Bookworld Online: Marsh Man

I couldn't remember when I fell asleep. I opened my eyes and it was still dark out. I checked the clock and it was morning, which meant that I slept and didn't remember it. At least my body rested, even if my brain didn't.

I got up and stripped off, had a quick bath and dried myself, and dressed again. I made a small breakfast and ate it, locked the dorm room, and left the building. I went to the testing auditorium and waited for it to open for students and I wasn't surprised when no one from the construction class mentioned Gella not being there.

We were let in and presented with the exam, which I looked at like it was a foreign language. I hadn't bothered trying to learn how to do it the normal way, since my way was so much more efficient. Still, over the years in the army, I did learn a few things from Gary while learning how to adapt it to using the number ten potion.

I went through the word problems like I did for the advanced math exam. I wrote out what I thought it was asking, then solved that problem. Some were simple and asked for when load bearing weights needed supports. I answered always, even if the load is very light, because you never knew when the building would be attacked and it needed as much reinforcement as possible.

I finished the exam well before the time limit and the teacher took it from me and told me to leave. I shrugged and walked away. I didn't see Pavinca appear behind the teacher's desk to talk to the man.

I went to the cafeteria long before I needed to and Robin was busy cooking for everyone. I ate a small meal and left, not bothering to wait until lunch started to see if Jinelle would be there.

I looked at the time and I had a lot of time before the construction practical, so I went up the stairs to the library. I barely had the door opened a crack and I heard crying and another voice. One I recognized.

“It's all right, Eludora.” Victoria Julia King, the Botany teacher, said. “He told you that it was something they knew you would appreciate.”

“It... it's not that.” Eludora said. “It was the circumstances. After what happened... for him to give me such valuable treasures...”

Victoria sighed. “They are just maps, Eludora. I'm sure that you can ask other boat captains and...”

“Not like these.” Eludora said. “He made them with his own hand. He constructed them from many smaller maps and put them together to make a whole. He travelled these waters and these ports. He mapped these out, his route to come back to me, and then gave them to me as a gift.”

“Eludora...”

“...and I ruined it.” Eludora cried. “I was so desperate to have him, to prove that I could be woman enough now that I'm healed, I didn't consider if he wanted to be more than friends. I didn't ask him if he wanted to be more. I didn't even ask if we were still friends before he brought me back here.”

“I'm sure he's still your friend.” Victoria said.

“You don't understand.” Eludora sobbed. “You don't. You can't.”

“You're wrong.” Victoria whispered. “I'm still friends with him and I had my own encounters with David. In fact, I...”

I closed the door quietly and walked back down the stairs. I didn't need to relive that part of my life. It was bad enough I went through it once. I left the building and wandered around. I didn't have a destination to get to for quite some time, so I subconsciously started to mimic an academy patrol route.

I didn't realize I was doing it until I was half-way around the campus perimeter and stood behind where my old dorm mansion used to be. It hadn't been cleaned up at all and I felt anger fill me again. The mages had taken everything from me. My homes, my wife, my son... my son... my son was in a better place now... but... but... he... he should have been here.

“He should have been here!” I shouted and my magic blew out of me and gripped onto whatever it was in the basement and the collapsed stonework. “MOULD EARTH!”

A massive crunch was heard and then a solid column of dirt shot up from the ground, larger than the mansion used to be, and started to coalesce into shape. Spurts of metal shot out of the ground. They were all different colors and swirled together to cover the formed stones and dirt before they solidified on it. More metal came out of the ground and filled in the spots that needed it, reinforced where it needed to...

...and then it was done.

I felt drained as I dropped to the ground on my knees. I looked at what my magic had created and I smiled a real smile, the one my sister Hope liked to see so much. In front of me was a 200 foot tall metal, dirt, and stone statue of myself with my arms raised and my giant son seemed to float between my hands. It was a trick to hide supports from certain points of view and it was perfect.

Everyone could see now that I would always be reaching for the boy I would never see again. I knelt there and stared at it for quite some time, until I felt a nudge from my magic. I didn't question it and carefully stood up, walked around the giant statue, and promised myself that I would brew up several pots of number ten potion to make the whole thing solid.

I walked away, my heart a little lighter and the dam inside me had a few more cracks in it. I didn't care at the moment. All I cared about was that I finally let some of my emotions out. I stumbled slightly, then ignored my fatigue and drank a general health potion. I felt energy flow through me and smiled as my back straightened. I walked all the way back to the testing auditorium and stopped to wait with the other students.

We were let in right away and we entered into a cleared out space with piles and piles of wood, tools, instruments, papers, and workbenches.

“You have until suppertime to design and build me a shed. Looks count, so make sure you put some artistic flair into it. Have fun with it and show me what you can do. There's lots of wood, so you can't complain that there's not enough to complete the project.”

I raised a hand and the man waved for me to speak. “Do you have different or higher quality wood for the detail work, or are we staining it or painting it to give it the appropriate colors?”

The man looked thoughtful. “I only want a completed work, not necessarily finished to such a degree.”

“You just told me to show you what I can do. I can't do that without the proper materials or supplies.” I said and the man sighed. “So, do you only want enough for me to pass the class? I can do that in about six minutes.”

“Go ahead.” The man said. “We can all wait for you to impress us.”

“You won't be impressed about how easy it is with the right tools.” I commented and he looked a little angry. At least he did until I made three walls in about a minute and formed them into perfectly flat pieces of solid wood.

He stood there and stared with an open mouth because I didn't cut any wood at all and stuck the three walls together perfectly, made braces and filled them with number ten, then attached the roof. I made the door in fifteen seconds, used number ten to attach the hinges and a simple door handle, then I hung the door.

I stepped back and opened and closed the door to the perfectly made shed. “Make that three minutes. I forgot how many corners I can cut without needing outside reinforcements from attacks.”

The teacher walked over to it and ran a hand over the perfectly smooth surface and where he was sure what used to be separate pieces of wood were joined together only a couple of minutes ago. “How?”

“Marsh magic.” I said. “Am I done now? Do I pass?”

“Yes.” He said and looked at the shed as a whole. “How much for this?”

“Do I get to keep it?” I asked and he nodded. “Then it's not for sale.”

The man sighed and stood back. “I suppose I shouldn't have doubted your skills and you're holding it against me.”

“What? No, I wouldn't sell you something like this. It's garbage.” I said and waved a hand at the thing and it was engulfed in bright blue flames.

Several of the other students yelled in fright and the teacher stepped back, even though he didn't feel any heat from it. When it was a pile of ash, I dismissed the flames.

“If you want a nice shed build with all the appropriate detail work, contact Jensen at the Sanctuary. He can have one delivered by this evening.” I said and walked towards the door. “Even the newest slave that just discovered he likes making things from wood, can do what I just did.”

The teacher didn't respond as I left.

I wonder if he even read any of the reports about me in the class? I asked myself and went to the library. I was quite a bit earlier than I had told Eludora and I wasn't sure me being there early would be accepted, especially after what I witnessed earlier.

I entered the Library and no one was around, so I assumed that Eludora was in the back storage room on her bed, waiting for me. I locked the door and walked over to the room, opened the door, and stepped inside before I heard some very distinct moaning. I stopped walking just as Victoria's head lifted up from between Eudora's legs. Both women froze and stared at me with shock and surprise on their faces.

“I finished early and I see that you haven't.” I commented.

“D-David, this... this isn't what... it looks like.” Victoria said. Eludora's fluids dripped from her chin and hers soaked over Eludora's face.

“You're just pretending to be a personal maid, then?” I asked and both women blushed.

“I was just comforting a friend.” Victoria said.

“You were? Then why lie about it?” I asked and she didn't answer. I turned around and walked away.

“David, wait!” Victoria exclaimed and tried to crawl off of Eludora.

“I'll see you tomorrow for the Botany exams.” I said and shut the door. I locked it to delay her, as if she needed it after she spends time getting dressed. I was out of the library and down the stairs before anyone could appear to come after me. I went back to my dorm building, greeted the dorm monitor, and went up the stairs to my dorm room.

I made a meal and ate it, then went to bed. I suddenly felt tired and didn't bother trying to fight the feeling. I was glad that I never needed a clock to wake me up in the mornings, because I didn't wake up until then. I had slept for over 18 hours straight and I felt like a new man. I was full of energy and made breakfast, ate it, and went back to the testing auditorium.

A blushing Victoria was there and a single desk was in front of the teacher's desk. That was appropriate, considering I was her only student. She put a single piece of paper in front of me, face down, and went back to her seat.

I flipped the paper over and on it was a single question. Two weeks ago, did you use all of the techniques I taught you about this year without assistance? I read in my head and didn't glance up at her as I wrote the simple answer. Yes.

I flipped the paper over and Victoria stood up and walked over to me, took the paper, and nodded as she read the answer. She went back to the desk and signed it, marked it with 100%, and placed it on the side of the desk where I could clearly see it.

“You already took the practical exam, so you're done.” Victoria said. “Your report card with all of your marks on it, will be sent on Friday to the Sanctuary.”

I nodded and stood.

“David, about yesterday...”

“Did that affect what you did here today?” I asked.

“No. I planned this since we planted and replanted the entire floor of the Sanctuary.”

“Then it doesn't matter what happened yesterday.” I said and walked away.

“David! She loves you!”

“No, I was just the first person that she allowed to touch her sexually.” I corrected. “Now, you have as well.”

“David, she was upset and she needed...”

“See you next year.” I interrupted and left the auditorium before she could keep talking.

I wasn't sure if anyone else had any other exams and I wasn't going to stick around until lunchtime to see if they did. I wasted a ton of time yesterday and I wasn't going to do it again today. Instead of leaving, I went to the main classroom building and went down to the advanced potions classroom. It was locked, so I unlocked it and entered, locked it again, and quickly started all five of the cooking pots.

It didn't take me long to make five full batches of number ten potion and I filled five crates with it. I did it again, then left to go find a hand cart or something similar. I found one in the maintenance room and brought it back to the classroom and loaded the ten crates into it. I locked the door behind me and walked with a purpose all the way to where the 200 foot tall statue was.

It took me four hours to apply the potion to the whole thing. Luckily, the moulded metal clothing on the statue had lots of handholds for me to use and I wasn't impeded from covering the whole thing to thicken and protect it. Of course, that thought made me realize it could be shot or blasted away, which meant I needed to make a very large enchanted amulet for giant me.

I left the statue and brought the hand cart back to the maintenance room, then searched around for some wildwood. The only real place I had seen any was in the enchanting classroom, so I went there and inside were the carving examples from the various classes we had all year. I unlocked the door and went over to my display. I picked up the two squares that still had a little bit of a charge in them and left at a run.

I made it back to the statue and climbed up to where an amulet would be on my giant's chest, close to the neck, and used a touch of number ten to attach the squares and then scraped off the old damage enchantments. I used more number ten potion to form a barrier and then covered it with waterproofing potion and filled it with number ten to copy the wildwood pieces, essentially making a huge medallion.

I quickly edited a modified protection enchantment, added in a repulsing ward, damage if too close, ignore if too close, push creatures and people away, fireproof, and strengthening and reinforcement enchantments like the Sanctuary and the ship had. I filled the carvings with my enchantment potion and then infused it.

It took a full minute to do so, and that was a lot. I quickly climbed down from it and stepped just far enough away to not be affected by the negative effects, then activated the enchantment. I was pushed back six feet and smiled up at the thing. Only those deserving to see it would see it, and they would know and see my pain.

I walked away from the monument to my son and felt satisfied that at least some record of what happened would still exist when I was gone.