Before Orrin could make a plan, the lock twisted and Graem’s door opened. Wren stepped through the doorframe and her eyes landed on the still body of her brother.

Orrin hoped his cast of [Camouflage] had been quick enough. He slowly backed away from the man’s unmoving form as a cascade of emotions filtered over Wren’s face.

“Graem? This isn’t a funny joke. Get up,” her voice quivered. “I’m serious. I’ve told you that I would kill you if you ever did this again.”

Orrin’s confusion spiked. Was Graem pulling a prank?

He used [Identify] on the body.

Graem Balint

Librarian Level 56

Status: Intoxicated; Poisoned; Comatose

HP: 18/270

MP: 5/190

Strength: 13

Constitution: 27

Dexterity:13

Will: 19

Intelligence: 32

“Oh shit, he’s alive,” Orrin said in his surprise.

The armoire behind him twisted and struck through him in three different places, pinning him to the ground.

“Drop the spell, assassin,” Wren hissed, standing over her brother’s body in a defensive pose. “What did you do to him?”

“Professor, it’s me, Or— Casimir,” Orrin gasped through the pain. Two long branches stuck through his left leg and the larger shaft of wood had pierced through his right shoulder, pushing him down into an awkward half-bow. He dropped his [Camouflage] spell. “Graem is alive. You have to let me up so I can save him.”

“Don’t lie. What are you doing in his room? What did you do to him? If he dies, I’ll keep you alive for weeks.” Spit hit his face as the feral scorn in Wren’s voice deepened. “Who sent you?”

Orrin’s health dropped again when she melted the doorknob, shaped it into a long spike, and sent it into the center of his back. Orrin screamed in pain and [Mind Bastion] kicked in.

Ignoring the twisting and burning metal digging into his spine, Orrin cast [Decrease Will] on Wren five times. He didn’t have time to use [Identify] or do math. He reacted to save his life because there was no doubt in his mind that the teacher meant to kill him.

Wren grabbed her head in both her hands and screamed in pain. The iron nail stopped digging its way into Orrin’s back and the branches growing from the furniture stopped pulsating with life. Orrin summoned a [Fire Sword] and cut away at the wood holding him down. He was able to yank the larger piece out of his shoulder and was working on the two in his leg when Wren started crying and fumbling her hands into her pockets.

“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill every one of you. You promised he’d be safe. I’ll hammer you to a tree and let your blood feed the roots for a year. I’ll shave your flesh from your body and braid it into a lash to beat you with,” she continued making increasingly deranged threats as she pulled a vial from a pocket and downed what was obviously a mana potion.

Orrin pulled his leg free, healing himself as much as he dared. One part of him was already casting [Decrease Strength] but he stopped himself. She’d still be able to cast spells unless he drained her mana again.

There wasn’t time to fight. Another check on Graem showed the man’s health had dropped another five points. Orrin cast [Heal Small Wounds].

“NO!” Wren screamed and pulled the wooden floor up into a barrier that covered Graem. The teacher of Mana Signatures could see the mana moving toward her brother and moved to defend him. “Leave him alone. Fight me.”

“Professor, he’s dying. I need to heal him.” Orrin tried to circle around her and the half-raised cocoon that blocked his view of Graem. Even in the middle of a fight, a small part of his brain registered he needed line of sight to heal. “His health is dropping and he’s poisoned… and comatose whatever that means. I can save him.”

“You’re the one trying to kill him,” Wren said as she bent and touched the wooden floor. As she stood, a staff grew with her hand, like she was drawing putty from the ground. A makeshift spear spun in Orrin’s direction. “Leave now and you might live.”

Orrin watched as she began pulling things out of her other pockets and dropping them on the floor. Small wooden carvings, a knife, and an empty vial she scowled at before throwing it to the ground. She was searching for something.

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“What can I do to convince you?” Orrin pleaded. Graem’s health was down to the single digits now. “I’ll give you a health potion. He’s got less than ten points of health left.”

“I’ll not feed my brother your poison,” Wren screeched and threw the next something in her pocket at Orrin. A ball of thread bounced off his chest.

“I’m sorry. I tried being reasonable.” Orrin used [Decrease Strength], [Decrease Intelligence], and [Decrease Dexterity] on Wren. A small pout on her lips was all she managed before she fell to the side, immobile.

Orrin scrambled his way to Graem and began using [Heal Small Wounds]. Once his health was a little higher, he used [Purify] as well. Graem’s comatose and intoxicated statuses went away and his eyes flickered open.

“Casimir? What?” Graem’s confusion turned to pain as he grabbed his stomach. “Fuck, this is not a good trip. That hurts.”

Orrin checked Graem over. The poison status was still there. “Professor, you’re poisoned. I can’t heal it.”

“Get me up,” Graem said, putting his hand on Orrin’s shoulder and trying to stand. “Wait, why is my sister sleeping on the floor?”

Orrin explained how Wren had found them and assumed the worst. He left out the particulars of how he’d taken her down. “Graem, I need to get you down to the infirmary. They can figure out a cure for the poison.”

“I’d rather know how you defeated one of the best mages in the world while taking only a few scrapes,” Graem said, looking at Orrin with a slightly scared but mostly intrigued look. “She’s going to want to kill you, I hope you know that.”

“She might have said that a few times.” Orrin ducked under Graem’s arm and half-carried him out of the room. “You can smooth it all over later.”

He waited until they’d left the room before adding in a whisper, “Of course, you could take this collar off and I’ll disappear. You should too. Someone tried to kill you.”

Graem was silent during the walk. Multiple people rushed up to ask if he needed help but Graem simply sent one student ahead to warn Alma that he was poisoned and would need an antidote.

Orrin didn’t push Graem for an answer. He could see the man was scared from his brush with death and going over his options. When they reached the infirmary, the old healer Alma was already waiting with a frothing liquid that seemed more like cement than something Graem should actually drink. She directed Orrin to drop Graem off in a small room with a curtain for a door to one side of her larger workspace. She waited for Graem to grumble and get settled before handing over the concoction.

The man downed the entire glass in one go and winked at Alma when he was done. “Not the best drink I’ve ever had but top ten for sure.”

“Go flirt with someone your own age, Balint. I’m old enough to be your grandmother,” Alma retorted and swatted his arm but as she left, Orrin saw a smile on her lips.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I can heal you some more,” Orrin offered as soon as Alma closed the curtain.

“Alma’s the best at this. The poison is already working its way out of my system and I’ll be fine after a bit of sleep. Tell me everything that happened. Oh, wait.” Graem spread his arms and his sound bubble spread around the room. “Go ahead.”

Orrin told him about knocking on the door and finding him on the floor. He sheepishly explained how he thought Graem was dead and didn’t think to check until Wren was in the room.

Graem laughed.

“If I’d been a few minutes later…” Orrin trailed off.

“My sister would have found me and forced a potion down my throat before dragging my ass down to Alma,” Graem said, waving off the near-death experience with aplomb. “The timing was too precise. It was a warning.”

Orrin stared pointedly at the sweaty mess of a man in front of him.

“I told you when we first met that people are predictable. I’ve made sure to be around people I trust or have them on their way to me every twenty minutes since we spoke last. This is part of the game at this level. You’ve already dealt with it, too. How many times have people tried to kill you in Odrana? And I’m talking about Casimir.”

Orrin frowned. “You still didn’t answer my question.”

“Hmm. Which question?”

“Will you take my collar off?”

“No.”

Orrin closed his eyes and counted to three. “Why not?”

“My job is to help you get your honeypot on. I just survived a poison attempt for being ancillary. I’m not going to go out of my way to help you escape.”

Orrin was on borrowed time. The decrease debuff spells only lasted five minutes and Wren was on her way to murder him for sure. “Will you at least take the explosive murder trap off? I can’t sleep at night worrying I’m going to turn the wrong way and make it go off.”

Graem gave Orrin a look that said plainly, ‘we both know that’s a lie.’ After rolling his eyes, he shrugged and reached over, tapping the collar. Orrin felt the magic twist in the metal, a roaring tiger going to sleep. “I owe you for saving my life. Please try not to escape today. I’ll talk to Wren. She might even let you stay in her class.”

Orrin shivered remembering the threats she used. He’d seen behind the curtain of her rage and now wasn’t sure who he was escaping from.

“Alma, where is my brother?” As if on cue, Wren’s voice cut through the infirmary.

Orrin used [Camouflage] and ran.

Orrin almost went back to his dorm room but decided to wander the halls instead. If he saw Wren approaching, he could run again.

He considered ducking into an unused classroom and ripping the metal off. Whatever game Graem was playing with Anabella, he wanted no part of it. If he did increase his strength and rip the metal right off his neck, the [Glamour] would end. Hiding in the school for another day for Graem wouldn’t be an option.

Orrin walked by his Defensive Earth Magic classroom and took a peek inside. The students had moved on from throwing chunks of dirt at each other. Instead, each was using their magic to cover a dummy. Professor Cade had explained it at the end of the last class. It was a test of sorts for each student. Cade would send different types of magic at the earthen armor in an attempt to break it.

Maeve was the only one sitting down, every other student performing minute changes to cover cracks or thicken magical matrixes.

Orrin felt bad. He liked Maeve. She was an oddball and the kind of person he would have spent time with on his own initiative. From their few classes, it didn’t seem like she was impressing Professor Cade enough to convince him to be her advisor.

On an impulse, Orrin sent an [Earth Ward] and regular [Ward] toward her dummy.

Orrin smiled as he watched Professor Cade, who had destroyed each of his classmate’s defenses in two to three attacks, spend a minute testing his powers against Maeve’s target. It took eight attempts to shatter the stone suit she’d created. Maeve’s feet swung shoeless from her bench as she watched with a slight frown on her face.

“There you are.”

Orrin ran. He didn’t glance back, as Wren’s voice was distinct enough that he had no doubt he’d been found already. Orrin noticed an open door ahead and dashed inside.

Sorry Graem, I can’t wait anymore, Orrin thought as he placed his hands on either side of the collar and began to pull as he increased his strength.

Instead of breaking, the metal of the collar hardened and stretched into multiple thin bands. Orrin tried to keep his fingers underneath but had to slip them out before the pressure cut them off.

A shadow crossed the door. Orrin turned with dread to find Wren standing with her hand stretched out toward him.

“You have some explaining to do.”