That drew a series of sympathetic nods from the other students, and a couple of them visibly relaxed.
“Okay,” Curtis explained, “We’re going to have to check through your crates before you go in. I’m sure you’re exhausted and want to get inside, but as you said yourself, saboteurs have been a problem. We need to make sure you’re not sneaking anything dangerous in there.”
I heard a groan from Rupert, but no one actually complained.
“That won’t be a problem. We’ll just wait nearby,” Kyra offered.
“Stay in sight, and keep your hands off your weapons,” Curtis instructed.
It took them a few minutes to retrieve a pry bar from somewhere in the camp, then the better part of an hour to go through all the boxes and catalogue the contents. We spent most of that time chatting with each other, while keeping an eye on the other students to make sure they didn’t ambush us. It seemed unlikely that the Tails of Orochi would have taken over the entire camp, but we didn’t want to discount it as a possibility.
“You’re cleared to go in, but the commander is going to want to see you. He’ll get you work assignments and tell you where to camp. Follow me.”
Curtis led us inside to the commander…who was, unfortunately, even more familiar than my former dorm chief.
“When I heard that a resupply team had arrived with half the expected supplies, I should have known who to expect.” Lord Teft addressed us with a cynical tone that felt reminiscent of the first few days of class. Having had a year of exposure to his demeanor, however, I knew that at least a portion of this was deliberate exaggeration.
He’d eschewed his usual tailored suit for a military uniform, replete with ranking signifiers and other honors. I didn’t know how much of that was real and how much was a part of the character he was playing for this scenario. In fact, I didn’t really know much about his background in general.
It didn’t matter at the moment.
Kyra snapped to attention with surprising briskness. “Reporting for duty, sir.”
Most of the rest of us managed to mimic her change in stance after a short delay.
Teft returned our hesitant salutes, then shifted to a leisurely pose and waved a hand. “At ease. And tell me what happened.”
Kyra nodded, then hesitated. “Think Cadence would be better to fill you in, sir.”
“Which one?” Teft asked.
I sighed, stepping forward. Sera wasn’t in any condition to chat.
I filled him in on what had happened, including crediting Jin with doing most of the work in neutralizing the traitors.
“Well, at least someone has some initiative around here.” Teft turned to Jin, which in turn reminded the rest of us that Jin was still with the group. Even knowing what his attunement did, I still had a hard time remembering he was present unless I actively focused on him. “Mister Dalen, is it?” I realized that they’d met before, but Jin wasn’t in our dueling class, so Teft didn’t know Jin as well. Teft continued, “I’ll be assigning you to something special. Stay behind when I dismiss the others.”
Jin tilted his head downward in silent acknowledgement.
Teft turned back to the rest of us. “As much as it pains me to admit it, the rest of you are combat veterans compared to most of the people in this camp. As such, I will be assigning you to some of our tasks that have a higher risk of encountering enemy forces. I take it there are no objections?”
He didn’t wait long enough for anyone to actually raise objections. “Good. I have a couple assignments that happen to be rather urgent.” Teft looked our group over, assessing. “Kent, Vyers, Dyson, and… Roland, you’re on monster hunting duty. Master Jaldin, you will continue overseeing them. Master Maddock, please escort them to the scouting area. Master Chord will provide them with further instructions.”
It took me a moment to realize that Teft still had never learned Roland’s last name, after teasing him during the first day of class. I had a little internal chuckle about that.
Rupert, Desmond, Roland, and Kyra fell into line behind Curtis and headed to another part of the camp.
He’s splitting us back into our initial teams, I realized. That would have been more of a relief before we’d found the traitors. Now, it was almost disappointing. I wasn’t fond of Desmond, but the other two were serious fighters. I wouldn’t have minded having a Shaper and a Shadow with our group for whatever we were up against next.
“Miss Callahan, Miss Cadence, and Master Wayland. You will be going on a rescue mission. Are you familiar with the Temple of Fire?”
Patrick could barely contain his glee. “The…You mean, that Temple of Fire, sir? The temple where Soulbrand was forged?”
Teft rolled his eyes. “No, I mean one of the other Temples of Fire. Yes, Wayland. We’re only a few miles away.”
We weren’t actually a few miles away from anything of the sort, but I had an idea of where this was going. Since our scenario involved being a part of a settlement in the Unclaimed Lands, apparently our simulated location must have been somewhere near the Temple of Fire.
Marissa was frowning, though. The Unclaimed Lands weren’t something we’d gone over in a lot of detail in school yet. I knew about the Temple of Fire because it had come up frequently in my studies of the spires. I took a moment to explain for her benefit. “The Temple of Fire is one of the six elemental temples in the Unclaimed Lands. They’re similar to the spires, but much older. Some people believe the goddess used the elemental temples as blueprints for building the spires.”
“Indeed, Master Cadence. But I was asking Master Wayland,” Teft cut in.
I grimaced. “My apologies.”
“Since you both failed to explain the most important parts, however, that falls to me.” Teft folded his arms. “The elemental temples house the prime crystals. These crystals were some of the earliest sources of magic for humanity, during the pre-Attunement period. They remain possible sources of magical power, but reaching one is more difficult than a Judgment, both due to the locations of the temples and the necessary trials to reach the crystal itself. That, and of course, politics. Because of all these factors, they have fallen out of common use.”
“But we sent in a group to try to reach one,” I surmised.
“Correct. Much like the spires, a group of six is required to enter. Unlike the spires, however, the temples only allow six people inside at a time total. They cannot support two or more groups at a time.”
I could see where this was going. “Someone didn’t come out.”
Teft nodded to me. “We sent a full group of six in an effort to begin cataloguing the rooms and making their way to the crystal. A few hours ago, a return bell was used… and half of the team was within the area of effect. The team only had a single bell.”
“Meaning the other three people are marooned inside,” Patrick concluded. “That’s horrible!”
“Until your arrival, we did not have any group that I felt was potentially capable of a rescue operation. The temple is dangerous enough for a group of six. Your skills may prove sufficient, however.”
Is…Teft complimenting us?
Wait, no, I’m not part of the group that is going.
Everything makes sense again.
“Any further questions? If not, time is of the essence. The longer we wait, the less likely you are to find any survivors inside.”