“Oh good, you’re still alive.” Was the remark that greeted Holly and Alec as they stepped into a common room transformed. The pair almost missing Kristos’ pleased observation as they took in the changes to the room, not missing the amusement their dumbstruck looks were getting from the other students.

At first glance it wasn’t anything too drastic. Most of the furniture was missing, the bookshelves, most of the chairs, and all but two of the tables. But that was just the most superficial impression, a closer observation would reveal that the chairs weren’t quite the same ones that had been there before. Ditto the tables.

That wasn’t spectacular in its own rights. Archmage Merida had rather casually demonstrated how easily a mage could move furniture. But there was one other detail that stuck out. The walls were off. Not by much, just a couple lost feet in each direction bar the ceiling but the conclusion once someone noticed, and the advanced students probably wouldn’t have been advanced students if they couldn’t, was that this was actually a different room.

Slowly and wordlessly both Holly and Alec stepped back beyond the threshold of the door, closing it to make absolutely certain it was the same door they’d been through previously.

“Is it the same door?” Alec asked, running his hands over it, and only getting a splinter for his trouble. “You can sense wood right?”

“Living wood.” Holly corrected, whilst deftly plucking the splinter from his hands as if it had been magnetized, “This stuff has been dead longer than we’ve been alive… just like it was this morning.”

“So the same door.” Her partner concluded. Alec didn’t need to elaborate on why that was worrying.

Whilst neither of them were experts in magical theory, they knew how taxing teleports were. Enough that several of Reath’s top battlemages had had to pool their resources and work for hours to teleport just a handful of people. To teleport an entire room, likely several tonnes of stone all told, just to give some of their apprentices a nice place to eat… the expense was simply unjustifiable.

“Maybe it’s teleporting us?” Holly suggested brightly, before her face fell, knowing Alec’s answer before he even said it.

“Still too much mana. Maybe it reshapes the room when noone’s in it? Either way I doubt it’s dangerous.”

That said they opened back up the door and stepped inside, heading straight to the even larger, and far more laden, buffet table.

“Oh good, you’re still alive.” Kristos repeated, in precisely the same tone, getting a smattering of chuckles and giggles from his fellow students before they studiously returned to their food. “Don’t worry about the room change, you’ll get used to it… I am told.”

Aware of the weight of eyes upon their backs, the duo headed for the buffet. The food still steaming hot despite their late arrival, and a lot more familiar, at least to Alec. The table something of a greatest hits compilation of Agh’zak’s favoured dishes in Seruatis.

A mound of mashed potatoes, larger than Alec’s head. Several roast chickens. A gravy boat that he honestly wasn’t sure he could even lift. And a large quantity of roasted and boiled vegetables.

Alec helped himself to everything, surprising not just himself but going from Brin’s somewhat dubious glance at his plate the ogre too.

“Worked big magic.” The ogre’s rumbling voice declared, “Very big. Alec should be more careful.”

“Is it that obvious?” Holly asked them, abandoning Alec as he tried to tip the gravy jug without spilling it everywhere.

“You go missing for the best part of a day, come back abnormally hungry. It’s pretty obvious.” Hope told her, the spider not eating with them, apparently just enjoying their company. Her own chair a bizarre construct of ropes that hung from the ceiling through which her limbs were hooked.

“Can you even recover mana from eating?” She asked, sitting down in the chair that was probably for her. A high backed wooden affair with carefully carved holly leaves. The dryad deciding not to question that the Necropolis apparently just had such a chair ready and waiting.

“Nope.” Kristos said cheerily, “I mean there are foods full of mana, and you can learn to use it, but that’s really more of a fae or demon thing. Reath just doesn’t have enough ambient mana to do it, unless you plan to start eating dragon. In which case good luck and we’ve never met.”

“Brin gets more spells from eating. But ogres special.” Brin half-explained.

“More accurately ogres produce so much vitae, which is to say life-force, that they can use it to fuel their spells, and part of the key to producing lots of life is eating plenty of food.” Anesh clarified.

“Then why is it obvious we did a big spell?” Holly asked, looking to Alec as he sat down, but the teenager was far too concerned with his meal with join the conversation. Or be over-worried about table manners.

“Phantom sensation.” Alicia told her flatly, finally joining the conversation. “You used a lot of magicka and it left you feeling empty. Problem is your body doesn’t really know what to do with that feeling, so it files it as hungry instead. There’s been cases of people literally eating themselves to death after a big ritual spell.” As she finished she stared pointedly at Alec who was trying to shove a whole chicken breast into his mouth.

“So what was it?” Kristos asked, leaning forwards in his seat, his own plated already empty bar a few patches of gravy. “Demon summoning? Working on your first skeleton? Runework?”

“Not saying.” Holly told him with a smirk, deciding to go for aloof and mysterious.

“Aww, come on Holly, throw us a bone. You can’t go missing then give us nothing.” The faeblood wheedled.

She shot her soulbound a glance, “Alec and I had a bit of an argument. That’s all your getting.”

“Ooh, now that is interesting. Magical duel huh? Wands at ten paces?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Alicia snapped, “They’re soulbound. They can’t actually hurt each other, not without hurting themselves.”

“Then how-” Anesh began, before quailing beneath Alicia’s glare.

“Will you all stop trying to pry out secrets from each other. It’s childish and frankly could get us killed.”

“You’re exaggerating a little bit surely?” Kristos said, trying to laugh it off.

“Okay. Kristos if I were to ask you about your parentage and you answered fully and honestly, what would happen?” Alicia snapped.

The faeblood looked down at his feet, “A war probably.”

“Exactly. Anesh, which books did you get the spells on your hands from?”

“You know I can’t-”

“Hope what-”

“Don’t even go that far.” The arachni warned, “It could kill us all.”

“And Brin… okay I actually don’t know or suspect anything like that about Brin, but that could just mean he’s better at hiding it than you other idiots.”

“Brin has no secrets from Brin’s friends… or Brin’s enemies. Should Brin start having secrets?” The ogre asked seriously, brow scrunched in concerned thoughts. “Brin has always found secrets silly things. Always having to remember which person knows what thing wastes thinking time that could be used on important thoughts.”

“And sometimes knowing things is a good way to get killed.” Alicia hissed, “This isn’t hard people. Be as friendly as you like, but the past is another country, and it doesn’t accept tourists.”

“Yes Brin knows the rules but Brin doesn’t have to like them.” The ogre shrugged, “Everyone have all food they need? Brin about to eat leftovers.”

“I’m good…” Alec said, finally looking up from his now empty plate, “Anyone else?”

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The question was met by a bunch of shaking heads, much to Brin’s relief as the ogre got up with surprising daintiness from his reinforced chair and stalked over to begin devouring what remained of mash mountain.

Alec took a few moments to watch the ogre walk away before he turned to address Alicia directly, “If we can’t talk about ourselves, how on Reath are we supposed to get to know each other?”

“You aren’t. Attachment is weakness.” The more senior apprentice told him.

“Maybe, but cooperation is strength.” Alec countered flatly.

“I don’t need to be your friend to work with you.” Alicia declared, sour scowl so deep Alec suspected he’d actually offended her.

“It does help though.” He continued blithely. “Look I don’t know why you dislike Holly and I so much but that’s fine. Whatever. And if you want to keep it to yourself that’s also fine. But can you at least not try and police my behaviour.”

“I’m trying to save your lives. All of your lives.” She hissed back, pushing her chair sharply back to stand with a bass screech of wood on stone. “They might not know who you are, Alec of Respite, but I do. And if they are fool enough to ask you about your past, then at least I won’t be here to die with them.”

Her piece said the necromancer stormed out, and perhaps fled for fear she’d be in earshot when Alec next spoke.

In deference to her fear, or more accurately because it was rude to talk about someone when they were still there, Alec waited for the door to slam before he asked. “Is she always so...-”

“Melodramatic?” Kristos suggested. “Pretty much.”

“I was actually looking for ‘intense’.” Alec finished somewhat wretchedly.

“Also pretty much.” The faeblood said. “I suppose it’s harder for her than most. The weight of expectation, you know?”

Alec did not know, the teen shaking his head sharply, “Not the foggiest I’m afraid.”

“Huh. Well she’s a legacy student like you and Anesh.” Kristos told them, “Except her parents are way, way up the chain, so I hear, and apparently the shoes they’ve given her to fill are several sizes too large.”

“I’m not actually a legacy student.” Alec said slowly, not quite able to make eye contact with Kristos as he said it.

“Come off it, Anesh said you were the apprentice of one of the bigwigs that got killed against the demon queen that hit Contenmere last month. You don’t get that sort of apprenticeship without some sort of connections.”

“Demon queen he says. As if they’re something that just arrives like the weather.” Anesh observed, massaging his forehead with his fingers. “And don’t go pinning your presumptions on me.”

“Well how else am I meant to interpret it? If they lost their master at the battle then it’s one of the liches, and the only way to even get one of them to even notice you exist is someone calling in a favour. Unless you’re suggesting they just happened to blunder into a senior necromancer in the wild?”

“We are still here.” Holly pointed out, “You could just ask us?”

“Yeah we could.” Kristos agreed, “But this way is more fun.”

The dryad rolled her eyes, especially when Hope added, “Mind if I get in on this game? Because I think I might have figured it out.”

“The floor is yours oh mighty arachnid...” Kristos declared with a regal sweep of his arm.

“Well it wasn’t just liches who fought Tza’rahlitzek...” Hope began cautiously, “So what if they were apprenticed to someone else that died there?”

“Holly was very specific.” Anesh told them fiercely, “A male senior necromancer.”

“It could be a misdirect.” Kristos suggested, “Natalya of the Gardeners was present for the battle, even if she didn’t participate, and it would explain a couple other things.”

“The Gardeners don’t take apprentices.” Anesh said confidently, carefully ignoring the bemused if exasperated expressions of Holly and Alec. “It can’t be her.”

“Some of the Gardeners do-” Hope butted in, only to be butted out again almost immediately by Anesh.

“Not her kind of Gardener. Trust me. Assassins don’t take apprentices on the job with them.”

“Then I don’t see who it could be.” Kristos declared, putting his hands up in defeat, “The only other necr- oh.” There was a muted gasp as the faeblooded mage shut himself up, going so far as to cover his mouth with both hands.

“Oh what?” Anesh grumbled, “You can’t have some big realisation then just leave us out of it.”

“Alicia was right.” Kristos mumbled as he dropped his hands, “This is a very stupid and dangerous game that we should not be playing.”

“What is game?” Brin asked, almost causing whiplash to classmates as their heads spun round, Alec and Kristos both getting their blades halfway from their sheathes before they realised it was just their classmate, as he sat back down on his seat, the buffet table bare once more.

“It’s not fair that you can be that big yet move that quietly.” Kristos said as he brought his breathing back under control.

The ogre shrugged, “Brin found people far more scared when Brin is loud than when Brin is quiet. Now what is game?”

“We were trying to guess who Holly’s master was when Kristos got all quiet all of a sudden.” Anesh explained somewhat waspishly.

“Oh. Brin can see why Kristos stopped playing. Is easy game. Holly and Alec trained by Archmage of Entropy, Erebus.” Brin said with a shrug, the ogre smiling broadly before realising he was being stared at by just about everyone. “Or not easy. Brin was sure that was right answer. Is Brin wrong?”

Alec took in the shocked expressions of his classmates, Anesh’s jaw was hanging open and even while he wouldn’t claim to be an expert on arachni body-language he was pretty sure the way Hope had slipped and managed to entangle herself in her rope-chair was a good indicator of surprise.

For a few moments he considered denying it. Usually it was in those moments that Holly would interject her own thoughts, the dryad the proverbial angel (or devil when the mood took her) on his shoulder. But the bond couldn’t support that sort of input right now, Alec turning to glance for just a moment at her, receiving a small nod in return.

She was right, of course, it had always only been a matter of time before they were revealed as the proteges of the Necropolis’ black sheep. A denial now would just make them harder to trust later.

“Brin is correct. We were apprenticed to Erebus. When he left Reath he bequeathed us his warstaff and told us to go find ourselves.” Alec gave a somewhat helpless shrug.

It was Kristos who recovered first, or at least spoke first, “So what was he actually like?”

It was a surprisingly difficult question Alec realized. How did one sum up the most powerful mage of the era?

“He was incredibly focused.” Holly told them, “Kind when he could be. Cold when he had to be. And just… tired. Deeply tired.”

“Was it dangerous? Travelling with him?” Anesh asked, leaning forwards in his seat.

“Was he dangerous to travel with?” Kristos said, doing the same. The two newcomers finding themselves surprisingly crowded as everyone tried to get their questions answered.

“Yes to Anesh. No to Kristos.” Holly answered, reclining in her chair a little. “Next?”

“Did he really kill the Red Cap in single combat?” The faeblood demanded eagerly.

“I wouldn’t really call it single combat. He told the Red Cap to back down, he didn’t, so Erebus just detonated his skull. At least I think that’s what happened, it was a little hard to follow.”

“No way. You can’t just… just… kill a Sidhe Lord. Not in Arcadia. They’re practically gods on their home turf.” Kristos breathed.

“I mean… he did kill an Imperator?” Holly pointed out bemusedly.

“On Reath. That’s different.” Kristos protested.

“Well yeah. She was a lot more dangerous.” Holly needled, smirking ever so slightly as she became aware her audience would buy just about anything she said.

“What was she like?” Hope asked, the arachni bobbing a little from side to side.

“She was… uh… she was...” The dryad floundered. If Erebus was hard to put into words, Tza’rahlitzek was much worse. Because some of the words hadn’t yet been invented.

“She was like standing too close to an open furnace.” Alec said solemnly, “Like there was a steep slope to the entire world and all paths led down to her. When she spoke it was like she was telling you what was going to happen. And it didn’t matter how beautiful the blow, how magnificent the ploy, she was merely amused by it, as if you were a particularly dumb child who’d given a good answer. Something she tolerated just because you were entertaining.”

“Then how did he kill her?” Anesh asked, “If she was that all-powerful.”

“I can’t tell you that.” Alec replied after only a moment’s hesitation, “Alicia’s right about that. Pretty much every weapon used in that battle we’ve been sworn to secrecy on. And every person to be honest.”

“Oh come on. We know a bunch of liches turned up. Does it really matter who the other Council factions sent?” Kristos grumbled, throwing his hands in the air.

“I don’t think the Council sent anyone.” Alec admitted before his brain could catch up with his mouth.

“What?!” Anesh mumbled, “Why?”

The teenager shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea.” Which was a lie. He had more than a slight inkling, because Tza’rahlitzek had as good as told them.

He could still hear the imperator’s declaration echoing in his mind if he let it; ‘everyone else will fall in line once I kill you.’

“We should probably talk about something else.” Holly suggested, “Like what classes are like?”

“One that’s a lot more boring.” Kristos pointed out, “And two it’s surprisingly hard to answer. Especially as a couple of your lessons I’ve never even heard of before. What even is a ‘mana bath’?”

“It’s water heavily saturated in mana.” Holly replied with a shrug.

“And why is only one of you getting it?”

“I’m not going to tell you that.” The dryad replied, while none-too-subtly elbowing Alec as he opened his mouth to answer.

“Why- Crap.” Kristos cut himself off as a shrill high-pitched tone blared through the common room. “Room change! Everyone out!”

“What’s going on?” Alec asked, getting up from his chair anyway. The urgency in Kristos’ voice spurring him forwards.

“No time. We’ve got thirty seconds.” The faeblood yelled, getting up to help Hope out of her rope-chair, the arachni hurriedly scuttling for the door as Brin almost yanked it off its hinges, holding it open as everyone rushed out, Anesh tripping on his own feet and just scrabbling on all fours over the threshold just in time as the door closed itself, overpowering even Brin’s grip.

There was a flash of blue light from under the door as everyone caught their breath. Kristos forcing a smile, “That was uncomfortably close.”

“What even was that?” Alec asked, reaching slowly for the door handle as if expecting it to electrocute him. It didn’t.

“I told you. It was a room change.” Kristos said as Alec cautiously swung open the door, stepping back in case something leapt out. “Welcome to the Evening Room.”

Alec poked his head past the threshold, taking in the extremely cozy Evening Room, a selection of padded armchairs, couches, hammocks, cushions and blankets arrayed around a roaring fireplace. Bookshelves aplenty, fully stocked to boot. And a samovar full of what he would soon find out was hot chocolate.

“Why-?”

“Noone knows. Maybe it’s some kind of response time training, maybe it’s just to cull the slower students.” Kristos grinned, “Or maybe it’s just to show off.”

Alec took a deep breath as he absorbed that answer, “I think I’m starting to hate this place.”