The night passes too quickly, as usual and you wake up tired, not looking forward to the fatigues of spell casting. The morning is uneventful. You eat a quick free breakfast consisting of milk, eggs and bread, all of it past its prime. Then you exit the College and hail a boatman. It is difficult because the ever-present fog is particularly dense today. In spite of the poor visibility you hail a boatman fairly quickly. He is Tilean, of course, but claims to know how to find the Brush and Gull. Heading for the Brush and Gull and yet another day of casting Lightning till you feel sick from fatigue, you can only see the fog, so you turn your mind inwards and think about these last few days. Somehow you thought that the life of an enchanter was more glamorous. Is it just you or is it a lot of hard work? While you ponder that conundrum, two boats full of big men come up along side your boat. At first you think it is a robbery, but then a fat, important looking, grey haired Wastelander with too many rings on his fingers shout “Hey Tilean, you are not a member of the Boatmans Guild, are you?”. Before the Tilean can answer, and frankly you are uncertain whether he understands what is going on, the Guildsmen have commandeered the Tileans little boat, made you and the Tilean change to the other two boats and all three boats are sailing in different directions. You noticed that the Tilean was forced to pay for his trip and that the cost inexplicably matched the content of his wallet. Your boat sails straight for the Brush and Gull, while the Wastelander boatman explains how many Tileans are not proper members of the guild and that you should always verify the license of the boatman in order too avoid these unpleasant situations. As you arrive and the boatman collects his fee, the fog lifts and you can see the beautiful building of the Brush and Gull. The sight has become strangely familiar and you consider the possibility that in the future you will actually feel home sick if you are deprived of the luxury of the Brush and Gull for too long.
The days of an enchanter have a very distinct rhythm. You spend your energy on magic to the brink of exhaustion and while you recuperate you study and prepare. You expect that Sibo probably have some magicks active at all times, but as he has no magical aura there is nothing to study. Obviously you do not have a magical aura either, thanks to Sibos spell, so the most interesting thing to study in the lab is the Spellstones, as they are the only items with magical auras. You ask Sibo for permission which he laughingly grants you with the words: “No Newstaff has ever understood Spellstones, but you can try all you want. Make history!”. The word makes you wonder what status Sibo has. He is definitely not an Apprentice or a Newstaff like you. Although your are fiercely proud to have received your staff from the College, you are acutely aware that that only makes you accepted at the very bottom of the hierarchy of mages, so is Sibo a Fellow then? You have never seen a familiar at his side, but then again many Fellows do not wish for their familiars to be publicly known, both because of the public mark of a wizard can be hazardous to your health and because familiars makes good targets for potential enemies. Then again he is probably able to enchant his own staff, which would make him a Master. You are fairly certain that he is not a Grand Master due to his young age and because you had never heard of him before you met him. Anyway you do not know the actual difference between a Master and a Grand Master, so does it really matter? You push the train of though aside as you know it is time for another series of Lightning. For 6 days now you have helped enchant small gemstones at a brisk pace of about 40 gemstones per day. It must be a big time customer. Oh you almost forgot: “By the way Sibo, can you teach me that Conceal Magic spell.” As you notice he is hesitant, but not repulsed by the idea, you add the most reliable argument in Marienburg: “I’ll pay you, off course”. Sibo looks surprised and says “Do you have money? How much will you pay me?” A moment of silence then he adds “for this very useful spell?” You understand his intonation perfectly. Conceal magic is neither Air nor Water magic and thus illegal. Furthermore, it is specifically designed to evade detection by the church or witchhunters. “I do not have money” Sibo looks disappointed, so you quickly add “but I have a book explaining Lightning Magicks”. Sibo asks “Do you know Detect Magic? You cannot learn Conceal Magic without it.” You concede that you have not learned that spell yet and starts to explain, but Sibo cut you short saying “We cannot haggle all day, we have work to do. I’ll teach you for the book, when you have learned the requirements, but only if you teach the client how to throw Lightning. It is part of the deal!” You do not know whether he means part of your deal or part of his deal with the client, but you do not inquire because he seems very focused on continuing, so you go back to enchanting Lightning Orbs.
As always you find it immensely difficult to concentrate right after spell casting due to the immense fatigue, so instead of studying you gossip with Sibo, who is never tired as he manages the process, but do not actually enchant anything while you are watching. Sibo is a friendly man, who has never left the city of Marienburg. He never had time and besides there are plenty of beautiful women right here. Why travel? More seriously he adds “When I graduated my older brother had already established the shop and it was only natural that I help him. Now a days it is actually me who runs the shop”. He smiles proudly. After another round of spell casting, you sit down for lunch and he asks you a little about your life, but as you have been living inside the College for years and since he is very familiar with life inside the walls, you gossip a little about the teachers. Like you Sibo did not enjoy the monotone college life and he states with a laugh “The only thing that can make me go back there is citywide uprising burning suspected witches at every corner! No this, here, right now. This is living”. Sibo grabs another delicate roll prepared by the famous chef working in the Brush and Gull. He stuffs the whole roll inside his mouth and is unable to speak for a while. You choose to follow his example and together in silence you eat. After several rolls each, you ask him if he has any children to which he answers “Most likely I have a lot”. He has trouble breathing while he laughs uncontrollably.
After a long day’s work at the Brush and Gull, you go directly home to the College. On the way back you wonder whether it is possible for you to stay one class ahead of the client while teaching him to throw Lightning. You conclude that provided that the client is inexperienced in the ways of magic. That should be too hard. A smile forms on your lips as a plan forms in your mind. Safely back in the College you go directly to the library, where you search for any text on traditional wizard clothing and it’s potential benefits in the enchantment process as you have done every evening this week. It is difficult to find any relevant text, because the College do not have any specialists in Enchantment, since that is a different school than Air and Water and thus illegal. However, you know that something must exist, because Masters enchant their own staves. Surely that is an enchantment? After several hours, a lot of dust and a couple of books later, you come up empty again. You decide to go to bed and prepare for yet another day as an enchanter. Every time you think of yourself as an enchanter you get thrills down your spine. What incredible luck! And right out of College! Ok it is hard work, but you, a former street urchin, is now an enchanter! You kind of wish that you could tell everybody, but you keep your silence. You know it is not a good idea, because you are not supposed to know the spell Lightning.
Nightmares of Witchhunters wielding Lightning finding you at the Brush and Gull and thereafter hunting you through the streets of Marienburg fill your dreams this night. Once you even wake up sweaty, only to find the comforting darkness of your familiar little room in the College. As you go back to sleep, the nightmares leaves alone. You wake up late this morning, but are content to have rested a little during the last part of the night. “The demon of Nightmares and Magic must have been well fed during the first part of the night.” You think as you get dressed. Noticing your ragged clothing, not worthy of an enchanter, you decide to go shopping as soon as possible. You need many different things and it is not like you do not have the money. Feeling rich you skip breakfast, graps a pie on the street and hail a boat. You make a point of checking the license of wastelander boatman, who nods approvingly. As usual the fog partially hinders your view of the city, but anyway you are past playing the tourist as you did the first few days on the outside, so it does not really bother you. Instead you relish in the quiet before another hard day at the Brush and Gull.
As always Herr Südenwald greets you at the door. He does not comment that you arrive later than usual, but silently escorts you to the room. Sibo on the other hand seems a little annoyed “You should be on time. I have waited almost an hour. I am telling you straight: You do not want to be late on a project for Casanova”. Apologizing you seize the moment and try to satisfy your curiosity: “Sorry I did not know we are on a tight deadline. How is the boss? ” Sibo answers “If you knew him you would not use that word in the same sentence. Better if you know nothing of Casanova. Better for you and better for me”. A bit confused you inquire “What word?”. Without a hint of humour Sibo replies “Dead-line”. The rest of the day your spirit is bit subdued. It seems like a long day and when it finally ends some time later than usual, you go straight back to the College in order to research the traditional clothing of wizards as you have done every evening this week. The results of this evenings research looks equally useless, when you are approached by Master Ewans, a dwarven master, who has teached at the College for more than a hundred years. “Hallo, young one” he greets you. “Hallo Master Ewans, it is an honour to meet you.” Master Ewans grimaces, apparently he has no time for pleasantries. With a wave of his hand he command you to silence and continues “I have seen you searching for books on Enchantments. It is too early for you, Newstaff, but you should come see me in a couple of years.” He winks. Mustering your courage, you reply “Actually, I am looking for a reason why the traditional clothing of wizards are robes and hats. It is too wide spread to be a coincidence, yet I have never heard of any good explaination”. Master Ewans looks surprised. “Is that really not taught anymore? It is a classic trick after all.” He shakes his head mumbling something about the degeneration of the magical disciplines and says “I like the way you think, so I will give you a hint. Think about Protective Circles.” Once again he winks, then he leaves. You steer your search towards Protective Circle, knowing quite well that you did not pay too much attention in that class. It simply seemed premature to discuss how to protect against Tzeenz’s Curse before you knew any magicks at all. Anyway after reading up a couple of hours, you conclude that wizards who wants to wear normal cloth and be protected by a circle, when casting spells could sow in a silver thread into the bottom of robes and be protected. If the wizard does not use gestures when casting spells a silver thread in the hat lining will do. Quite proud of your findings you turn in, dreaming of a world not unlike Marienburg but suddenly filled with circles everywhere.
