Chương 33: Skip Cutscene

A staredown soon ensued. One that neither of us seemed to be willing to let up on. But as far as staredowns went, this one was pretty evenly matched as neither of us really had the ability to 'blink', or at least as far as an outside observer could see. My whole schtick was pretty obvious, the tinted lenses were more or less just doing the job for me, taking blinking out of the equation entirely and adding a solid plus ten to my intimidation base stats.

The shadowy cloaked figure's approach was just downright bizarre though, as instead of eyes, there were just these two trapezoidal 'lights' that I assumed were supposed to be a placeholder for his actual eyes hidden somewhere underneath the shadowy void casted by his hood. A void which was downright pitch black, and completely impenetrable to the naked eye.

The figure gave off a surreal vibe as his rogue-like attire, coupled with the hood and the impenetrable shadow it casted, looked like it'd been ripped straight out of a Castles and Wyverns art book or a high-fantasy comic. The pitch-black void that obscured his face, and those two trapezoidal eyes that hovered and shifted with increasing scrutiny, just didn't look real.

While most would leave it at that, I wasn't one to leave a mystery hanging, I was a human with an entire visual sensor suite to work with for crying out loud. So before I even knew it, I reflexively went to activate my night-vision cameras. Only to see that the shadowy effect covering up his face was still there. This led me to only one solid conclusion.

ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 140% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS A quick localized environmental scan made it clear to me that this was yet another one of the Nexus' weird mana-fueled acts of tomfoolery.

"What say you, first years? Are you here for healing, or are you here for a visit? For as I have stated, the healing wing is not accepting visits at this point in time." The hooded figure answered with this strange mix between a sing-song voice and an attempt at sounding gruff and gravely.

"We have an unfulfilled point of personal privilege that requires addressment." Thacea stepped up to the plate, promptly placing herself by my side, then taking several steps forward.

"Along with an unresolved conflict which requires immediate resolution by the party with which the aforementioned point of personal privilege was evoked but was halted due to unforeseen circumstances." The princess began flexing her courtly-talk with the hooded figure, which clearly seemed to have some effect as he reached up a single gloved hand up to where his chin should be, only to have his fingers disappear as soon as they entered the dark shadowy effect currently covering up his face.

"And with whom is this unresolved matter incurred?" The figure inquired plainly, though the way he spoke shifted to something a bit more accommodating, perhaps even a little bit more hospitable than the gruffer tone he'd initially directed towards me.

"An apprentice, good sir. Apprentice Larial to be precise." Thacea clarified politely, using what I could only describe as this flighty, chirpy, almost haughty tone of voice that was an exaggerated version of the cadence she used during our first interactions together.

"Hmm…" The hooded figure replied with a concerned grumble.

"I was going to waive this particular matter, allowing the fair lady-" He paused, before making a point to stare at both me and Thalmin.

"-and her two knights to pass on through, under the points of exceptional circumstances." He continued in a less restrained, more flighty cadence.

"However, you must excuse my inability to do so, my lady. My hands are currently tied via the powers that be, and I simply cannot grant your request." The man began weaving a string of apologetics, giving Thacea a genuine and polite bow in response.

"I must apologize for this discrepancy in expectant decorum." This didn't make things any better for our circumstances though. And it was clear Thacea understood this as she continued pressing forward.

"May I have your name and title, my good sir?" Thacea chirped lightly.

"Appointed-Deputy Magistrate Sir Arlan Ostoy, Senior Apprentice of the Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts. May I have the honor and the privilege of requesting your name, my fair lady?"

"Princess Thacea Dilani, of the Aetheronrealm, First Year and Scholastic Peer of the Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts." Thacea replied with a full bow, and a half-curtsy of her own.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The shadowy figure bowed yet again.

"The pleasure is all mine, Sir-Magistrate." Followed by yet another bow by Thacea. There was some serious song and dance going on here, and one that I was observing with bated breath.

"Might I inquire further as to the particular reasoning behind this unfortunate and unseemly inability to respect the rights of expectant decorum?" Thacea quickly shot back.

"As I have alluded to, your highness, the powers that be prevent me from furthering the natural solution to your particular grievances. If this were any other instance in time, at any other location or place, I am sure this matter would have been resolved in an expedient and timely fashion. This situation, as you have alluded to yourself, results from a very particular set of unforeseen circumstances.

Circumstances which currently dictate my actions in a manner which just so happens to be in conflict with your points of personal privilege, your highness." The man's posture, the way he stood, even the way he talked seemed very particular when addressing Thacea. It was at that point that something changed. I didn't know what, and I wasn't sure why, but Thacea seemed to be shifting towards a tactical retreat, as she clacked her beak several times before addressing the both of us.

"This is absolutely preposterous, I will need a moment to clear my mind but when I do return…" Thacea turned towards the magistrate/guard/apprentice person yet again.

"There will be words exchanged." At Thacea's prompting, we all left the room, but not before slamming the door behind us shut in a similar manner to Ilunor's drama-filled exits. We continued walking away from the medical wing at a steady pace, until another privacy screen was suddenly brought up. ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 275% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS"I have a plan." Thacea began.

"And this is entirely relying on you two having the physical prowess to back up your military backgrounds." She continued ominously.

"Oh princess, you sully the Havenbrock name if you believe my mercenary heritage is in any way, shape, or form a mere decorative mantlepiece." Thalmin responded with a sarcastic, yet excitable tone.

"I assure you, Thacea, I think my training has almost every eventuality accounted for." I added with an affirmative nod.

"So what's the plan?" Thalmin barked out excitedly as we stopped right in the middle of this long, wide hallway connecting the main castle with the medical wing. Thacea was quick to answer this question by wordlessly gesturing to a lone door on the right side of the hallway. Windows lining either side of the hallway made it clear that this entire structure was just an elevated bridge connecting the main castle to an entirely separate compound.

This made the presence of a door smack-dab in the middle of its length sort of bizarre. Upon entering it though, we were treated to an open-air rooftop terrace with a few seats and benches. The whole outcropping gave us an unparalleled view of the roaring waterfall beneath the Academy, and a direct line of sight to the medical wing and its five distinct towers.

The princess continued walking silently as we reached the edge of the terrace's balcony, overlooking the sheer cliff face at a height that more or less put me in mind of your typical open-air rooftops on your typical Acela Corridor skyscraper.

"I've observed that the medical wing seems to consist of a large tower-atrium, with several more towers connected to it via additional corridors. Similar to spokes on a wheel. As you can see from this vantage point, it seems as if most rooms have private balconies. If we cannot make our way to the apprentice via conventional channels, then I plan to reach her via more unconventional means." Thacea turned towards me with a hardened look in her gaze.

"Emma, is your… insect artifice ready for use?" My eyes widened at that, as I nodded affirmatively.

"Just for the record, we call it a drone." I quickly corrected Thacea.

"But, yes, I can designate individuals and targets for it to track down or follow. However, I can't just have it poking around in every room since there's no guarantee that the drone will be able to get a lock on them. There's too many variables involved that would get in the way of the drone actually being able to zero in on a person's face. From the beds facing the right way, to bandages possibly covering up her face, to-""I don't want your artifice to observe every balcony and window, Emma.

That will most certainly take too much time, and as you've stated, there's no guarantee of actually identifying a face considering the multitudes of factors involved." Thacea interjected.

"What I plan to do is to return to the Deputy-Magistrate, and to attempt to reach a compromise that he will abide by. I plan for him to take us, or rather, your drone straight to the apprentice."

"And how will you accomplish this?" Thalmin whined, his head tilted in curiosity.

"I will draft a letter, addressed directly to the apprentice, and request that it be taken straight to her room. This way, the Deputy-Magistrate will in a sense be able to accomplish his obligations to the Expectant Decorum, and in doing so he will lead your insec-, drone, straight to the apprentice's room." I stared at Thacea with wide eyes, as her back and forths with the deputy-magistrate began taking on a completely different meaning in this new light.

"That way, we can find out exactly which room the apprentice is in." I replied bluntly.

"Correct. However, from there, I cannot say my plans are in any way foolproof." Thacea replied with a sullen coo.

"Well go on, princess, it sounds pretty good so far!" Thalmin urged.

"Ascertaining the apprentice's room is only half of the stated objective. Actually getting there is another matter entirely. Because depending on where the apprentice is located… my idea for the latter half of this quest involves you two scaling your way towards her room." The princess spoke with an immense level of trepidation.

"On the exterior aspect of the castle, if that needed to be said." My heart skipped a beat as the princess laid out her plans. I looked across the absurdly spindly hallway-bridge that this little terrace was somehow attached to, and towards the five towers that made up the medical wing. Thalmin did the same, although his face seemed to indicate that he was at the very least, considering the plan at least somewhat seriously.

"Alright." I muttered out loud, instinctively trying to place a palm on my forehead, only for the glove to bonk straight off.

"I have several ideas. First, we might be able to do this remotely. I'm thinking once we find out which room she's in, we fly in a larger drone, one carrying with it a deployable holographic projector or some other two-way communications device so that we can talk to her remotely." As soon as I spoke that idea out loud however, things started to fall apart.

"But because of how thick the walls are, and considering the distance between the tower and our dorm, I might have to deploy repeaters in order to daisy-chain the connection all the way back to the dorms. I mean, we can't just set up shop out here in the open after all. At which point we'd have a continuous chain of signal-repeater drones flying all across the Academy… which wouldn't be ideal. No, scratch that, that won't work."

The pair stared at me with varying degrees of confusion, but seemed to have collectively decided to ignore the idea after I'd scrapped it.

"I say we just climb it!" Thalmin yelped out, but not before another idea hit me. One that could work, but that required me consulting Thacea first.

"I mean, we could, but…" I turned to face Thacea.

"What's the Academy's policy on noise? Or rather, do you think we could get away with something really really loud, buzzing outside of the towers?" This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Thacea once more stared at me with a look of just utter confusion, but shrugged it off and went with it anyways.

"I would highly recommend against generating too much noise for this particular quest, Emma. It would most certainly garner a lot of unwanted attention." Thacea spoke plain and simple. I couldn't help but to groan internally in frustration at that. That makes flying over there a no-go… it would've made things so much easier though…

"Alright, well, that more or less places us in a very awkward situation with not a lot of options available to us, huh?" I thought to myself out loud again, as I craned my head over to an excitable Thalmin.

"I guess I have to climb on over." I stated in no uncertain terms.

"Wait, I?!" Thalmin responded with a shocked and incredulous bark.

"There's no way I'm allowing you to climb over there yourself without assistance or-""Thalmin, there's no need for you to climb on over with me." I interjected.

"This whole mission is hedged on me talking to the apprentice one-on-one. Remember the gardens? The apprentice wouldn't allow you anywhere near us when we started talking. It'd be a waste of time, energy, and more importantly… a huge risk to your safety. I don't want to risk your life needlessly, Thalmin. Not especially for a fight that isn't your own."

"Well you're part of our peer group, so it's my fight as well." Thalmin replied with a dejected growl, but eventually relented.

"But you're right, Emma. I hate to admit it, but you're right." I nodded at Thalmin's slowly.

"Besides, there's an important job I need you to do." I began scrounging through one of my pouches, and began palming for my spare in-ear earpieces.

"I need you on lookout, to keep me aware of anything fishy developing in case I need to pull out." Thalmin looked over the side of the terrace, towards the raging waters beneath this side of the Academy as he let out a sigh.

"That shouldn't be too hard. Hardly anyone will be passing by this terrace, and beyond that there's no way anyone can spot you from below, given there's nothing but the cascading rapids below us. There's no one that can spot you from here, save for perhaps the foxes in the library. We're most certainly on the right side of the Academy for this quest, that's for certain." Thalmin pointed at the library in the far distance.

"Oh, I'm not too worried about anyone seeing me. I'm more concerned about someone compromising my extraction point, i. e. this little terrace here." I acknowledged.

"But, surely you must be worried about someone seeing you scaling the walls…" Thalmin scanned me up and down, as if wanting to comment about my size but- "You're massive."

"Okay, first off, rude." I spoke sarcastically, and raised both hands up for added effect.

"But in all seriousness, I have another device that can mask my visual presence." I pulled out a plastic-like poncho from one of my pouches, activating it, and revealing its active-camo properties as it projected whatever was behind it, albeit with some imperfections.

"It isn't perfect, but from afar it should actually work pretty well." Both Thalmin and Thacea stared at each other in utter shock as they saw this.

"A mana-less-""I think… this is a matter worth discussing another time, Princess." Thalmin interjected with a polite exasperated breath.

"But I expect a good explanation for this one, Emma." Thalmin pointed a finger right at me.

"In any case, I will be diverting the Deputy-Magistrate's attention by preoccupying him with needless and vapid chatter. This should take attention away from the apprentice and your intrusion, Emma." Thacea quickly added, and promptly tied this whole impromptu operation up nicely.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road then. We'll head back to the dorms and get that letter drafted so-""Already done." Thacea interjected, bringing up a parchment that she promptly began sealing into an envelope.

"Wait, when did you-""Whilst we were talking, I used a dictation spell. The letter is written and signed." Thacea spoke nonchalantly, as she held a neatly sealed envelope in one of her talons.

"Wait, what, when did you, how did you-?"

"I carry a quill and extra parchment in my bag of holding. This is to account for any eventuality where a statement in writing, a legal affidavit, or a notarized letter may be required." Thacea responded a-matter-of-factly.

"Alright then." I tapped the pouch with the INFIL-DRONE, the small little thing peeking its head out much to the visible disgust of the pair.

"So we're ready for phase one of the operation. Misdirection and information gathering. We'll go in, drop the letter, and have the drone do its thing. After that, we wait for the drone to return, and we'll take it from there on whether or not we can continue with Phase Two: penetrating the enemy lines."

"What would be stopping us from continuing with phase two?" Thalmin quickly asked.

"Well, simple. If the apprentice is still conked out from her injuries, there wouldn't be any point in attempting to meet her. So hopefully, she's going to be in a good enough state to talk to. We'll know when we get the drone footage back."

"Fair point." Thalmin nodded.

"So, is everyone ready to begin?" Thacea asked. A series of affirmative nods later, we began our quick walk back over to the atrium. The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts, Extraction Point Alpha (Open Air Terrace Overlooking the Medical Wing). Local Time: 1420 Hours. Emma Booker That took way more time than I'd initially thought. In fact, it took so long that I was beginning to wonder how two people could have an unending conversation where nothing of value was spoken and nothing of value was gained.

It was basically elevator small talk, but written by the same writers who wrote Bridgerwesson Lane, and adapted to a theatrical release with a trilogy that ended with a movie arbitrarily cut up into a two-parter. I honestly zoned out for a few moments during those hours, as I decided to use the spare time to review the grappling hook and mountaineering gear I'd be using on this little quest. Eventually however, the Deputy-Magistrate relented, at which point I let loose the INFIL-DRONE to do its thing.

It'd been twenty minutes since we left and made our way back to this open-air terrace, and all of us were waiting with bated breath for the results the drone had in store.

"So, how fast can that drone of yours fly anyways Emma-" Thalmin was immediately cut off as the drone in question buzzed right by his ears, causing them to flick this way and that, before flattening out entirely.

"Speak of him and he will come." I chuckled, as I outstretched a gloved hand over for the little drone to perch atop of. Once again, the pair stared at it with a look of mild disgust, and then panic as it crawled all the way back into its docking port, and began uploading the data we needed.

"Alright, let's see what we have here." I spoke to no one in particular before shifting my attention to the EVI.

"EVI, isolate and replay relevant footage, and calculate the target's location."

"Acknowledged, parsing…"

"Location Parsing. Footage isolated. Play Footage?"

"Affirmative." I immediately pulled out my data-tab for the gang to be able to watch as well, as the footage began just as the Deputy-Magistrate, and by extension the drone, arrived at the apprentice's room. The door, and all details posted in the front were all captured, and so too was the state of the apprentice revealed to us in short order as I braced myself for a mangled and bandaged-up mass of broken bones. What I instead saw, was… still a heavily bandaged up figure.

However, the most important thing was that they were awake. And what was remarkable, was the fact that they were able to move without assistance. As the apprentice reached over to receive the letter wordlessly, shifting a bit in bed as she did so.

"This is a letter addressed from a Princess Thacea Dilani of the Aetheronrealm. I have fulfilled my duties and obligations as per the Expectant Decorum. I will now take my leave, Apprentice Larial." The deputy-magistrate spoke with the same air of overbearing properness, seriously making me consider whether or not this was how he was all the time. Whatever the case may be, the apprentice seemed to be healed enough to move her arms at the very least, as she grabbed the letter and spoke hoarsely back in response.

"Thank you Senior Apprentice." There wasn't much to the footage beyond those interactions, but it was good enough for the purposes of this mission.

"Alright." I spoke, as I pocketed the tablet.

"We have our answer. The apprentice seems healed up enough to speak to, so phase two of this operation is a-go." The pair nodded in response, just in time for the EVI to be done with whatever calculations were needed to determine the apprentice's precise location. I turned to the tower, as the room and its balcony was highlighted. It was just about five stories above from where we were. Meaning it'd be a hell of a climb.

"The room's about five floors up." I announced with a sigh.

"Are you sure you can make that journey, Emma?" Thacea responded worryingly.

"I… I will be honest, Emma, I am having some second doubts about this whole idea. The concept just came to me as flying between tall structures and towers is just second nature to us Aetheronrealmers. Considering the heights involved, and your inability to fly, I'm wondering if this whole quest was a folly of my own shortsighted-""It's fine, Thacea." I cut the avinor off.

"I can do this, trust me." I placed a single hand on the princess' shoulder, and squeezed it once for effect. Meanwhile, the EVI began doing what it did best: attempting to minimize the risk associated with my harebrained schemes, as it deployed the suit's primary lookout drone in order to start mapping out the best possible route forward. This spooked the pair yet again, as they both jolted backwards. Thankfully, the drone was deathly silent, so it shouldn't bring too much attention to it.

It was at this point that I brought out a pair of earpieces I was scrounging my pouches for earlier, one for Thacea, and another for Thalmin.

"These will help you stay in contact with me throughout the climb." I stated plainly, as I attempted to latch it onto my own ear for demonstrative purposes, only to realize that I could not, given the suit was in the way. I sighed, as I turned towards Thalmin.

"Do you mind if I put it on for you?" I asked sheepishly.

"Erm, what is it, Emma?"

"It's…" I paused, as I attempted to find the best way to describe this without taking up too much time.

"It's a communication artifice, Thalmin. It'll allow us to talk to each other remotely, relying on that drone there-" I pointed at the lookout drone still flying away from us.

"-to relay our voices to each other." Thalmin, as expected, looked at me with an expression of partial dumbfoundedness whilst Thacea seemed completely transfixed by the earpieces I held in my hands.

"So it's like a hearing-sense?" Thalmin responded with a questioning bark.

"Look, I'll just demonstrate." I managed out with a sigh as Thalmin reluctantly nodded and allowed me to begin hooking in the earpiece, looping it around his fluffy triangular ears. This inevitably resulted in my hand brushing over the lupinor's fluffy head a few times, which seemed to elicit some large tail-wags and a dulcet rumble. I tried to ignore that, as I pulled back and began demonstrating.

"I've turned off my speakers, can you still hear me, Thalmin?"

"Yes, I can." The lupinor spoke after clearing his throat. I turned my speakers back on immediately after.

"Alright, I'll get into the specifics of how it works later, but as for now, just know that I can hear whatever you say."

"I'm afraid I don't think that artifice will be compatible with my… anatomy, Emma." Thacea spoke calmly, as she pointed at several aspects of the earpiece that required an actual ear canal to fit into, and an earlobe to loop around.

"This complicates things a bit, but it shouldn't be too difficult. How long do you think you can keep up the distracting conversation with the deputy-magistrate for, Thacea?"

"We just went through several hours discussing nothing in particular, I can most certainly continue that trend from dusk till dawn." The avinor spoke confidently, and frankly, rather proudly.

"The issue lies not in how long I can manage to maintain the conversation, but in how long it will take you to accomplish this quest, Emma." Thacea shot back.

"An hour." I nodded confidently.

"Twenty minutes to scoot my way over there, twenty to talk to the apprentice, and twenty to get back."

"I'll make that two hours then." Thacea responded without a second thought.

"We need to account for potential complications, and an extra hour of senseless dialogue will most certainly not be an issue for me." With an affirmative nod from me, and an approving glance from Thalmin, I now turned towards the exterior of the two hundred foot corridor leading to the concourse, and the extra five hundred feet it would take to get from the atrium to the tower in question.

It was at that last minute that the EVI brought out another suggestion, one that was formulated with the aid of the new datasets provided by the FEBNPMS lookout drone that had been busy mapping out the best route forward. It was… an inherently riskier approach, one that my aunt would definitely not approve of, but it definitely beat scaling a wall and wedging spikes into it.

"Actually… I have a better idea than simply scaling the walls." The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts, En Route to Medical Wing Tower C, Room 705. Local Time: 1430 Hours. Emma Booker"Grapple secure." I will never forget the feeling of falling. The very wrong feeling that came with leaping off of solid ground into empty sky, of suddenly seeing and feeling the world whizzing by me.

It was a visceral feeling, a gut-churning sensation, dominated by an overbearing sense of impending doom that takes over your terrestrial brain that wasn't designed to feel the 'freeing' sensation of being unbound to the ground beneath you. Leaping over from the edge of the terrace was the worst part of it. But after that tentative jump, things started to become just a little bit easier.

The Academy's proclivity for over-aggrandized architectural design would finally serve a purpose beyond just decorative aesthetics. Because it was clear that the walls weren't really designed to ward off anyone daring to scale them. As there existed several, if not hundreds of these little greebles and outcroppings that served no purpose but to act as decorative pieces on the side of the castle. Some held stone flowers, whilst others had lamps or other light pieces of varying designs.

No matter what they were, or what meaning they held, all were equal and valid targets in the eyes of my grappling hook. As I dangled there from the first outcropping, held in place by a single high-tensile cable, I looked up to see Thalmin looming over the edge "EMMA?!" I heard him shout in a panic. It was clear that he was unable to see anything, as my light-refraction cloak was currently doing its job well.

"I'm still here, Thalmin. You can't see me but I'm dangling from this weird outcropping that looks like an overinflated vase."

"NEXT TIME, BE SURE TO INFORM ME AS TO THE NATURE OF YOUR IMPOSSIBLE ARTIFICES BEFORE USE, UNDERSTOOD?!"

"Of course. You'll know if I've fallen if you hear a long scream followed by a large splat."

"That's not funny!" I chuckled nervously in response, before turning to face the grueling, gut-churning journey ahead of me.

"Humor's my way of dealing with stress, and trust me, I have a lot of stress to work through right about now."