Tzugakk crouched in a corner, patiently scraping LifeMould off the wall and into a dented pewter mug.

"You almost finished? Getting jumpy over here."

They'd found the room down several flights of winding stairs, the stone walls grower damper and colder with each wide step. The only light came from a crystal held by Tzugakk's companion, hastily constructed by the goblin before their descent.

Cane Calfstrong shifted in place, glanced around the room, found nothing of interest, and spoke again:

"You hear me? I said, you about finished? Or, what, you're still scared of me? Thought we got that straight. Even if this wasn't a damn safe zone there's no point in attacking my partner. If you're good at crafting I should keep you safe until we get the prize. That just makes sense."

Tzugakk said nothing, and after collecting the mould he avoided looking at Cane. He couldn't escape the memory of the lancer leaping high into the air, of his crashing descent—

"You don't have to be like this," Cane said, as Tzugakk scurried from the room. He followed after the goblin, who was heading back up the stairs. "So I killed you one time. That doesn't mean anything. I did that for the same reason anyone does anything here. Merits."

Tzugakk didn't reply, just kept climbing the stairs. Cane smirked to himself.

"So we're heading up," he said. "That's where your next thing is?"

"I hope so."

"Hey, so you can talk! Heh. Up, yeah. Better than these basement parts." Cane smirked again. "Yeah, I'm a lancer. 'Up' is my style."

Tzugakk said nothing, partly through shyness, partly through nervousness, and partly because he was preoccupied with a certain troubling thought. The components he'd found had been of excellent quality, far better than any he'd found in the academy proper. In truth, they rivalled the best of his former forest home. Above the shimmerfalls, where water nymphs sang and played and hunted. In the caverns beneath the moss ruins, a sanctuary for night shades and shadow slimes. Among the jigsaw rocks, where grey mantises and stone spiders fought a neverending war. These were dangerous places, all of them, and they followed an unwritten rule; the more dangerous a place, the more valuable its secrets. Near Tzugakk's log hut there was a peaceful stretch of forest, home to nothing more dangerous than an orange slime or two ... but home also to nothing more valuable than a GreenLeaf. Compare this peaceful place to the more dangerous areas, and there was no comparison. Danger meant quality components, that was a simple and undeniable truth of the world. This, more than anything else, was what caused Tzugakk's preoccupied silence. Where you find danger you will find good components...

...so where you find good components you must also find danger...

...and the components in this place were very, very good indeed...

----------------------------------------

The two girls had swiftly reached accordance; it was likely that early areas would hold little of interest, and so their strategy would be to venture as deep as possible into the dark ruins of the eastern wing. Secret places, discrete containers, possibly even puzzles, these would be their most likely sources for a winning item. So it was that Evia Mordein and Summer Rain could be found picking over the mouldering corpse of a once-proud library.

"I got to admit, I'm happy being partnered with you," Evia said. She was going through a pile of heavy tomes, assessing and discarding with cool efficiency. "Together we could beat Nala."

Summer lowered her head as she sorted through her own pile of books, treating them to a small smile that Evia entirely failed to notice. "So you consider her a threat?"

"In this kind of thing, yep. In the tournament ... huh, maybe if she had a better team. As it is she's got nothing."

"Oh, I don't know."

Evia paused in her tome-assessment to glance at Summer. "Don't you?"

"Tzugakk alone is a wildcard. 'StenchMerchant', I'd never heard of the class before coming here—I didn't even know goblins could take classes. You've noticed that Nala's team has only fought one battle? Deliberate on her part, I'm sure. She's got more up her sleeve than what she's shown."

"So what about you? Your battles haven't been all that great. What kind of tricks you got hidden?"

"Not much, to be honest." Summer gave the bookshelves a last glance, then held up a small black book with a stylised silver cross on the cover. "Find anything better than this?"

Evia shook her head. "Doubt we will, either. Moving on seems like a plan."

"Agreed."

The two girls made their way out of the gloomy library, Evia glancing at Summer several times before speaking:

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"If you don't have any little secret tricks, how do you think you'll do in the tournament?"

"I believe we have as much chance as anyone."

It was Evia's turn to smile, as she led Summer through long narrow corridors and down winding stairs to a cramped little basement area.

"I've listened to your matches," Evia said, as she picked over the crystals upon an alchemist's workbench. "And to Nala's. There's a difference between you and her."

"I'd be interested to hear your observations," Summer said, at Evia's side, re-examining the crystals the mage had discarded. Her tone was neutral and her expression open, but there was a certain tightness to her voice that Evia happily noticed.

"You do things safe. You don't take risks. You play by the rules—"

"You say that like there's a choice," Summer said, and Evia hid a smile at the sudden snap in her tone. "Even the most unconventional tactics are still bound by rules—and I don't 'abide' by them, that implies that I find them unpleasant or constricting—"

"Yeah, exactly," Evia said to the crystal she was studying. "You get off on the rules. You love them."

"Only conceptually."

At that Evia set down her crystal and looked straight at Summer. Summer gazed back. It was Evia who conceded:

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let me ask you this, first. Do you want to win the tournament?"

Evia laughed. "Of course I do!"

"Why?"

"Merits, opportunities, the boon, lots of reasons."

"I want to win because I want to prove that the rules work."

"Haha, what? You don't need to prove that—and before you say anything I do get what you mean. You don't like how things are. Unbalanced, right? Vampires and elves and high-tier classes on top, everyone else beneath. But really, how are you different, 'mintmedic'? With your pirate and ninja, those aren't low-tier. Uncommon, sure, but not underpowered. You didn't start like you are now, right? Let me guess, natural healer—"

"No. Mintmedic was my first and only class." Summer bowed her head, perhaps in a show of humility. "I worked hard to meet the base requirements. There was still the possibility I'd become something else, healer or cleric or even a mage like you ... but I did everything I could to increase the chance that I'd be a mintmedic. James is the same—or, haha, no, he's not, but he's never been anything other than a pirate. Still, I take your point. My brother began as a rogue, despite doing all he could to make ninja his first class. It's all he's ever wanted to be, a natural fit ... but sometimes chaos wins. Still, we worked hard and got him his promotion medal."

"To give him that chance," Evia murmured. She crossed her arms. "I began as a healer, which was kind of horrifying. It was my fault, I mean I did a lot of stuff and made a lot of choices that led me down that road, but still. That's why I'm just an unpromoted mage now, changing base classes is a hassle and a half. It took a heap of work to get where I am. Probably just as much as you put into being a natural mintmedic."

"Oh, more!" Summer said. "But that's kind of my point—"

"Yeah, it's mine too. Why are the elves and vampires on top, you ever think about that?"

"Of course—"

"They've got all the rules in their court, but it's more than that. They've formed themselves around the rules. Traditions, culture, classes, elves and vampires adapted better than any other race so now they're reaping the benefits. You can't really call it unfair. The rules work for those who submit to them. So yeah, that's the difference between you and Nala. For you, rules are some kind of ideal. But for her? They're a weapon."

Summer smiled tightly. "What about you, then? How do you see rules?"

Evia shrugged. "Cynical constructs that're good for some and bad for others—but, y'know, there's nothing wrong with that. The world is the world and rules are rules, you either accept that or get crushed by it. But forget all that, or don't, but whatever, because I've got something important to ask you. Let's face facts, you're not going to win this thing. It's kind of funny, your weakness is the same as the vampires and the elves, you've got a team of high-tiers and strategies that work with your strengths, but nothing else. Nothing special. There's still time before the first match, you could still join the team that's going to demolish this tournament—"

"You? Behemoth?" Summer laughed, then covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, but why would I? Aside from anything there are the obvious personality clashes—"

"Sure, there'd be friction, but we'd get over that. We all want to win, yeah? Reasons don't matter so much, motivations come and go, but if you and me were working together, with everything my team's got and everything your team's got, we'd be unstoppable. I mean yeah there's some fiddly technical stuff we'd have to do, find a couple of patsies to load your team with and all that, but I've looked into it. It's possible."

"I have to admit, this isn't a path I'd considered." Summer looked down at the crystals without interest, the treasure hunt now a distant priority. "Still, it makes a certain amount of sense."

"Right? Plus there's another thing too. You're getting a lot of bad attention. Them above aren't happy with the teams this year, that's obvious to anyone with half a brain. We're okay, they like our brute force style and we've got positive prejudice working for us—token vampire, token elf, it makes a difference—but you and Greyward, hah. Accidents are surprisingly common around here. BrightCircles and safehold shards aren't as reliable as they tell you."

"I know. I mean ... I've heard. Read things. Expulsion from the academy can be, um, 'permanent'."

"You got it. And, you know, I wouldn't put it past them to arrange for something to happen here—the perfect setting! New magical tech, a hundred things to go wrong, so many people to spread the blame across if a student doesn't come back..."

Evia trailed off, her misleadingly plain eyes on Summer.

"Yes," Summer said, carefully. She was uncomfortably aware of the position she'd put herself in; alone in the dark with a girl she didn't know nearly enough about, separated from her party, trapped in an instance with no way out save for that the vampire hosts granted—vampire hosts who were favourites of the academy, a firm part of the tradition of the place, who would naturally do anything to retain that favour...

"Well, anyway," Evia said. "You can get back to me on the joining forces thing. No rush." She tutted at the crystals. "Nothing down here, how about trying the upper levels? We've got some time left—I guess, haha."

"Haha. Above, yes. Maybe the ... the attics."

It was with a dark weight in her chest that Summer followed Evia; heavy with the fear that the steps she took could very well be her last.