Return of the Runebound Professor

When Noah and Lee reached Moxie’s room, they found that they weren’t the first to make it. The door was open. Emily, Isabel, and Todd were all gathered in it already. Moxie finished up giving the group some last tips for the exam as Noah and Lee arrived outside, then nodded in greeting to them.

“Everyone’s waking up early today,” Moxie said. “I was going to get all of you, but clearly those plans aren’t going into execution.”

“We didn’t want to risk being late or not finding each other, and we’ve been training together for the past few weeks anyway,” Emily said with a shrug. “Besides, we all got breakfast together, so there wasn’t any reason not to just head over here after that was done.”

“You don’t have to defend it.” Noah chuckled. “Everyone ready for this?”

“Completely,” Isabel said, setting her jaw and giving him a confident but determined look. “After all the practice we’ve put into this, I know we can do it.”

“That’s the attitude,” Noah said with an approving nod. He could see Isabel’s feelings mirrored in Todd and Emily’s eyes.

Yep. They’ve got this in the bag. I just have to make sure that nobody interferes with their exam. So long as they don’t, the kids are going to blow through this no problem. After everything we did training, I can’t imagine there’s any way the school would put their precious nobles in a situation more risky than what we’ve been doing.

Noah reached into his pocket and pulled out the bracelet that he’d taken from Karina. He held it out to Moxie, who took it with a surprised glance.

“Is this a Shield?” Noah asked.

Moxie studied it, then slid the bracelet onto her wrist. She closed her eyes and a ripple of green energy washed over her body. Moxie pulled the bracelet off and nodded. “Yeah. Rank 2 one. Pretty decent, honestly. You bought it?”

“Nope. Generous donation,” Noah replied. “Isabel, Todd, you know each other the best. Which of you would get the most use out of this? Sorry Emily – I don’t mean to exclude you, but you’ve already got a Shield.”

“Of course,” Emily said with a snort. “Why would I take offense to that?”

You totally would have before we all went on our trip. I’m being too harsh, I guess.

Isabel and Todd exchanged a glance. Noah was greatly pleased to see that they didn’t just immediately point at each other. Some time ago, that almost certainly would have been what they did.

He didn’t fault them for caring about one another, but now they were actually using their heads and thinking rather than just selflessly trying to be nice. That was the type of approach that would ensure they’d come out ahead.

“I think it’s probably best on Todd,” Isabel said after a few moments. “My stone armor already does a lot to protect me, and if it’s gone down, I’m probably out of the fight anyway. A shield won’t help me that much. Todd is still a lot more exposed when fighting.”

Todd pressed his lips together, then nodded. “Yeah. I think Isabel is right.”

“Brilliant.” Noah tossed the bracelet to Todd, who caught it and slid it onto his wrist. He ran a finger over the golden band, then looked back to Noah.

“Who cared enough about us to donate this?”

“Let’s just say the donation wasn’t entirely voluntary,” Noah said with a chuckle. “Come on. I don’t know when the exam gets started, but I think getting there early is probably a good idea. I don’t want to run into some sort of unexpected delay.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Moxie said. She grabbed her travel bag from her desk and slung it over her shoulder. The group set off, heading down the halls of the T building and making for the transport cannon.

Moxie lowered her voice, stepping closer to Noah as they walked to whisper to him. “So where’d the shield come from?”

“That crazy chick – Bria? She’s actually from the Linwick family,” Noah replied in the same tone. “She showed up again, this time posing as someone else from your family called Eline. Heard of her?”

Moxie waggled a hand. “In passing. What did she want? I can’t imagine she came to help. She wasn’t a particularly friendly individual.”

“No, she tried to threaten the kids.” Noah’s eyes darkened. Lee tugged at Noah’s sleeve. He blinked, glancing at her. Lee tapped her nose.

Whatever Lee is sensing is definitely triggered by my anger, but I still can’t feel what it is. It doesn’t feel like anything is wrong.

“That bitch,” Moxie said, her eyes narrow. “What happened next?”

“Punched her, stole her wristband, and made her swear a Rune Oath to give us a bunch of useful information and keep an eye on the kids during the exam. It sounds like there’s a possibility that Garrick and Eline are here to deal with both you and the kids in one fell swoop.”

Moxie didn’t reply for several moments. Her hands clenched at her sides before she forced them to relax again and shook her head. “It’ll be fine. Evergreen wouldn’t act that brashly in public. Subtle cheating I could definitely see, but nothing completely blatant.”

They all walked in silence for the next few minutes. The transport cannon grew closer, and they soon found themselves standing at its base. But, even though the sun had only just started its trek through the sky and they were there well before the exam was meant to start, they weren’t the first group at the clearing.

A scythe had been jabbed into the ground at an angle, and a man wearing tattered black robes sat atop it, his popped collar jutting out around his neck. Bright orange hair poked out like a sore thumb from his head. Noah’s eye twitched reflexively as Revin hopped down from the scythe, stretching his arms above his head.

“About time you lot showed up.”

“How long were you sitting around waiting to do that?” Noah asked wearily.

I guess this confirms that he really is an Arbitage professor. Don’t they hire normal people?

The air beside Revin rippled and James appeared. He was sitting cross legged on the ground, gnawing despondently on a piece of dry jerky. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to. It’s been too long.”

Revin leaned in close to James and flicked him on the forehead. “You’re ruining my dramatic reveal. Get over yourself, kid. Sulking isn’t cool unless I’m the one doing it.”

“Why are you here?” Moxie asked. “I think we made it pretty clear that you weren’t welcome after you summoned a bunch of monsters on top of us.”

“Lone wolves are never wanted,” Revin said, dramatically flicking his cloak back and splaying a hand out before his face. “But alas – we are still needed.”

James pushed himself to his feet and brushed the dirt off his pant legs. He hooked a foot behind Revin’s and pulled it forward, sending the gangly professor to the ground with a startled yelp.

“I’m sorry about his behavior,” James said. “If you’re willing, I’d like to join your group for the survival exam. They let teams of up to four people work together, and I’m a capable fighter. If not, that’s fine too. I can do it on my own.”

Emily looked from Isabel to Todd. Todd was the first to reply, shrugging his indifference.

“Don’t care either,” Isabel said. “If other groups have four students, then it might be a good idea. He’s not as bad as his professor.”

“I take offense to that,” Revin said as he rose back to his feet. “Any team would be honored to have me.”

“I wouldn’t mind, so long as he doesn’t get in our way,” Emily said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “He didn’t do bad when we were fighting the crabs, even if it’s his professor’s fault that we were there in the first place.”

“Thank you,” James said, inclining his head with a relieved sigh. “I really didn’t want to have to do this alone. It would have been really boring. I promise I won’t let you down.”

“If we’re in any fights, you might have to sit aside for a bit just to figure out how to work yourselves in with the rest of us,” Todd warned. “We’ve been working together a lot, so we know each other’s style and can adapt to it, but you might get in the way if you aren’t aware of how we move.”

“Don’t worry,” James said, walking up to stand beside them. “I’m very observant, and my light magic will let me stay hidden and out of the way until I can ambush someone. It’s a pretty solitary role, so I don’t think I’ll get in your way. What do you know about the exam so far?”

The four students gathered, speaking in hushed tones as they brought each other up to speed on all the knowledge they had – which wasn’t all that much, as nobody had told Noah or Moxie where their exam would even take place yet.

Time ticked on, and the sun slowly passed through the sky. Several other groups of students and their professors arrived, gathering in small bunches and avoiding the others. Most of the groups were of three to four students, but Noah did spot a few that were just one or two.

As they stood around watching the other teams arrive, a plain looking girl with short black hair and a grey uniform caught Noah’s eye. She inclined her head slightly and her eyes flickered from brown to ruby for an instant before she turned away.

Looks like Karina is ready. I wonder where Evergreen and her group are, though. Is Eline working on her own or does she have an entire team that she plans to work with?

Wait. Is she –

Moxie stiffened at Noah’s side. At the same time, Lee’s eyes suddenly snapped from a squirrel she’d been watching in a distant tree to a group approaching them. Noah followed her gaze, his guard already raising just from their reactions.

An old woman walked at its head, her white hair pulled neatly up into a bun at the top of her head. The faintest streaks of silver still shimmered within it, though age had claimed most of its luster. A green robe fluttered around her feet, and gnarled wood pads sat on her shoulders.

She held a gnarled wooden staff in one hand and walked with a slight limp, but her silver eyes watched all of them with such intensity that the hair on Noah’s back stood on end. At her left was a plain looking man with a scar across his lip. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, with silver hair and eyes. There was no doubt that it was Garrick. But, while Evergreen was focused on Moxie, Noah felt Garrick’s gaze boring into his head.

On the woman’s other side was a young woman that Noah immediately recognized. Eline. Both she and the man wore matching brown leather armor. And that meant that the woman between them was –

“Magus Evergreen,” Moxie said, her words stiff and excessively polite. “I’m honored that you came all this way yourself.”

“I couldn’t miss Emily’s final exam this year,” Evergreen said with a flat smile. It reminded Noah a lot of Father, but there was a distinct difference. While Father’s features were literally devoid of emotion, Evergreen just controlled hers incredibly well. The difference was subtle, but significant. Evergreen’s eyes shifted from Moxie to Noah.

“A pleasure to meet you, Magus Evergreen,” Noah said, inclining his head without taking his eyes off her. “My name is Vermil.”

“So I have heard. I cannot say that I approve of your choice in partnership for Emily, Magus Moxie,” Evergreen said flatly. She put a hand on Eline’s shoulder. “Eline would be a much more suitable candidate for this exam.”

“Thank you for your consideration, but I am confident that Emily is more than capable enough to handle herself with the current lineup,” Moxie said. “She has been working very hard and has experience working with these students.”

“I didn’t ask your opinion,” Evergreen said flatly. “Emily, come–”

“No thank you,” Emily said.

Evergreen and Moxie both froze.

“I’m sorry?” Evergreen asked.

“I like my current team,” Emily said. “They’re my friends. I’d like to stay with them.”

Evergreen recovered almost instantly. As if Emily’s request hadn’t bothered her in the slightest, she simply shrugged. “I see. Well, if you insist, then I will not stop you. It is your decision to make, Emily. Just remember that not all roads are equal. Some lead to mountain peaks, and others to the underworld.”

Garrick leaned forward and whispered something into Evergreen’s ear. Evergreen paused, then took a step back, her grip tightening around her staff.

“You keep vile company, Magus Moxie.”

Moxie blinked. “Magus Vermil has been incredibly helpful in training Emily. I know he is a Linwick, but–”

“Forget Linwick,” Evergreen said coldly. “Garrick has detected demonic energy around us. There is a demon in our midst.”

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