Magic is Programming

Trinlen bent over to inspect the door to his rented suite with a critical eye. The varnish on the wood showed no marks, and there were no unusual breaks in the patterns of the wood grains. He saw no signs of repaired damage from a forcible entry. I should have expected that, really. Amber said their guards didn't notice the abduction happening, and breaking in through the door surely would have alerted them. He swept his mana sense over the door just in case, but found nothing unusual. It had a detection ward connected to an alarm trigger, just like every guest room in the Adventurer's Haven, along with a keyed secure bypass attached to the lock. He inserted and turned the key, observing with mild interest as the key's enchantment paired up with the bypass and validated itself, then put it out of his mind as he opened the door and moved on to the room on the other side.

The suite's lobby or common room showed no signs of anything interesting to Trinlen's searching eye, nor to his mana sense. It was furnished with a small table, a desk positioned against a wall, and a few simple chairs. The only enchantments he sensed were the wards around the suite and on the doors to the bedrooms. Everything seemed in excellent condition, with only minor signs of normal wear. He shrugged and walked to the right-hand bedroom door, not bothering to spend the time for a truly thorough examination of the room. Carlos and Amber were sleeping when they were taken. The bedrooms are by far the most likely places to find traces of what happened.

He opened the door and advanced slowly into the bedroom, scanning carefully with his eyes and mana sense before each step. They were taken from their beds, so that's the one place I can be absolutely certain something happened. Buuuuut… Nothing. Damn. I guess four and a half days was too long for any mana traces to stick around, at least with me at only Level 8. He absently moved his luggage out of the way as he inspected the rest of the flooring, then went to search the other bedroom. Heh. A whole suite, all to myself. Living in luxury already! Now what should I use the extra room for?

Trinlen's musings cut out instantly when he noticed a spot in the flooring that stood out from its surroundings. The 2-foot square section's varnish was noticeably shinier, and the patterns in the wooden boards didn't quite match the rest of the floor. The attackers broke through the floor? Or did the guards break it to pursue them? … I should have asked Amber for more details. He inspected the security enchantments in that area. The suite-specific wards covered the floor and ceiling in addition to the walls and doors, and they should have alerted people when broken through. The wards were certainly there, and they seemed fully intact, but the essence lines of its structure were a little cleaner in that spot. They must have repaired or replaced that section of ward along with the floor. How disappointing. I would have liked to examine the damage.

He sighed and went back to the bedroom his luggage had been left in. He didn't actually have all that much, but he might as well go ahead and make himself at home. Mostly that just meant putting his four spare sets of clothes into the dresser, putting his books and piles of notes on the desk, and collapsing onto the bed for a luxuriously comfortable nap.

Trinlen didn't even last a minute in the bed before he sprang back up and started flipping through his notes. Dammit, I really should have spent some time planning lessons. Those two seem nice and friendly, and they're being generous to me, and I need to pay them back for it all with some properly useful knowledge. But which things do they need to learn, and which ones first? He took a deep breath and sighed, then looked at the disorganized pile of papers in his hands and put it aside. He picked out one book and placed it on the desk in front of him.

Introduction to Magical Theory for Beginning Mages, by Archmage Sandaras. Right, this is the one book about spellcasting that they've already read. He flipped the cover open and started skimming to refresh his memory of exactly what the book covered. And in addition to this, they have some kind of way to pull whole incantations from thin air, learning a spell from nothing but its description. He snorted. That is ridiculously unfair. I think Carlos said something about the spell having to be simple for that to work, but still.

Hmm. Only works for simple incantations, but as long as the incantation is simple, it can work even for spells that he had no idea even existed. Trinlen rested his chin on his right palm and tapped a finger while he thought. So it doesn't help put together fancy interconnected loops and stuff, but if all he needs is the effect keyword then that's fine? Ah! Yes, that would fit. They found a way to easily discover new keywords. He paused for a moment. Aaand either it gets the whole incantation for them, or they've already noticed the parts that are the same in several incantations and learned the basic patterns. He looked at another book that was lined up against the wall. Incantation Patterns and Principles, by Professor Lilain. He smirked. Man, Headmaster Plaskin was not happy about letting me bring that out of the academy. Or any of the other textbooks, either. But even he couldn't gainsay an order from the Crown. His face looked like he'd eaten an entire sourbomb! Hilarious!

He chuckled a bit at the memory, then refocused on the line of books. Okay, so the first few chapters of Patterns will probably be mostly review for them. I should go over it anyway to fill in any missing details, but it shouldn't take long. Aside from that… Same order of topics as the academy teaches, I suppose, just hopefully faster and skipping things they already know. Let's see, which ones did the academy start with, again? He scanned all of the titles and frowned, then slapped his forehead. Oh yeah, I got rid of my first-year textbooks after I advanced to the next classes! Damn, why did I do that!? He sighed and dug out a pencil and some blank paper from the odds and ends still in his packs. Guess I'll have to try teaching those from memory. Okay, first year in the academy, my classes were…

The next morning, Trinlen received a letter with his breakfast, instructing him to report to the mayor's office at 9 a.m., sharp. He reflected briefly on the unfamiliarity of feeling that he actually cared about being punctual for something, then hurried to make sure he arrived on time.

When he entered, he found a bit of a crowd waiting for him. Stelras was at his desk, of course, and Carlos and Amber were seated beside the mayor at his right hand. Two figures in the heavy gleaming armor and uniforms of royal guards stood behind the young nobles. A buxom woman with long dark hair stood beside Amber, but a few feet farther over. She was fidgeting a little and seemed to be trying, but not quite succeeding, to suppress her fidgets and hold still. On the mayor's left, a group of four very different individuals stood together, calm and disciplined. Not surprising, considering how powerful I can sense their souls are. Meetings with Important People are probably old hat to them, unlike that Level 5 woman on the other side.

The receptionist quietly closed the door behind Trinlen, and Mayor Stelras started things off. "I see that you are at least able to take things seriously, Trinlen. Good. I was concerned after hearing about your background, especially with your casual attitude in our conversation yesterday."

Trinlen gave a shallow bow. "I can be serious when it's important to me, sir."

Stelras raised an eyebrow, humorless. "And yesterday's conversation with me was not important?"

"I mean, maybe kind of?" Trinlen shrugged. "I'm here for your bosses, and they don't care how formal I am."

Stelras looked over at Carlos, who looked back and shrugged too. "To be honest, he's right. I regard most formalisms as irrelevant, and often as wasting time, unless there's a specific need for displaying respect." Carlos returned to looking forward at Trinlen again. "However, this occasion does have such a need. Understood?"

Trinlen gulped and hastily nodded. "Yes, s- uh, my lord."

Mayor Stelras gathered himself, sat straight, stared Trinlen right in the eyes, and spoke gravely. "Good. Then let us begin." He cleared his throat and placed a small plaque on his desk, over on the side near Carlos. That plaque was the only thing on the entire desk, Trinlen realized as Stelras resumed speaking. "Trinlen, new graduate of the Royal Mage Academy. You have come here today to join the service of High House Carlos as their teacher in the art of spellcasting. Are you ready to swear oaths of service and loyalty to your new lord?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then place your hand on the House Carlos plaque, kneel to High Lord Carlos Founder, and repeat after me."

Trinlen had to suppress some nervousness as he carefully repeated each phrase the mayor prompted. "I, Trinlen, a free person of no sworn loyalty, hereby pledge myself to the loyal service of High House Carlos. I swear lifelong loyalty to House Carlos, to serve House Carlos's needs and to safeguard House Carlos's secrets, as long as my loyalty is repaid in kind."

Carlos needed no prompting for his response. He must have rehearsed it in advance, or maybe he'd just done this before. He stood and placed his hand on top of Trinlen's while he spoke. "I, High Lord Carlos Founder, head of High House Carlos, hereby accept the service of Trinlen. I swear to reward him appropriately for the value of his service, to accord him the respect he deserves, and to protect him from enemies of my house. I shall never knowingly give him cause to betray me."

The two guards, having seemed almost like statues so far, suddenly moved as one. They tapped the floor with their spears in unison and chorused, "Oath witnessed!"

Trinlen hesitated and looked at Stelras uncertainly. The mayor smiled warmly at him and gestured upwards. "Welcome to the service of House Carlos, Trinlen. And now that the official matter at hand is resolved, I can defer to our mutual lord's preferences. Lord Carlos?"

Carlos returned to his seat. "Indeed. So, that little ceremony was just one of the reasons we called you here. Another reason is to introduce you to the rest of our staff. Ressara, how about you start? Everyone introduce yourselves to Trinlen."

"Um, okay." The curvy woman next to Amber shook her hands, then bowed. "I am Ressara, a scholar. I have some expertise in certain types of esoteric soul structures, which has proven useful recently."

The faceplate of the steel-armored statue behind Amber retracted itself, revealing a stern feminine face behind it. "Major Ordens. Royal guard, temporarily assigned by the Crown to protect House Carlos."

The next one, a few inches taller and now clearly a man, followed suit. "Colonel Lorvan. Royal guard, and senior officer on this assignment."

Stelras waved a hand and didn't bother saying his name. "You met me yesterday. Next."

The individual nearest Stelras on the other side of him met Trinlen's expectant gaze and nodded. He was a man, tall and lanky, and festooned with more daggers than Trinlen cared to count. His spoke with a gruff voice. "Haftel. Adventurer. Level 39. Strategist, planner, and organizer. Informal leader of our party when the situation calls for it. In a fight, I make daggers dance."

Next in line was a tall and elegantly dressed woman with long and flowing hair, which was fluttering despite being indoors with no breeze. Her voice sounded clear and bright. "Esmorana. Adventurer. Level 40. Master of wind and flight. Sometimes a diplomat."

The third was a shorter woman, with a much more thick and stocky build. She looked strong, with large rippling muscles, and as Trinlen watched, she proved that assessment accurate by procuring an absurdly huge solid metal hammer from enchanted storage and swinging it through the air with casual ease. "Noralt. Adventurer. Level 38. Metal juggernaut. Show me a danger, and I'll shield you from it. Show me a target I can reach, and I'll show you a brand new hole in it."

Last in line was a man with an enormous frame. He was as wide or wider than any two other people in the room put together, but he was not fat. He was just big. He waved a hand politely and smiled. "Sconter. Adventurer. Level 39. Scout. You'd never expect stealth from a guy who looks like me, right? But I'd bet you'll never see me coming if I don't want you to, and I could spot you from miles away."

Trinlen blinked and stared at the huge man who claimed to be a stealthy scout. Then he smiled and laughed. "I like your style, Sconter. Breaking expectations is fun. I'd love to watch you hide sometime, it'll be fascinating!"

Sconter laughed back. "Sure. Pick a time when we're not busy, and I'll show you a game of hide and seek like you've never seen."

"I'll let you know." Trinlen considered for a moment, then turned toward Carlos and swept his gaze past everyone in the room while he gave a quick bow. "Well, it's been nice meeting you all, but I have more individual business with my new students, here." He held himself to only a small smirk for referring to a pair of high nobles as just students and getting away with it.

Carlos and Amber both laughed and stood up. Carlos sighed and shook his head. "I hope that attitude doesn't get you in trouble too deep to get out of someday. Most nobles are not as easygoing as we are." He waved to the rest of the room. "Thank you all for coming to meet Trinlen. Those who aren't on guard duty are dismissed. Trinlen and on-duty guards, we have one more introduction for Trinlen before we can settle down for spellcasting lessons. Come along to the Dramos city treasury."