A group of students, commoners and arem, ambushed me outside of my room and bombarded me with questions about the labyrinth. They probably would’ve done it the day before if the teachers hadn’t told them not to bother us. I kept my answers brief, hoping they’d get the message and leave me alone. I’d never been that good at communicating so they followed me all the way to the dorm’s mess hall.

The place was as gaudy as the rest of the dorm, filled with random paintings, and ugly tapestries, along with banners of the academy and empire. It wasn’t any better since the place was also infested with nobles. They glanced our way and, either by recognition, their inherent hate for commoners, or the obvious traits of the arem, they jeered at us. One of the nobles, someone I didn’t know, pushed off from his seat and sauntered over.

He looked a year or two older and wore an onyx pin, the mark of a third year. Renard Academy’s minimum age limit was fourteen, though few came that early. There was little reason for a house to send someone that young; they’d be easy pickings for a hostile faction since their mana control would be underdeveloped.

The group dispersed and the third year sneered. “If you’re going to attend the academy, at least have some spine, though I suppose cowardice is to be expected. I only wanted to see what you looked like,” he said while eyeing me. “You caused an uproar when you were lost in that Shift. I wondered why the headmaster would choose someone like you to duel Abelard, but maybe there was something to you. Don’t let this compliment get to your head.” He left for his table, which welcomed him by shooting glares at me.

“What was that about?” Axel asked, suddenly appearing.

I shrugged, “How am I supposed to know? Is Feno here?”

“He’s hiding.”

“Great. Where is he?”

We found him hiding around the corner. After a bit of prodding, he spilled the beans. The third year was a council member, Emiel Reese, and the oldest of a four-star house. That explained his lack of hostility, members of the council were supposed to be role models, though that was plenty hostile.

“What are you planning to do after this?” Axel asked.

“Run,” I said, leaving the table.

Or so I hoped. Running through the city was as difficult as I imagined it. People clogged every street and corner, the roads were filled with carts and wagons delivering goods, and, worst of all, an abundance of kids chased stray leaves that’d flown over from Treant Park, dipping and dashing through people minding their own business. They were hard to see given how young, and short, most of them were.

The outer parts of the city were less populated but I kept getting strange looks from passersby. Instead, I decided to find a place outside the city. There were four gates in each of the cardinal directions. The west was the least used, or that was my guess based on where Aurora City was located in the empire, so I went there.

Few folks were there and I walked to the gate. A guard stopped me a good distance away, “Halt, we’re processing a merchant. You’ll need to step back.”

I didn’t remember seeing people held this far back when the students were pouring into the city. I glanced over his shoulder and saw two men, one likely a captain, were speaking to the merchant. The wagon lacked the usual roundish bonnet, instead having a square one in its place, covered with a tarp strapped to the underside.

The guard blocked my view and pushed me, “I said to step back!”

What an asshole.

If he wanted to be less obvious, this wasn’t the way to go about it. It was clear from how he kept watch and the absurd distance I was from the gate that something was wrong. City guards also weren’t the meticulous type. They were average people working jobs, though some let the small power get to their heads. Keeping such strict and over-the-top enforcement of the rules meant a few things, one, that the merchant was an important person, or two, the cargo was illegal and they were bribed.

No need to stir up trouble.

I complied until the wagon was cleared and the guard let me go. I snuck a glance as it passed by. The tarp was on there tight and no amount of wind seemed to create any meaningfully large flaps. I let my suspicion go and a moment later, I caught the slightest gasp as the wagon hit a small bump on the side of the road.

Immediately I thought the worst.

“Get moving,” the guard said, this time pushing me toward the gate.

“I’m going. Is this how city guards treat students around here?” I said it knowing full well his reaction.

He retreated a step, elbows pressed against his side and hands stuck in an awkward retraction. “I-I didn’t know,” he said.

I watched as the wagon went further and further. I’d be sure to let Carlyle know. They were enforcers, despite what Carlyle had said.

This is the place?

It looked like a rundown warehouse. It was a rundown warehouse. It made sense for a secretive organization but wasn’t it a bit obvious? If someone wanted to find them, all they had to do was search the abandoned or less populated areas of the city at night.

Upon entering, I saw dusty crates pushed close to the walls stacked in a large semi-circle. The design was the same as the one I followed Patchwork to and ended up fighting with Gauntlet.

I rapped a nearby crate instead of calling out. The air shifted behind me. I spun and palmed a knife. The figure was quick. It threw a punch and I saw the power hiding in the person’s toned arm. I kicked off from the person, who withstood my weight without moving, and flashed my knife.

“Hold on,” Carlyle said, appearing behind the figure. “That’s our new recruit, and I already tested him.”

The figure removed his hood and lit a lantern that’d been hidden behind the crates. He was a tall man with a shaved head and clean face. His strength was visible in his size alone, and his skin wasn’t as light as most of the citizens walking around, nor was it as dark as the southern nobles, rather a tanned in-between.

“Thirteenth, meet Second,” Carlyle said.

“Allan,” he said, holding out a hand.

I took it, half-expecting a crushing grip. Instead, it was a simple, but firm one. Aside from the sudden attack, he didn’t seem as antagonistic as Carlyle.

Carlyle and Allan used the crates as seats, sitting at the other end of the room across from the door. A voice came from behind them.

“Can I stop hiding now?”

“You’re fine,” Allan said.

A man with thick brown hair and a stubble-filled face climbed over and greeted me. “I’m Henry, or Fifth, I guess you could say if you care about formalities. You’re the Vigilante, right?”

I nodded.

“Shame you joined us, but I can’t say it isn’t nice to meet you. You’re younger than I thought.” I felt for my mask. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I can’t see your face. It’s just a feeling. I can see it in your eyes too.”

“Woah, hold on there. I’m supposed to be the flirt,” said a woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, as she grabbed my shoulder. I didn’t notice her coming in. I eyed her carefully as she looked me up and down with a seductive gaze. She wore a cloak that easily enveloped her if she stood still. Rather than that, she let her skin show, leaning forward while at the same time, taking long and slow steps. Her hand lingered on my shoulder, fingers playfully walking closer to my face. “Tall, young, and strong.” She smiled and brushed back her long blonde hair. “You took down several criminals, I hear. Want a reward?”

She reached for my mask and I grabbed her hand.

“Don’t tease him so much, Hannah. Don’t want to scare away a newbie on the first night,” Henry said.

She pretended to pout and stepped closer. I could almost feel her breath as she spoke. “Am I scaring you away?”

“No, but I was told the Twelve didn’t play games,” I replied. She was attractive, but I wasn’t interested in getting too involved with them. As soon as I killed Kharss, we were done.

The door opened and another woman walked in. She pulled back her hood and paused. “You really couldn’t wait to start hitting on him, could you?”

Hannah sighed and took an exaggerated step back that arched her back. “Proactivity is the name of the game. Some men don’t like it, since they’re used to being the pursuers and all, but many do. Say, did I get your heart racing?”

“Alright, enough with the games,” Carlyle said. “Anne, this is our thirteenth.” Anne nodded to me as she walked past. “Now that we’ve all gathered and everyone’s met, I’ll get down to the details.”

Hannah turned her attention toward Carlyle. The teasing, playful woman of before was nowhere to be seen.

“Allan and I have confirmed the information given to us by the Talons.”

My breath stopped at the mention of the name but no one seemed to notice except for Carlyle who pointedly looked at me while speaking.

“Our ‘superiors’,” he said the word with disdain. “Want us to put a stop to it.”

“Are we breaking in?” Anne asked.

“Not quite.” Carlyle nodded and Allan handed each of them a piece of paper. “Those are your new identities. I’ll have you three act out your roles for the next two weeks in preparation for the mission. A few nobles and merchants are already swarming around the higher-end accommodations. Your papers should include a list of those we know or suspect of being part of the secret auction. Get on friendly terms with them. Have them invite you to it. In the meantime, Allan and I will work on alternatives just in case.”

“Where’s mine?” I asked. Carlyle and Allan ignored me. I was annoyed, but I didn’t want to make a scene in front of the others. Even if I had no intention of getting to know them, I’d prefer if our interactions were tainted by a bad impression.

“I just got a new job too,” Anne said with a sigh.

“This is important,” Henry said. It didn’t come out like scolding, rather, it sounded like a declaration. His face was full of contempt and determination as he read through.

“Don’t go crazy, Henry,” Hannah said, stuffing the paper into a pouch. She turned to Carlyle, “I’ll get in, so worry about these two instead.”

“You’re going to be rubbing noses with nobles, you know,” Anne said.

“Oh, please Anne. They act high and mighty in public, uptight bastards raised from birth to rule and deceive. Find one at night, or alone, however, and you’ll see how they’re like everyone else, maybe worse. Besides, my role isn’t much different from what I already do. I’ll have one of them wrapped around my finger by the end of tomorrow. Well, if the Thirteenth here doesn’t take me up on my offer that is,” she said with a wink.

Before she could say anything else, Carlyle interrupted. “He’s not a part of this, not yet.”

“What? I spent the last two weeks doing what you asked of me, and now you’re going to back out?”

“I kept my end of the deal. You’re here. Missions are a different thing. If you want to participate, you’ll have to prove yourself.” Carlyle held out another paper. I grabbed it. It was a rough sketch of a man with the words, ‘wanted’ at the top.

Occasionally, adventuring boards had wanted posters on them. Those posters could only be put up by the guilds, in the case of dangerous or thieving labyrinth divers, or officials chasing after public threats. Most wanted posters weren’t available to the average person, though they might as well have been. Local officials sent lists of loose criminals to the guilds who then put out bounties only registered bounty hunters could accept.

A lot of things are done by the guilds.

They focused on managing adventurers and the treasures of the labyrinth, but that was all they needed to do to be influential.

“So you want me to turn him in?”

Carlyle scoffed. “No, I want you to kill him.”