It had only been a few seconds into the day and I was already completely fucked, and it was entirely my fault. I had completely forgotten about one thing which could ruin a major step in my plan and I should have been able to predict it if only I had a little bit of forethought.

I’m a fucking idiot.

Now I had less than a day to figure out how I could get out of a mess when it had taken me weeks in between big ideas for the plan most of the time.

Sorry Elm…

***

There was an odd melancholy throughout the cafeteria, likely due to the fact that everyone recognized that my plan had already gone wrong. The main crew at the table were all giving me looks of desperation and worry.

“North, what the fuck do we do?” Elric asked, his voice shaking slightly. He was the one who was generally the most doubtful of my plans, so he was very interested in seeing how I planned on escaping the mess I had thrown myself into.

“I’m working on it. If we’re not able to get into the office, we can at least get people to the armory. That way we can be armed.” I was lost in thought on how to get the key, but I knew that we had the option of just not going for it. If we were able to get access to the key after the revolt, that would be good, but not having the ability to use our attunements likely meant a lot more casualties. Not everyone here understood how to use magore tech. It was all falling apart and it was on me.

“Well, think of something fast. The people here are already starting to look uncomfortable and I don’t really think they’ll follow you as well if they don’t know what is going to happen.”

Elina took a turn to speak, apparently trying to put forward the positives of this shit show.

“This does actually give us an advantage in terms of stealth and visibility. If we cover Elric in mud, he’ll be a lot harder to spot when we head to the mine. Plus, my fight will look a hell of a lot cooler in the rain.”

At least someone sees the bright side of this.

“I mean, we don’t know if it’s going to rain the entire day, right?” Alex was also trying to act as a positive voice, although he clearly wasn’t doing the best. The sudden shift in plans had shaken him, something which I couldn’t blame him for.

“Alex, I’m sorry. You saw how it is outside. This isn’t going to stop, and even if it did, the building will be too wet for me to light a good flame which can’t be put out. I’m going to have to rethink how I get the key.”

Alex shrugged in response. I looked across the room to see the others all looking around with confusion and taking occasional glances at me, probably looking for some insight or leadership.

They probably thought I had planned for this.

I looked throughout the crowd until I finally spotted Elm. There wasn’t a look of frustration on his face like usual, but genuine worry. I nodded back to him, giving him the best smile I could to reassure him that everything would be ok. I needed the food in my system if I wanted to make this work and to keep my mind sharp. It was going to be one long night no matter what.

As I took a moment to start picking apart the gruel, I could hear a soft poisonous whisper come from behind me.

Stolen story; please report.

“Sera and our Arlinian ladies are prepared for dinner tonight. You, on the other hand…” Nicole spoke in a hushed, prideful tone. “Well, I wish you the best of luck in making sure we don’t all get killed. It’s your big day, so don’t screw it up.”

“Thanks.”

Everything was already going wrong.

***

The rhythmic sound of chipping away at the rocks was a sound which I hoped to never be forced to hear again after this day. The stench of the mines and the burn of raw magore was a sensation I wouldn’t miss. I doubted anyone else around me would miss it. As I was mining, I could take occasional peeks over at the others to see them doing the same to me, trying to search for some affirmation that everything was ok, which was something that I couldn’t exactly give them at the moment. All I could do for the time being was mine away at magore and pray that something within me would click together.

The flow of mana in the mines was a lot more visible to me now that I had really practiced with it, which I attempted to use as a way to clear my mind. Studying the flow of energy throughout the stones and the air in the room was a lot more pretty than the actual mine itself.

When we destroy this place, will they come back here?

It was a thought that I didn’t relish, knowing that my efforts might go to waste. That was one reason why we needed to make sure this place was as thoroughly wrecked by the end of it. Once we had access to our attunements, we had a strong fighting chance against any camp we would face. An army of mages who carried magore tech versus a group of guards who probably lacked the same training as their normal soldier would be one sided, but that only could come after we had finished the plan… which I was still stuck on.

Without the key, the only person in camp who could utilize their magic was me, and I was barely trained. Compared to people like Alex or Elina, I had only been able to get a small amount of training in hiding because it would get me killed otherwise…

Wait.

I paused my mining, my pickaxe frozen in my arms. During my planning I had many ideas which were considered stupid or impossible. Yet the idea which just passed through my head was one of the dumbest I had so far. It was complete suicide, but it was an answer.

I knew how to get the key.

This is totally going to get me killed.

***

After getting washed down, I walked back through the rain with a smile on my face. The cafeteria held much of the same attitude, but not me. I had a plan which was going to make everything work, but also piss everyone else off.

Elric especially…

When I got food, I took a moment to pause when I got to Twig, leaning forward slightly. The entire camp was in it now, so there wasn’t as much need to hide from my other slaves.

“Keep going forward with the plan. Nothing changes on your end.” I whispered, the smile still dancing on my lips. “Plans only change on my end.”

Twig nodded as I walked away from her and back to my usual table. The crew around me looked confused by my chipper attitude.

“I’m going to assume by that shit eating grin, you figured something out?” Elric stared at me, hoping for a good answer.

“Yup. Plan stays the same for the most part, but it changes on my end. The only thing is the timing. Blow up the mine at 10:15 no matter what, but there’s a good chance there might be fighting on the other end of the camp. If you hear a lot of burner fire, speed up the plan. Go in loud, but make sure that Elric gets inside. Elina, that means that you need to cover him before you get to have your big fight, ok?”

She nodded proudly. The anticipation for her epic battle gave me some hope.

“The poison is already in motion, but how are you still getting the key from Galen?” Sera looked increasingly worried as I spoke. At this point, her major part in the plan was helping to keep Karla safe since she lacked the mobility to do the dash.

“It’s simple.” I straightened my back, beaming with stupid positivity.

“I’m going to have a meeting with him.”

The entire table gave me a look of horror.

Yup. I am definitely going to die.