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

it with a
score too low, and you will not be invited to continue to the next grade of the apprenticeship. Your performance will be closely monitored by an Institute
examiner, though you will not see them, and they will not intervene unless it is a matter of life or death. Any questions?”
    Ben knew he’d have some the moment he entered the exam room, but his mind had gone temporarily blank. Charlie looked incapable of speech. Even Aaron had
gone slightly pale.
    “Very well. You may start the exam.” She gave them a nod, and said, “Good luck.” That was all the encouragement they were going to get from her.
    Dagmar walked away, leaving the six of them to their envelopes.
    Aaron stepped into his room immediately. Ben exchanged glances with the rest of the group.
    “Good luck, guys,” he said.
    The others mumbled returned sentiments, with various levels of anxiety. With the envelope firmly in hand, Ben entered door number five.
    It was very similar to last time. The room was bare except for a long table, covered with an expensive-looking tablecloth. On it was an array of items.
There was a file, with several sheets of paper inside. Next to the file was a silver collar attached to a rope. It looked like some sort of dog collar,
with a latch for opening. There appeared nothing else remarkable about it, except its obvious value in the metal. The only other item was money – two
hundred pounds in used notes. Ben searched the room to make sure he had missed nothing, checking underneath the table. Once satisfied he opened the letter
Dagmar had given him, and started reading.
    “EXAM: Second-Grade Apprenticeship, Ben Greenwood
    MISSION GOAL: Locate and remove the German kobold haunting the neighbourhood of Igloor, Taecia.
    MISSION DETAILS:
    A rare German kobold has been sighted in the neighbourhood of Igloor, causing unrest amongst citizens. Noted as the strongest of the kobold family,
these creatures are notoriously difficult to capture and not to be underestimated. It is your job to locate the kobold, and take any means necessary to
get it back to Germany.”
    Ben re-read the mission several times, making sure he grasped its entire significance. The good news was that he didn’t have to leave Taecia, which also
meant that discretion wasn’t as important as in the previous exam, where tracking a goblin in the streets of Sussex had been a nightmare.
    The bad news was the German kobold and getting it back to Germany. Ben felt his stomach drop to his knees. He had run a few magic simulations against
kobolds, and to say they were a pain in the backside would be an understatement. They made the goblin he had faced in the first exam look like a walk in
the park. Ben hadn’t even heard of the German variety, but if the exam description was anything to go by, it might end up being really difficult.
    Ben opened the file and read a very brief description of what a German kobold was and what it could do. It was a pitifully small read, and told him little
more than what he already knew. It wasn’t going to be enough to get the job done. In times gone past, Ben might have tried winging it, but he knew better
now. Grabbing the contents of the table, Ben stuffed everything in his pocket and left the room. Immediately he noticed the two diamonds on his shoulder
flashing, an indication that he was now officially in an exam and should not be interrupted.
    Ben took the stairs to the library, trying to gather his thoughts, which were already starting to scramble. It was ten o’clock; he had until four to
complete the task. Plenty of time for a bit of research, providing he found what he needed in due course. This might be his only opportunity to display his
Scholarly knowledge, and he didn’t want to blow it.
    He found an empty table, and sat down. Now what? Books. Books on kobolds, ideally of the German variety. Silently thanking Charlie for his continued
orientation on the library, it wasn’t long before he had a stack of books that