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StLQ Chapter 10 - “Study” Date
🕑 Added 2025-08-10 11:12:57 +0000 UTC“Kaiiii, why won’t you play with meeee!” Nelly complained, pulling at my trousers. She had another one of my textbooks in her hand. I’d already read two chapters about arcane safety and precautions—one of the most boring topics in the whole academy. Somehow, Nelly still wanted more.
I ignored her and looked out of the window. Luna’s house sat perfectly still—as buildings usually did—with a hefty snow-buildup on the slanted roof. Nobody had exited the house for the last fifteen minutes, and nobody had knocked on our door as Luna had promised.
Well, she hadn’t explicitly promised anything. She said she’d ask her mom if she was allowed to join me on a study session. If she was, she’d knock.
I don’t have time to wait around, I thought. Luna will turn into the Lich Queen in five days.
I slid past Nelly and put on my jacket. “I need to meet up with a classmate today, Nel,” I said. “You should think about what we learned today.”
“We leawned nothing!” Nelly argued. “Teach me mowe!”
I grinned at her. This little imp. “Later. Tell mom I’ll be back before night.”
I exited the house and was welcomed outside by a cloudless winter sky. The sun was halfway hidden behind the horizon. There was enough light to see, but the snow wasn’t blindingly reflective anymore. Stars were slowly showing themselves in the purple-tinted sky. Within the hour, Lokora would be pitch black again.
The clock read just over four in the evening, by the way. Lokora barely got any sunlight during winter.
I stood before the gates of the small snow-struck yard of Luna’s house. The mailbox next to me read “Quine.” The house was genuinely intimidating. The roof appeared far taller than it should thanks to its snow hat. The yard itself was an obstacle course—more than two feet of snow had built up on the path between the door and the street. Boot marks pressed deep into the layer of snow. Instead of plowing the snow out of the way, Luna had waddled to the door past the snow.
I breathed in, reminded myself that I was technically an adult, and I fought through the snow with the help of the previous bootprints. I knocked on the door.
Nobody answered. I stood there awkwardly, wondering if anyone was even home.
I offered one more round of knocks, expecting nothing. After a minute of waiting, I was about to turn away.
The door opened. The frowning face of a thin woman with grey hair peeked out. “What is it?” she asked.
Magdalene Quine. Luna’s mother.
In my memory, Luna’s mother was the closest thing to a whimsical witch I’d seen—the type with a crooked nose and an evil wrinkled face. She was rarely outside. I tended to see her only a few times a year if she was plowing snow, or sometimes I managed to catch a glimpse if she was at the door speaking to someone.
Seeing her up close, however, she wasn’t really a witch. She was just grumpy. She had a wrinkled face thanks to her expression. Red eyes, just like Luna, wearing a simple dress with grey hair. Her hair wasn’t graying as much as it was actually just gray. She wasn’t old or grisly by any means, her expression still made me lean back.
“Hello, Miss. It’s Kai. Luna’s classmate.” I bowed respectfully.
“Ah, the kid from across the street,” Luna’s mom said. “What do you want?”
Parallel, actually. “Luna and I have a group project that needs to be finished. I’d like to study and work with her to complete it today.”
That was a lie. But at this point, any excuse to get Luna to hang out would do.
“A group project?” Magdalene asked, raising her eyebrows. “Luna hasn’t told me of this.”
“We have projects all the time,” I said. “This one is for, uh, physical education of magic.”
“A useless class,” she said. “The grades matter less than rubbish. Luna does not have time to waste. Unlike you, Luna plans on making a life for herself as a world-class mage.”
“The class is not the most important,” I said. “But it’s one of the few classes where we’re actually allowed to cast magic. The teacher gave us a chance to showcase advanced channeling concepts of our choosing.”
Luna’s mom eyed me suspiciously.
“Please, I need Luna’s help, and I’m sure she will benefit as well,” I said. Her expression wasn’t budging. So I quickly continued. “And to repay the favor, how about I plow your yard before tomorrow morning? With snow work done, Luna will save any lost time not having to plow snow out of the way.”
Now she looked slightly contemplative. I added, “We’ll be studying at campus. For maybe two hours?”
“Diligent little devil,” Luna’s mom said. I had no idea if that was an insult or not. “For the plowing service, I might consider this. I require a break from watching over my imp as well.” She turned around and shouted, “Luna! Your classmate is here!”
Luna peeked at me from the hallway. She was out of her uniform, wearing some black cloth that looked more like a cloak than a dress. She met my eyes with a look of caution.
“Go get dressed!” her mom ordered. “You’ve got a date.”
Luna flinched into action. Her mom closed the door with force, and I was left outside to wait.
One hell of a household, I thought. I wondered if I’d gone too far about our group project proposal. My claim could be fact checked easily. If Luna’s mom was half as deranged as I thought, she’d ask our teacher before the weekend.
That would be a problem for later, I guess.
The door opened a few minutes later. Magdalene pushed Luna outside with a pat on the back. Luna was still clad in her summer jacket.
Her mom frowned at me, “I expect all of this snow to be plowed by tomorrow. And no half-assed mounds that fall back over. A proper job. Do that, and Luna is yours for two hours.”
I bowed. “Thank you, Miss. I’ll treat her well.”
“Sure, whatever,” she said. “Study well, Luna.”
She shut the door.
I kept my eyes on the door for a few seconds. I breathed in and asked, “Is she always this extreme?”
Luna shrugged. “Mother is a nice person.”
I raised my eyebrows. What kind of response was that? And what kind of nice person sent their daughter out into a freezing winter in their summer jacket?
Nevertheless, I smiled and said, “Thanks for coming. I appreciate it.”
“You’re the one that forced me out,” Luna said. She hugged her coat tighter, already shivering.
I led the way out back to my house. There, I said, “Wait for a minute. I won’t take any longer.”
I headed inside and called, “Mom, I’m borrowing your jacket again!”
“You’re going out with Luna?” mom asked.
“Yep,” I said, already on my way out.
Mom looked like she wanted to tell me a few things. But she saw I was in a hurry and gave up. “Have fun!”
I returned the grin and quickly headed outside. Luna waited for me like some scarecrow. She seemed different than usual. Her expression was the same as it always was—uncaring and restrained—but somehow, I read the face differently. Luna didn’t look confident and nonchalant. She looked apprehensive. Lost.
“Which jacket would you prefer?” I asked, holding out my mom’s jacket. “My mom’s beautiful one, or my old one? I think my mom’s would fit you better.”
“Won’t your mom get mad if she finds out?” Luna asked.
“Mad about what?”
“That you’re stealing her jacket and giving it to a stranger.”
“I didn’t steal it,” I said with an amused grin. “And you’re not a stranger. My mom would donate her jacket if she learned our neighbor was walking to school without one.”
Luna looked at me weird. “No she wouldn’t. Stop lying to me.”
“That wasn’t a lie,” I said. “My mom lent it to me. I’ll let you ask her for permission to wear it if you don’t believe me.”
Luna eyed me, as if trying to detect a lie. “No thanks,” she said. Then she slid into the jacket.
I smiled and said, “Alright, two hours it is then. I have a few ideas for some good fun.”
“Aren’t we studying?” Luna asked.
“We can if you want to,” I said. I pulled out the ride ticker to Bob’s Funhouse and showed it to Luna. “But I was thinking of spending this one first. I’ll pay for yours. What’s your favourite ride?”
I expected a glare or some sort of dismissive eye-roll. I’d only seen Luna at Bob’s once in my life, and she’d been sitting in the corner, doing nothing, before quickly leaving with a displeased expression. Luna was the last person I thought would enjoy Bob’s Funhouse. She probably thought less of me just for suggesting going to Bob’s. But a bad suggestion was always useful to make the next mediocre suggestion appear more interesting.
To my surprise, however, Luna asked, “Isn’t that ticket expensive?”
“A few marks,” I said. “The same price as a lollipop or a candy bar. Although a ride ticket is arguably more fun.”
“So it’s expensive,” Luna said.
“I’ll treat you,” I said with a laugh. “The price is free. The rides are a lot different from what they were when we were young. Some of the rides are honestly difficult to complete. I’ll take you there if you want to visit.”
Luna bit her lip, thinking. “I…” she said hesitantly. “We need to study. We just need to.”
“A visit to Bob’s for the first time can be considered studying. Your problem solving skills will be tested. My grades improved a lot after I visited.”
“Really?” Luna asked.
No, was the honest answer. Instead, I said, “You can think of Bob’s as combat training.”
She looked slightly contemplative. “Okay. I'll come… But only for a bit. Then we’ll need to study.”
“Of course, of course,” I said. “I might show you a few tricks as well.”
Luna looked at me weird. I grinned wide, which prompted her eyes to wander off again. We walked toward the town centre.
Lokora’s small town centre was five minutes north of our homes, the opposite direction of the World Tree. The woods and suburbs ended abruptly, and we were faced with a long and cramped street. The town centre was very much city-like, though it only consisted of one street as if the designers had started building a city-centre, only to remember that very few people actually lived in this town.
The multi-storied buildings on both sides of the street were all modern, constructed of pretty white bricks when I was three or four. Everything was expensive, though the beautiful architecture was largely hidden beneath snow and winter’s darkness. Colorful glowsticks and light bulbs had been hung on wire above the street to offer liveliness.
Our destination was located at the end of the street. It, too, was a beautiful brick establishment, very similar to all the ones around it, though it had been painted black. The funhouse had opened three years ago under the name, Beautiful Night Club For Magical Idiots. That name was promptly changed to Bob’s Funhouse after pub goers from next door actually thought it was a night club.
One could say the owner wasn’t particularly smart at running a business. His name wasn’t actually Bob either. It was Marcus, and he was actually a fairly decent dude. He used to sell adderall to students until he was caught and kicked out, deciding to start a business instead.
I opened the door and made some dumb joke to Luna. Atmospheric lights welcomed us to a dim foyer, only slightly brighter than the winter outside. Luna followed me cautiously, as if we were entering some dangerous enemy territory.
I stood at the entrance, taking in everything around me. The colorful slowly moving disco lights shooting through a rock in the middle. The fake aquarium with glowing reanimated fish, and in the corner, the life-sized stone statue of Lokora’s burghmaster, Henric Anderson with a foot-long moustache, wearing boxers and a beach-shirt.
A wave of genuine nostalgia flowed through me. Everything at Bob’s was so utterly random. Usually, the decorations made fun of the world in one way or another. Most of the attractions weren’t even fun. They were just interesting. After stepping into Bob's, nothing in the outside world mattered.
I took off my boots and left my jacket in the hanger. Luna repeated after me. Then I headed over to the counter and said, “Hey, Bob. Any reports today?”
“Reports?” Marcus, the owner, asked. He was leaning back on his chair behind the counter, barely looking in my direction. I saw a smirk from the side of his lips. “I’ve got three cases of vandalism in the toilets performed by your fellow schoolmates, one case of unauthorized use of magic, and a case of someone’s piss on the fucking floor of my haunted house.” He grinned and pressed his hands on a juice container. “But hey, this new lemonade is spreading like a plague. Two marks for a glass. I’ll add two funny straws for you two to suck on.”
Luna blinked, apprehensively leaning back. I smiled awkwardly. “I’ll pass on this one. How much for some gossip?”
“A mark as always,” Marcus said. “Although, you’ll want to spend a hundred, let me tell you.”
I handed over a single coin from my pocket. “Better be a good one.”
Marcus nodded, as if he was some black market dealer. “I told the last bunch that my lemonade had two percent alcohol. That’s why it has been selling so well. Your fellow schoolmates are buying drinks in batches.”
“So no alcohol?” I asked.
“No,” Marcus said. “That would be illegal. I just fucked up the recipe. There’s too much lemon. This lemonade is a scam.”
“That’s false advertising,” I said. “You’re in trouble if they report you.”
“Ah, yes, your fellow teenagers will go crying to their moms that the lemonade they bought didn’t have any alcohol,” Marcus said. “Good one. Who’s this miss, by the way.”
“This is Luna,” I said, showcasing her with a grin. “A genius from my class. Luna, this is Bob.”
“Ah, a genius.” Marcus crossed his arms like he’d recalled a bad memory. “I would be one too. If only that Donovan guy didn’t catch me for selling plants and pills. At the very least, I’d be at the top of your alchemist’s rankings. Nice to meet you, Luna.”
“Nice to meet you…” Luna said. She lowered her head ever so slightly, arms close together. It looked like a practiced gesture.
Still on guard… I thought.
“The haunted fun ghosts and slaughter room is free today,” Marcus said to Luna. “Head on in if you’re not buying anything.”
Luna paused. “The haunted fun ghosts… and slaughter room?”
“Nah, it’s just a regular haunted house with a cool name,” Marcus said. “Enjoyment is not guaranteed. You’re free to cry and scream, but pissing on the floor is not suggested.”
“I… see,” Luna said, though she still looked confused, like she didn’t quite understand why Marcus was using such words so casually.
“If it’s free, we might as well,” I said. “You look like you’re a fan of ghosts.”
“I’ve never exterminated one,” Luna said.
“These ghosts will probably cry if you chase them back,” I said. “Let’s not scare them too hard.”
I stepped through the curtains deeper into the building, to the area marked as the haunted house. I’d been in Bob’s haunted houses a few times in the past. Most of them turned to complete nonsense and quickly.
A scent of rain and rotting trees welcomed us to a rather well decorated exhibit. Tree branches poked out from the walls. Water droplets dripped from somewhere in the ceiling. The ground was wet, and parts of it were covered in live moss. In the dark, the exhibit felt like a forest.
This can’t be healthy for a building, I thought. There were a few drainage holes, but most of the water just hung around on the floor. But then again, Marcus probably didn’t give a damn about the state of his building.
Luna followed me into the dark “forest” cautiously, examining every corner as if we could get killed at any moment. Her red eyes glowed with mana. Probably from some night vision spell to see better. I smiled, amused, but concerned at the same time. Luna was taking this seriously, at least.
The first room didn’t grant us any surprises. The rooms in the funhouse weren’t large, but there were enough hallways and floors and whatevers that proper arrangements could make the building feel like a larger maze. That was exactly what Marcus had done. The next room was marked with a subtle red light.
I stepped in first, into an even darker room. The forest theme stayed, though random pieces of cloth were added in to obscure visibility, making it feel as if we were stepping into a spider’s nest.
As I stepped over a log, admiring the effort placed into this random exhibit, which we’d entered for free by the way, a high-pitched screech resounded across the room, and a ghoul creature with a face covered in red and black makeup jumped us with a crooked sawblade in hand.
Mana gathered behind me; Luna reacted immediately. She raised her hand, about to blast our attacker into the next realm of life.
