The Novice Read Online Free PDF Page A

striding about shouting orders.
    Over the noise, Dannyl noted the subtler sounds of the Marina: the constant creak of boards and ropes, and the splash of water against hull and pier. He noticed small details: the decoration on masts and sails, the names painted carefully on hull and cabin, the water pouring from a hole in a ship’s side. He frowned at that last detail. Water was supposed to remain on the
outside
of a boat, wasn’t it?
    Upon reaching the sixth ship, the carriers clomped up a narrow gangplank. Looking up, Dannyl saw a pair of men watching him from the ship. He started up the plank cautiously, then with more confidence when he found it sturdy enough despite the flexing of the wood. As he stepped onto the deck the two men greeted him with bows.
    They looked remarkably alike. Their brown skin and small stature were typical Vindo characteristics. They both wore tough, colorless clothing. One, however, stood a little straighter than the other, and it was he who spoke.
    “Welcome to the
Fin-da,
my lord. I am Captain Numo.”
    “Thank you, captain. I am Lord Dannyl.”
    The captain gestured to the chests, which were resting on the deck a few strides away, the carriers standing nearby. “No room for boxes in your room, my lord. We stow them below. You want anything, you ask my brother, Jano.”
    Dannyl nodded. “Very well. There is one item I will collect before they take them away.”
    The captain nodded once. “Jano show your room. We leaving soon.”
    As the captain walked away, Dannyl touched the lid of the smaller chest. The lock snapped open. He removed a leather bag filled with necessities for the journey. Closing the lid again, he looked up at the carriers.
    “This is all I’ll need—I hope.”
    They bent and carried the trunks away. Turning, Dannyl looked at Jano expectantly. The man nodded and gestured for Dannyl to follow.
    Passing through a narrow door, they descended a short stairway into a wide room. The ceiling was so low even Jano needed to stoop to duck under the beams. Roughly woven sheets were slung between hooks on the ceiling. These, he guessed, were the hanging beds he had heard about in stories and travellers’ accounts.
    Jano led him into a narrow corridor and, after a few steps, opened a door. Dannyl stared at the tiny room in dismay. A low bed as wide as his shoulders filled the entire interior. A small cupboard had been built into one end, and good quality reber-wool blankets lay neatly folded at the other.
    “Small, yai?”
    Dannyl looked across at Jano to find the man grinning. He smiled wryly, knowing his dismay must have been obvious.
    “Yes,” Dannyl agreed. “Small.”
    “Captain has room twice as big. When we own big boat, we get big room, too, yai?”
    Dannyl nodded. “Sounds fair.” He dropped his bag on the bed, then turned around so that he could sit down, his legs extending into the corridor. “It’s all I need.”
    Jano tapped the opposite door. “My room. We keep each other company, yai? You sing?”
    Before Dannyl could think of an answer a bell rang out somewhere above, and Jano looked up. “Must go. We leaving now.” He turned, then paused. “You stay here. Not get in way.” Without waiting for a reply, he hurried off.
    Dannyl looked around the tiny room that would be his space for the next two weeks, and chuckled. Now he understood why so many magicians hated travelling by sea.

    Stopping in the doorway of the classroom, Sonea felt her heart sink.
    She had left Rothen’s rooms early, hoping to get to the classroom ahead of the other novices so that she’d have time to gain some control over her fluttering stomach before meeting them. But several seats were already occupied. As she hesitated, faces turned toward her, and her stomach shrank into a tight knot. She quickly looked away to the magician who sat at the front of the classroom.
    He was younger than she had expected, probably only in his twenties. An angular nose gave his face a disdainful