Song-lee pretended to be asleep when Junseo left before dawn. He could not imagine keeping a schedule of morning devotions on top of the classes, making, and other training his new friend had described. He did not think his former routine of setting up the cart at the market, going to school, and series of odd jobs all that strenuous. The troublesome bit had been the courier work for the gangs. This thought reminded him that he needed to slip away sometime in the next couple of days to arrange one last delivery. He carefully folded the small package into the special pocket sewn into his belt and got ready for the day.

He waited until he heard voices coming from the kitchen area before making his way down. There he found Knight-Master Lie tucking into a sizable breakfast bowl and he was soon facing one of equal size. Song-lee did not think it would be possible to finish the whole portion but could find no way to object.

"The priority for today will be to sort out what you know and the training we will need to line up." Knight-Master Lie explained. He noticed his new trainee wasn't eating. "Don't be shy about the food. You look like a strong wind might carry you away."

Song-lee bowed and did his best with the generous serving but it was hard to eat with such an important man sitting opposite.

"Let the boy have his breakfast in peace. No point in quizzing him now when we all need to hear what he has to say," Scout Jia tapped his friend's shoulder as he sat down.

"What did I miss?" Manager Doak looked at each of them before grabbing a bowl.

"We should have four more trainees here by the end of the week and we will need to stable six horses." Scout Jai reported and then summarized the training levels he expected each to achieve. He did not notice how Song-lee seemed to shrink into himself but Manager Doak took note.

"I am not concerned with tournament standings as much as how useful they can be. We are not hiring grooms for their horses or maids for their rooms so they better be prepared to work. It would be even better if they can help turn out some saleable pieces from the forge." He was all too aware of the mounting expenses of their little venture.

"If I am not mistaken, we have someone interested in making sitting right here." Knight-Master Lie smiled at Song-hee then led him off to the workshop.

The boy was shy at first, and seemed more confident tweaking existing pieces then starting in on his own. "Mostly, I just tried to help our neighbours out with the kind of small fixes the guild members were not interested in," he explained quietly, remembering the troubles doing anything more could bring.

"While you are registered here with us, I want you to explore different types of making but for today we are going to concentrate of some pieces easy for Manager Doak to sell. You can start with silver hair pins. It will give you practice with pouring, shaping, and inlays." Knight-Master Lie then proceeded to explain the set up needed.

It did not take long for Song-hee to lose his shyness while they worked together and for Knight-Master Lie to get a better sense of the boy's natural talents and how they might complement Junseo's more structured approaches.

Song-hee had never experienced anything like the free rein he had been given in the workshop. He was shown examples of pieces in different stages and the tools he was welcome to use and encouraged to ask questions if he was unsure about anything. That was it. Just a chance to get on with it and see what worked. No detailed list of procedures to memorize, no teacher hanging over your shoulder, or shouting at you to make corrections. When he had made a mistake with a pour running too quick Knight-Master Lie showed him the trick to not overfilling the crucible.

"Normally, I would have let you figure it out on your own but we have some other things on the schedule so need to finish up soon." Song-hee could not believe it was already afternoon and he only had time to grab a piece of fruit before they headed to the practice courts.

Junseo had not enjoyed his morning at the Medical Academy. He had been intercepted on his way to the lecture to go report to Professor Yip on the procedures he had done in the aftermath of the attack on the Go family.

"I followed regular emergency procedures that's all." Junseo anticipated the man's criticism. "If the local guards weren't so concerned about another attack I would not have done as much but we had to move out. The hardest thing was to make sure the arrows did not get jostled on the way so I had make do with splint tents. I heard one of the attackers still bled out when the healers tried to remove the arrow." Junseo swallowed hard. He did not know if an arrow he had shot killed the man.

"So, after the skirmish you gave field assistance to the enemy?" Professor Yip's question seemed very out of place.

"Once the fighting is over it doesn't matter what side the injured might have been on. You treat anyone with a decent chance of survival." Junseo thought this point was obvious but Professor Yip gestured for him to explain.

"It is what you would hope for any of our own troops," Junseo gave the humanitarian reason first but then gave the tactical one, "Besides, you are more likely to get information from live captive than a dead one."

Professor Yip frowned but then gave Junseo a new class schedule, one of the lectures had been replaced by a laboratory and clinic hours on alternate days. He also handed Junseo a narrow roll of fine silk and a package of different needles and thread. He had Junseo demonstrate basic stitches and showed him two more to practice.

Junseo could not help noticing how clean and fine Professor Yip's hands looked. They reminded him of his father's hands and how carefully tended they had been. It made Junseo self-conscious about the nicks and stains from the forge. He felt he had finally grown into his own hands in the past year but now saw how many calluses shaped them. His knuckles were thickened from years of punches and his palms were hardened from wielding swords. Then he remembered the strength it took to draw and aim a bow, and how that skill saved his friend's family. So maybe it was not so bad his hands showed some of their work.

Being made part of the stitching brigade in the lecture theatre eased the attitude of some of the other students. He received nodded greetings from some of the others who were laboring on their own rolls of silk. He saw a couple of them were wearing fine gloves and thought that might help protect the cloth from roughened fingers but was not sure he was ready to risk the grip he needed for the needle. It was also tricky to keep his attention on the lecture while his hands were busy. The instructor seemed to have a sixth sense on when someone's mind was elsewhere. When it was Junseo's turn, he could not think of the correct response so earned himself an extra assignment he did not have time for.