Chapter 176: Unheeded Warning

Loh Noir stood under the hot sun and waited by the south gate of the ebon wall. She watched over the commoners as they placed their meager belongings into the three wagons. The fourth and last wagon were already packed with supplies for the students during the mission. As for the students themselves, the twenty-some children were gathered at the back of the small caravan, all except for two.

The elected leader of the commoners, a middle-aged human, broke off from the rest and walked up to Loh. He bowed deeply, “I cannot thank you enough for your generosity, Miss Noir. Our families are forever grateful.”

“Don’t mention it. The magic academy has chosen several small caravans to escort through Dusk Valley. We aren’t doing it out of generosity, we simply are testing our students to see if they are adequate enough to guard a few wagons. If I were you I would be worried that the students aren’t as skilled as they think themselves to be.”

The man smiled, “None of the three families you see here have the coin to afford to hire a single guard, let alone a proper escort. I rather have a retinue of young magi escorting us than none at all.”

“Suit yourself,” Loh shrugged.

A high-pitch scream caught their attention. A small blur fell off a nearby rooftop and landed in a sprawl of limbs in the middle of the street. The gate’s guards pulled out their swords and rushed the intruders.

“Stop! Those two idiots are mine,” Loh called out.

The guards looked at Loh with surprise, but quickly lowered their swords. They knew better than to argue with a mage, much less a daughter of a Ruling Family.

Loh pushed past the guards and stared at the two instigators with a look of shame, “Do I even want to know?”

Kithina rubbed her head, “I have literally been pushed off of buildings for yellow training hundreds of times. And yet this was somehow so much worse. I think I’m going to throw up.”

Stryg dusted off his pants with a calm demeanor, “Oh, hi, master. The roads were blocked by a bunch of people.”

“So you decided to jump from one rooftop to another?” Loh asked.

“We didn’t want to get late,” Stryg nodded.

“We are in the Commoner District, the houses around here are old, their roofs are old. It didn’t cross your mind of how dangerous that could be?” Loh crossed her arms.

“No? It was fine,” Stryg said.

“The roof collapsed under us and we fell into someone’s house. Twice,” Kithina frowned.

“But we weren’t in danger,” Stryg said.

“And that makes it so much better,” Kithina rolled her eyes.

“Wait, you left two houses with broken roofs back there?” Loh asked.

“Kitty made me throw a few gold coins at them for repairs.”

“It was the least we could do, those little kids are gonna have nightmares for years,” Kithina grimaced.

“Kids?” Loh raised an eyebrow.

“We fell into a kid’s bedroom, no one got hurt,” Stryg shrugged.

Loh sighed, “Kithina, go join the others. I need to have a word with my apprentice.”

“Yes, professor,” Kithina got up and left.

Stryg raised his hands in surrender, “Look, before you say anything, I just want to let you know I was trying to practice my magic.”

“I don’t care why you were jumping off rooftops. I need to talk to you real quick before you leave.”

Stryg blinked, “Oh, in that case, I’m all ears.”

Loh glanced around to make sure no one was listening, “Look, everyone knows that your class’ final is to go out into Dusk Valley and escort this caravan. A real escort mission, with no one to look after you. You all will be out on your own.”

“I know, I’m very grateful for the trust you have placed in us, in me. I know this mission is simple, but I will try my hardest. I promise I won’t fail you, master,” Stryg said with an earnest smile.

She swallowed, “Um, yeah, you see, the thing is… I wanted to tell you… We actually have a secret team of master magi at the ready to protect your class.”

His smile died, the light in his eyes dimmed, “You don’t think we can succeed? When it really counts, you don’t think I can succeed…”

She shook her head, “No, that’s not it. This is just in case something goes wrong. There are several promising students in your class, including you. My grandfather doesn’t want anything bad happening to any of you.”

“Lord Noir is in charge of protecting us?” Stryg’s eyes widened.

“Well, no. Actually, I am in charge of the team…”

“So you really don’t believe in me,” he sighed.

“Stryg, that’s not it. It’s just… Ugh, look none of that matters right now. We don’t have time to waste, everyone is waiting for us. I’ll try to be brief. My team is already outside the city, hiding in the hills. Once you leave with the caravan I will join my team and we will follow you from a distance. Normally, if something were to go wrong we could intervene immediately.”

“You mean if we fail and can’t handle a few bandits,” Stryg bit his lip.

“Shut up and listen to me. You’re all going to be traveling through the Widow’s Crag. The area is made up of fells and sharp peaks that overlook the Dire River. It can be easy to get lost if you don’t stick to the river. My point is, the terrain makes it hard to track you. Once the caravan enters the area we may not be able to find you. Now, Vayu will be coming with my team, so tracking you all should not be a problem thanks to Vayu’s hawk. But just in case, I think we should have a designated meeting spot for emergencies.”

Loh raised her index fingers, “There are two particularly sharp cliffs towards the end of Widow’s Crag. They are easy to spot, you won’t miss them. If something goes wrong, go to the first sharp cliff. I’ll be there. The two sharp cliffs are quite a distance away from each other, so remember, go to the first cliff, not the second. Okay? Stryg, are you listening?”

“...I’m listening,” his eyes were downcast. “Sharp cliff… got it.”

Loh’s chest felt tight. She had seen many of Stryg’s expressions. His anger and frustration were common, as was his confusion. She was used to them, even his rare smile was becoming more common. But she never expected the gut-wrenching feeling tearing at her insides from the sight of Stryg’s utter dejection.

Hundreds of words flew through her mind at once. She wanted to tell him that despite his antics and erratic behavior she had come to admire his undying loyalty and had grown to care for him deeply. She wanted to tell him that he was like the younger brother she never had. That she had volunteered to be in charge of the backup team because she didn’t trust anyone else with his safety.

She wanted Stryg to know that she saw herself in him, the struggles, the pain, the desire to be seen as enough. Loh wanted to say this and so much more, yet when she opened her mouth not a single word slipped out.

When she tried to express her feelings, her heart clenched. She had been guarded for so long, she didn’t know what to say.

“My class is waiting for me, I should go... I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough,” Stryg bowed his head and walked away.

~~~

The caravan had been traveling for several days and had stopped for the night near a cliff in Widow’s Crag. The commoners had built their fires a few dozen paces away from the mageborn students.

Stryg sat next to his classmates around one campfire. While the class had several campfires, Stryg’s group stayed away from the rest. The group remembered how the other students had run away in the mock escort test. Stryg and the others didn’t want anything to do with those cowards.

Despite being escorted by the magi, the commoners didn’t converse with them at all, save for their leader. Most of Stryg’s classmates came from middle-class or upper-class society; they weren’t accustomed to talking to common folk. Stryg wasn’t interested in speaking with them either. The humans kept giving him strange looks every time they thought he wasn’t paying attention.

Although, if Stryg was being honest with himself, he wasn’t interested in talking with anyone.

“All I’m saying is that Hollow Shade’s flag could be a bit more friendly,” Kithina said.

“Our city is surrounded by a wall infested with shades, literal flesh-eating monsters,” Callum Veres frowned.

“That’s exactly my point! People are terrified of us and having a flag depicting a black sun with a skull at the center doesn’t help inspire good relations with the outside world.”

“My family’s crest is a skull being stabbed by Krikolm,” Callum furrowed his brow.

“And people are terrified of House Veres too. Do you see what I’m getting at? If our city’s flag was at least more friendly-looking then maybe they wouldn’t be so scared of us.”

“I think this dwarf commoner is missing the point entirely,” Freya Goldelm shook her head.

“Oh, just because I was born a commoner I can’t have an opinion, huh, Gold-Eyes!?” Kithina yelled.

“Who the fuck said you could call me that!” Freya shot to her feet.

“Everyone’s been calling you that, not my fault you aren’t paying attention,” Kithina stuck her tongue out.

“She’s right, Freya, most of the 2nd-years have been calling you that behind your back,” Callum admitted.

“Wha?” Freya’s face turned beet red.

“I think it’s cute,” Nora Azol smiled.

“I hate all of you,” Freya spat.

“Kegrog, how much longer for the food?” Clypeus Gale asked.

“Well, if any of you could actually help me cook it’d already be done,” the tall orc grumbled as he stirred the pot above the fire.

“None of us really know how to cook though,” Nora shrugged.

“Useless, all of you,” Kegrog muttered.

Freya’s stomach growled.

Kegrog cleared his throat, “I’ll have the food ready in a bit.”

“...Thanks,” Freya mumbled.

As everyone spoke with one another, Stryg simply enjoyed the cool evening breeze that blew through the camp, sending the smoke high into the air.

His eyes spotted something purple in the grass near the cliff’s edge. He quietly got up and left. As he neared the edge he noticed a couple of flowers growing amidst the rocky terrain. Purple petals with gold streaks curled out from the stem and revealed a bright red center.

“I never took you as a flower kind of guy,” Clypeus stood a few feet behind him.

Stryg glanced at the vampire, “Why aren’t you back there with the others?”

“I could ask you the same thing. You’ve been distant throughout the entire trip. Are you alright?”

“...I’m fine. These flowers caught my eye,” Stryg muttered.

Clypeus crouched next to him and admired the flower, “I’m surprised you saw it from all the way back there. Even my eyes can’t see that well in the dark.”

“You know my senses are sharper than most.”

“Still, impressive.” Clypeus brushed one of the petals, “This flower is pretty special, you know?”

“I didn’t take you for a flower kind of guy,” Stryg grinned half-heartedly.

“Meh, I dabble. Most green magi do,” Clypeus shrugged.

“So what’s so special about this flower?”

“Its incredible resiliency. Have you noticed that the only flora around this rocky region is the grass? And even that only exists because the root-bison herds infuse life into this place when they pass.”

“But this flower is still here?”

“Exactly. It’s the only flower you will find around these parts. Despite the rocky soil and lack of nutrients, the plant manages to push past all of that and still grow tall. Its beauty is a testament to its resiliency.”

“Heh, I just came here because I thought the flower looked nice. I didn’t want a whole speech,” Stryg chuckled.

“Hey, you’re the one who asked.”

“...Feli’s favorite color is purple,” Stryg picked one of the flowers and tucked it safely away in his jacket pocket.

“I’d pick one too, but Nora already has enough flowers. I shouldn’t be surprised, her family’s crest is literally a bellflower,” Clypeus laughed.

Stryg’s ear twitched, “Sounds like the food is ready.”

“Let’s head back down then, I’m starving,” Clypeus stood up.

“What’s the name anyway?”

“Hm?”

“The flower's name.”

“Oh, they’re called plumelas.”

Stryg paused in his steps, “...Is that right?”

~~~

Stryg and Clypeus made their way back to the campfire and grabbed a bowl of stew each.

“Look who finally decided to show. Did our team captain get cold feet?” Freya asked snidely.

“Yep, I was ready to jump right off the edge of the cliff. But then I decided to just piss off the edge. Quite liberating actually,” Clypeus grinned.

Freya mumbled something under her breath and kept eating.

“Welcome back, you guys. We were just talking about what we were going to do after the exam. As for me, I’m gonna take a looong bath,” Kithina said in a reminiscent tone.

“I’m going to go visit my family in Meadow Bloom for the summer,” Nora said.

“A nice vacation in one of the prettiest towns in Dusk Valley, I’m envious,” Callum smiled.

“I’d come with, but I’m going to be busy training this summer,” Clypeus sighed.

“Same, my master has training lessons set up for me all summer long,” Stryg nodded.

“Don’t forget to relax a bit. Believe me, it’ll help your mental state in the long run. Or not, it would be pretty funny seeing you all collapse in exhaustion,” Freya smiled.

“Speaking of exhaustion, my legs are killing me,” Kithina grimaced. “Why didn’t the teachers let us use centaurs or even bring our own supplies? Had we been riding centaurs we would have already been back now.”

“They wanted to give us the authentic experience of a caravan guard,” Kegrog said.

“They are trying to prepare us for whatever trials Undergrowth has at next year’s mage tourney,” Clypeus said.

“Except only four students of our entire year will be chosen to go. We don’t all have to be put under this stress,” Nora groaned.

“Agreed,” Kithina nodded.

“You’re all too soft,” Stryg scowled.

“Agreed,” Freya nodded.

“That’s a first,” Callum noted.

Stryg looked at each one of their faces in the firelight, “You all simply want to finish this exam and go home, while ignoring the whole reason we are out here, to become powerful magi. I for one am not here to do the bare minimum. I am here to become the most powerful mage among you. I will qualify for next year’s tourney and I will be the one to win it all.”

Clypeus cleared his throat and pointed at Stryg, “What he said.”

“Well, that’s something I can drink to,” Callum raised his mug.

They all cheered and raised their mugs. Nora spat out her drink and wretched. She vomited on the grass as she heaved painfully. Kegrog dropped his food, quickly got behind Nora, held her hair up, and rubbed her back.

“Cly, get over here,” Kegrog called out.

Clypeus stood stock still, his mouth gaping open like a fish.

After a few long painful moments, Nora’s stomach was empty.

“...Nora, are you?” Kithina whispered.

Nora paled as she noticed Clypeus’ shocked expression.

Nora pushed herself to her feet and walked off into the dark. Everyone’s eyes slowly turned to Clypeus.

Kithina raised her mug, “Um, congratulations?”