Wandering Agent

Chapter 136 Planning for Fun

On our next break day I ended up managing to get all my friends together.  This wasn't an easy task, due to conflicting schedules, timetables, and the fact that some of them weren't in school, but after a lot of planning, and no small amount of personal irritation I managed it.

We had secured a room at my home, both because it was spacious and Dras was having some issues with public places as of recently.  I didn't blame him for that at all, but it meant that he w...

Chapter 135 ...Prepare for War

Rooke

I walked along the halls, not that there were all that terribly many. This facility had never been designed for a lot of people, and as such was quite small. It traded comfort and size for the fact that it was also quite secret. Its general was known to the higher ranking members of the kingdom as one of several places they could evacuate, but the exact location was known only to a few. That meant that in theory we would have the chance to see people searching for it before they g...

Small change

I made a bit of a mistake in timeline recently by indicating that Dras was graduated.  This is not correct in that he should be in his fourth year.  It has been corrected in the chapters, where it was thankfully a small thing.

For reference, Alana is currently in her third year, and is 17, Dras is in his fourth and is 19.

Chapter 134 If You Desire Peace...

I wasn't sure what to do that evening when I found my friend in the bathroom, crying as she washed herself over and over. I tried to talk to her, tried to comfort her, but in the end, it was a bit beyond my capabilities. To that end I went and found someone far more suited to the task.

"Hey..." I said as I approached Kala.

"Hi, everything okay?" She still seemed in a good mood, a tiny bit down perhaps, but not too bad.

"Um... I need som...

Chapter 133 Interrogation (Pinea)

Pinea

This was a part of the school I'd never been to. We were deep in the ground, under the more normal item creation labs and workstations. From a glance I could tell that this place was far more secured, and even then it looked like a few additional protections had been set up, along with a handful of guards brought in. It was clearly an impromptu prison or the like. Based on what I was seeing, it had been here forever, though based on the size, it probably only ever saw...

Chapter 132 The Hammer Falls

Dras was in an absolutely brutal condition. He had a missing arm and eye, and his face was split in a heinous way. Through all of that he still had a smile on his face though. It was sad, and pained, but a smile nonetheless.

"I'm sorry Dras, I know what you did... must have been hard."

His eyes darkened a bit, the pain clear on his face. "Not like I had much of a choice, or either of us did from the sound of it. The way she was talking, it was like someon...

Chapter 131 Breakups

"Well, why don't you tell me what happened."

"I went to the wedding.  I don't know if the news is out yet, but we now have an emperor and a queen, so there's that."

"He declared himself emperor?  Okay, let's go over that first"

"Alright," I told her, "Some big fancy looking guys from the senate of Ermath came forward and declared that they'd voted him emperor, and then a bunch of nobles from Bergond came and declared Sophia to be the p...

Chapter 130 The Chase

After a few more dances I met up with my brother to the side of the room, he too was taking a bit of a breather. We stood by one of the tables and he looked on all of the various arrangements. Before picking up one of the flowers laid around.

"These are great. They tell me the queen herself did a lot of work making original flowers for the event. Look at this one, have you ever seen one like it?" He twisted the little plant in his hand, looking closely.

"That...

Chapter 129 The Wedding

The morning of the wedding was... hectic. There were few maids overall in this place in comparison to the number of guests. Normally every important person would have a servant, but since this fortress was secret, that wasn't really feasible. Instead there were a few who were helping based on a number of criteria. Age was considered quite important, as with many layers and hair and the like being old was a detriment, similarly young girls hoping to find a husband really wanted the help too. T...

Chapter 128 Distortions and Dances

The pounding that awoke me was painfully loud.  I discovered soon after that it held no flame to the absolute hate filled light that now filled my room, slamming into my tired brain like a hammer.

"Alana?  Are you there?"  I recognized Charles' voice from the other side of my door and sat straight up, an action I instantly regretted.

"Um... yeah, one moment."  I struggled to keep up as I took a quick look around my room.

T...

Chapter 127 Democracy and New Spell

I attended a number of different events, mostly alone. In the time moving up to the wedding there were gatherings of casters, exhibitions of local foods, there was even a small tournament that I went to to cheer on my brother. It was a party like atmosphere, rather like a festival from back on earth.

Today I found myself sitting in one of the fortress' gardens watching a handful of people try to make art from the ever present snow and ice. I wasn't sure where these were going...

Chapter 126 Gateway

The day for us to head to Lord Durin's home came sooner than I might have liked.  Classes were held off for a week in what seemed to now be a recurring winter break and my first day was dedicated to the arduous task of getting ready and then traveling there.  My mother had been in a flurry of work for weeks and I was fairly sure that she'd not calm until we arrived.  All of my things, save my travel outfit, were already packed in the morning.

We got into a smal...

Chapter 125 Kala's Opinions and an Arrangement

Kala just looked at me. I had explained the situation and she seemed about as pleased with it as I was.

"So you're not just going to tell them to screw off huh?" She asked.

"I probably could. I could also just leave, but I'm torn. Other than their stupid demand for me to have an escort I do want to go to this wedding. I met the former princess and she's something else, and I want to learn more abut Lord Durin."

"Okay... why?"

"H...

Chapter 124 Wedding Plans

A few weeks after my meeting with Mystien dad called me up to his office after dinner.  That was a bit odd, and I knew it was probably something personal, but if it was important it was important.  He sat down behind his desk, looking mixed between nervousness and resolve, with perhaps a bit of pity mixed in.

"Alana, we're going to have to talk."

I took a spot in one of his chair and locked eyes with him.  "About what?"

"Lord D...

Chapter 123 Mystien's Workshop

It wasn't until mid fall that Mystien got his workshop properly set up to his liking. I knew when he did because I received a letter telling me that I was to report as soon as possible. That bristled, I liked him, a lot, and I respected him, also a lot, but he wasn't my current teacher and not family. Well, I had to admit that he was basically family, if only like an old uncle. I might even admit that we were closer than I was with my actual uncle if pressed.

So show up I did...

Chapter 122 Dinner Guests

As soon as I got to my room I was tackled by a team of maids. Apparently my mother had prepped them for just such an occurrence and they were ready and waiting. I was unceremoniously stripped of my school uniform and forced into a black and purple number I was very sure I'd never purchased.

The new dress was gorgeous, with embroidered patterns flowing over it in the same color as the background cloth. They flowed almost like depictions of wind as the passed over me, shining s...

Chapter 121 Embers

Spring passed into summer and things were fairly uneventful. My mastery of those magics I focused on was improving by the day, particularly my shields and illusions. It was Professor Etia who helped me with hammering those out even more. The main thing I was working on with them was adding more and more accurate movement magic to them. I wanted them to be able to pick up and carry things, or at least appear to, and that was a real challenge to make look right.

I thought on by...

Chapter 120 Plan in Action

The day of the event came and we were all loaded into carriages.  Our group was loaded down with items in bags and we were all prepped.  Everything was safe, and all had the ability to give a small flash of blue light and burst of cold when they went off, our signal for an item that would kill/disable the opponent if it landed.

The rules of engagement were similar to the standard ones for any of our training exercises.  There were a number of safeguards in plac...

Chapter 119 The Planning

When I came into Combat Magic the first time I nearly had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Endel had somehow retained his job, albeit with a new assistant (minder) in tow.

"Good everyone, it's taken a bit of time to polish up all of your slacking from our break, and to bring our new classmates up to speed with where we are, but I can at least tolerate your current progress." He smiled, something a bit rarer these days. "Now, we'll be learning about battlefield tactics next."<...

Chapter 118 Lover's Worries

It took about a week but eventually someone worked up their nerve and came over to approach me while I was working in the practical part of Magical Item Creation.  Hern had retained his position after the takeover, as had most of the teachers, but I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him out of class.

"Hello there.  You're Alana right?"  The boy said, he was around my age and had pitch dark hair.

"Yes..."  I didn't know him, or what ...

Chapter 117 Propaganda and an Ugly Cry

It took me several days to wrap my head around the current factions in the school.  Because ho boy, there were now factions, who did not like each other at all.  We'd always been a bit divided between nobles and commoners, but with the invasion, and the influx of new students that was on a whole other level now.

First we should cover the former nobles of Bergond.  They were, in a word, pissed.  They were also not stupid enough to let that slip out.  T...

Chapter 116 Returning to the Academy

Following all of my admissions to my family things were a bit... strained.  Mom was still concerned about a number of things, but seemed to at least be contenting herself for the moment with badgering me about my poor handicraft skills.  I didn't really care to learn much more about those, but she was insistent and so we ended up having a bit of time every evening where I was cajoled into practicing with her while we talked.

She had a point that they were considered...

Chapter 115 Family Learning Time

Mom spent hours doting and having me tell her what all had happened, and then doting more. There were a few things I glossed over a bit, leaving out most of the details. The fact that I'd been present for so many attacks had been a particular sticking point with her where she'd pushed to get more information. I simply acted like I was a bit less involved. Saying that during the attack on the party I'd gone to hide before everything got sorted, or that during the attack in the copse our team h...

Chapter 114 Return

Mystien basically pushed me back to the small carriage we'd come in, as I was having a hard time moving on my own.

"I... don't understand, didn't he know he'd die?"

"Probably suspected it, might have thought he could get away after he killed us."

"But why? I knew him, I was in his class. He never acted like that."

Mystien sighed. "Alana, Klien was one of those we knew we'd have to send out of the country, at best. His family was...

Chapter 113 Terms of Amnesty (Bishop Theodore)

Bishop Theodore

I leaned back in my chair for a brief bit of rest.  The last couple of weeks had been exhausting.  The city was already fully taken by the time I'd managed to get back, but as soon as I had the chaos started.  That girl, the walking headache that she was, had wandered off almost as soon as things were declared 'safe' to go and help her friend at his bar.  While I hated that she didn't seem to think to consult anyone about it I couldn't actu...

Chapter 112 Mock Battle

As soon as dad's words left his mouth chaos erupted. Professor Etia didn't hesitate for even a second and began casting, with me only a beat behind her. While I started with singing we both also launched into dance. It was immediately obvious how far beyond me in that skill she was.

To their credit the capture team didn't miss a trick either and began their spread. A few of them even prepped their darts to launch at us as soon as they thought us ready. Meanwhile their other w...

Chapter 111 Teaming Up With Professor Etia

Professor Etia was as interested in our lessons as I was. I'd not had a chance to talk to her since I'd managed to pull off lighting with her techniques, but now I had all the time I needed. She was thrilled that I'd managed such an advanced bit of magic with dance, even in part, and insisted on making that the focus of our lessons. That was not particularly surprising, but It did at least give me something fun and physical to do.

She had managed to not be locked up because s...

Chapter 110 Angry Guardians and My Tutor

I was hesitant to actually return to my room, going to be chewed out was never fun. When we arrived I just opened the door, the guard looked at me with a frown, as I imagine he'd gotten told off as well.

My former teacher had a look of near rage on his face. "Alana, why did you leave without telling anyone?" He didn't even comment on Charles, who'd followed me in.

"Because you would have stopped me, or asked questions that I didn't care to answer."

...

Chapter 109 A Quick Outing and Irritated Mentor

"Right, right, Dras, first I need to know what you need." It took me a few moments to put all my thoughts together, then into words.

"Well, help mostly." He seemed to think that was obvious.

"Duh, what I mean is what specifically do you need? Are you trying to leave, get food, what?"

"Looking for information, and any info on where kingdom's army is."

"Well the army is gone Dras, the kingdom is gone. Looks like the government ...

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