I chuckled. “I suppose. Although given how lighthearted they sounded, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Don’t take their levity as a sign of weakness. They were well-organized. Professional. They had people with ranged weapons aiming at you at all times. You were wise to withdraw when you did.”
That only made me more nervous. “Any clues on who they work for?”
Keras shook his head. “No. Did you catch any names? I wasn’t close enough.”
“Jade.”
“That’s not a good sign.”
I nodded. “Because it’s a gemstone name?”
I remembered what he’d told me before.
“It might just be because they’re mimicking the stories about the Blackstone Assassin,” he offered, “But I wouldn’t want to bet on that. I’d advise you to stay as far away from those people as possible.”
“For what it’s worth, I didn’t notice any of those shoulder marks you told me about.”
Keras gave me an approving expression. “Good of you to check. Keep watching for those.”
“I will.”
We got back to the mansion without incident. “Thanks for watching over me.”
“No problem. Get some sleep.”
“You, too.”
He shook his head. “Not just yet for me.” Keras cracked his neck. “I’m still wearing my trouble coat, and I never got to use it.”
I never found out what kind of trouble Keras got into that night, when he came back in the morning, his clothes were torn and he was in the best mood I’d seen him in a long time.
I asked him if he’d gone back to fight the Blackstone Bandits, but he just replied, “Nothing like that, Corin. Don’t worry about it.”
I didn’t ask any more questions after that. I had a feeling that I didn’t want to know the answers.
I spent just a little bit of time trying to research the Blackstone Bandits. Unfortunately, articles about their group were interspersed with so many references to their legendary namesake assassin that I couldn’t find much reliable information.
Derek told me that he didn’t think they usually did work for hire, but he didn’t know too much about them, either. Most of what he’d heard was that they considered themselves to be “heroic thieves” working against the corruption of large banking institutions like Haven Securities.
That certainly explained the number of bank heists and train robberies that were attributed to them, but it was hard to tell if there was really only a single group, or multiple groups using the Blackstone Bandits’ name. I was leaning toward the latter, since so many of the crimes seemed to be in Caelford, rather than Valia, and the Caelford heists seemed to have slightly different methodology.
While I found it fascinating to read about them, I couldn’t justify spending more time on it. If they really were just hired to watch me for a while, it wasn’t worth investing my time and minimal resources into trying to dig deeper.
I’d have to find way to figure out who had been following me eventually, but for the moment, I had higher priorities.
At the beginning of week twenty-seven, the entire student body was called to a meeting on the same grassy area where the orientation had been held.
“Good morning, students,” Chancellor Wallace began. I hadn’t seen her much during the semester, but she still had a powerful presence on the stage. “Congratulations on making it this far into the year. Your dedication to this point is commendable. But you’re not quite finished yet.”
She folded her hands, turning her head to scan from side to side. “As I’m sure many of you remember, the traditional final exam for the first year as a whole involves a climbing expedition into the Serpent Spire. Normally, this involves a group of five students entering with a teacher. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to hold that exam this year.”
There was a murmur in the crowd.
The chancellor waved a hand. “Quiet.”
It was surprisingly effective, nearly instant. I felt a tingling in the back of my mind…some kind of mental attunement at work?
Whatever the effect was, it was so brief that I didn’t have a chance to analyze it or try to chase it out of my body. It was already gone.
Out of curiosity, I activated my attunement. I immediately regretted it.
I couldn’t see the chancellor’s aura through the haze of thousands of others.
I turned it right back off, rubbing my eyes.
The chancellor continued. “The reasons for the change are unimportant, but they have required the implementation of a replacement exam. Over the next two weeks, groups of students will be sent to complete their final examinations. Vice Chancellor Bennet will provide the details.”
She stepped back, allowing the vice chancellor — once again in a military-style uniform — to step up to the lectern to speak.
The vice chancellor’s expression was always stern, but he looked unusually grim today. His eyes showed exhaustion, and his jaw looked like he’d been clenching it tight.
He took a deep breath before speaking. That probably wasn’t a good sign. “The spire test is what normally separates students who are merely academically proficient from those who are truly ready for the next step in their training for service. You’ve all survived simulated spire exams throughout the year, but a few hours in a test room can’t show how you’d survive in a dangerous environment for an extended period of time.”
The vice chancellor paused, taking another breath. “For this examination, you will be broken down into teams of five. Those of you who still have an existing team that has survived up until this point will retain that team. Your team will be assigned a second-year student and given a deployment date. On that date, you will be sent into a training facility to the north of campus.
“You will be given an assignment and seventy-two hours to complete it. You will be expected to pack equipment for surviving in the wilderness for three to ten days. You will be briefed for your mission when you are on-site, and mission-specific equipment may be provided to you at this time.
“This test will be a culmination of everything you have worked on this year. You will be graded not only on the successful completion of your mission, but also any casualties to your team, your efficiency, and your judgment.” He turned to the chancellor, nodding to her.
The chancellor stepped back into position. “Your deployment information should have been delivered to your rooms this morning. If you have not yet received it, you can check with the administration department. Deployment dates will vary, but they begin in two days. While you all have done well to reach this point, bear in mind that last test will be your hardest, and you would be wise to earn any additional points you can through other means. Your graduation is not assured, but if you work hard, it is achievable. Good luck. You are all dismissed.”
With that, we dispersed.
Sera nudged me. “I’m going to go check my mail. Strategy session back at home in a few?”
I nodded mutely. We walked together toward the dorms for a few minutes, splitting off when our buildings were in different directions.
I was still a little hesitant to go back to my old dorm room. Not because I had any real fear of assassins at this point, but because I still wasn’t quite comfortable with the idea of running into Jin again.
I was feeling a better about him after we’d done the whole thing with finding the Blackstone Bandit’s crew together, but there was a part of me that also felt like any sort of renewed trust in him was a trap.