Rationally, Hakara was aware that she was in a teleportation spell of some kind, her body held in a pocket dimension until the spell moved her to her destination and that the usual flow of time was suspended, with the swirling colours she saw just her senses attempting to make sense of the formless infinity that swirled around her. The thought was not as reassuring as she might wish, as her body insisted that it was falling / rising / spinning / twisting, but there was no rushing wind, not any gravity or horizon to orient herself to.

And then it ended, a moment of sunlight and stone, before she smacked onto the ground, instinctively trying to protect her bag. She landed hard on a hip, the air getting smacked from her. Around her, there the sounds of other impacts, groans as people crashed into the ground.

She heaved in a deep breath, slowly recovering herself as she looked around, relaxing slightly as she recognised the familiar surroundings – it was one of the university quads, neatly trimmed grass surrounded by stone archways, the high tower of the library looming over it all.

Sharlan helped her to her feet, looking just as shaken up as Hakara felt. ‘Good spot on the runecraft. Inversion is always easier than starting anew. That puzzle seemed pretty hard though, I don’t think anyone without magical knowledge would be able to complete it. I thought I saw Aqushi, did you try and warp the thing to the nearest ocean?’

‘It seemed about the best thing. If it’s just an illusion, then it’ll dispel itself as soon as it’s out of range.’

‘It was just an illusion, right…?’

A sharp crack sounded above them as the air rippled with a rainbow of colours for a moment, another figure falling out. Rather than limply thudding to the ground, they fell into a neat roll, tumbling back to their feet, swords still in hand as they looked about cautiously. It was the female fighter from before – although some of her coverings had come loose or been torn away to reveal half of her face, pale purple skin and white hair, and bright red eyes.

‘She’s one of the under-elves! I’ve never seen one before.’

As soon as she landed, she looked up at the sky, recoiling from the light, and tried to rearrange her bandages to cover her face again. Sharlan waved at her, then said something in a throat-rending series of hacking, biting sounds. The woman responded in kind, Sharlan looking blank, as she approached and spoke in the common tongue.

‘You don’t know how to say anything other than “I know a little of your tongue”, do you?’

‘Sorry, no. Well, I can say “yes” and “no”.’

‘I’ve been around since probably before your grandparents met, let’s use a language we all know.’

Hakara pulled out a strip of fabric from her bag and handed them, the woman covering her face again.

‘Thank you. Bloody sun! Would have preferred to do the job at night, but the place is too quiet then. Where did you send that thing? Just so I know never to go there myself.’

‘Um, it should have been transported to the nearest ocean.’

‘Well, some ship’s in for a hell of a surprise. So who are you with? I told the Ivory Scroll I would handle this solo, and the Churches can go swing, they still owe me for the last three gigs I did.’

‘I’m not sure what you’re, um, talking about? It was just a set of puzzle rooms, wasn’t it?’

Even through the facial coverings, Hakara could detect a definite smirk of disbelief. ‘Guessing they don’t teach the right things at that fancy school? Opet, get your ass over here and apologise! Oh, and you look like you need a drink, have this. Good thing I try to cover for weird shit like this.’ She pulled out a potion vial, a sparkling red-and-grey haze mingling inside it. She uncapped it, then handed it over. ‘Good for what ails you.’

Hakara sniffed it, then took a sip, immediately feeling calmer and more relaxed, her body at rest. Opet walked over, limping slightly, his armour dirty down one side from his fall, eyes downcast as the woman started lecturing him.

‘If you’re going to use a plant, then make sure they’re a safe distance from the target, and actually complete the switch-off. If that thing had found them, we’d all have been screwed! Good thing these two are so quick-thinking, even if it was a dud lead.’

‘Um, what’s going on? Who are you?’ Sharlan swigged from the potion herself, her eyes glazing slightly.

‘We’re adventurers, this is a gig we were hired to do. Didn’t go quite as planned, but then, the fun ones never do. Was supposed to be something in there, but it wasn’t. So on to look for the next one. At least we’re on time and materials, so it’s not a complete loss. I can even throw in two contractors, I guess.’

‘But… you… what?’

‘Hey, I recognise that hair. You Jahasin’s kid? Small world. Tell him sorry about the minotaur, but I owed him for what happened at Greyholt. Actually, you probably won’t be able to. Anyway, why don’t you sit down?’

Hakara helped Sharlan onto one of the stone benches, patting her comfortingly on the back. ‘That was all real then?’

‘Yup. Because this dumbass got spotted by the guard, so had to bolt, I guess he planted the thing on you? That worked as the key to get us in, and I guess you as well. Hopefully no-one else, or they’re going to be stuck there, unless your spell threw them out too. Good work though, rare to see quick-thinking like that.’

‘Sorry. Although I would still take you to the play, if…’

An alarm bell rang somewhere close by, loud and jarring, the sounds of footsteps, armour and weapons. The woman spoke again, red eyes gleaming.

‘No time for that, we need to get gone. This is the west cloister, right? I know a hidden tunnel in one of the classrooms. This way. Oh, and thanks for your help.’ She reached down to her waist, then handed over a clinking belt-pouch. ‘That should help, and I hope you enjoy the play. Anyway, let’s go!’

The others moved up behind her, Opet giving Hakara an apologetic look before following. The group darted out of sight, moving into one of the classrooms. Hidden passages? Given the age of the place, and how many times it had been rebuilt, it would scarcely come as a surprise, but who was that woman? It was hard not to feel as though they hadn’t been involved in something illegal. But… She yawned, then took the potion back from Sharlan, taking another swig, the taste strangely compelling.

‘You may have the blessings of the gods, but you shall never defeat me, Kinnevar Ultremar, wielder of the blade of darkness!’

Hakara blinked her eyes, shifting in her seat. Her seat? She was propped up against Sharlan, her head supported by the other woman’s shoulder, the tent dark except for the lights focused on the stage. A male figure (his physique owing rather more to some unsubtle padding and corsetry than to actual musculature) was swinging around a piece of black-painted metal, while a woman in golden chainmail swung a mace back, the weapons crashing together.

‘While I draw breath, you shall not leave your tomb!’ They swung their weapons again, making exaggerated grunts of effort. A man ran in from the other side of the stage, lacey shirt billowing as he moved.

‘I have his bane, fair Carissia! The blade of the sun, normally kept secure in Redcastle for the days of prophecy! For our love, I did steal it!’

From his hip he drew a sword, some alchemic effect making the blade shimmer with garish red light as it was pulled out. The fight continued, before the red blade slid into Kinnevar’s armpit, and he sagged to the ground, red liquid welling from his mouth as he expired, in a rather over-dramatic manner.

Hakara nudged Sharlan awake. As she stretched her arms, there were complained from the seats behind, Hakara apologising on her behalf. What had happened? She could remember going to the market, then there had been that handsome adventurer… She flushed and looked around – was he here? But had they talked after bumping into each other?

Sharlan was more awake now, watching the ongoing duel, as the actors moved through clearly-choreographed moves, more designed to make metal clang and clash than any attempt at realism.

‘Crap, can’t believe I slept through most of it! Still, it doesn’t look very good.’ Someone nearby in the darkness hissed at Sharlan to stay quiet, but she ignored them. ‘Can you remember anything? There was a firing range, and then some sort of puzzle contest? What the hell were you burning this morning?’

‘A preparation of firestone, viridian essence, hemlock, a astral geode…’ She started listing the mixture.

‘No wonder we’re dazed, isn’t that all memory-stuff?’

‘Well, yes, but it should make the memory sharper.’

‘Maybe don’t experiment with mind-altering drugs? Use the freshers, that’s what they’re here for. See what it does to them.’ The play finished, the “corpse” standing up and taking a bow along with the other leads, a dozen other actors dressed as various undead, demons and townsfolk lining up behind them. ‘Well, may as well go for food at least. Might get something cheap, and you can rummage around the stalls, try and get some bargains.’

They left the tent, blinking slightly as they stepped into the evening sunlight. The market was starting to pack up around them, some of the stalls already gone. One of them, with gleaming domes of force tethered to the ground, was surrounded by watchful-looking guards, the proprietor haranguing one of them.

As they walked towards the cheaper side of the market, Hakara’s hand rummaged around in her pack, fingers instinctively feeling the jars and vials. They brushed against something unexpected, a stuff, slender rod. She drew it out – almost the length of her forearm, golden metal wound about with decorations and tipped with a crystal.

‘Hey, where did that come from? Did you win something?’

‘I guess so? I suppose that can go towards my tuition fees, at least.’