Ch. 4
There was a small gathering of people waiting for them as they stepped off the plane. There were two men and two women, all with eyes focused on Evan. Ms. Vaduva quickly made introductions as they approached the group.
“Hello, everyone,” she said. “This is Evan Matthews.”
“Hello,” he said with an awkward wave and smile.
“Evan,” Ms. Vaduva said. “These are a few of the people that keep our little town going.”
“Hi, Evan,” one of the men said while offering his hand. “I’m General Donovan Carn. Good to meet you.”
“Yeah, you too.”
“General Carn is in charge of all operations at the base here in Tourmaline,” Ms. Vaduva said.
It was obvious he was meeting a big shot right off the bat. Evan had never met a general before. He had no idea what the proper etiquette was, so he opted for speaking as little as possible. Even if his title was imposing, the man himself seemed nice enough judging by his warm smile. He was a few inches taller than Evan, and he looked fit and muscular. If it wasn’t for his silver hair, Evan might have thought he was younger than his parents.
“We have a lot of very interesting research projects underway at the base,” the general said. “I’m sure everyone in the labs would be thrilled to give you a tour, so be sure to stop by.”
“Sounds cool,” Evan said.
“And this is Captain Lucas Miller,” Ms. Vaduva said, indicating the other man. “He is the current chief of our Tourmaline Security Force, or T.S.F. for short.”
“Nice to meet you,” Evan said shaking his hand.
“Likewise,” Captain Miller said.
“The Security Force is in charge of keeping all the citizens of Tourmaline safe,” Ms. Vaduva said. “They also act as the police in town.”
“If you ever run into any trouble, be sure to let us know,” Captain Miller said. “This here is one of our best young officers, Robin.”
Captain Miller introduced the woman next to him. She was a good deal younger than the two men that were introduced so far. Evan thought she looked like she was in her mid-twenties. She had light brown hair pulled back neatly in a bun. Unlike the others, she didn’t extend her hand for a shake. She simply nodded her head and smiled politely. Both Captain Miller and Robin were wearing black outfits that looked like police uniforms.
“Robin will be the officer assigned to you,” Captain Miller said. “On top of taking care of any safety concerns you have, she will also be in charge of getting you acquainted with life in Tourmaline. Please feel free to contact her at any time.”
Evan had come to realize that security was taken very seriously by these people over the last couple months, but he was still surprised to hear he was going to have an officer assigned to him personally. He had to wonder again if there was really that much of a threat to his safety.
“And last but not least, this here is Ms. Bo Zhao,” Ms. Vaduva said. “She is our newly reelected town mayor.”
“Very good to meet you, Evan,” the mayor said, shaking his hand vigorously. “We’re thrilled to have you here. Please come see me sometime after you’ve had a chance to look around town. I’d love to hear what your impression is as an outsider.”
“Yeah, sure,” Evan said.
Evan was only half paying attention to what she said as he was distracted by a pair of soft pink ears sitting on top of her head. Just from a quick glance he could tell they were real and not some Halloween decoration. Evan knew there would be strange folk in town, but he really didn’t know what to expect as far as appearances. Ms. Zhao was obviously some sort of monster, but he had no clue as to what kind. Part of him wanted to just come out and ask, but he figured that would be rude, especially for someone in a high position like the mayor. It was better to just stay silent and try to make a good first impression for now.
Shortly after introductions were finished, General Carn excused himself saying he had a meeting he had to get to, and Ms. Zhao said something similar about being swamped with paperwork. They left while the rest of the group hopped into a nearby SUV and began making their way into town. Evan stared out the window and took in the sights as they drove along.
Vehicles and soldiers were moving around as they drove through the base. He wondered briefly what they were all working on, but he figured it was probably something a civilian like him wasn’t supposed to know. He had been invited to come take a tour, so he hoped he would find out more then. Leaving the base, they soon came upon a shopping district. He was pleased to see several familiar restaurants and convenience stores as it made the town feel less foreign.
There was a clear change in the scenery as they drove further into town and away from the shopping district. More and more of the surrounding trees had bright pink leaves. He knew there were trees like that in Japan. They were popular in many of the anime he watched, and he always thought they were amazing. Evan had seen the pink from the air, but it had a much better effect up close. The pink petals danced beautifully through the air and gathered in pretty bunches along the ground.
“Those are the Sakura trees of Monstrum Academy,” Ms. Vaduva said, noticing his gaze. “They were planted by Elias Monstrum himself when the academy was founded. Magic was used to keep them in bloom all year long, so they never lose their color. They’re only found here on the grounds of the academy.”
“They’re beautiful,” Evan said.
“They are,” she said with a smile and nod. “They are the pride of the academy. Just be sure to treat them kindly. Some of the groundskeepers can be a bit…protective.”
As the Sakura trees became more prevalent in the surroundings, so did the number of impressive red brick buildings. Some had intricate stonework, and some had tall walls covered in climbing ivy, but they were all covered in the same red brick, which gave the place a very uniform feel. These were the halls and dormitories of the academy.
There were many great buildings passing by as they slowly continued on. He could see people of all ages going in and out of them. One building he was able to identify as an elementary school based on the young children enjoying recess outside. He also saw a large park with a pond complete with an elegant fountain in the center.
“It’s a shame this place is so top secret,” Evan said. “I bet it’d be one of the top vacation spots in the world if it wasn’t.”
Evan noticed there were a few odd flags flying at different spots around campus. Other than the U.S. flag, there were three others seen flying around in different locations. One had the letters M and A set upon a crest of some kind. It looked like a medieval banner for a local lord, but Evan figured it must be an emblem representing the school. The other two flags were simpler in design. One was green while the other was pink, but they both had a black design of some kind of animal in the center. Evan strained his eyes to make out the design on the flags flapping in the wind. It looked like a horse, except it had… a horn?
“Unicorn?”
“That’s right,” Ms. Vaduva said. “That’s our schools’ mascot. Monstrum Academy Unicorns! As you can see, our school colors are green, pink, and black. It’s cool, right?”
“I guess,” he said. “Wait, are unicorns real!?”
“No, they aren’t,” Ms. Vaduva said with a laugh. “They’re probably one of the only common fantasy creatures that don’t exist, actually. Maybe that is why mages are just as fascinated by the idea of them as normal humans.”
Not long after she finished talking, they completed their journey and pulled into a small parking lot. Evan got out and looked around. They were somewhere deep in the heart of the campus, and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to find his way back out of town if he had to. It was going to take some time to get familiarized with his surroundings. It was all so different from his own small hometown.
“This here is the administration building,” Ms. Vaduva said. “My office is on the top floor. Captain Miller and I have a few things to discuss, but Robin can guide you to where you need to go from here. Please stop by later after you’ve settled in, ok? There are still some important matters for us to discuss as well.”
“Ok, I will,” Evan said. “Thanks for taking care of me today.”
“It was no problem at all,” she said with a smile.
He watched her walk off with the captain and wondered briefly what important things she had to talk to him about. He hoped he hadn’t done something wrong already.
“Where to now?” he said when he was alone with Robin.
“We’ll go to the healthcare center,” she said. “They need to get some information from you and perform a few standard tests.”
Robin took the lead and guided him down a nearby walking path. Evan enjoyed the scenery they passed as they walked. So much green life accompanied by the chirping of birds in the pink trees. He felt like he wouldn’t mind walking around this place for hours.
“So did you go to school here?” he said as they walked.
“No,” Robin said. “I came to Tourmaline after I had already finished college.”
“You didn’t grow up here?”
“No, I lived in a normal town.”
“So, you aren’t someone that can, like, transform or whatever?”
“No,” she said.
Evan turned to her at his side when he talked, but she kept her eyes forward and walked on without looking his way once. She was very stiff, and he worried he might have offended her somehow already.
“Sorry if that was rude,” he said. “I’m new to all of this.”
“You’re fine,” she said. “I didn’t mind.”
Robin was short with her words, but she wasn’t really rude with what she said. He realized after thinking about it for a moment that she was technically working and not just out for a walk like he was. That probably accounted for her lack of enthusiasm. He decided to hold off on any other personal questions for now since it didn’t seem like a good time for it.
Eventually Evan saw they were approaching the tall clock tower he had seen from the plane. He was excited to get a closeup look at it. He couldn’t tell how tall it was, but it was easily the tallest building in the town.
“That’s impressive,” he said while looking up.
“Yes,” Robin said. “The clock tower is one of the symbols of the academy, along with the Sakura trees.”
As they came to the base of the clock tower, they entered a large courtyard garden. The courtyard surrounded the tower, and there were walking paths snaking around every which way. He could see many statues and flowerbeds all over, and there was also a small pond.
“The area around the clock tower is filled with many sights and places to rest,” Robin said. “Students often come here to relax or study.”
Looking around, Evan confirmed there were a few people enjoying the courtyard as they walked by. He saw a couple of girls that looked his age sitting on a stone bench and looking at a phone together. Nothing looked out of the ordinary with the scene, until one thing caught his eye. He noticed that a few yards in front of the girls was a white rabbit. It looked rather large for a rabbit, and it had bright blue eyes. He could tell because it had turned to look at him as he first caught sight of it.
“Are there always rabbits like that here?” he said.
He was impressed that it didn’t seem to be scared of the humans nearby. He figured the animals here must be accustomed to people.
“Huh?” Robin said, sounding confused.
“That rabbit, there,” he said pointing at the creature. Sadly, as he was talking, the rabbit turned and disappeared into a bush.
“Damn it, never mind.”
“Did you see a bunny?” Robin asked. “I do think some live in the gardens around here.”
Evan quickly forgot the encounter as they continued their journey. Robin pointed out some buildings and briefly explained their histories. He was able to locate a few buildings he knew he would be seeing more of as classes started. They passed several groups of girls on the walking path, and each time they seemed to stare at Evan. They even started whispering to each other and smiling for some reason. Evan chalked it up to new students being rare. He would most likely be at the center of gossip on campus for a while.
After walking a little further, they came up to their destination, the healthcare building. Robin said there were some healthcare related classes taught there, but it also acted as a hospital for everyone in town. Now that it was getting down to it, Evan started to get a little nervous. He wasn’t sure what kind of tests they planned to run, but he hoped it wasn’t anything too unnatural.