Chapter 13 Pt. 2
[Moments later...]
The pair walked in silence for 15 minutes before he was finally led to his room.
Crow smiled and nodded his head towards the girl, "Thanks for showing me arou-" yet the girl had already walked away by the time he had nearly finished thanking her.
Crow scowled at this before he turned and opened the entrance to the room, only for his face to turn ugly.
Within a cramped room that was barely alit by a dim torch that hung on the opposing wall, there were 2 pairs of bunked beds on the right and left side of the room with 3 students lying atop each bed, sleeping.
The room was cluttered with book bags and papers strewn across the resting boys' figures.
In the far right corner of the room, there was a pile of rags, brooms, and mops, lying atop a rickety wooden cart.
There was barely enough room to maneuver as Crow made his way over to his bed on the top left bunk and lay down facing the left wall, holding his bag to his chest as he read over the information given to him earlier.
As he read over the information on the classes, his tasks in the coming days, and the school's layout, he couldn't help but think of the life he'd be starting here.
.
.
.
[Next Morning...]
"Let's go! Let's go!"
Crow's eyes shot open as he sat up in a hurry. He saw the trio of boys who were slumbering yesterday now up and moving around with haste.
"Gotta go! Gotta go!" They were all murmuring to themselves as Crow watched the boys pack various books and pieces of paper into their bags, alongside grabbing the brooms and the cart leaning against the wall.
Crow hopped off his bed as he asked, "Yo, what's the rush? Where we heading?"
One of the boys, who was chubby with a freckled face, oily black and 2 heads shorter than Crow, spoke up as he threw on a dirty grey robe with highlights of green, "Hey, new kid, just follow us. No time to explain."
Crow nodded his head as the group of boys all made their way out the door, locking the door behind them and making a light jog down the hallway.
The sky was still dark with the light of the orbs in the sky and a few dim torches being all that there was to illuminate the drab hallway.
There was an assortment of long twisting winds of stairs and many turns that made the place feel more like a maze than a school to Crow.
Yet after 10 minutes the group finally arrived at their location.
There were no windows on this floor; instead, dim lanterns hung overhead, casting a shallow green glow in the otherwise foggy walkway.
The group walked in silence, with the only sound being that of the squeaky wooden cart.
"Wh-" Crow opened his mouth to ask a question, only to be met with a "Shhhhh" from all the boys around him, having a finger over their lips.
Crow's eyes furrowed at this, 'The fuk is this place?'
The group walked in silence through the dreary hallway for half a minute before a wooden door came into view.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
The boys in front of Crow pushed the cart in front of the door.
They then waited for what felt like a century as the fog around them seemed to bend as if tasting them.
Finally, the door creaked open with each of the boys quickly stepping in, as the door quickly slammed shut behind them.
The trio of boys all let out sighs of relief whic confused Crow as he thought, 'The hell was that about?'
Yet the sound of footsteps alerted the group.
tap...
tap...
The source of said footsteps was an old man with a long white beard, emerald eyes, and a black robe that came down to his feet walking towards them as he spoke, "Almost late, you know what happened to the last group who was late."
The trio of boys all quickly nodded their heads at this, causing Crow to raise an eyebrow, 'The last group?'
The old man then paused, "And who might you be?"
Crow shook those other thoughts from his mind and politely responded with a cordial bow, "Good day, sir. My name is Crow, I'm here to start as a working student in the blacksmithing area."
The old man raised an eyebrow at this, "Ohh? A working student with some actual use, ay? You're in the wrong area, boy."
Crow noticed from his peripheries that the trio of boys around him were now giving him looks of shock, 'Why are they looking at me like that? I say somethin' weird?'
The old man then snapped his fingers, and a floating lantern came through the door he previously did, "This will lead you to your assigned area."
Crow nodded his head at this as he began to follow the lantern before the man's voice called out from behind him again, "Oh, and boy."
"Yes?" Crow stopped and turned.
The old man rubbed his hands as he continued, "Tell your blacksmithing teacher he owes me a favor, hehehe. I do wonder what I'll have him make me next."
Crow nodded his head at this and replied, "Ok," as he turned to follow the lantern.
As he left, he heard the old man speak, "Now for you 3, there's alot to be done, so don't even think of attending classes much less eating lunch the next few days."
Crow felt a shiver go down his spine and sent a silent prayer out for the trio as he left.
.
.
.
[A Few Moments Later...]
After finally making it through the strange foggy area and through winding stairs, Crow was finally led to a floor that still was without windows, yet, there was no trace of eery fog, only a constant heat and a smoky smell.
Crow saw a single light down the long hallway, and so he thanked the little lantern next to him and continued.
As he neared the door, the sound of loud clanking came to his ears.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Hello?" Crow knocked on the open door as he walked into the room.
In it were multiple anvils and a large flame ablaze inside a furnace that was blazing on the opposite to the door.
Yet, at the far side side of the room to the right, Crow could also spot a door one which gave off an eery pressure.
Shaking his attention away from this, Crow spotted the figure hammering away at an anvil near the far opposite side of the room.
CLANK CLANK
Crow's eyes creased upon seeing this, 'Hmm, lemme just check this guy out?'
__
[???]
[Race: ???]
[Occupation/ Class: ???]
[Realm: ???]
[Stage: ???]
[Source: ???]
__
Crow's eyes felt like they would burst from his eyesockets as he inwardly cursed to himself, 'Holy shit! What kind of place is this???
'
The figure looked to be a man towering at over 7ft (2.1M) tall with long auburn hair running down his back and a clean shaven face that made him look to be in his 30's.
He was sporting a white tank top and had thick muscles bulging throughout, exploding forth with each swing of his hammer.
Each strike caused sparks to erupt through the air.
Crow slowly walked to the side, allowing himself to be seen from the man's peripheral vision, and waited in silence.
Finally, after 20 minutes, the man stopped and cast a gaze at Crow, "New student?"
"Yes, sir." Crow nodded his head as he gave a cordial bow.
The man scoffed, "One with manners, too. Not like that helped the others."
Crow's eyes narrowed at this, 'The others? Are working students dying here or something?'
Ignoring Crow's thoughts, the man pulled out a dingy paper lying on the floor next to him and handed it to him, "Here's a list of projects I got."
As Crow received and read over the list, the man pointed over to the row of anvils behind him, "Take a seat somewhere and start. If you don't finish by class time, you'll come back and finish after."
Crow nodded at this as he looked over the list, grabbed the materials that lay in a box nearby, and started his task.
.
.
.
[A Few Hours Later...]
Crow stood up and stretched as he called out to the man, "I've finished my tasks, sir. I'll see you tomorrow."
The man didn't respond, only continuing to hammer away.
Crow simply mused to himself, 'His temperament's similar to the old man... are all blacksmiths like this?'
Regardless, he left the room and headed to his classes.
15 seconds after he left, the man stopped hammering and cast a gaze over his shoulder, observing the equipment Crow had crafted, "Well I'll be damned."
.
.
.
