Rise of the Retics (13 page)

“Good day, Master Flehm. May I present to you our newest student? This is Jaxon Miniheart.”

“Master Flehm,” said Jaxon to Rigby, but loud enough for Lord Malverne to hear. “Master of what? He looks like the only thing he could be master of is his own grave.”

“Shut your mouth, Miniheart,” Malverne whispered angrily through clenched teeth. “One, I will not tolerate disrespect toward any retic from any of my charges, let alone you. Second, your comments are going to get you killed one day. Master Flehm was the survivor of a litter of seventeen.
[21]
He could slit your throat before you knew he was there.”

“What did you say? Speak louder, will ya!” Flehm cupped his ear and turned it toward them, assuming it would help him hear better. Jaxon nearly gagged at the grape sized wax ball that sat entwined in Flehm’s ear hair.

“He might be able to slit my throat, Instructor, but I can guarantee you he wouldn’t hear me complaining about it.” Jaxon snickered as Flehm continued to demand a reintroduction.

Malverne ignored Jaxon’s humor.

“I SAID, I PRESENT JAXON MINIHEART, OUR NEW STUDENT!”             

A mucus filled
Cough! Cough!
erupted through Flehm’s lips before he could find the air to speak. “Well, you don’t need to scream you know. I’m right in front of you. Miniheart? Miniheart? That name sounds very familiar . . . wait one second.” Flehm tapped his finger to his temple, as if it would magically restore the memory that time destroyed. “Wait! I remember now . . . are you the boy that hid a tomato in the beefeater’s steak tartar?”

“Yeah, that was  me.” Jaxon loved knowing that one of his pranks had gained him such far spread fame. He had always been particularly proud of that one.

“That was great,” Flehm continued. “I heard those lumbering oafs spent two weeks visiting Dr. Kelda every hour because they thought they were going to die from vegetable poisoning! I loved it! My wife and I laughed for hours over that one.”

“Flehm!” interrupted Malverne, “Perhaps we can avoid reinforcing such inappropriate behavior. Mr. Miniheart is here to learn better outlets for his energy. If you have nothing worthwhile to add to the conversation please do us all a favor and add nothing.”

“Oh! Of course, sir. My apologies.” Jaxon gave Malverne a dirty look. He hoped he wasn’t going to put a stop to every interesting thing Jaxon ran into just because he didn’t feel it was
appropriate
. 

Malverne nodded his acceptance and began walking down the dark stone corridor located to Flehm’s right. As Jaxon and Rigby followed, Flehm gave them one last grin of approval. Maybe everything here wasn’t going to be completely terrible.

They didn’t walk far before turning right and entering a small stone stairwell. They headed up one flight of winding stairs and turned left into another similar corridor. After about twenty yards Malverne stopped in front of a wooden door.

“This is your room. You will live here for the next five years, provided you don’t get expelled or your classmates don’t murder you while you sleep. You have an hour to get settled and cleaned before you need to be in the great room for the welcome assembly and feast. Stay in this section of the building, please. The other students might not look kindly to your intruding into their areas.” With that final piece of advice, Malverne was gone and Jaxon and Rigby were alone.

“Welcome home, girl,” Jaxon said to Rigby, not nearly as excited about the new accommodations as she was. He walked around the large stone room taking it all in, as his canine companion bounded from one bed to the other trying to figure out which one she liked best.

The room was quite spacious, much bigger than Jaxon had enjoyed back at the Hoofstomps’ house. There was a bed on each side, with a large window on the back wall separating the room into two halves. The walls and floor were both cold, gray stone, but while the walls were bare, the floor was covered in a fine red rug, with several repeating gold patterns.

Jaxon walked to the window and surveyed the land below him. His room was on the interior side of the building and faced down into an open courtyard. There was a handful of benches surrounding a nicely kept grassy area, with several large plants and small trees dotted throughout. On one side a small running creek traveled along the building, trapped by a small stone wall. Jaxon could see little fish swimming happily in the little waterway, completely unaware of how insignificant their lives were. Even though he knew he was well on his way to be the most powerful creature on the island, it was hard not to feel like an insignificant fish sometimes.

This was the first time he had ever had to leave a home without purposely trying. While he may have hated living with the Hoofstomps for the past few years, it had still been his home. It had been the only place out of the many that he had stayed in that deserved to be called that word—home. Jaxon couldn’t help wondering if he would ever truly have one again.

Turning to the bed Rigby had chosen, Jaxon flopped down face first into the pillow. He noticed that his strange new allergy must have returned as water began to well up in his eyes again and his nose began to sniffle. And with that, Jaxon Miniheart, the self-proclaimed highly-powerful demon sorcerer, cried himself to sleep as the only constant still left in his life tried desperately to lick his buried face.

Chapter
14

Gnomes and Other Things that Go
Boom
in the Night

Tyranna

Rosehaven: The Alabater Tower

October
27, 1503

“Please, step forward, young lady,” said the silver haired older gentleman. Gnemo nodded at her indicating it was time to present herself.

“I am Tyranna Wolfskin, my lord. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Tyranna bowed as gracefully as she could. She moved her cloak to try to cover the slash marks the gargoyles had left in her pants.

“The pleasure is mine, young one, as it is whenever one of our lost sheep is able to rejoin our flock. I trust your trip went well? I know I always get horribly air sick whenever I fly on Melvin. Much prefer gryphons, much smoother ride.

“Yes sir, the ride was fantastic.” She decided to leave out the part about the gargoyles. She figured it was Gnemo’s place to tell him about that, not hers.

“Excellent,” he replied. “Now that you have arrived, we need to discuss this business of what is to be done with you. As I’m sure you heard I have decided that you will be part of Thales Academy’s incoming class this year. I hope that pleases you.”

“It does my lord, very much so. I enjoy learning.” Tyranna’s smile showed her sincerity.

“As all children should. You are lucky in a way, as your early arrival has brought you here in time for the opening day festivities. They begin this afternoon. As a small gift to welcome you to your new home, I have placed a few dragon-marks in the treasury under your name. It is not much, but should be enough to provide you with some new clothing and a small bit of spending money should you require it. You do, my dear, need to replace those torn pants.”

Tyranna blushed. Apparently she had not hid them well enough.

“I have faith that you will do well at Thales.” Laszlo paused before he continued, his voice lowering and gaining an edge. “Before you leave though, I must inform you that living at Thales will be trying at the best times. There are those who disagree with breeding with humans, and will make their opinions known. As such I’ve taken the liberty of assigning you a guardian at Thales, another student beginning today. I assume, Captain Bushytail, that Samantha will accept the task?”

“She will be honored, my lord. Though she is many years from taking the oath of the Guard, her loyalty and dedication to you rivals my own.”

“Then I shall have no reason to worry about this young lady. She is in good paws. I shall personally send a runner to deliver the request immediately. Is she at home today, Alastar?”

“No, my lord. She was spending the day at a friend’s home.”

“The little gnome with the . . .?”

“Yes.”

“The one who always . . .?”

“Yes. My lord, that one.”

“But I thought . . . .”

“I lost that fight, my lord. She is Samantha’s closest friend. As I mentioned, she is very loyal.”

“I understand.”

Gnemo smiled. “My lord,” he politely interrupted. “I believe from the tone of your conversation that the gnome you speak of is my cousin, Gnipper.  We’re on our way there after this for a visit. I can bring over any message that you care to send.”

“Thank you Gnemo, I will prepare it immediately.”

#

A half hour walk, a quick stop for some new clothing, and a fabulous dragon-roasted lunch later Tyranna and Gnemo reached a small stone cottage. It stood out from its neighbors in the fact that it had none. On all sides it looked like the foundations for homes had been built but nothing else. It was the only truly sparse area that Tyranna had noticed inside the city walls.

Looking at the thatched roof, Tyranna saw that it looked brand new, as if it were just put on that morning. In comparison, the rest of the house looked like it was the remnants of an ancient fort. The stonework was scorched repeatedly, with ashy blacks marks scattered across the façade in no particular pattern. The building had just one window with a heavy brown wooden shutter hanging off, threatening to fall to the ground at any moment. But it wasn’t the run down nature of the place that caught Tyranna’s attention. It was the plants.

To each side of the front entrance was a small rectangular flower garden with the largest tulips Tyranna had ever seen. They were at least four feet from ground to petal, each bulb the size of her head. But that was far from the part that caught Tyranna’s eye. Instead, it was the fact that they were continuously changing color every few seconds, from red to yellow, then orange, before turning back to red. Tyranna had never seen anything remotely like it.

“How can the flowers do that?” she asked in amazement as she moved in for a closer inspection.

“Oh that? Gnipper’s father invented that. Something with chemicals and light absorption. He earned an inch for it.”

“Earned an inch?” she asked, confused.

“Yeah. Most gnomes are scientists of some sort, including myself,” he responded proudly. “When a gnome invents something worthy of respect he can earn himself a
pileus
, the cone shaped hat like the one I’m wearing on my head right now. Every invention after the first earns you a slightly taller hat, one inch at a time.” He pointed at his own headpiece as an example.

“Does every gnome get one?” Tyranna asked, intrigued by the idea.

“Most, but not all. They have to earn it. Gnipper doesn’t have hers yet, but don’t say anything about it. It can be a sensitive subject. Some gnomes can be very mean to those who haven’t earned theirs yet. She keeps trying though, and that’s the most important part.”

“I understand.”

Gnemo knocked on the front door.

“Come in!” came a soft, fluttery voice.

Gnemo entered and Tyranna followed. Her initial reaction was to scream, turn, and run but she managed to wrestle that feeling down into controllable shock and awe. Everywhere she looked it appeared that a battle had just been fought. Wooden furniture was destroyed and laying everywhere, as if people fell through it from a great height. Dirty dishes and piles of very old fruit were piled up in the middle of the room, insects scurrying to and from the smorgasbord of long forgotten meals. The walls were smeared with strange words and math problems written in what was either red ink or blood, Tyranna couldn’t tell. 

“We’re down in the lab!” yelled the same soft voice.

Gnemo headed toward a closed door on the right side of the room. He opened it, revealing a dark stone staircase. He headed down. Not wanting to be alone in the disaster area, Tyranna followed closely behind.

The room she entered took her breath away. Everywhere she looked tables were filled with glass vials, each filled with different colored liquids. Some of those liquids were producing small clouds emanating above them. On another table was a planting station filled with very dead vegetables.

Squeak! Squeak!

Tyranna looked down to see a rather plump rat with a very long tail cozying up to her leg. She let out a small scream.

“Oh! Don’t mind him. That’s Fuzzy. Hi, Cousin Gnemo!”

“Gnipper! It’s great to see you.”

Gnemo stepped forward to give his cousin a hug. Tyranna dared not move, lest the giant rat decide that it was time to take a delicious chunk out of her leg.

Gnipper looked similar to Gnemo. Both had the same chubby cheeks, bright hazel eyes and small freckles around the nose. Gnipper was a few inches shorter. Her hair was the color of a vibrant pink rose and tied into an uncoordinated battle between pigtail and braids. She wore a thick white smock, that, like the stone work around her home, was also filled with random scorch marks. Perhaps the most noticeable thing was on her head. She was wearing a an old kitchen pan of some sort.

“I wanted to stop and say hello while I’m in town and introduce you to one of your new classmates.” Gnemo looked over Gnipper’s head into the shadows of the corner of the room. “Hi, Sam!”

From the darkness stepped a squirrel-kin. Unlike the guards at the Alabaster tower, this one didn’t wear the white tabard with the acorn symbol, instead opting for a simple light purple dress. Like the guards, however, she did carry a sword on each hip. Tyranna noticed that she had several burned areas over her body, and her tail was bandaged. Tyranna wondered if whatever happened to Gnipper’s house also happened to her friend. Had she not feared an attack from the rat, she would have retreated back outside.

“Greetings, Gnemo,” replied Sam.

“Do you hide every time someone comes to the door?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Element of surprise. You never know when an enemy may strike.”

“I understand,” he lied with a smile. “Lord Laszlo has sent this proclamation for you.”

“The lord protector has sent a message for me?” she exclaimed excitedly, moving to grab the parchment.

She unfurled the parchment and began reading to herself. Tyranna was impressed. She had been the only girl she knew of that could read until today, not that she knew very many girls back home.

“How long are you in town, cousin? I’ve got this great experiment I’ve been working on, and if you have some time I could use a test subject. I just need to know. Are you allergic to cyanide?”

“Ah, sorry, Gnipper,” he replied slowly, making sure to choose his words carefully. “I need to be getting back to the
Rover
in a couple of days. I’ll have to pass on this one.”

That’s ok. I can always just use Fluffy.” The little gnome took a few steps forward and scooped up the rat. She extended her hand toward Tyranna to greet her.

“Hi, I’m Gnipper,” she said with a big smile on her face.

Tyranna looked down at her hand. It was covered in a dark green substance that was slowly dripping to the floor.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, wiping her hands on her color streaked smock and then putting it back out for Tyranna.

Reluctantly, Tyranna gripped it, gave it a quick shake, and dropped it as fast as she could.

“I’m Tyranna.”

“Apparently,” Sam interjected, “the lord protector has requested that I am to keep you from any unintentional harm that may fall upon you due to the resentments of other students.”

“Yes, he said you might watch out for me a bit,” Tyranna replied. “He’s afraid some of the other students may struggle to accept me.”

“If it is Lord Laszlo’s will,” Samantha replied with her clenched paw over her heart, “then it shall be completed, or I shall die trying.”

“Ummm,” said Tyranna. “I think he just meant that you say something to them if they are picking on me for being mixed-blooded. I don’t think dying ever came up.”

“Tyranna, do you want to see some of my experiments?” Gnipper interjected excitedly.

She did not. She actually couldn’t remember the last time she wanted to do something less.

“Sure, I’d love to,” she lied, not knowing what else to say.

“Great, before we do though, I just need you to sign this waiver.”

“Ah, you know,” interrupted Gnemo, “it’s probably about time all three of you headed over to Thales. We don’t want to be late after all.”