A Quest for the Stars

The Smith used the Seat of the Planetarium to check on the stars. Several silhouettes took up parts of the cosmic sky, while other sections were illuminated by star patterns. He paid close attention to the Queen and the Chariot, but only spared a glance to the River and the Hero. The cosmos were quiet, and nothing stirred-

What is this? A humming sound alerted the Smith to the southern skies. A previously-darkened silhouette was now illuminated by an elaborate star pattern. The Raven had awakened.

“So, it has begun,” The Smith proclaimed as he gazed at the Raven star pattern sternly. “You are late, Pearl. Who did you choose?”

***

Up until evening the rest of Lenoria’s day remained relatively uneventful. Questioning from the police was little compared to the brush with death she had and nothing, not even the officers’ prodding questions, shook her more than her earlier experience already had.

The mother of the hobgoblin child was found two blocks away from the park. She had been shopping while she let her son wander on his own, and she insisted to the authorities that she had been watching him like a hawk the whole time. Ironic choice of words aside, the police were not amused.

“The fine’s two gold pieces and eight in silver. Keep an eye on your mailbox in the coming months, too; the families of the deceased may take you to court.”

When Lenoria walked past the office the mother was in, she could hear an argument erupt and the sound of objects falling. She spared a glance to see the hobgoblin woman - a rotund figure with a perpetual scowl - reaching for the officer behind the desk as if she wanted to strangle him. Other officers rushed to the scene and pulled her away from the desk to restrain her. The girl’s lips curved with slight satisfaction and she moved on to the foyer.

The familiar scent of steam and the sound of gears and machinery whirring assaulted Lenoria’s senses when a hulking figure approached her. Towering over her and almost twice her height, the armor-clad figure waved at her in a friendly manner. “GREETINGS, LENORIA.”

“Oh, hey Roo-Key. How are ya?”

“PERFORMANCE MEETS THE PRECINCT’S STANDARDS, SO MY CURRENT MOOD IS SATISFACTORY. HOWEVER, I WAS DAMAGED IN AN ACCIDENT WHILE REPAIRING ONE OF THE LOCKS FOR THE CELL DOORS. IT SHOULD NOT HINDER MY PERFORMANCE, BUT THE OIL LEAKAGE IS CONCERNING.”

“Mind if I take a look?” Roo-Key lowered his metal arm for Lenoria to see. There was a dent on the bicep area and the forearm was punctured enough to make a hole that exposed the clockwork mechanism powering the construct. Oil stains dotted the arm and the ground he stood on.

“CAN YOU REPAIR IT?”

“Nothing an hour on the workshop can’t fix, but I’ll be honest with you.” Lenoria’s hands glowed with a jade-green light. “I’m tired. Hold still for me, this will only take a second.”

“UNDERSTOOD.”

The light molded itself to form a glyph on Lenoria’s left hand and an energy screwdriver on her right. She placed her glyph hand on the ruined arm first before placing the rotating screwdriver on top of the glyph. Making contact with each other, the light’s magic slowly restored Roo-Key’s arm to its former glory.

Roo-Key brought his arm closer to himself and closed and opened his fist repeatedly. “MUCH OBLIGED, LENORIA. I CAN NOW OPERATE AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY. PAYMENT WILL BE DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME IN 1-3 BUSINESS DAYS.”

“But you guys are always open.” Lenoria smiled at the machine. “Never mind that. Take care of yourself, okay?”

The two parted ways and Lenoria continued her walk to the foyer. Getting lost in her thoughts distracted her from the world around her, and she didn’t notice the hobgoblin boy from earlier staring at her in admiration even from afar.

“That was so cool!” The boy’s sudden shout snapped the girl out of her thoughts.

The shout startled Lenoria and attracted the attention of every civilian and officer in the foyer. She quickly closed the distance to keep the boy from shouting further. “What was?”

“That spell you did just now! Are you a wizard?”

Lenoria smiled at the boy. “No, no. Wizards sling fireballs and lightning bolts. I’m more of a specialist in chemistry and mechanology.”

“What are those?”

“Science! Do you go to school?”

“Yeah, but whenever the teacher says we’re reading up on science, it’s about animals and coloring books about stars.”

“He’s just a little kid. No surprise there.” Lenoria sat on one of the many chairs in the foyer and invited the boy to sit next to her. Constable Richards had brought her to the station for questioning and she couldn’t leave until she received permission to do so from one of the officers. With nothing to do and nowhere to go for the time being, teaching someone what she knew would help pass the time.

“Well, chemistry is the study of matter.”

“What’s matter?”

“Nothing, what’s the matter with you?” Lenoria giggled at her own joke but the little hobgoblin didn’t seem to understand it. All of the officers in the lobby - five in total, including the receptionist - balled up pieces of paper and tossed them at Lenoria and booed her. “H-hey, cut it out! Ow! Hey, who threw a donut?!”

The hobgoblin boy laughed.

“There’s chocolate in my hair!” Catching the boy laughing at her, the girl sighed and left her hair as it was. “You know, it’s very mean to laugh at other people’s misery.”

“But it’s funny!”

“When you’re with friends, sure. But laughing at people having a bad day is not nice. I mean, how would you feel if I laughed at you when you were in trouble earlier?”

The hobgoblin boy stopped laughing. “S-sorry.”

Lenoria left it at that. She had more than a bad day, but she had no intention of guilt tripping the boy. “What’s your name?”

“Gror,” the boy said as he bashfully stared at the ground.

“I’m Lenoria. Let’s just forget the lesson plan. You want to see some magic, right?”

The boy nodded.

“Alright, hold still.” Lenoria’s hand hovered above Gror’s head and summoned another glyph and on her right hand she summoned a needle made of pure energy. After countless swift movements with the needle, Gror’s clothes immediately exuded the same light as the glyph and needle. “Done!”

“Whoa.” Gror hopped off his seat to check his clothes. “What’s with the light?”

“Just a personal touch. It goes away in a little bit, but that’s not the best part. Go ahead and stretch them out.”

Gror does as told, stretching the sleeves first and then doing the same with the waistband of his blue shorts. “They stretch like rubber!”

“Yup! That’s the [Magic Vestment] spell. Most casters can learn it and it’s a good spell for experienced adventurers who don’t want to spend money enchanting their armor. It affects clothes, too, and the enchantment lasts for hours.”

“So, it makes armor stretchy, too?”

“It’s more like the spell makes armor tougher and clothes more durable. The stretchiness is my personal touch.”

Gror continued stretching his clothes to test their durability. Watching him jump and run around reminded the girl of her time in the Steppes. In her mind’s eye, the little hobgoblin gradually transformed into a human boy with chestnut-colored hair running around the grassy plains back home.

“I wonder if Arthur would react the same way. It’s been four years…” Her thoughts then directed her to earlier in the day, her corpse bloody and stabbed. The girl recoiled at the thought, closing her eyes as if to avoid seeing that image but doing so did very little. The pain in her body was long gone, but somehow, she still felt it in her spirit. “Deal or not, I owe Pearl big time.”

“Ready to go?” A gentle tap on the shoulder from Clara snapped Lenoria out of her nightmarish thoughts.

“What did the police say?”

“They’ll close the park to investigate the crime scene, and we’re off the hook since the harpy eagle is not an animal native to the city. Thanks to all the witnesses who stepped forward, we’re no longer suspects.”

“Sounds good enough to me.” Lenoria patted Gror on the head. “You be good, now!”

“W-wait! Um,” Gror twiddled his fingers, “will you teach me what you know?”

Lenoria turned back and got on one knee to meet Gror at eye level. “Things are gonna be weird for a little while. There’s no telling if I’ll see you again. But if you promise to behave, and if your parents are okay with it, I promise I’ll come see you. Can you do that for me?”

The boy scowled. “Hmmm.”

“That means no picking on animals or other people. You won’t get far in life if you keep doing that, okay?”

The boy nodded begrudgingly. “Okay…”

Lenoria stood back up. “Good. I promise the wait will be worth it.”

***

Dawn arrived at the Aurèle residence. The house was silent, and nothing stirred at home.

Lenoria rested on a bed in a small room while Clara slept on a chair in a corner of the room. She had returned home right after she left the police station, but only to gather some of her belongings, her backpack, and plenty of potions before walking with Clara to her house. Since the police and civilians were involved, the girls discussed everything that had happened with Clara’s parents but left out the part about Lenoria’s injury.

Lenoria felt bad for this particular visit, for she did not sleep during the long hours of the night. Her death, rebirth, a contract, and the possibility of a high-paying job kept her wide awake; the least she could have done was to give Clara back her bed, but the elven girl had already fallen into a trance.

---------

“Think about this offer, Lenoria,” Beau said. “You’ll be meeting with your headmaster and my sister tomorrow. She wishes to meet you and would be elated to know your answer right away.”

“What’s the job?” the girl asked. She had wondered why the headmaster wanted to see her out of nowhere. They weren’t exactly on speaking terms.

“My sister wishes to bring stone statues to life. She’s read the student info available to the public and determined you’re the right person for the job. Of course, that means traveling to Thule but it also means my sister would be your only boss.”

A job where she didn’t have to report to the headmaster already sounded like a sweet deal for Lenoria. “You flatter me, sir, but I don’t work for cheap.”

“I didn’t expect you to. The trip will be all expenses paid and your payment will follow the Guild’s standards.” Beau turned to leave. “Think about it. My sister is the type to expect an answer then and there, but I know people need time to make life-changing decisions. If all goes well, life will be much sweeter for you.” He beckoned for Alistair. “Come, Alistair. We must share our story with the Constable and meet back with Gabrielle.”

“At once, sir,” Alistair immediately followed Beau, but he felt a grip on his wrist. He looked back to see Lenoria grabbing on to him. “Um…”

Lenoria knew she had to speak now. Cosmic forces surely placed him in her path more than once today, and she’d be foolish not to take the opportunity. “W-will I see you again?”

The silence that followed was only amplified by the wind blowing around them. The tree branches and leaves sang around them at the motion of the winds. Alistair avoided eye contact, but didn’t try to pull away, either.

“If the divines will it.” After a long pause, Alistair slowly pulled away from Lenoria’s grasp and smiled at her. Then went on his way.

----------

Lenoria hugged her pillow and held back the urge to scream. All of the day's events were immediately pushed at the back of her mind while her moment with Alistair remained at the front. It was all she could think about.

“His name is Alistair.” She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. She had two hours at best before she had to get up and get ready for the day ahead.

***

The steam-powered bus ride to the Guild was bumpy and neither girl was too happy about it.

Lenoria’s golem knowledge was required for the meeting, so she made sure to bring her favorite book on the subject, ‘Constructs for Dumb-Dumbs and Smart Alecks’ to review what she knew and review anything she had forgotten. But jumping at every bump on the road did not help her at all and she had to shut down her other senses just so she could absorb the information as best as she could.

Next to her sat Clara, anxiously aware of the leering gazes in her direction. She hid her face with a straw hat she grabbed from a cupboard in her bedroom and stared at the window to avoid making eye contact with anyone else. The girls were due to arrive in a short time, but to Clara it felt like the longest ten minutes of her life.

Contrasting Clara’s conservative yellow gown, Lenoria’s outfit was made for the current weather: knee-length shorts and a sleeveless top, both in matching dark green. Her armor had to be repaired after the fight from the day before, and without it the girl felt exposed. Her plan in case they were attacked was to flee, and promised herself she’d end things quickly if she and Clara were cornered.

“Anyone getting off at the Artificers Guild?” asked the gruff orc bus driver.

“That’s us,” Lenoria said while closing her book. She nudged Clara to get her attention and both girls stood up when the bus arrived at their destination.

Hopping off the bus, the girls entered the gate and made their way to the entrance through the courtyard. No students around or in the courtyard; graduates were not required to attend the last day of classes while everyone else had to.

The girls spotted a raven on one of the benches. “It’s Poe,” Lenoria thought as she spotted a white feather on the little raven. “That’s right, Pearl did say something about Clara. I should definitely tell her after we’re done here.”

Clara was thinking something similar. “The raven said my destiny lies in Thule. And those guys from yesterday came from Thule, and they want Lenoria to work for them. This can’t be a coincidence.” She briefly lifted her gaze to see Lenoria open the main door for her. “Oh, thanks.”

Pearl’s ghostly visage stood next to Poe, watching both of the girls enter. “Remember what I told you,” she murmured.

Listen well, Lenoria. The contract bound us, and my revival spell restored your soul. However, it can only be cast once. If you die again, I won’t be able to help you. Go easy on the heroics.

The girls made their way to a lift inside of the Guild’s main building, which was manned by a machine just like the one Lenoria spoked with back at the station. “Subjects identified: Lenoria Tsukino and Clara Aurèle. The headmaster has allowed access to his office on the top floor strictly to his visitors and Lenoria. Clara may not enter.”

Lenoria shook her fist. “Are you kidding me? Why can’t Clara come?”

“Orders from the headmaster. I am only here to enforce them and take you to him.”

Clara gave her friend a forced smile. “It’s okay, Lenoria. I’ll wait at the foyer.”

“Sorry. I promise to be back as soon as possible.” Lenoria stepped inside of the lift. “Take me to the headmaster’s office.”

“As you wish.” At the push of a button, a railing was raised below from a hidden compartment. After a ‘click,’ the lift ascended to the top floor.

The top floor was the rooftop of the Guild, and the headmaster’s office was a small brick shack at the center of the rooftop. Lenoria thanked the man of metal and headed straight for the office when the headmaster suddenly opened the door and closed it behind him.

Headmaster Starflower.

“You and I need to talk, Lenoria.”

“I know, that’s why I’m here.”

“Don’t sass me. We need to clear the air before we go inside.”

Lenoria sensed hostility from the headmaster. “About what, sir?”

The headmaster scowled. “I know you and Thomas had your differences, but he is the top student of the Guild! The best we ever had, to boot! And now he’s in jail because of you! That mark on his record will hurt his future for sure!”

“Thomas got arrested?” Thomas hadn’t crossed her mind since the Constable chased after him. Clara did mention something about him, but she was more concerned about other things at the time. “Oh, that. He was only supposed to be here for his diploma, right? Well, he decided to stay on campus and only ran when the Constable caught him violating his restraining order. He must have been caught.”

“It's not that,” the headmaster said, “because according to him, he was arrested while getting things for you. He was set up! The apothecary he was visiting had him arrested over ludicrous charges.”

Lenoria’s expression exuded disappointment but lacked surprise. “I didn’t ask him to get anything for me. I’m very sorry, sir, but whatever he was doing, it’s on him.” Lenoria reached for the doorknob, but a grip from the headmaster on her wrist held her back.

“Tell me, who am I supposed to believe: an outstanding student with nothing but good grades, or a mongrel such as yourself?” He grinned. “Oh, are you going to ‘tell’ on me? Go ahead, no one will believe you, and you know it.”

Lenoria debated whether or not to throw a punch when she heard a phrase she recognized all too well. But hurting an important figure like the headmaster could land her in jail just like Thomas, and living under the same roof as him was the worst-case scenario.

The girl bit her tongue. “Please let me go, sir. There’s nothing I can do about something he’s responsible for. Not to mention, laying your hands on another student is an infraction on the Guild’s standards.”

“Don’t lecture me about the Guild’s standards when you come in dressed like that,” the headmaster said before he released his grasp. “I’m going to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Constable Richards refuses to release Thomas, even if we try to post bail on his behalf. So, here’s the deal: I’m not letting you through until you convince the Constable to release Thomas from jail.”

“What? Why?”

“The Constable favors you for some weird reason. He won’t listen to us, but he’ll listen to you.” Headmaster Starflower spun Lenoria at a 180-degree angle. “Off you go!”

“But that’s-!” The girl stopped herself. The headmaster grinned smugly at her and placed his hand around her to escort her back to the lift. But his expression quickly disappeared when the two heard the sound of a door opening behind them. A familiar figure in armor stood in the doorway. “You!"