“In that case, you’ll have to win some competitions in the arena,” Forian said, the picture of serenity. “That will earn you a ticket to the labyrinth.”
“You have to earn it?” Tailyn asked in surprise.
“Students enter the final test in accordance with the rating they’ve earned. Once everyone with a positive value is inside, the students with negative ratings have their chance. Only one of them gets inside. While everyone else is beating the labyrinth, those losers have to fight each other for the right to start the test. It’s happened before that a student has already been named for a meeting with the provost before their battle is over.”
“And you yanked us away even knowing that?”
“Valia, don’t make me regret taking you on as a student. Or are you so dense that you can’t see what’s going on?”
“Whoever tried to kill us has access to the academy,” Tailyn said thoughtfully. “They were able to sneak in the grenades and find out that we were in the forest. If we’d stayed, they would have gotten us, killing me, and sending you back to your father.”
“My father can’t change my decision!” Valia replied sharply. “The clan wouldn’t take me back. It wasn’t him!”
“Enough!” Forian broke in. “Sadil will figure out who the client is. Let’s go!”
Traveling under the cover of night didn’t turn out to be the brightest idea. In fact, it took the group four nights to get to Culmart, where they stopped a few kilometers away from the city walls. Despite Tailyn’s entreaties, Forian refused to let him visit any friends, ordering him to instead set up his tent. The mage himself took Valia and headed to the god’s temple to unlock the attributes and skills the girl needed. Calligraphy, scribing, drawing, mana transfer, and more were all required to create cards. Ultimately, there were twelve new attributes and skills, all of which Tailyn had to skip out on. Forian was bowing to Sadil’s will. For the time being, of course.
“Is it even possible to transfer students?” Tailyn asked Valanil as soon as the mage and the girl set off for Culmart. The woman had also been looking to spend some time in the city, but Forian had forbidden it for her, too. Really, it was strange — having once worked with the green lixes to let them destroy the city she hated, she found herself gripped by nostalgia after the time she’d spent away from it. Isor’s trial had taken place in the capital, so she hadn’t gotten to see the bastard’s head in person. And she really wanted to.
“Forian will be your mentor while you’re studying at the academy, and maybe even longer. You just won’t be able to draw cards. Your life will be busy, too — secrets, crime, torture. One moment of joy after another...”
“But I don’t want that.” A note of panic crept into Tailyn’s voice. Two years before, that would have been beyond his wildest dreams, but right then he felt a pang of fear as he beheld his fate. Spending his whole life at the academy, down five levels below ground, not seeing the sun for weeks... That wasn’t exactly his dream.
“You shouldn’t have unlocked something nobody else has,” Valanil snorted. “At this point, you don’t have a choice. Your only way out is if the provost finds in your favor — he’s the only one who can take you away from Sadil and hand you back to Forian. But getting face time with him isn’t easy. You need to stand out. Just to take one example, you could win in the arena. There are seven years and seven departments, so nine teams with fifteen members each. If you want to stand out, make a fiftieth group with Valia and win. Really, that’s your only shot at a life outside the academy. The competitions will start as soon as we get back, so you do have a chance.”
“Is that even possible? Winning with just the two of us, I mean.”
“If you’re going to spend your time picking your nose and whining about how unfair the world is, no. If you can grit your teeth and put your back into it, nothing’s impossible. The only thing standing in your way is you. Put your fears aside, and it’s in the bag so long as you get the technique right. And I’ll help you there. Over the next three months, I’ll teach you and the girl to stand up to anyone. What you’ll need most is the ability to create potions while staying here in this world. Split your consciousness, Tailyn. That’s the key to victory.”
Valia and Forian only got back around lunchtime, and neither looked all that excited. Forian explained.
“The city mayor gave us a job: we’re supposed to take out a pack of steppe wolves plaguing the locals. He knew I wouldn’t be able to say no — that’s the terms of the agreement between the academy and the empire. And not only that, but a messenger was sent to Baron Equire with news of our arrival. The viceroy’s investigators will be here in a few hours, I imagine.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
Forian changed a few settings and projected a map of the Gray Lands onto the ground. Tailyn’s personal rule was to share with the group every time he got a location update, all except the academy map — Forian wouldn’t let him do that. Actually, he recommended deleting that part of the map to make sure it didn’t accidentally fall into enemy hands, though he didn’t venture beyond a recommendation.
“The wolves are somewhere around here. It’ll take a few days to hunt them, and I’ll need someone with me — they’re too much for one person. So, while Valanil goes with me, you two students will head for the Gray Lands. Here, the ancient city. After Tailyn killed the guard, it became the safest spot in the Gray Lands. This is a portal back to my palace. If something happens, and we aren’t able to meet up, Patrick will get you back. The activation time and date are on the back of the card. Your job is to sit there quietly and wait for Valanil and me to show up. Questions?”
“Where do you get an intercom? It would help if we could talk remotely, the same way you and Sadil do. But I didn’t see them in the store.”
“They aren’t there — that’s the god’s decision. Here, these are the settings for my number.” Forian sent Tailyn a few dozen digits. “The only way to get an intercom is to pick one up off a dead body, either an ancient or someone who already had one. That’s it. I’m not sure why the god does it that way — there’s apparently something we don’t know. Actually, you can search the city since there will probably be bodies there. The guard presumably kept marauders from venturing too close.”
“Just don’t try to be heroes,” Valanil said. “I can’t train corpses.”
“Actually, they’re going to need to be heroes. Valia, I’m not sure how you’re going to do this, but I have a very important job for you: teach Tailyn etiquette and how to dance. Without that, he won’t make it through to year two even with Sadil’s help. Tailyn, you need to turn Valia into a healer. Explain the idea to her, just skip the enhancements. Only healing. Valanil, anything you’d like to add?”
“Keep up with your morning workouts. Add pair work — Tailyn with elixirs, Valia with magic. Get ready for the arena.”
“If we come across any crystal fences, should we take them out?” Tailyn asked gravely, almost as if he didn’t realize they were such challenging targets. Valanil was about to crack a joke when she saw Forian taking the boy seriously.
“I only need Berad Gor and his gang. They all need to die, so if you come across them before we join back up...” The mage fell silent as he gathered his thoughts. “The three of you need to swear that you will never, either in word or in deed, verbally or non-verbally, make reference to what is about to happen. Repeat after me...”
The group was used to that. Forian took secrets and security very seriously, and so he waited for the white light to bathe everyone in the group before telling Tailyn to activate the protective shield around the tent. He even had the boy check Raptor to make sure there wasn’t anyone hiding nearby. And finally, having made sure nobody was listening in, he began.
The dean of the magic card department was very nearly as old as the provost. Over the centuries, he’d managed to put together quite the collection of items from the ancients, including a few unique location maps. One of them had just
recently been decrypted, only twenty years before. That was how the dean had learned about the passageway through the mountains as well as the door leading to the special ancient storeroom. And while the map didn’t give any details, the dean suspected it held the lost dragon’s blood, a substance giving mages incredible power that had been stolen by General Isr Kale right before the exodus. That was why Forian had asked the ghost what he’d done with the blood. He’d been looking for confirmation. The dean had sent two trusted deputies to unlock the door, though the unthinkable had happened. They’d stopped sending progress reports. Forian had found out that the mages were killed, and that Berad’s mercenaries were there by the door, and that was why the dean had given him orders to take out the gang of crystal fences. Before he did, he was supposed to also find out how they’d learned about the door. The passageway had to remain a secret until the dean got access. If the students came across the fences, they were supposed to capture them and demand their logs. Torture was on the table. Nothing mattered besides figuring out exactly what was going on.
A silence fell. Forian figured he’d impressed the group and decided to give them time to come to terms with what he’d just told them, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. Valanil was watching the two kids to see which of them would break. When you killed two of the dean’s trusted deputies, you didn’t exactly get a pat on the head, and the pair’s logs would show that it hadn’t been Berad and his gang who had killed Keran. And while the woman was prepared to silence anyone who said anything untoward, she didn’t have to. Valia just closed her eyes, leaving the decision to Tailyn, and the boy was busy trying to figure out how to get more information from his mentor without giving up any of his own.
“What if it isn’t the blood on the other side of the door? What if the dean is wrong?”
“In that case, the search goes on. One way or another, it has to be an ancient storeroom judging by how well hidden it was. Whatever’s in there has to be incredibly valuable.”
“The ghost mentioned a diary the mages stole. Do you think it could have the recipe for tears of Alron in it? Could we ask the provost to let us see it for a few minutes?”
“The academy rules are strict about that,” Valanil said, relieved to see that neither of the children were in a hurry to spill the beans about the tunnel. “Like I told you, it takes a special achievement to earn a meeting with the provost, though there are restrictions. You can only ask him for one thing. For example, you can ask for access to Isr Kale’s notebook, or you can ask to not be taken on as Sadil’s student. Oh, please, Mage, don’t look at me like that. I’m not about to let the boy get dragged down into the academy dungeons. There’s nothing for him there.”
“We’ll figure that out in three months when we all get back to the academy,” Forian said, putting a pin in the conversation. “Any other questions? No? Excellent. Students, take two of the horses. Head out — we’ve wasted enough time talking. The viceroy’s servants are already on their way!”
Ten minutes later, Tailyn and Valia set off into the desolate steppes. Valanil laughed as she watched them go.
“Of course, I’m flattered, but let me give you a piece of advice for the future. If you want to send the kids off so you can have sex, do it when their grandmother is there to watch them, and not when you’re surrounded by monsters. Are you sure about the viceroy and his people?”
“Absolutely. The city elder got too shifty when he saw us, and he was in too much of a hurry to send his servant off. I’m not worried about my students — Tailyn made it through half the Gray Lands by himself with nothing to go on, and now he has Valia. She won’t let him get into trouble. And as far as your suggestion goes...”
Forian pulled a tent out of his inventory. It wasn’t as advanced as Tailyn’s, though it was still fairly comfortable.
“I’m sure we were followed, so I imagine we’ll have guests showing up in a couple hours. But there’s no reason for us not to enjoy ourselves in the meantime.”
With that, Forian pulled back the tent flap and gestured the woman inside.
“Oh, Mage, you have no idea what kind of trouble you’re getting yourself into,” Valanil said with a laugh as she dragged a finger across the stubble on Forian’s face. “Remember, I didn’t ask for this. When a mage says, ‘a couple hours,’ that’s just the way it has to be...”
Three hours later, Forian and Valanil were escorted, tired but thoroughly satisfied, into Culmart by a convoy of Baron Equire’s guards, where they were teleported to the capital as witnesses of the academy explosion. Someone else was assigned the wolves. And a couple hours after that, Darod Bifo, who was in command of the baron’s fifth detachment, set off with his troops into the Gray Lands. The main suspects were to be delivered to the viceroy’s investigators. And if they didn’t comply, the troops had authorization to resort to force. Deadly force, in fact.
Chapter 9
“IT’S NOT WORKING!” Tailyn lashed out at an overturned stone, sending it flying into the dark and smacking into a pile of dirt. A bunch of tiny, snake-like creatures immediately descended on it. The Gray Lands weren’t the safest of places at night. Meanwhile, the boy was already aware that he and Valia were alone, the group name having changed several times already to tell them that Forian and Valanil had left for the capital. Their mentor had given them orders to stick to the plan. After getting to the ancient city, they were supposed to keep their heads down.
“You’re too tight,” Valia said, not about to give up. “It’s like you’re nervous about a secret you’re afraid the steppe is going to give away.”
“Not the steppe... You,” the boy replied with pink cheeks. “It’s just that you’re so graceful, airy, and light, and I’m a lumbering fool. Nothing’s working! These dances... It’s a nightmare. Who could have come up with them?! I’d be better off fighting three lixes as once than trying to feel what you’re talking about. Fluidity, rhythm... I just wish I knew what that meant.”
“Fighting three lixes? Hm... Okay, set up your dummy,” Valia replied. Every morning and night the children spent moving through the Gray Lands, Tailyn edged ever closer to senior apprentice. He was just 15% away, in fact, and his plan was to get there as soon as he could. After apprentice, there were three master levels: junior, simple, and senior. And they all came with high regard. After all, it wasn’t every guard in Culmart that could boast of being a master, even a junior master. Tailyn, of course, could still only dream — he still had senior apprentice ahead of him.
“Attack it,” Valia said, and Tailyn spun into a whirling dervish as he used Matilda to fight off the dummy’s strikes.
“So, why are you okay here? You’re practically floating.”
“Well, my life depends on it.” The question didn’t make sense to Tailyn.
“Really? Tell me about the situation where you, someone with a whole battery of cards, will need to use your staff.”
Tailyn opened his mouth to respond only to close it again. What should have been a simple question had stumped him. It was true — he’d never once had to use his staff to defend himself. Or had he?”
“Exactly,” Valia jumped in, unwilling to lose the upper hand by letting Tailyn dive into his memories. “And that means the problem isn’t that you don’t feel the rhythm. It’s that you’re embarrassed! You’re afraid to show the real you.”
“I’m not embarrassed about anything!” The boy was starting to lose his temper.
“Okay, so show me! Your agility is better than mine, but you still aren’t able to control your body. This isn’t a dance; it’s a battle. A fight! Want to or not, we’re going to have to visit all kinds of different events, and it’s entirely up to you whether you look like a villager or the mage who defeater G’Rul. Up to you! It’s not embarrassment, it’s not nerves, it’s not even a dance. It’s a battle for two. And if you lose, I lose, too.”
Tailyn was taken aback by her impassioned speech. Throwing back a rogue lock of hair, the girl came right over to the boy.<
br />
“Close your eyes. Don’t think about what you’re doing. Your body knows what to do, so stay out of its way. And remember, I’m always here. Together.”
“For life.” Tailyn gave in, completely and totally trusting his girl. The awful music from Gronk’s lesson began playing in his head, and his body started moving. That time, the difference was that Tailyn didn’t even try to control every gesture, every move of his hand, every turn of his head. The boy could feel Valia nearby. And that was enough. Everything else was secondary.
A minute went by. Then a second. A third. The music ended, then began again, but neither of the two even thought of quitting. Somehow, Matilda and the pieces of wood Valanil used during training sessions appeared in Tailyn’s hands. The girl opened her eyes to see her active deck and fast access elixir slots — she was ready to cut loose at any moment. Really, the dance itself had changed, leaving Valia and Tailyn back to back as they rotated and fought off imaginary attacks. Orders were barked back and forth: right, left, back, forward, roll. After every figure, they fell apart only to join back up somewhere else, with Valia finally giving in to the urge and sending fireballs out into the space around them. But something was bothering her more than the imaginary opponents. Protection. They didn’t have any. Sure, Tailyn was waving Matilda around ready to fend off an attack, but his staff would have been useless against a mage. They needed something else. Something capable of holding off magic strikes. A shield? Yes. A personal shield held out away from the body. Not completely sure what she was doing, Valia held her hand out in front of her, imagining a small rectangle that could smother incoming attacks. A strange, ornate figure popped up in her head that she added to a circle. Suddenly, her hand jumped off to the side, drawing the rectangle from a different angle — she was picturing an opponent coming at her from that direction. Again, she moved. And again. Slowly, the anxiety receded as she felt protected behind the rectangles.
Tears of Alron (The Alchemist Book #3): LitRPG Series Page 12