The Horned Apprentice

"Barnaby, hold on a minute," the boy by Barnaby's side called out. "I thought that the apprentices-in-name has restrictions placed on them. How could they steal?"

Both Barnaby and Albatross turned their attention to the boy. It was clear that Barnaby placed a great deal of priority on the boy from his gesture.

Meanwhile, Albatross was more curious about the boy's question. For all the years she was in this damned city, she had never been restricted from the act of stealing, at least not when it came to the curse. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to help Theodore with his thievery.

"It doesn't work like that," Barnaby carefully explained to the boy. "The curse only works if they think they're stealing. If they've just picked up something from the ground, then it wouldn't trigger the curse."

"But what if they found out that it belongs to someone else afterwards?"

"Well, that depends. Decent people like you and me will probably feel like they've stolen something, but you never know with these apprentices-in-name. These ruffians probably think that since they picked it up, it belongs to them."

Listening as the brutish Barnaby explained the specifics of how the curse works to the smaller boy, Albatross was shocked to have come across information that even she hadn't heard about. Most likely, such specifics weren't well known even amongst true apprentices and this Barnaby was someone more special, perhaps someone like Theodore. Otherwise, Albatross would have found such a thing out on her own one way or another a long time ago.

As Albatross listened in, she saw the smaller boy's eyes taking note of her. For some mysterious reason she couldn't quite understand, that look he gave her reminded Albatross of Theodore.

"Barnaby, are you sure you can just talk about this out in the open?" the boy asked.

"Oh, that's quite fine, there's only you and me here. The courier won't be able to understand the profound nature of what we're talking about. Heck, I'm not even sure she understands most of the words I'm saying to her."

Hearing those words, Albatross couldn't help but glaze her eyes over. The proper mages had always treated the apprentices-in-name as something lesser. This had gotten worse ever since the decree the empire enforced upon the Mage Tower, forcing mages to remain within the bounds of Lancea unless they had special permissions. This meant that a majority of the apprentices here had very little contact with the outside world since, making them incredibly ignorant of the world at large.

"Perhaps we can come to an arrangement?" Albatross suggested, speaking in a polite tone that masked her true feelings regarding the matter. "If you go speak to the mistress of the workhouses, she'll be able to vouch for me. If you still cannot be convinced, then she'll let you know where to find me so that you can come find me to settle this later. How about it?"

"Forget it!" Barnaby immediately rejected the proposal without sparing it a thought.

Out of nowhere, Albatross felt a sudden weight upon her, weighing her down not simply from above, but her body in its entirety. It was as if her whole being was shackled to the spot. It was only a moment later did she noticed the Aether condensed around her, forming a spherical field around her and locking her in place.

"We're keeping this between ourselves. Don't bring other people into it," said Barnaby with his hand outstretched.

"B-Barnaby!? Isn't this going too far?"

"We can't involve anyone else in this, especially not someone with the rank of master like the workhouse mistress. It'll be a bad look for you. We'll settle this quick while it's still between us three."

With the mass of Aether weighing down upon her, Albatross could hear her bones squeak. The brute that was Barnaby did not appear to understand the idea of holding back. It was to the point that Albatross was fearing for her life and was contemplating whether or not she should unleash her own Aether to break out regardless of later consequences.

"What goes on here!?"

Just as Albatross was about to make up her mind, a new voice called out with a soft but firm tone, signaling the arrival of a newcomer on the scene.

The new individual wore a baggy robe that hid her diminutive figure and a hood firmly over her head. Even so, she was unable to hide a feature on her that simply could not help but stick out.

Pointing out of the left corner of her forehead, protruding from her skull, and poking out of a tear in her hood, was a crystalline horn. Hide it as she might, without resorting to a special headwear of some sort, which would only make her stand out even more, the horn was apparent to all with clear eyes.

"This doesn't concern you. We're simply retrieving what was stolen," Barnaby spoke without turning and as such, was unaware of the new arrival's appearance.

The boy beside Barnaby, however, knew the person before him, having met her on at least a couple of occasions.

"We... We're looking for a catalyst. I got careless and lost it and now we're looking for it," the boy confessed, to Barnaby's chagrin. However, the boy would rather get in trouble than have Barnaby go overboard and hurt someone.

"Catalyst? Perhaps you mean this one?"

From within her robes, the horned newcomer produced what appeared to be a wand, one with a crimson red crystal attached to the base. Said crystal, was the so-called 'catalyst'.

"Yes!" The boy cried out in relief. "That's the one! That's the exact one! Barnaby, look, she found it!"

"Wait, what!?" Finally, Barnaby turned from Albatross and towards the newcomer. "But that's... I was sure..."

Flabbergasted, Barnaby's eyes darted between the wand and Albatross, who he had released the moment he saw the wand.

"I understand why you would want to keep it between as few people as possible since losing such a precious object would no doubt bring you a world of trouble," the horned newcomer commented. "But this is going too far, don't you say?"

The boy quickly caught on to the threat that the newcomer was implying, though Barnaby seemed to not have noticed.

"B-but..." Barnaby was frantically trying to explain himself, but upon meeting the shaded eyes beneath the hood, he finally realized who he was talking to and any thought of trying to explain himself evaporated on the spot. "S- Salome! This... Please keep this between us. If the elders found out what we lost-"

"I don't intend to be a tattletale, just don't go around causing trouble because of your own mistake again."

With those words, the one called Salome walked over and handed the wand to the boy. Meanwhile, Barnaby turned towards Albatross who had fallen to the ground, recovering from what had happened to her.

"And you too, don't you dare tell on us, or-"

"Barnaby! What did I just say?" warned Salome, her soft tone replaced with something far colder and harsher.

Barnaby's shoulder jumped at the sudden shift in tone. While holding onto many lingering thoughts and concerns, Barnaby made the decision to leave.

"Pardon me, then," he said before turning to the boy. "Let's go."

With the boy in tow, Barnaby quickly retreated from the scene.

"It is unlike you to find yourself in such a pickle," said Salome as she watched the pair leave.

"It's not my fault that my opponent happens to be both stubborn and dumb," Albatross retorted and she climbed back to her feet, her tone now reflecting her true mood.

"Perhaps you could have handled it better if you weren't in such a rush. Something seemed to have gotten on your nerves and made you lose your touch. Did... Did something happen to you?"

"You know that you're not supposed to ask. Do you want the curse to trigger? Or did you forget how it works now that you're an apprentice to an elder?"

"No... I'm sorry. I was just concerned."

Facing Albatross's rebuke, the previously authoritative Salome suddenly became meek and even timid, a jarring shift. It was as if the person that came before was but an illusion.

"I'd be more worried for myself if I were you. It must be troublesome to be in such an enviable position. Now then, like I said to that brutish dullard, I have an errand to run and I rather not be late."

"Then I won't be keeping you."

With that, Albatross hurriedly left the scene, leaving Salome behind, watching Albatross's back until she disappeared around a corner down the narrow street. Then, after making sure that was no longer anyone else around, Salome entered the alleyway, the one where Theodore had arranged for Albatross to pick up the mouse in.

Theodore had not expected this otherwise quiet place that he had specifically picked out to be so lively on this day.

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End of Chapter 59

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