by Andrew Rowe
“Sera, come with me for a bit.”
We walked behind the wagon, and then retrieved the tents and other heavy items from the Jaden Box. No one asked any questions about where we’d gotten them from. Maybe they assumed we’d been carrying them the whole time, or that they’d been inside the wagon.
If they weren’t going to ask, I wasn’t going to volunteer anything.
We set up the tents, and I asked Sera to talk to me privately inside one of them for a bit. The thin canvas of the tent wouldn’t block that much sound, but we could whisper without looking too suspicious.
“Can I ask you some questions about teleportation?”
Sera rubbed her throat. “Yeah, but I’m not going to be able to talk much. Been speaking a lot today and my throat is killing me.”
That was worrisome. It was easy to forget that Sera was improving, but she still wasn’t fully healed. I wasn’t sure she’d ever recover completely on her own.
We weren’t far from the Vanreach Mountains right now, and that meant the herbs needed to concoct something to heal her were close by. That was something I wanted to look into, but it wasn’t the right time. As much as I wanted to help her, failing our exam wasn’t an option. Maybe we could investigate it after the exams were over, though, while we were still in the general region.
“Okay, I’ll keep this brief.” I shared my thoughts about how we’d been teleported straight to Keras.
“Hm.” Sera pondered for a moment. “I doubt Keras registered as enough of a priority for Katashi to bother divining his exact location regularly. I think it’s more likely your second guess: an anchor. Which is more worrying for Keras, to be certain, since anchors can be used for much more than just teleporting someone into your general vicinity.”
I nodded. “Maybe when Keras was in prison, Katashi took some of his belongings?”
“Or, even simpler. Katashi could have collected some of Keras’ blood after their fight, just like you did.” Sera rubbed her throat again, wincing.
“Okay. I think that’s a good enough explanation for now. Thanks for the help, Sera.”
She smiled, although her expression was still distorted by pain. “No problem. I’m glad you asked.”
I pondered what I could do about that, and I came up with something mundane. “Let me make you some tea.”
Sera blinked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make tea. Or cook anything. Ever.” She laughed, but it quickly transitioned into a cough.
“I’ll make Patrick do the real work. Come on.”
We slipped out of the tent. I did, in fact, have herbs for tea with me.
“Patrick, can you start a campfire? I want to make some tea.”
He nodded. “Sure, that’s easy. Help me gather some stones to make a ring first, though, so it doesn’t spread.”
“That may be unwise,” Roland interjected. “Starting a fire is going to make a clear signal about our location. If there are still other teams looking to ambush someone, we’d be making ourselves an obvious target.”
“But we’ll be miserable without heat,” Rupert complained. “It’s cold up here. Practically freezing.”
Our group conferred for a bit longer before finally settling on making the fire, but keeping it small. We needed something to cook with in general, and not just for tea.
We also decided to set watch rotations for the evening. Patrick, Marissa, and I would take the first watch, then wake Desmond, Jin, and Rupert for the second. Kyra, Roland, and Sera would be third.
Jordan didn’t take a shift, since he wasn’t really required to help us, just to escort us.
We made the tea, as well as an evening meal, and then the second and third watch groups went to sleep.
As the night drew on, the temperature in the area dropped. As much as I hated to admit it, Rupert had a point. Without the fire, we would have been in awful shape.
Patrick, Marissa, and I huddled close to the flame. It wasn’t the ideal position for keeping watch, but we were freezing, and we had weapons close at hand. We agreed that one of us would stand up and patrol the area every once in a while.
“So...cold...” Patrick murmured.
We shivered in agreement, but the boredom of just sitting around bothered me more than the temperature. I didn’t like just sitting without an activity.
“We should do something,” I suggested.
Marissa shook her head. “Don’t think I’m movin’ from here, Cadence. Fire is all that keeps this tolerable.”
“Maybe we can tell stories?” Patrick suggested.
“Wouldn’t mind hearin’ a few, but I don’t got much to tell,” Marissa admitted sadly.
“You used to read all the time, Patrick,” I recalled. “You got any good stories?”
“Tons! Let’s see...” Patrick grinned. “Okay, I’ve got one. Let me tell you about Symphony, the Lady of Thieves...”
***
No one attacked us in the middle of the night. I admit that I was almost disappointed. Fighting always warmed me up.
Still, I enjoyed hearing Patrick’s stories, and Marissa seemed even more enraptured with them.
A group of Soaring Wings members met up with us the next morning, resplendent in their copper-colored plate armor and white tabards.
While the armor style was antiquated — dueling tunics were in favor these days, since they didn’t restrict mobility as much as traditional armor — there was still something impressive about seeing someone wearing heavy armor. And given that dueling tunics and shrouds didn’t offer the same degree of protection against close-range attacks, the armor still had a degree of utility to it, especially against monsters with close-ranged attacks.
We exchanged a few words, then the Soaring Wings escorted Loria and Kathy away from our camp. I felt a little sorry that they’d been eliminated from the test so soon, even if they were up against us. They’d been in a difficult position.
With that done, we packed our equipment and continued the trek toward the settlement.
The settlement was better developed than I’d envisioned. I’d pictured a circle of tents and wagons, but they’d built a wooden wall around the whole place, and sections of the wall had runes on them. They even had a crude gate, which swung open as we approached.
Six students approached from the open gate, putting us on our guard. I recognized the leader — Curtis Maddock, my dorm chief. I hadn’t seen him much since I’d moved into Derek’s manor. He gave me an odd look, probably because he’d assumed I’d been kicked out of the school or something.
“I’ll take care of this,” Kyra declared, moving to the front of the group. We’d never settled on who would be our spokesperson, but no one complained. Sera would have been a good candidate under normal circumstances, but her voice was clearly still bothering her.
“Who goes there?” Curtis shouted. I could see that his group was equally tense, hands hovering near weapons.
“Just a resupply group from Valia,” Kyra explained. “We have crates of dried meat, vegetables, blankets, and other odds and ends.”
Curtis folded his arms. “We were told that there would be two wagons.”
“Saboteurs destroyed one of our wagons before we got here. Tails of Orochi traitors,” Kyra spit into the dirt near her, emphasizing the effect.
That drew a series of sympathetic nods from the other students, and a couple of them visibly relaxed.
“Okay,” Curtis explained, “We’re going to have to check through your crates before you go in. I’m sure you’re exhausted and want to get inside, but as you said yourself, saboteurs have been a problem. We need to make sure you’re not sneaking anything dangerous in there.”
I heard a groan from Rupert, but no one actually complained.
“That won’t be a problem. We’ll just wait nearby,” Kyra offered.
“Stay in sight, and keep your hands off your weapons,” Curtis instructed.
It took them a few minutes to retrieve a pry bar from somewhere in the camp, t
hen the better part of an hour to go through all the boxes and catalogue the contents. We spent most of that time chatting with each other, while keeping an eye on the other students to make sure they didn’t ambush us. It seemed unlikely that the Tails of Orochi would have taken over the entire camp, but we didn’t want to discount it as a possibility.
“You’re cleared to go in, but the commander is going to want to see you. He’ll get you work assignments and tell you where to camp. Follow me.”
Curtis led us inside to the commander...who was, unfortunately, even more familiar than my former dorm chief.
“When I heard that a resupply team had arrived with half the expected supplies, I should have known who to expect.” Lord Teft addressed us with a cynical tone that felt reminiscent of the first few days of class. Having had a year of exposure to his demeanor, however, I knew that at least a portion of this was deliberate exaggeration.
He’d eschewed his usual tailored suit for a military uniform, replete with ranking signifiers and other honors. I didn’t know how much of that was real and how much was a part of the character he was playing for this scenario. In fact, I didn’t really know much about his background in general.
It didn’t matter at the moment.
Kyra snapped to attention with surprising briskness. “Reporting for duty, sir.”
Most of the rest of us managed to mimic her change in stance after a short delay.
Teft returned our hesitant salutes, then shifted to a leisurely pose and waved a hand. “At ease. And tell me what happened.”
Kyra nodded, then hesitated. “Think Cadence would be better to fill you in, sir.”
“Which one?” Teft asked.
I sighed, stepping forward. Sera wasn’t in any condition to chat.
I filled him in on what had happened, including crediting Jin with doing most of the work in neutralizing the traitors.
“Well, at least someone has some initiative around here.” Teft turned to Jin, which in turn reminded the rest of us that Jin was still with the group. Even knowing what his attunement did, I still had a hard time remembering he was present unless I actively focused on him. “Mister Dalen, is it?” I realized that they’d met before, but Jin wasn’t in our dueling class, so Teft didn’t know Jin as well. Teft continued, “I’ll be assigning you to something special. Stay behind when I dismiss the others.”
Jin tilted his head downward in silent acknowledgement.
Teft turned back to the rest of us. “As much as it pains me to admit it, the rest of you are combat veterans compared to most of the people in this camp. As such, I will be assigning you to some of our tasks that have a higher risk of encountering enemy forces. I take it there are no objections?”
He didn’t wait long enough for anyone to actually raise objections. “Good. I have a couple assignments that happen to be rather urgent.” Teft looked our group over, assessing. “Kent, Vyers, Dyson, and... Roland, you’re on monster hunting duty. Master Jaldin, you will continue overseeing them. Master Maddock, please escort them to the scouting area. Master Chord will provide them with further instructions.”
It took me a moment to realize that Teft still had never learned Roland’s last name, after teasing him during the first day of class. I had a little internal chuckle about that.
Rupert, Desmond, Roland, and Kyra fell into line behind Curtis and headed to another part of the camp.
He’s splitting us back into our initial teams, I realized. That would have been more of a relief before we’d found the traitors. Now, it was almost disappointing. I wasn’t fond of Desmond, but the other two were serious fighters. I wouldn’t have minded having a Shaper and a Shadow with our group for whatever we were up against next.
“Miss Callahan, Miss Cadence, and Master Wayland. You will be going on a rescue mission. Are you familiar with the Temple of Fire?”
Patrick could barely contain his glee. “The...You mean, that Temple of Fire, sir? The temple where Soulbrand was forged?”
Teft rolled his eyes. “No, I mean one of the other Temples of Fire. Yes, Wayland. We’re only a few miles away.”
We weren’t actually a few miles away from anything of the sort, but I had an idea of where this was going. Since our scenario involved being a part of a settlement in the Unclaimed Lands, apparently our simulated location must have been somewhere near the Temple of Fire.
Marissa was frowning, though. The Unclaimed Lands weren’t something we’d gone over in a lot of detail in school yet. I knew about the Temple of Fire because it had come up frequently in my studies of the spires. I took a moment to explain for her benefit. “The Temple of Fire is one of the six elemental temples in the Unclaimed Lands. They’re similar to the spires, but much older. Some people believe the goddess used the elemental temples as blueprints for building the spires.”
“Indeed, Master Cadence. But I was asking Master Wayland,” Teft cut in.
I grimaced. “My apologies.”
“Since you both failed to explain the most important parts, however, that falls to me.” Teft folded his arms. “The elemental temples house the prime crystals. These crystals were some of the earliest sources of magic for humanity, during the pre-Attunement period. They remain possible sources of magical power, but reaching one is more difficult than a Judgment, both due to the locations of the temples and the necessary trials to reach the crystal itself. That, and of course, politics. Because of all these factors, they have fallen out of common use.”
“But we sent in a group to try to reach one,” I surmised.
“Correct. Much like the spires, a group of six is required to enter. Unlike the spires, however, the temples only allow six people inside at a time total. They cannot support two or more groups at a time.”
I could see where this was going. “Someone didn’t come out.”
Teft nodded to me. “We sent a full group of six in an effort to begin cataloguing the rooms and making their way to the crystal. A few hours ago, a return bell was used... and half of the team was within the area of effect. The team only had a single bell.”
“Meaning the other three people are marooned inside,” Patrick concluded. “That’s horrible!”
“Until your arrival, we did not have any group that I felt was potentially capable of a rescue operation. The temple is dangerous enough for a group of six. Your skills may prove sufficient, however.”
Is...Teft complimenting us?
Wait, no, I’m not part of the group that is going.
Everything makes sense again.
“Any further questions? If not, time is of the essence. The longer we wait, the less likely you are to find any survivors inside.”
I had several, but Sera spoke up first. “Begging your pardon, Commander, but I don’t believe the group assignment is ideal.”
We all turned to look at her.
“Oh? How so?” Teft folded his arms.
“You should send Corin instead of me,” Sera’s tone was pained, but not because of her throat.
“Care to explain why you believe I should be sending an Enchanter — who could be helping to reinforce our settlement’s defenses, as I’d planned — instead of a Summoner?”
Sera sighed, took a moment, and then found her words. “This isn’t easy for me to admit, but I’m not in the best shape for combat duty, sir. As I believe you’re already aware, I have a long-term injury that I’ve been recovering from. I believe it may interfere with my ability to complete this assignment.”
Teft raised an eyebrow. “I’ve seen you participate in combat since then, Miss Cadence, and as I recall you were quite stubborn about it. When I gave you the chance to opt out before, you chose to fight.”
“I’ve...had a chance to reevaluate that, sir.” Sera took another breath. “The last time I pushed myself seriously, my condition got worse. My safe mana threshold went down for a couple weeks.”
I...hadn’t realized that. She must have been talking about the last simulated spire test, where we’d fought Prof
essor Meltlake. I’d known she’d pushed herself hard, but... that was terrifying. Her safe mana capacity decreasing implied that she’d caused herself more permanent damage. That wasn’t acceptable for a mere test.
She must have recovered since then, because I’d tested her mana capacity afterward and it was getting higher again. Still, I didn’t know how much extra work that had meant for her, or how many extra treatments from Sheridan she’d needed.
She hadn’t told me.
I wasn’t angry about that, but I was a little concerned.
“You are aware that there could be consequences for turning down an assignment, Miss Cadence?” Teft actually sounded concerned.
“Yes, sir. If I accepted the assignment, I believe I would not only be jeopardizing my own long-term ability to use my attunement, but potentially the success of the mission.”
Teft nodded slowly. “You have made a prudent decision.” He paused, then added. “Very well, I will find another team to handle this.”
Patrick blinked. “Wait. The rest of us could still go. We’ve still got three people!”
Teft shook his head. “Without Miss Cadence, your group would be ill-equipped for the Temple of Fire. Her expertise with ice magic is the reason I chose your group. Without her, you don’t have the skills you need.”
I hesitated. “That’s not...entirely true, Commander.”
Teft turned to me. “Oh? Have you somehow acquired a third attunement you haven’t told me about?”
“I still have a sword imbued with ice magic. If you recall, I showed it to you the first day we met.”
I was avoiding references to “class” because everyone else was. Everyone must have decided that talking directly about the school would have broken the immersion of the scenario.
It was for exactly that reason that I’d taken a gamble on this specific suggestion. I’d been told that I wasn’t allowed to use Selys-Lyann in future tests, because I’d nearly killed myself with it.