The Chronicles of Edwin, Ch. 2 "The Interview"

Edwin could barely sleep.  The previous night he had pressed his shirt and shined his boots for the big interview. Normally getting up in time to not be late is a miracle from God, but not today.  Edwin rolled over and looked at his clock.  He muttered the incantation to make it light up.  Gah, still an hour till it is time to wake up he muttered to himself.

Finally the alarm went off.  Such an annoying thing it was too.  It was an older model and used a cricket to make very loud chirps in quick succession.  Edwin thought it might be nice to get the same model his friend had.  That alarm used some fancy magitech and made the sound of a beautiful woman singing.  Unfortunately, amidst all this thinking Edwin had fallen back asleep.  Somehow he realized this though and soon fell out of bed.

He took an extra long shower and made sure to trim loose bits of hair.  Then he adorned his one and only fancy shirt, put on the newly buffed boots, and was about to head out the door when his little brother shouted, "Put some pants on Edwin!"

After addressing this minor hiccup, he rushed the boys to the academy and rode off to the headquarters of the Magitech company.  It was located in one of the larger nearby cities, but with a magical homing device Edwin wasn't worried about getting lost.  He actually made good time and got there an hour early.  So, instead of going in early, he decided to have an adventure.

Edwin knew that his childhood home was nearby.  It had been six years since goblins drove his family out, and he was curious to see it and his old haunts again.  So, in oder not to get lost he reprogrammed the MPS to the new desired destination.  The MPS, or Magical Positioning System, is a magical homing device very much like a map.  It uses magically imbued crystals suspended in orbit to triangulate one's position on terra and will often map out the best rout to whatever destination one desires.  Edwin'd had the the standard options, quickest time, most use of roads, avoid mortal peril, and scenic rout.  So, Edwin chose quickest time and kicked his jeed into a full out run.

It wasn't too long till Edwin came upon a crowd of travelers.  It seemed two men were in a dispute after they ran into one another on their mounts.  Things were starting to get ugly, the guards had already been summoned but that seemed to just make things worse.  When Edwin saw a riot troll being summoned by the guards he knew it was time to make like a tree and leave.

Soon he began to see the familiar sights of his childhood.  Much of the land had not been touched in the goblin raids and was just as he remembered it, the trees were just bigger.  There was the huge church with the steeple that scraped the sky, and there was the old barbers shop and mount feeding station he used to walk to.  Then he arrived.  The entrance to his childhood village.  The gates were broken and mossy like moldy bread.  There didn't seem to be any danger, so Edwin rode on in.

There he saw the overgrown hovels of his old friends and neighbors.  They looked very much like pieces to a game he once played, strewn about in the forest.  He had gotten used to the larger houses of the village his family had moved to.  To his surprise, a child came running down the street.  He was a dryad, a child of the forest.  Looking around, it seemed that a whole clan of dryads had moved into the abandoned village.  That was a pleasant thought.

Edwin came upon his childhood home.  There were more trees now, and a fence.  But it looked nice.  He thought about knocking and saying hello just to peek inside.  But somethings are best left undone.  He moved on and visited a few of the places he used to play and have adventures as a kid.  It was all very nostalgic.  He wished the goblins had never come.  Maybe one day, when he had a wife and kids on the way, he would move back to this village with the dryads and show his children the paths he had carved through the woods.

All of this took place in a rather short amount of time, the speed of thought is an amazing thing.  Too soon it was time to go.  Edwin really did not want to be late after being an hour early, how bad would that look.   So, he dug in his heels and held on tight as his jeed took off at dizzying speeds.   Edwin was worried he would run into an all out battle royal on his way back, but it seems the riot troll had be extremely effective.  There was no sign of the incident left, just a few ornery guards looking callous.

Edwin's jeed made very good time but they were still a couple minutes late.  Oh well, maybe they will think I'm just being fashionable... I do look good in these fancy duds... Edwin thought to himself as he walked into the little building.  The trip to his home had calmed his nerves and the interview seemed to go swimmingly.  Edwin really liked both the men he talked to, they seemed very down to earth and honest.  The company helped construct large castles by providing finely cut steel and stone to other magitech firms.  It was not what Edwin expected, but it sounded kind of fun.  Definitely a great opportunity.  He really hoped this one would pan out.

After going home and having a short nap, Edwin realized he had his next Magitech Final soon.  This one was going to be a pain.  The class was on using scryvers to solve complex mathematics problems, but the professor was always late, he could never hear her, and they were allowed to bring notes to use on the final.  What a pain.  Edwin thought about using his scryver from home and splicing his feed into the University's server, but if he got caught he could be expelled.

Once again Edwin was off.  It was mid to late afternoon now and the sun was beating down like ticked off mother dragon.  So when Edwin got to the storage area, he sat with his jeed in the shade waiting for the bhusr.  Whoever was driving this particular diplopod was off his rocker.  He flew past the first stop, ignoring a few people and nearly missed Edwins!  Luckily two rough looking fellows wanted off and made him stop.  Edwin barely managed to get on by running out in front of the beast (they are not so great at turning you see).  The driver then had the bhusr scurry on, missing yet another passenger who made an obscene gesture.

After nearly getting hit by a scarab and idling in the most random of places, they finally arrived at the University library.  Edwin would not forget this driver and was in a rather wrathful mood.  He took the final, but that only served to enrage him further.  If one could have seen just how miffed he really was, they would tremble in fear... or at least be rather impressed with the amount of steam coming from Edwin's ears.

Edwin swore, if it was that ratty bhusr driver again he would rip the man's head off.  Thankfully it was not, and the sight of one of his favorite drivers did much to put him in a better mood.  The view on the bus was nice on the way back to his jeed.  It was brunette with long flowing hair and sparkling eyes wearing a modest dress, the only decoration a wild flower amidst the locks.  Maybe the day wasn't as bad as it had seemed just an hour ago.  After all, Edwin had had a wonderful morning.

Edwin got off the bhusr, thanked the driver, and rode off.  On his way he remembered promising to pick his brother Michail up from the Aacademy to get a haircut.  Edwin sighed, he wished his brother would get a license to ride a mount, but Michael was too thick headed.  As Edwin waited for his brother, he watched the fencing team practice.  They were getting pretty good.  Sword fighting was a requited class at the academy, but some continued to pursue the art for various reasons.  Becoming a royal knight was by far the most popular reason for swordplay though.  One had to be and expert to make it past the first round of qualifying exams in that line of work.

Finally Michael came out and they headed out.  Edwin dropped Michael off at the barber's and then headed home for a nap.  Edwin eventually got out his scryver to see if anyone else was linked up.  And sure enough they were.  One was a young cook whose skills were quickly gaining repute throughout the land, and the other was a rather eccentric young story teller.  They chatted through their scryvers long into the night till Edwin fell asleep where he sat.