by Victor Kloss
“Does that matter, though?” Natalie asked. “They'd never dare invade Taecia.”
“No, but I've read about those ptryads. They can hear a bee buzzing from a mile high. The Institute has already had to cast spells to make sure they're not eavesdropping on us.”
“They might be nasty, but they look cool,” Abigail said with a distant smile. “They are so graceful, the way they fly.”
Charlie scratched his nose. “Yes, I think you might be missing the point here.”
Ben leapt down the last steps, and headed towards lunch, his stomach rumbling. “You guys haven't forgotten about Dagmar, have you?”
“The meeting? No,” Natalie said. “I wonder what she wants to talk about.”
“I think I can guess,” Charlie said, though he didn't elaborate with apprentices everywhere. “Did you see how serious she was? Even more so than usual. I think it's important.”
“I saw,” Ben said. “Come on, let's grab some lunch, and worry about that later.”
— Chapter Three —
The Crimson Tower
I have several announcements to make,” Dagmar said.
Ben and the rest of the apprentices stood to attention, ears perked. Despite the increasing turmoil from the dark elves, Dagmar remained as unflustered as ever. He sometimes forgot that she was so small, such was her presence. She held her baton and stood so straight Ben long suspected that there might be another baton thrust down her back. Her only concession to extravagance was a pair of green shoes that would have been too big for most people double her size.
“For those of you able to cast level-four spells, we will be supplying long-range tracking spells, which you are to fire at any ptryads you see. Needless to say, if you are in the Seen Kingdoms, make sure you do it discreetly.”
There weren't many apprentices who could cast level-four spells, but Ben was one of them.
“Secondly, for those who took exams at Barrington's, your results have come in.”
Dagmar pointed to her desk, on which were several white envelopes. There were a few intakes of breath, though Ben barely reacted. He had taken the bare minimum of subjects and wasn't overly optimistic about his results. The exams were mandatory and were ordinarily an important part of the education system, but with Ben's plans firmly set on becoming an Institute member, he really wasn't that bothered and was glad to be done with school. Charlie, on the other hand, was shifting from foot to foot, clearly desperate to find out what his results were. He was one of the few people who would continue to study at Barrington's, taking advanced levels.
“Thirdly, the executive council has asked me to brief you on the latest situation with the dark elves.”
There was an inevitable murmur of voices, which Dagmar quickly silenced with a raised hand.
“As apprentices, there is much I cannot tell you, but at the same time, your position gives you the right to know more than those outside the Institute.”
She paused, scanning faces. There was an expectant, almost deathly silence. Ben was just as eager for information as the rest of them. It had been a month since they had found the Guardian Krobeg and Elizabeth's Breastplate, and it didn't take a genius to notice that the dark elves had since made rapid, almost frightening progress in their quest to conquer the Unseen Kingdoms. To make things more frustrating, Ben, Charlie and Natalie had made little progress in searching for the final two pieces of Elizabeth's Armour, as well as the missing Guardian.
“The dark elves have now conquered seven Unseen Kingdoms, and another seventeen are in lock-down mode, only accessible if you have a special pass, issued by the Diplomacy Department. We are helping those kingdoms as best we can with resources and Spellswords, though we are stretched. However, that is not the most pressing matter at the moment.”
Ben wasn't sure if she paused for dramatic effect, but it certainly worked, as he could see some of the apprentices physically craning their necks forwards, willing her to speak.
“It has probably not escaped your notice that we are beginning to fortify the south coast of England. We have established small outposts, and are working on stationing larger defensive units there.”
“Why are we doing that? Surely the dark elves are focusing on the Unseen Kingdoms?” a new voice asked, clearly unused to Dagmar's policy of silence. Thankfully, she accepted the question without reprimand.
“It seems as though the dark elves’ ultimate goal might end up being not the Unseen Kingdoms, but the Seen ones,” Dagmar said.
Ben had strongly suspected that might be the case, but it still shocked him to hear Dagmar say it with such frankness. Several more voices piped up, but Dagmar's fleeting generous mood had disappeared.
“We do not know this for sure, but we cannot rule it out, for the consequences would be great,” Dagmar said. “For now, the executive council does not wish to reveal any more information on this.”
There was a groan from the apprentices, but nobody dared venture any further questions. Nevertheless, Dagmar waited for complete silence before continuing.
“I have one final announcement, and it is by no means the least important. Just because the dark elves are causing mischief, that is no reason to start slacking on your studies. There will be times where you will be expected to help the Institute, but that simply means when you are studying, I expect you to work harder. You all have deadlines to make, and several of you will soon be graduating to Institute members. Do I make myself clear?”
There was a military-like chorus of agreement, though Ben couldn't help noticing one or two disgruntled looks.
“Good. Dismissed,” Dagmar said, and she promptly clomped out of the room.
Charlie and Natalie darted towards Dagmar's desk and, amongst a multitude of arms, grabbed their exam result letters. Ben did the same, with considerably less enthusiasm. He ripped it open, his heart giving a little flutter as he took out the small slip of paper. As soon as he saw the results, his concern turned to relief.
“An A and three Bs,” Ben said, smiling. “Not bad, given that I barely did anything.”
“Six As!” Natalie said with a squeal of delight, flinging her arms round Ben's neck.
Charlie, however, was looking at his card with genuine confusion. “That can't be right. They've only given me an A for Geography.”
“Only an A?” Ben said. “What were your other results?”
“Eleven A*s.” Charlie shook his head, looking genuinely put out. “My parents aren't going to be happy. They were expecting A*s across the board.”
“They'll be fine,” Ben said, wrapping an arm around Charlie's shoulder. “Now, we should get going. Dagmar is expecting us, remember?”
A meeting with Dagmar was normally enough to focus them, but as they left the room and walked down the corridor, Charlie was clearly still thinking about the exam results, right up to the point when Ben rapped on Dagmar's door.
“Come in,” Dagmar said.
Ben led them into the office, which was neat as always, though lately he had noticed a sizeable number of files on her desk. Dagmar remained seated, but she stopped writing and looked up as they entered. Ben, Charlie and Natalie approached the desk with their customary deference.
Dagmar pulled out a rustic red key and placed it on her desk. “That's your key to get in.”
Ben frowned. “Sorry, key to what?”
Dagmar returned to her writing for a moment, before looking up again. “You didn't think we were going to have a meeting here, did you?”
“What's wrong with here?” Charlie asked.
Dagmar finished her writing with a flourish and put her pen down with a sharp snap. “Too risky, with the dark elves.”
Ben couldn't hide his surprise. “You think the dark elves have got in here? I thought the Institute was the most secure place there was.”
“Yes, it's secure from a direct attack,” Dagmar said. “But the dark elves are masters of infiltration, and the executive council is c
oncerned that their reeters might have sneaked in.”
“Reeters?”
“They are tiny lizards. They can get into almost anywhere, and are nearly impossible to detect as they are masters of camouflage.”
“So we're being listened to?” Charlie asked, looking around furtively.
“Unlikely,” Dagmar said. “The Institute has sophisticated magical defences, so even the smallest bug shouldn't be able to get in. But it's better to be safe, especially given what we will be talking about.”
“Makes sense,” Ben said, pocketing the key.
“Your destination is the Crimson Tower,” Dagmar said.
“Ooh!” Natalie exclaimed, before she could help herself. “Sorry – I've heard a lot about the tower from my parents, and I've always wanted to go there, though they never let me.”
“It is only used for very specific purposes – confidential meetings being one of them. I trust you know where to go?”
“Oh yes,” Natalie said.
“Good. I will be there within the hour. I will meet you there,” Dagmar said.
She picked up her pen and began writing again, signalling the end of the meeting. But as they were about to exit the door, Dagmar cleared her throat, making them turn.
“Make sure you shake off your tail,” Dagmar said, looking pointedly at Ben.
“My tail?”
“Aaron's lackeys,” Dagmar said. There was rarely a hint of emotion in her voice, but Ben was sure he detected a modicum of disdain when voicing Aaron's name. “He'll have a couple following you. I'll leave you to deal with them, but they absolutely cannot know we are going to the Crimson Tower.”
— Chapter Four —
A Special Gathering
I see them,” Charlie said the moment they left Dagmar's office.
Two apprentices – a boy and a girl, with faces that looked uncannily like a weasel’s – stood chatting idly at the end of the corridor.
“Should we confront them?” Natalie asked.
“No point,” Ben said, as he led them down the grand staircase. “They'll follow us anyway. They'd never disobey an order from Aaron.”
“What's Aaron's problem?” Charlie said. “Why does he keep hounding you?”
Ben waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, you know. He thinks I stand in the way of him being the future Spellsword Director.”
“That's ridiculous,” Natalie said. “It'll be years before you'd be considered ready for that position. You're not even an Institute member yet.”
“I know it's ridiculous, but Aaron's dreams of grandeur rival Napoleon's. Anyway, as long as he doesn't get in my way, I really don't care. I'm done with him.”
They reached the ground floor and Ben led them outside. He threw another quick glance over his shoulder and saw their two followers exit a moment later.
“How are we going to lose them?” Charlie asked.
Ben pulled out his spellshooter in answer.
“You're not allowed to fire at a fellow apprentice,” Natalie said with a reproachful frown.
“Yeah, that's unfortunate, because I had some great ideas. But I'm not casting it on them. Those idiots didn't bring their own spellshooters, so they're not going to be able to counter anything.”
With that, Ben pointed his spellshooter into his chest, and casually fired. A small white pellet barely had time to absorb into his jumper before he did the same for Charlie and Natalie.
“What was that?” Charlie asked, flinching as the spell hit him.
“Camouflage spells, level one. They're going to have trouble seeing us.” He gave a little wave. “Come on, let's speed up. Natalie, you know the way to this tower place, right?”
“The Crimson Tower. Yes, it's been a while, but it's not something I'd forget,” Natalie said.
Natalie picked up her pace, and headed west. Ben glanced back, and saw the perplexed look on the faces of the two weasels following them, standing and looking about in confusion. Within moments, they were out of sight. Ben made a mental note. Aaron wouldn't make the same mistake twice – next time, their pursuers wouldn't be so easy to shake off.
The west side of Taecia was Ben's favourite. The buildings were well spaced out and many of the houses had small gardens, despite being in the heart of the town. The restaurants were a little nicer and Ben often caught a whiff of something that made him salivate. The shops, too, were a little bigger, a little more upmarket. They were far beyond his financial means, but that didn't stop him from window shopping here from time to time. There were magnificent antique shops selling ancient treasures, libraries with books on magic that had Charlie bug-eyed, as well as the more traditional magic, armouries and service-based shops. Ben couldn't help noticing that here, at least, the citizens didn't seem as concerned about the dark elf threat. One possible reason was the Institute's presence here. There were several buildings, big and small, with the Institute's insignia on them. Many were occupied, but some seemed to sit there without any purpose, except possibly reassurance.
Ben was so busy enjoying the walk that he didn't spot the Crimson Tower until it was in plain sight.
“There it is,” Natalie said with a smile. “Beautiful, isn't it?”
Natalie wasn't wrong. The tower was slender with an elegant steeple that towered over the other buildings in west Taecia. But it was the colour that made the tower really stand out. It was a hundred shades of red, as if someone had carefully applied a Photoshop filter. The sun seemed to gleam off it, constantly changing shades.
“That is cool,” Ben admitted. “What is the tower used for?”
“Important and confidential meetings,” Natalie replied. “I'm surprised Dagmar managed to get us in, to be honest.”
They made their way through a few more well-to-do streets, before finally reaching the tower's base.
“Ah, I thought I'd meet you here!”
It had been only a couple of weeks since they'd seen Krobeg, Guardian of the Breastplate, but already Ben thought his stomach looked a little larger. Ben still hadn't got used to the gleaming silver beard, which had changed colour the moment Krobeg had claimed the armour. He had a friendly face, bushy eyebrows and a rather large nose, which probably proved useful for smelling the culinary delights he cooked. As if to reinforce his love for food, his jacket was stitched with the pattern of a bubbling cauldron.
“I didn't realise you were coming,” Ben said with a smile and a handshake. Krobeg's hands were similar to Dagmar's feet – large.
“Nor did I, until this morning,” Krobeg said. “Got a message from Dagmar. She said it was important. It took a bit of mad scrambling, but I managed to get my friend Abbot to cover the cooking for me. When it comes to a roast lunch, I have to admit, he's almost as good as I am.”
“I could use one of your roast lunches,” Charlie said, patting his stomach.
“You're welcome anytime,” Krobeg said.
Ben glanced about with a frown. “If you're here, shouldn't we have brought Abigail?”
“I think Dagmar will bring her,” Natalie said. “She spends a lot of time with Dagmar these days, working on her mental toughness, so that she can master the helm.”
Ben felt a little guilty. As Head Guardian, it was his job to make sure everybody was ready, but he was grateful for Dagmar's intervention. She was better equipped, and far more knowledgeable than he.
“Should we wait for Dagmar here?” Natalie asked.
“No,” Ben said, pulling out the key. “She wouldn't have given us access if she wanted us to stand outside.”
Ben inserted the key into a large keyhole and turned, noting that there didn't appear to be any door handle. There was a soft click, and the fiery red door seemed to shimmer. Ben watched in astonishment as it quickly faded away, leaving them staring into a small hallway. Ben exchanged glances with the others, and then they stepped inside.
“Oh, my word,” Natalie said, squinting and instinctively throwing up her arms in a protectiv
e gesture.
A mighty fire in the centre of the atrium burned bright, sending flames towering all the way to the turret. There was no wood or foundation for the fire; it seemed to emerge directly from the floor. Just like the building outside, the flames were a multitude of reds that constantly changed, from deep crimson to faint pink.
“The Flame of Defence,” Natalie said, finally putting her arms down. “It can be commanded by the top Institute members to attack any infiltrators.”
“I can't feel any heat,” Krobeg said, raising a hand towards the mighty flames.
“No, but when the fire attacks, the flames can reach a thousand degrees.”
“Well, that explains why there are no guards here,” Ben said. “They don't need any.”
“The question is, where do we go?”
The answer became clear the moment they looked about. There was only one way they could go – up, via a spiral staircase that ran the perimeter of the tower. It wasn't long before the staircase opened to a gallery. But to Ben's surprise, there were no doors, only a short landing, and then more stairs. Ben walked to the next set of stairs, wondering at the point of a gallery. He soon saw why.
A peculiar stone archway stood at the base of the stairs. It was black and engraved with silver hieroglyphs. At the top was a large, green eye that took them all in with an eerie, knowing stare.
“Security, just like in the Dragonway,” Ben said.
“It should be safe, right?” Charlie said, looking at the big eye anxiously.
“Yeah, we're supposed to be here, remember?” Ben said. He rubbed his chin. “I've always wondered what would happen if we went through when not allowed.”
“There are two possibilities,” Krobeg said. “If it's a minor offence, the archway won't let you through. If it deems you a serious security threat, you will pass through, but you won't come out the other end.”
“Where do you go?” Charlie asked in alarm.
Krobeg shrugged his massive shoulders. “I'm sure somebody at your Institute can answer that question, but not me.”