Arin learned the first dormitory rule before he unpacked.
The bed near the door belonged to the person who slept lightly.
The second rule was that nobody admitted choosing it.
“The door rattles whenever someone enters,” said the boy with the annoyed expression.
“You will wake up every time.” “Then I will know when someone enters.” “That is not an advantage.” “It might be.” The boy stared at him.
Arin placed his bag beneath the bed.
“My name is Arin.” “I know.
The servant announced it.” The boy pointed at himself.
“Tomas.
The tall one is Pell.
The one by the window is Daren.” Daren raised one hand.
Pell nodded once, then returned to arranging his belongings.
He had brought three shirts, a wooden comb, a small knife, and a packet of dried fruit.
Everything was placed in exact rows.
Tomas had brought more possessions than the room could comfortably hold.
Two blankets, a leather bag, several polished stones, and a small wooden box sat on his bed.
Arin looked at the box.
Tomas noticed.
“Do not touch it.” “I did not.” “You were thinking about it.” “I think about many things.” “Think about something else.” Arin decided Tomas would be difficult.
Difficult people were not necessarily dangerous.
But they consumed attention, and attention was a resource Arin did not have much of.
He took out the academy uniform.
The robe was dark gray, plain, and slightly too large.
A silver thread marked the collar.
The material was better than his travel clothes, but not by much.
The blanket was thin.
The mattress was worse.
Arin pressed one hand against it and found three hard lumps beneath the cloth.
“Luxury,” he murmured.
Daren looked at him.
“What?” “Nothing.” He removed the lumps and discovered that they were dried beans.
Someone had used the mattress as storage.
Arin placed the beans on the windowsill.
Pell immediately looked over.
“Those are mine.” “They were inside my mattress.” “I put them there earlier.” “Why?” “To keep them safe.” “From what?” Pell hesitated.
“People.” Arin returned the beans.
“Use your chest.” “I do not trust the chest.” Arin examined it.
The wooden box assigned to him had a simple metal lock.
The lock was cheap, but the lid fit tightly.
“Why not?” Pell lowered his voice.
“Things disappear here.” Tomas laughed.
“Only when people are careless.” Pell’s eyes moved toward Tomas’s wooden box.
Tomas stopped laughing.
Arin filed away the information.
The room had four beds, four chests, one window, and no private space.
Every object would need protection.
Every person would need a reason to respect the others.
The academy had created competition and then placed strangers in a locked room.
A remarkable experiment in poor planning.
At sunset, a bell rang from the western tower.
The dormitory door opened by itself.
An older apprentice stood outside.
He wore a gray robe with a silver band around the sleeve.
Unlike Rolan, he did not look interested in impressing anyone.
His face was narrow and his eyes were dull with exhaustion.
“Dormitory inspection,” he said.
Tomas hurried to stand.
Pell pushed the beans into his chest.
Daren nearly dropped his cup.
Arin remained seated.
The senior apprentice looked at him.
“Stand.” Arin stood.
The apprentice entered and inspected the room.
He checked under the beds, opened the chests, examined the window latch, and touched the wall beside the lamp.
When his fingers reached the cracked basin, a faint blue rune appeared.
“Who damaged this?” Nobody answered.
The apprentice looked at each of them.
“This basin was damaged before we arrived,” Arin said.
The senior apprentice turned to him.
“And how do you know?” “The crack has dirt inside it.
If it happened today, the inside would be cleaner.” Tomas stared at him as if he had just confessed to murder.
The senior apprentice examined the crack.
After a moment, he nodded.
“Correct.” He wrote something on a small slate.
“Rule seven.
Do not alter academy property.” “We did not,” Arin said.
“I know.” The apprentice turned toward the door.
“Food is distributed at dawn and sunset.
The dining hall closes after the second bell.
Late meals are not provided.” “What about water?” Daren asked.
“Basin taps run during the morning and evening.” “And if someone is thirsty at night?” “Use your own supplies.” The apprentice left.
The door closed behind him.
Tomas exhaled.
“You should not speak during inspection.” “He asked a question.” “You answered too quickly.” “That was the appropriate speed.” Tomas shook his head.
“You are either stupid or strange.” “Those are not mutually exclusive.” Daren tried to hide a laugh.
Tomas did not.
The first meal taught Arin the second economy.
Food was free only in the narrowest sense.
The dining hall provided a bowl of thin grain porridge, one piece of dark bread, and a cup of water.
The portions were carefully measured.
Students who wanted more could pay.
A copper bought another piece of bread.
Two coppers bought a boiled egg.
Five coppers bought meat.
The prices were displayed on a wooden board near the serving counter.
Arin counted the coins in his pocket.
Two copper coins.
He could afford extra bread once.
Then he would have nothing.
Daren sat beside him with his untouched egg.
“You should eat,” Arin said.
“I am saving it.” “For what?” “My sister.” Arin looked at him.
Daren lowered his eyes.
“She is still in the settlement.
My family sold one of our goats to send me here.
If I become a Magus, I can bring them to the city.” The sentence was spoken with complete confidence.
Arin did not want to damage it.
“That is a reasonable goal.” Daren smiled faintly.
“What about you?” “I am trying to survive the week.” “That is not a goal.” “It is the first step toward one.” Across the dining hall, a group of wealthy apprentices sat around a long table.
Their meals contained meat, fruit, and bright red crystals that appeared to keep the food warm.
Arin watched the servants.
They carried food to the tables according to colored tokens.
Blue tokens received better meals.
White tokens received ordinary meals.
Gray tokens received the basic portion.
His own token was gray.
Again, the number had become a price.
After dinner, Arin returned to the dormitory and removed his boots.
The soles were beginning to split.
He examined them under the lamp.
A little thread, some glue, and a strip of leather might repair them.
He did not have glue or leather.
The academy had a market, according to the rules sheet.
It opened once every seven days.
Until then, he would need to avoid rain.
He opened his notebook.
Resources: Food: basic portion, twice daily.
Money: two copper coins.
Clothing: one robe, one travel outfit.
Tools: knife, notebook, pencil stub.
Shelter: shared room, poor mattress.
Information: incomplete.
Then he added: Everything useful has a price.
He paused and looked at the lamp.
The flame burned without oil.
A small rune had been carved into the metal base, drawing mana from the surrounding air.
If the academy could power thousands of lamps with simple runes, then mana was not rare here.
Access was rare.
Knowledge was rare.
Control was rare.
He closed the notebook.
A scraping sound came from beneath his bed.
Arin froze.
The sound came again.
Tomas was already asleep.
Pell faced the wall.
Daren’s breathing was slow and even.
Arin reached for his knife.
Something moved in the darkness.
He lowered himself carefully and looked beneath the bed.
A small gray creature stared back at him.
It had bright black eyes, thin whiskers, and a piece of bread in its mouth.
Arin stared.
The creature stared back.
Then it ran toward the wall.
A faint rune flashed beneath the floorboards.
The creature struck the invisible barrier and squeaked.
Daren woke up.
“What happened?” “Nothing,” Arin whispered.
He reached under the bed and caught the creature by the loose skin near its neck.
It struggled weakly.
Tomas sat up.
“What are you doing?” “Removing an unauthorized food thief.” “That is a dormitory mouse.” “It crossed the boundary rune.” “So?” “So it may trigger an alarm.” Tomas looked toward the wall.
The creature continued to struggle in Arin’s hand.
Pell woke next.
“Do not kill it.” “I was not planning to.” Arin carried it to the door and released it into the corridor.
The moment its feet touched the stone, the rune beneath the floor stopped glowing.
He returned to the room.
Daren stared at him.
“You caught it without making noise.” “It was predictable.” “How?” “It wanted the bread.
It could not cross the boundary rune.
Its remaining paths were limited.” Tomas gave him an odd look.
“You really are strange.” Arin sat on his bed.
He glanced at the rules sheet beside his pillow.
Do not bring magical beasts into the dormitory.
He added a note beneath it.
The academy’s rules are enforced by more than people.
Then he placed his two copper coins inside his locked chest.
Tomorrow, he would spend one on ink.
The other would remain untouched.
A reserve was not wealth.
But it was the beginning of control.