The Silver Dwarf (Royal Institute of Magic, Book 4) by Victor Kloss

departments.”
    “Basically the opposite to me, then,” Charlie replied. “I’m well ahead in Scholar and Diplomacy. I’m a little behind in Trade, and well behind in Warden
and Spellsword.”
    Ben glanced up at Natalie, and made sure nobody was watching them. “I really can’t see Charlie or myself getting even a minute free for the next four
weeks. If you get any time, could you do some research into the dark elf symbol?”
    “I’m sure I can,” Natalie said. “I’ve already got a few ideas of where to look. How about we meet up at Cherzo’s for dinner at six o’clock each night for a
catch up?”
    “Sounds good,” Ben said, standing up. He glanced at Charlie, who rose with him. “So, what do we tackle first?”
    “I saw how horribly behind you are in the Scholar Department,” Charlie said with a severe frown. “So let’s hit the library. We need to get you up to
speed.”
    Ben groaned, his enthusiasm suddenly dulled. “I thought you might say that. I really don’t get how you enjoy it so much.”
    “I’ll attempt to show you. Come on.”
    While the Department of Scholar was never going to be as fun as the Spellsword or Warden departments, Charlie certainly made it more bearable. He knew
where all the good books were and managed to limit the monotonous reading. To Ben’s surprise, he found that there were talking books that read to you and
responded to your questions. Then there were diagrams, illustrations, and real-life examples of things they were studying – maps; historical documents;
real bits of armour from past battles – all located in areas of the library Ben didn’t know existed. With Charlie’s help, it wasn’t long before Ben was
starting to catch up in the Scholar Department.
    Then the tables turned. With Ben now up to speed, it was his turn to help Charlie, who was horribly behind in the Warden Department.
    “I hate real-life exercises,” Charlie muttered.
    Ben and Charlie were hurrying down the hill, towards the Dragonway.
    “Why? Simulations are okay, but you can’t beat the real thing,” Ben said.
    Charlie had been given an assignment from Heidi, the Warden responsible for tracking low-level Unseens. A pixie was rumoured to be attempting to travel to
London without a proper visa, and it was Charlie’s job to make sure that didn’t happen. He had with him his spellshooter, armed with a number of basic
spells, and a small wooden box to capture the pixie if necessary.
    “I just hope the pixie listens to reason, because I really don’t want to try to catch the thing in this,” Charlie said, holding up the box miserably.
    “You’ll be fine,” Ben said with a grin. “Remember, the objective is to stop the pixie getting on the Dragonway – it doesn’t really matter how you do it.”
    Ben and Charlie headed straight for the Dragonway entrance, and stopped at the archway in front of the stairs that led to the platforms. Ben didn’t have
his spellshooter, nor did he plan on helping Charlie with the capture, as that would violate the objective requirements. Charlie was supposed to do this by
himself; Ben was just here for moral support.
    “Look relaxed,” Ben said. “You look too obvious, like you are clearly here on duty.”
    “Well, I have the stars floating over my shoulder, don’t I?” Charlie said irritably. “It’s hard to avoid being seen as an Institute apprentice like this.”
    “Doesn’t matter,” Ben said. “If you look relaxed, you’re less likely to be suspected, which will make stopping the pixie easier – trust me.”
    Charlie attempted to relax, and even tucked into an apple, which helped. Ben spotted several pixies enter the Dragonway, but it wasn’t for another twenty
minutes before Charlie’s eyes widened.
    “There he is!” he said, pointing.
    “Put your finger down. You’re calling attention to yourself.”
    Charlie’s brow was starting to perspire and he wiped it with a chubby hand.
    “Stay relaxed,” Ben said. “He’s