“I’m quite serious, I assure you,” she retorted flatly. “No one can stop you from making an enchanted item for yourself, of course, or even making a few for friends. But the minute you start to sell them on the open market? Be prepared for solicitors to take you to court.”
Ugh. “That sounds pretty abysmal. But if I found something unique, I could patent it myself?”
“Certainly, but the three main ‘rune manufacturers’ have a few hundred years advantage on you. Occasionally, someone still finds an unusual rune on a magical item high up in one of the towers, but most possible runes were found long ago through a combination of divination and brute forcing combinations.”
“Lovely. All right, so I couldn’t have harmed you. You’ve proven my preparations were inadequate. How could I have done better, when you’re clearly vastly more powerful, better informed, and have more resources at your disposal?”
“Ah. An excellent question. Sometimes, victory is not about being able to defeat your opponent; it’s about making it too inefficient for your opponent to even try to win. You had the right idea when you fired into the roof, and also when you yelled… although the latter was muffled by the rune I wrote outside your door before I came inside. A standard practice for any Enchanter planning stealth work. Sufficient to cover ordinary noises, but not quite enough to cover the gunshot. That would have gotten me into some trouble if I had been a true assassin.”
I nodded at that. “So, signal for help.”
“That’s one part, but a sufficiently prepared safe place — like your room — should have deterred me before I even entered. I won’t be breaking in again any time soon, but I will come by and check on your door at some point in the next few weeks. I expect defensive wards. Be creative with the ones you choose.”
“All right… but why do you think this is necessary? I have some idea about why my information might be dangerous, but I haven’t told you enough of it yet to warrant the kind of security you’re giving me.”
“On the contrary, young Cadence. As I mentioned before, the Voice wouldn’t have contacted you if you weren’t already involved in a conflict of great significance. Moreover, recent events related to the tower have given me an idea of why you were sent to me. I have a responsibility to make sure you are adequately prepared before I tackle that danger myself, and nothing inspires a student into action like the threat of death.”
I couldn’t argue with that logic, even if I didn’t like her method. I ground my jaw, continuing to listen.
“Did the Voice give you any indication of the larger situation we’re dealing with?”
I shook my head. “No, but I did see some things in the tower that certainly seemed noteworthy.”
“Interesting. Are you aware that no one has exited the tower since the day that you completed your test?”
My eyes widened at that. “No, I, uh, hadn’t heard.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself. We’ve kept that little tidbit quite tightly under control, and it’s why I took your claim about the Voice so seriously when you brought it to my attention. At the point you told me, we had just deployed a second team into the tower to investigate. To date, neither of those teams has returned. Both had Sunstone Mages, and they are normally capable of handling the first several floors of the tower.”
I didn’t quite know what to say to that. I offered, “Um.”
“At this point, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t follow up with you immediately or teleport you straight here once you mentioned the Voice.”
Sure, we’ll go with that.
She continued, “I needed to have a chance to vet you first. Believe it or not, students have been used as spies and assassins in the past. I had to verify that a Corin Cadence actually entered the tower, exited, and fits your description. Beyond that, I had to check and see if you had any unusual attunements beyond the obvious mark on your forehead, or anything else of note. Your sword was of some interest, but while it’s an advanced weapon to find in a Judgment, it was not enough to imply that you were an assassin. And you made no effort to conceal it.”
Aww, she thought I might be an assassin? That’s kind of flattering, I suppose. “That makes sense. I suppose a message directing you to go to the tower while the tower is inescapable would be somewhat suspect.”
“Precisely. There are a few possible scenarios we’re entertaining. None of them are pretty. Fortunately, it’s unlikely that everyone inside will be… purged. If that were necessary, whoever sealed the tower would have also made it impossible to enter. Thus, it’s more likely this is a security measure to prevent someone specific from leaving.”
I took a deep breath as I considered how to respond. “I think I have an idea about who that might be.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“So, when I was in the tower, I ran into a few other people—”
The eyebrow lifted higher.
“—and yes, I remember the experience. I’m not sure why. Maybe the Voice helped?”
“No need to speculate on that at the moment. Please, continue.”
“Well, I found a few people and ended up making my way through some of the chambers with them. One of them was a swordsman named Keras—”
Her focus intensified at the name. I tried not to stumble over my words.
“—who ended up fighting with — and I’m fairly confident when I say this — Katashi, the Visage of Valor.”
“Katashi was there? Interesting. Continue.”
Really, that’s your only comment?
“Without getting into too much detail, I fled the fight along with the other two. I mean, one of them was unconscious, but Vera, a woman from… Caelford, I think? Maybe? She helped me carry the unconscious boy. Then she betrayed me and took the kid, running off on her own. Not really clear on why.”
“And the Voice interceded on your behalf?”
“Not physically, he just told me a route to take to get out. Then, when I got there, he told me to contact you. Oh, and he gave me the sword.”
Professor Orden looked stymied by that. “He… appeared to you? In person?”
I shook my head. “Oh, I suppose it probably wasn’t really him. Just a floating robe. Like, a simulacrum, maybe?”
She took a deep breath. “Ah, of course. Yes, that makes more sense. Did he tell you anything else?”
I paused, considering. I was being deliberately vague, of course, but I needed to tell her anything that could get me more information. I didn’t trust her enough to reveal anything that would make me look bad. “He indicated that there was something he needed to do quickly, and that I needed to leave the tower fast. I suppose that was referring to sealing the tower off. Could he do that?”
“Perhaps.”
“At the time, I assumed he was going to go intercede in the battle between Keras and Katashi.”
She raised a hand to her forehead. “Unlikely, but perhaps through indirect means. I take it that means you did not see how the battle concluded, then?”
I shrugged. “No. But it’s a foregone conclusion, right? Katashi is a visage, they—”
“I wouldn’t make too many assumptions when it comes to Keras Selyrian.”
Selyrian? I’d never heard that surname before. “Who is he?”
“A dangerous heretic. He’s appeared in several cities, given speeches against the goddess’ doctrine, and disappeared. The common theory is that he is an agent of the Tyrant in Gold, possibly one of his children.”