Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Archaiphage ❯ Unexpected Assignment ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Chapter 1: Unexpected Assignment

"You know, Chen, they already posted the assignments fifteen minutes ago," Eita Kaketoor impatiently sat on her bed and watched her roommate fuss about her hair in front of the silvered glass at the end of the room. "Ket and Purikei are probably already there, and you know they won't save a spot in the front for us."

"One more moment, Eita," Chen tucked a few strands into the complicated headpiece she wore. "Okay, I am fit to been seen in public... well, as soon as I get my parasol and gloves."

"Glad to hear it," Eita told her. "You would just die if someone were to catch you with your hair down and your skin tanned."

"Says the girl who is so fond of quoting her aphorisms -- 'People would rather accept famine from a fenhan than prosperity from a kappa'," Chen carefully checked her gloves for stains. Seeing none, she slipped them on.

"I also think that you should be efficient about it. The students around here don't care about what you look like -- they would accept a demon if they thought it was good with magic and the scalpel. And if you are going to take such care in your appearance, you should do what I do and get up earlier. Which would mean remembering to leave parties before midnight," Eita chided.

Chen giggled. "Can I help it if those boys at Rakuis School really know how to keep a girl entertained? You know I met the cutest senior there..."

"Tell me later," Eita had already grabbed her satchel and was standing at the door. "The crowd's going to be something awful in the courtyard."

Eita and Chen walked across the grounds of Misho-Chini School. Even in the early spring weather, the plants were already starting to sprout in the gardens. Perhaps the creative magic taught within the walls of the old, stone buildings leeched out, nourishing the atmosphere. Or maybe the gardeners themselves had a little magic -- it wasn't unknown for a city born wood mage to take up the job of caring for a private garden.

"So, Eita, where do you think your internship will be?' Chen asked her.

"Well, I'm sure the headmistress will send me to the hospital in Ferina City," Eita bragged. "I am from there, and that usually is the custom. I should get in there by next month -- just in time to catch the summer clothing being put out by the shops. Between classes and homework, I haven't had time for a proper fitting at all."

Chen nodded. "It must be nice being from the capitol. Father goes there every year, but he always takes one of my brothers along and not me."

Chen's so insecure... he father is Lord of Misho Province and all she can do is be envious of what she doesn't have, Eita mused. Not like me -- I'm just a simple merchant's daughter. A very well off and prosperous merchant, to be sure, but my ancestors had to work for the respect my father has now. Well, that isn't going to happen to me -- once my residency is finished and I have my final certification, I will return to Ferina and, with my beauty and wit, I will charm some stupid lordling into proposing. Eita smiled to herself. Who needs the Creative Mages' Guild when one can get real power without use of magic at all. Really, it had only been at her mother's -- a water mage who was a skilled weatherwitch -- request that she had gone to school at all. Still, anything worth doing was worth doing well.

The courtyard was one of the central points on campus. Around three sides were creeper-covered buildings that housed professors' offices, from the lowliest lecturer to the Headmistress herself. The east side was open to the herb gardens -- a massive grove of plants, shrubs and even a few trees planted seemingly at random, but actually in a system that had been passed form Head Gardener to Head Gardener for ages. Eita suspected that the reasoning behind it had been forgotten long ago. In the center of the courtyard was a small shrine devoted to any passing spirits that might see fit to stop for rest on campus.

The internship list had been posted on the door to the administration building. Losing Chen in the crowd, Eita elbowed her way to where her name would be displayed. She scanned the list, searching for the glyphs of her family name. Finally, she spotted it and read down to see her posting.

Puzzled she read it again, and then a third time. From somewhere in the crowd, she head Chen squeal with joy. "Eita! Come over here, please."

Sighing, she extricated herself from the crowd. Chen was practically jumping up and down with joy, her brown eyes sparkling. "Guess what, guess what!" she said excitedly. "I got assigned to Ferina City! Professor Kasker must have been very impressed with me during exams or something. Isn't this exciting! We can go to all the social events together."

"We could if I were going to Ferina City. I got assigned to Rotuche Clinic."

"Rotuche?" Chen looked puzzled. "Where is that?"

"I've never heard of it," Eita told her. "Which probably means it's some boonie town."

"Gee..." Chen stared down at the ground. "Maybe someone made a mistake when they were setting the type for the list. You know, matched the wrong person to that assignment."

Eita nodded. "You know what? You're right, Chen. I'm sure if I go talk to Headmistress Rinpashta, she'll straighten this whole matter out. And I'm sure whoever got my assignment will be relieved to know she is going to a place that suits her better than Ferina City. I'll just march in there right now, and, before you know it, we'll be sitting outside a cafe, talking about the cute men at the other tables."

* * *

"Come in, Miss Kaketoor, come in. Sit down, please. Do you want some tea?" Headmistress Rinpashta was a woman much larger in reputation than in stature. She was rumored to be an excellent surgeon -- her hands were the delicate ones of someone skilled at detail work -- which was where she had achieved her fame. No one had been expecting she would take on n administration post when the previous Headmistress had retired. She claimed her eyesight had been going for quite a bit -- and was now sporting a set of eyelenses -- but her work had never shown it.

"No, thank you," Eita said as she sat down. "This shouldn't take long."

The Headmistress nodded as she poured herself a cup. "Of course, of course. I was expecting you, actually."

"So there was a mistake," Eita nodded. "Well, then you can just give me my proper assignment and..."

"There was no mistake; you were assigned to Rotuche."

"But I was supposed to be assigned to Ferina!" Eita stood up, her hands still leaning on the Headmistress's desk.

The Headmistress raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I wasn't aware you studied divination, Miss Kaketoor. You really should have told Professor Talclen -- she does like to see promising students. Let me make this simple, Miss Kaketoor. You are a city-bred student. There is nothing wrong with that -- many of our students are from Misho -- but familiar surroundings breeds a careless eye. So, I am sending you to the countryside to learn something new -- never forget, though you are leaving this school, you are still a student."

"But you sent Chen to Ferina and she's city-bred!"

"Chen? Oh, yes, Miss Kirtekosinau. Hers was a different case. You may have noticed that she does very well on her homework, but scores poorly on her tests."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Eita demanded.

"Well, it's quite simple," the Headmistress took a sip of her tea and continued. "Your friend, Miss Kirtekosinau, seems to have trouble functioning under stress. This is a very dangerous trait in a healer -- ours is a very stressful job. With supervision from the healers at Ferina City, she will be forced to work through her problem. A small-town environment like RotuchŽ wouldn't force her. She would graduate with her problem still intact -- and that could endanger the lives of any patients she has. Better she finds out if her problem is conquerable now, while she is still under the eye of a professional. If not... well, a magic education is quite well respected among the nobility, I hear."

"But... but... interns have always gone back to their hometowns in the past!"

"You may notice that I am not the previous Headmistress. Times are changing, Miss Kaketoor, and it is imperative that we change with them. This means making connections beyond our home province. Are you sure you don't want any tea?"

"No I don't want any tea! Don't you know who I am?"

"Yes. You are a student in my office throwing a temper tantrum because I didn't decide to bend over backward to accommodate her view on how the school should be done. Heaven and Earth, if I were forced to obey anyone who walked in my office making demands, I would never get anything done. Now, do you have anything else you with to discuss with me?" The Headmistress gave her a level stare, almost statue-like in her serenity.

"No... I think I'll be going, now." Eita bowed -- more out of habit than respect.

"Very well, very well." The Headmistress produced a slip of paper from the drawer of her desk. "These will be your fellow interns. You may want to meet them before you leave town next week. Since you are so convinced I am sending you to a wasteland of human relations, you may want to strike up a relationship with your fellow exiles."

* * *

Damn her! Damn it all! Eita fumed across campus, nearly running over a first year struggling with her textbooks towards the library. I had everything worked out -- this will set back my plans for years. She started walking back to the dormitory, then paused. Chen's probably back there, waiting for me to tell her how my talk went. I can't go back there and tell her I really am going out to the boonies.

So, where to go... I could always go to the library. I could write a letter and send it to my father... Eita dismissed that notion almost immediately. I can handle myself. I'm not some spoiled brat who goes running back to her parents every time she doesn't get her way. I'll just wait until I'm nobility. Then see what Headmistress Rinpashta has to say about that.

She fingered the note in her hand, opening it up to examine it. Two names were listed -- Rystard Chini and Kuen Rutao -- along with likely places to find them. Rystard? That's not a Ferinan name... wonder who it is? Chen would probably suggest he was some sexy foreigner. Not likely -- the last name means he was a guild orphan. Some bored researcher must have unusual taste in names.

Well, it was worth checking out. It gave her something to do besides go back to her dormitory and Chen. She turned towards the dormitory building again, intending to find the rooms listed as her fellow exiles' homes.

The male dormitory was on the first floor of the building, perhaps to keep the men out of the female rooms on the upper floors. Healing had always been a female dominated profession -- when given the option most men preferred to study destructive magic rather than 'feminine' creative magic -- which explained the small amount of space devoted to male living quarters.

Eita knocked on the door of Rystard's room. A tall dark-haired man answered. He looked her over, grinning slightly. "Yes?"

Eita drew herself up to her full height. "I'm looking for Rystard Chini. Are you he?" she asked coldly.

"Nah... What do you want with old Fireglass anyway? You don't look like the type of girl that would go for a grind like him."

"What type of girl I am is none of your business..." Eita paused. "Fireglass?"

The man chuckled. "Oh, it's just a nickname. Rys is a dual-talent and he stays up late reading journal articles he gets from the library. We go through more firegalsses than any other room." He gestured to the extinguished enchanted lantern hanging from the ceiling to illustrate his point.

"That's wonderful," Eita told him. "Care to tell me where he is now?"

The man snorted. "Probably in the lab working for Professor Kasker and those grinds. He's got all his life to stare through a microbe-glass -- he should get out and enjoy the schooling life more often, don't you think?"

"I'm sure," Eita said. "If you'll excuse me, I must be going."

"Hey, how about you meet me after you go get whatever you need from Fireglass? I can show you a real good time." He grinned again, as if he found this conversation horribly amusing.

"I think not. I prefer my men with a sense of good taste and decorum that you have yet to demonstrate. Good day." Eita closed the door, nearly slamming Rystard's obnoxious roommate's foot in it.

Eita stood in the hall for a while, wondering if perhaps she should go find Kuen instead of going outside yet again to go looking for this Rystard. Might as well see if she's in. Eita checked her note again. Top floor -- of course. It's never easy, is it?

She headed up the stairs, to the top floor. A skylight opened into the hallway, patterning the wood floor with lines of light and shadow. Not a bad layout, if you don't mind the stairs every day. She walked through the bands, pausing to knock at the door at the end of the hall.

A short, stocky, dark-haired woman answered it. "Hi! Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Kuen. Is she here?"

"Yes, she is. Kuen! You have a visitor!"

"There's no need to shout, Aheri. I'm only right here." Eita had to listen carefully -- the voice was coming from very close to her, but it was spoken in a soft whisper.

"Oh, right," Aheri grinned broadly. "Don't mind me... I was just going to go get some lunch. "See you later, Kuen!"

"Goodbye, Aheri."

Aheri ran past Eita, nearly knocking her over, with a hurried 'excuse me'. Eita took the cue to come in and sit down.

The room was pretty much laid out as her own one was -- four beds, four chests, four desks and chairs, and a washstand at the far end. There were some personal touches, of course -- it looked like one of the residents was an artist and had tacked up a number of sketches. Another had a series of popular -- and rather risque, if Eita remembered correctly -- romance novels neatly sitting by her textbooks.

"Can I help you, Miss?" Eita turned to regard the only other person in the room. She was a short, slight woman. Mousy brown hair peaked out from a simple headpiece -- unlike the complicated ones Chen adored, this one seemed mainly to function as a sunshade. Hazel eyes politely avoided eye contact. She was dressed in a very prim and proper grey skirt and jacket, in a cut that was several years out of date. A small pin fastened her blouse at the nape of her neck -- Eita recognized it as the symbol of Orihan-Chini, a popular deity. Heaven and Earth, let's hope she's not one of those missionary types out to convert the world. Eita had met several members of the cult of Orihan. While they could be nice people, it seemed like every group had one or two members that were simply obsessed with convincing others that Orihan was the only true deity. Let's hope her quietness means she's too shy to talk about her beliefs.

"Yes. My name is Eita Kaketoor. We're going to be interns together in Rotuche." Eita extended her hand, and Kuen clasped it in her own gloved one.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Kaketoor. I'm sure we will get along quite well."

"We're going to be stuck together for a while. You might as well get used to calling me by my given name," Eita told her, hoping she'd get the hint.

"Well, if you insist. It is nice to meet you, Eita," Kuen smiled faintly. "My name is Kuen Rutao."

"How old are you anyway, Kuen?" Eita asked. "You don't look like you're old enough for an internship." For that matter, she doesn't look old enough to be attending this school at all.

"I am 20 years old," Kuen answered. "I have been told before that I look very young for my age, though," she conceded.

Eita nodded. "Listen, I still need to meet the third member of our team. Want to come with me? Later on, we could maybe get dinner or something."

Kuen nodded eagerly. "Yes, I would like that very much." She stood up, walking to the door, where a parasol was resting on the wall nearby. She took it.

Eita turned to go, watching the shorter woman follow her. Something was nagging her about how Kuen walked. That's it her posture is terrible. If she stood up straight, she would probably be taller than me. "Hey, Kuen, are you okay?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, you look like your back is sore... did you spend a lot of time studying for exams, hunched over your chair or something?"

"What? Oh, yes. Of course. I 'm not very good at my studies," Kuen said quickly.

"Well, that's all right," Eita said. "We're heading to the other side of nowhere. There can't be that many sick or injured people -- we'll probably just spend the time watching the doctor out there treat farmers' chapped hands."

"Anything is wonderful," Kuen smiled. "I'm just glad to be here practicing healing."

Eita looked at her. "Gee, you must really not be very good with your studies, if you're happy going to such a backwater."

"I'm very nervous around crowds," Kuen explained. "I don't really feel comfortable around people, so a small town suits me just fine."

"Glad one of us is happy, then," Eita replied. Hmm... Headmistress Rinpashta told me I was assigned to Rotuche for a reason... that means presumably that Kuen and Rystard have reasons for being stuck here too. I wonder what Kuen's is. I would think she would get sent to the city so she learns to deal with that fear of people. I'll have to watch her.

Eita didn't often go to the lab building -- student labs were usually held closer to the classrooms. This was where professors engaged in their pet projects, whether it be dietary studies or a search for the Elixir of Life. A few of the more academic (or poorer) students would take up jobs doing grunt work, but Eita preferred living by the generous allowance her parents sent her every month than spending her time cooped up in some smelly old laboratory. Besides, she barely got along with her professors in class -- she had no desire to see them out of class.

"What lab is our third member in?" Kuen asked as they entered.

"His roommate said he worked for Professor Kasker," Eita replied, her eyes on the building's directory. "That'll be on the second floor."

"Good," Kuen said. "I had to go into the basement once, and it's a scary place."

"Why? Sense any ghosts or spirits?" Eita grinned mischievously. "Maybe a zombie or mummy, or an errant demon or vampire out for a snack."

"Don't even joke about that!" Kuen was pale, and her eyes were wide.

"I was just kidding. You can relax, Kuen. The closest thing to a mummy down there is the remains of some professor's lunch. Not that that isn't scary enough." Eita walked up the stairs. What's got her shift bunched up? Did some upperclassman play a trick on her when she was a freshman? Great, I get stuck with the grind and the startouched.

Eita knocked at the lab door. No answer. Sighing, she pushed it in, seeing if it was locked. The entryway was half-blocked by a large cabinet about five feet form the door. A sign with an arrow gestured to a path into the room. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

"One second! Don't you people knock?" A male voice answered.

"Is it a student, Rys?" a female voice asked.

A man about her age came walking around the cabinet. He had bright blue eyes and red hair, very noticeable in a country that was mostly made up of dark-haired, dark-eyed people. He was built sort of lanky, and was pretty tall -- about a head taller than Eita. His hair was cut short, which wasn't in style, but framed his face nicely. "Can I help you?" he asked. Odd... he doesn't look Ferinan, but there's no trace of an accent.

"Um... I'm looking for Rystard Chini," Eita answered.

"Well, you found him. What is it?" he said brusquely, crossing his arms.

"My name is Eita Kaketoor. We're going to be working together during our internship," Eita replied.

"Where were we posted?" Rysatrd asked.

"Rotuche," Eita answered. "It's some small town. I don't know where exactly it is."

"It's in the north, on the Iyar border," Rystard grinned at her. "Thanks -- you just saved me a trip outside."

"You've been here all day?" Eita looked around. Heaven and Earth, he really is a grind.

"We're in the middle of something important... the announcement would have still been there tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." He turned his back to her, and sauntered back into the room.

Well, how rude."Don't you turn your back on me without even a by-your-leave," Eita strode after him. "I was just trying to be courteous and introduce myself."

Rystard sat down at a lab bench. A microbe glass was set up to his left, and a number of culture saucers to his right. He bent over, put a saucer under the glass, and picked up a stick of graphite in his free hand to make notes on the blank paper.

"Stop ignoring me," Eita told him. "Were your parents horses or something?"

"Hey, Rys," one of the other three people in the room, a short woman with curly hair and eyelenses, said. "Mind introducing us?"

"Right... these are Eiche, Cecci, and Repa." He waved vaguely over at the two woman and one man that were seated in front of other sets of samples. "Everyone, one of my fellow interns."

"Did you even get her name before going off to ignore her, Rys?" the other man, Eiche, asked. "You are hopeless. I don't even think you would know our names if we didn't work in the same lab for two years."

"I'd learn her name sooner or later," Rystard said without looking up.

"Don't mind him," the other woman -- either Repa or Cecci, since Rystard's gesture was very unhelpful in matching names to faces -- told Eita. "Once he figures out he has to work with you, he'll be nicer."

"I should hope so," Eita said stuffily. "I can't see how he could be more antisocial."

"Oh, I'm sure he could find a way. That's our Rys," the woman grinned proudly, as if being antisocial was an achievement to rival the creation of the world.

"Well, since he doesn't seem inclined to leave this box, I suppose Kuen and I will have to go to dinner himself. Right, Kuen," Eita looked around for the other woman. "Kuen?"

Kuen was shyly standing behind Rystard. "What are you studying?" she asked.

"We're testing the effect of some new anti-microbe charms for surgery. They don't seem to be that effective though." He held up the top sheet of paper. "Hey, Repa, got some more numbers for you to weave your magic on."

The woman Eita had been talking to stood up. "Excuse me," she said as she walked over and took the paper from Rystard. "Hmm... I'm going to have to work on these for a while. I hope Professor Kasker doesn't mind waiting." She sat down again, a slide calculator out, and started working, her fingers dancing over slide and paper.

"You know the other lab is always three months behind us," Rystard said. "You spend a month on those numbers, Repa, and we'll still be ready before them. Hey, you said something about dinner?" He turned towards Kuen.

"Um... actually, I believe it was Eita's idea that the three of us get dinner together and get to know one another," Kuen shifted her weight, looking at her feet.

"Oh..." he turned towards Eita, as if noticing her for the first time. "Well, all right. Dining hall okay with you? I'm broke."

"Forget it...just forget it... I'm eating alone," Eita stormed out of the lab.