Tuesday passed in a blur, and by the time Pax staggered out of conditioning class and had a tired dinner with his crew, he was looking forward to the meeting Incedis had arranged for them after the rest of his crew finished checking in with their own mentors. Incedis gave them the address of a bar where he had access to a private room.

Pax couldn’t wait to discuss exactly how they could finish up their work in the Salman and get out of town. The atmosphere in the city wasn't as bad as it had been during the riots Sunday night, but the strain of the civil war turning into something real and dangerous that was easy to see everywhere.

He’d seen drawn faces around him in his morning classes. The atmosphere felt worse than when the city had awaited ‌the loxotine. This time, there was no confidence that they would deal with the coming danger easily. The tense feel of the capital made another riot more of a certainty than a possibility.

It all made Pax even more grateful for the enjoyable evening his friends had engineered for him the night before. After they’d shown off their new spells and abilities for another hour, they’d bugged him to dump out everything stored in the old archivist's ring.

Chaos ensued, with everyone grabbing anything that caught their eye. Dahni took charge of outfitting their relaxation room in the back of the cave, so they all didn't pile the discarded items in it. He’d even donated a few of his simpler inventory boxes to stash any leftover items, allowing Pax to empty the ring of everything but the boxes of scrolls they were keeping safe for Fenix 3-one.

Thinking back to the crazy things they'd found and used to decorate the back room of their training cave helped boost Pax’s mood as he hurried to finish dinner with his crew. After trying to Identify the first handful of items and finding them mostly too low level for points, everybody had abandoned leveling the skill and just enjoyed exploring the eclectic stash of junk.

A lot of it had been boring supplies an archivist might have stashed away for future use, like empty bottles, blank scrolls, and an insane number of ink pens. Some of the pens, however, had been really fascinating.

Rin had snagged one with a barrel crafted from the bones of an air creature and decorated with carvings of flying creatures spiraling in an intricate and beautiful dance. It didn't have any magical properties, but was a gorgeous item that made her smile and pull out a notebook to test it out.

By the end of the evening, everyone had picked out something interesting or bizarre. Dahni had been proud of the complete outfitting of their back room with furniture and supplies, all the way down to a bedspread woven from bright rainbow colors with a smiling pig embroidered right in the middle.

That was something that kept them all chuckling the entire time. Apparently, Archivist Evander had a fascination with pigs. They’d used one of his bookshelves and had a blast arranging all the various pig paraphernalia they found in the ring. They’d found statues, books, mugs, and even a soft pig crocheted out of yarn with polished black stones sewn in for eyes.

Something had even caught Pax’s interest. He’d grabbed a small pig, carved out of an inch of beautiful, polished pink marble, and slipped it into his pocket. The stone warmed when he held it in his hand. Running his fingers over the smooth features kept his hand busy and somehow helped him think a little better. He decided it was his new good luck piece.

As he’d moved through his morning classes, he’d found himself fiddling with it. An indistinct memory popped up of a small stuffed animal that Titus had given him one Winter's solstice. Had it been a dog?

He couldn't remember, but it felt comforting to have a small memento that reminded him of an eccentric archivist, happy childhood memories, and his brother. It also motivated him to finish their work in Salman and get back to the ruins. By now, the rebels would have fixed some of the place up so troops could move in and train. If there was any place he could find information about his brother and if he’d associated with rebels, it would be there.

As he ate his dinner quietly, Pax waited for the sharp ache he usually felt when thinking about his missing family, only to stop and realize he felt excitement instead. Curious, he examined his thoughts and realized, on some level, he was looking forward to introducing his crew and his brother to each other. And if his brother were dead, Pax felt he would be happy about the people Pax had in his life now.

Pax hadn’t been the only one distracted through the morning classes. Beast identification had lost a lot of its importance when rebel and empire troops were fighting against each other. His magical harvesting class seemed simplistic after all the bodies they'd butchered and skinned on the Purge. He'd heard rumors that the fourth years had a lightning beast to dissect, but the first-year class still got the dregs of what fell overnight on the walls.

Meditative Healing, at least, had kept his interest and taught him something. With her usual tactics of shocking students, Mage Lorkranna had gashed open her own arm to demonstrate how to handle severe injuries on the battlefield. She'd even pointed out various parts of her anatomy that were revealed by the skin she’d cut away. She made a point to show them how muscles, when cut, could suck back up into the arm where they were hard to get to and repair.

Without even a wince, she’d called every student in the class who had a Heal Others skill to come up and practice on her. The exercise had fascinated Pax. He’d been more than happy to join the students working to Heal her, ignoring her blood dripping on the floor at their feet.

He’d paid better attention in Enchanting class, noticing the distinct difference between the ease of infusing Tyrodon's latest creations and those the beginning class could work on. It made him look forward to some downtime in the ruins where he could work together with Tyrodon and see what the two of them could create together.

Conditioning class, at least, had given him and all the other students a way to work out their stress and tension. Sergeant Iglis had been tuned into everyone's anxiety and ratcheted the intensity of their training up to a new level. Pax enjoyed the challenge, especially with how much stronger and faster he felt from Mage Warwick’s tortuous training.

By the time they left conditioning class, everyone had been tired but more relaxed. The result had been a quieter atmosphere in the dining hall for dinner. Even the visiting warrior and crafter students were subdued. Their own instructors had worked them hard, too. The quiet was nice, despite the underlying tension that still thrummed under the surface.

“Is everyone too tired to talk? Or just extremely hungry?” Amil broke the silence, glancing at the others expectantly.

“Pax is probably too busy working on new crew strategies to talk to us.” Rin gave him a teasing look as she handed another morsel up to Eris on her shoulder.

Pax blinked and finally looked up at the others. “Sorry, I got distracted by all the craziness that's going on and what the future might hold for us.”

His friends’ expressions sobered, and Pax saw others in the crew cast a quick look around at the abnormal atmosphere of the dining hall.

“Hey, at least we're going out tonight to relax a bit.” Amil gave them all a cheerful smile. “We're still going to meet up after our advisor meetings, right?”

“Yes,” Pax said. “At the Silent Stein. It’s just past the suppliers' marketplace, not too far past the Crafters Academy.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The reminder of the evening meetup brightened the mood until Amil spoke again and ruined it.

“Good, because I have a surprise for all of you.” He leaned back and looked very pleased with himself.

A groan slipped out before Pax could stop it. “I'm not sure if I'm up for any more surprises after last night.”

“Oh, this will be an enjoyable one. Well, mostly. It might entail a bit more work? Well, maybe not—” He let out a startled yelp as Rin backhanded him.

“Either tell us now, or wait until tonight.” She scowled at him before turning back to finish her meal.

With a laughing grin, Amil closed his lips with an exaggerated motion before focusing back on his food. As they finished up, Pax realized their group was in a lot better mood than most of the others in the dining hall. Despite everything they were trying to do and the looming deadlines, working with friends by his side made it so much better.

After leaving the dining hall, they said their goodbyes and split up, heading to their individual mentor meetings. The two warriors and Tyrodon did the same, having their mentor meetings at the same time now that the academies had synchronized schedules to make the war games training work.

For a moment, Pax watched them walk away. He enjoyed seeing their pets by their sides instead of in pouches. Their crew was growing. It had been a risk to Tame babies for the others, instead of waiting until Pax could help them with an adult. But they needed more Taming skill unlocks. And for those who managed it, they could always get another companion, an adult this time, once they reached level 2.

With Bryn becoming the first warrior to unlock Taming, it had been a good chance to take. Every risk was a balance between benefits and pitfalls. And now, the babies were getting stronger, which made Pax feel better about dragging them all out into the Wilds again soon.

Pax reached down to scratch Talpa’s scruff as he tried to decide what he would do with the next hour, while waiting for their group meeting with Incedis. Maybe he could finally get in an undisturbed hour of training.

“Student Mage Pax Vipersworn?”

Pax flinched, wondering if one of their team had finally gone missing, and they might need to evacuate. He could still chase down his friends. They hadn’t gone far. “Yes, that’s me.”

The messenger boy stuck the folded note in his hand and took off before Pax had a chance to thank or tip him. Pax didn't delay looking at it. Bad news didn't go away if ignored.

Then he saw the sender's name: Victoria Windhelm. In a much better mood, he broke the seal and flipped open the note. It was short, to the point, and still explained nothing.

I have news for you. Come tonight, if you can.

After her backhanded support of him with the office of Compliance and Enforcement thing, he hadn’t heard back from her. He’d figured his plea for information about his brother hadn’t been important enough to overcome the Windhelm’s need for keeping their knowledge confidential.

But now? Maybe she had something for him. Excited at the possibility of gaining some knowledge that might help their cause, Pax turned and hurried toward the academy gates. He quickly reviewed the map of Salmon that his work for the Steelshades had imprinted on his mind and realized he had plenty of time. Her office wasn't too far from the Silent Stein pub they planned to visit later. He slowed his pace to a more reasonable one.

As he stepped out onto the streets of Salman, Pax almost smiled. Catching himself, he forced his face to adopt the helpless anger he saw in the expressions of those around him. Still, the evening was turning out to be a lot more interesting than his classes had been that day.

When he made it to the Windhelm office and walked in, the same clerk, Bronson, was sitting behind the counter. All the other workers looked to be gone for the day. Bronson’s treatment of him was much different from the first time.

He gave Pax a respectful nod and stood. "If you'll follow me, Mistress Windhelm will see you now."

Not bothering to hide his surprise, Pax followed him down the luxurious hallway again, musing about how much his life had changed. The only way he would have ever been in a place like this last year would be to steal something. And then, he knew better if he didn’t want the guard to catch him.

They went through the announcement process again, and a few moments later, Pax sat down in front of Mistress Windhelm’s enormous desk while she finished a document she was working on. He wasn't in a hurry, so he let himself sink back into the chair and relax. With everything that had happened lately, chances to take a break didn’t come often.

When he accidentally let a sigh slip out, Mistress Windhelm looked up from her paper and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to interrupt you. I'm not in any hurry and was just enjoying the quiet here. You have a beautiful office."

She took a quick glance around her office, as if seeing it for the first time, and then gave him a half-smile. "I guess it is, isn't it? I spend so much time working here, I sometimes forget to just enjoy it. Give me a few more seconds, and then we can discuss your matter."

He nodded, but she had already turned her attention back to her work. Pax took the time to let his mind relax as he looked around the office and fantasized about what kind of office he would have if funds were unlimited and he had a business to run.

Maybe something like this.

But that would take a win by the rebellion, followed by solving the impossible problem of fighting back the hordes and eventually shutting down the wells. No. He wouldn't be sitting in a fancy office anytime soon. But then again, he'd always felt more comfortable on his feet and fighting.

"Thank you for your patience.” Mistress Windhelm carefully stacked the papers she’d been working on before setting them aside and looking at him. “First, I’d like to apologize for the rude way I treated you in the Office of Compliance. I noticed that you quickly picked up on my subterfuge and how I used it to sway the situation in our favor. Even so, I find it distasteful to act so arrogant and entitled. You have my apologies.”

His eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly shook his head. “No need to apologize. Your skills were very impressive, and I learned a lot by watching you work. Thank you for taking the time to intervene to help me.”

She studied him for a moment and what might have been approval flickered across her face. “Moving on. I have some news for you that Master Windhelm agreed I could share with you, specifically because it relates to your hometown of Thanhil.”

Her words drove all the meandering thoughts from Pax's mind. He sat up on the edge of his chair, suddenly eager and interested.

She smiled at his reaction. "It's always our family that hits closest to the heart, isn't it?" Thankfully, she didn't wait for him to answer and continued, "You may have heard rumors that the Empire might move up the dates for this year's Awakening and possibly try to do two instead of one. Those rumors are true. Preparations are underway for the first caravan, and it should leave within a week. Thanhil is the third city on the route for that caravan."

Pax sucked in a breath, his pulse racing at the idea of a caravan heading back to his hometown. There had to be a way he could get assigned to it. He could check in on Tomis and the Viper littles. And Thanhil was the one place Titus knew to look for him. So, if he managed to leave a message anywhere, it would be with the other Vipers. Pax had to make it onto the expedition.

Mistress Windhelm gave him a sympathetic smile. "I can see you've already decided you need to join that caravan. I will warn you it will be extremely difficult. This is the first of the new pushes for more Awakenings to bolster our troops and is subsequently under close supervision.

"In addition, positions on the caravan are being used as bargaining pieces among the families. Unfortunately, our family is not at the top of the loyalist lists, despite our unwavering support of the empire. Apparently, some consider our advocating for improvements to be too close to rebellion, regardless of how necessary they are.

"Our family cannot get you a spot on the caravan. You'll have to look to your other connections for help. All we can offer you is the information. Speaking of, I'd like to remind you that this is privileged and not common knowledge. So, please keep it to yourself and only those close allies who might help you."

His initial excitement had sputtered as she continued her explanation. But now he nodded, grateful for the information. "Thank you very much for sharing this with me. Please let Master Windhelm know how much this means to me. A chance, even a small one, to return home and look for my brother is more than I could have asked. Please let me know if I can ever repay you or your uncle."

She nodded at his offer before sighing. "I'm just sorry we couldn't pull more strings to make sure you made it onto the caravan. But, if you would, please keep us updated on how things go for you. I know my uncle has taken a personal interest and would appreciate knowing when you leave the capital. If you can, please send a quick letter updating him after you arrive at your destination. And thank you for making it here so quickly this evening. I will message you again if anything else important comes up I can share with you."

Recognizing her dismissal, Pax stood with a grateful smile. "I will definitely keep you and your uncle informed of how things work out for me. Please thank him again for his help. It means the world to me."

She returned to her paperwork before Pax made it out the door. He let out a wry chuckle as he walked back down the quiet hallway. Maybe there was another reason he didn't want a fancy office like that. He’d take fighting beasts over paperwork any day.

As he stepped back onto the streets, though, he had a boost in his steps. Once again, he had difficulty suppressing a smile. Amil wouldn't be the only one with a surprise to share during tonight's meeting.