Anders sat down the hall, pretending to read from a book for hours, and not one person approached the door. The mage within would have had to eat at some point, or at least use the privies. That or they hadn't been in the room all day. Anders took a breath, closed his book, and walked up to the door. Any number of spells could be on it, or a trap like he set on his own door. If he wanted to see who was in there, he was going to have to take the brunt of the damage and get it over with.

"What?" Anders opened the unlocked door with ease. The room was empty, cleared out. A bed with no bedding sat lonely in the room. There was a desk and chair, but they were empty, as was the bookshelf. Dust outlined where numerous books and items had filled the room before.

"What now?" He left the room as he had found it. He could ask the neighboring rooms perhaps? They might know, unlike him with the nature of his powers, most mages had neighbors. The empty room was of a good size, and had a small window. It probably belonged to a mage of a decent rank.

The room was between another room and a staircase, so Anders worked up the nerve to knock on the neighboring door. He heard the sounds of a chair moving across the floor and grumbling. When the door opened, for once in his life, Anders was speechless.

Cerdic swung open his door, he had been presumably going through books with his freckle covered friend, who was curiously trying to see around him. He looked Anders up and down with a sneer on his face.

"What do you want brown robes?" Cerdic folded his arms across his chest with a scowl.

"Gods pox it." Anders said through gritted teeth.

"What was that? You're here to ask me something?" He smiled. By now his freckled friend was over his shoulder jeering.

"Make him beg for it." He added.

"Forget it." Anders walked away. Maybe the next person down would know.

"Are you going to walk away like you walked away from the last assessments?" Cerdic knew he made a mistake the moment Anders turned around. Anders lunged for Cerdic, clipping his chin which should still be tender from their last fight.

"Geoffrey!" Cerdic roared and wildly punched the air over Anders's shoulder as they fell to the floor. The freckled boy must be Geoffrey, because he rushed to kick Anders solidly in the ribs. Anders rolled away from Cerdic and felt a powerful heat by his back. He rose to a crouching position and watched Cerdic raise his glowing red fist.

Geoffrey took a pitcher of water off Cerdic's desk and throw it over Anders. Right away it began to chill him to the bone as Geoffrey held his open palms towards Anders, muttering under his breath. Movement became slowed and Cerdic rose to line up a dangerous punch. If they were going to risk using their powers, so was Anders.

A careful jolt erupted from Anders, it lusted after the bits of metal on the other boys. Rings, cloak clasps, belt buckles, all of them heated with Anders's energy. Geoffrey was too startled to continue freezing the water on Anders, and his own power thawed him out quickly. Cerdic was unfazed, taking a swing at Anders with burning fists. One unfortunate blow cuffed his ear, and Anders smelled singed hair before he felt the hit.

"Break it up! Break it up now!" A man in his thirties was in the doorway. A huge gust of wind ripped through the room and scattered debris. The force was enough to pin the boys down and everyone stopped fighting instantly.

"Don't let me hear it again, or I'll call the guards." The man was portly, dark skinned and had a wide set jaw. He wore red robes, but the force behind the gale winds led Anders to believe he wasn't a higher rank due to control, not raw power.

The boys all shook their heads and stood.

"Good." The wind mage left and slammed the door one room over. Cerdic scowled and spat at Anders. Anders was still hot from the fight, and stormed out. He had lost his cool, and now there wasn't anyone on the floor he could ask about the room's old inhabitant.

Jak had never owned a horse, but was a very practiced rider. With as much as he traveled it wasn't wise to keep an animal he would have to stable regularly, and the cost of food wasn't appealing either.

Never the less he found himself on the back of a dappled mare trotting reliably towards Raastad. The King's road was well traveled, and he found more people heading towards Cliffside than away towards the Capitol. The assessments were drawing crowds. Not only scholars and ambassadors to the crown who were looking to recruit mages for work, but families of mages who would be watching in the hopes that their loved ones could return home.

The low roll of grey clouds crawled towards Cliffside, they would have a storm soon. Jak was glad to avoid it, and pressed on. More than once he passed what looked to be a group of men from the castle or perhaps the Royal University. But when the powerful move, so follow the greedy. He spotted several less than savory men traveling towards Cliffside and every one of them eyed his saddlebags.

Jak didn't dare leave his valuables in Cliffside, so his horse was laden with all of his possessions. He didn't have anything particularly large or heavy, but his vials, scrolls, and tools were numerous. He also carried the small fortune he was paid for the stolen journal.

Deciding he was as likely to be robbed at a crowded inn as he was in the woods, he camped at the side of the road for the night. Other travelers who were too poor, or who were turned away as the inns filled did the same. Pricks of light from the campfires lined the road.

Jak opted not to light a fire and advertise his location. He also camped a bit further off the road where he could tie the horse to a tree, and sleep in the larger branches overhead. He found the perfect branch wedged between two other limbs of an old oak tree. If he slept sitting up, which he usually did, he wouldn't be able to fall right out off the tree in his sleep.

The mare settled down, glad to be rid of her burden for the evening. Jak tied his packs to the trunk of the tree where they wouldn't easily be able to walk off in the night but kept his box of coin and Anders's translations in the trees with him. The little moon had set, and the big one hung low by the time soft whinny roused Jak from sleep.

There was enough light from the campfires nearby and the stars overhead that he could just make out the shadow of someone calming his horse. Likely they thought he wasn't around because no one was sleeping on the ground.

With practiced silence, Jak rose slowly from his position. Drawing a dagger, he hopped down to a branch that would allow him to reach the ground safely. The figure didn't hear him in time, and before they could turn around Jak had a knife to their throat.

"Turn around, nice and easy." Jak kept his voice low, trying not to spook the horse. "Now, what might you have been doing in my bags?"

"Please sir," A light feminine voice swept through the night air. "I was only seeing to the horse. I thought her owner had left her alone."

"I'll bet you did. Tell me another." Jak eased on the knife just a bit. He inspected his surroundings, there was no one else in the clearing.

"I'm sorry sir, I was only hungry!" The girl in his arms wept softly. "Please don't kill me."

"I've got an arm around your gut dearie, you can't tell me yer for want of food." Jak prodded her belly with the hilt of his other dagger. It sank into her skin comfortably. She wasn't fat, but she wasn't hungry either.

"What do you intend to do then?" She growled. Her entire demeanor changed and her voice lowered.

"I'm gonna tie you to this tree and finish sleeping." Jak said surprised. "You can go in the morning, but if you'd rather I find the local watch..."

Even in the dark Jak could see her face twisted in frustration. She spat and silently let him tie her up. Though he was all business when it came to dealing with other thieves, he would admit some regret she found him under these circumstances. He had a favorite type of bedmate, and she was definitely it.

The soft breathing of the horse was the only sound in the clearing when Jak settled back in his branches. He was nearly asleep when he gave a second thought to the silence.

"Awfully quiet down there." Jak leaned over to see her shadow still against the tree. "Be stubborn if you like. G'night sweetheart."

Sleep came easy. He was sore from a days ride and didn't much like waking up in the middle of the night. He didn't open his eyes until the first warmth of the sun hit his face.

"Did you sleep well, love? He stretched and climbed down the tree. Landing on the grass, his eyes widened. Tied to the tree was a bundle of sticks. His packs were gone too. He turned wildly looking through the clearing, his mare was missing, the tracks clearly led to the road. She had taken his gear, his magic contraband, and his clothes. All he had to his name was a pair of daggers, scribbled notes on magic life restoration lore, and a small fortune in gold.

"Shadow pox it."