The turnout to the small field at the center of the university was almost everyone, except for a few sleepyheads. Morning mist had rolled in from the south again, giving the whole area a washed out look and a fresh wet smell in the air. The murmurs from the crowd of staff and their families were quiet, punctuated with sounds of Minmay city waking up in the distance.
"Where's Cato?" Landar asked the alchemist beside her. The man who had lost his hand to Light's Edge. Hm, what was his name again? ... Well, it wasn't important anyway.
"He's still sleeping," the alchemist replied, cradling the stump in his other arm.
"That sleepyhead had better get up soon or he'll miss this," Landar snapped to no one in particular.
It had taken her three whole days to come up with this idea and refine it into a workable condition and he wasn't even going to show up to see her use it?!
She looked over the gathered university staff and sighed. They were chatting quietly, shivering in the cold morning air and watching her with curiousity. Screw waiting, Landar would start without him.
Landar unhooked the roll of thread from her waist and unrolled a short length. Tying it to a nail, she fixed the thread to the ground and began to walk, spooling out the thread behind her. With all eyes on her, Landar walked until she reached the first building, the new classroom block converted into a makeshift dormitory. After pinning the thread to the wall of the dormitory, Landar started laying more thread towards the lecture area.
After walking to each building and various chosen points, Landar finished laying the threads and returned to the front of the dormitories, facing the group of bewildered staff. She explained what she had been doing.
The threads themselves were only very faintly magical, they were so weak that it was practically impossible to notice them even if one was standing right over it. But each thread was enchanted with a two-way conduit to carry magic along it, linking the iron staves that Landar and Chakim were charging in the buildings. Light's Edge might be tempted to attack a building defend by only one staff but if he did try, he would be in for a surprise.
Even beyond that, the threads also powered buried fire and magic bolt launchers that Landar had put on completely normal looking stones and scattered around the buildings. They couldn't aim unlike her first turrets but they were set up to fire if the triggering threads laid across their line of fire were stepped on.
"So with this integrated defense network, we can drive him off if Light's Edge dares to attack us anywhere on the grounds!" Landar declared, puffing out her chest. The term she had picked up from one of Cato's writings on Earth military warships was too delicious not to use. Even if no one really understood what it meant.
The two alchemists looked around the grounds with some interest and a whole lot of skepticism. Everyone else was just looking blank.
Ha... a misunderstood genius, she was.
"Oh, you started already?" Cato's voice from behind her made her turn around. Cato rubbed his eyes sleepily and stepped out of the dormitory.
"No, stop!" Landar shouted but it was too late, his foot landed on a trigger thread. The firebolt launcher aimed just outside the door spat a screaming bolt of flame towards his head.
Cato fell backwards in a panic as the bolt zipped past his face, missing by less than the width of a palm.
Cato looked at her blankly, still shocked at the close call. Almost without thinking, Landar cut the trigger line with a tiny disruption spell and rushed over to Cato. That bolt could have easily taken his head off!
She brushed his hair and shoulders, hands shaking. Yes, safe. Only a few signed hairs.
"Uh, I'm all right, Landar," Cato caught her hands. She sighed and collapsed as her knees suddenly felt too weak to hold her.
"That was a bit dangerous," Cato said simply, "I think you had better undo the rest of the trap lines before someone gets killed. "
Yes, that was a good idea. She let go of Cato and looked back at the gathered staff. They were huddling nervously in the center where there were no threads at all. Uhuh. Perhaps she had overdone things a little.
All right, the bolt traps had to go. She would just have to think of another way to guard the courtyard.
"Um, could you let me go?" Landar asked. His hands were still holding onto her wrists.
"Oh, yes, sorry. I'm still a bit shocked. " Cato peeled his hands off and rubbed his eyes, "you go on ahead. I'll be up by the time you're done. "
Landar hurried out of the dormitory, heading towards the lines of triggered traps. Cato followed on behind her after a few minutes and watched her dismantle the all the traps she had spent the last hour working on.
"It really is an interesting idea," Cato said, as she removed the last of the dangerous threads, "using the threads as conduits. "
"You think so?" Landar turned around, a certain happy feeling rising like the dawn mist. Finally, someone who understood the genius behind the idea!
"It's similar to the traps you made in the house. But I wonder, won't the threads break? They will be outside in the rain and wind. "
"I considered using a fence," Landar explained, "but that would be too obvious. He'll just destroy them. We can always replace the threads after all. "
"How about burying the threads then? Or actually, hmm..." Cato frowned, "actually, what do you mean by a fence?"
"A fence?" Landar gaped at Cato. A fence was a fence. Did he not know what fences were? "It's made of wood and is meant to keep animals that can't climb it inside pens?"
"And there's no special wood or iron fence?"
An iron fence?! "Do you even know how much that would cost? An iron fence!" The very idea!
"So you mean to say that the fence is just normal wood?"
Landar nodded. Of course. They couldn't afford anything else. She could build a defence enchantment as powerful as the Wendy's fort wall enchantments with a solid iron fence but dreams were just dreams.
"Then can you try enchanting this rock?" Cato picked up a rock from the ground, "just something simple. "
Landar examined the rock. It didn't appear like anything special. Hm? No, just a rock. "Um, that firebolt launcher from just now," she pointed at the deadly doorway, "that was on a rock just like this one. I mean, a rock like this can't contain enough power to launch a firebolt, but I linked them to the staves in the buildings with these threads. You did understand that right?"
"Yes I did. But I thought they were some special material disguised to look like a rock," Cato frowned, "so you mean to say that the threads and the enchantments are just... normal thread and rocks? You can enchant any material, the only difference is how much magic they can contain without degrading?"
Landar nodded.
Cato paused, still thinking. With a hesitant air, he asked slowly. "So this might sound like a stupid question," he ventured, pointing at their feet, "but what about that?"
No, he wasn't pointing at their feet. He was pointing at the ground.
"Why don't you enchant the ground?" Cato asked.
Landar felt her face twitch. Enchant the ground? Enchant the ground?! But... But the ground was too... big? No, you could just enchant part of it. A very small thread-sized part? Or since there wasn't any shortage of ground, she could use a much bigger pipe with control functions like in the house... or why not just turn the entire university ground... Landar felt her face twitch again.
"You'd have to remove the grass first," Landar said lamely, "you can't use magic through a living thing. " But she already knew the problem was solvable.
"Weed it, plow it and put Muller's new cement over the top," Cato shrugged, "or just sweep a wall of disruption magic to kill it all. "
Landar rubbed her temples, trying to come to terms with the new idea. It was insanity. But a very Cato-like insanity. Why not enchant the ground? Why not indeed? She could feel the crazy grin tugging at the corners of her mouth again.
She looked out at the messy tangle of thread over the university grounds and sighed. She had worked for days on her crazy pet project and spent countless hours fiddling with tiny strings and Cato had made it obsolete in less than a minute. And his idea was even more insane.
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"What are you doing, Piyo? How have you not taken their secrets yet?!"
"But master..."
"You are already inside their circle! You have gained their trust! If you will not strike now, then when?"
"I can't! The secret is written on books. But I can't just take it..."
"You must! The secret knowledge must be ours!"
"But but, they are always in there..."
"... so we need a distraction then. Reki!"
"Understood. "
"I don't mind even if you kill them. Just leave Cato alive. Piyo, when the chaos starts, you must get those books. "
"But-"
"No buts. Or I will have your entire family executed. "
"I- I understand. "
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The seventh day of the siege, everyone locked into the university grounds had gathered in the makeshift cafeteria again. Despite the fact that they normally spent most of their time working on various experimental projects supporting the commercial interests, being forbidden from leaving made the atmosphere feel gloomy and stuffy. The streets of Minmay never seemed so exciting, beyond the safety of Landar and Chakim's guard.
Cato had introduced board games from his world, chess, go and reversi, and it had been a good distraction for a day or two, but the distraction faded into a ceaseless worry and only the most interested players could concentrate at all.
Landar's attempt to booby trap the university in the same way as she did in the house at Corbin might been caused by the pressure they were all feeling. Some of the guild members who didn't have magic and couldn't fight had barricaded themselves in their rooms. This morning, the battlemage knight had been seen trying to build her own firebolt launcher traps. She claimed that it was for the purpose of catching and killing Light's Edge. Hence the meeting.
They were all slowly but surely going mad.
"We need a way to draw him out," Minmay said, "the knights say they don't have much chance of finding Light's Edge. "
"If his goal is to kill us, then I might have made that harder," Landar said. The iron staves inside the buildings were close to fully charged now, Light's Edge might not dare to attack them at all. And he wouldn't come even if Landar removed the staves or placed a magical barrier over them, the sudden lack of magical power from the buildings would be too obviously a trap.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"We need an opportunity," the knight said.
"Adest, you nearly blew up the building," Landar cut her off, "I don't think more firebolt launchers are going to make Light's Edge attack. "
"You also did the same thing," Adest pouted, "but if he won't come because he thinks he can't kill us, then we just need to make him think he can. "
"But how do we do that?" Minmay asked, "I shouldn't need to point out that none of us actually want to die so we can't actually expose ourselves. "
No one had an answer.
"Light's Edge thinks the buildings are fortified," Rany said, spreading his hands and looking at them, "but the open area in the center definitely isn't. You could pretend to do something in the open area to tempt him into attacking. "
The discussion group looked at him incredulously. Their observer had never said anything useful before.
"Wouldn't that be suicidal though?" Cato objected.
"Yeah, we can't just go walk around outside alone until he attacks us," Adest said.
"No, he has a point," Landar countered, "you might be able to do it, Adest. You can't defeat Light's Edge because you don't have enough magical power. So if you carry a thread along with you, the staves in the buildings should be able to transfer enough power for you to at least survive an attack. "
"And after that you come out and save me," Adest clapped her hands together, "all right, teach me how to draw power from your threads and we'll do it. "
Landar blinked. She had expected more objections from Adest to being bait. But perhaps she was getting a bit stir crazy too.
"Let us discuss this matter further," Minmay said, looking at Rany, "we should be able to refine the plan. "
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A light drizzle waved across the grassy courtyard, driven from one side to another by stormy gusts. Tiny droplets coated the windows, dripping off roofs and pooling underneath doors.
Amidst the darkness and rain, a lone figure slipped out of the dormitory, a heavy oiled coat guarding it against the descending mist. The figure staggered out into the courtyard, looking around warily, before dashing towards the gate.
A stroke of lightning blew away the darkness for a second. The figure screeched to a halt in the muddy ground. Another flash outlined the silhouette outside the gate, an inky shadow in front of the sun-bright glare.
There was a third flash, the figure was stepping backwards as the shadow advanced.
The sound of the drizzle blanketed the thin whisper but the figure still dived to the side hurriedly. A sharp pulse of magic snapped out from the shadow, a particularly famous cutting edge, and three blades flashed out into the wet night.
The rain strengthened, blanketing the smell of cut grass. Three lines were scored into the ground, long furrows in the path of the blades. The threads behind the figure broke apart silently but the middle path stopped right in front of the figure.
The figure stood up carefully, a glowing shield taking shape in front of it.
The shadow appeared to be surprised but the moment of shock passed and a storm of blades flashed out, converging on the figure from multiple angles. Droplets split in two and soil flew up from the ground.
The sky began to pour down the water as the two confronted each other silently. The glowing shield had multiplied into an interlocking wall of seven, the wall broke up and began to rotate around the figure, magical power gathering around the figure like moths to a flame.
The shadow suddenly dashed to one side, the blade flickering faster than the eye could see. Three of the rotating shields snapped into a line as the magical assault pounded its way through one shield after another. The third shield thinned and vanished but the storm was over.
There was another pause as they regarded each other again. The shadow seemed to be panting slightly but the figure continued to stand its ground proudly. Another lightning glare lit up the figure, the body shape was undoubtedly male.
It hesitated then decided that there was no point in continuing. With a burst of magic, the shadow dashed back towards the gate.
The figure didn't move but it was the shadow's turn to grind to a halt in the mud. There was another cloaked figure waiting outside the gate.
And a wall of disruption magic rising up from the ground behind it.
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Polankal tiptoed over the boards, hoping that the pounding rain and magical battle outside would cover the squeaking below her foot. There was a crash below her feet as one of the magical blades plowed into the side of the building. She took the chance to run up the stairs once the panicked screaming started. The second floor classrooms were deserted. Good.
There was a flash and the staff below her on the first floor pulsed, a torrent of magical power flowing out of the university grounds before manifesting into a huge wall of magic encircling the entire area.
Oops, better get going now.
Polankal padded towards the office at the end, where Cato and Minmay had forbidden everyone else from entering. She had watched him enter it often enough to figure out how the latch worked.
She jiggled the door slightly and inserted the card of hard paper through the gap. Dragging it upwards, the latch on the other side flipped over and the door opened.
Trembling with nervousness, Polankal looked around the room and her eyes settled on the bookcase in the corner. There!
She darted forwards, unslinging her backpack, reaching out to the handle on the bookcase.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," a voice from the door made her jump.
Cato was standing there, a bowgun in his hands, glowing with magic. It was pointed right at her.
With a squeak, Polankal collapsed backwards. She was noticed?!
Cato sighed and stepped forwards. "Drop the bag and put your hands in the air," he said, gesturing with the bowgun.
A sense of defeat welled up in her chest. She was never going to get those books now. And without those books...
A tear streaked down her face as she raised her hands.
"Don't worry, if you're not going to attack me, I won't shoot you. "
She silently apologized to her father as Cato kicked her bag aside and patted her down with one hand, the tip of the arrow pressing against her back. When he was satisfied that she wasn't carry any weapons, he stepped back and lowered the bowgun.
He pushed Polankal into one of the chairs in front of the desk and sat himself on the other side of the desk, the bookcase behind him. Cato didn't put the bowgun aside though, even if it wasn't pointing at her.
"I was wondering when you would make a move on it," Cato said finally.
Polankal just looked down at the floor. So he had already known, she never had a chance after all.
"Frankly speaking, when all your students are third sons of a minor baron or wealthy merchant daughters, having a random peasant requesting to study and being able to present the fee stands out too much," Cato smiled wryly, "so you know I have to ask. Why are you trying to steal my books? I know a lot of people don't even know they exist but Landar did always talk too much. "
"I- I have to... take them," she tried to sniff back her tears unsuccessfully. It was all over after all.
"Yes, but why," Cato continued to press her, "you don't have any use for them. "
There was a clink of ceramic in front of her. She looked up to see a cup from Minmay's private tea set set in front of her. A hot cup steamed in front of her, the faint minty smell was shot through with a thick cloying sweetness. Yama jam and tea. Very expensive.
Polankal looked up at him in confusion. Cato just smiled back and indicated for her to go ahead and drink. Wasn't he going to interrogate her? The sudden act of kindness clashed with the fact that he was still holding onto the bowgun.
She sipped the tea gingerly for a few minutes, trying to still her shaking hands. The cup was probably more expensive than her own life. Outside, the fierce blasts of magic built into a crescendo and finally stopped but neither Polankal nor Cato paid that any mind. The tea was far too sweet. She wondered whether Cato had a sweet tooth.
"So tell me," he said after she calmed down a little.
"I-... I come from a small village to the south. My father is the mayor," she pulled up her legs onto the chair and huddled behind them. Her parents and younger brother were going to die, now she had failed. It was all going to be her fault. Polankal sniffed back a fresh wave of tears. "Chancellor Duport said he would kill them if I didn't do what he said. "
"And he told you to steal my books. Interesting that he knows they exist," Cato mused.
"We meet secretly," Polankal rocked backwards and forwards on the seat, the childish action was somehow a little comforting and the words came easier. At least she wouldn't die, Cato didn't seem like he was going to kill her. If only he could prevent Minmay from executing her afterwards... "Rany is his third son, he is the one controlling Light's Edge and me. He must be informing Light's Edge of how your defenses work. "
Cato stirred a large dollop of yama jam into his own cup and considered it for a while.
"All right," he seemed to come to a conclusion, "I'll let you have them. "
What?
He grinned at her. "I'll let you have the books," Cato said, "or more precisely, I'll let you copy them. "
Polankal blinked at him stupidly. He was just giving them to her? But how did that make any sense?
"Minmay figured it out actually," Cato said, "that Rany was in contact with Light's Edge. The man always seemed to know that we were baiting the staffs' houses with knights. Someone was leaking our movements to him and given that Duport and Minmay are perpetually enemies, it would be too much to expect Rany to be a neutral observer. "
But how did that link to giving Polankal the books?
"I have my own reasons. " Cato must have read her confusion but waved it away. "I'll think of a plausible story for you to tell your chancellor. So in exchange, I just need you to do a few things for me. "
What sort of things? She wasn't arrogant enough to believe that she was beautiful enough for him to want certain services. But her family was at stake, she would have to do it if he said to. Polankal nodded.
"You will put on a little play with me and I will ask Landar to rescue your family. And then," his grin grew wider, "I want you to leak a second copy. "