out on cases.

When Joe entered the briefing room, he found out differently. All of the Rimohrs from the office were lined up in two rows, forming a path for him to walk down. Agent Wilson stood next to another Rimohr with whom Joe was unfamiliar, and David stood off to one side, watching.

Joe, uncertain of just what was going on, walked down between his colleagues, and ended up standing in front of Agent Wilson.

"Officer Joseph Garibaldi?" the other Rimohr said.

"Yes, sir," Joe said automatically.

"Stand to!" the other officer snapped. Joe immediately went rigid, into an "at attention" pose.

"Joseph Garibaldi, upon completion of nearly five years of service, and in accordance with your latest evaluation, it is my duty, by order of the Office of Outlawed Magic, to promote you to the rank of Agent. Congratulations, Mr. Garibaldi."

With that, the man pulled out his wand and tapped Joe's badge. There wasn't much of a visual change, though it seemed that the gem in the tail did glow more brightly. The man then shook Joe's hand, and the others present applauded.

"Good work, Agent Garibaldi," Agent Wilson said with a smile.

Joe turned to look at the others, and then he saw Zyla standing next to David. She had clearly snuck in after he'd entered the room. He was a bit embarrassed to be the center of all this attention, but he was proud to have gotten the promotion. He hadn't even known he was being considered.

After the applause died down, there was cake and punch to celebrate with.

"How the hell did you know this was going to happen?" Joe asked David.

"Vivian told me," David said. "And I told Zyla, who sneakily forgot to tell you."

Zyla blushed, and Joe chuckled at her.

"I didn't even know I was up for promotion," Joe admitted.

"They never tell you," Agent Wilson said, joining the conversation. "That way no one gets all pissed off when they're passed over."

"So..." Joe said, thinking things all the way through, "Am I going to be reassigned now?"

Zyla frowned; she hadn't thought of that. Her fears were short-lived, however.

"No. We're short of Agents, and there shouldn't be just me in the Bolmont office. You'll be moving up to squad supervisor, however."

"What the hell is that?" Joe asked.

"If we had enough Agents to go around, the entire division here would be divided into squads. They'd handle bigger cases as a unit, and their paperwork would run through their squad supervisor, in order to lighten the load on me. So, I'm giving you five officers as your squad. It's your job to keep them in line. You are still going to be going out on cases; don't worry."

"Thank the Fates for that. I didn't sign up to be a paper pusher."

"Nobody does. But the paper still has to be pushed."

"Vivian, you think you can put up with him still, now that his head's all swelled up?" David asked with a mischievous grin.

"It's just hot air," Vivian said in kind. "I'm sure I can deflate it if it becomes too much of a problem."

"It's so nice that my friends love me so," Joe growled. Everyone laughed at that.

David sat in his room, relaxing to a little music. He was waiting for his friends to return from their break. He'd finished up his time with Miss J a couple hours before - which meant, of course, that they'd been having sex all day, as it was their last time.

Until the next time she needs my help, I guess, David thought to himself.

As he sat, chatting with Jailla, David fiddled with his conjuring skills, just practicing what he knew. Prof. Blackstone continually praised his abilities, and told him that he was right on schedule for his testing at the end of the year.

Suddenly, a loud knock came to the door. David was pretty sure who that was, so as he told the mirror to end the music, he decided to fade to insubstantiality before he went to see who was pounding.

As soon as the door opened, Bob swung on him. Of course, his fist passed right through David, and Bob ended up tumbling to the floor, as he had put so much force behind the swing that he wound up off balance.

David faded back to solid form, now that the surprise attack was out of the way.

"Good afternoon to you, too," David said.

Bob got up off the floor and faced off with David. His hands were balled into fists, and his eyes burned with anger. It was fairly obvious that he'd spent the last week stewing about the incident with Kim.

"I should rip you apart," Bob snarled. "Just who the hell do you think you are, laying hands on a dragon?"

"Who did the dragon think he was, laying hands on a human?" David asked calmly.

"I am the heir to the throne of my clan! I do what I like!"

"Not on this campus, you don't."

"You think you can stop me?" Bob snarled. "I could burn this entire building to the ground!"

"And yet I'd still be standing here, completely untouched," David pointed out.

Bob lashed out, swinging on David. David saw it coming, blocked the punch, and decked Bob so hard that he tumbled to the floor again.

"That one was for Kim," David said. "She chose not to file a complaint on you. Just how do you think the dean would have reacted to you assaulting one of her students?"

"I wasn't going to kill her! I was just going to have sex with her!"

"Yeah? Well, I don't know about in the dragon world, but human women tend to like to have a say in the matter. When they don't, we call it rape, and it's considered one of the most vile crimes a man can commit." David tried not to reflect on the fact that he had, in fact, committed this crime himself, albeit in a completely different context.

"Why would she not want to have sex with me? I'm a prince!"

"And she does not know that, dickhead! To her, you were just another creep pawing at her. And where the hell was your self-control, anyway?"

"I merely did what you taught me to do."

"How do you figure?"

"I weighed my immediate need for sexual gratification, and found that it was greater than the possible consequences of my actions."

"So you were willing to hurt someone just to get your rocks off."

"How is that any different from expressing my anger? If I do that, I will hurt someone."

"Because, you shit-for-brains, when you're expressing your anger, they have done something to make you angry. Kim hadn't done a damned thing. She was a complete innocent. You were choosing to hurt her to make yourself happy, but she hadn't done anything to deserve the assault."

"She's a woman. Is that not sufficient?"

"Not... even... close," David replied coldly. "And if that's the kind of thinking you like to do, I don't think you and I have much more to say to each other."

"You had best not interfere with me again."

"You try to harm another person on this campus in front of me, and I guarantee that I will interfere with you again."

"What gives you the right to get in my way?" Bob snarled.

"Uh, hello? Captain of the Discipline Response Team? It's not a right in my case, Bob. It's a duty. Any man on this campus has the right to stop you from hurting someone. I'm required to do so by the rules of my job."

"Stay out of my way, David, or..."

"Or what? You can't kill me, Bob. No one can."

"There are worse things than death."

"Yes, I imagine there are. And I think you might find out what some of them are if you started attacking the school for your own personal vendetta. Don't try to threaten me, Bob. I don't frighten anymore. You'll do what you're going to do. I'll do what I have to do."

Bob glared at David. David stared impassively back. Suddenly, Bob swung on him as hard as he could. David merely blocked the punch, having seen it coming in Bob's thoughts.

"You're apparently not a very good fighter, Bob," David said, not so much jabbing a knife in Bob's ego as twisting it slowly round and round. "Another something I've been trained to do. Try to behave yourself, okay?"

Bob glared at David for a few seconds more, then he turned and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him hard enough that the one picture on the wall that was in a frame rattled.

Well, that went swimmingly, David thought to himself. He turned back into the room, sighed, and said to Jailla, "Okay, I think we can go to dinner now."

David was wandering across the terrace when he saw Chloe and the DIRT patrol handcuff-hexing two guys. As he approached, he also saw Kyle, who was not on duty tonight, approaching from the other direction.

"Hey, guys," Kyle said as David got within earshot. "You need a hand?"

"No, we've got it, thanks," Chloe said.

"Okay. I was just heading back to the dorm, and I saw you scuffling with them."

"What's the situation, Lieutenant?" David asked finally.

"Caught these two vandalizing school property, sir. It was only a bit of graffiti, so I gave them each two days of detention. We were just going to take them there now."

"Okay. I've got nothing better to do. I'll tag along. Kyle, we'll see you tomorrow."

"You got it, boss," he said, and headed off.

"How's the night been?" David asked as they walked along toward the detention building.

"About the usual," Chloe said, going on to detail what had happened during her shift.

As they came around a small stand of trees, they saw ten Clan members coming toward them.

"Uh-oh. Looks like we have a problem," Chloe said.

"Wands out," David ordered. "But keep 'em low." David pulled out his mirror and sent for Charlie and Kyle. They might need the help.

As they reached the Clan members, the leader said, "Looks like you got two of our boys there. Where ya takin' 'em?"

"To detention. Step aside," Chloe said.

"Hmm. Don't think so. I think, if you want to put 'em in jail, you're gonna have to get past us."

"I don't perceive that as a particular problem," Chloe said. She raised her wand and snapped, "Goma binti!"

Suddenly, the leader, and the two people on either side of him, started to bend backward. But they were doing so because their legs had turned to rubber, and could no longer support them standing straight up. The leader, now close enough to the ground, pushed off, and he was upright, for a second, before he continued forward and nearly smashed his face into the ground.

"Get these fucks!" the leader screamed.

Three of the remaining Clan members launched attacks of energy balls, but the older and more skilled DIRT members deflected them. David lashed out with reteni pida and took one of the Clan down and out of the fight. He saw Chloe take another down with a petrification spell.

Just then, Charlie showed up, just in time to nearly have his head taken off by a weak lightning bolt spell. He responded in kind, and the culprit soon lay wriggling on the ground.

Despite being heavily outnumbered, the fight didn't last too long. The DIRT was simply much better with their magical skills than the Clan members. In due course, all of the perpetrators were lying on the ground, including the two originals, who had tried to kick Morgan in the shins.

Once things had calmed down, David looked at Morgan and, just to twist his tail, asked, "So, how come you weren't asking them why they were trying to kick you?"

Morgan blushed. "Okay, okay, I was a bit naive at the beginning of the year."

David smiled at him. "Seriously, though, next time watch your back. And be careful of your choice of spell. What you used, the Board will contend, was a bit harsh for people who were already handcuffed."

"Yeah, I was just flustered, in the middle of everything."

"I know."

Just then, Kyle showed up, out of breath.

"Where the hell were you?" David asked.

"When you called, I'd just stepped onto the rock lift. So I had to ride it down, then wait for the next one, then ride it back up... By the time I did all that, well..." he shrugged.

"Uh-huh," David said. "Call Seth for me, would you? Tell him we need some additional escorts for our new guests."

"Sure."

David went over to Chloe. "I've never seen that spell you used before," he said.

"What, goma binti? I found it in a book."

"Any idea what level spell it is?"

"Um... nope. The book didn't say that."

David grinned. "Right. I'll make sure to tell that to the Board. Good work, Chloe."

"Thanks."

Once things settled down and Seth brought some additional help, they continued on their way to detention, with several more occupants. Some would be going before the dean in the morning, and two were now on their way to the infirmary. One of those was Martin, who had taken an energy ball to the shoulder. Chloe had gotten his attacker for him, however.

"This was kinda new for them," Chloe said to David as they walked.

"How do you mean? They've attacked us before."

"Yeah, but not to break loose their comrades."

"That's true. One has to wonder how they knew we had them in custody."

Chloe looked at David. "You don't think it was just a coincidence?"

"Not the way we ran into them, no. They knew what was happening."

"So, who do you think told?"

"That, I don't know. I will find out."

"You wanted to see me, ma- oh, god, here we go again. What is it this time?" David demanded upon seeing the Board of Discipline waiting for him in Dean Lengel's office.

"We were told that there was a major fight between the DIRT and The Clan last night. Is this correct?"

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know from whom you got your information, but that was by no means a 'major fight'. It was a minor skirmish. Believe me, when the major fight comes, you won't have to have someone tell you about it."

"I see. Then, is it at least true that two of The Clan were sent to the infirmary?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want them to bleed all over the detention house floor."

Dean Lengel was clearly struggling not to laugh. The leader of the Board frowned in anger. "I meant why was it necessary for them to be hurt in that fashion in the first place!"

David shrugged. "Because they refused to follow lawful authority and resisted arrest. Just to short-circuit this whole stupid process, I should point out that they 'resisted arrest' by firing energy balls at us."

"You think it's stupid for us to be aware of what goes on at this school?"

"You're obviously already aware. We're not here to gather information, we're here to listen to another of your idiotic pronouncements. So let's stop dancing and have at it, shall we?"

"We were told that one of your teammates used the goma binti hex."

"Yes, she did."

"That is a level six hex. You were restricted to level five or below."

"The level of the hex wasn't known at the time of the incident."

"That's no excuse. We want this team member brought before us for disciplinary action."

"No."

"Excuse me?" the board leader growled.

"I have already taken care of this matter. I discussed it with the team member in question, and they have promised not to use the spell in the future. That is the end of the issue."

"We have the right to discipline the students."

"Not my team, you don't. Not if you don't want all six of us to walk. You can badger and bother me all you want. I will not let you berate my team because you don't like the way we're doing the job."

"You do not run this school, Mr. Stroud!" the Board leader bellowed.

"AND NEITHER DO YOU!" David snarled right back, getting right in the man's face. "Right now, this school is run by The Clan, and you're helping them with this bullshit! While you sit in here sniveling about exactly which spell we used in the middle of a fight - a fight that was two-on-one odds against us, I might add - The Clan is out there, laughing at all of us, because we are being completely ineffectual! Now, you want to try to tell me how to do my job? If you had any idea how to enforce discipline under these circumstances, The DIRT would not be necessary in the first place! So, Professor, just exactly why should I listen to you?"

Dean Lengel came over and gently, but firmly, pushed David back away from the Board. His anger was such at the moment that she didn't really want to be that close to him, but she feared for what he might do under the circumstances.

The leader of the board straightened himself, having taken the full brunt of David's wrath, which was not a comfortable position to be in. He coughed, and then said, "You should listen to us because we're the ones in charge."

David growled low in his throat, then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and straightened back up. He turned to Dean Lengel.

"You deal with this idiot. I've had it. If any member of my team, including me, gets called before these assholes again, we're done. I'm serious about this, ma'am. I'm not going to put up with taking shit from both sides. I can fight The Clan. I can put up with these morons. I cannot do both at the same time. Now, either let me do the job, or fire me. I have neither the time nor the inclination to teach these... people... how to handle security."

Dean Lengel nodded. "Thank you for coming in, David. I'll take it from here."

"I am not done with him!" The Board leader protested.

"Stow it, Professor," Dean Lengel snapped.

David bowed slightly to her in thanks and respect, then turned and left the room.

"David, good evening."

"Good evening, sir," he said to Prof. Zoroaster. "I'm here for my advisory meeting."

"Good. Come on in and have a seat. How is your mood cube coming?"

"I'm having difficulty getting it to recognize anger."

"Perhaps you simply haven't exposed it to any?"

"Professor, I've had to deal with the Board of Discipline in the last few days. Trust me, the cube has seen anger."

Prof. Zoroaster chuckled. "I see. Well, it can be tricky with some of the more intense emotions. The cube can see them, but they're so strong... it's like staring at a bright light. If it's bright enough, it doesn't much matter what color it is, you can't really tell anymore. Anger is one of the most primal emotions, and it broadcasts strongly."

"So... what I really need is a filter? To 'dim the lights' so to speak?"

"Exactly. There is a section in this book," he said, writing down a title on a slip of parchment. "Near the back. It talks about this in detail. The entire book may be worth reading. I'm sorry I keep asking you to buy more and more books..."

"Actually, I've only had to buy two."

"Oh? But the list I gave you..."

"I know. But I own the entire Eternal Compendium. Most of them are in there."

"Ah!" Prof. Zoroaster said. "My word, that must have cost a fortune."

"A small one. But it's been very useful with my class work. Since it has not only fiction, but non-fiction works as well, I've been able to skim through several different books on my subjects. Even the ones that weren't on your list."

Prof. Zoroaster nodded. "Yes, I can see where having an entire library sitting on your bookshelf would come in handy. Well, if this book is in there, then you can get to it right away. If you have to buy a copy, you may have to wait. This book is hard to get a hold of. If you order it, it will probably have to be reprinted by hand."

"Can't they just use a copy spell?"

"Oh, yes. That's what I meant. But the book is rather long, and the copy spells only work one page at a time, so..."

David nodded in understanding.

"So, if you do have to wait, what will you work on instead?"

"I had an idea for a... well, I hate to say it, but an eavesdropping device." Seeing the look on Prof. Zoroaster's face, David explained. "I thought it could be used by the Rimohrs to try to catch criminals."

"How would such a device work?"

"Well, it would be similar to the viewing lens, but it would use a mirror instead. You would ask the device to keep track of a specific person. The mirror would then connect with any shiny object near the person, in order to keep them in sight."

"This is extremely invasive, David."

"I know. I imagine that the king will either outlaw it completely, or seriously restrict its usage. Assuming, that is, that I can create the thing at all."

Prof. Zoroaster nodded. "I won't tell you not to do it. I'm as curious as you are to see if it's possible. Just be careful. How will you test such a thing?"

"I'm going to ask one of my friends if she would mind being my guinea pig. I'll explain to her that she'll have no privacy at all, that I can and will look in on her randomly."

"Even in the shower, do remind her."

"Well, I've been intimate with the friend I plan on asking, so that's not really an issue."

Prof. Zoroaster nodded. "Very good. That's probably a wise course of action. But, don't work on that unless you have to wait for the book. I'd like you to keep trying with the mood cube. If you can master the mood cube, then there is a whole panoply of items that can then be created using that same skill."

"Right. Like my wish to make mood-lit walls for my living room."

Prof. Zoroaster nodded. "Yes, and that would be quite an impressive sight." Prof. Zoroaster sighed, and leaned forward. "David, what does your Friday school schedule look like?"

"I have a class at nine o'clock in the morning."

"And then?"

"That's it. Just the one class. The rest of the day is unstructured."

"I see. Good. Next Friday, I need us to reschedule our advisory meeting for earlier in the day."

"Okay, what time?"

"Is two o'clock okay for you?"

"Sure. Have a big date that night?"

Prof. Zoroaster smiled. "Something like that. Anyway, keep working on the cube. If you do begin to start work on your... device... please be careful. Remember, it's not just your friend that you'll be seeing."

"I know. I'll try to mind my business, so to speak."

"Good man. I'll see you next week."

"Yes, sir. Good night."

David stepped up in front of the group that had gathered. In order to promote the Peg Riding Guild, they had decided to present a baby pegasus during the Seedling Festival, as a way to get people more interested in pegs, and to raise awareness of the guild. The guild's banner was flying next to David, from the post of the paddock. It was a green flag, with a silver circle in its center. Extending outward, and slightly upward, from the circle were wings, and within the circle were two linked rings in gold. The pin that guild members wore had been changed to reflect the new design.

"Good morning, everyone," David said. He had a crowd of maybe twenty people to speak to. He would conduct several of these talks throughout the day. He was surprised to see Dean Lengel among this group, but tried not to let it throw him.

"In honor of the Seedling Festival, the Peg Riders of Callamandia are showing off the newest member of the Woodward pegasus herd. Her name is Adora, and she is a month old. As you can see, even at a month, she is already over half the height of her mother, Swiftwind, over there.

"But, though she's got the height, as you can see, she's gangly, and doesn't have the heft of a full-grown peg. Likewise, her flying ability is almost non-existent. At this age, she's capable of a couple little hops of flight before being completely tuckered out. It'll be months before she can even glide effectively, and a couple years before she gains the ability to fly as well as an adult pegasus.

"As you can see, pegs are quite friendly, even at this age." Adora was nudging David repeatedly, rubbing her head against his chest. "Actually, she just knows that I have an apple in my pocket, and she really wants it," he said. The group chuckled at that. David reached into his pocket and pulled out the apple, which he gave to the peg, who took it gently, and then promptly dropped it on the ground. After that, she went to town on it, to the amusement of everyone there.

"Do we have any questions?"

"Can we pet her?"

"Normally I'd let you, but Adora is Swiftwind's first foal, and she's a bit anxious. I don't want to overstress her, so I'm going to have to say no. Sorry. Anything else?"

"Will she be sold off when she gets older?"

"We do not sell pegs," David replied forcefully. "Pegs are not property. Woodward Academy does not own this herd. They host them. In exchange, the herd occasionally provides draft services for the school's carriage. Adora may leave the herd when she becomes an adult, to go find a mate... but that decision is hers to make, and isn't one she'll be making for another ten years or so."

"How long would it be before she could be ridden?"

"Well, as I said, she won't even be fully flight-capable for two years. At that time, she'd be big enough and skilled enough to ride, but it would probably be best to give her another year to build her confidence in her skill. So, generally we don't recommend riding a peg under three years of age."

"Couldn't you just ride them on the ground? You know, like a horse?"

"You could try, but pegs are a bit funny that way. Once they get a rider on their back, they want to take to the sky. So you'd probably stress her out as she tried to fly, but couldn't. Like I said, we don't recommend it."

"How does one become a member of the Peg Riding Guild?" someone asked.

David motioned. "Go and talk with Madame Abernathy. She has the application forms."

There were no further questions, so David thanked everyone for their attention, and the crowd moved off. David waved his wand at the sign, changing the time for the next presentation. When he turned from that task, he found that Dean Lengel was waiting for him.

"Good morning," he said. "I was a little surprised to see you here. Surely you've seen a baby pegasus before."

Dean Lengel smiled. "Yes, though Adora is a cutie. I came to talk to you, actually."

"Ah. So this is a 'Madam Lengel' kind of discussion."

"No, this is more of an Emile kind of discussion. I wanted to talk to you about our last go-round with the board, but not as the head of the school."

"Yeah... I wanted to apologize to you about that. I don't know why I get so worked up by them. It seems like every time I see that group, I just want to rip that guy's face off. I should have more respect for your office, anyway..."

Emile snorted. "I wouldn't worry too much about that, David."

He nodded in understanding. "Anyway, I just... I don't know why, but they set me off, every time."

"Maybe you don't understand yourself as well as you should," Emile said. "I wasn't really at all surprised by your reaction on Wednesday. It was entirely consistent with what I've come to expect from you."

"Oh?"

"What I've learned from watching you, David, is that you don't take crap from people if you don't have to. The only times I've seen you rein in your responses is when you were protecting someone. Usually me, which I find both flattering and a bit embarrassing. When you think that letting someone have it could cause more trouble to you, or could harm someone else, then yes, you do watch your tongue, and your actions, rather closely.

"On the other hand, you have the Board of Discipline over a barrel, and everyone knows it. They can't fire you, because no one else would be crazy enough to take on the job at this point. They can't ask me to discipline you, because I'd laugh in their faces at this point. They have to tolerate you, and they know it.

"And so do you. And that's why you won't put up with their bull. You know that there's no harm that can come from you telling them the way it is, and so that's what you do. I have to admit, David, on a purely personal level, I really enjoy watching you put Prof. Hellerhan in his place. He is, as you might expect, a bit of a know-it-all, even when he doesn't."

David nodded. "I got that impression. He doesn't like being told he's wrong."

"No, no he doesn't. And not just by you, either."

"So why did you put him in charge of the Board?"

"I don't choose the Board of Discipline, David. The board is filled by the staff voting on those willing to do the job. In this case, the last time the Board was chosen, only seven people even were willing to take on the task. We had to have five of them. Once the Board was elected, they chose their own head. You can imagine how Prof. Hellerhan might have badgered the others into giving him the job."

"Wait... so the only people who end up on the Board are those who ask for it?"

"Yes."

David shook his head. "That's not right."

"How do you mean? The other professors didn't want to take the time out of their teaching schedule."

"Ma'am, the Board of Discipline is a very important part of this school. It shouldn't be a job given to those people who either don't want to teach as much, or who want to push around the students. In fact, being on the Board, it seems to me, should be a duty spread around to all the teachers at some point or another. As part of their job description."

"But some people don't like asserting that kind of authority," Dean Lengel objected.

"Which can nicely balance out idiots like Hellerhan. The Board should never be all one way. It would be bad if everyone on the Board thought like me, just as it would be bad if they all thought like... well, like someone who thinks we should be coddling and rehabilitating people."

"Hmmm. Just exactly what kind of discipline do you believe in, David?"

"Emile, do you know what my personal opinion of what we should be doing with The Clan is?"

"Permanent detention?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Expulsion," David said deadpan.

"Really?"

"Gang activity is a socially detrimental process. It feeds on itself, and if allowed to continue, it just gets worse. It's not the kind of thing that establishes a level and stays there. Gangs are forever trying to one-up each other, and that sort of competition leads to a horrible environment. The students who are stupid enough to enter the gangs and commit 'sins' in the gang's name... they do not deserve a license to perform magic. You don't give a gun to someone who's proven themselves irresponsible."

"Seems a bit harsh. Some of those gang members might just have gotten caught up in it because their friends joined."

"And now you know why the Board shouldn't be made up entirely of people like me," David said with a grin. "There has to be a balance."

"I see what you mean. I will think about what you've said, and discuss it with the staff."

David nodded.

"And here's my personal message, delivered from the dean, but through your friend. Ignore the Board. When it comes to The Clan, you do what you think you need to do. Try not to get anyone killed, though, okay?"

"That's not up to me. We push, they push back harder. Sooner or later, something bad is going to happen."

Emile nodded. "David... thank you for sticking by the school during all of this. I wouldn't blame you, or anyone else, for jumping ship at this point. Certainly you can't think you owe the school any favors by now..."

David snorted. "I haven't paid off my debt to you yet. In fact, I think I'm just digging myself a bigger hole as time goes on, in that regard. I'll do what I can to get things under control, but... it's going to get ugly."

"I know. You do what you have to. Let me worry about the Board."

"Thanks."

Emile gave David a hug, which he returned.

After they separated, Emile said, "I also wanted to mention that I've noticed that you and... Bob... aren't spending time together anymore. How come?"

"We had a fight."

"Over?"

"He assaulted a girl. I objected."

"Assaulted? Why didn't I hear about this?"

"Because she didn't get hurt, and because she didn't want to file a complaint. It was my neighbor. I got involved before anything really bad happened. But Bob didn't like being told what he couldn't do, and so he's become a little... irked... at me."

"I see. Will he calm down, do you think?"

"I don't know. He seems to have this mentality of superiority."

"Well, he is a dragon..."

"Yes, and I realize that they all have a terminal superiority complex, but he hasn't earned his, in my eyes."

Emile nodded. "Well, I hope he comes around. Thank you for trying to help him."

"No problem."

"I'll let you get back to your pegs now. Adora seems to be looking for another apple."

David chuckled. "That little girl is a bottomless pit."

Emile laughed at that. "Enjoy the festival. I'll talk to you later."

"Take care," David said, and then Dean Lengel left, and he returned to do some grooming on Adora.

"All right, lady and gentlemen, today is the class we've been preparing for all year. The class that will show you just how ready you are to actually use what you know in battle. This is not about a one-on-one duel, or even being accosted by a couple rogues along the highway. No, this is a last-man-standing competition to see which one of you has the skills, the talent, and the brains to survive after every other competitor has fallen.

"Your battleground is this circle on the floor. We will start with a single King of the Mountain, chosen by me. Your job, should that not be you, is to become King of the Mountain by occupying and possessing the smaller center circle. If the King is deposed, by being forced out of the circle, they must leave the larger circle, and then re-enter the battle.

"You may step out of battle at any time you wish, to recover your wind. However, if I catch anyone remaining out of battle just to lollygag, I will force you back into combat. Use your time strategically and wisely, and you can prevail.

'Now, as I'm sure will surprise no one, our presiding King of the Mountain is David Stroud."

David groaned inwardly as he walked to the middle of the inner circle.

"Your job, Mr. Stroud, is to stay inside that circle. So long as you remain within the inner circle, you are the King. Whoever can force you out of that circle becomes the new King. Keep in mind that, so long as you are inside the circle, there will be no ability to rest.

"This battle will last until class ends, or until there is only one of you left standing. I will declare you dead if I feel that you have lost a battle sufficiently harshly to suggest you would have been outright killed in real combat. If you would merely have been wounded, I may call you out of the circle for a moment. Unless I declare them dead, I will never call out the sitting King. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the class said in unison.

"Very well. Everyone, face me!" Everyone turned to face the teacher. "Respect!" They all performed the necessary movements. "Face Mr. Stroud!" The class turned to face him, and David faced them. "Respect!" David bowed to the class as they bowed to him.

"You may use whatever weapon you wish, and you may switch between them as often as you like. Do whatever you have to do to be the one in that circle at the end of the battle. Prepare!"

David drew his sword and his dagger. After much practice, he had come to like the combination. What David distinctly did not like was the fact that his nine classmates were spreading out around the edge of the outer circle, making it impossible for him to watch all of them at once. David planted his feet and closed his eyes momentarily, reaching out with his divinatory skills. He couldn't possibly read the minds of everyone in the room; that was just beyond anyone's ability. On the other hand, if he kept his focus, he would at least feel their presence. It was this and some other small tricks he used that gave David a bit of an advantage over his classmates.

Prof. Teller let the tension build for a long moment, until he could see the students straining. Finally, he shouted, "Begin!"

Three students rushed David immediately. David could sense the two behind him, and he quickly slid sideways. Two of them almost collided, and David slashed with his sword, causing a pain in the stomach of the third attacker.

With that, the melee was on. David was facing two or three opponents at a time. No more than that was feasible, or they would get in each other's way. Three, however, was plenty as far as David was concerned. He spent half his time leaping over attacks from people he wasn't even looking at. A well-timed staff strike nearly took his head off, but he was able to duck at the last second. He spun and connected to the person's neck, his sword blade not penetrating, of course, but the slash left a nasty red mark along the guy's throat. For this fight, they were not using their sparring swords, but were in fact using their practice swords, to more accurately reflect a real battle.

"Irons! You're dead!" Prof. Teller called out. "Leave the mountain!"

The guy that David had just "killed" limped out of the circles. He had been injured more than once already. His administrative death was almost a foregone conclusion.

David had no chance to dwell on any of this, of course. As soon as he had dispatched Skerrit Irons, he had to turn, raising his sword to block an incoming attack. He then thrust his dagger forward, slamming it into the guy's stomach. That caused the guy enough pain that he dropped his sword and backed out of the circles voluntarily.

For the briefest of moments, David had a breather. He saw three of his nine classmates already sitting at the edge of the room, out of the competition. Two more had stepped out of the circles to try to regain their bearings. That left David and four others, and they were fighting each other in pairs at the moment.

David took the opportunity to switch weapons. He sheathed his sword and dagger, and drew his staff. Just as he enlarged it, one of the attackers, who had just felled his opponent, came charging at David. David spun his staff, then swung it straight to the guy's stomach. The guy was running so hard at David that he actually did a flip around the staff, winding up on his back on the floor.

The other two still in play had seen that David was unaccosted, and had settled their own differences - for the moment - to try to take him out. David moved so that he could keep them in view, but they separated too far to make that possible. That left only one course of action.

David leapt at one of his opponents, delivering a kick to the chin. The guy went flying backward, landing in a heap on the ground. David had to be careful; he had nearly leapt clear out of his circle.

When David turned, he was nearly pushed out of the circle by his next attacker's strike. Thankfully he was able to get his staff up in time to block it, but the force of the impact caused him to nearly lose his balance, wobbling right near the line.

As his attacker readied for her next attack, David dove forward and rolled, slipping past her before she had a chance to strike. He wound up in the very center of the circle, facing off with her. He focused his concentration, but not on her. He needed to make sure no one snuck up on him while he was facing her down.

Just as David sensed someone coming up behind him, the girl to his front leapt at him, her staff high. David was caught in indecision for a split second, and that's all it took for the girl to connect with her staff. She missed her target, however. She had intended to hit him in the top of the shoulder, which would have disabled one of his arms for at least a while. Her blow, however, ended up glancing off the ball of his shoulder, causing pain and forcing David to his knees, but not causing the injury she'd been after.

David, knowing he was in an extremely vulnerable position, rolled sideways just before the sword strike from the guy behind him took place. David gripped the end of his staff and swung hard, taking the guy's feet right out from under him. He collapsed hard to the floor.

"Snipes! You're out for a breather!"

David moved his hands back to the middle of his staff and spun it, making sure he had clear floor for a few feet in every direction. After that, he twisted and spun his legs, getting them under him so that he could move to his feet while in a protected state.

Once David was upright again, he looked for the girl who had attacked him. She was waiting for him, and smiled when she knew he saw her. David nodded, and the game began again.

For ten minutes, he fought with her, occasionally being interrupted by others who wanted to push David off the mountain. None of them were really important, but the girl was good enough to be a challenge. David came within inches of being pushed out of the circle several times, and she had taken two massive hits from him, but she just kept coming.

The two of them were both pretty worn down. Finally David connected with two solid shots in succession. She staggered back, and David took a moment to realize that they were the only two left. He hadn't been aware that he'd taken down everyone else. Either that, or some had gotten taken out in the general melee.

Turning his attention back to the girl, David readied himself for her next attack. The girl was breathing raggedly, and though there was determination in her eyes, there was also utter exhaustion. She knew that she didn't have anything else in her, but she didn't want to face the humiliation of losing the fight.

Finally, she straightened, and lowered her sword hand until her sword was pointing at the floor. David gripped his staff more tightly, just in case this was some strange trick. The girl walked to within two paces of David, and then knelt. She placed her sword on the floor in front of her, her head bowed. After a few more seconds, she looked up at him.

"Long live the King," she said seriously.

With that, David holstered his staff. He held out his hand to the girl, who took it, and he helped her to her feet.

"Good fight," he told her. She saw the seriousness and sincerity in his gaze.

"Not quite good enough," she said with a slight grin.

"This was not one of the endings to combat that I offered you, Miss Van Ark," Prof. Teller objected.

"I refuse to throw my life away, Professor, to no good effect. David had beaten me. I'd rather take my chances with his possible mercy than to guarantee my death by incurring his further wrath."

Prof. Teller looked at her for a long moment. "That is both noble and wise. However, you may find that death would be preferable, depending on your opponent."

"I'm sure, sir. But... not in this case."

"Fair enough. David Stroud remains King of the Mountain."

"Long Live the King!" the class shouted, surprising the three still in the circle. The girl blushed. David just shook his head in bemusement.

"Class is dismissed," Prof. Teller said. The girl headed off, and David started to, but Prof. Teller called him back.

"David, please tell me you plan on taking my advanced class next year. You are... well, obviously... my best student right now. Those who were a hair better than you didn't continue on."

"Well, I'm not sure, Professor. My plan for next year may prevent me from taking any formal classes at all. I haven't fully decided yet."

"Oh? What is it you plan on doing that will take up your days like that?"

"I'd rather not say until I've made a decision. But if it happens, I might need to leave campus at random times, which would interfere with taking a class."

"I see. Well... if that is what happens, please come see me. Maybe we can work out some kind of arrangement. I think you'd really benefit from the advanced class."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

"Anyway, congratulations. I am surprised that you never got kicked out of the circle. That only happens about once every six or seven years in this class."

"Really? Wow. Well, JoAnne nearly did it more than once."

"Yes, she's quite good. I'm going to encourage her to take the advanced class, as well. I'll let you get showered now, David. I just wanted to mention the class."

"Yes, sir. Have a good one."

"You, too, David."

"You look a little worn out, David," Prof. Blackstone said. "Been practicing your conjuring all day?"

"No, sir. Getting beaten up."

"Oh?"

"Sword and Staff class, sir. It was King of the Mountain day."

"Ah," he said in one long syllable. "I see. And... did you manage to become king?"

"I started out as king," David said. "And I stayed there."

"Well, congratulations on that. Are you in good enough shape to work on your conjuring, then?"

"Yes, sir. I may be physically sore, but mentally I'm fine."

"Good, good. Tonight, we're going to work on a new little trick. We're going to swap objects."

"Meaning what, exactly, sir?"

"Meaning first, I want you to pop this orange into your CR."

David did so. This was not, and was not expected to be, difficult in the slightest for him.

"Now, what we're going to do is for you to bring back the orange, and put this apple in your CR... at the same time."

David's eyes widened a bit. "You want me to conjure two completely separate objects, to two different places, at the same time?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Prof. Blackstone grinned at him. "Well, that's what we're here to learn, isn't it?" Prof. Blackstone went on to explain, slowly and clearly, the process by which David should manage the task at hand.

David listened carefully, trying to absorb the lesson in its entirety. When Prof. Blackstone was finished, David said, "I think I've got the idea, sir, but I have a question."

"And that is?"

"Why would you need to do this? Why not just do two conjures, one right after the other?"

"There are two reasons. The first isn't a frequent occurrence, but it does happen, that you will need to replace one object with another, and you won't have room to set the first object down while conjuring away the second one. Obviously this is not true when using your CR, but this technique can also be used to conjure from one point to another in real space. The second reason is more important. A single conjure, moving two objects, uses less magical energy than two conjures moving one object each. Thus, if you are needing to reserve your magical strength, it is to your benefit to move as many objects as possible in a single conjuring."

"As many as possible... you mean you can move more than two at a time?"

"If you become good at this, you can actually do a round-robin effect with... well, the most I've heard of is six objects. The more complex the move, the harder it is to concentrate on it, of course. But there is no theoretical reason that you couldn't move seven, or even seventy. Though I cannot imagine the mind capable of holding seventy objects within its consciousness at once."

"Right."

"So, let's begin our practice, shall we?" Prof. Blackstone took a piece of chalk and drew a small circle on the table with it. He then set the apple inside the circle. There was no room for anything else in the circle.

"Now, conjure the orange into the circle, and the apple into your CR. Don't worry about making a mess; I have cloths to clean up with."

David focused, but his first attempt was a miserable failure. So was his tenth. By the twentieth time, however, he was starting to get a feeling of how he was supposed to do it. On his twenty-fifth attempt, he was able to conjure the orange into the circle... but it looked more like orange mush.

"Whoops," Prof. Blackstone said. "Well, that happens. Bring back the apple for a moment, would you?"

David pulled the apple out of his CR while Prof. Blackstone wiped up the remains of the orange. The apple was slightly mangled from earlier attempts, but was still intact.

"Okay, so it was just one of them. You're getting close. I think a few more attempts, and you'll have it."

"Does it usually only take a night to get the hang of this?" David asked.

"When you're as good as you are? Yes. But anyone who has progressed to the level you're at will get this in a couple days, at most. It's merely an advancement on stuff you've already mastered. There's no new technique involved here, just some additional concentration. Now then, away with the apple, and let's try it again."

David did as he was told, and for the next twenty minutes, he worked on it without true success. Finally, however, he managed an unmangled conjure.

"Wonderful!" Prof. Blackstone enthused. "Now do it again."

David groaned, but did as he was told. For the next hour, he repeatedly conjured the apple and the orange back and forth. Halfway through, Prof. Blackstone had him conjuring them behind himself, instead of into his CR. This turned out not to be harder, though he did screw it up a couple times at first.

By the end of the night, David was able to exchange the two fruits between the room they were in and Prof. Blackstone's office desk. David was completely drained by the time the professor said they could stop.

"Well done. Very well done," Prof. Blackstone said, handing David a cup of juice. "You are right on track for your testing in two months."

David would have paled at that, if he could. "Two months, geez."

"Yes, it's rushing right up on us. But you're doing very well. I'm certain you'll be ready for it. As long as you keep practicing, that is."

"Yes, sir."

"Now then, I think I've squeezed every bit of brain juice I can out of you tonight," he said, holding the orange in his hands. "I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Thank you. Have a good one."

"You, too."

David found a note taped to the door of Prof. Zoroaster's office, telling him to go to the Harris Hall first-floor library. He grabbed the note and then proceeded down the hall, for the library was close by.

When David stepped into the library, he saw that the "study area" in the center of the room had been rearranged. There was now a desk sitting in the middle of it, with what looked like a very comfortable chair. Standing behind the desk, waiting for him, were Prof. Zoroaster, Prof. Dartson, and two other men he didn't know.

"Professor?" David asked, unsure of what was going on.

"David, please come in. I know you were expecting a normal, if rescheduled, advisory meeting. That is not what's going to happen. Let me introduce our guests. This is John Teirney, and this is Allen Drysden. They are from the Callamandian Bureau of Seers."

David shook both men's hands, and then looked back to Prof. Zoroaster.

"I'm sorry we didn't actually consult you on this, David. We wanted it to be something of a surprise. You see, we have applied on your behalf for you to become a licensed proraziveur."

"A what?" David asked, scratching his head.

Prof. Zoroaster chuckled. "A proraziveur is one who can push past the blocks emplaced by an impediveur. In other words, someone who is good with blockbusting magic. In order to do this as a job, or even as part of a job, you must be licensed. After our own personal test of you, Prof. Dartson and I feel that you are more than qualified. We didn't want you to get all nervous about it, so we decided to keep it a secret."

"Well... uh, okay, then. What do I have to do?"

Mr. Tierney motioned to the desk. "Arrayed on the desk are five folders. They represent the five levels of impediveur magic that can be employed against you. There are, for what should be to you obvious reasons, only four levels of proraziveur. No one can break a level 5 impedivence."

"Impedivence?"

"The official name for a single act of an impediveur."

"So... what you're saying is, for each one of these I can break, I qualify for another level of licensing?"

"Correct. You have four hours. None of these people have you ever met, and only one of them will you probably have any knowledge of at all. Included in the folders is as much information about the individuals as you might get if you were asked to do this professionally. I am told you regularly ask, so I will say now that all but one of these people has agreed to your divination. The one who hasn't... well, you'll understand why when you get to them."

"Okay, so... four hours to read five people."

"Correct. The impediveur who did the job works for the bureau, so we are assured that the right level of anti-divination magic was used."

David nodded.

Prof. Zoroaster said, "Prof. Dartson and I, of course, cannot stay. We have classes to teach. Good luck, David. Come let me know how you did when you're finished, will you?"

"Yes, sir. Will you be in your office?"

"Or in my quarters. You have access to faculty housing, so you can come find me there, if need be."

"Yes, sir."

The professors left, and then Mr. Drysden motioned to the chair.

"If you would."

David sat down. The chair was very comfortable.

"Do you have your crystal ball with you, or will we need to get one?"

David conjured his crystal ball - he kept it permanently in his CR - onto the desk in front of him.

"Okay, very well. We will not say anything at all during the test. One of us will always be in the room with you, just to keep things on the up-and-up. Read through the folders, going left to right, and then see if you can see anything. Use whatever skills you feel you need to in order to break the impedivence. Write your experiences down on the parchment. Do you have any questions?"

"Is there a timer I can keep in sight?"

Mr. Tierney pulled his wand and performed a charm, and numbers began floating in mid-air. At the moment, it read 4:00:00.

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of, no."

"Then, let's begin." Mr. Tierney flicked his wand at the clock, and the digits started ticking down.

David didn't watch that, however. He immediately pulled over the first folder and opened it, studying the information on one Keith Rutledge. He absorbed as much of the information as he thought he might need, and then, taking a deep breath, he turned to his crystal ball.

David sat back and rubbed his eyes. He stretched a bit, and then looked at the timer. It said he still had twenty-seven minutes left. He considered going back over his viewings, but decided that he wouldn't gain anything from that. He'd re-run each viewing twice, just to make sure that he wasn't being misled by a fancy bit of anti-divination misdirection, and he was pretty sure he had things down correctly.

"Okay, I'm done," David said. He hadn't noticed whether they had ever left, but both men were in the room at this point.

"Are you sure? Once we take possession of your notes, you cannot add or change anything."

"I'm sure. I don't think there's anything more I could gain. I have one hell of a headache, so I'd just as soon not try more."

Mr. Tierney nodded. He waved his wand at the timer, which vanished, and then took David's notes from his hands.

"Do you have any comments you'd like to make before we go through these?" Mr. Drysden asked.

"Well, kinda. I sorta cheated on the last one you had me doing."

"Oh?" Both men looked at him. "How so?"

"Well, come on. You wanted me to look at Alpha Hurovlad. The protection on him is a solid wall. You know that; that's why he's the fifth one. He's the one who didn't agree to this, right?"

"Correct. But how did you cheat?"

"I did a viewing on the people around him, instead of looking at him directly. I got just brief snippets of information where he was concerned, because whoever put that block in place knew their stuff, but I wrote down what I was able to find. In truth, I got nowhere trying to look at him directly."

Mr. Drysden nodded. "I'm surprised you managed even that. We did not put that block in place, you see. That block is there because Alpha Hurovlad wants it there."

David nodded. He didn't know if these men were privy to what he'd related to the two generals that had come up to talk to David about his oneiromancy experience or not, so he didn't mention it, but pieces were definitely beginning to fall into place.

For the next hour, David sat patiently as the two men pored over his notes. They compared them to some other written documents that they had brought with them. David assumed these were readings done by someone else, perhaps before the anti-divination blocks had been erected.

Finally, the two men rose and approached David.

"On Eric Tellerogeist, you said he was in an insane asylum?"

"Well, that's what it looked like. What I saw seemed to me to be a padded room, and that's the kind of thing you put people in when they're prone to hurting themselves. He didn't really seem crazy in the viewing, but I figured he was just having a calm moment."

"What was he doing?"

"Muttering to himself. I couldn't make out the words."

Mr. Tierney smiled. "Okay, we'll count that as a success. Your description is wrong, but that's not due to you not seeing it correctly, but due to you not understanding what you were seeing. You see, Mr. Tellerogeist is a specialist diviner. He focuses very specifically on people's health. The room you saw him in was constructed to isolate him from outside interference. His 'patient' is in another, similar room. This allows him to focus his entire attention on just them and their bodies, and he's able to see if they will have any serious illnesses in the future."

"Oh. Okay. Yeah, I thought it didn't look quite right, but I had to write down something, so I took my best shot at it."

Mr. Drysden nodded. "You can't be expected to know all aspects of wizard life. Anyway, we'll call that one a success. We were kind of waffling on it before."

David nodded. "So, did I pass?"

"Oh, there was little doubt of that, from what your professors told us. Yes, you passed quite well. Do you have your wizarding license with you?"

David pulled it out and handed it over. The two men each took out their wand and cast a spell together. A new symbol appeared on the back of David's license. It was obviously a crystal ball in front of a cracked wall. Inside the ball was a symbol that looked like an eye. In the center of the eye was the tiniest number 4.

"David Stroud, you are hereby a certified proraziveur, level four," Mr. Tierney said formally. "We will register your name back at the office, so that anyone wishing to employ your services may do so. Here is a booklet covering the laws that govern your abilities and their use by others. I'll give you the short version now, however. Without approval from either the target, or someone in the government, whether it be a magistrate or a bureaucrat of the right type, doing what you do is illegal as hell."

David nodded. He'd already gathered that.

"This lays it out more clearly, where the lines are and such. It also tells you what you have to do, paperwork-wise, when you use these abilities. If you are caught using them in an unauthorized fashion, it can mean serious time in a wizarding prison."

"Yikes," David said.

"Yes. So, don't do it."

David chuckled. "Yes, sir."

"David, congratulations," Mr. Drysden said. "It was a pleasure watching you work."

"Thank you both."

The men nodded to him and left the library. David put his crystal ball away, tucked his license back in his wallet, and then went to see if Prof. Zoroaster was in his office. He was, along with Prof. Dartson. Once David informed them of the result, they decided to take him down into town to celebrate his success.

"Hey, David," Flo said as he sat down at the lunch table. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in a couple days... What in the world did you do to your badge?"

"Good afternoon to you, too," David said. Flo blushed, while Olissa giggled at her.

"Where have you been, though?" Olissa asked, once the laughter stopped. "I haven't seen you since Wednesday, either."

"I've been pretty busy. Potions work, plus classes, DIRT patrols... it's just been a busy time."

"And then what's up with the badge? Do I see a new pin there?"

David had spent the morning in town, having a custom holder designed for his badge. It was black leather, reminiscent of that used by the NYPD at the time. Below the badge, his Peg Riders wings were displayed, still full-sized, as it was important to him. Below that was a row of pins. Four now, instead of three.

To answer Flo's question, David said, "Yes, there's a new pin. I was getting so much of this stuff, I decided to organize it a little better."

"What's the new pin for? It looks like an eye."

"That's my proraziveur pin."

"Your pro-whatsits?" Flo asked.

David grinned. "It's someone who is certified to break through anti-divination magic. Prof. Zoroaster and Prof. Dartson filed an application for me to be tested. That's where I spent all yesterday afternoon."

"Geez, David. You work too hard. You know, you can get all these certifications more slowly. You have a really long life ahead of you..." Flo told him, teasing.

David chuckled. "Yeah, but my teachers don't seem to see it that way. It's not like I had much say in the matter. What was I supposed to do, say, 'Uh, no, thanks.'?"

Flo grinned. "I guess not."

"So, just one more job option you have when you leave school," Olissa said. "Do you know what you want to do yet?"

"I'm thinking about something, but I haven't fully decided."

Olissa nodded.

"So what's on the plan for this weekend?" Flo asked.

"More patrols, unfortunately," David said. "With the reduced size of DIRT, we have to keep our presence out there, and that means I patrol separately pretty often."

"Is it interfering with your school work?" Olissa asked.

"I don't let that happen," David assured her.

"That's good."

"All right, guys, let's settle in," David said to the DIRT team. "Two things. First, we just lost Martin. That means our job just got even harder. I haven't had a chance to work out a new schedule yet, so for right now, I'm just going to say that Charlie has the night off. Chloe, you and the others do a normal patrol. Call me if you need help; I'll be out there on my own somewhere.

"Now, of almost greater importance, I want you all to take a good look at this picture." David held up an image on parchment. "His name is Bob. Okay, let me be clear about that. We call him Bob, because no one can seem to pronounce his real name. This is the newest Clan member. We believe he joined because I pissed him off by preventing him from committing an assault.

"Bob is to be considered extremely dangerous. If you should happen to encounter him, do not approach. If you're already engaged, be very careful. If action needs to be taken, call me. I will deal with Bob personally. There are... issues in play that I cannot go into. Just rest assured that you don't really want to mess with Bob.

"Folks, there are less than six weeks left in the school year. I'm asking that all the rest of you stick with me. I cannot afford to lose even one more of you. Hell, I couldn't afford to lose the four of us I've already lost. If we are to have any hope of bringing this school back under control, I need all of you to help me out. Having said that, if you feel you just cannot do the job, let me know.

"Any questions?" There were none.

"Okay. Charlie, take it easy. Chloe and the rest of you, let's be safe out there."