The Founding: The Chronicles of Braidenhurst Academy

By Debra Chambers

What do you do with six retired mercenaries, a fae dragon familiar, and thirty twelve-year-olds? Is that a bell I hear ringing? It’s time for school.

Welcome to the Braidenhurst Academy where rank has no privilege; from a crown prince to a street urchin, all are treated equally. They will learn the basics of the “three Rs,” along with arcane magic, healing magic, weaponry, wilderness survival skills, and much more. So open up this book and get to your first class.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662454233

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The Founding

The Chronicles of Braidenhurst Academy

Debra Chambers

Copyright © 2021 Debra Chambers

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-6624-5422-6 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-5423-3 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Founding

Making New Friends

The Opening of the Academy

Lisha Goes to School

Snowball Fight

Rebellion at the Academy

The Best-Laid Plans

Spring Festival

When Things Go Awry

More Plans

Campout

Surprises

One More Mouth to Feed

Guilty or Not Guilty

Guilty by Association

Not Guilty

Competition (and Teamwork)

Recovery

Puppy Love

Mission Accomplished

Lessons Learned

Gypsies (Family Reunion)

Opening Day

The Buckskin

Charges and Challenges

Coming to a Close

Prologue

Beth and Cara entered the library. As they approached the desk, they noticed the older lady sitting there looking at papers. She looked up and greeted them. Ah! New students. How may I help you today?

Headmistress Leanna announced at breakfast that we could get our history books here, Beth replied.

Turning to the shelves behind her, Lucinda picked up two volumes and placed them on her desk and took an ink pad and stamp out of her drawer. "Here you go, The History of Braidenhurst Academy for first-year students. You’ll find everything you need in here about the founding of the academy and the trials and tribulations of its first students. She stamped the inside cover of each book. I found it very interesting reading when I was a student. If you find yourself in need of help with the history of the academy, you can always ask the archivist here in the library."

Who is the archivist? Cara asked, looking around and not seeing anyone else.

Lucinda Jameson, librarian and official archivist of Braidenhurst Academy at your service, Lucinda replied tapping herself on the chest.

Thank you, and we will remember what you said about if we need help, Beth spoke, turning to leave.

As they left with their books, Cara whispered to Beth, I find history boring.

Not quietly enough, though, because Lucinda’s voice behind them said, Braidenhurst history is always an exciting adventure!

Chapter 1

The Founding

Aaron Braidenhurst paced outside the king of Merigo’s audience chamber while trying to keep his temper under control. He was exhausted from using his magic to travel between three of the four kingdoms on little sleep. Sometimes, the whims of a monarch or, in this case, three monarchs could be strenuous.

On a bench against the wall next to where Aaron paced was Tazzarat, his fae dragon familiar. If Tazz stretched out, he would measure twelve inches from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail, weighing in at three pounds and a wingspan of six inches. Fae dragons have the ability to change colors as they wish; today, Tazz was purple and violet in color. The little fae dragon watched his master with concern. They had been together for over twenty-five years, and he could tell when his mage was tired and cranky.

Aaron was a tall man with silver streaks in his black hair with piercing green eyes. His mage robes were rumpled; a refreshing spell could only do so much. This was the third time in as many days that he had been summoned to speak to one of the monarchs of the four kingdoms. He knew what the king wanted; it had all been said before. The monarchs of Bramblehurst and Devonsport each wanted control of the land that the elves had abandoned five years ago during the last war. He expected Matthias to demand the same thing.

King Matthias’s seneschal, Gordon, appeared at the door, saying, His Majesty is expecting you, Lord Braidenhurst. He ushered Aaron inside the audience chamber with Tazz sitting on his shoulder.

Aaron approached the throne and knelt on one knee bowing his head in respect to the king. Tazz followed suit bowing his head too; Tazz knew how to behave with royalty. King Matthias was a man of moderate size with dark-blue eyes and his silvered hair tied back behind his ears. He studied Aaron silently for a moment.

Rise, Lord Braidenhurst, join me, Matthias commanded, motioning to a chair off to the left of the throne.

Aaron rose to his feet and did as the king commanded. You sent for me, Your Majesty? Aaron queried.

I am sure you are well aware that there is a dispute about which of the four kingdoms should have the rights to the forest that the elves abandoned, Matthias said.

Yes, Your Majesty. I have already spoken to King Jadius and King Bertram before you summoned me. They both think that they should be able to take the land for their own use. Am I to assume that Merigo wishes to lay claim to the land as well?

Honestly, no. There is enough forested area in Merigo—we don’t need it. What concerns me is that the elven forest is on all four borders, allowing one kingdom to have dominion over it could cause problems. As it is, there have been bandits using the elven forest as a hideout since no kingdom has claimed it. The bandits have been able to strike at any of the four kingdoms without repercussions.

I understand, Your Majesty. My group of mercenaries has been in the elven forest trying to find them, but so far, they have managed to evade us, Aaron replied. He paused for a moment before continuing. Your Majesty, may I speak frankly?

Yes, I trust your judgment, Aaron, the king replied.

If my group of mercenaries find the bandits and bring them to justice before the four kingdoms, would you and the other three monarchs consider granting us the land for our own use? My friends and I are ready to retire and start families of our own.

What would your plans be for this land? It is quite large as you know, at least twenty thousand acres.

Majesty, my hopes are to build a school that will teach children subjects like reading, writing, math, weapons work, healing, arcane magic, and wilderness survival. The elven forest would be a perfect place to teach these skills.

That is a fine idea. What kind of students would you be looking for? the king asked.

The school would be open to all students who had a sponsor, Aaron replied.

If you can talk the other three monarchs around to the idea, I will agree to your proposition, Matthias finished, finally nodding his dismissal.

Aaron left the audience chamber with a lighter step and a smile on his face. He and Tazz headed back to the Broken Nail Inn, hoping to get some sleep before King Raineer of Greyhaven would summon him. Now all he had to do was convince his companions of the plan.

Are you out of your mind, Aaron? What makes you think we can find those bandits in the elven forest when we haven’t found them before now? Jordan Snye questioned his leader and friend. Jordan was built like a brick wall—not very tall but muscular; one of the best fighters in the four kingdoms.

Jordan, don’t you want to settle down with Carmela and have a couple of kids? This will allow us to have the land and do something productive with it, Aaron countered.

Just what are we supposed to teach when we get this school set up? I can hardly read and write myself, Jordan changed tactics.

We will teach what we know. Elanna, healing. You, weapons work. Carmela, archery and horsemanship. Daniel and Tamara, survival skills. And me, arcane magic. I can also teach the basics of reading and writing, and Tamara has always been good with numbers, she could teach math, Aaron replied.

Jordan looked to his wife Carmela to see her reaction to this plan. I think this has some merit, Carmela spoke up. How do we pay for all of this?

Tamara, what do we have in the treasury? Aaron asked, looking at the dark-haired woman sitting next to Daniel. Her gypsy heritage was evident by her dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin.

Tamara pulled a folded piece of parchment from a pouch at her side. Unfolding it, she read aloud, At this time, we have 615,231 gold in the vault, not bad for twenty years of mercenary work. King Raineer still owes us for our trip into the elven forest to take care of the bandits.

We still haven’t dealt with the bandits, so we won’t be able to collect from him till we do, Aaron said.

We will need to clear the bandits from the forest before we claim it for ourselves anyway, Daniel spoke for the first time.

All of a sudden, the group started talking about how to go about ridding the elven forest of bandits. Soon, they had a plan, and now, all they needed to do was wait for Aaron to convince the four monarchs to agree to grant them the land on completion of the task.

The next morning, Elanna and Aaron were awakened by a knock on their inn room door. Outside stood a young messenger dressed in a Greyhaven tabard.

Lord Braidenhurst, King Raineer requests your presence at the Greyhaven Palace as quickly as possible, the messenger told Aaron.

Aaron gave a deep sigh and told the messenger to go have breakfast; they would leave shortly. Turning to Elanna, he said, Well, it didn’t take Raineer long. They dressed quickly and Aaron scooped the sleeping Tazz up from his nest of pillows on the window ledge. Then, the three of them went down to breakfast.

Tamara and Carmela were sitting at a table eating breakfast when the Braidenhursts entered the common room. Taking a seat at the table, Aaron queried, Where are Daniel and Jordan?

They are checking our supplies and are restocking what we need, Tamara answered. Looking at Elanna, she continued, Daniel will be happy to get whatever supplies you need to restock your first aid kit. She flipped a piece of sausage to Tazz, who snagged it out of the air and swallowed it whole. Fae dragons were, after all, meat eaters.

I have my list right here. Daniel just needs to pick up some linen for bandages. I will go down to the local apothecary myself to see what she has in stock, Elanna said handing the list to Tamara.

After finishing his breakfast, Aaron kissed Elanna and bid the three ladies goodbye, promising to return by evening. He called the messenger to bring his horse and meet him out back in the alley. He walked out the back door with Tazz on his shoulder. Placing his hand upon the horse’s neck, he cast his teleport spell, which brought them outside the gate of Greyhaven’s Palace. He could have teleported inside the palace, but it would have been impolite and dangerous. Palace guards would not take kindly to unannounced visitors.

It wasn’t long before he had King Raineer convinced that granting the elven forest to the mercenaries was a good idea. After all, they had worked for all four kingdoms at one time or another and had proven their trustworthiness. An academy that would teach all the arts of mercenary work and the basics of reading, writing, and math would be a bonus to them all. Raineer agreed to meet with the other three monarchs in Merigo City to finalize the proposal when the time came.

Within another eight hours, Aaron had also visited Kings Jadius and Bertram and convinced them that this plan was in the best interest of the Four Kingdoms. They also agreed to meet in Merigo City when the mercenaries brought the bandits in for justice.

After a very long day, an exhausted Aaron returned to the Broken Nail. Elanna ordered Jordan and Daniel to take Aaron upstairs and put him to bed. Tazz landed on the table and looked pleadingly at Tamara with his little claws clasped around his tummy. Tamara laughed. Okay, okay. I understand. You haven’t had a thing to eat all day except for the piece of sausage I gave you this morning. You poor thing, you. She beckoned to one of the servant girls, Please bring him a plate of meaty bones. A heaping platter of bones was swiftly placed before Tazz; he thought he had died and gone to dragon heaven.

Early the next morning, the group met downstairs for breakfast in their traveling clothes and gear. Aaron looked better after getting a good night’s sleep. Tazz sat jauntily on his shoulder. Today, he was orange and yellow, almost blindingly so.

After breakfast, Jordan and Daniel saddled the horses and loaded the pack pony with their supplies. Tamara paid their bill at the inn, and the innkeeper’s wife gave her a sack with fresh bread, dried meat, cheese, and some dried fruit to tide them over until they had a chance to set up camp.

Aaron figured it was at least a two-day ride to the edge of the forest, and then they needed to set up a base camp to work from while they searched for the bandits.

Each member of the group had their specialties, and they were good at what they did. It would be Daniel’s job as a scout to look for signs of the bandits when they entered the forest.

Once the horses were loaded, they set off heading south out of town riding in pairs with Daniel and Tamara leading the way, Aaron and Elanna in the middle, and Jordan and Carmela in the rear. Aaron and Elanna were powerful users of magic but were also the most vulnerable to physical attacks, so they were placed in the middle. This type of planning and caution had saved their lives many times.

Just around sundown on the first day, the group came upon a small dairy farm with a friendly farm family. The farmer offered up one of his barns for them to shelter in for the night and some fresh milk and cheese for their dinner and hay for the horses.

Aaron accepted the farmer’s generous offer, and they bedded down for the night in the hayloft of the offered barn, drinking sweet milk, and eating cheese for dinner. Tazz, not to be left out, managed to catch a couple of mice for his own dinner.

The next morning, they bid the farmer and his family goodbye and left him with a pouch of coin for his generous hospitality.

They were making good time on the road; the weather was clear and not too warm for a spring day. By lunchtime, they could see the edge of the forest. They had passed the last farm three candlemarks ago. Aaron estimated that they would reach the forest within another two candlemarks.

The group took a break for lunch near a clear stream and discussed whether to continue into the forest or to set up camp about a candlemark away. Aaron looked to Daniel for guidance in this matter because his knowledge about forests was endless. Both Aaron and Daniel had been in the elven forest during the war.

I think it would be better to find a place to camp inside the forest. I doubt that our bandits are near the edge. If we camp outside of the forest, then we are out in the open and easier to attack, Daniel responded to Aaron’s question.

So the group rode on, and by sundown, they had found a small clearing inside the forest with a stream nearby for fresh water for the animals.

Carmela and Jordan relieved the horses of their burdens, fed, watered, and put them on a picket line. Daniel left the camp and returned a half candlemark later with a couple of rabbits for dinner. Elanna and Tamara got a small campfire going while Aaron pulled a couple of buckets of water from the stream. They managed to do all this before all the light was gone. Elanna set about making roasted rabbit with dried fruit. Soon, the group was sitting around the campfire eating and talking about their next move.

Tam and I will go out early and do some scouting to see if we can find any sign of the bandits, Daniel told them. If we are lucky, we might be able to find them quickly.

Okay, I think it would be a good idea to use this as the base camp for now. We have a good water source and, if necessary, a quick way out of the forest if we run into something we can’t handle, Aaron replied.

They set watches with Aaron and Elanna taking the first watch so that Aaron could study his spells for the next day. Actually, it was Tazz who kept the watch as Aaron studied, and Elanna did her ritual prayers before turning in. Four hours later, Carmela and Jordan took over so the others could sleep. Early the next morning, Tamara and Daniel left to scout around, leaving breakfast ready for the others. Tam and Daniel returned a couple of candlemarks later, reporting that they had not spotted any signs of the bandits.

Daniel suggested that they move further into the forest, so they packed up and followed the stream further into the forest to camp five candlemarks later. Once camp was set up, a small fire was started with a small pot of roots and rabbit for a stew.

Once again, they set watches with Daniel and Tam going off early in the morning to scout for the bandits. Daniel returned around noon, informing the others there was no sign of the bandits east of the base camp. Almost two candlemarks later, Tamara returned with good news. She had come upon the bandits’ camp where they were holed up in a cave to the west. There were no perimeter guards, only two at the entrance. She did manage to get above the cave and found an air shaft that allowed smoke to escape from the cave. About twenty yards from the hole was a back exit from the cave. She didn’t think that the bandits knew about it since it was unguarded.

"Good job, Tam. Sounds like we can do a two-front attack—three of us take out the guards at the entrance, and