The Buried Symbol (The Ruins of Issalia Book 1) (29 page)

Pretencia reversed direction as he continued.
“
In addition, you
’
ll be tested for your ability to reason and interpret the law. Someday, you may find yourself in the position of magistrate or city prelate.
”

The master smiled, as if at a private joke. His slick-backed black hair glistened in the light of the afternoon sun.

Pretencia
’
s eyes lit up, and he spoke again.
“
I must also mention that we have someone special in this class. The son of the Archon of the Empire sits among you.
”
He held his hands out in a welcoming gesture.
“
Corbin, will you please stand and greet your classmates?
”

Heads turned to see this prized student. Like the others, Brock looked back as a tall dark-haired boy stood and nodded to the class. The familiar face had a bandage above one brow.

“
Oh, no,
”
Brock groaned.

It was the same boy that he had tackled in the woods. On his first day at the Academy, Brock had assaulted the son of the most powerful man in the Empire.

CHAPTER 46

Master Nindlerod
’
s head bobbed as he cackled, laughing at his own joke. The students in the room looked to each other in confusion, not understanding the humor. Brock shrugged at Cameron
’
s questioning look. Only Benny smiled and nodded. Brock wasn
’
t sure if Benny understood the joke or if he was just playing along.

Nindlerod waved to his assistant. The heavy-set boy hauled a bag over, setting it on the worktable at the front of the room. Unlike other classrooms, this one had workbenches lined in rows from the back of the room to the front. Each row had two workbenches back-to-back with three stools at each bench. Brock, Benny, and Cam shared a workbench.

The engineering master reached into the bag, removing a black metal ball that fit in the palm of his hand. Next, he pulled out a pillow. He placed both on the workbench and smiled.

“
Now, we are going to talk about mass. I assume that everyone here knows about weight.
”
He scanned the room through his rounded spectacles before continuing.
“
Weight is pretty obvious. When something is difficult to lift, it is heavy. When something is easy to lift, it
’
s light.
”

Nindlerod stepped in front of the bench, his eyes scanning the classroom again.

“
How do you know if something
’
s heavy? Lars?
”
He pointed to a big, muscular boy with curly black hair sitting near the front of the room.

“
Um. Cause it
’
s big? You know, like a building?
”
Lars responded.

“
Really?
”
Nindlerod replied.
“
What about a cloud then? Those are even bigger than a building. Are clouds heavy?
”

The boy
’
s nervous eyes glanced around the room before he replied,
“
No. I guess not. If they were heavy, they wouldn
’
t be up in the sky.
”

“
Correct!
”
Nindlerod said in excitement.
“
You see, the size of something is not what determines its weight. The mass of something is the true measure. Mass is related to weight but is affected by the density of the object. The more dense something is, the higher its mass.
”

Nindlerod pointed at the two objects he had placed on his workbench as he addressed a female sitting near Brock.

“
Salina, can you tell me which of these two items is heavier?
”

The dark-skinned girl brushed her black bangs from her forehead, tucking the hair behind an ear.
“
Well, the metal ball is surely heavier than a pillow. Everyone knows that.
”

“
I see,
”
Nindlerod said.
“
Is there anyone in the classroom that disagrees with this statement?
”

Two hands in the class lifted high. Nindlerod raised one eyebrow and addressed Benny.

“
Mister Hedgewick. You don
’
t agree with this young woman
’
s assessment?
”

“
Well, I would agree that the mass of the ball is a lot higher than the pillow. But it doesn
’
t mean that it
’
s heavier.
”

The old man nodded.
“
Interesting. Perhaps we should weigh the two objects to find out.
”

He stepped to a large balance scale resting upon his workbench. After setting the metal ball on one tray, he placed the pillow on the other tray. The arms of the scale bounced a few times before settling at the same height.

“
It appears that these two items are the same weight,
”
the old master said to the class.
“
As Mister Hedgewick so eloquently stated, while these two objects weigh the same, their mass is far from equal. The metal sphere is the same weight though it is far smaller than the pillow. That means it has a far higher density and, as a result, a higher mass.
”

The students in the room nodded, now understanding the concept. Brock wondered why they needed to know this. It seemed like simple logic.

“
Mass, weight, and density are just three of numerous topics we will cover over the coming months.
”
Master Nindlerod stated.
“
In addition, you will undergo hands-on training with forging and casting metals, cutting and shaping wood, and many other skills that are essential to a good engineer.
”

“
To spice things up, we are also going to have a little competition that will allow you to put what you
’
ve learned to the test.
”
Nindlerod strolled back to the scale, facing the class.
“
In a few weeks, you will have an opportunity to form teams of five students. Each team will have full access to Foundry materials and resources. Your objective will be to create your own catapult for our annual Catapult Challenge. For this event, you
’
ll be launching a metal ball much like this one.
”
Nindlerod picked up the metal ball off the scale, holding it up in the air.
“
But much larger and far heavier. The catapult that launches the ball the furthest, wins.
”
Nindlerod smiled as he surveyed the students in the room.
“
Members of the winning team will no longer have to serve meals to the upper classmen. That means you
’
ll be served by other novices, among the first to eat every day.
”

The reward caused a buzz in the room. Nindlerod shouted to reclaim everyone
’
s attention.

“
The winning team will also receive twenty-five gold imperials!
”

The room fell silent. Nindlerod smiled a goofy grin at the looks of shock. Suddenly the buzz returned far louder. Exclamations of excitement ran through the room. That was a lot of gold. It would take a lifetime of working as a tanner for Brock
’
s father to earn twenty-five imperials. He glanced toward Benny, who was tugging on his arm in excitement.

“
We can win this, Brock!
”
Benny whispered.
“
I
’
ll come up with an awesome design. You and Cam can help me build it. We can win!
”

Brock looked at Cam, who smiled back. They would have to come up with something special. The competition was sure to be fierce.

CHAPTER 47

Exhausted after a long first day of school, Brock finished dinner and headed toward his room to relax. His thoughts wandered as he traversed the quiet hallway, reflecting on the day
’
s events. Reaching his room, he unlocked the door.

“
Hi Brock.
”

He turned as a pretty blonde girl stepped out from the lounge. His gaze locked onto her large blue eyes.

“
Amber. Um
…
I didn
’
t expect you.
”

“
Aren
’
t you glad to see me?
”
she said, her eyes searching his.

“
Oh, yeah. Of course I am. I mean
…
I
’
m glad you
’
re okay,
”
he stammered.

Amber smiled, glancing down before her eyes flashed up to meet his again.
“
I
’
d like to speak with you in private. May I come in?
”
she asked, her eyes pleading.

“
Um
…
sure,
”
he stammered.

Her eyes flicked toward the room then back to him.
“
Aren
’
t you going to move so I can get through the door?
”

“
Oh, sorry.
”
He stepped back, waving her inside.

He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume as she swept past. Brock stared at her with a dumb smile on his face as she sat on his bed. He was feeling flustered by her beauty, as he had been when with Meg.

“
Will you please close the door?
”
she asked.

“
Oh yeah. Sure.
”
He pushed the door closed and sat across from the pretty girl.

Amber leaned forward and grabbed Brock
’
s hand, holding it in hers.
“
Thank you again for helping me yesterday. I was so scared, and I fear what would
’
ve happened if you hadn
’
t come.
”
She gave his hand a squeeze before letting go.

Before he could respond, she continued.
“
I
’
ve decided it
’
s my responsibility to ensure it never happens again, to me or to some other innocent girl. That
’
s why I plan to step forward and bring charges against Corbin. He can
’
t be allowed to get away with something like that.
”

Her eyes reflected determination, but he knew what this meant.
“
Amber, you know who Corbin is, right?
”

“
Yes,
”
she replied.
“
But that doesn
’
t give him the right to violate me or anyone else against their will. He can
’
t get away with it.
”

“
You
’
re right.
”
Brock agreed with her.
“
But it will be difficult. You need to approach it just right. It will require proof, or he
’
ll just deny it and it will be your word against his.
”

“
I know.
”
She leaned close to take his hand again. She batted her long lashes, her eyes pleading.
“
That
’
s why I need you to testify as a witness. I need your help, Brock. You
’
re the only one who saw what happened.
”

He stared at the girl. Her lower lip quivered as she bit it, waiting for his response. He wanted to help her, but it was sure to be difficult. Even with a witness, accusing the Archon
’
s son of attempted rape was likely to get messy. Just being involved could risk Brock
’
s career at the Academy. His heart and mind were on different sides.

His heart won out.

“
Okay.
”
He had barely gotten the word out when she leapt forward to wrap her arms around him.

“
Oh thank you. Thank you so much, Brock.
”
She hugged him tightly.