Aurelian opened a book in front of him. His book had some characters on it as well. Runes? Letters? Characters? Hieroglyphics? Maybe they were numbers? He wasn't even sure.

[b]"I think so. Haven’t seen him in any of the sleeping quarters"[/b]

"I suppose we can talk to him later, after class" he replied, trying to keep his voice down.

--------------------

Laura straightened up and paid attention to the teacher. "Now, each of you have assignments to hand in. You may do so at the end of class. For now, we will continue to learn about the history of magic and the different kinds of mages. Who can tell me the difference between a wizard and a sorcerer? Yes, Jorn!"

The halfling looked the instructor in the eye. "Wizards have to learn their magic, sorcerers are born with it."

"That is correct, very good. Now, can someone else tell me what is the difference between the two of them and a warlock? Or a witch, for a female."

--------------------

Serapis quickly caught up to the halfling. "Child, what is wrong? You can tell me." He didn't want to assume that the boy was mute, although it was a possibility which he could not rule out. "If you need something, I'll help." No response was forthcoming. At about the same time, he saw a human masseuse coming down the hall. She was dressed much like a dracon, in a loincloth and a top. Each were quite large for that kind of clothing, and she was well-covered apart from her stomach, arms, and legs. Her white skin and dirty-blonde hair made her stand out among the adult human women who worked at the orphanage.

"Oh, Galatea. Didn't see you there."

"Hello headmaster. What seems to be the problem?" Her voice was soft and soothing.

"This young halfling doesn't want to speak. Or maybe he can't. Do you know his name?"

"I'm afraid I don't, although I've worked on him before. This little one is unusually stressed for someone of his age. Not sure what happened to him. It used to be even worse when he first arrived. He never speaks to me, but his muscles tell me a lot." Serapis suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at Galatea's last statement.