Skwyr Court

Grund sat in his chambers, enjoying the quiet, staring into the fireplace. It was so rare that he found time to relax anymore. If he wasn’t fulfilling orders from the other officers, he was overseeing Roshil and hoping she hadn’t gotten herself into trouble. At that particular moment, she was in her room. He’d checked her thread only a few minutes ago to ensure she hadn’t tried sneaking out. As nice as her father appeared to be, Grund knew Daylarl hadn’t been a perfect influence on her.

He got an impulse from his identification orb that someone wanted to get into his chambers. He pulled out the orb and checked who it was.

What’s he doing here?

Grund wheeled over to the door and opened it.

Lord Velal stood on the other side, looking the epitome of a model citizen. His black hair was neat, he never had any facial hair, his back was straight, and his tunic and pants were all in order.

“Lord Grund, may I please come in?”

“I don’t see why not.” Grund moved aside to allow his friend to come in. “Close the door behind you.”

“Thank you.” Velal walked inside, quietly closing the door.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Depends. Do you still have that bottle of Bzyora ale?”

Grund wheeled over to a box and pulled out said bottle. “Always keep some around for when you drop by.” He picked up a pair of glasses and poured some into each. “What brings you around tonight?”

Velal sat down in a chair near the fireplace, and Grund handed him his drink. “Thank you. Neither of us was busy, so I thought I’d stop by while I could.”

Grund settled back in and took a sip of his drink. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“I’m not checking in on your apprentice. There are better times to do that.”

“Like every week at the council meetings,” Grund said with a hint of exasperation. “Every. Single. Week.”

“I’m not the one that brings it up,” Velal said, his voice never losing its calm tone.

“No, Gorkle is. Like zie doesn’t trust that I’m watching over her. I know she’s different, just like that boy that hir just brought into the court. But I didn’t object.”

“You did warn hir there would be tension between Apprentice Roshil and Apprentice Nourd, but in fairness, there’s tension between Apprentice Roshil and most people.”

“It’s not her fault.”

“We are all aware.” He took another sip of his drink. “Apart from that, how are you?”

“The court’s my life now. You remember how it is when you have an apprentice. All the duties of a master and an officer. But unlike your last one, mine’s not determined to finish her apprenticeship two years early.”

“That was never my idea.”

Grund chuckled, then took another sip of his drink. It wasn’t a strong drink, but then, Lord Velal had never been much of a drinker.

“What about you?” Grund asked. “What happened to that friend of yours? What was her name?”

“Yindar,” Velal said. “She’s headlining at the Quondin, that theater in Torpn, next week. I was fortunate enough to get posted there. And she appreciated the violin you made for her.”

“It was my pleasure. Every good musician deserves a good instrument. And the Quondin’s a great place. Pwurmn and I used to attend concerts when we could. Torpn’s a day’s trip, so we couldn’t do it often.” He took another drink. “She met Apprentice Kurgm yet?”

“A few years ago, before he was Apprentice Kurgm. I may be his guardian, but Master Ekla spends more time with him now than I do.”

“It’s like having a kid. Their problems are suddenly your problems, and you’re always hearing about them.”

“You can grumble and groan all you like, Grund, but I know you too well. You’ve taken a shine to Apprentice Roshil.”

“Maybe. She’s a good worker, loves crafting. Probably wants to be here more than most other apprentices.”

“And has a bad habit of bending the rules,” Velal said with a knowing look. “Such as an incident several months ago with the west tower.”

“She’s been fine since then,” Grund snapped. “There are no signs that it’s getting worse.”

“Of course not. I didn’t mean to imply anything.”

“Gorkle’s bad enough, accusing her of being a spy. She’s done nothing wrong, nothing to warrant hir accusing my apprentice of anything!”

Velal said nothing. His face became neutral, his body motionless apart from the blinking of his eyes.

“I’m finished,” Grund said, taking another drink. “What’s life like outside the castle?”

“The forge is outside the castle.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“It’s quiet, apart from the attack just before the cold season.”

“I remember.” Grund finished his drink. “And we’re sure it was him?”

“In all my years of recovering dragon attack sites, I’ve never seen another dragon be more thorough in his destruction. The farmlands inside the walls are safe, but I believe he’s testing our response.”

“Word cannot reach Apprentice Roshil about him.”

“I know. I remember the incident in the cool season. Master Dordir was rather unnerved by it.”

“He did the right thing.” Grund glanced at the clock. “Don’t you need your beauty sleep?”

“I believe I do.” Velal finished his drink and stood up from his chair. He walked over to the door, with Grund behind him. When he reached it, he stopped. “Grund, the other officers wanted me to tell you something.”

“Bad news, then.”

“They feel you’ve gotten too close to the girl.”

“Her name’s Roshil. You pulled her out of that thing’s clutches, you know that. And last I checked, a master’s supposed to be close to his apprentice. Something about giving them a trustworthy guiding hand to follow.”

“That may be, but… we don’t know the extent of the curse.”

“If she tries to kill me in my sleep, I’ll let you know. Until then, I’ll keep half an eye on her. If I stand over her — metaphorically — she’ll never trust me, and that’d be bad for everyone. So next time we all meet, I’ll be sure to tell Gorkle that to hir face.”

Velal began to respond, but Grund cut him off.

“I know this is coming from hir, so don’t try to tell me otherwise. I’ll keep half an eye on my apprentice, and Gorkle can do the same with hir new apprentice. That way, we’ve got everyone covered. At least my apprentice was raised by humans!”

Velal stood at the door without speaking, waiting for Grund to calm down, just as he’d done earlier. All the officers knew when Grund got annoyed, it was best to wait it out.

“It was good to talk again, even if you were only here a few minutes,” Grund said after the anger had left him. “Take care of yourself, my friend.”

“You as well, my friend.”

#VolumeOne