Crisilla tossed the keys onto the jailor’s desk as they left, listening intently to Era and Gabriel’s tale. “Gods, Era,” she said wide-eyed, “what in the world did you do to piss off the Archmage so badly?”
“That’s exactly what I’d like to find out!” he said desperately. “I still don’t have a single clue to go off of, and now I know that it’s the most powerful mage in the country himself who has a grudge against me. I don’t even know what for.” He shrugged a single shoulder. “I’m at a bit of a loss, honestly. It’s not every day you find yourself in a predicament like this one.”
“Well, I’ll gladly try my best to help you out,” Crisilla offered, “and I’m pretty sure Gabe’s got your back. Right, Gabriel?”
“Of course I do,” Gabriel nodded. “And don’t call me ‘Gabe.’”
“You’ve already done a great deal by helping us out of prison,” Era said gratefully. “How did you do that, anyway?”
“Money runs everything in a castle town,” Crisilla replied. “Once you know that, you can get away with a lot.”
“So you bought us out?” Gabriel asked.
“Yep. Drop in the bucket, no need to pay me back.” Gabriel rolled his eyes.
As they walked down the street, another familiar face strode towards them. Crisilla’s eyes lit up, and she trotted into the man’s arms. “Jarred!”
“Everything go alright, love?” he asked with a smile.
“It went just fine, no worries.”
“And your friends?”
“Unharmed, but in a bit of a predicament. Knocking the teeth out of the Archmage will do that to you.”
Jarred threw a look of disbelief at Era. “He managed to knock the teeth out of the Archmage? Mister skin-and-bones here?”
Era chuckled with a hand over his mouth. “Goodness, no,” he said, smiling. “That was Gabriel.”
“That makes much more sense, then,” Jarred replied with a smirk. “I have no clue what got into you two, but it looks like Crisilla here picked just the right time to pay you two a surprise visit.”
“You certainly did,” Era replied gratefully. “Luck was on our side, it seems.”
“So,” Crisilla asked, “where are you two staying? It looks like we’re going to be here longer than we thought.”
Jarred arched an eyebrow to her. “Care to explain?”
“Along the way, sweetie,” she said, teasing his goatee lightly. “First I want lunch, and I’ll bet you anything these two would as well.”
“Well, I suppose the royal records are out,” Era said between bites of mashed potato. “I’d rather not mess about in the castle again unless it is absolutely necessary.”
“You looked in the Academy’s records,” Gabriel noted. “That gave you a clue, but it’s not a very helpful one.”
The four were sitting in a crowded tavern for a heavy lunch, hunched over their table and plotting a strategy. Jarred had, after some initial incredulity, been filled in on Era’s quest and the circumstances surrounding his visit to Elsequaire.
“Have you just tried asking around at the Academy?” Jarred chimed in.
“I haven’t, actually.” Era paused briefly to think. “Come to think of it… the Archmage said I had been gone for three years, and I apparently graduated from the Academy eight years ago. Maybe the school’s staff has changed since then, and I need to find out who would know me from then.”
“Try teachers,” Jarred suggested. “They tend to stick around longer than higher-up staff, no matter what kind of school you’re talking about. If that doesn’t lead anywhere, find out who was headmaster or apprentice headmaster at the time. They’re the ones who hand out the diplomas.”
“I hear they’re the ones who instruct the graduates in sigil construction, too,” Crisilla added.
“Now we’re actually getting somewhere,” Gabriel remarked.
“Great idea, Jarred,” Era said. “Hopefully there’ll be less of a fuss getting into the Academy the second time around.”
“We can only hope,” Gabriel said, shoving a large bite of steak into his mouth. “Then again, with our little ‘encounter’ with the Archmage, we might not exactly be welcomed there with open arms.”
“Ah, I almost forgot about that.” Era furrowed his brow. “Well, we at least have to try, right?”
“Right,” Crisilla assured him.
“Then we’ll try going there tomorrow,” Era decided, “and we’ll hope for the best.”
“By order of the Archmage,” the guard commanded, “you are not to set foot on these grounds.”
“But… sir, this is incredibly important!” Era pleaded. “I assure you, I won’t cause you any sort of trouble…”
“No matter,” he stated, “it is not my decision to make. You are to leave the premises immediately before I am forced to take drastic action.”
Era pursed his lips, eventually sighing in defeat. “Yes, sir,” he gave in.
“Good. Now clear off, all of you.” The guard tapped his staff on the ground, readjusting himself back into his original stance.
As they walked off in defeat, Crisilla snapped her fingers. “Damn.”
“What now, kid?” Gabriel asked. “Got a back-up plan?”
“Well, we need to get in there somehow.”
“Well, the front door obviously isn’t an option,” Jarred remarked.
Era tapped his chin in thought as they walked down the thickly-crowded street. “Well, we need to get in there,” he emphasized, “so we’ll have to somehow…”
His voice trailed off as he noticed a hooded figure several yards ahead of him reaching a deft hand into an unsuspecting villager’s purse.
Reacting quickly, he visualized an invisible hand seizing the man. Almost immediately after calling the magic, a glowing force, like a cloud of fireflies, engulfed him, scattering the crowd and halting his attempted robbery.
“Wh—Era, what’s going on!?” Gabriel asked.
Without responding, Era dashed off to the hooded man squirming on the earth. Looking back up, he beckoned Gabriel. “Hold him for me!”
“Right.” Gabriel rushed over and pulled the thief up, securing his arms behind his back. Once Gabriel’s grip was firm, Era released the spell binding him.
“P-Please, master mage, don’t hurt me!! I’ve never hurt anyone, not in my entire life—”
“You say that,” Era said calmly and with understanding in his tone, “and yet I just saw you robbing a woman. That seems a little conflicting.”
“She had money to lose!! She… we…”
“I’m not the one you should be explaining to,” Era continued. “That’s what the guards are for.”
“Please, no!! Don’t turn me in, I don’t want to go back to prison!!”
Standing up, Era beckoned Gabriel. “Back to the castle we go, I suppose.”
Pulling a length of cord out of his bag, Gabriel bound the man’s hands tightly behind his back and nudged him forward with a kick to the backs of his ankles. “Right behind you.”
The crowd gradually resumed its activities, stares making their way to the group every so often. As they trudged slowly back, Crisilla had a loony grin on her face. “That was the most badass thing I’ve ever seen you do, Era.”
He flushed, smiling sheepishly back to her. “I had to do something.”
“I need to learn sorcery,” she said. “It may be a man’s art, but I’d pull stuff like that all the time. You seriously need to make better use of the badassness of your powers.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
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