Spring 4989, 18 Buromoth 

Lily examined every piece of jewelry on the open-air stall as carefully as if she were a jeweler herself. One, in particular, caught her attention, and held it for a full ten minutes. In the end, she didn't ask for any of the prices and merely sighed and smiled an apology to the merchant before turning away. 

Velona had enough tact to wait until they were out of earshot before she asked her student, "None to your standards?" 

Lily managed to paint on a beaming smile, "Oh, they were all lovely! He is a true artist. I won't be surprised if the next time we come through, he has his own building and a gaggle of apprentices."

The Monk scoffed, "You're not going to tell me -after a full year of buying a piece at every city and town large enough to have a jeweler- that you've actually completed your collection."

With a sad little giggle, Lily leaned over and bumped her Master with her hip as they walked, "Not a chance." 

Velona didn't press the issue, and Lily didn't say anything more until they could see the Mages Guild towering above them in the near distance. "Shon graduates in less than a month..." Lily whispered. She fingered her belt pouch where she carried all of her belongings but thought only of the bundle of letters there. 

They'd been halfway down the kingdom during Winter Solstice this year, and though Lily had enjoyed the festivities for the most part, her mind had been far away for the entire night. Back at Hamerfoss. Shon's following letter had been full of drawings of the celebration held there and even included a few pages just for that purpose. Though Lily had loved every one of them, she lamented that Shon never seemed to draw himself. He was the one she wanted to see. 

Velona hummed, speaking casually but also clearly sarcastic in her words, "Really? I hadn't realized..." Lily rolled her eyes at the woman. Lily hadn't stopped talking about it since new years, the first day of spring, and knew that her single-minded obsession must have frustrated her Master. 

Lily threw her hands into the air and spoke with a passion that hadn't faded at all in time, "He's finally going to achieve his dream! And if they let him travel like they did with Rasnah, then maybe -after we finish this pilgrimage- we can travel with him!" she shot a sideways glance at the ginning Velona and muttered, "Maybe Master Veon-Zih will come with us..." 

"Sir Rasnah," Velona corrected Lily, tapping her sharply on the head with her staff, "And they won't give him clearance to travel for a few years yet. He will be stationed somewhere to head the defense of whatever town or village they put him in until he earns the right to put in a request to join a field team." 

"Ugh," Lily moaned. Stupid Paladins and their stupid procedure and even stupider paperwork. But she shook her head a moment later and smiled again, "Either way, I'm going to finish this with you and find him. I made a promise." 

Velona chuckled, "And you are nothing if not brutally honest and earnest." 

Lily just nodded resolutely and started muttering calculations under her breath. Velona mimicked Lily's tilted head expression, but when she didn't glance over, the Monk tapped her again, "What're you mumbling about, my flower?" 

Lily answered in a distracted whisper, "I have five hundred thirty-one gold, eight silver, and six copper... With all the hair I've saved up and a pint of blood a week, I still won't have enough... But if I grit my teeth and let them take a handful of scales all in one go, I should be able to make a round trip..."

"Or..." Velona interrupted Lily's mutters loudly, stopping in the middle of the street until Lily was forced to turn to look at her, "You could just ask." The Monk held up empty fingers, then, with a twist of her wrist and a bit of sleight of hand, held up two tokens.

Lily's jaw dropped at the small fortune worth of travel tokens in her Master's pinched fingers. She swallowed, blinking her eyes into focus on Velona's twinkling orbs, "You... Really Master Velona?" 

She held the tokens out to Lily and explained, "We have enough time to reach the next town before you need to leave, and after that point, I will need you more than ever. I owe you my life a few times over this last year."

Lily shook her head to deny it. Her Master had been the one to help her, taught her not only the staff but also a level of self-control and mastery she didn't even know was possible, let alone necessary.

Velona continued unabated, "I should've known you'd have no trouble holding a torch for someone, even with only monthly letters to keep your affection sustained. And you know I would never stand in the way of such devotion. Take them, Lily. Go back to Hamerfoss and see Shon on this most important day of his life." 

"I..." Lily had to blink back tears and -at a loss for words- did the only thing she could think of and hugged the woman who had become someone more important to her than anyone else had ever been. Only one other stirred her heart more, though in a very different way...

"Oh my flower," Velona pat Lily's head gently, letting the hot young woman hold on for as long as she needed, even if she started to sweat, "I see how you light up at the merest mention of your knight. Go to him... But come back to me... For just a little longer." 

Lily pulled back, rubbing her eyes with her hands and sniffing the tears away as she smiled. She took the tokens carefully, as though they might crumble in her hands, and clenched them to her chest. She placed them just as carefully in her bag then gasped, making Velona jump in surprise.

"I'll be right back," Lily said, then started back the way they'd come at a carefully restrained run. 

"Where are you going?!" Velona shouted after her.

Lily turned around to jog backward and call her answer between cupped hands, "I have five hundred thirty-one gold, eight silver, and six copper to spend." 

*** 

Shon pulled the cowl of his cloak lower over his helm. He could make out the outline of Thom on his side of the road and had just caught a glint of flashing metal from Rerves on the opposite side. He could feel Ryuuko shift on the branches above even if he couldn't hear or see the slight dragon in its element. Between them passed a laden wagon, driven by a Paladin and flanked by four small boys in ill-fitting leather armor. Ahead, a bearded Master Daunas stepped out of the woods and stood akimbo to block the road.

Shon didn't have to hear this exchange to know what was said. He remembered clearly from his own experience four years previous. 

"There is no toll on this road, good sir..." The driver recited, and Danaus laughed, taking up his ax and letting out a shrill whistle to signal the raid's start. 

Thom and Rerves stomped their way out of the underbrush to try and seem as intimidating as possible as they drew their swords. Shon didn't bother. He walked out like a shadow separating from the forest gloom. His well-worn armor making only the slightest clinks as he moved smoothly under its now intimately familiar weight. 

The newest Squires trembled noticeably, and Shon remembered their orders clearly, "Flat of the blade only, and keep it slow, half speed," Danaus had made a point of looking Shon over then and added, "Quarter speed for you, Squire. I need to see them at least try to fight. If you down them, I won't be able to get a good judge of their natural style."

Shon locked eyes with one of the boys at the rear of the wagon and shifted his sword in his hand, his right, so he would be swinging with the flat of the blade. The other boy at the rear looked from Shon to his companion and moved to intercept as the seniors approached. With four newbies and only three seniors, that would mean at least one of them would be taking two. Shon had presumed that two would go for either the smallest, Thom, to try and down him quickly to get him out of the way. Or perhaps the largest, Rerves, to try and even the odds. But apparently not... So be it.

Shon swung at the brave boy who thought to intercept, keeping the blow slow and measured. The boy managed a block with his short sword in both tiny hands, and Shon pivoted, shifting his weight and even lifting his foot a few inches off the ground before he remembered... 

"Keep it simple, lad. Nothing fancy and no kicking. Even some of the most experienced aren't often prepared for those kinds of moves..." Master Danaus had instructed him.

He planted the foot again and shifted his weight forward onto it, swinging his sword over the boy's head and reversing before he could block, smacking him on the arm. It wasn't that hard of a hit, but the boy overbalanced from his weak stance and fell over. Shon felt Ryuuko twitter from the woods but pushed the dragon giggle out of his mind as the other boy rushed forward and managed a swing. Trying desperately to defend his fallen friend. 

Shon blocked easily but resisted countering, letting the boy swing a few more times, even push him back a step before he flicked his sword inside the boy's reach, hitting his wrist and sending his sword flying. The boy stumbled back and nearly fell over his companion, who was scrambling to stand. Shon let them. The disarmed one running to his sword while the other tried to guard against Shon's resumed slow attacks. 

Once they were both armed again, things would get at least a little more interesting. Except... Another whistle rent the air, and Shon reluctantly disengaged. Had his own raid been that quick? At the time, it seemed to last for hours. 

The new Squires shook like trees in a blizzard, and -just as with his own raid- they didn't sheath their swords at the Paladin's order, though the seniors did. 

"Not bad, not bad," Daunas called, and the juniors crouching low again. 

"Put those away before you hurt yourselves," the Paladin snapped at them. Exactly as Shon and the others had experienced. 

Ryuuko flew from the woods to land on Shon's shoulder as Danaus explained that it had been a test. And when he introduced the "bandits" as the senior Squires, it was the little dragon who pulled down Shon's hood. 

He saluted with the other two, and the new Squires finally relaxed. Though none spoke up as Rerves had. 

As they reached Hamerfoss again, Shon felt himself smile at the look of awe on the young Squires' faces. This too, he remembered keenly. The dead vines that would soon come to life in the coming weeks, the trepidation as they passed through the double portcullis, and the surprise as they were ordered to unload and tend the wagon. 

Master Danaus gave the seniors their orders to assist, Thom helping with the horses and Rerves with the wagon, while Shon went to the smithy to help Nangran with his measuring tape and jotting down numbers. It was like he was living his first moments at Hamerfoss again but from a different perspective. It was at once disconcerting and comforting in its predictability. 

After the measurements were taken and the boys stripped out of their borrowed leather armor, Shon and the others were instructed to show them around. Rerves took charge, as expected, though he was much kinder than the leader of the senior group that had shown them around.

Shon stood behind the others as they introduced themselves and complimented the juniors on their efforts during the raid, apologizing for some of their hits. Shon nodded in agreement at the compliments and showed no reaction at the apologies. It had been a job, and these boys would have to do the same when it was their turn. 

The first boy that Shon had fought -the one that had been knocked over- stared at his feet, "We couldn't do anything..." 

"Of course, we couldn't!" the one who'd attacked to defend him exclaimed, "They've been training for years. How could they ever expect-" But he was silenced from his rant by Thom and Rerves laughing. He actually glared at the two of them, and Shon scowled from behind, causing the boy to take an involuntary step back.

"They didn't expect you to win. You're right. You haven't started training yet," Rerves explained,

"But Master Danaus wanted to see how you moved when you weren't ready. That's how he picked your swords," Thom added. 

The boy looked away, the scowl returning but not directed at any of them. Most likely, it was at himself. Rerves stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder, "Hey, you really did do well, especially against Shon," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Shon, who looked away. Ryuuko whistled. "He's the strongest of any of us and a total freak," 

Thom laughed at Shon's expense, and Shon rolled his eyes away from them, "Yeah, he even managed to bloody some of our seniors on our raid four years ago. Even with all our training with him, none of us stand a chance either." 

Shon wanted to argue against it, but as he opened his mouth, he noticed the boy's sight smile and snapped it shut again. Ryuuko purred.

With that bit of tension broken, the other three stopped holding back, and all started talking at once, "Is that a real pseudodragon?!" "How did you get it?" "Why would a Squire have one?"

Ryuuko preened, and Shon brushed it off his shoulder unceremoniously, sending the message, Show off, to the little dragon's mind. Before it hit the ground, Ryuuko spread its wings and flew to the angry boy, landing on his head and hissing at Shon. 

Rerves and Thom laughed again, "We can explain that later. For now, let's show you your rooms and get a shower..." 

"You guys have showers here?!" the smallest exclaimed. 

The explanation of their schedule and short pre-tour went the same as Shon remembered his own going. He followed from behind, letting the others explain. When they reached the barracks, the seniors pointed each of the new Squires to their rooms then retreated to their own to do a quick wipe down of their armor before joining the juniors in the hall and taking them to the showers. 

Resting his sword beside his clothes, Shon went to the nearest shower head to keep it in range and sighed as the hot water hit his sweaty shoulders and filled the room with billowing mist. It was then that Thom and Rerves explained to the youngsters that Shon was an ice Sorcerer. He tried to block it out and just enjoy the shower as best he could.

Afterward, he made to head back to his room and his armor, but Rerves cleared his throat pointedly, and Thom said outright, "Come on, man. You move in that stuff like a second skin now. You can hold off long enough for the tour and one dinner..." 

Shon looked towards his room but sighed and followed his fellows as they showed the newest Squires around.

***

The following day, Shon woke up early to do his monk drills, but he hesitated before he headed for the courtyard... 

Reaching into his drawer, Shon found the note he'd received on his first day of training, 'Don’t worry about it, it happens to everyone their first year. Welcome to Hamerfoss.'

It was four years old and crumpled from being in his pocket for the first week of training.

Ryuuko clawed its way up his back to his shoulder then went halfway down his chest to tilt its head at the note. With a nod, Shon took out a blank paper and ripped it into fours. Writing the same note on each one. 

***

Shon and the others would be spending the next few weeks in nearly constant lessons with the Cleric. But before that, he was allowed to spend some time in the smithy with Nangran to make some minor adjustments to his armor.

In gruff half-sentences, the Smith told Shon that he should get a new set made to fit his now larger and more muscled frame, but Shon declined. He only needed it for a few more weeks. After that, he would never, never, wear platemail again. 

And so it was that Shon was in the smithy, adjusting the straps on his breastplate, while the new Squires tried on their new hardened leather armor. Master Danaus and Smith Nangran stood side by side, trying to look like they weren't watching the boys and whispering to each other. 

"I got ten on the smallest," Danaus said under his breath. 

Nangran shook his head, "Second to largest." he countered. 

"The shields always want more armor," Danaus argued, "Face it, I beat you three out of five times."

Shon glanced at the boys and turned back to his own armor but mumbled, "Second to smallest..." He could feel the eyes of the two men on him but didn't look up. Ryuuko snored from its spot curled by the overly warm forge. Shon's choice had been the one who'd chafed at being so easily defeated on the raid.

Danaus let slip the quietest laugh Shon had ever heard from the man and said, "Paladins, don't gamble."

Shon looked up to see Smith Nangran shrug, "Still a few weeks till then..."

"five copper then, and be prepared to pay up, boy." Daunas ceded.

Shon was just starting to strap on his refitted breastplate when the second to smallest of the new Squires sighed dramatically, "I was really hoping we would get to wear plate. Almost all the Paladins in Tarorn favor it, and even those that don't use half-plate..."  

Danaus and Nangran let out simultaneous tch's at having lost, and both shot looks over their shoulders' at Shon, who shrugged. With a shake of his head, Danaus yelled, "So you want to try plate, do you, boy?"

Shon didn't watch the subsequent beatdown, but he could hear it clearly from the smithy. He went for the water skin Nangran kept for himself hanging on the wall and held it up to the Smith in a silent request. The man nodded just as silently, and Shon started out just as the other Squires were helping their newest brother stand and take off the heavy armor. 

He presented the dazed boy with the water while the others explained the tradition, and waited for the boy to get his fill before taking it back. Looking Shon over carefully in his own platemail, the boy muttered a "Thanks..." but then looked away, red-faced with shame and anger still. 

The others had grown quiet, and Shon sighed, waiting for the boy to look at him again, "I hate armor." he said clearly, "I struggled with it for over three years. Everyone, even the newest, were better with it than I was. So last year, I decided to never take it off. Until it was like a second skin." 

"Now he's best at everything martial..." one of his immediate juniors mumbled. Shon could only shrug. 

"I got stronger, and that strength gave me speed. I learned how to move properly in it because it was the only option. But I still hate it." He doubted the Temple would allow him to go armorless, but they would at least give him a choice, so he would go with leather, what these boys were starting with, "It's cafes, and you have a limited range of motion," even moves he would've dodged he often couldn't and had been forced to take not only the blows he chose but also those he didn't.

Shon shook his head. These boys didn't need to hear his complaints. They probably wouldn't have the same problems he had, so he continued instead, "You will grow stronger in the lighter stuff and then move up as you go. Everyone starts at the bottom." 

"Well said, boy!" Danaus called from behind him, "You might not say much, but when you do," he shook his head then addressed the junior, "Come on now and get your leather back on, boy. We have work to do to catch you up."

Shon returned the water skin to Nangran with another nod of thanks and left without collecting his winnings from the men. Paladins didn't gamble after all.