Breaking the Rules, Part IV
Kurgm ate alone at breakfast. He tried talking to Demndun, but she refused to so much as look at him. He didn’t want to admit to the others that he’d broken the rules the way he had. They’d find out eventually. There was no stopping it. But he wanted to put it off for as long as he could.
Master Ekla escorted him to class. He sat among his friends, but they ignored him. They wouldn’t listen to him, no matter how many times he tried to tell them that he hadn’t done anything. They didn’t believe him.
“I trusted you,” Demndun said after class. “I liked you. I thought… No. I was wrong. We’re done.”
Kurgm couldn’t breathe. His face felt hot, and he wanted to slip away. He wanted to run, but there was nowhere to which he could run. No escape. He was all alone in the world.
When he left class, Master Ekla wasn’t waiting for him. His former friends’ masters were there waiting for them, all talking with Lord Velal. The four of them laughed, then straightened up when they noticed the apprentices.
“Hello, Apprentice Kurgm,” Lord Velal said.
“Hello, My Lord.” Kurgm bowed as Lord Velal himself had taught him to do at a young age.
“Please, come with me.”
Kurgm didn’t want to think about what Demndun would think about him being retrieved by Lord Velal. Was he in more trouble?
“Where’s Master Ekla?”
“She’s busy at the moment, and asked if I’d be kind enough to fetch you. Don’t worry, you’re not in more trouble. In fact, I’d like to discuss what happened last night. Master Ekla told me what she knows, but I was hoping to hear your side of the story.”
“I stayed out after curfew with my… well, they were my friends. They’re not anymore.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. How did them asking you to stay out after curfew make you feel?”
Kurgm tried to remember that night. It hadn’t even been a day, but it felt like weeks. The time he’d spent with Daylarl yesterday felt like years ago. Everyone had been so happy then.
“I don’t know. Confused. Scared. A little sick.”
“I see. Have Apprentices Roshil or Sirshi ever asked you to break the rules?”
“What? No, of course not. I mean, Roshil… well, I mean, I don’t think she’s broken the rules since the incident with the bracelet, and Sirshi doesn’t break the rules. At least, not rules set down by Master Moudren.” Kurgm frowned for a moment, then straightened his face. “Why?”
“I can’t imagine Apprentice Aonva or Oshal breaking rules, unless as an unwitting accomplice to Apprentice Roshil, who I believe knows better than to put them at risk. Apprentice Nourd doesn’t tend to ask anything of anyone. Have any of them asked you to do something that made you uncomfortable?”
Kurgm had to think about it. He couldn’t think of a single time the others had made him uncomfortable. Roshil was… well, Roshil. The most annoyed she’d be about him skipping curfew was either not inviting her, or getting caught. Aonva would be terrified for him, Oshal would ask if he was okay, Nourd would try empathy again (he was getting good at it), and Sirshi would listen without saying anything, so long as she was working. He liked what a good listener Sirshi was.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“I know you cared for Apprentice Demndun, but as you struggle with your feelings for her, remember that she and her friends pushed you into doing something that made you uncomfortable. Whereas Apprentices Oshal, Roshil, Sirshi, Aonva, and Nourd would not. While they cannot fill the hole that Apprentice Demndun will have left, they can provide stability and trust.”
Kurgm nodded. Yesterday had been great until he’d seen Demndun. Daylarl treated them all like they were family. Roshil was warming up to Kurgm being around more often. Maybe he could spend more time with them.
They arrived at one of the practice rooms, where Master Ekla was waiting for them.
“Thank you again, My Lord,” she said, bowing.
“It was my pleasure, Master Ekla.” Lord Velal looked at them both. “Both of you, remember what we talked about.”
They all bowed to each other, then Lord Velal left.
Master Ekla waited for Lord Velal to leave, then closed the door.
“There are reasons apprentices aren’t allowed out after curfew,” she said. “Weaver dens find new victims by weaving happiness into people walking by. When they leave, they can’t experience something like it again, so they go back. They might get another hit for free, but then they start having to pay. They can’t focus, they can’t do anything else. Sometimes they only collapse from an overdose. Something like that happened to… never mind. But sometimes their mind can’t take it, and they don’t wake up.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You’ll be learning about them soon. Then there’s the illegal trading of wands. You remember what those are?”
“A wand is a magical device that fires a beam of concentrated heat.”
“Exactly. All it takes is a word, and you could die. That’s why the court destroys any it finds. No matter what the circumstances, that kind of force should never be used. There are those that don’t agree with that, but the court’s stance on it remains the same. But people can make a lot of money selling wands, so they’ll do that where people can’t find them. And under the cover of night. If you stumble upon a trade on accident, you’ll disappear. Your body will be found, if at all, by a druid sensing it in the river, with a hole burned through it.”
“I… I didn’t know. Um… my… they’re not my friends anymore, they made that clear today in class. But… they were going to get back in through the school. They said one of the doors is always unlocked.”
“Thank you. We’ll have to check the staff. It’s possible someone’s getting paid to leave it unlocked. It could be an apprentice from a rich family, or it could be a kidnapping ring subtly encouraging apprentices to break curfew.”
“That happens?”
“Unfortunately. It’s not common, but… there are apprentices that people might want to get their hands on.”
They stood in silence for a time. How had his life gone so wrong? Everything had been fine before.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Master Ekla said. “And about Apprentice Demndun. I know how much you liked her.”
Kurgm nodded. He wanted to go back to his room and sleep for the rest of the day. And maybe the next.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” he said. “I… I didn’t meant to.”
“I know. I forgive you.” She sat down and patted the ground next to her. “Come on, little brother.”
Kurgm laughed as he sat down with her. “You haven’t called me ‘little brother’ since I was eight years old.”
They laughed together for a moment. Kurgm felt a little of the pressure of the last day leave him.
“Your friends are worried about you,” Master Ekla said. “Apprentices Aonva and Oshal found me today to ask about you. I didn’t tell them what happened, I’ll leave that up to you. But you should tell them. They’ll be worried about you. Well, most of them will be.”
“Sirshi won’t care,” he said, smiling. “I’ll get a few words into telling them, and she’ll tell me how she doesn’t care. She doesn’t mind if I keep talking, though. She keeps telling me to keep talking.”
Master Ekla smiled at him. “She’s probably being sarcastic.”
Kurgm thought of all the times he’d talked with Sirshi at the Temple of the Rising Sun. Had she been being sarcastic when she would respond?
“I don’t think I can tell when someone’s being sarcastic.”
“You’ll get the hang of it. And you’ll find someone better than Apprentice Demndun.”
“Thanks. I was raised by the best.”
“Our Lord True Knight is pretty great. And so were your parents.” She stood up. “Alright, enough sitting around. Today, you’re learning how to use your ki to move quietly. I have personally made good use of it recently.”
Kurgm stood up and adjusted his glasses. He didn’t have many friends, and he no longer had a girlfriend, but maybe Master Ekla was right. Maybe he’d find someone better. Until then, at least he knew he had good friends.