This is a tale set at Azimuth Academy - a school for magic and the like inspired by (among other things) Hogwarts, the Unseen University, and I.O.U. These stories can be read in any order, really, but they do follow on from each other, so the order they're published in would probably work best.
This story follows on from the events of Study Break.
Given some aspects of the setting, I want to make very clear that anyone engaged in adult behaviour is at least eighteen years of age... if not massively more.
-[::]-
The sound of babbling, chattering voices seemed to fill the air, echoing off of the tastefully decorated walls of the hallway as what could best be described as a horde emerged from the dining hall. Most of the crowd seemed to be teenaged at most, though it was sometimes hard to tell -- dwarves, for example, tended to look grizzled from the moment they hit puberty. Here and there, however, older figures wove their way through the swarm boiling toward the exit, some in smart, businesslike attire, but most of them wore the same pale grey student uniform as the younger ones.
As they emerged into the bright sunlight outside the building, two of the older students peeled away from the mob, aiming themselves across the grass of the Academy's central quadrangle. With an almost audible sigh of relief, the taller of the two young women shot a mild scowl over her shoulder at the younglings as they scattered to wherever their morning classes were today.
"Stop glaring at them, Tori. You were that age not that long ago."
With an aloof flick of her long blonde hair, Tori gave her colleague a sidelong look that carried more than a little disagreement.
"Kel, I was never that young. I swear to whatever gods may be listening that some of those little squirts aren't even potty trained yet."
The fact that she managed to say that with such a totally straight face had Kel chuckling. The pale, short-haired changeling took a definite pleasure in needling her room-mate, even given how downright easy it was to do sometimes.
"Whatever," Tori continued, blue eyes sparkling with humour as well, "breakfast is done, and I have no need to deal with small people any more until dinner."
"What about -- oh, that's right, you're helping set up that big presentation thing for this afternoon." Kel frowned for a second. "Which reminds me, how the hells did you manage to wrangle that sort of cushy number, anyway? As I recall, Professor Tegan is interested in other men, and you're not that good at
talking
people into giving you what you want."
That got her another dismissive look from Tori, but the corners of the blonde's lips twitched in a barely suppressed smile as she ran a hand over the fabric of her dress, smoothing out a couple of mostly-imaginary wrinkles. This was hardly the first time they'd visited this general topic, and both of them knew full well it was unlikely to be the last. Especially given what came out of her mouth after she'd taken a moment to check there were no young ears nearby.
"You're hardly in a position to criticise, you slut. Or do I need to remind you of how you managed to dodge getting into shit for what happened last week?"
The only answer she got to that was a laugh, then Kel nodded toward the clock mounted on the Academy's main tower. Tori followed her look, then muttered a curse.
"I'll see you later," the changeling chuckled, "I've got some translating to do, and you have a nice easy day of bossing people around."
Rolling her eyes at her room-mate's almost wistful tone, Tori gave her a sympathetic -- or near enough -- pat on the shoulder and started walking. What was on her plate for the day wasn't going to be
that
simple, but being asked to help the Head of Applied Archaeology set up and present the fruits of his latest field work wasn't something she was going to turn her nose up at even if it had looked like being hard work.
Especially since the alternative was another session of listening to her study advisor drone on about how
he
thought she should be directing her studies.
Yeah, right. He's refused to stick his head out of his lab in nearly thirty years, and the only damned reason he works with us mere students at all is because the conditions of his tenure say he has to.
Still, she did have to admit that when he managed to accidentally let some useful advice slip, it was very
good
advice. Shame it didn't happen more often...
With a polite smile for the young man who held the door open for her, she stepped inside the ornate building that housed the Azimuth Academy's main library -- one of at least four pretty impressive collections that she'd found so far -- then paused to make sure she had her bearings. Nobody had ever given her a properly illuminating explanation as to why it was so damned easy to get lost in this building, but it happened to everyone.
Well, almost everyone. One of the Cryptozoology department's star students had never had any problem, but he was a minotaur, and that was probably a good enough excuse as far as he was concerned. Not that it was of any help to anyone else, of course... especially since he had started charging to guide people around.
Okay, fourth floor, third corridor... assuming the bastard thing hasn't moved. Again.
As it turned out, she managed to get where she was going with only two wrong turns, which she suspected was an all-time record, and finding the right door was exceptionally easy thanks to the fact that there was seven feet of vaguely humanoid rock standing outside it.
Looking up at the rough-hewn face, Tori gave the golem a nod and waited to see if there was any response forthcoming. After a second or so, there was, the baleful green glow of it's gaze shifting down to meet hers. For another long moment, that was all the reaction there was, until it stepped aside with a delicate grace that never ceased to surprise her at least a little.
"Thank you."
The animated rock said nothing, naturally enough, instead simply settling in to do absolutely nothing at all until called upon again. With a ghost of a smile, Tori pushed the door open and stepped inside.
"Ah, Miss Spelling!"
It was fairly common knowledge that Professor Tegan had served in the army before bumbling his way into academia, and the rumour that he'd been a drill instructor was very easy to believe when he didn't keep his voice down. Tori wasn't so sure about that, however, since whilst his standard level of volume was a mild bellow, it was far too good-natured to be coming out of someone who'd done that sort of job -- even if he
did
look like a mountain bear stuffed into a suit.
The stout, bearded professor came over from the crate he'd been rummaging in, taking her hand and giving it a hearty shake. Luckily, he was quite aware of how strong he was, and she escaped having her knuckles squashed.
"Come in, come in," he said cheerily, waving her into the room, "You've met my assistants, I'm sure."
The assistants in question were a pair of very nice looking young men, who gave her waves of welcome.
Very
nice looking young men, she couldn't help noticing, with the sort of deep tan and healthy glow that came from spending large amounts of time outdoors being athletic.
Unfortunately, Kel was right about the Professor's tastes, and it was no secret that he chose his helpers with care. Which was a shame, in some ways... but in others, really not so much. Knowing that the three men in the room had no interest in her was going to make it a lot easier to keep her mind on the job. Especially when it came to the dark-haired one, with the really nice-
Concentrate, dammit. And not on his ass.
"I assume the porters know one of their heavy lifters is outside," she asked, dragging herself back into focus. "It could prove a little awkward if they come around wanting it back, after all."
"Of course, of course," Professor Tegan replied with an airy wave. "And their reputation is vastly exaggerated."
"Professor, three first-years decided to play a prank with the toilets four months ago. The porters still have them on sewer cleanup, and only the Arch-Dean herself managed to convince them to relent enough to let said students use more appropriate tools than their own toothbrushes."
The Professor seemed to think about that for a moment, his assistants looking a bit nervous in the background, then shrugged. "Builds character."
Which was pretty much precisely the sort of thing she'd have expected him to say. Hiding a smile, she followed as he waved her over toward the crates he and his assistants had been unpacking, genuinely curious to see what they contained. A six month expedition to the desert ruins of Alpetha was not going to have come back empty-handed, after all. Not given the level of magic woven through that civilisation's society -- before it had suffered a rather unfortunate outbreak of divine disfavour.
Which might, in hindsight, also account for why there'd been remarkably few self-proclaimed God Emperors in the world over the two thousand years or so since Alpetha had gotten a thorough smiting.
None of which, of course, was anything at all to do with why Tori was here. She watched as the Professor reached into a crate, lifting out a wrapped bundle with surprising delicacy. When he turned toward the nearby table and frowned at the lack of clear space on it's surface, she stepped in and lifted some of the papers that littered the tabletop out of the way. With a grunt of acknowledgement for her help, the professor set the package down and started peeling away the paper wrapping.
"I think you might like this one," he said amiably. "Third dynasty, I believe, from one of the temples they kept putting up in honour of their bloody cats."
