“Phil,” Irene, the mad queen’s youngest daughter, called to the young Londontown royal. The boy turned from his place in line. The school term was over and all the students were heading home. The village students were sent home by shuttle that morning. The remaining students all needed to be escorted to their home squares. This afternoon was Londontown’s turn.

  “Yes, Engineer Whitman?” Phil replied. The boy was torn between his despair at the school ending and his joy at seeing his Mama again. Engineer Whitman knelt down to speak to him.

  “You have done very well this term,” She said to him. “Your mother will be proud of you. I am proud of you. I hope to see you again next term.”

  “I can attend again?” Phil asked with a trace of excitement.

  “All students that attended this year are admitted for next year, that is what is in that note for your sponsor,” Engineer Whitman told the boy. Dean Ben distributed the sealed envelopes to each of the students at a ceremony held at the end of term celebration. “You will still need to pay the tuition.” Phil’s face fell. He knew his Mama didn’t have many coins. He didn’t think she could replicate the miracle that allowed her to pay for his place this term.

  “I have a gift for you,” Irene said, “for being my best student.” The engineer produced a small stack of books that were held together with a leather strap. Phil accepted the books. They were lighter than he expected. They shifted in his hands.

  “When you get back to Londontown remember that young Vicky has learned some blacksmithing along with her warrior skills. She will be able to convert iron scrap to a more profitable form, even if it's just sold to the vendor. Londontown is in tier two space, so two young warriors like you will need to find a full team to challenge the halls,” Engineer Whitman explained. “I don’t want you to be injured. Remember if you are hurt, your mother can heal you safely, but she can’t heal Vicky. You need to learn to heal her.”

  Engineer Whitman put a finger on the bundle of books and their mass quieted. “You be good for young Phillip,” she instructed bundle. “It is a quick trip to Londontown.” When she took her hand away the books remained still. “I may have packed them a little tight. Be careful when you open them.”

  “Thank you, Engineer,” Phil said.

  “Good luck to you,” the old woman said, before moving away to disappear through the wall to the transport room. Phil returned to his place in line. The line started moving forward as Todd guided first the adults and then the students through.

  “Do you want your spear back?” Vicky asked her father’s cousin. Phil could see the pain on her face at the thought of giving back the iron spear with its elaborate knotted red tassel, but it was only a loan.

  “Keep it,” Todd responded. “Consider it a reward for doing so well in class. That tassel increases the amount of prize items an animal will drop. That should be helpful for getting the tuition together for next year.”

  The same group of adults that served as recruiters now escorted the students out into the Londontown square. Trailing behind them was Instructor Mary, Instructor Tessa, Guard Jeremy and the four residential supervisors who all called Londontown square home before the academy term.

  “We are the Wizard's Tower,” Dean Ben Pittock called to the square. He was standing on one of the tables in front of the inn. “We are here to return your learners to their sponsors. They have successfully completed their year of education at the Speedwell Academy. A person’s education is never finished and we look forward to welcoming them for another term this fall. In addition six new places will be available for additional learners.

  “Congratulations students on your accomplishments. Take what you have learned and use it to better your lives and the lives of everyone in your settlement. We are…”

  “The Wizard's Tower!” All the adults and students called out together.

  “Sponsors come forth and welcome home your learners.” With that Ben stepped down from the table with a helpful hand from Instructor Ed.

  “Mama!” Phil called as he spotted his mother coming out from the inn. His mother was intercepted by Ed as she tried to approach.

  “Don’t keep me from my son!” Ira said loudly.

  “That is not my intention,” Ed responded. “I only seek to confirm that we have completed our obligations and returned this student to the person who entrusted him to us. What is the name of the student you sponsored?”

  “Phillip, son of Theodore,” Phil’s mother responded. Ed pulled a slip of vellum from his pocket and consulted it.

  “And you are?” he asked.

  “Ira, daughter of Julia,” she replied.

  “Phillip was an excellent student. We would be honored if he attended the academy again in the fall. He has a message for you detailing his accomplishments this term and securing his place for the next term. Tuition will still be twenty silver this fall, but with the increased travel costs we are experiencing spreading across the human territory, we may have to increase it in the future,” Ed responded. He stepped out of the way, letting Ira scoop her son up into her arms.

  Ira hugged her boy tight. She worried the entire time he was gone. Now she had him back. She fingered the armband he wore. It was purple. She set him back and looked him over.

  “Are you a purple wizard now?” Ira asked her son.

  “I can throw lightning!” Phil announced to the square.

  “I am so proud of you, my big boy,” Ira told her son. She led her son back into the inn.

  “What is the name of the student you sponsored?” Lizzy asked the warrior.

  “Vicky Atwater and Richard Maxim,” Lucas told the old woman.

  “And you are?” she asked, as she looked over her slip of vellum.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Lucas Maxim.”

  “Ah….” Lizzy replied. “Ben, can you come over here for a moment.” Ben stepped over from where he was watching the proceedings.

  “What is it?” he asked Lizzy.

  “Lucas wants to pick up Vicky and Richard, but our notes say their sponsor is Harry,” Lizzy glanced at the two children in question who showed no fear of being handed over to Lucas. Vicky was busy showing off her spear to her brother.

  “It’s a special arrangement my sister set up,” Ben explained. “We should have recorded it. Ed,” Ben called, “is this really Lucas, son of Harry?”

  “It is,” Ed called from where he was checking identities.

  “Both Vicky and Richard were excellent students. We would be honored if either or both attended the academy again in the fall. They each have a message for you detailing their accomplishments this term and securing a place for them at the academy next term. Tuition will still be twenty silver per student this fall. With the increased travel costs we are experiencing spreading across the human territory, we may have to increase that in the future,” Ben said, completing the prewritten script Alex drew up for them.

  “Come on kids,” Lucas called to his children. “Your mother will want to hear all about it.”

  “I want to say goodbye,” Vicky told her father.

  “Hurry it up,” Lucas told his daughter. “Your mother is waiting.”

  “Instructor,” Vicky asked the warrior who taught her how to fight. “Are you coming back to Londontown? Can you help me find a group to adventure with?”

  “I’ll be back in a week or so,” Ed told the young girl. “I have to see all the students home first, before my duties to the academy are finished for the season. You should look to your fellow students to form a group. I’ll check on how you are doing when I get back.”

  Vicky turned away to find her brother talking to Instructor Tessa. Vicky only saw her brother on the free days at the academy, but she knew he took woodworking from Tessa. Vicky learned blacksmithing from Instructor Mary. Vicky looked around but the old woman had already left to see her family.

  Vicky went to her own father. Lucas smiled at his daughter, proud of the easy way she handled the spear in her hand. He frowned when he saw the red tassel on the end. He saw that tassel before.

  “Where did you get the spear?” Lucas asked his daughter.

  “Cousin Todd gave it to me. He said the tassel will bring me luck,” Vicky said. She was so happy. She patted the spear like it was a friend. Lucas made a note to thank his cousin when he saw him next. He took his children up to his apartment where his wife waited. As she assured herself that her two oldest children were uninjured and well fed, Lucas went over to the apartment Irene and Todd used to store the stock for her shop.

  Todd was standing in the hall.

  “Is Grandmother around?” Lucas asked his cousin.

  “She’s guarding her brother’s back,” Todd responded. “I’m here to let the subletters in.”

  “Who are the subletters?” Lucas asked.

  “Tessa, Jeremy and their young son. We pulled them out of here rather quickly. Grandmother has decided to make amends by letting them stay in the apartment for a week or two while they find a new place,” Todd explained. “We had a hard time finding an available apartment when we rented this one and Jeremy didn’t want to stay in the inn.”

  “I can understand that,” Lucas said. “I want to thank you for taking care of my children.”

  “The academy did that,” Todd said.

  “Yes, of course, the academy.” Lucas responded. He wasn’t completely certain of the relationship between Todd, Irene and the Wizard's Tower, but he suspected it was a lot closer than Todd and Irene were admitting. “You could have given Vicky a spear with a blue tassel.” Lucas commented.

  “Valin tied it for me to go look for composting plant seeds. It really does increase prize drops, at least according to him. If you find a seed I’d be interested in buying it.”

  “What is a composting plant?” Lucas asked.

  “The plants in the sanitation facility,” Todd explained. “The seeds are long wrinkled brown pods that look a lot like a turd, but they are hard and don’t smell. Beware the squishy seed.”

  “I didn’t know they had seeds,” Lucas replied. “The one in our apartment flowered once. It had these really large bright yellow blooms. They were beautiful and smelled fresh.” Lucas often wondered how he and his cousin got onto these subjects. “I noticed Phil was wearing a purple armband.”

  “I told you he didn’t choose blue,” Todd responded. “Do you know that the protection crystals in the squares have owners?”

  “Yes,” Lucas responded. He bought a copy of the User Manual from Grandmother’s shop and read it cover to cover. There was too much information in there to actually remember it all.

  “The owner of Londontown’s crystal is a blue tier two. We can tell that from the fast transport map. Grandmother thinks it might be someone descended from Mary, since she was the oldest daughter. Benjamin is the oldest son and he didn’t inherit it,” Todd commented. The subject came up during the guild hall build and Grandmother asked Todd to mention it to Lucas. “I’ve been thinking about it and everything is always reversed here from our standards. The eldest child is a human idea. Perhaps inheritance went through the youngest child. That would have been Phillip or Irene and it wasn’t Irene. So the question becomes who was Philip’s youngest child?”

  “Margaret,” Lucas responded. “She was born after Phillip’s death, would she count? She disappeared around the same time Dad and you left. Everyone assumed she went with your group.”

  “Really?” Todd looked thoughtful. “I don’t remember any Margaret, not on the journey and not in Home Square during the migrations. I would have expected Harry to say something if a member of the royal family was in the square. If not to me, to Grandmother.”

  “She was our age,” Lucas stated. “Any child of hers would be too young to be tier two.”

  “She could have gone someplace else, Paris or Waymarket maybe. Or Irene is right about Thomas,” Todd mused.

  “Thomas? Who is that?” Lucas asked.

  “Another brother,” Todd explained. “He went missing fifty years ago.”

  “Why this interest in who the crystal owner is?”

  “I thought you read the User Manual,” Todd countered. “Most of the ways to grow a crystal all involve the owner.”

  “Ah,” Lucas responded, nodding his head.

  “The only way I know how to tell if someone is the owner is to have them touch the crystal and try to pull the interface up. Valin did say there is a way to challenge for ownership of a crystal but I think that involves killing the current owner. I’ve never asked him for the details since none of us want to get stuck with it. If you're interested I can find out for you,” Todd offered.

  “No, thank you,” Lucas replied. “Killing a relative of the king is not really on my to do list. Especially since I don’t know which one so I’d have to start killing everyone that was tier two.”

  “That would be a hard choice,” Todd observed. “You should wait until you are tier four to get started.”

  “Now you’ve lost me,” Lucas replied.

  “I don’t think it’s in the manual,” Todd explained, “but making the hard choice is how you get to tier five. Tier six is more complex. It is about not sacrificing others to save yourself, or maybe being willing to die to save strangers or some combination in between.”

  “I’ll try to find out who all the blue tier twos are in the family,” Lucas volunteered. “That seems like a good starting point. Not to kill them all, but to have them all try to open the interface.”

  “Your choice,” Todd responded. “Ah, here are my subletters. Tessa, Jeremy, this is my cousin Lucas,” Todd told the new arrivals.

  “Lucas,” Jeremy acknowledged the other warrior. He knew Lucas from the Londontown guard. Jeremy did not know until this moment that Todd and Lucas were related.

  “I am glad to see you looking well,” Lucas responded. He turned back to Todd, “Shouldn’t Ed be here too?”

  “He’ll be back in a week or so. He signed up to help return students to several other squares,” Todd responded. “The academy term isn’t officially over until everyone makes it home.”