Author's Preface
After descending to the first floor, Casimir entered the nurse’s office. Shuffling through her papers on her desk was Nurse Feverfew. She looked up the moment he stepped into her room and smiled. “What do you need, dear?”
“I’m here to check on a friend.” Casimir spotted an exhausted Bryson lying on one of the ten hospital beds lined against the walls, keeping him company was Tristan.
Feverfew glanced at the two friends and gave Casimir a once-over with a wary eye.
He picked up on her hesitancy. “Is it a bad time? Should I come back later?”
“N-no!” She waved her hands. Although she bore a smile, the stress on her face formed wrinkles underneath her brown eyes. “It is just–” She paused again. Her eyes shifted as she struggled with how to proceed further. “Please, wait here for a moment.” She left her desk and walked towards the pair.
Casimir glanced at Bryson. His right hand was wrapped in bandages, and his cheeks were covered with gauze. Although fatigued, he appeared in good spirits in the company of his friend. Or maybe he is keeping a brave face for his friend.
Casimir watched the nurse alert Bryson and Tristan of his presence with a point. Nonetheless, by the way the nurse is behaving, something is amiss. Maybe his injuries are more serious than what he is letting on, or maybe she is afraid I might have ill intentions.
Bryson turned to Casimir’s direction, and after the anxious look he gave him, Casimir felt his chances of getting an audience with him steadily decreasing.
Yes, it must be the latter. Casimir smiled and gave them a wave. “I’m glad to see that you are okay.”
“Um. T-thank you.” Bryson looked down, and when his head rose again, he plastered on a forced smile. “Come over.”
After his okay, the nurse left Bryson’s side and returned to her desk. However, she kept a watchful eye on them.
Casimir ignored the nurse’s suspicious glances toward him and focused on the pair. “Did something happen other than the accident?”
Bryson clenched his good fist and hissed, “That bastard Alistair is what happened.”
“Language!” The nurse’s voice reproved sharply.
Bryson quickly softened his tone. “Sorry, Miss Feverfew.”
Tristan furrowed his brow. Although his voice was controlled, his eyes bore growing resentment. “He came in here and had the nerve to tell Bryson to drop out.”
Casimir raised an eyebrow. Wow, he is bold!
“Not only that, he said that I did not belong here and that I am a danger to myself and everyone else around me. And…” Bryson’s voice trembled. “If I don’t drop out, he will make it his mission to make me.”
Casimir grimaced. Unfortunately, if what Cornelius said is true, he may end up forced out. “This Alistair is not one for tact.”
“You agree with him, don’t you?” Bryson narrowed his eyes.
Drat! “I–” Casimir began.
Tristan interjected. “Bryson, he didn’t say–”
Bryson turned away from both of them. “He didn’t need to. It is written all over his face.”
Casimir forced a smile. “It isn’t my or his place to say whether or not you should stay here. But from what I’ve heard, this is the second Aetherian device that went awry from your touch. Maybe you should play to your strengths. You showed promise with Alchemy, focus on that?”
“Maybe you should mine your own dam–” he paused and glanced at the nurse. “Just go!”
Casimir looked for Tristan for help, but the man shook his head.
Casimir silently admitted defeat. “Take care. I hope everything works out.”
“Thanks for coming.” Tristan bid him farewell while Bryson remained silent, brooding with anger.
Casimir exited the nurse’s office. That did not go as well as I would have liked. Well, time to go see Sully. He might have some useful information.
***
The sun came out at around two, stretching its gentle rays of warmth through the trees. Casimir took pleasure in this brief respite from the chill that had hampered him throughout the day. He walked beside Sully down the snow-covered trail, located on the west quadrant of the campus. Casimir just caught him when he was about to do his last rounds for the day. Despite the chaos that had happened earlier, his cousin smiled with mirth.
“I wasn’t able to get too much out of him because another student berated him for causing the explosion before I got there. If only I had left sooner,” said Casimir.
Sully pushed a branch out of their way. “If the other student did not interfere, what did you plan to get out of him?”
“I have a hunch that he might have gotten into this school under similar circumstances as me. I didn’t need to pass the same test as the other students because of my unusual situation. And from what I’ve seen from Bryson, I believe neither did he. ”
His cousin’s cold, dark eyes lit up with mild amusement. “So, you think this Bryson kid might have connections with the Sublime Weavers. Isn’t that a stretch?”
“Well, maybe not them exactly, but don’t you think it is suspicious that a boy who can barely weave an Aether Arrow made it here?”
“Not really, many incompetent idiots end up in places they should not be, because they know someone. I ran into so many of them working in middle management.” Sully chuckled. “Maybe someone pulled some strings, or saw potential in him and picked him despite his deficits?” Sully glanced at Casimir and gave him a triumphant smirk.
He isn’t taking me seriously! His right brow twitched. “True, but what potential would that be? He doesn’t seem to be doing well in the Aetherian device program he was welcomed into the school for.”
“It is an experimental program. I bet it is filled with absent-minded dreamers with rudimentary technical skills and not concrete pragmatists. Maybe the recruiters were taken in on the idea of what he could be and not what he actually is?” He leaned towards Casimir with a confident look, challenging him to find a flaw in his argument.
“You don’t think this is odd? It is almost like he was set up for failure.”
“Well, accidents are a fact of life for a Novice Weaver.” Sully pushed another branch out of their way. “Coupled with the fact that he comes from a province with minimal resources and, by your description, on the inept side, I don’t see anything bizarre about the explosion. ”
Casimir’s face turned slightly red. “I’ll find more information next time.”
Sully laughed. “Calm down. I’m just messing with you. We could investigate this further by finding out who is sponsoring him and so on. As a matter of fact, you have the perfect opportunity as the Chancellor’s newest paper pusher.”
He got me there. Casimir sighed. “Ask Chancellor Salamander about Bryson on Friday, got it.”
“Good boy.” He gave Casimir a side hug and playfully shook him. “I’ll keep an eye out on my end, and of course, we will step in sooner if things escalate further.”