Chapter 118: Mage Armor (Part One)

The next morning, Jess came to Marin's study and cleaned it quickly. When he sat down, he felt strangely empty.

For two weeks he'd spent every day practicing Orcish. Now that he'd passed the exam, it was as though something was missing from his life.

The door opened. It wasn't Marin who entered, but Amy.

"Jess, come look!" Amy held up a pocket watch by its chain. "Remember that watch you gave me? The gnome fixed it!"

"Already?" Jess stood and took it. The glass was still cracked, but the hands were moving. The time seemed to have been set too, since it was roughly correct.

"He couldn't find a suitable replacement cover," Amy said. "But that doesn't stop you reading it, does it?"

"Not at all. This is much better than I'd imagined," Jess said. "Now I won't have to keep looking at the sun to tell the time. How can I thank you and that master gnome mechanic?"

"We're helping each other," Amy said. "No need for thanks. I heard from my father you're going to Dalaran. Why don't you bring me back a present? Something you can only get in Dalaran."

"I will," Jess promised.

"I'll be waiting for it!" Amy smiled. "I'm off to class."

Jess leaned against the desk behind him, unable to stop admiring the battered watch. Every time he looked at it, he liked it more. In his previous life he hadn't treasured things he got for free. Yet this watch, which hadn't cost him a copper from start to finish, now seemed unbelievably precious.

Marin entered not long afterward. He saw Jess wiping the watch over and over.

"You got that watch repaired?"

"You knew about it, Master?" Jess put the watch in his bag.

Marin set down his own bag. "Amy went on about that broken watch for days. She was worried the gnome mage from the school of Evocation wouldn't be able to fix it. Does it work? I wouldn't have expected anything in that condition to be repairable."

"It works. Perfectly." Jess couldn't hide his grin. He'd saved himself dozens of silver coins, at least.

He didn't want a pocket watch to show off. He only needed something that told the time. And once he set out for Lordaeron, being able to check the time whenever he wanted would be even more important.

"Gnomes really are talented," Marin said. "If you'd taken it to that watch repairman near Cathedral Square, he'd probably have given up at first glance. My own pocket watch broke a few years ago, and you couldn't even tell from looking at it, but he still refused to fix it."

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"Oh, and your exam? Don't you want to talk about it?" Marin sat behind his desk. "I'm almost more interested in you than these books now, Jess Seso."

Jess cleared his throat.

"Master Duchamp has agreed to help me get boat tickets. When class time comes, I'll wait for him at the Wizard's Sanctum and tell him which departure date I've chosen."

"When are you planning to leave?"

"The seventeenth for now," Jess said. "They say it'll take fifteen to twenty days to reach Southshore. We still have farther to travel afterward, so we'd rather leave early."

"The earlier, the better. The war has only just ended, and many things haven't settled into a new routine yet," Marin said. "I knew Duchamp would choose you for Dalaran. He's thought you had a gift for languages for some time. I think so too, Mr. Seso."

"Have you considered a career in languages in addition to magic? You could study lost ancient languages, for example. Perhaps you could help the Wizard's Sanctum uncover forgotten spells and ancient secrets."

*Is he hinting that I have no talent for arcane magic?*

Jess thought for a while.

"That kind of work is probably something noble children and wealthy merchants' children can afford to pursue. I'd still rather continue along the path of magic."

Marin opened a drawer and handed him a small box of biscuits.

"Without money, learning magic can be difficult too. Fortunately, mages usually find ways to save some."

Jess chewed a slightly salty biscuit.

"Perhaps learning magic will also help me protect myself and my family."

"How does the saying go?" Marin said teasingly. "Words can wound more deeply than swords. Language is a weapon too, no less powerful than magic."

"Why not ask the person who said that whether they'd rather be attacked with words or stabbed in the heart?" Jess replied, opening a novel to pass the time.

Marin laughed loudly. "Such confidence, my dear Mr. Seso!"

Of course Jess understood that words could hurt more than blades. He'd been cut by a blade in this life and hurt by words in his previous one. A knife wound could hurt terribly for the first few days, but in a couple of weeks it was hardly a problem. Yet he still remembered certain words from his previous life, and thinking about them still hurt.

He'd decided he wouldn't let words hurt him again in this life.

Except for magical incantations, of course. Those weren't entirely under his control.

"Master, I can maintain Arcane Intellect for more than two hours now. Could I start learning the Mage Armor incantation?"

Marin turned toward him in surprise.

"You got Arcane Intellect up to two hours in just two or three weeks? How many times a day have you been casting it on yourself?"

Actually, he'd hardly cast it on himself at all.

Jess had been using Saeno for practice. And so far, the imp didn't seem to have developed a split personality or confusion. Of course, with the imp's usual behavior, it was hard to tell either way.

Embarrassed, Jess said, "I practiced on sheep in Elwynn Forest. I only cast it on myself to test the results. Not very often."

Marin narrowed his eyes.

"You haven't been sneaking into people's farms and casting spells on their sheep, have you?"

"Absolutely not. I do everything openly and properly," Jess said, touching his chest. "I can maintain it for over two hours now. Last time I felt I'd improved enough, I cast Arcane Intellect on myself and paid attention to how long it lasted. I think I'm about ready."

Marin sighed helplessly.

"All right. Let me see how well you can cast Arcane Intellect."

Jess stepped away from the desk and smoothly recited the incantation. He'd repeated it so many times over the past two weeks that it was almost automatic. He spoke quickly, fluently, and accurately.

That feeling of sudden mental clarity filled his senses again. Jess took a deep breath and looked at Marin.

"How was that, Master?"

"Not bad," Marin said. "However you learned it, you seem to be doing it correctly. Now sit down and watch me demonstrate Mage Armor."

"Yes, Master!"