The Buried Symbol (The Ruins of Issalia Book 1) (26 page)

CHAPTER 41

It was a beautiful day, marked by the typically pleasant weather of late summer in the mountains. Like many of the students, Brock and his new friends opted to spend time under the sun with their last hours of freedom.

Brock lay on his back in the long grass of the lawn, watching the puffy clouds floating southward. Benny lay a few feet away, describing what he saw in the shape of each cloud.

“
That one looks like a big fish. Maybe a Sinnowfish. Those fish spawn downriver from Lake Selbin. They can grow to be three feet long, you know.
”

Cameron sat with his back against a large tree.
“
Fish sounds good. I
’
m hungry.
”

Brock laughed.
“
I think that
’
s the fifth time you
’
ve told us, Cam. The schedule said dinner at sunset. Well, it
’
ll be sunset in less than an hour.
”

Cam grunted in response. He didn
’
t seem to talk much unless he was hungry. Even then, it was only to state that he was hungry.

“
What do you think Hierarchist training will involve?
”
Benny asked as he watched the clouds inch across the sky.

“
I don
’
t know, Benny,
”
Brock replied.
“
From what I can tell, Hierarchy has something to do with the governing of people and dealing with laws.
”

“
Ugh. That sounds dreadful,
”
Benny complained.
“
I wish I could just focus on Engineering. It
’
s going to be
so
amazing
!
”
Benny sat upright, the energy level in his voice rising.
“
I
’
m excited to have access to the school resources. I plan to invent something spectacular, something that will make me famous.
”

“
You must be good with numbers and that kind of stuff then?
”
Brock asked.

“
Oh, yes,
”
Benny replied.
“
To support my father, I worked as a clerk for a counting house. After less than a year, the owner told me I was the best clerk he
’
d ever seen. Some of the other clerks had been there over twenty years.
”

“
Not long after I started, he realized I could do figures pretty well. He soon had me doing the analysis and proposals for business investments, working probability equations and forecast projections.
”
Benny finished with a proud smile on his face.

Brock had no idea what Benny was talking about.
“
That
’
s great, Benny,
”
he replied, showing support for his new friend.

“
You
’
re lucky, Benny.
”
The words came from Cam.
“
I wish I was smart like you.
”

Benny stared at Cam, an incredulous look on his face.
“
Are you kidding? Have you looked at yourself? You
’
re tall, good looking, and you have those bulging muscles. I bet you could lift me over your head and toss me across a room. I wish I was like
you
.
”

Cam grunted but didn
’
t argue.
“
I just wish people wouldn
’
t treat me like I
’
m dumb.
”

Brock interjected,
“
Hey, look at me. I
’
m not big and strong, nor am I super smart. In fact, I don
’
t know that I
’
m special at all.
”
He stared up at the now reddening clouds.
“
But I
’
m not going to let it stop me.
”

Brock heard a faint scream coming from the woods at the edge of the lawn. He sat up, looking in that direction.

“
Did you hear that?
”
he asked.

After a moment of consideration, he scrambled to his feet and ran in the direction of the scream.

“
Hear what?
”
He heard Benny yell from behind.

Brock didn
’
t reply. He just kept running, using his speed to quickly close the distance. As he neared the trees, he heard another scream, muffled this time. He angled toward the sound, bursting through the brush to find a dark-haired male student on top of another student. Not slowing, he lowered his shoulder and plowed into the student on top.

A shock of pain surged through Brock
’
s shoulder. They tumbled across the ferns on the forest floor, rolling with the momentum. He scrambled to his feet, ready to defend himself.

Slowly rising, the other boy stood upright. He matched Cameron in height, but he lacked the thick bulging muscles that framed Cam
’
s figure. Regardless, Brock didn
’
t like his chances in a fight.

“
You just made a big mistake, boy,
”
the taller boy said.
“
You don
’
t know who you
’
re dealing with.
”

He heard a whimper from behind the other boy. Glancing past him, Brock saw a girl curled in a ball on the forest floor. Seeing her distressed made him angry.

“
Oh, I know who I
’
m dealing with,
”
Brock replied.
“
I
’
m dealing with an ugly bastard who apparently can only get with a girl by forcing himself on her.
”

That triggered a reaction. The boy charged and took a swing at Brock, who deftly dodged. He cleared his attacker and spun around to see the boy holding a hand to his forehead. Apparently, he had run into a tree limb hanging above where Brock had been standing. When he removed his hand, blood dripped from a torn brow.

“
You little bastard! Now I
’
m gonna kill you,
”
the boy said as he advanced.

Brock backed away, keeping a safe distance. His foot caught on something and he stumbled, landing on his rear. It was the prone form of the girl, still curled up and crying. Looking up at the boy, fear finally struck Brock.

The air suddenly filled with sound of breaking branches and trampled shrubs. The other boy looked up beyond Brock, his look of anger changing to one of surprise.

“
Come any closer, and you will know pain.
”
Brock recognized Cam
’
s voice.

The boy held his hands up and stepped backward.
“
I don
’
t want any trouble, big guy.
”

“
Leave.
”
Cameron growled.

Looping around the clearing, the boy gave Brock one last hateful glare.
“
You
’
ll regret this, you little peon.
”
He turned and disappeared into the brush.

Benny burst through the trees at that moment.
“
What
’
s happening? Is everyone okay?
”
he asked, breathing hard.

Brock knelt next to the crying girl, her blonde hair full of pine needles.

“
It
’
s okay. He
’
s gone. You
’
re safe now.
”

She removed her hands, exposing blue eyes turned red and puffy from crying.

“
Can I go back to the school now?
”
she asked timidly.

He smiled, trying to reassure the distraught girl.
“
Of course you can. We
’
re here to help. My name is Brock. The big menacing guy there is Cam, and the other one is Benny. We
’
ll walk you back to make sure you reach the Girls
’
Wing safely.
”

Nervous eyes darted between the three boys. Her hands came up to wipe tears away. She looked at Brock again and smiled.
“
Thank you. I
’
m so glad
…
so very glad that you showed up.
”

She took his extended hand and he pulled her to a stance. He helped her brush pine needles from her hair and cloak. She smiled up at him.

“
My name is Amber,
”
she said, glancing toward the others.
“
You can
’
t imagine how thankful I am that you
’
re here.
”

“
You
’
re welcome, Amber,
”
Brock said.
“
Are you sure you
’
re okay?
”

She looked down at the ground.
“
I
…
was so scared. I
’
m just a little shaken. I
’
ll be fine.
”

The pretty blonde
’
s eyes met Brock
’
s and she smiled. He smiled back, hoping to reassure her.

They escorted Amber back to the Academy, entering the door closest to the Girls
’
Wing. Once inside, she thanked them again and retreated toward her room.

They watched her walk down the hall until Cam broke the silence.

“
Now
can we eat?
”

Brock and Benny laughed as they turned to head toward the dining hall.

CHAPTER 42

It was the first day of Brock
’
s official training. As he stepped into his Lore classroom, anticipation tickled his stomach. Other students filtered into the room with him, seeking empty chairs.

Five rows of tables faced the front of the room with an open aisle up the center. Each row had twelve chairs that quickly filled as students found seats. Brock sat in the third row, directly behind Benny. Within minutes, eager students occupied the room.

Master Mae sat at the desk in the front of the room. A bit younger than the other instructors, she had long dark hair, fair skin, and angular eyes. Her clothing wore loosely on her petite figure. The bell rang, and she stood to address them.

“
Hello, students. I
’
m Master Mae, your Lore instructor. You might be wondering what
Lore
is. Quite simply,
Lore
is information. This includes facts about people, places, and events throughout history. Now, you
’
re likely wondering why you need to learn about history. After all, why should we worry about something that happened dozens or hundreds of years ago?
”
She paused as many of the students nodded.

“
Nearly a hundred years ago, a prelate decided to institute a law making it illegal to sell, buy, or consume ale or wine within the city. Over time, the prelate found the results were not what he had anticipated. Tax income decreased as the inns and taprooms had drastically fewer customers. At the same time, crime increased since the city watch was busy trying to enforce the new law. In fact, an underground network of secret taprooms soon appeared. These illegal establishments made large sums of untaxed money, driven by their ability to meet a public demand for ale and wine. With this gold, the owners were able to pay for their own strong-arms to help them create crime gangs. The power of these gangs soon surpassed the strength of the city government. Finally, the Empire had to step in and squash the most powerful of these gangs as an example to the others. They removed the prelate, replacing him with a new prelate who made ale and wine legal again. With their main source of income now public domain, the remaining gangs soon dwindled in power until crime returned to a normal level.
”

She walked down the center aisle until she was even with Brock
’
s row, turning toward him with a question.