Return of the Runebound Professor
Chapter 706: Uh oh

Arbitage was in a state of silent chaos when Noah and the other humans made their way out of the transport cannon, leaving the demons together with Tim. There was a good chance that they were the smart ones.

An uneasy air hung over Arbitage like a stifling blanket. Mages rushed all around the campus in every direction. Their faces were all creased with fear, their thoughts all fixed on a thousand different things.

Noah spotted a man wearing the Linwick colors hurrying past them. He grabbed the man by the shoulder, stopping him mid-step.

“Hey,” Noah said. “What’s happening? Where is everyone going? We were off with the Transport Cannon when that monster attacked.”

“Unfortunate for you,” the man replied. He gave his arm a yank, but Noah’s grip was unrelenting. There wasn’t much a normal mage could do when someone empowered by a Fragment of Self had a good grip on their arm. “Let me go!”

“Just tell me what the hell is going on,” Noah snapped. “Then you’re free to go.”

“It’s not my fault you were sleeping during such a fortuitous event. You can’t have my research,” the man snarled. “Let me go! I need to inspect the stones! Who knows what kind of information they could have! If you know what’s good for you, then you’d get out there and look yourself. You’re wasting both of our time!”

Noah was so stunned by the answer that he did nothing to keep the man from tearing his wrist free. The man ran off in a hurry, cursing under his breath.

Disgust welled in Noah.

The mages of Arbitage weren’t a community. It had been a bundle of warring groups allied by the desire for power and tied together with fraying twine — and even the individual groups had fractures within them.

These mages didn’t care about anyone but themselves. An enormous part of the city had been destroyed by the Night’s Shadow. There were brothers, fathers, mothers — friends — trapped within the wailing stones.

And nobody seemed to care.

Their loyalties didn’t even extend to their own families. All that mattered was clawing one extra scrap of strength, no matter who had paid the cost for it. Getting stronger so that they could squeeze ahead of their peers and get a little closer to… something. Noah didn’t even know what it was they pursued.

“The peace is coming undone,” Moxie muttered. “Years of calm after the wars… they’re going to end. It won’t be long before the empire is at war. People are going to fight over access to these damn stones. I can already tell. I’ve never seen people so interested in a phenomena. They have to believe that these stones hold the key to an enormous runic advancement.”

“I don’t give a damn what they want,” Silvertide said gruffly. “But we must prepare. I don’t believe the peace will collapse as quickly as you fear, Moxie. People are scared to make the first move. Uncertainty breeds opportunity, but it is laden with fear. The masses will hesitate to move.”

“But the ambitious won’t,” Brayden said with a worried frown. He looked back at Isabel. “If anyone is going to try their luck, then it’s going to be soon.”

“They’re welcome to try,” Todd said grimly. “We’ve been preparing for them for a long time.”

“Try what?” Eline asked.

“It isn’t going to be that easy to get through all of us,” Alexandra said, ignoring her.

“Yeah,” Emily agreed. “But is staying in Arbitage the best move right now? We’ve got a lot of enemies.”

“Enemies with more problems to deal with than going after a bunch of students,” Eline said. “At least for now. There’s no way they’re all going to come funneling in just to attack you guys… right? Have you done something so insane that someone’s first thought in a situation like this is to come after you?”

Noah pursed his lips. Eline didn’t have the full story as to why the Nobles were after Isabel — though nobody was in a rush to fill her in. Eline may have been with Revin, but she was also still strongly connected to the Torrins. Even if there weren’t bigger things to deal with at the moment, she was still far from an ally.

“I wouldn’t put it past some of the dumber ones to try their luck,” Moxie said. “We need to be ready. But I don’t think Arbitage is going to fall tomorrow. It’ll be even worse outside of the Bastions. At least here people will be so focused on the stones that they might ignore everything else for a little while. We should remain…”

“But not permanently,” Noah agreed with a nod. The Bastion was outliving its usefulness to him. He didn’t need anything from it anymore. Arbalest was rapidly heading in the wrong direction. It wasn’t a safe place for his students anymore.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

We need to figure out how to get the hell out of here. Tim said there was a barrier around it. I need to ask him and Garina about that… if she survived the fight with the Night’s Shadow. I hope she shows up tonight.

“So what do we do?” Isabel asked. “Just sit in our rooms?”

“Prepare,” Noah replied. “Practice, but out of sight. Gather supplies. Don’t travel in groups less than three. Stick together as much as you can. Arbitage still provides some protection. Nobody is outright fighting yet. For as long as that remains, it’s better to be here than on the road.”

And I need to learn more about what the hell is going on in Arbalest. I’m confident it isn’t so easy to just stroll out. If it was, Father would have left with the Long Night. He had no reason to stick around. He’s definitely not the type to delay his plans just to get revenge against me or Garina. That means there’s still something important left here, and I don’t know if the world can afford to let Father get his hands on it.

But, for once in his life, Noah actually knew what to do. He had a lead. If there was one group in the Empire that had records of ancient shit, it would be the Inquisitors. They were so paranoid that Noah got the feeling that anything even mildly suspicious would have been preserved in the chances of being useful against demons.

If Fuyin is still alive, she’ll be knocking tomorrow so we can raid their information and figure out what the hell’s been happening to them. That’ll be my opportunity to dig up knowledge about this whole shitshow and see if I can figure out what it is Father is after. And, if I can’t, I’ll at least see if I can get information bout the barrier surrounding Arbalest that Tim talked about.

“Good advice,” Silvertide said. “And some that I will follow as well. We should all be prepared for the worst. I will be retrieving Tyler from his closed-door training. Vermil — any allies you have, gather them. The time for political games is over. We must ready ourselves for what is to come.”

He turned on his heel and strode away, his staff driving down into the ground with every step he took.

“I’ll go as well,” Brayden said. “I’ll start gathering supplies for the group. We’ll need a lot if we’re going to travel with a group of demons on top of everyone here. Is there anyone I should seek out for you?”

Noah thought for a moment. “Ulya. She’s probably the only other person in Arbitage that I would consider trusting. See if you can find her. Aside from that, just be careful. Watch yourself, Brayden.”

“I will,” Brayden said. “But that advice is better directed at you.”

“We’ll head back to the dorms, then,” Todd said. “Isabel and I have go-bags prepared, but there isn’t enough for everyone.”

“Eline can come with me,” James said after a moment. “We probably shouldn’t leave her alone. She can stay in my room until Revin comes knocking again.”

Eline paled. “Maybe he’s forgotten about me. That’s what happened to you, right?”

James sent a sympathetic look at her. “No. Your training isn’t done yet. He’s not done with you. He’ll be back. I’m more curious about that Inquisitor guy that showed up with you. Where is he?”

“No clue,” Noah said. A twinge of pain shot through him from his damaged soul, but he ignored it. “But that’s a very good question. I’ve got some questions for him as well. But we’ll worry about that later. Everyone, stay close. Come find me and Moxie if you need anything. I’d say you could pile into our room, but it isn’t big enough to hold everyone.”

“We aren’t children,” Yulin said. “I’m less trained than everyone here in your techniques, but I know my way around a sword better than most. None of us are slouches. We can fight.”

Noah gave them a nod. Another spike of pain drove into his skull. This time, he couldn’t keep from grimacing. He really needed the Fragment of Renewal to come off its vacation so he could heal the damage to his soul.

“I’ll go with them,” Lee said. “Just in case.”

“Great idea,” Noah said. Lee was probably their most perceptive person, and she was one of the strongest members of the team. “Thank you.”

With that, everyone split off. Noah and Moxie made their way back to their room at a brisk pace while the others broke away toward the student housing. Every single one of them moved with purpose. They all had their tasks and preparations to do, and the distant howl of the stones in the distance made sure they wouldn’t forget it.

***

Time slipped by. Noah and Moxie made it back to their room in the T building. It was untouched by the chaos caused by the Night’s Shadow, but unnervingly empty and silent.

Unfortunately, Noah had bigger problems.

The burning pain eating away at his soul seemed to intensify with the passing minutes. With the Fragment of Renewal locked down for several more hours, Noah was forced to lie down and focus on keeping his mind from fraying to pieces.

And there he lay. At some point, Moxie headed up to speak to Contessa and Karina to warn them about what was happening and give him space to recover. He could barely even tell. The world spun around him like he was perched on a top.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his back. Noah could hear his heartbeat thrumming in his ears and taste his own tongue.

What the hell happened to my soul? Damn it. I need my magic back by yesterday. Whatever this is needs to be stopped—

Noah’s thoughts jerked to a halt.

He couldn’t tell quite how he knew, but something was off. Somebody was in the room with him.

“Moxie?” Noah asked.

But even as he spoke, he realized that it wasn’t her. The presence felt unfamiliar. His eyes snapped back open. He shoved himself up, squinting through the burning pain clawing into his skull.

And then he froze.

Sitting in Moxie’s chair beside the bed was death.

No. It’s a man.

But death he may as well have been. The man’s pallid skin was pulled so tight across bones that he resembled a starved, reanimated corpse. There wasn’t a single hair upon his entire body, and he wore a loose black cloak that hung around his shoulders as if he’d stolen it from his father.

And his eyes — his eyes burned like the hells themselves. They were a deep, molten red with flickers of black dancing through them like ashes.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” the man said. “I hate to disturb a good rest.”

“Who are you?” Noah rasped, reaching for runes that eluded his grasp.

Is this a hallucination from my soul damage? No. It’s real. At least, I think it’s real.

“I am Somnus the Ferryman, Third of the Seven.” The man rose from the chair, his eyes never once leaving Noah’s. “And the Apostles call you to stand before them. Tonight.”