Nate stared out the third-story window of the Adventurer's Guild, wondering what his enemies were planning while he waited for his ostensible allies to decide his punishment. Kiri stood next to him as the pair waited to be called in for the tribunal. Frick was quiet, resting inside of the Familiar Contract. Through his sphere of awareness, he sensed three people ascend the stairs, entering the room after glancing at himself and Kiri. He knew what they were, if not who they were. It had been three days since their return to the Capital after the ambush on the plains beyond the city. Rather than everything returning to normal, life in the Capital had been turned on its head.

  The news that Asmuisil had declared war spread like wildfire. Even as the whole city reeled, the impact was most obvious at the University. The palatial grounds had become like a ghost-town, with a majority of the students taking a leave of absence and returning to their parents' holdings. For the merchants, that mostly meant villas within the Capital itself. The nobility, however, had fled the city en-masse, returning to their lands.

  Of course, some of the students had stayed, either because they had nowhere else to go, because they were directed to by their families, or in open defiance of their parents’ wishes. Celeste, Flash’s girlfriend, was one of the latter.

  While the University had become eerily empty and quiet, the Adventurer’s Guild was like a kicked ants’ nest. Platinum and Gold ranked teams had been recalled, with some being immediately dispatched with duties to reinforce the Dungeon Forts under the Guild’s control. Kiri said she had barely seen Deverell, busy as he was gathering information throughout the Capital, though Nate noted he had seen almost as little of his sister. She was up to something as well. Nate had simply reminded her to be careful. He’d also recharged her Soul Release bracer. As long as she couldn’t be locked down, she could escape.

  The news of war had also frustrated his mentor, Luc. The man had intended to leave immediately for Asmuisil with their pile of ill-gotten goods and the first batch of runecrafted equipment meant for sale in the neighbouring country. Instead, the Arcane Riftwalker had been forced to remain in the Capital for the Tribunal and the meeting to follow. Nate suspected that the Guild would be deciding how or if it would be involved in the conflict between the two nations.

  He had considered trying to listen in on any preliminary discussions, but the warding on the room kept his Farsight of the Runic Artist Skill from penetrating the walls easily. He could brute force it but that would no doubt set off the alarms built into the enchantments. It was times like these that he wished, for the barest of moments, that he had taken the Skill evolution that would have made his sphere of awareness more difficult to detect. The farsight sphere that let him sense areas at a distance was far too useful to not have been his choice, but if he could hide his sensory ability he might have been able to worm his sensory Skill through the wards and listen in on the conversation within.

  “Just do what they said,” whispered Kiri, picking up on his worry as she patted him on the shoulder. Or the barrier that covered his shoulder, at least. He appreciated the gesture, but he was still paranoid about sudden attacks and kept his barrier up at all times, in one form or another.

  “I know,” he replied. “Still bothers me.”

  Aisling and Evindal had prepped them both for what would be involved in the Tribunal. As they had been attacked, they had done no wrong in the eyes of the Adventurer’s Guild charter. However, the Guild was forced to work within the laws of the country it resided in. In most nations, that law would have been on their side as well, but in Etrua it got a tad murky. The nobility and their retainers were often given leave to do whatever they wished, within reason. The law’s job was to support their actions, rather than limit them. Aisling had gone on to explain that the Tribunal would focus on whether the whole issue should be covered up and denied by the Guild or if the pair would need to be whisked away, potentially to another country.

  Normally, being whisked away to another country might have worked for Nate. Kiri too, as she seemed to hold no loyalty to Etrua. I wonder why, Nate thought, trying not to smirk at the idea. Fleeing to another country might have been an excellent idea, given the plethora of issues that had slowly surrounded himself and Kiri. A dead noble in the form of Fabien Lussier. A dead high-end Enchanter in the form of Caroline Lambert. Some smuggling team working for someone in the nobility. One dead Guard Inspector, and finally another eleven retainers from a Ducal House. Every single one had been an act of self-defense, but he doubted the Etruan Nobility would see it that way. No, it would be best for them to leave. Except for the part where Asmuisil had just declared war and the fact that the Etruan Nation would likely see such high-profile individuals leaving the nation as an act of aggression by the Guild. Because, of course, Aisling, Evindal, Luc and Deverell had all said that they would come with them. Three Platinums and the first placements in the Adventurer’s Guild University Entrance Tournament all fleeing across the border, any border, would be viewed as the Guild potentially assisting Asmuisil. Nate had to quietly admit it probably wouldn’t have helped their case as they picked up Kiri’s parents, which included her ex-Royal Ranger father, as they made their escape.

  So, fleeing the country wasn’t an option. That meant a cover up. That was Aisling’s position, and he had to admit, the more he spoke with his guardian, the more he thought she would do amazingly as a Guild Prefect. If it was to be a cover up, Aisling had prepared the pair for the kinds of questioning that would be involved.

  Before he could continue that line of thinking, the door opened behind them to show Aisling’s face.

  “They’re ready,” she said, opening the door further to usher them in.

  The room itself had clearly been rearranged for the purpose of the Tribunal. When he had been in this room before, it had been arranged like a corporate meeting room, with a long table and chairs around it, with a few pieces of ‘art’ on the wall. He used that term loosely as some of that art was decorative weapons or monster heads mounted on plaques. Maybe a hunting lodge would have been a better description than a corporate meeting room. This time, however, the tables had been rearranged and he couldn’t help but be reminded of a courtroom. The Prefects were arranged in comfortable chairs behind a table at the far end of the room, framed by the largest monster head- a light yellow-scaled lizard of some kind, with the head almost as large as Nate’s entire body.

  Each Prefect had a different expression on their face. Prefect Porter, the oldest, looked bored. From the small interactions Nate had with the man, he was sure the Earth Mage thought this was an utter waste of time. Next to him, seated in the middle, was Prefect Allais. The icy look in her eyes mirrored her daughter's affinity for mana. Nate had quietly hoped that Kiri’s relationship with Coralie would go in their favor, but one look at the woman and that hope grew wings and flew away. Finally, there was Null’s Father, Prefect Raoult. At first, Nate had worried about him the most. Prefect Raoult had been furious upon their return. The deaths of the two Gold-ranked bodyguards had clearly weighed heavily on the man. But he must have spent more time with his son since then, as the look on his face spoke of gratitude rather than anger. Saving his son counted for something after all.

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  Without looking to his left, Nate sensed another series of tables and seats which were also occupied. There were twelve seats in total, though only seven were filled. Platinums. Aisling, Evindal and Luc sat at one end, while another group of three, made up of two women and one man sat next to them with an empty seat separating acting as a buffer. Finally, what looked like a lone man wearing a black mask sat at the far end. All their veils were up, but Nate’s Conceptual Insight had been growing stronger, and it hummed to him about the lone masked person. Nate had to restrain from turning his head to look at her. Her, because the Concept of Illusion she was utilizing did nothing to hide her from his sphere of awareness and he could sense enough to identify what she really was. He suspected even the mask was an illusion. He might not have been able to tell exactly, was he not so acquainted with the Concept of Illusion. But since the Illusion Sigil he possessed was Master-Tier, it was easy to see it mirrored in this individual. Either they were less careful than they should have been, or they truly didn’t expect to need to be in their current company.

  Nate filed the information away for later. Finally, Deverell sat alone, with an enchanted pen and paper. Clearly he intended to take meeting notes. Nate kept his eyes on the front of the room as Prefect Allais broke the uneasy silence.

  “We will now commence the Adventurer’s Guild Tribunal. Absence of the Windrunners Team is noted with the additional comment that it is expected as they are on assignment at the border with Gashana and could not return in time. Present are Prefects Porter, Raoult and Allais. We will forgo titles in lieu of names. Platinums present are Aisling Teigland, Lord Evindal Ravalynn, Luc Crozier, Helen Jamison, Kartia Jamison, Portos Jamison and Avery. Deverell Courbet will be taking notes for the Tribunal. The first issue for discussion is the battle between Retainers of the Ducal House Desmarais and the following Guild members: Platinum Ranked Evindal Ravalynn, Gold Ranks Jonathan Stonik and Blaise Hargier, Silver Ranks Kiri Beaufoy, Null Raoult, Brittany Lavaud and Nathaniel Weber. Of the Ducal House Desmarais Retainers, there were eleven combatants, ten Gold-Ranked Retainers and the Platinum-Ranked Retainer Gordon. All combatants of House Desmarais were killed in combat. Of the Guild combatants, the Gold Ranks perished in the battle, their remains recovered by the Guild. The Silver Ranks Brittany and Null have provided testimony.”

  Nate watched as Prefect Allais paused for a moment - motioning to Deverell - who quickly stood and moved to hand out some paper to the various Platinum teams. It was times like these that Nate wondered if he should evolve Farsight of the Runic Artist to actually give him vision, rather than just sensory feedback. He wouldn’t have minded reading their testimonies. The pause in the proceedings was short-lived as Deverell returned to his seat and Prefect Allais continued.

  “Finally, we have the two presumed targets of the attack, Silver Ranks Nathaniel Weber and Kiri Beaufoy before us. We will be using this Tribunal to determine the Guild’s response. The first…”

  “This says the Silver Rank Nathaniel Weber killed six Gold-Ranked Retainers,” stated Avery, interrupting Evelynn Allais.

  “Yes,” replied the Prefect with a straight face, though Nate could sense a slight twitch of annoyance in her fingers beneath the table.

  Avery, the female Illusionist, turned her attention to Nate, “How? The testimony from Null Raoult only loosely describes what they witnessed.”

  Even her voice sounded masculine. He wasn’t sure if she was just naturally modifying her voice or if her control of Illusion extended to both light and sound.

  Ignoring his curiosity, Nate opened his mouth to respond, only for Avery to continue.

  “Of the two testimonies, only Null Raoult was able to describe what he witnessed. He says you launched one of them into the sky. Given your history, we can surmise this was done with a Gravity spell. However, redirecting a lightning bolt as thick as a tree into the individual is a far more challenging endeavour. It’s the next part that I am curious about though. Null says it looked to him like the world fractured like a mirror. Then, fractured again, ‘slicing the attackers to small pieces’. Now, that sounds like high-level Spatial Magic. There was mention of a being that looked like transparent purple blocks being involved. Please explain.”

  Nate had been growing more and more worried as Avery went on, but the politeness at the end threw him for a loop. His mind processed the possibilities quickly and he came to a simple conclusion. Avery was interested in his skillset. The solo Platinum, as he was beginning to suspect they were, saw him as potentially useful. She wasn’t accusing him, she was assessing him.

  He let the silence drag on for a moment before answering, “Is it pertinent to the inquiry? I would rather not disclose my Skills, if that is permissible.”

  He had channelled a little of Kiri’s litigious nature into his response, but the reaction it generated was instantaneous.

  “It is pertinent,” stated Prefect Allais.

  “No, it ain’t,” responded Porter. “Kid doesn’t haf ta give you his secrets jus’ cause ya wanna know. That ain’t what we’re here for anyway. We’re here ta find out why House Desmarais wanted em dead, and what we’re gonna do about it. Whose side ya on anyway?”

  Nate felt a sense of satisfaction as Prefect Allais’s jaw clenched, but she didn’t respond.

  “We’ll talk later,” whispered into his ear in Avery’s voice and he confirmed the woman could also use Sound Spells or Skills. Though, he supposed, an enchanted item was a possibility too, if unlikely.

  “So, any ideas as to why?” asked Prefect Raoult, directing his question at Kiri and Nate.

  Thankfully, Aisling had helped them prepare their responses.

  “Our only suspicion is that it relates to the uncovering of the two Unseen in the Tournament,” answered Nate with more confidence than he felt.

  The room quieted as everyone digested that. It didn’t last long.

  “Nothing else? Nothing at the University?” pressed Prefect Raoult.

  “Not to our knowledge,” answered Kiri. “We’ve had no interactions with anyone bearing the name of Desmarais at the University.”

  “And they wouldn’t have,” injected Avery. “Their eldest daughter is too old and the rumours are she has not left their Estate in years. She may even be dead already. As for their youngest and the presumed heir to House Desmarais, he isn’t old enough to attend. Though he, at least, is known to be alive, travelling in the circles of the young Etruan Nobility.”

  “So, tha reason is unknown. But tha’ don’t feckin matter do it?” growled Porter. “Far as we can tell, this was an unprovoked attack on the Guild and its members. An’ it was planned. They even sent in a Platinum to try an’ deal with Lord Evindal. So the question ain’ what did tha kids do. It’s what we’re gonna do to tell the Nobles we ain’ to be fucked with!”

  The room erupted as everyone tried to add their own opinion, quickly devolving into a shouting match. At Deverell’s direction, Nate and Kiri moved to some seats on the side of the room. Nate kept his eyes on Avery, even when he sensed the woman get up and move over to join him. She had left her illusion behind, seated where it was, involving itself in the shouting match. Things were getting interesting. He really wished they weren’t, though.

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