Chapter 95 Magnus Redison

  “Wake up, Isaac.” Lenna nudged him awake. It was barely breakfast time and Isaac had been up late reading. He washed the sleepiness away with his death flames, because his powers were cheating and he used them entirely unashamedly to rid himself of the mundane trouble of buying tired.

  “Something wrong?” Isaac asked Lenna with one eye barely open. He didn’t feel a sense of danger or urgency so he wasn’t about to start rushing around for no reason.

  “We have much to do today.” She told him. “Firstly, my eye protection is finished.”

  “Ah.” Isaac replied. The sun was just rising so it made sense that Lenna would want to get a move on before the world became too bright to easily traverse. “What about after that?” Isaac wondered. He got the feeling that she had something else planned.

  “After that, we are going to go to a Kingsmen competition that is being held at the Altia School for Higher Education.” Lenna explained. The school was like a college but for normal people who just wanted to become accountants, scribes, or other such functionaries. It was quite popular with the children of merchants or business owners but few others could afford it and the rest would rather send their children to become wizards than bankers.

  “Sounds fun.” Isaac agreed. “You make it sound like there is something else.”

  “There is.” Lenna confirmed. “Dinner and a play. The Concert Hall will also be available for you from two hours until midnight until six past it tomorrow morning.”

  “When did you have the time to set this up?” Isaac wondered.

  “I wrote a bunch of letters while you were asleep over the last few days and have been using runners for correspondence.” She informed him.

  “Why be secretiv-... it’s my spawn day.” Isaac realized. “But today is the twentieth.”

  “Yes, well, the timing did not line up perfectly with the Kingsmen competition.” Lenna said with a frown. “But, the local church of Halya has agreed to give you organ lessons between masses for a week, starting tomorrow. Pope Chrysanthemum Saint Crystia, the kind old lady that helped when Shamsha’s skeletons invaded, agreed to my request under the condition that we make plans for a way to ‘enrich the youths of Safeharbor’.”

  “Some people are far too good at being good for my own good.” Isaac said with a smirk and they both remembered the orphanage that they were to fund until the end of their days. The Fatebreaker had only truly made that one request of them and they would see it through. For another old person, known for their compassion and power in equal measure, to make a similar request could only bring a smile with a hint of melancholy to their faces.

  “Yes.” Lenna confirmed. “Well, get moving, we have your pre-spawn day to get to.”

  Isaac chuckled and started to do just that. It didn’t take him long to get ready, nor did it take them long to finish their breakfasts, and yet the sun had still started to bathe the east-west streets in brilliant golden rays. Lenna’s sunglasses were ready, just as she had said that they would be, but the magical version wouldn’t be ready for quite some time. For now, she would just have to make do with her non-automatic dimming eye protection. Because this was always going to be the case, the duo had actually had a pair of them made. The one was made with dark stained glass and would not be enchanted while the other would be sent away to get the darkening enchantments put into it and had been made with only the clearest of glass.

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  Lenna did not like wearing the sunglasses as Isaac called it. It was cumbersome, heavy, and hurt the tops of the base of her ears from the weight. It did, however, allow her to actually see during the daytime. She had been getting by via guesswork, Isaac’s subtle direction, and a parasol up until that point.

  After the glasses, it was time for the open challenge Kingsmen competition that the local champion was holding. Apparently the local champion, a young and very arrogant man named Magnus, was so confident in his skills that he had sent out an open challenge. The school had then used it as a publicity stunt and agreed to host it. In the end, the entire front of the school was lined with food carts from some of the more common and popular eateries around the city. Unfortunately, nothing in Altesia was fresh. There were no fish, not even the fresh water kinds, and most of the cattle food had to have been toted up the mountain so magic was already the only reason why it was still edible. Vegetable skewers and breads were the most common with one place exclusively roasting potatoes that could be just eaten by hand and another that was constantly making more hard boiled eggs.

  The school itself was much more quaint than the colleges. The buildings were sturdy but built with cost and efficiency in mind. Most of the campus was three stories tall and the ground area of the school was only a full city block for the entire campus, including their own library.

  It didn’t take long for the duo to find the line where potential challengers would wait in line for their turn. There were only a handful of people in front of Isaac and Lenna but once a few people saw them, they started to talk. It didn’t take long for the crowd to be just as interested in Isaac and Lenna as they were in who won the Kingsmen games.

  Magnus finished obliterating his current challenger and then cleared his throat. “To whoever is causing the commotion. I’ll do battle with you next.” He scowled.

  Isaac shrugged and strode through the crowd, easily being let through by everyone else who wanted to see what the double platinum adventurer could do. “Hello.” Isaac greeted the man who looked to be only a year or two older than Isaac.

  “Ah, another celebrity.” Magnus greeted Isaac and offered his hand. Isaac took it and they shook once in greeting before they began resetting the board to play.

  “Yes.” Isaac agreed. “Though this is the first time I have heard about champions for things like these.”

  “Not just for Kingsmen, there are also championship leagues for Spellslinger and Duelists, though only Kingsmen is a real game of strategy and wit.” Magnus explained. “Now, are you prepared to lose, mister…?” Magnus let his voice trail off so Isaac could tell him his name.

  “It is customary to introduce yourself first.” Isaac told the other young man.

  “I just assumed that you knew who I was if you were here.” Magnus blinked back at him.

  “No idea.” Isaac said flatly.

  “Well, I am Magnus Redison, The Kingsmen Champion of the entire Kingdom of Altia.” Magnus explained.

  “Lord Isaac Wexler, Lord of all that is Dark.” Isaac replied calmly and acted as if he hadn’t noticed that the entire hall had just dimmed for a moment before it went back to normal. Magnus had certainly noticed and it appeared as though a bit of his confidence had been shaken.

  “Well, Lord Wexler, would you like to be white or black?” Magnus asked with his hands on the corners of the board so he could easily rotate the entire board if Isaac decided to play black. Magnus often preferred black, especially against new opponents because it let him get a read on them before they actually engaged. Watching your opponent move was a good way to learn whether or not they were any good at the game.

  “Black.” Isaac replied. “It would be so incredibly off brand to do anything else.” He added with a smirk and watched as Magnus frowned. It was clear that the other player did not want to go first but he had offered so now it was time to live with the consequences.

  Back and forth Isaac and Magnus went. Each turn was timed with an hourglass so neither man could take their time overly strategizing. Move piece, flip the hour glass, wait. That was what the two of them did back and forth until finally, after four hours, Isaac finally lost.

  “You have obviously played more extensively than you had let on.” Magnus told Isaac once he had one. “I was not expecting to find someone so competent in a place like this, but well, your loss was to be expected.”

  “Expected, this time.” Isaac countered. “And I have only ever seriously played with one person, an elf who is over six hundred years old, so maybe I am just used to this kind of higher level play.” Isaac then moved to get up. “I believe it is time for lunch, but I would love a few more games before it is time for us to head back to our home city.”

  Magnus eyed Isaac carefully for a long moment. “I think I can spare a board for a few days.” Magnus agreed. “Let us see how quickly you learn. When do you want to start our next game?”

  Amaranth Serentia V'Nova Wexler