Sarrefo managed a weak smile. “I do, so be prepared. I must leave to prepare for my next meeting.”
Quint had lost his appetite but knew he’d need the strength for whatever came his way.
Pozella was waiting at their makeshift classroom.
“Our session won’t be long,” Pozella said. He gave Quint a small pouch and a large, thick envelope. “The pouch has small versions of the books we talked about. Make sure they aren’t found on your assignment. I’d put them in the envelope containing the maps and the list of inns and eating places that should serve hubites. You’ll be traveling through willot country. Sarrefo said you would be issued a horse for transportation to the army gathering for an incursion into Gusellia.”
“I’ll try to memorize these,” Quint said.
Pozella nodded. “We have our last string to practice, and then we will talk about what to do with what you’ve learned. You brought your string portfolio?”
Quint nodded. “I did. I also copied down the strings and what they do so we could review what would be appropriate if I’m in danger.”
“The best thing to do is remember what you’ve learned and use whatever applies to the situation. Some of what you learned before won’t be very useful in any fight, but I know you are more creative than I, so feel free to cast strings as they come to you.”
Quint already knew that, but he nodded. Pozella gave him more uses of some of the more recent strings he had learned that Quint hadn’t considered, and Pozella shooed him out of the classroom so Quint could spend the bulk of the afternoon preparing for his assignment.
Quint tied his bags onto the horse and left through the back gate of the Strategic Operations Division of the Wizard Corps after breakfast, heading toward the northeastern gate to the capital. Halfway to the gate, he stopped when he heard his name called.
“Lieutenant Tirolo,” Amaria Baltacco said as she trotted from behind to join him. “I left from headquarters and thought I’d be able to catch you before you left the city.”
“We are to travel together?” Quint asked.
“Not by my choice,” Amaria said.
“By someone’s order?”
Amaria frowned. “My father insisted.”
It was Quint’s turn to frown. “You are my minder again?”
“It appears so. We will be observers together,” she said.
Would Amaria stab him in the back at some point? Quint thought. Sarrefo’s warnings alarmed him, and Quint’s ability to escape from the battlefield just became complicated. He wondered if she would attack him physically or mentally on their journey.
“You know your way there?” Quint asked.
“Someone planned the trip for me,” Amaria admitted.
“Then let’s follow my plan. We can take a break outside the city, and I’ll show you the map Pozella put together for me.”
“Master Pozella, your trainer?”
Quint nodded. “He’s recuperating from an illness and Colonel Sarrefo has him tutoring me while he recovers. I’m a little ahead of the others in the magic class.”
Amaria nodded. “I’m allowed to go to magic class at headquarters. How many strings do you know?”
“Forty-something. I’m still a Level 3. Pozella is somewhere above one hundred.”
Amaria scoffed. “And you think you can learn one hundred and become a Master? That’s impossible for someone like you.”
“Someone like me? What does that even mean? How many strings do you know?”
“Why would I tell you?”
“Because you asked me. It’s a common courtesy to reply.”
Amaria pursed her mouth. “Not for me,” she said.
“Then you are an uncourteous person, aren’t you?”
Amaria took an angry breath. “My father…”
Quint held up his hand. “Leave your father out of it. He isn’t here, and you are. At this point, I aim to learn the right kind of strings to qualify for a Master rating. Is there anything wrong with that?”
“It’s not aspiring to Master that is wrong. You are wrong.”
“Because I’m a hubite?” Quint asked.
Amaria raised her eyebrows and turned away as they approached the northeastern gate.
They showed papers to leave and continued, quietly riding through the expanded capital until they finally reached the Racellian countryside.
“I need a break,” Amaria said. “Can we stop soon?”
Quint remembered the first stop. “In half an hour or so.”
