She carefully put her quill away, adjusted her glasses, and looked Kraghtol straight in the eye for the first time since he had entered.
“Look, Krasen. I probably should have started with that, given where you grew up. I’ll be quite frank. While we do not require any previous standings with the guilds in order to join our school, there are three things that are essential to be admitted: A good character, a good measure of wits and willpower, and the funds to pay for the higher education provided by the guild.”
She paused to let the words sink in. Kraghtol just nodded slowly, unsure what to make of the statement. He didn’t know what had changed exactly, but suddenly, Mrs. Urdson seemed almost human, her usual mask made of pure bureaucracy broken.
“I have met my fair share of your type. Young men or women, often from remote villages, without a last name on them, their hearts full ofidealism, searching for wonder in the big city. They certainly don’t lackcharacter,and most of them seem reasonably bright. And yet, hardly anyone of those graduates to be an alchemist.”
It wasn’t hard to guess why.
“Because they can’t pay the tuition fees?” Kraghtol asked, and Mrs. Urdson nodded.
“Yes. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think the fees are too high; after all, this is one of the best educations you can get in all of Wardenreach. Still, it can be difficult to pay for someone who doesn’t stem from a wealthy background.”
She looked downright remorseful now.
“I have seen more than one such student struggle to pay their quarterly fee. First they struggle, then they turn to loan sharks, and then they don’t return at all.”
A long moment of silence stretched on between the two of them until the secretary sighed again and adjusted her glasses.
“So, if you want my advice, Krasen: if you are not wealthier than you look, think twice. There are other honorable professions.”
With these words, the usual mask returned to the secretary’s face. Her tone was still softer than before, but that could also have been a trick of Kraghtol’s mind.
“So, how much is it? The fee, I mean,” he asked, fearing the answer after that speech.
“One gold coin per quarter year.”
Kraghtol tried hard to hide his shock. Four gold coins a year. That wasa lot.
“And how long does one usually… take?”
His voice was husky, and he mentally cursed himself for that.
“Well, that depends. The best students graduate after three years. That is the minimum time required to learn everything you need to know. But it’s rare for students to pass every exam on the first try, and frankly, it takes a lot of dedication to do that. Most students take five or six years, I would say. Those that actually finish.”
Kraghtol’s head was swimming. Five or six years. Even if he spent his mother’s gold coin, it would merely be enough for half a year. He knew he would have to work on the side to afford the school, but how was he supposed to earnthatmuch?
For a moment, he considered the secretary’s kind words from earlier. But he hadn’t taken that fey-cursed potion just to give up now. He would find a way.
“That’s doable,” he lied as best as he could.
It was unclear whether Mrs. Urdson believed him. With only the slightest pause, she nodded and made another remark on her paper.
“Very well, Krasen. I have one last question for you. As I mentioned, we organize our courses into quarters, from solstice to equinox and vice versa. You are a few weeks too late for the quarter that started at the fall equinox, but if you want to, you can still be admitted right now and join the ongoing quarter. Or you can wait until the winter solstice and begin then. It is not impossible to catch up now, but it might be less pleasant than waiting.”
Kraghtol grimaced inwardly but couldn’t help but ask:
“If I were to join immediately, I wouldn’t attend a full quarter, is that right?”
When the secretary nodded, he continued.
“So, in that case, I wouldn’t have to pay the whole ten silver pieces, either, right?”
Mrs. Urdson hesitated briefly before adjusting her glasses.
“Interesting. And very observant. And I suppose you are correct. If you were to enroll now, the ongoing quarter would only cost you…”
Her lips moved silently as she calculated with impressive speed.
