Bk 2, Chapter 15: Running Late

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jds7PLIbQD5K7NgMbl7gGhLx76wM9d_d7kDy-Po83A0/edit?usp=sharing

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It didn't take Cayden long to grab his bags and leave his dorm, locking the door behind him. He'd had to pay for the privilege of keeping the rooms reserved while he was gone, but he hadn't minded. It was expensive, much more than what his apartment back in Avernon had cost for an equivalent amount of time. But it was cheaper than what the princess had been paying for the same room during the semester – with the academy as empty as it was during the off-season, they lowered the prices of their rooms accordingly. He hadn't wanted to go through the trouble of finding some other way to store all of his and Tiana’s stuff, and – if he were entirely honest – the rooms had started to grow on him.

His dorm felt more like his own space than his old tiny apartment or the massive shared room at the orphanage ever had, the closest thing to a 'home' he'd known since his parents' deaths. He knew Tiana wouldn't be able to live with him once the next semester rolled around; she was far too young, and even if she got admitted early to the affiliate academy, she would have to live in the separate dorms they provided. But he would like to have the option for himself, if he could.

He'd offered to meet with Elise first before rendezvousing with the rest of the expedition at the main entrance of the academy, but she'd declined. The last he'd seen of her the previous afternoon, she'd been running herself ragged trying to level the last class skill that stood between her and her class upgrade, and he knew she had no intention of sleeping until it was done. Which didn't seem wise to Cayden – a new class was something that deserved proper consideration, not rushed into in the middle of the night while sleep-deprived.

He'd offered that same advice to Elise but hadn't fought when she'd refused. She insisted she trusted Basura's thoughts on the matter more than her own, and wanted to get it done while she still had his advice to fall back on. Which was surprising to Cayden, as he'd still yet to meet the apparently genius instructor, but he could certainly relate to the desire for expert advice.

He was only slightly hurt that he wasn't the one being consulted.

Regardless, Cayden was excited to hear about her new class when they finally met up; he only hoped that she'd be on time. The expedition was scheduled to leave at second bell, sharp, regardless of whether or not all those who'd 'signed up' were present.

Jeremy and Tiana were meeting with the expedition just outside of the academy, along with the rest of the members who weren't currently students. After the first cramped night at Jeremy's apartment, Cayden had rented a room at a nearby inn for himself and Tiana – who had immediately claimed the entire thing for herself, kicking Cayden out to sleep back on the academy's campus.

It made some sense, since it kept someone from having to escort him to and from the academy or around the city each day, and he would've gone crazy twiddling his thumbs if he’d stayed in the room by himself. But he'd been lonely these last few days, and he was looking forward to spending time with his friends again. Especially with Jeremy's [Share Senses] skill.

In the meantime, though, he was still struggling along without. He'd given himself plenty of time, so he heard nothing when he finally arrived at the prescribed meeting place and found a wall to lean against. Over the next fifteen minutes, that slowly changed as he heard more and more people shuffle up, low conversations starting around him.

He recognized none of their voices.

That was perhaps the worst part of his blindness, he was coming to realize. When he was busy, when he had something to keep himself occupied – training, finding his way across campus, or even just making himself breakfast – he didn't overly mind the handicap. It was only temporary, and he knew it would make him stronger in the long term.

No, it was only when he didn't have a specific goal that he struggled – when he realized his complete and utter dependence on those around him to figure out something new.

He didn't know how many were around him. He didn't know who was around him. He couldn't even go up to any of them and ask, not without first swallowing his pride and revealing his weakness, something he didn't want as their first impression of him.

Aside from his few friends and teammates, Cayden had largely ignored his classmates during the previous semester. But those coming on the expedition comprised a much smaller group, and they would be spending a lot of time in close contact with each other in the coming days. The journey to the tournament was expected to take just over a month each way, with close to a month in the middle for the tournament itself: three months total with the same small group of people in a foreign land.

He tried to glean information about those around him from their voices, but even with his boosted hearing, no one was speaking loud enough for Cayden to tell anything of substance. Until finally, he heard the faintly recognizable voice of Marrianne, followed by the familiar sound of Henrietta's laugh – and he hunched over even further. As nice as it was to finally recognize some of the voices around him, he knew his company wasn’t welcome to either of the princess’s attendants.

Cayden rested against the wall for another fifteen minutes, the voices around him slowly swelling in volume. Until there was a short, sharp whistle, and silence descended.

"Greetings! I am Instructor Mynar, and I will be leading the expedition. Follow me -- once we are outside the gates, I will verify each of your identities."

Cayden grimaced, listening for his friend, before following the shuffling noises of students walking out of the academy. And once he was outside...

He sighed in relief as Jeremy activated his [Share Senses] skill.

There were around thirty people of all different races milling together. As he'd become accustomed to within the nobility, high elves were the most common, though not by much. There was a giant, a harpy, a couple of fairies, a dryad...more variety than Cayden was used to seeing in one place. Even their ages varied.

Most of those who were older were standing near where Jeremy and Tiana were waiting for him, so he figured they were friends and helpers of the other students, and he recognized the princess' two adult bodyguards: the high elf fire mage and hulking earth elemental. None of the rest of the older crowd looked particularly combat-oriented, so he figured they were attendants rather than bodyguards.

"Jeremy! Tiana! Got everything packed?"

"Yep!" Tiana replied, hefting the backpack riding high on her shoulders.

They'd each been allowed to bring only what they could easily carry on their persons, and Cayden squinted in suspicion at Tiana's large load. That was more than he'd thought she could 'easily' carry – if she thought she could convince him to carry some of her junk for her, she'd be disappointed.

For their part, Jeremy and his teammate -- an air elemental by the name of Seamus -- had much more reasonably sized bags. Seamus gave Cayden a nod of greeting as he approached, but stalked off to greet someone else he recognized before Cayden could return it.

"Where's Elise?" Tiana asked, and Cayden frowned.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday. She's been crazy busy recently; I hope she didn't get distracted."

"I'm sure she'll be here soon," Jeremy said, but Tiana glanced at Cayden worriedly.

"Should we wait for her before checking in? What if she doesn't make it?"

The rest of the students were congregating a few yards away around the three large wagons that waited in the street beyond the gates. It seemed the 'check-in' procedure was a slow process, so Elise had at least a few minutes more.

"She'll make it," Cayden echoed Jeremy's claim, though significantly less confidently. "She'd got some time, still."

As if mocking him, the city bells started tolling, marking second bell.

They fidgeted as the other students and attendants were, one at a time, checked in. After five minutes, the small crowd had thinned enough for Cayden to get his first look at the instructor leading the expedition.

Instructor Mynar was a high elf, which was...disappointing, to Cayden's mind. She was short, about Tiana's size, with her brown hair pulled back into a strict bun and lips turned down in a frown that looked like it belonged perfectly on her face. In front of her, water floated, slowly rotating in tubes to form a complicated-looking rune. The liquid orbited an inch off the ground, and the students took turns stepping into the rune, answering quiet questions from the instructor, before finding their seats in one of the wagons.

"Anyone else?" the instructor called in a stern tone after everyone else was checked in.

They glanced around, looking for any sign of their missing friend, before reluctantly stepping forward. Little difference though it might have made, they dragged their feet, walking almost comically slowly across the road as the instructor's frown increased its severity.

"You first," the instructor said, pointing at Jeremy, who pointed to himself as if surprised to hear her address him. "Yes, you. Step into the rune."

Jeremy looked at the water floating just above the ground, then back up to the instructor, then back to the water, before tentatively stepping forward.

"Name?" Instructor Mynar snapped.

"Uhhh...Jeremy Cobbler."

"Do you have any intent to harm or sabotage this expedition or any of its participants?"

"Uhh...no?"

"Find a seat. We're leaving as soon as I'm through with you three."

Jeremy looked back at Cayden and Tiana before shrugging apologetically.

"You. The big one. You're next."

Cayden tilted his head towards Tiana, then down to himself, then back to Tiana, before pointing his thumb at his own chest in a mirror to Jeremy's earlier action. With his vision coming from the shared perspectives of Jeremy's [Share Senses] skill, the movements of his head were pure theater – but the instructor didn't know that.

Instructor Mynar rubbed her temples. "Yes, I mean you. Step into the rune."

Cayden moved even slower than Jeremy, edging toward the rune as if it would burn him. Instructor Mynar asked him the same two questions, and Cayden paused after each one as if carefully considering his answers before replying. But he couldn't delay forever – despite Instructor Mynar looking like she wanted to throttle him, she eventually passed him through and gestured for Tiana to step forward.

Like the two boys before her, Tiana went as slow as she was able. But eventually, she was also checked in as the water was floated from its runed shape to collect in a pouch at the instructor's side. "What are you waiting for?" the woman snapped at where they still stood outside of the wagons. "Find your seats."

"...well, we've got a friend..." Tiana began, but Instructor Mynar cut her off with a slash of her hand.

"If they aren't on time, they're left behind. We're leaving. Now – are you coming, or not?"

Jeremy frowned as Tiana looked at Cayden. Should they leave Elise behind, Cayden wondered? He supposed she didn’t need to come – she was the one who stood to gain the least from the tournament itself, and unlike him and Tiana, she would be in no danger if she remained in the capital. But to just leave her behind without a word…

"I'm here! I'm here! Don't leave without me!" Cayden heard from within the academy, and he exhaled in relief. "Am I too late? Where is everyone else?" Elise said as she rounded the corner, pausing to catch her breath with her hands on her knees after she caught sight of them. Her clothes were rumbled, some of her hair looked to be tangled around one of her antennae, and she had deep circles under her eyes – but she had made it.

Instructor Mynar closed her eyes and rubbed her temples again before she looked up and glared at the grin stretching across Cayden and his friends' faces. She made a gesture, and the water flowed back out of her pouch to reform the rune on the ground. "Step into the rune. The rest of you – get in the wagons."

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AN: I'm going to be out of town this weeked -- I'm hoping to post next chapter at the normal time, but there is a chance it will be delayed one day. Also, slight edit to a previous chapter -- Jeremy's last name is 'Cobbler' (we heard it at one point in the previous book).