Phantom Campaign

by Eden Redd

  “We have to keep this between us. I have to find a way to get Nuria out of here, safely. She’s not a threat, she’s just scared. If she’s caught, she might in desperation tell the academy of my previous crime,” Dax said in a low tone.

  Zarra looked to the mage, “We have to tell our friends.”

  Dax’s brow went up, “We can’t. We…”

  Healing energy flowed from Zara’s hand, sinking into Dax’s chest. It further healed the last bit of damage as she looked down on him. The mage sank in the bed, the warm energy calming his spirit.

  “Dax, you are not alone in this. You don’t have to carry so many burdens.”

  The mage eyed the beautiful cleric with a questioning gaze.

  Zarra continued, “Nuria… I mean Lyla… became my friend when she confessed her wrong doings and thought she lost you. It was well after Nuria… died. She might have a different soul, but her friendship was genuine. She was lost and scared then, unsure what to do and now it makes sense. The sudden innocence she had spoke volumes and I didn’t see it.”

  The cleric leaned closer, her eyes taking on a stern warmth. “I cannot speak to your crime, but that is between you and the gods. I’m here to heal, not judge. I love you and your past doesn’t affect how I feel about you. If it did, then I would never have fallen for you or want to grow a clan with you.

  “However, we do have to tell our friends. With everything we have been through, do you think they would abandon you?”

  Dax looked to the side. Despite the bonds of friendship, deep down the mage wasn’t sure anyone would stay by his side. Years of running only showed the former slum runner that if there was a problem, you run from it, as fast as you can. Keep everyone at a distance and try to not get so involved so that others couldn’t take advantage of you. It burned at him, knowing his instincts trained him to run, but his heart wanted to help and heal others.

  How can I train to be a champion if I’m only looking out for myself?

  “Tomorrow we will have a club meeting. It will give our friends a chance to know the whole truth and maybe then, we can help Lyla escape.”

  Dax looked up into Zarra’s golden eyes. “You want to help her escape? Even after knowing what she is?”

  The cleric gave a small nod. “Part of why I joined the cleric class was so I could help overcome my own fears and rage. There is a sense of peace and forgiveness I have experienced, but it is not absolute.

  “What the void spawn did was horrific, but I can’t let it consume me with hatred. I have to forgive. Not all of them are monsters. Lyla could have pressed her attack, but she didn’t. She fled. That tells me that she still treasures what we had, even if I was initially trying to kill her.”

  “You were going to kill her,” Dax said softly.

  Zarra nodded. “Until I hurt you. I… woke up, my love much stronger than my capacity to hate. We have all begun to heal from our pasts. It’s too important to let that all fall away.

  “I know Lyla is special to you. You both have a bond like we have a bond. I understand, the longer she is here, the more danger she is in. The more danger you are in.”

  Dax gave a small nod, knowing that his secret would tear him away from his friends and Zarra had no intention of losing him.

  “We will speak at the club meeting. Then, we decide how to proceed.”

  The mage nodded. “Were you really invited to the party?”

  Zarra showed a small, shy smile. “Isani and Ressa came to me in private first. They told me how they felt about you. It wasn’t a surprise for I wasn’t the only one who watched you from afar.”

  Dax blinked. “How many people like me?”

  The cleric kept her small smile. “Before you discovered your card magic technique, six. After the Trial Exams, my last count was eighty-two.”

  Dax sat up, his body feeling much better, but questions filling his mind. “Wait, I know Fern liked me. You liked me. Apparently Isani and Ressa liked me from last year. Nuria liked me, but never acted on it while she was alive, but who’s the sixth one?”

  “My people are very sensitive to scents, even if my power is diminished. It’s not my place to tell you who desires you until they have made their intentions known. They may never come forward, but if they do, you must discover it on your own.”

  “Now I just have more questions,” Dax smirked.

  Zarra leaned in closer. “Are you well enough to walk?”

  “I think so,” Dax said, feeling like his normal self.

  “Let’s walk home so we can talk, if you wish?”

  Dax smiled. “It would be an honor.”

  ***

  Dax woke to the morning sun. Light touched his body as Zarra stirred next to him. The cleric had snuggled close, her face against his arm and her arm draped over his stomach.

  Memories of last night curled along his waking thoughts. Images of saying goodbye to Isani and Ressa glowed. The rogues understood, but Isani was sure to tell him that they had more to talk about. He remembered walking to the academy with the cleric. The pair stopped by his dorm to slip a small note to Symon so he wouldn’t panic not seeing Dax in the morning. After that, the pair went back to Zarra’s dorm.

  The mage’s mind lingered, remembering how they undressed and slipped into bed. The pair talked for a while, Dax feeling better now that Zarra knew his past and didn’t judge him like he expected. Zarra smiled as she heard Dax tell her he would never hold it against her breaking his bones in a fit of rage. A short time later, they laughed before exhaustion set in and they passed out in each other’s arms.

  Zarra opened her eyes and looked up to Dax, “Morning, my mage.”

  “Good morning to you,” Dax said as he turned onto his side, his hand on her bare hip.

  A moment of comforting silence filled the space between them.

  “Our friends will understand,” Zarra said simply.

  “I hope so,” Dax said.

  The cleric snuggled closer, her face to his chest. “They will. Have a little faith.”

  The morning pushed on as the pair rose up and dressed. They parted ways, heading to classes. Zarra said she would tell the others about the emergency meeting. Dax gave a weak nod, fear still coloring his thoughts. After that, life in the academy fell into place.

  Classes carried on. Vance was happy to see the mage and asked what the meeting would be about later. Dax told him it would be better if everyone was there so he didn’t have to repeat the story. The mage nodded.

  Dax focused on his spells as Professor Frost led the class. Nuria was there, standing with Clive. The pair talked like everything was normal between spell casting, but Dax noticed as the beautiful mage often glanced at him when Clive was not looking. It caused Dax’s heart to clench in his chest, the connection still very much there, but the secrets growing with every passing encounter.

  She killed Nuria’s parents. Even if it was in self-defense, it’s only a matter of time someone finds out and reports her. Her life hangs in the balance and so does mine if she decides to talk.

  Dax pondered again, wondering if she would turn him in. As much as he hoped she would remain silent, her need to survive may push beyond any connection they may have. The thought gnawed at him as he didn’t have an answer, he was comfortable with. He was going to have a meeting with his friends and tell them everything and that clawed at him further.

  Zarra is a great judge of character. I’m sure she’s right that they will understand.

  Dax shook his head to himself, not believing his own inner thoughts.

  The sun slid across the sky and when late afternoon arrived, classes let out. Students rushed out of towers and into the courtyard. Groups formed, some moving to the Dining Hall, the Library, and the Commons Center.

  Dax made his way to the Commons, his heart sinking with every step.

  When the mage reached the building, he made his way and up to the third floor. Stepping to the door, he heard voices inside. Taking a breath, he took hold of the doorknob and pu
lled.

  Inside, Fern, Symon, Vance, and Zarra sat in chairs in a semicircle. The mood seemed light and drinks were in everyone’s hands except for Zarra. Fern’s eyes and smile widened as she looked to the mage as he entered. Symon lifted his hand, a happy smile on his lips. Vance nodded and held up his drink. Zarra gave the mage an encouraging smile and nod.

  Dax closed the door behind him, sealing his fate.

  “I’m sure everyone is wondering why Zarra and I wanted to speak to everyone here at once. I’ll be quick,” Dax said and started talking.

  The mage detailed the events with Nuria becoming Lyla. He spoke to the Mind Maze in Butterpond. He told them about what happened in his youth, the crime he had committed in a Hydale alley. Dax described what Isani and Ressa had discovered about their future test. He spoke about what happened at the party last night, Zarra telling her version of events as they unfolded.

  Smiles slowly faded as the mage spoke. Symon tilted his head forward, shadows covering his eyes. Fern’s happy expression turned stern and serious. Vance’s expression was blank, but he listened intently. Zarra kept her small, shy smile as the last of Dax’s words fell from his lips. When he was finished, a gloom had crushed the former brightness as silence reigned.

  “And that is everything,” Dax finished with a sad tone.

  “It explains so much after that night,” Fern said with a dark tone.

  Symon remained silent.

  Vance took a sip of his drink before holding it on top of his leg. “Nuria may not come to the meetings, but we did make her an honorary member. We have to help her.”

  Symon shook his head, “We get caught helping her, we all get expelled.”

  Vance nodded. “True, but something about all of this doesn’t sit well with me. Considering all of our backgrounds and the backgrounds of the students here, I doubt Dax and Nuria are not the only ones with a dark past.”

  The spikey-haired mage stood up and paced with his hands behind him. “Ikkudran has been broken for nearly a century since the Void War. There was a lot of desperation, orphaned people and families. No one likes to talk about it, but we all know someone who did things they are not proud of.

  “I’m not pushing the fact away that Dax killed someone when he was a teenager. It is a crime, but I doubt everyone here in the academy can say they have a clean history. Kinarth Academy does extensive background checks. If they allowed a former slum runner to join the academy, they must have an idea that he wasn’t completely clean.”

  Symon looked to Vance with a hard brow. “How can you even say that? We are training to be champions. How can a champion do good if their history says otherwise?”

  Vance turned to Symon with a subdued look. “Like me and my family? It’s no secret my family helped the void spawn during the war and only turned on them when they began to lose. Should the academy deny my application for fear I might change on them too?”

  Symon shook his head, “Your family may have done some unscrupulous things, but you did not. You were born long after the war was over. You didn’t commit any acts of betrayal.”

  The spellsword turned his attention to Dax and his gaze lowered. “I know you were scared, but you took a life. Your actions rippled to that man’s family and people he knew. You altered how they would live their lives, adding sorrow that they will never see him again.”

  Symon’s words cut at Dax’s heart.

  Fern was up, moved to Dax’s side and glared at the spellsword. “How can you say that? You grew up in a home, protected by your family and given every opportunity. Dax grew up in the slums and had to survive!”

  Symon’s eyes widened and he looked down. “You’re right, I didn’t live in the slums or had to fight for food, but this is directly against what Kinarth Academy stands for. If Sebastian Kinarth had murdered people in cold blood, would anyone see him in the same light? Would he still be a champion?”

  Vance’s brow hardened, “A person’s past does not condemn a person to always follow the actions of their past.”

  Zarra moved to Symon’s side and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Should I kill Lyla because of what she is? What her people did to my clan and my family? Her people are alien and killed many here in Ikkudran. Should we condemn her even though she fought by our sides during our Trials?”

  Symon looked up to the cleric and sighed. “I’m not naïve. I know the world is not black or white. But knowing what we know, our life as champions could end before it begins.”

  “Symon, do you remember the Trials?” Vance asked.

  The spellsword nodded.

  “Do you think it would have been any different if we knew Dax’s past? Do you think he would have acted differently when he pulled us together in the Mind Maze?”

  Symon lowered his head, “No.”

  Dax moved to Vance’s side and put his hand on the mage’s shoulder, “That’s enough.”

  All eyes turned to Dax as he let go of Vance’s shoulder, stepped over and stood before the spellsword.

  “Symon, if you think I should turn myself in, I will.”

  Symon’s eyes widened, but he remained silent.

  Dax looked down on his friend. “I know you’re scared. You don’t want to fail and return to your father as a disappointment. I could see it during the month we were in your home, your father holding himself back from being the cruel man you told me he is. It made you happy to know that you could be free in your own home while I was there.”

  Dax kneeled down and looked his friend in the eye. “You’re my best friend and I try to follow your example. You showed me to be a better person when no one would give me a second glance. I value your opinion. If I should turn myself in, I will so you don’t have to worry about going back home a failure.”

  Symon’s eyes darkened. “It’s not about being a failure. It never was. When my father punched me because I wanted to learn magic, I knew there was no real love in his heart, not for me at least. He had pushed me so far to the edge, I was ready to end his life, right there and then.”

  The room grew quiet as all eyes and ears were on the spellsword.

  Symon continued, “It’s a terrible feeling, knowing you could go through with it. He was always a hard man and took out his frustrations on me because he always thought it would help me become stronger.

  “I never told anyone that part, how my life was going to end because I was going to kill him. The only thing that stopped me was my mother coming in and seeing me on my knees, blood dripping from my nose and bruises forming. She rushed to me, helped me up, and pulled me away as my father fumed. She cleaned me up and tried to talk to me about forgiveness. I listened, but I haven’t forgiven him.”

  Symon sighed. “If I’m expelled and go back home, either I’m going to kill him or he is going to kill me. I couldn’t live with myself if he died, even if he did deserve it.”

  “If you died, it would ripple across all of us,” Dax said with a small smile.

  Symon eyed his friend and gave his own small smile. “I’m sorry I even thought of having you turn yourself in. Can you forgive me?”

  “Nothing to forgive, my brother,” Dax smiled.

  Fern wiped away a tear from the corner of her eye.

  “The real question now is, what do we do about the campaign and Nuria? Isani gave us important information about what to expect and Nuria needs our help. She is a member of this club and we should do everything we can to help her and our future,” Vance said with a commanding tone.

  Dax stood up and looked at his friends. “First things first, helping Nuria to start a new life will be expensive and time consuming. I have a few friends I can send ravens to. They can set up her new life, away from everything but it will cost gold.”

  “I can supply the gold,” Vance stated.

  Dax nodded. “I can set up the contacts and we can make arrangements. It may take a few months to ensure she is set up in a safe location. People will need to scout, buy property and pay off the right people to watch over her
for a time.”

  “Will she accept our help, even after everything that happened?” Symon asked.

  Dax looked to his friend, “She will. She doesn’t have anyone else she can trust and it’s only a matter of time before someone figures out, she’s connected to Nuria’s parent’s disappearance or the enemies of Kinarth figure out she’s not helping them like before.”

  Vance touched his chin, “What do we do when we find out who is trying to hurt the academy? If Nuria knows something and tells us, we have to pass on the information somehow without being connected to it?”

  “We can write several anonymous notes and leave them with specific professors,” Fern said. “One note might not get noticed, but several will help them take the information seriously.”

  Everyone looked over to the short fairy.

  Fern smirked. “What? Just because I’m a fairy doesn’t mean we don’t have politics and secrets. It’s a favorite pastime of my people, after drinking and sex.”

  Heads nodded in agreement.

  “To ensure we can keep our plans secretive, we should make Isani and Ressa full members of the Heroes of Kinarth,” Zarra addressed the small group.

  “Having a few rogues on our side could help with information and intelligence gathering,” Vance nodded. “What’s the vote to make Isani and Ressa members of the club?”

  “Aye,” everyone said in unison without hesitation.

  Vance nodded again, “I will contact them and make the offer.”

  Dax spoke up, “After we are finished here, I’ll go to Nuria and tell her our plan.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Fern said with a small smile.

  Dax raised an eyebrow.

  The fairy smiled wider. “She may be a pain in the ass, but she is a member of the club. Besides, if she causes any trouble, I’ll get a chance to punch her lights out.”

  “Erm,” Dax said and let the thought go, knowing full well that Fern wouldn’t budge.

  “I wish there was something more I could do.” Symon said in a low tone.

  Dax looked to his friend, “There is. You can start learning military tactics. From what Isani told me, the campaign test will be extremely difficult. You have fighter and spellsword training and may be better at leading us in this scenario. I can’t speak for everyone, but I trust you to do the right thing in this kind of exam.”