“You found it!?” Era asked anxiously.
“I think that’s it,” the thief replied, handing him a file. “If not, I think we could get away with getting in there once more.”
Era immediately ran to the nearest table in the back room of the Markshood Inn, opening the file in a rush and thumbing through the pages after a cursory glance.
“See what you need, kid?” Gabriel asked beside him.
“Right… there,” he replied, pointing. “The assistant headmaster from eight years ago.” Scribbling down the name and address, he pocketed the parchment and shut the file, handing it back to the thief.
“Uh… what do you want me to do with this, master mage?” the thief asked.
“Could you maybe return it?” Era asked. “I don’t need it anymore.”
The thief chuckled. “Sure, we’ll mail it to them or something. Maybe encourage them to up their security a bit, that was child’s play to get into.”
“What did the others find out?” Era continued. “They questioned the teachers, right?”
“We did,” said a different thief as he walked into the room. “However, we found out nothing. Nobody had ever heard of you.”
“No one?” he asked in confusion. “Not a single one of them?”
“None. We were puzzled by that development as well.”
Era paused to think. “Well, at least we have one lead. Thank you all so much for your cooperation.”
“Thank Kobal,” he said, “we were only following orders.”
“I will.” Smiling, Gabriel and he left the room to join back up with Crisilla and Jarred, and the four of them made their way to the master thief’s chamber.
“I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done,” Era said once greetings had been exchanged. “This was very important to me.”
“Ah, you paid for our trouble,” Kobal replied, waving him off. “It was hardly a bother, and we’ll be eating well for a while. We lived up to our end, eh? And you certainly lived up to yours.”
“Yes, I got… well, almost everything I needed, but not to any fault on your part.”
“I heard about that. You’re weaving quite a strange tale, tall guy,” he joked.
“At any rate,” Gabriel interrupted, “we’d better get going. This guy’s back in Sarmanna, and the sooner we leave this city, the better.”
“Right,” Era nodded, turning back to Kobal. “Thanks again, sir.”
“Aw, I preferred ‘your highness,’” he laughed. “Safe travels to the lot of you.”
Crisilla trotted over to Kobal and shook his hand energetically. “I guess I can’t brag about it to anyone, but now I have the satisfaction of being able to meet the king of thieves!”
“Some people have the strangest aspirations,” Kobal said off-handedly.
With that, the group gathered their belongings and checked into their rooms for the last time. They were prepared to leave for Sarmanna at dawn.
“Everyone, on your knees!!” yelled the Academy guard, running through the halls as perplexed students watched. “Best behavior, straighten your robes, everyone!!”
“What’s gotten into you, sir?” asked a fellow guard nearby.
“The Archmage,” he panted, “he’s making a visit to the Academy, and he’s on his way in right now!!”
Immediately, the entire student and staff body fell to their knees in a formal bow, whispers spreading in a wave down the halls. Moments later, trumpets sounded outside the walls.
“Make way for his highness, the Archmage of Elthren, Sir Caine Lapointe!”
Everyone within the Academy broke out in a nervous sweat as Caine strode powerfully down the halls of his school. He held his head high and his shoulders back, as regal as they came. Even with the large purple swelling on the side of his face, Caine still emanated a strong presence. Dashito followed closely behind him, not quite as confidently, but with the same poise and grace as his master.
They made their way down to the headmaster’s office – his office. A guard escorting him trotted ahead to open the doors for them, pulling them open and falling into a bow in a single movement. “Tarrgus is within, milord,” he said humbly.
“Of course. Where else would he be?” Caine said impatiently, waving him off. The guard scurried off, and Caine and Dashito made their way into the headmaster’s quarters.
“Good afternoon, sir,” Tarrgus said quickly, scrambling to his feet as they entered. “And the young apprentice, too, of course.”
“My pleasure,” Dashito said quietly, smiling.
“Tell me what has happened in my absence,” Caine said in a bored tone, leafing through an open book on the desk. Dashito meanwhile, picked one off of the shelf and settled down in a quiet corner of the room, reading silently.
“Well, last night, we got quite the visitor,” Tarrgus recounted with glee. “The mystic ambassador from Perseguss paid us an unexpected visit.”
Caine froze momentarily. “What did he want?” he asked slowly.
“A tour of the facilities,” Tarrgus explained, “for inspiration to build their own academy. I thought, well, since they were an ally at the moment, that there was no harm, so—”
“You gave him a tour,” he interrupted, “leaving my office unguarded?”
“Well,” Tarrgus stumbled, “yes, but—”
“And you do realize,” Caine continued, growing increasingly red in the face, “that Perseguss does not have a mystic ambassador!?”
Lost for words, Tarrgus grasped for an excuse, spitting out wordless syllables as he began sweating profusely. “I… did not… you must understand, he—”
“I do not want to hear your moronic babble!!” Caine screamed, startling Dashito so badly that the book he held dropped from his hands. “Have I not told you to keep both eyes open in this place!? Have I not—”
He suddenly stopped, his expression instantly changing to one of muted terror. He backed slowly against the wall, freezing in place.
“Milord?” Tarrgus asked hesitatingly.
“Silence, you buffoon, he’ll hear you!!” Caine whispered harshly, immediately afterwards resuming his frozen position against the wall. Too scared to argue, both assistant and apprentice did as he commanded, standing perfectly still and not making a sound.
A few minutes later, Caine relaxed at last, allowing his shoulders to droop. “Thank the gods,” he said, “he passed us right by.”
“Yes,” Tarrgus said uncertainly, “that’s, er, good.”
“Anyway, as I was saying,” Caine said in a very diplomatic tone, “that wasn’t a very bright idea, leaving the office unattended. I’ll bet you anything something’s missing.”
“Well, I haven’t noticed anything gone, sir.”
“Of course you haven’t,” Caine snapped, “you haven’t been looking in the right place!” Yanking open a drawer, he rifled through it quickly before shutting it and opening another. This routine continued until he reached a drawer at the other end of the cabinet, where he pointed in triumph.
“As you can see,” he said matter-of-factly, “a record is missing.”
“What!? Impossible! I’ll have that imposter’s head!!” Tarrgus fumed.
“I thought that’s what he’d be looking for,” Caine mused. “It’s not like he had many other places to turn.”
“What… sir?”
“I’ll be leaving town for a few days,” Caine said dismissively. “Take care of the Academy while I’m gone.”
“Of… of course, sir.” Tarrgus stood as straight and tall as he could.
“Oh, and you, boy,” he said, addressing Dashito, “you’ll be staying in the castle too.”
“But sir,” he protested, “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. What if you have another… you know…?”
“Pfeh! You treat me like a child, impudent lout,” he snapped. “I’ve given you your order, now you are to obey it!”
“Yes, sir,” he said resignedly.
Striding out of the building with Dashito on his heels, he smirked as he formed his plan inside his disjointed mind. Enough games, he decided. It’s high time Era recalled his crimes.
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