Vivian’s floated in the air far above Aqua Terra, her eyes narrowed as her robes snapped in the wind. Power emanated from her body in a pearlescent halo with enough pressure to grind most Rank 5 mages to dust from her presence alone. She’d drawn enough strength from her runes to flatten a large city.
She wasn’t sure if it would be enough.
Across from her was the Apostles’ Prophet.
Spiked black armor covered his entire form and he held a huge halberd at his side. Ancient magic lurked within every part of the man. It was power that Vivian was more than familiar with. As little as she liked the mage across from her, she was more than aware of just how powerful he was.
And under the right circumstances, he was stronger than her.
Vivian was no fool. She understood her limits. Aqua Terra was the seat of her power. But it was also her greatest weakness. She could fight the Apostles’ Prophet without any true risk — but her city was different. Fighting the man was one thing. Keeping him from destroying her city was another. The people within it were at risk. Even with all her defenses, a Rank 8 on a warpath would be able to do an immense amount of damage.
She needed to make sure that didn’t happen. Especially when Aqua Terra was full of travelers here for the tournament. If a serious casualty event happened, the blame would fall on her shoulders. The other Rank 8s couldn’t be relied on either. They had too much to gain from her misfortune… and they didn’t care nearly so much about others’ lives as she was certain they would claim were anything to happen.
It was unlikely they would support her, and she couldn’t force them to. Not here. The Rules applied to those visiting the city for the purposes of the tournament. The Apostle’s Prophet, Vivian suspected, was here for no such reason. But the Prophet wouldn’t have just come here for no reason.
Though Vivian was in a bad position, his presence here would earn nothing. Not on its own. She was being distracted.
Just like Yoru’s letter had warned.
“Leave,” Vivian said flatly, her eyes narrow. “You are not welcome in Aqua Terra.”
“I am aware,” the Prophet replied. “But permission has never ruled my choices.”
“Do you really believe you can challenge me within my own city?” Vivian asked coldly. “I never took you for a fool.”
“We are not within your city,” the other Prophet replied with a cruel laugh. “And while I am certain that a fight right now would be less than advantageous for me… your own abilities are limited as well. You wouldn’t want your Rune Force to crush everyone in the city below, would you?”
“I don’t need the full strength of my Rune Force to crush you,” Vivian replied. “Not here.”
“Bold. But even if you believe so… I don’t think you’ll risk it,” the Prophet said through a sneer. “Not when you have another choice. I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to talk. But if you wish to turn this to a battle… it’s your choice. I would be happy to oblige.”
“Talk?” Vivian repeated. Her eyes narrowed further still. “What could the two of us ever have to speak of?”
“That depends. Are you offering a temporary truce?” the other Prophet asked. “Because I will not lower my guard to speak while you hold a hammer of magic over my head. Make your choice. We will talk — or we will fight.”
Vivian’s didn’t move for a moment. The Apostles’ Prophet didn’t have any of his magic at the ready. She would have felt it if he had. A fight didn’t benefit her at all. Some of her power was already caught up back in Aqua Terra. If there was a way she could avoid a fight, she had to take it. The Prophet had timed his arrival well. Slowly, she let her own power fade. “Very well. We will speak.”
***
Shadows bubbled along dark gray stone in an unlit hall. The braziers hanging on either side of a massive pair of black metal doors sputtered to life, igniting with purple light.
Bulges formed in the darkness. They rose upward to form into five rough humanoid silhouettes. Details twisted into the shadow in measured brushstrokes. Then it drained away, leaving five people standing in the huge hall.
“This is as far as I can get you,” Maria said, looking up to the huge doors before her. “The wards here will go off if I try to squeeze my way in. Vivian isn’t paranoid, but she’s not a fool. She doesn’t just leave her vaults open to me.”
“The key is just beyond this?” Kyyle asked, craning his neck back to look up at the imposing doors. He glanced over to the other two Apostles, then to Baress. His lips thinned. “You’re certain? That almost seems too easy.”
“Yes,” Maria said flatly. “I am completely certain. And it feels easy because I was able to take you right past all of the defenses and protections for thieves that Vivian has in place. You’ve avoided numerous traps that would have torn the majority of Rank 7s into shreds, not to mention the Executioner’s ire. The only reason you even stand here right now is because I will it so.”
“Yes, yes,” Baress said, approaching the tall doors with a faint smile on her features. She tapped her staff on the ground with every step. “You’ve done well, Maria.”
Kyyle grunted. He walked up to stand alongside Baress. “We don’t have much time, then. I don’t think the Prophet will be able to keep Vivian’s attention for long. When she realizes that it’s a distraction, she may come back.”
“By the time she realizes anything is amiss, it will be too late,” Baress replied with a soft laugh. “And Vivian is powerful, but not so much that she could take me in a fight faster than we could escape. Once we get through these doors, we have already won. Open them. I would do it myself, but drawing on my power here would be certain to draw Vivian’s attention before we can afford it.”
“We’ll try the easy way first,” Kyyle said, gesturing to the other Apostles. “Just remember what you owe us. Don’t cross the Prophet.”
“I have no need to cross any of you,” Baress replied. “You will have your spots in Solstice. The last thing I need is a bunch of insufferable Truthseekers terrorizing my lands. Now stop wasting time and get those damn doors open. Maria, help them. I’m certain you can lend your powers here without risking revelation.”
Maria wordlessly stepped up to join the Apostles. The four of them walked over to the huge doors, silent as they all studied the complex runs running along it. It was another minute before any of them spoke.
“I can hold back the main connections,” Maria said. “But the finer work will have to be yours. Sever the connecting runes and—”
“I know how this works,” Kyyle growled. “People always assume war is some grand event and that I don’t know how to be subtle. It isn’t. War is all about the tiny things. The details. It’s just that the only thing anyone on the outside sees is the big picture. I’m more than capable of picking apart a lock. Even one this complex. Crone, Audren, lend me your energy. Even with Maria, this will be a heavy job.”
The other two Apostles put their hands on Kyyle’s shoulders.
He nodded to Maria, who closed her eyes and raised her hands. Shadows twisted out from her fingers to snake across the surface of the great door. They continued until pretty much the entire surface of it had been covered.
A shudder rolled through the room. The torches flickered briefly, and a shimmer of light traced through the runes covering the metal in a flash. Then it faded away. Maria gave a stiff nod.
“Okay,” she hissed. “Go. You have a minute.”
“I won’t need that long.” Kyyle blew out a sharp breath. Then he touched the door.
There were several long seconds of silence.
Then a click echoed out. A dozen more followed after it.
And, without so much as another groan, the doors started to slide open. Dozens of massive gears were buried within the interior of their heavy forms. There must have been easily ten different mechanisms that had all been individually keeping the doors locked.
Beyond the doors was a deceptively small room. It was made of plain white marble, in stark contrast to the dark entrance, with a single pillar in its center. A huge grin split Baress’ lips.
“There we go,” she whispered. “Well done.”
Then she swept into the room. After a moment, other four followed after her. They all gathered around the pillar.
“There we go,” Baress whispered. “Who would have thought you were so lucky, Vivian? Just know I don’t have any problem with you personally. I just can’t just let you have two keys to Solstice. The balance must be maintained, after all.”
Baress tapped her staff against the marble. Coiling gray vines twisted into its surface. There was a series of sharp, loud cracks. The vines grew thicker, forcing the pillar to rise from the ground while near-invisible seams in its surface appeared and split apart.
The pillar rose a foot, sections of it expanding slowly. Greed and delight passed over the Faction Head’s features as she watched the pillar unfold before her, slowly forced to reveal the contents that had been hidden within it.
A cough echoed out.
But it hadn’t come from anyone standing in the small treasure room.
Baress and the Apostles spun just in time for Rake to step into the doorway behind them.
“I believe stealing goes against the Rules, Baress,” Rake said softly.
“Rake!” Baress exclaimed, staring at him in shock. “What? How are you here?”
“That is less of a question,” Rake replied with a shake of his head. “This was not a wise decision.”
“Shit,” Kyyle hissed. “What is another Faction Head doing here, Baress?”
“Shut up,” she snapped, before raising her voice and turning to face Rake properly. “Rake. Think for a moment. I wouldn’t do this for no reason. Vivian has a second key to Solstice. We can split the spots. That’s far better than letting one Faction have two whole keys. It’s unreasonable.”
“Hm,” Rake said. For a moment his head tilted to the side. “That is unreasonable. I admit your offer is tempting. But…”
“He’s not stupid enough to try and steal something from me right under my own nose,” came a woman’s voice from the darkness.
“Shit,” Kyyle breathed.
And then Vivian stepped out from the darkness, her runes burning in the air above her.
“She was supposed to be distracted!” Baress hissed, taking a step back. “Why is Vivian here?!”
“The Prophet is otherwise entangled for the moment,” Vivian said. Her eyes were cold and there was a razor-sharp edge in her voice, but her lips split apart into a thin smile. “What do you think you’re doing in my treasury, Baress? And I will warn you once to stay your hand. I should tell you that I am projecting everything that happens in this room to the entirety of Aqua Terra. I thought they might like to see that one of the Faction Heads is a conniving thief. But if you call on your magic — then I will show the world what it looks like when a Rank 8 mage dies.”
Baress’ knuckles turned white around her staff. “You think I’m stupid enough to believe that? You wouldn’t reveal the location of your treasury to the world. And you definitely wouldn’t dare reveal you actually have two keys to the Solstice.”
“What I may or may not have is none of your concern,” Vivian said, her voice growing even colder. “You are in breach of the Rules.”
“But it is my concern. And it’s Rake’s as well. This will upset the balance,” Baress replied with a sneer. “Would you really let Vivian get away with two keys to Solstice when you could instead claim part of one yourself, Rake? Look!”
She thrust a finger toward the pillar.
And, with a final crack, the marble split open.
A platform emerged from within the broken gears. Two palm-sized bone boxes carved with sat upon its surface, both of them carved with hundreds of small runes. With a flick, Baress sent two of the gray roots shooting forward. They grabbed onto the boxes and opened them both as one.
The one on the left bore a beautiful golden gemstone within it, resting on a soft pillow within the box.
But the one on the right was empty.
Stunned silence washed over the room.
Even Vivian looked baffled.
Then there was a flicker of green light from within the box. It spun out, transforming into a glowing projection in the air between Baress’s group and Vivian’s. And then there was a man standing there, his body formed of translucent green energy, a crooked grin on his lips.
“Hullo,” the man said, raising his hands as he turned in a slow circle, as if greeting an audience. “Your favorite mage, Jalen, here. I thank you all for coming. We appreciate your interest in the Solstice key… but its rightful owner has already claimed it. The only thing here is this message. But thanks for the storage, Viv.”
“What?” Baress whispered in disbelief. “What is this? A message?”
“You can’t be serious,” Vivian muttered.
“Spider sends his regards to all of you,” Jalen continued through a snickering laugh. “He’ll unfortunately be withdrawing from the tournament — and bringing his people with him. Spider hopes you’ll understand. He also looks forward to seeing you all in Solstice!”
Jalen dropped into a deep bow.
“Ah, yes. One more thing. I nearly forgot.” Jalen looked back up, a glint in his eye. Then he gave them all a sharp salute and a wink. “So long, suckers.”