“I have a room in the Seeker’s Watch Inn that should be adequate,” Alister said. “Meet me there in an hour.”

He headed off, pushing through the crowd and ignoring anyone who tried to get his attention. Angel wished he’d had more time to see what the man had to offer, but he couldn’t afford to keep delaying.

“I’m going to need your help for this one, Tom,” Vanessa said. The large boy hadn’t said a single thing throughout the entire tournament, and Angel had completely forgotten he was there. Tom gave Vanessa a single nod. He clearly wasn’t a man of many words.

“Let’s get out of here,” Vanessa said. “Unless anyone wants to speak with some new fans?”

Alison shuddered. “Please no. I think I’m about to deflate. The faster we can get out of here, the better.”

Vanessa stood and several guards fell in around them, forming a spearhead to push through the crowd. People called out compliments and requests of varying levels of politeness to the girls, but the presence of the guards kept anyone from doing much more than that.

He scanned the crowd as they passed. It was almost like a fashion contest in the lower rows. One person wore robes that looked like they were fit for a king. A shimmer caught his eye as he briefly made eye contact a man wearing entirely bronze armor, covered with runes that Angel was surprised to realize he didn’t know all of.

Unfortunately, there was no time to stop and chat. The guards herded them forward. They escaped the arena without difficulty and retreated deeper into the Academy grounds. When the crowd thinned out enough, the guards broke away and returned to the amphitheater. Vanessa led everyone over to a large bench at the edge of a grassy courtyard and sat down.

“It’s nicer out here than going back inside,” she explained.

“I can’t argue with that,” Angel said, peering at the grass. He resisted the urge to pluck a blade and instead leaned back, staring up at the sky.

“So, when are you leaving?” Alison asked.

Angel choked on his saliva, sitting straight up. “What? How did you know?”

“You never would have considered another teacher if you weren’t,” Alison replied. “You’re much too confident in your own skills.”

“She’s saying you’re arrogant,” Silver chimed in.

“I don’t need that from you even if she isn’t wrong,” Angel snapped. His tone softened and he frowned. “Well spotted, though. I’m leaving today. Probably right after this conversation.”

Alison nodded her understanding, repressing a frown. It took her a few moments to say anything more. “I understand. I think I knew you wouldn’t be here long, even though I wish you could have stayed longer.”

“Alister seems capable enough,” Angel said. “I think he can take over your instruction. Honestly, you’d do great even without him. Both you and Tilly have the tools and talent in your skillset to be great Tinkerers. All that remains now is time and experience.”

“Only because you helped me,” Alison said. “I never would have figured out what was wrong with me without you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Angel corrected. “You’ve got a double-edged gift. So long as you use it properly, you’ll be able to do things that nobody else can even dream of. Just keep in mind its limitations, because it also means that there are things everyone else can do that you can’t. The first step to power is understanding yourself.”

“Now you sound like the professors,” Tilly said with a laugh.

Angel shuddered. “I’ve been here too long, then. That’s the last thing I want to hear. Vanessa, would it be possible to keep my workshop reserved for Tilly and Alison?”

“I suppose so,” Vanessa said. “Mom will probably be giving Tilly some private projects soon anyways, and she’ll offer the same to Alison if she signs on. I can ask to keep your room for them. Why?”

“I’ve left a little gift,” he replied. “It’s best that the exact contents are hidden to avoid trouble. It’ll take them some time to go through all of it, and they’ll need somewhere to experiment.”

“Not to mention bringing all of it out of the room would probably take an hour,” Tilly said dryly. “I’m pretty sure you used every piece of scrap in there.”

“Such gratitude for my hard work,” Angel said. “I’m sure you’ll make use of it, though.”

“We will,” Tilly promised. “What should we do with it after we’re done?”

“Whatever you want,” Angel replied with a shrug. “I don’t care. Melt it, sell it, or frame it on your wall. I didn’t invent the runes, I just found them. Although there are a few in there that are a bit more dangerous. I’ve marked them with an x – learn those last and destroy them. We don’t need to accidentally arm our enemies.”

“You think the Reawakening have agents here?” Vanessa asked, her face going pale.

“They’ve probably got agents everywhere,” Angel replied. “I bet a lot of the agents don’t even realize who they’re working for. The Reawakening have been around for hundreds of years. They’ve probably got their fingers deep in every single city in the Barren.”

“Which is why we need to move quickly,” Lilian said. “I don’t know what they’ve accomplished while we were here, but I’m sure it’s nothing good.”

“It’s fine,” Angel said. “Coming here was a good decision. I don’t regret it at all, but Lilian’s right about us having to move quickly. Our vacation is coming to an end.”

“Then all I can do is wish you good luck,” Vanessa said, clenching her hands. “I’ll see if I can do anything to find some of the Reawakening spies and feed them misinformation.”

“You’ll come back soon, right?” Alison asked. “After you deal with the Reawakening.”

“It’ll be just like a quick grocery trip. I’ll drop by, destroy the Reawakening, and be back in time for dinner,” Angel said.

Alison and Tilly rolled their eyes in unison and Angel laughed. They sat there for a few more minutes, watching the sun track through the sky overhead. Finally, Angel rose to his feet and stretched. Silver and Lilian followed him up.

“Well then,” Angel said, clearing his throat. “Ah, shit. I’m not good at this. Keep at your studies, girls. I’m expecting to be hearing legends about your prowess before I get back.”

“With that gift you left us, you very well might,” Tilly said.

“What did he leave us?” Alison asked.

“Come on, I’ll show you. Otherwise, Angel will stand there awkwardly shuffling until it’s the middle of the night.”

“Hey!” Angel complained. “I’m still your teacher. Where’s my respect?”

Tilly stuck her tongue out. “You’re on suspension until you get back. That just makes you a Tinkerer. If you want respect, you’ll have to make it back and teach us again.”

She grabbed Alison and pulled her down the path. Alison jogged to keep up with her, turning to wave over her shoulder and mouth ‘thank you’ before they turned down a building and vanished.

“You’ve done a lot for them,” Vanessa said. “Thank you, Angel.”

“I just did what the professors should have.”

“Not just Alison,” Vanessa said. “Tilly was pretty lonely. I think she felt like she was the only person that was serious about trying to improve the world instead of just make money. Considering the Academy is almost entirely filled by people that are only here because their parents are rich or influential, I can’t blame her. But that feeling made it so that she refused to interact with people as equals. I’m not sure how, but you broke her out of it.”

“I’m pretty sure I just acted like more of an asshole than she was until she had no choice but to hang out with Alison since she was the lesser of the two evils,” Angel said with a laugh. “But I’m glad I was able to help.”

“Whatever you did, it worked,” Vanessa said. “Good luck, Angel.”