Excerpt: Castle of the Rogue God

"You're finished already?" Acanthus pushed open the door further, frowning as he squinted into the room. No light, save for the faint illumination provided from the open window -- the crescent moon that dominated the night sky.
Stark looked up from his sitting position, glancing over his shoulder at Acanthus. "That seems to be the case," he said nonchalantly, offering a slight shrug as his attention turned to the window.
Acanthus frowned, stepping into the room. "It's a level-three exam," he mumbled, eyes catching the faint outline of an untouched stack of books in the corner of the room. "Aren't you worried about passing?"
Again, Stark shrugged. "Not really."
Acanthus sighed, then sat down beside Stark, fixing his attention onto the window. He frowned in concentration as he focused on it, trying to figure out what it was that always drew Stark to it.
"What about you?"
"Hm?" Acanthus jerked to reality again, starting slightly.
"Are you worried about passing?"
He nodded after a moment, suppressing a laugh of apprehension. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"That's what I thought." Stark sat back, stretching his legs across the hardwood floor. "It's funner that way," he said, following a short silence. "It's always funner when you've got something to lose."