Liam bit his lip to hide a smile at the dashing Taig. It looked like something out of a kid's storybook. "Maybe it made everyone else less magic so you'd be the best?" It was a pretty good explanation.

"But then why am I as good as ever?" The boy screwed up his face, humming, and a nimbus of rock and grit swirled around them in a protective barrier. "Sure am! I think you just wished to be worse at magic." He flashed a grin, his distress seeming to melt away.

"I don't think its just us who got affected" Liam gestured to the misty sky, now streaked with a strange aurora. "We ought to find that thing before it does more damage. But I don't know how to even stop it..."

"Well, Taig is a professional hero and stuff. Just look at the picture! Maybe the wish will just make you win at everything? Bet he could fight the monster! Or-" A sudden realization dawned on him. "We should try and spar again! Maybe it made me all magic, but Liam can fight I bet."

"We should probably see what's going on, really..." The trio could see several confused-looking students, first-years by the look of them, peering out into the corridor.

----

"Well, all the kids line up to. They look up to me, ya know? We can play with her for sure." Elwin was elated. The Whitechalk heiress would really get to see him in his element now. But who was Susie anyway?. Why the hell was she so interested in this boring little girl he hadn't heard of? "I think its good you really seem to care.

"Most patrons here just think the students they send are their property. They don't really take the time to get to know them or what they want out of life; just see them as a tool." And he did mean it. He just- he just loved strong and forward thinking this girl was! "When I'm in charge of things I really think I'd like to change how that all works..."

The apprentice lumbered through the halls. His younger counterparts ducked and whirred around him; feet pounding as they played chasing games. Elwin had all the functionality and grace of a middle aged man by contrast.

***

"Watching? I'd feel real bad if you came with us and all you got to do was watch. We'll help you!" Kana beamed, helping Liam gather up their bag.

Liam chewed his lip nervously. "You like Oratilla's right?" He squeaked, recalling just how many of the glittering rodents she'd used. The game was pointless but Liam had a better head for numbers and figures than Kana. And spend enough time watching people and you just get to predict them. Susie always picked pretty cards that were utterly ineffective. "I can help you make a deck with one! I mean, um, I always make Kana use a Hylop Faun in our's." He just liked the grinning little goat kid; some little vestige of the mischievous kid he wished he was instead of always so serious? Did Kana play aggressive games because he liked to seem tough because his village was conquered?

As the trio navigated their way out of the mahogany amphitheater they found Anwen lingering near the door. "Susie? Do you have a minute?" The junior instructor fumbled with the lock, balancing an open ledger and pencil awkwardly in her other hand. It all looked very precarious.

"Oh! You working at the Blue Orchid I should've guessed. Well, thanks for telling me." Ewan joined Randal with face pressed to the glass, wincing as Sage was struck. Maybe this would end fast. But then the swords came out.

"Are ya sure you should be watching? This is going to be lots more violent than cards ya know." He made a sort of half-hearted effort to tug the boy back. "Taza might not be happy about it..."

***

"Take that to mean ya got young master Basil captive? Turn him over now!" Cody's ears flattened reflexively at the assault. "Harm a hair on his head? I'll take pleasure lopping every last bit off your Hildie!" In a flash his sword was out, and the dog-knight rushed forward to flank Griselda. He swung the weapon, aiming a careful blow at her wings from above.

The big man grunted with annoyance. The winged woman was beautiful. Such a pity. Xamuu clenched his bow in annoyance and whispered a prayer to the ancients. The cobblestones between Griselda and her companions rumbled. A great Stony hand erupted from the earth, followed by second, and a snarling face...

Sirala shrieked in rage. Shrouded in a globe of water the jelly rose from her perch on Xamuu's shoulder. She would not be insulted. Not twice in a day. She would fill them all until they burst. Their innards would be torn to shreds and they would scream and wail. But first! But first she must do her duty. One of them had a machine and human machines did not like cold and water. The jelly waved her tendrils and conjured forth an explosive torrent of icy brine aimed at Winnefred and the masked child.

Sage darted backwards but not quite in time. His breastplate saved him any serious injury, but the surprise blow sent him reeling. The youth scrambled to draw his weapon before Griselda could advance. They must have his brother. There was no chance at negotiation now, though, not if they died here. But that raggedy little boy's magic was in him still. He had to focus. As he'd changed the snake back into a boy, he changed himself Cody and Xamuu. Their bones thickened. Draconic scales erupted from their bodies displacing fur and hair.

The boys watched with placid expressions, Kanaliam darting back a foot, as Mavis erected the shimmering barrier. An eternity of seconds passed and nothing happened, except for Liam chewing his lip and Dylan rolling his eyes.

"Uh," Kana's smile fell, "Sorry. Its just a silly joke we tell new kids. They don't really eat you." There were of course of unpleasantries at Wyrdwood, but there was no sense in scaring her further.

No one walks up to Wyrdwood and just assumes they'll get admitted! It made Liam bristle just a bit. "Needing to walk on certain tiles doesn't seem like a good trap for spies anyway. All it takes is one person to share the secret. Plus if someone decided to be dumb and push kids off the path-"

Kana gave Liam a sharp nudge to shut him up. "Well your bird is cute anyway. I've never been able to summon an animal before. Mostly I do dirt and plants. Liam can make fake ones though! So that's close enough." It was like pulling teeth for Liam to compliment anything, so he would have to.

"He- well, he can can be a handful, I suppose." She murmured. The difficulties of minding children were not something she often considered. "Your brother seemed nicely behaved. Different story when your back's turned I guess."

Niamh paused, probing her mouth. She preferred to bury the how and why of this. She was not anything like the girl who ran away from the order years ago, or a blubbering mess working for scraps. Not anymore. "I used to do some work for the Order of the Moon in Serendipity. Taught me how to handle find and handle dangerous magic. The eye for quality came later.

"Eventually you just learn that most mirrors from the myr Caladwyn dynasty have a little ghost in them that opens portals to other mirrors. At least the ones with the ocean motif. Mostly familiar with olden Serenian things. And that's what tends to interest my buyers." The girl was probably harmless. Still, it was best not to go revealing too many trade secrets like how she made connections with various warlocks and necromancers around Le'raana.

The trader braced herself against the bench as they rounded a sharp turn and into the brush-covered road. By day in the spring it must have been beautiful, but with foul weather it was another matter. Everything was black but for an orange haze in the distance. Some yards ahead, through the gloom, she spied a stray wagon axle and assorted bric-a-brac blocking the path. This was an old bandit trick. Niamh armed herself and had Elowen and Ewan clear the debris while she kept watch. In the end no bandits jumped out. Still, it was a grueling and dirty bit of work for a boy and young woman.

"Suppose we ought to make camp. Meat and hardtack should to last the trip unless one of you cares to cook." Niamh did not cook, not well, but settled for guiding the wagon off-road and building a fire.

Niamh tightened the grip on her sword as they passed the monk. She had been trained in that sword of paranoia long ago: to get prickly around things that did not fit like lonesome and unarmed travelers, people who asked too many questions, or peppered their stories with unnecessary detail. She heard him slink down the road behind them. Probably just a monk in the end.

"Well, you never can tell with magic can you?" Niamh cracked a jaded smile. "All that glamour and shapechanging you never know what's really what. Then again that's life isn't it? Little old lady slips something into your tea and you wake up without a purse; scar-faced brute has a thing for kittens and saves you from robbers.

"As for the boy? Says he was a man, but turned himself young trying to brew an elixir of youth. Knows his way around potions, spells, and monsters. But he did go out his way to moon a merchant who wasted my time. Hard to say what he is."

"Elwin. Do pay attention." Saoirse waved her out the door, waiting just until the young woman had neared it to wave it open.

Elwin was daydreaming at his desk, shuffling through his deck of cards. Only fifteen minutes and his day would be over! And- "Oh! Juniper!" Elwin straightened, straightened and reshuffled his papers to create the illusion of work. "How are you? Did your meeting go good, ah, well? Did you still want to play cards? I'll be going in a few moments. If you'd like to join me, that is?" The portly apprentice squeaked out the last bit with baited breath.

***

The classroom was rife with shuffling papers and muffled whispers as students set about making corrections. For most of them it was a chance to chatter moreso than an opportunity to learn. Liam felt Kana jabbed his cheek as the class drew to a close. "Oh. Nice job by the way, Susie." He gave the girl a shy smile.

"We were going to go play cards with Arthur after this, by the way, wanna come?" He gave the girl a smirk. "And you never answered. Grade's just as much mine as it is Liam's, isn't it?"

Ewan and Randal sat with their faces pressed to the smudged glass of his bedroom window. It had not changed much since the boy was first installed. There were no spellbooks or arcane herbs stashed away, just a chalk circle drawn on the floor. The little wizard had tried to smudge it out but it was clear he was practicing with marbles after countless losses to his new friend.

"You don't have to tell me, not if you don't want to, but exactly is that magic you got? And why are you and Taza keeping it so secret? At this point I guess I'm kind of one of you, aren't I?

"Will take ten years of saving to go north if I'm paid two bits a week. And I'm sure you and Tiffany would miss me doing all your worst chores." He cracked a little smile, framing it as a joke, but it really was true. It would be a little sad to leave so soon besides. As much as Taza cared for Randal there was something unsettling about it all given her line of work. Not to mention Kauz and Tiffany were surely not good role models for the child...

If Ewan had anything now, it was time.

***

Sage could see some figures lounging about outside the boarding house with a hooded woman at the fore. They had the look of peasants, mostly. Even the well dressed ones had the sort of gaudy outfits you expected of the poor playing at nobility. It was cute in a way, like when you put a little scarf on a cat! But these lowborn in Zantaric didn't fear their betters. And that was dangerous. Perhaps you could cut down a few with a sword but you could not get cocky. Especially given some of these people were sorcerers, and Basil was maybe inside.

The youth counted silently to three, and strode forward. "Is this Hildegarde's house?" he paused, heart racing. Anything could happen. "I'm Sage Whitechalk. My cousin Sarah lives here, or so I'm told.

"I want to have a chat; catch up with her."

"Hey that's pretty good! Real cute!" Kana grinned, playfully batting at the conjuration. "Does she have a name?" His face almost seemed to fall as it vanished.

"Well, knowing a little magic beforehand helps." Liam forced a little smile of encouragement at the pretty girl, but Dylan was entirely unmoved by the display. 

The boys lead Mavis through the gate and into the central courtyard. It consisted of well-manicured greenery, flowery gardens, and a menagerie of statues and fountains. At the very center of it all was an enormous oak tree with wide, gnarly branches. Today it was near deserted but for a few picnickers admiring the greenery. The term had not started yet, and most students were off lounging in their parents' estates or working farms.

No sooner had the children crossed the gate, then something stirred above. A pair of massive gargoyles, snarling demons, fixed their yellow eyes upon Mavis. "Don't worry about them. Only eat you if you step on the grass. Or if you step on-" Kana's face fell. "Red flagstones!" Indeed Mavis was.

Nothing to say? Oh my.

"We will do an alchemical analysis of the dust. Being able to generate low density mineral matter like that is typical of minor! elemental gifts. From there we will determine how to best develop her gift.

"That will be all." she replied, as if speaking to a student. "And if you deign to share any further information, it can only help her development. It has been a pleasure."

***

"Very good." Anwen forced a smile with some hesitation. But she was technically right; the girl probably just had some performance anxiety.

There came a collection of sighs from the classroom. "Anyone could have gotten that," came a nasal whisper, just a bit too loud. It was Martyn Felbend, a toad-like youth from Jadenshine.

Anwen frowned. Too taken aback herself to even say anything. "Right, well, here is last week's quiz. Why don't we review them?" She handed out a stack of papers which zigzagged through the rows. Fifteen questions total.

Kana whooped at seeing their own score, fourteen out of fifteen. "Perfect as always!"

"You didn't do anything."

"Its a joint effort. The grade is just as much yours as mine. Right Susie?" Kanas lips curled into a little smile. He did know Susie would reflexively agree. Which would piss off Liam immensely. And maybe a little part of him did think it was true.

When the stack reached Susie she rifled through a stack of papers. Most were 12's and 13's. And then Susie saw her own: 11/15. It wasn't bad, and was passing certainly, but surely the lowest I'd the bunch...

"Of anyone I know who works magic nine out of ten haven't a proper clue. I suppose there must be true masters off somewhere. Somewhere better. But growing up in Serendipity I've had my fill of the nonsense." She cracked a smile. It was quite true. People with all their dramas and secrets were infinitely more interesting to Niamh than eldritch lore. "And I earn a living tracking and trading in it. Not that I'm magical myself."

"The boy is a proper wizard. Does it when I need it and that's enough." She paused. Now was as good a time to sate her curiosity as ever. "Mentioned that herb you bought, aetherfrond, is fiercely powerful. Sounds like you've got your hands full with whatever ails her." It was more a question than a statement.

A pair of slovenly guards were perched under an awning at the northern gate, glad in sodden gambesons more reminiscent of northern soldiers. They waved the two women and cart onward with a grunt; too lazy to search it. Soon they were rolling through the coniferous wilds. Scrubby pines loomed like monstrous shadows on either side, blotting out the light but for their lantern. 

Niamh gave a nod, leaving it to Elowen if she wanted to help hitch the ox. Ewan did not really manage much magic after all, and had to earn his keep. "Haven't named him yet. Seemed like bad luck, especially on these roads."

The smuggler climbed into the driver seat, beckoning her newfound guide to join her. "Good of you to help your mother." A hollow complement; the girl had no choice to do as she did. "You ever consider moving on? Seems with two boys you'd do better on a farm than in Ketra. Family won't get by on scrubbing pots and odd jobs." Not to mention the sort of girl who made real money at the Randy Peach went about her work with more pride and enthusiasm.

"And I don't know what ails your mother, but I've dealt with a wizard or two in my time. If the fellow with the bells is the best Ketra can offer you can do without." The wagon rolled perilously through the muck and down the promenade of Ketra proper. It was nowhere so grand as the Serenian cities she remembered from her girlhood, but there was still a comforting familiarity about it. The Adelans here were more primly dressed, eschewing the tribal colors and sarapes worn by the poor in the slums. If not for the rain they'd likely be swarmed by merchants.

In an effort to avoid Elowen's scornful gaze Ewan had clambered into the back of the wagon, curling into a corner with a blanket and his book. She'd probably forget the whole thing anyway. Some dirty peasant should be flattered he even took a moment's interest, really...

Ewan chewed his lip apologetically as Elowen approached, expecting to be snapped at. Even if the little wizard was just playing the part of an over-curious brat, the scoldings did sting after a time. There was tension in the air for certain, she knew that he knew that she knew. Maybe it was best to play dumb...

"That one yours?" Niamh rattled off instructively. "It shouldn't be trouble to tote them along if they need looking after." Ewan had explained the sick woman and the skinny boys. The father was probably dead or run off and Elowen scrambling to sooth some peasant pox with twigs and berries. Sad.

They wandered back through the rat's nest of shacks and tents and toward the Warrior's Valor. Niamh's ox and cart were as she left them. The paint was chipped, and the sides pock-marked where a volley arrows struck it, but the roof was thankfully intact. "Should fit the lot of us. We're all set, I suppose?" She gestured toward the stable where the ox was kept, nudging Ewan in its direction without a word.

"Probably not. In girls it usually manifests at menarche. Very rarely does it simply hide; most magic wants to be found; it is endemic to someone's very being." Saoirse corrected sharply, with a roll of her eyes. "But magic dust is somewhat vague. You're a layperson, naturally, but does it do that you find it so significant?" She flicked a finger to call a quill from a nearby inkwell. It wasn't the sort of thing she'd usually waste the effort on, but flustering the girl for her lack of ability might be amusing. Maybe there was something to Susie? Metamorphosis, simulacrum, or genesis?

***

Anwen offered the girl an encouraging smile, which faltered at Susie's admission of failure. Why wasn't she trying? She knew the answer. Anwen was the same way as a student: hiding in the corner, hoping not to be noticed, perfectly content for the instructor to simply move on and let someone like Beatrix claim the accolades. "Well why don't we think about this?

"If you want to turn yourself into, say, a sheepdog what would the ideal focus be? You'd want a bit of fur from a dog. It goes to say, then, that if you want to manipulate the human mind and body..." It was not that hard. She had gotten this one right on the last examination. Everyone did!

Ewan gave the boy a wide-eyed look, not really expecting such a small child to be so brazen. There was no running away either. "I, uh-" his mind raced to spin an excuse. "Me and Niamh were waiting outside for Elowen. But I hadda piss so I went into the alley? And-

"Well I heard kids. I didn't think Elowen had any and I got curious is all. Sorry" That would have to do. Sometimes it was just easiest to play the part he was given; a kid looking for a potential friend made more sense than seeing if she was a witch.

Niamh heard a pair of voices squeaking back and forth. She decided not to intervene. Better they think the the little best was snooping than she out him up to it. One of the advantages of keeping the kid around, really.

Squalor, two scrawny boys, and a catatonic woman. This was not the mystery and excitement the Ewan had hoped for. It was the secret shame everybody has but you willfully overlook: messy houses, doddering grans and so on. He was ready to turn back when Elowen's green gaze met his own. With a gasp he ducked behind beneath the window. Determined to pretend she had not just seen him, Ewan crept through the mud, along the side of the house, and back toward the awning to meet Niamh.

The Kiefers' lone window fronted an tiny alley from which there was no escape, except to pass directly by their front door. It was only a few steps. A few steps and the boy could deny everything. But just as Ewan crossed the threshold he heard the door tear open behind him!

Well, Randal could have turned out much worse. At least Taza raised him polite. "I am old older and wiser than Taza, ya know. Doesn't that count for anything?" he flashed a smirk. That Randal considered him more of a peer was irritating at times, but Ewan couldn't really argue that they weren't equals in most regards now. "I think you just want to stick with marbles because you know you can beat me."

As the boys rounded the corner they spotted Joan watching the door. Ewan was not sure if it was her nature, or that he did stuff for Tiffany, but she always seemed to give him and Randal a hard time. If either left something indoors they'd have to wait until sunset to be let back in. "Hi Joan. Yeah, yeah. We're pipsqueaks. You could beat us both up at once when you were our age. If we weren't so lazy we wouldn't be scrawny. We smell bad and you're going to throw us in the water, again. We've heard it all," he enumerated on his fingers. "Right now we got to find Sarah. Someone saying he's her cousin with a bunch of armed guards is looking for her!"

***

Sage and his entourage doubled backthe way they came. Xamuu strode along at his right, Cody scurried along on his left, and Sirala fluttered through the air overhead. The Kishhani shaman had, fortunately, managed to banish the toxin which petrified her. "I just don't see her as an assassin. She always had such a cheery disposition; I think you'd really need to be a certain type to earn money from murder," he flipped a strange, cyathil tuning fork up in the air. "But I can't imagine anyone of the family really working as some common thug. Or serving some insignificant savage from Connlaoth. I think that's the worst of it really..."

"Does she keep young Basil?" The shaman found the youngest Whitechalk amusing if tiresome. He would sometimes tell Basil stories of his homeland. Ordinarily Xamuu kept such secret things to himself, but it was good to reminisces. There was no going home.

"No sign of any boy, but Hildegarde does take in all sorts of strays..." If Sarah shared what Basil was he was probably not allowed free roam. Sage preferred not to consider that possibility. Not yet.

"Take your time. So long as we stay dry." Niamh braced herself against a wall, drawing from a hip flask and watching the rain. The girl had no intention of taking her advice. No follow-up questions, no little story about why her life wasn't working out. Too proud to change? Something to hide? It was intriguing enough that Niamh couldn't let it go. There was something ghoulish about prying into others' dramas, she supposed, but everyone did it. Everyone who wasn't some dull-eyed cow, anyway.

"What do you think, kiddo?"

"Seems okay." Ewan shook his hair his hair like a wet dog. "She knows some wizard-stuff. Real shame she didn't get to be a healer."

"More to her than she let's on, isn't there?" There was a certain art to asking questions. If you wanted a lot of information you asked questions where the answer could be anything. If you wanted to persuade someone? You asked questions where the only possible answer was what you needed done.

"Well what do you think she's doing? Its kind of a dingy place for a witch to live." The boy was a little sullen about being corrected twice. He certainly knew what he was doing, and his new body was perfect. Safety was hardly a concern when you could regenerate from anything! And maybe she was just desperate for money to get her hands on one key reagent? "Ya think she's up to something?"

It did not take much more prompting. The boy darted around the bend, pattering through the mud up to the front window. No glass, just linen drapes. He could hear muffled whispers and candle-light beyond. Very carefully a pair of tiny fingers peeled it back, and he peaked inside...

"Well you seem to know your stuff! I've been doing alchemy for years! I bet I could show you- oh, right, aetherfrond..." Well ferns had fronds! He wasn't that off. Pushing thoughts from his mind, Ewan took the pouch and happily ensconced the gland within. "Anyway with a little vivification I bet this could really burn something!"

Belled braids jingling, the shopkeeper heaved a basket onto the counter-top: jars of aetherfrond, bread, milk, rations. He took eight moons from Elowen, and nearly all of Ewan's coin purse. Galoren tried his best to advise a hedge-weasel skull would be a perfect catalyst to no avail.

And soon the trio were back in the rain. "You could get a job under that one, or run him out of business." Niamh shook her head. "Shouldn't be chasing odd jobs if you've got a trade, or nearly got one." Miamh cringed some as she said it. It was the sort of thing meant to be encouraging, but there was probably more story to all this. Sad story, or not, you either took good advice and swam - or you sank.