After the results of the second round of the Barnabas Cuffe Award for Exceptional Spell-Casting were released, the Barnabas pub quickly emptied out. Most of the wizards rushed over to the Bullfighting Daily's betting booth—some to collect their winnings in gold, others to place new bets after hearing that contestant number 17 had scored overwhelmingly high in the latest round.
Word was spreading that contestant number 17 might just take the championship, or perhaps even win the gold award. Quite a few wizards who favored Albert as the dark horse chose to wager on him to win the ultimate title.
As for winning the gold award itself, that seemed a bit of a stretch.
Chapter 756