Quill wasn't having it. He tried to push past the large giant, but there was no use budging past Rognor's large frame. It was as if pushing away a boulder the size of a wagon, and he was only half the man he was, at least physically.

  “You’ll kill yourself fast if you overwork yourself.” Rhena pushed him back into his own room, a wide grin stretching across her face. “You’re not immortal, you know.”

  “ I don't think a barrel is any better for my body.” Quill braced and pushed her back. “Now move, I need to go study.”

  The two of them stood at a standstill, pushing past each other with bare arms locked together, before Narrah then intervened.

  “I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but the library just closed when we passed earlier.” She said.

  “Is that true?” Quill turned to Rognor, who only nodded in turn.

  “Fine.”

  Quill stared at them before giving away a sigh. It seemed like this was all Rhena's plan from the start. The dark elf was burning with excitement, though Narrah and Rognor weren't ones to lie. Even if they did, there was no way for Quill to move past the giant and the elves without causing a scene.

  Quill accepted his fate, surrendering to the alcoholics forcing their way into his own room. If they really had to drink tonight, then why was his room the first option that came to their minds? Rhena settled on the bed, making herself comfortable, while Narrah cleared the table and chairs at the center, leaving only a carpet over the wooden boards.

  “Be gentle with that.” Quill said as Rognor heaved the giant barrel of beer onto the wooden floor, prompting a creak of the boards and nearly breaking it in the process.

  “Relax.” Rhena crawled before she poured the ale into a tankard. They really were serious about this. She handed the tankard over to Quill, and he could only stare at the contents.

  The concept of voluntarily poisoning oneself for the sake of ‘fun’ was foreign to him as an immortal lich. He had drunk wine with Haref before, but that was only because the old man always made it his schedule to drink every night.

  This was the first time Quill was willing to subject himself to alcohol out of his own volition. Sure, he was practically against it at first. He could've fought his way through their pressure, but it wasn't every day he could drink with people, especially when compared to centuries of isolation.

  Quill swallowed before he downed the entire thing, prompting a clapping of hands from the others.

  “Where did you get this thing?” Quill stared at the barrel of beer as if it were seduction manifested from the depths of hell.

  “Gerald smuggled it out from the foodhall,” Rhena said. “I thought he was a stuck-up noble like that golden elf, but he’s not that bad.”

  “You're just saying that because you love booze.”

  “Correct.”

  “But the noble family supporting him is different.” Rognor poured one for himself before he hiccuped. “Elarah Solheathe and her family have a history of pride. They're most likely not just going to accept the loss of their favorite horse.”

  “That’s bad, isn't it?” Narrah downed a tankard. “You guys remember that scarred man with the golden hair? The one that tried to overturn Fenith's win?”

  “Yeah, he’s Pheter Solheathe,” Rhena said. “The man is as ugly as he looks.”

  From what Rognor was insinuating, it was clear that Gerald had a huge burden on his shoulders. As with all things political in nature, it was a deep and dark well for Quill to wrap his head around, but that would explain why the crowd had kicked up such a fuss earlier in the courtyard.

  That being said, Gerald was always with Elarah during the exams. With Quill’s encounter with Elarah from before, he remembered the golden elf saying that her mouth was closed from saying anything to the City Watch, but why was that? It all worked for Quill in the end, at least, but he had a lingering feeling that something was happening under the nobles' roofs that he didn't know of.

  “I’ve heard some rumors on our way here,” Narrah said. “I overheard it in the women's dorm, but... is it true that you killed guards in Gren?”

  The room went quiet. The word was finally out.Quill turned to Rhena, who gave him a small nod.

  “It’s true." There was no point in lying to them. "I evaded an arrest from the City Watch, and I’m here to acquire influence through the Circle in hopes of clearing my name.”

  Narrah stiffened, but Rognor continued to listen. “Do you mind telling us more?”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Quill nodded before he recounted the events following the bounty on his head. It started with the unwarranted attack from the guards, then the accusation, and then to the current state of things. When Narrah and Rognor finally understood, they eased the tension on their shoulders. At least they understood where he came from.

  Quill couldn't help but think of the rumors. The Meldhide Cloak was a strong magic item, but it had its limits as a Bronze-tier artifact. Now that his name was out there, it was only a matter of time until the City Watch would come to the academy gates calling for him.

  But they were too late now: he had already passed the entrance examination, and his words would finally have meaning as a Circle mage now, and that would mean at least a fair trial, given the worst-case scenario of the academy handing him over. There was also his meeting with Kael.

  Either way, Quill had the best odds with him. But something about the rumors rubbed him the wrong way. Who had realized it, and how accurate was it? He had never cared for status nor standing in human society, but it was going to be a pain having to deal with his peers now, and Haref's name would take a blow by taking him under his protection.

  He didn't deserve it. The old man was strict, but he was kind enough in shouldering Quill's burden with him. Maybe it was for his self-interest, but Quill couldn't deny the help they’d gotten.

  He wasn't going to lay it all to waste now.

  The night was only beginning, and as the alcohol poured, the faces of the three turned beet-red. Rognor was stomping around, strangely outgoing when he was drunk, mocking the giants he hated from his clan. Narrah was crying on Rhena's shoulder, having gotten homesick on the first day.

  Rhena was especially sensitive to alcohol. Her face didn't do her drunk state justice; the red of her cheeks softened her dark skin. With all the rowdy noise and moving, it wasn't a far thing to say that she really let herself go. Quill couldn't count how many times she had smacked the hell out of his nape.

  And that was when Quill remembered the slave brand behind her neck.

  Quill stared at Rhena. Would it be wise of him to bring it up to her, or pretend that he never saw it? He shook his head before downing another tankard.

  “You have very thin fingers, don't you?” Rhena crawled to Quill, picking apart his fingers one by one. “Are you any good with your fingers? Show me some tricks.”

  “Tricks?” Quill stirred, producing the gold coin he gained from Gerald. He then wedged it between his thumb and index, rolling it over his knuckles before looping all over again.

  “That's crazy!” Narrah clapped, while Rognor pumped a fist and roared.

  Quill could only laugh at the situation.

  Inside this room filled with drunks, even cheap tricks were something to celebrate about. Maybe there was merit to the little things when you're this drunk, and for the first time in centuries, Quill was actually having fun.

  Going about it with logic, drinking was something only the common people did. There was nothing to gain from it, and if it had been up to Quill before, then he would have rather drowned in books and scrolls.

  But maybe Rhena was right. The world he’d known was only through the words of stories, not experiences like this one right now. He would still choose books ninety-nine percent of the time, but it wasn't actually bad to enjoy things once in a while, especially in the company of people. Back then, there was only the undead with him, and they sure weren't as talkative as these people were now.

  It was strange in a way. Quill had always viewed mortals as something that could either be of use to him, or something that should be disposed of as soon as possible. Maybe there was something left he could learn that he hadn't read in books.

  The night ended with a hush.

  Rognor was passed out on the floor, and Narrah was sleeping on Quill's bed. Only Rhena was still rearing for more, and it took Quill all of his Strength Attribute to keep her from pouring another one.

  “You’re a mess.” Quill cleaned up the spilled drinks.

  “I don't want to hear that from you.”

  Quill sighed before he resolved to take Rhena back to her dorm. He carried her shoulders, and with a huff, he carried her out through the halls and into the open grounds outside. Thankfully, Rhena was as light as she was wiry.

  The stars shone bright against the many moons in the sky. The night air was chilling, but Quill wasn't cold. Lamposts guided them as he passed maple trees and buildings, only guided by the faint map of the academy inside his head.

  “Let’s sit for a while.” Rhena pointed to an empty bench under a lamppost.

  “But we're almost there.” Quill said.

  “Just sit.”

  Quill sighed before pulling her body to the bench, and between the crickets and hooting of owls, he found himself staring at Rhena's brand again.

  “You’ve been staring at it for a while.” Rhena tittered. “Your eyes are very obvious.”

  “What’s the history behind it?” Quill said.

  “That’s quite an upfront thing to ask.”

  “Just ignore me, then.”

  The silence was fine. It stayed that way for a while, with Quill redirecting his attention to the clear night sky.

  “Do you know what it means to be free?” Rhena brushed over the mark on her nape.

  “That’s a strange question.” Quill said. “To be free to be free, no matter how you spin it. You either have it–or you don't.”

  “What if you're free physically, but your soul is still trapped somewhere?”

  “That isn't possible. You cannot separate a mage from his Strength Attribute any more than you can separate yourself from your Soul Attribute.”

  “Right.”

  “So how’d you escape?”

  Rhena turned. “What do you mean?”

  Quill only sighed. “You're here now, aren't you? How'd you escape?”

  Rhena shared Quill's gaze before she then burst into laughter.

  Thanks for reading!