“Who has been to the Fells?” Askell said, looking down over the rows of seats. “Stand up.”

Raisa slid out of her chair and stood. She was the only one.

“No one else? Not even briefly?” Askell said. Everyone stared at the floor. “Anyone have friends, relatives, business associates from the north?”

This time Haddam stood in a rustle of fabric, glaring at Tourant.

Askell sighed. “Sit down, Morley and Haddam.” They did. “As master of Wien House and faculty here at Oden’s Ford, I like to think that I play the most important role in your education. But that’s not true. What makes Oden’s Ford so effective is the diversity of its students, who come from all over the Seven Realms.

“Smart cadets will embrace this opportunity. They will shut up and listen to the experts among them, those who speak from personal experience. In future, whether you meet them again in war or peace, you’ll be better prepared to do your job. Those that rely on evidence will succeed. Those that embrace myths, innuendo, and rumor will fail. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!” rolled through the hall.

Askell smiled faintly. “Carry on, Proficient Tourant,” he said, then turned and walked out the door.

Raisa turned back in time to catch Tourant’s poisonous glare. Well, she thought. I’ve made an enemy.

After that she saw a lot more of Master Askell in her classes. Especially the recitations. Raisa would notice a shift in Tourant’s attitude and demeanor, and look up from her note-taking to find the master leaning against the back wall of the classroom.

She’d turn away from the chalkboard in her finance class and Askell would be conferring with her teacher in the back of the room. At the end of language recitation, she’d spot him sitting among the students, and wonder how long he’d been there. He would often slip in unnoticed during the heat of discussion or in the midst of an oral examination. He’d leave again when he’d seen whatever it was he’d come to see.

Raisa’s performance in the physical part of soldiering continued to improve, but she realized she’d never be adept at it. She was too small and lightweight for most flatland weapons, even though she’d been remade with a layer of muscle. She was a decent archer and a skilled rider. She excelled at geography, way-finding, and survival skills, courtesy of her training in the camps.

She was also good at finance, a benefit of her time in the clan markets.

She liked sharing a room with Hallie and Talia. As they spent more time together, they began to treat her more like a peer and less like a breakable object.