It had only been a few hours of traveling before they reached the next town.
Ojero and Orpham recognized it immediately, having visited many times. It was known as Flaris and was a specialized industrial town that employed many Initiate and Novice ranked mages that had elements related to fire or metal.
Deep beneath the town was a twisting network of mines left behind from the Old World, and they had been mined and excavated for centuries now.
According to their father's reports, Flaris produced almost eighty percent of the duchy's metal tools and armor.
Stopping just outside the town, a small group of people covered in coal dust stood waiting.
Standing a few feet in front of them was a beast of a man. He seemed to be almost seven feet tall and very muscular, his shirt ripped off at the shoulders and a black stained rucksack thrown over his shoulder. His blonde hair was covered in black coal, and his brown eyes seemed to track the carriages like a lion watching its prey.
"I wonder what they feed that animal…"
Roger quietly whispered as all three boys stared at the colossal figure.
Once they pulled to a stop, the Nature Magos energetically lept from the head carriage and eagerly approached the group.
Although he could not hear what was being said, Ojero thought it had to be going well from the smile on the Magos' face.
'Or he could just be incapable of any other expression.'
After a few minutes of talking, the Magos stepped away from the group and patted the large man on the shoulder, getting his green robe lightly covered in coal dust.
The grimace that followed proved to Ojero that the man was in fact capable of different expressions.
Then, surprising all three of the teenagers, the Magos began to lead the behemoth towards their carriage.
"Wait, there's no way that's an Academy student right? He looks like he ate an Academy student! I thought you couldn't attend after you turned eighteen! He looks thirty at least!
Roger complained emphatically.
Orpham stared at the approaching figures for a few seconds before glancing down at his own bicep.
He flexed it for a moment and sighed.
"Well, there goes feeling confident about my strength…"
A few seconds later, the two arrived at the door, which the Magos opened with a graceful bow, waving the student inside.
Squeezing his large body through the door frame, the man turned and looked at the other three boys on the bus.
His face was frowning, and his eyes seemed to be scanning them intensely.
Slowly and methodically, the man raised one of his huge hands and extended it towards them.
"My name is Bars." The giant said.
His face then turned beet red.
"I mean Jason. My name is Jason. My last name is Bars, I'm sorry if that confuses you. Or maybe you weren't confused and I'm just making a big deal out of this. Well again I'm really sorry. My name is Jason Bars if you didn't understand me due to my rambling."
As he spoke, Jason turned more and more red, and his body began to tremble.
"Uhm, I'm not really used to this. And I'm making a fool out of myself. I'm sorry about that, I hope you can forgive me."
As he finished the man seemed to be barely conscious, his breathing hurried and panicked. He slowly leaned back and sat down on the far end of the bench Roger was sitting on.
Jason was staring down at his lap, his hands balled into fists. Coal dust was floating off his hair, already turning the brown bench black.
Roger looked at the man, then slowly panned his head to look at each of the twins individually, a look of disbelief on his face.
Ojero returned it, unsure of what to do.
'Is this guy okay?"
Orpham, however, didn't seem to care.
"Jason is it? Well, it's good to meet you! I'm Orpham and this is my brother. That rat-looking idiot is Roger. I wouldn't listen to much of what he says, he has a mouth on him. I also would double-check my valuables if I were you, he has the world's stickiest fingers."
Jason was now watching Orpham intently, leading Orpham to elbow his brother in the ribs.
'Ow! That hurt!' Ojero mentally bemoaned.
"Uh yeah, good to meet you Jason. We are all going to the Academy together so it's probably for the best that we get to know each other." He said with a half smile, rubbing his side.
"Okay enough out of those two, I'm the one you really want to know! Nobles like those two always get the attention, but I'll tell you, they barely have any good stories! You, however, probably have enough interesting stories to last a lifetime! Just look at you! You probably could talk for hours just about the stories of you eating your enemies before they kill you!" Roger interjected, gesturing wildly.
Jason stared at Roger with wide eyes, subconsciously scooting even further down the bench to get away from the animated youth.
"As I said, ignore that one. He doesn't know when to shut up or keep his hands to himself. Don't worry though, Jason. If he does anything too egreg… egree…" Pausing during his sentence, he sheepishly glanced at Ojero.
'Does this moron remember any of the lessons?'
"Egregious," Ojero stated plainly.
"That's it! If he does anything too egregious, just let me know and I'll set him straight."
"Set me straight? Just look at Jason! He could probably wring me out like a wet towel if I pissed him off too much! I should be the one you're reassuring, not the Goliath over here!" Roger cried, gesturing with an open hand towards the newcomer.
"I wouldn't do that…" Jason whispered.
"Sorry, what was that Jason?" Orpham asked patiently.
"I wouldn't hurt no one. Momma says hurting innocent folks ain't what we are made for. That boys like me are supposed to hurt the Beasts and protect the innocent folks." Jason said, gaining some volume as he spoke.
'Well, that's a new one.'
Even Orpham looked surprised, but he hid it quickly.
"Well, that's a good way of looking at things Jason. My father raised me with a similar principle. He believes that it is the duty of the intelligent and strong to defend the weak and less fortunate, and that there is no cause more noble than fighting for others."
"It seems my momma and your father would agree on that then…" Jason mumbled.
"Oh great! Now there are two of them! Hey Ojero, what do you say we push them out the window and let them run off to their mythical utopia?" Roger teased.
"Push them out the window? I think it's more likely we get turned into mulch by their hands!" Ojero responded, prompting a laugh from Roger and Orpham and a chuckle from Jason, who quickly turned red and covered his mouth.
"Hey, tons of fun, you know it's okay to laugh right? Or is that illegal in this smithing town?"
Jason looked at Roger in surprise.
"No sir, laughing is legal. I just don't like to laugh in front of others. Momma says I have a good laugh, but I know it's a weird one. My laugh makes me weird to others."
"That's the weird part about you? The laugh?" Ojero said, unable to stop himself.
Orpham elbowed him again.
'What is it with Orpham and hurting other people!? What happened to not hurting the innocent!?'
"I'm sure your laugh is fine Jason, don't bother with these idiots," Orpham reassured. "You got into the Academy after all! Your family must have paid a fortune for that! Our father complained for weeks about the price, but our mother kept saying it was worth it. Roger here only got in due to the draft himself, the lucky bugger."
As far as Ojero knew there were four methods of entry into the Academy. The most common was paying the entry fee, which was very expensive. The other main method was being sponsored by a High Magos. After that, there was a draft that randomly selected a couple hundred youths from across the kingdom every cycle. The fourth and final method was to have a unique or powerful element, but that was almost unheard of.
Jason didn't answer for a moment, his face growing red once again, even to the point of his ears turning the color of ripe apples.
Eventually, the giant spoke.
"I was actually given full admittance for free."
"Did your family have a High Magos as a friend? Or did one owe you a favor?" Roger pried.
"Not that either.
"Then the draft?" Ojero interjected.
"Er, no," Jason said, shrinking further into the corner of the booth.
"Then how?" All three asked at the same time.
The giant seemed almost terrified at that moment, and his breathing slightly increased in speed.
"I bonded to a legendary gem!" Jason finally choked out, his voice loud and strained.
Roger, Orpham, and Ojero all promptly shut up.