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Chapter 24: Never forget your towel
🕑 Added 2024-05-02 20:28:20 +0000 UTCThe sun beat down, spreading a relentless heat in one last hurrah for Summer days. Frank and his group stood in a parking lot just a few streets over from the apartments, within sight of the current city council headquarters. They were under a canopy tent, trying to avoid overheating. The blacktop of the parking lot made that a challenge, soaking in the heat and throwing it back out with interest.
Frank wiped his forehead off, looking around at the other groups. The lot was crowded, but not as much as he would have expected. Interest in joining one of the new initiatives from the city was high, but more were interested in the Vanguards than the Volunteers. The support they were offering was too tempting for most to pass up. Moreover, most of those interested in the Volunteers wouldn’t be joining the first set of exams; instead they were working to develop their Skills a bit more in safety.
Of the groups here today, most were just bystanders interested in what the exam would entail. There were only three groups taking it today, and they were currently waiting for the first group to return.
Frank's group would be next, and then the final group would go. Both of the other groups were a bit smaller, but it was hard for him to get a handle on how that would affect the exam. He wasn’t sure the ones giving the exam even knew. They had more numbers, which might help in some ways, but only three of their six members had Skills that would be immediately and obviously useful in combat, and one of those three needed some setup and resources.
Team lineups don’t just work. A smaller group with a cohesive Skill set could do really well while a large, more varied group struggles. It really depended on what they came across in the exam. The amount of information they had was sparse, but it was obviously not going to be in a controlled environment.
A small ripple passed through the crowd of onlookers, many turning to look behind them. A few cheers sprang up, and Frank leaned forward to get a better look.
“Are they back? The Vanguard members they went with said it should only take an hour or two, so they should be here soon.”
Ramy, being the tallest member of the group, stood on his toes to try and peer into the crowd. After a second he lowered back down, shaking his head. “I don’t think it’s them. Whoever it is is coming this way though.”
The small commotion continued for a couple minutes, everyone in the crowd milling about around the disturbance. It wasn’t long until they settled down, though. Then, a few individuals carrying a bag full of towels emerged from the crowd and started heading toward them.
“Geh. Enchanters,” Kevin said, frowning. “No offense Frank.”
Frank grimaced. “None taken.”
Kevin and Frank recognized both of these people, as they’d been in the batch of enchanters that had started working with the Crafting Crew. They’d only been acquainted with the enchanters for a little while before leaving the Crafting Crew. Kevin hadn’t really interacted with them much, but Frank had trained them.
Gotta hand it to Ian; he knows how to pick a sycophant.
The two enchanters walked up to them. “Hey Frank! Long time no see!”
One of the two was a teen around Kevin's age. He had a messy mop of blonde hair on his head, and a smattering of freckles across his face. He wasn’t particularly tall, but he had the sort of awkward, clumsy way about him you see in people who still haven’t adjusted to their body after a growth spurt. He was burdened down with the bag of towels they had, and loped his way toward them with a dopey grin on his face.
His companion was just a bit older, wearing a Vandenilis University shirt and carrying a few water bottles in a basket. She had her dark hair in a braid, and still had her damaged glasses on. One of the lenses had cracked days ago, but she didn’t have spares, and no one had a way to replace them yet.
Frank waved wearily. “I mean, it’s only been a couple days, but hey.”
“It feels like it’s been so long, but also like it’s been no time at all. [Enchanting] has just been so fun, the days feel like they’re melting away!” The girl's eyes brightened behind her cracked glasses. “We have so many projects starting with the other crafters now, and it feels like we’re just barely scratching at the possibilities of [Enchanting]. We’re learning so much! Like this!” She said, excitedly lifting her basket. “We’ve been working on refrigeration! Take some cold water and towels everyone, we have plenty to go around!”
Frank leaned forward in interest, inspecting the items. The towels were standard hand towels, with the word ‘cool’ sewn into them. He passed his fingers over the words, feeling the maroon thread used for the enchantment. He glanced at the two enchanters, grins on their faces. “Did you find something other than blood to use?”
The guy shook his head, dopey grin growing. “Nope! We got some help from a new weaver to put some blood in the thread, but it’s still just blood.” He rummaged around in the bag, and pulled out a damp towel. Frank could see that it had the word ‘cold’ sewn in it, but the thread was white, barely visible against the towel. “It runs out eventually. We haven’t really figured out a way to make any of them last longer yet. But we’re working on it!”
“If you’re working on refrigeration, does that mean the council doesn’t have a solution to keep the power on?” Mai spoke up from the edge of their canopy tent. She was looking at the two enchanters with a slight frown on her face.
Their grins faltered a little. “Well… It’s hard for us to speak on behalf of everyone, ‘cause we’ve mostly been doing little projects like this,” she said, holding up the basket of water. “But my understanding is that, with the level of enchanting we can do right now, it would be hard to keep everything running without direct access to the infrastructure of the power grid, like… substations and stuff. But we’re finding ways to replicate some of the conveniences of technology, just in case we need it!”
She tilted her head. “Just in case, huh? How long does the refrigeration last?”
The two glanced at each other. “Uhh… A while.” The younger enchanter straightened his back, hand moving to his chest. “Have no fear! As a part of the council's efforts to ensure as high a quality of life as possible, we enchanters are dedicated to finding the best solutions to problems before they arise!”
The girl beside him nodded. “There have also been talks about having enchanters go around on regular schedules to recharge important enchantments.”
Grant grunted. “Hmm, like old-timey lamplighters.”
“Yeah!” She said, handing out the final bottle for the group. “We need to keep making the rounds, but it was great to talk to you all. And Frank,” she said, pointing at him. “Feel free to come back any time. We can always use more enchanters on the team!”
He nodded. “I’ll consider it.”
With that, the pair walked away satisfied, off to find the third exam group.
Grant turned toward Frank. “You’ll consider it?”
He shook his head vehemently. “No! I am not built for teaching, and the enchanters in the Crafting Crew are an… odd bunch. They’re all either people like that,” he said, lifting his chin at the backs of the departing enchanters, “wearing their hearts on their sleeves, or super hard to read. I’d much rather just putz around on my own. At least, as far as [Enchanting] goes. You guys are cool.”
Ramy grinned. “Yeah we are. We–”
He was interrupted as the crowd began cheering again. Much louder this time. There was no mistaking why. They all stood and turned to watch as the first test group appeared down the street. Frank raised his eyebrows and made eye contact with his companions. The first group looked rough.
There were only three test takers in the first group, plus two members of the Vanguard. The Vanguard members looked a little tired and were definitely sweaty, but the group they were overseeing was whipped. They all had some level of injury, though nothing that looked life threatening, especially with the level of healing some of the medics were capable of now. One of them looked particularly gory, but after a closer examination, it didn’t look like most of the blood was their own.
More importantly, they all had smiles on their faces. A few winces of pain here and there, but they looked triumphant.
As the group stepped into the parking lot, one of the Vanguard members stepped toward the crowd, silencing them with a gesture. “Based on the size and Skills of group one, we took them to a small park a few blocks away. It has access to the greenway, but the goal for today was to assess their abilities in an effort to clear and fortify the park. They were successful.”
Another round of cheers went out as the exhausted group made their way over to the small medic station set up.
The Vanguard escort continued. “The park won’t be available to the general public for a while, with how close it is to beast territory, but it should be able to be converted into garden space in the near future. After a break, we will be taking the next group to another location to claim.” He looked over at Frank’s group, addressing them. “Please get ready.”
They huddled up, grabbing all of the equipment and gear they had prepared. Solemnly, Grant nodded to each of them. “Remember, I’ll take the front. If anything pops up, call out. We’ve got this.”
They waited the few minutes the Vanguard needed to recharge, a drip-feed of adrenaline starting up in their hearts. Then, they walked out of the sweltering parking lot with their escorts, heading back into the city. For many of the group, it was their first time since Integration that they’d set foot in the broader area. They did their best to harden their hearts for what they might see, and focused in on the exam.
***
I always like doing a little worldbuilding and relation building with character interactions. It just feels more immersive to me.
Next few chapters are probably going to be from Grant's perspective as he leads the group through the exam. See you probably on Saturday!
