He worked well through the night, falling asleep at his table before he could make it back to his own room. The following morning, Lilian and Silver woke him with a knock on the door.

“Are you all ready to leave?” Lilian asked, eyeing the pile of metal scrap surrounding him.

“I’ve got what I need as long as you guys took care of food,” Angel replied. “All that’s left is to watch the Tinkering competition and hopefully get Silver his bracelet the legal way.”

“I wouldn’t object to the other method, truth be told,” Silver mused. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to run from an entire city of guardsmen. It could be quite exciting.”

“We’ll probably have a chance to do that sooner or later,” Angel said. “No need to rush if we can avoid it.”

“You can figure this out later,” Lilian said. “I looked into the tournament, and it starts around midday. However, the Academy is opening up the gates so people from anywhere can watch. If we want a good seat to support your students, we should go now.”

Angel nodded, and Lilian led them out of the workshop building and through the Academy streets. It was busier than usual. Students sat on street corners, trying to sell confections and baked goods to any passersby. A good number of the people wandering around didn’t wear any sort of Academy clothing, although they did all look quite wealthy.

Lilian turned down the main street, heading towards a large open building shaped like a circle near the edge of the Academy grounds. A large portion of the growing crowd was moving in the same direction as they were.

A line had already built at the entrance to the building when they got there. Two guards wearing heavy Magitech armor stood at the gates, letting people in one at a time. The three fell in the line, waiting their turn.

It took nearly half an hour for them to reach the front. The guard’s gaze fell on Silver and he inclined his head. “Ah. You’ve changed your mask, Wind Snake. I almost didn’t recognize you. Vanessa said you and your group would be attending. She’s got seats in row A, and has requested that you join her.”

“Good to know. Thanks,” Silver said, flipping him a coin as they passed. A huge amphitheater stretched out before them. Hundreds of rows of metal chairs encircled a large, raised stage where twenty people were standing in front of tables. Many of the chairs had already been taken, and there were a number of guards pacing through the arena. They seemed mostly concentrated near the bottom and front row.

“Become a bit of a celebrity, have you?” Angel asked. “How’d you manage that?”

“Working for Dalliah has its perks,” Silver replied. “Including being able to throw her weight around for trivial stuff. You’d be shocked at the discounts I can get.”

“You use the magistrates name to buy cheaper groceries?” Lilian asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Mostly snacks, actually,” Silver replied. “The guards thought the same, until I got them some food as well. Remember, guards are the main and final line of defense. Whenever you need to get something or sneak somewhere, having the guards on your side will do just as much as a strong weapon.”

They reached the front of the arena. A guard glanced at them, but he turned away when he recognized Silver. Vanessa sat near the middle of the row, Tom at her side. Angel hadn’t seen the large boy since the first time they’d met. When Vanessa spotted them, she waved in their direction.

“When I heard that Tilly and Alison were competing, I had to come watch,” Vanessa said. “Are they really ready?”

“As ready as they’ll get,” Angel replied. “If the competition is anything like their professors, they should have a decent chance of doing well. I don’t have a particularly high opinion of the Tinkerers here. They seem too comfortable with the standard and unwilling to actually seek new knowledge.”

“A few of the competitors are older students,” Vanessa said. “No professors. They weren’t allowed to compete, since the competition is technically hosted by the Academy. Molten Ridges was built around it, so the Academy gets a huge say in anything that happens. There are also some travelling Tinkerers, but I don’t know anything about them.”

“Then the situation is as ideal as it’ll ever be,” Angel said. He spotted Tilly and Alison at the righthand side of the front row and waved to them. They waved back. Both girls looked a little nervous.

A man walked along the rows of tables, placing closed metal boxes on the table and telling the competitors something before moving on. It was too noisy in the crowd to hear what he was saying.

All four of them sat back and watched people trickle in over the next few hours. A butler arrived at the front row, distributing drinks to all of them before vanishing as quickly as he had come.

“Perks of being in the front seat,” Vanessa explained. “This row is reserved for Magistrates and their families.”

A few minutes later, the flow of people entering the arena started to stem. People found their seats and a tall man with a flowing beard that dangled near his knees climbed a raised platform in the center of the stage.

He raised a small, rune covered stick to his mouth and cleared his throat. The sound echoed throughout the amphitheater.

“Welcome, one and all,” the man boomed. “We will be starting the Tinkering tournament shortly. We’re just waiting for everyone to get settled down. For those of you who don’t know or forgot, I’ll go back over the rules and prize, which are both quite simple. There are five judges, each of whom is an accomplished Tinkerer. Our twenty contestants will be asked to create the same artifact. The Tinkerer who creates the artifact that the most judges rate highly will win fifty Vei and an artifact that they may use as they please.”

The crowd cheered and the man shook his head good naturedly. “The competition hasn’t even started yet, you rascals. Control yourself. I will ask that you keep noise to a minimum while the contestants are working. Tinkering can be dangerous and difficult, and distractions could cause problems. Let’s begin now, and I’ll let you know when noise is permitted again. Sound good?”

Silence washed over the arena, broken only by the occasional coughs and the sounds of people eating or drinking. The announcer gave everyone an award winning smile.

“Perfect. My name is Vonty, and I’ll be your announcer for today. My artifact can cast sound to specific areas, so don’t worry about anything I say. The contestants can’t hear me.”

Vonty glanced back at a row of five distinguished looking people. A woman at the end gave him a thumbs up.

“It looks like we’re just about ready to start,” Vonty said.

On cue, the competitors reached into their boxes and started taking out components. From where Angel sat, he could recognize an energy source and a scribe amongst the parts. The others were too small to make anything out.

“The goal of this Tinkering tournament is to create a device that can be used as a weapon using the parts laid out on the table,” Vonty called. “Given the current circumstances with the Reawakening, I think you all might know why Molten Ridges is looking for people adept at this sort of thing. The contestants are allowed to do whatever they’d like with their components, but they cannot interfere with each other. Once two hours have passed or all the competitors have finished, they will all demonstrate their creations. The time starts now, so keep your eyes on the stage and see what they make!”

Several people got right to work, confident expressions on their faces. As Angel had expected, neither Alison nor Tilly picked up their scribe. They both stood, their eyes glazed in thought as they planned out their products.

“They don’t know anything about weapons!” Vanessa whispered. “I guess Tilly might have seen some stuff my mom has, but not enough to reconstruct it. The topic is horrible for them.”

“I think Alison might have more experience with explosives than anyone else on that stage,” Angel replied in the same hushed tone, a grin tugging at his lips. “And Tilly is resourceful. The question isn’t if they’ll do well – it’s if their competitor’s experience will overshadow their creativity.”