Luka had arranged to meet with one of the Agents from the nature mages. Technically, Hadley was in charge of coordinating all Agents, including the nature mages, but there was a small division of administrative staff on the nature side of campus. Since their Agents didn't have a lot to do as a general rule — they mainly worked to secure the borders to the Academy and preserve nature — he had elected to go over Hadley's head with this. More to the point, he had decided to go over Hadley's head, because he was still mad at him.

They were sent to something called "the Gazebo" to meet this Agent.

Luka had exactly zero expectations about this gazebo, but was in no way surprised when they arrived. Nature mages had an abundance of time, and also an aversion to everything processed. They could construct houses, but everything was done by hand (or magic) to make it easier for them to connect with the material, even after it was no longer rooted to the ground. The Gazebo wasn't a construction at all; it just looked like one. Thick trees were arranged in a perfect circle, alternating between willows and something that reached higher, the crowns tangling together to form a roof. Luka didn’t pretend to know much about trees, but he was familiar with the weeping willow. Their branches fell almost to the ground and effectively closed off the space. There was no obvious entrance, and they had to sweep aside the leaves to enter.

Inside, if it even qualified as being inside, everything seemed green tinted, as sunlight filtered through the leaves. Patterns of light danced on the floors, which was some sort of firm, red earth. The space was massive enough, that it had to have a purpose outside of leisure. The name suggested it was the only one of its kind, and given its size, it could easily double as an arena or a lecture hall, even if the acoustics had to be terrible. At the moment, it was interspersed with little huddles of chairs and couches arranged around wooden tables. Nature mages in pairs or groups were having low conversations, while some solitary people were reading or studying. Luka had no idea who they were meeting, and considered going back out to call the administrator, when one of the mages got up and approached them.

"Luka Lavrin," he said, already smiling. "What an honor."

He held out his hand, and Luka took it, working hard not to let out a sigh. He didn't usually associate with nature mages, and had no idea his fame traveled.

Although, he had saved the entire Academy. Not just the urban side.

"Field Eriksen," the guy continued, and Luka could only assume he was offering his name. He looked young, but had to be at least in his mid-20's to be an established Agent. It didn't help Luka's perception of him, that he dressed like he was on his way to an indie music festival in the woods. Brown shorts, a faded tunic-style shirt, and several leather straps and braided strings tied around his wrists.

"Legacy?" Luka asked, because it seemed obvious.

"Oh, yes," Field said. "I thank my parents every day for their collective imagination."

Luka nearly smiled, despite himself. He didn't like that he judged people on their appearance, but he was only human, and he could relate to being dealt a slightly awkward name, even though his issues weren't as obvious. Especially not to Americans, who were mostly unfamiliar with Russian naming customs.

He gestured to Alice, who seemed to still be lost to the gazebo. "Alice Malik, my partner."

"Well, it's nice to meet an urban mage who appreciates natural beauty."

"It is stunning," Alice said, still unable to take her eyes off of the ceiling. Luka was far less impressed with the show of combined landscaping and magic. Nature had probably done most of the work. All they had to do was position some trees.

"So," Field said. "I wasn't given any details. How top secret is this, exactly? Should we sit, or should we walk?"

"Alice?" Luka asked.

She looked between him and Field, as if she might have missed something. "What?"

"I don't care who knows," Luka explained. "You're Hadley's proxy, right?"

And yes, he knew he was being unfair. He just hadn’t worked back up to caring.

"No," Alice said firmly. Then sighed, resigning herself to being the responsible one. "We should walk."

Which was exactly the decision he expected her to make, the decision Hadley would have made. The same decision he would have made, if he had wanted to look professional.

"Great," Field said, ignoring the brief moment of awkwardness and stepped forward to hold back the leaves for them.

Field steered towards the border of the Academy.

It wasn't walled on this side, instead marked by a row of trees. Luka knew they were proficient in keeping intruders out, or walls would have been set up regardless of their feelings on the matter, but he had no idea how. Things he didn't know bothered him. Especially things that could potentially work to his disadvantage. Like, facing a nature mage and having no idea how they fought. It just didn't bother him enough to ask. If he needed to know, he would figure it out on his own.

"You have questions?" Field said, and for a second it felt like he was reading Luka's mind — but no, they were here to ask different questions.

"What do you know about nature mages going rogue?" He had been referred to Field, not only because he was an Agent, but also because he knew most of the nature mages at the Academy. Luka had been assured, that if anyone could answer their questions, it would be him. For urban mages, going rogue was either defiance or necessity. Either they just played around with their magic, trying not to get caught, or they did what the Agents were supposed to do; protected the city. They kept an eye on wild magic, Strays and the various creatures that occasionally appeared. And tried not to get caught.

Luka imagined that nature mages might have similar issues with the Academy, but certainly not to the same extend. Nature magic was ancient, and afforded more protections. Despite the parallels between their powers, nature magic tended to be seen as the order to urban magic's chaos. The creatures were quiet and peaceful. The mages preserved and protected their element. Maybe it was because nature magic had existed so long before civilization evolved enough for the mutation to occur, but apparently the Council decided that urban magic couldn't be allowed to roam free. It wouldn't be allowed to exist without rules and regulations to keep the destructive nature of the magic down. Because urban magic was all teeth and sharp edges and nightmares. It was tearing things down and building on the rubble of what came before.

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It wasn't exactly a fair assessment, but it was what they got.

"Not a lot," he answered. "I mean, it doesn't really happen."

"What if it did?"

"Did it?" He glanced at Luka, who only shrugged. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but we don't really need to."

Luka didn't know what part of that he could possibly take the wrong way. "Need to?"

"Well, we don't get kicked out of the Academy."

Luka frowned. "No one gets kicked out of the Academy." At least not officially.

"No, I know. But people are… encouraged to leave, right? That's what I've heard."

Luka swallowed down his answer, before he got too defensive. This wasn't about him. Everyone assumed he had left on his own.

"No," Alice cut in. "Of course not. The Council are trying to contain Rogues. Not create more."

"Right, okay. Well, anyway. Nature mages might leave the Academy, sure. But not to oppose the Council," he said. "At least, not as a general rule," he added, fishing for more information. Luka smiled lightly, determined to withhold as much information as possible. This guy was direct, but maybe a little too direct. Luka had yet to form any actual feelings about him, but right now he was leaning towards offended.

"If you had to use magic in the city, what would you need?" Luka asked, moving on.

Field had a charming smile; wide, carefree and dimpled. "Well, if I had to use magic in the city, that wouldn't actually be a problem." He caught Luka's eye and halted. "But this is not about me."

"No," Luka said. "Go on." Never turn down information freely given, even if he wasn't currently in the mood, and it clearly showed. Unless Field had just remembered who he was talking to, and didn't want to give out his secrets to urban mages. Still, Luka forced his face to relax itself into something more neutral, perhaps a little kinder.

"I have trained myself to use magic outside of my element. It's a research project I'm working on." They had reached the line of trees, and Field reached out his hand to run it along the trunks as they passed.

"And it works?" Luka asked, suddenly interested enough to suppress his annoyance, even if the glint of pride in the other Mage’s eyes made Luka want to challenge him to a duel.

Field nodded. "Not as well, but well enough."

"And the Council approved this?"

"Yeah," Field said. "They didn't believe in it, but they didn't mind that I tried."

Luka shook his head in disbelief. If the Council couldn't see the implications of this, if they couldn't see the possibilities… Unless they could, and just wanted to keep it to themselves.

"Can anyone else do it?"

"Well, it's not like it's a secret. I've been talking about it, sharing my techniques. I haven't taught anyone, it's still far too soon for that, but theoretically, someone could have done the same thing. I just doubt it, since no one has told me about it."

"Okay," Luka said. "But if you couldn't do that. If you needed a source."

"Yes. Right. I guess the obvious things: parks, rivers, that sort of thing. If we're talking structures, it gets trickier. Properties with large gardens, maybe. Buildings constructed mainly of wood might work, but it would be difficult."

"What about abandoned buildings?" Luka asked.

"I don't really know. I'd guess it depends on how overgrown they are, how much nature has taken over the space."

"Great," Luka said. "Thanks for your time."

"Wait," Alice said. "Could you create a space for yourself in the city, so your magic would be easier to use?"

"Like, plant things? Sure. I guess."

"No, like… rain showers."

"We can't control the weather," Field said. "The amount of power that would require, it's… very nearly impossible."

"Very nearly?" Luka asked.

"Maybe if you had, like, a lot of mages, and a rain shower already coming in, you could time it to your advantage, but… I don't know. It's a lot."

Luka looked at Alice. "Any more questions?"

"No," she said.

"Wait," Field said. "I can help."

Luka instinctively wanted to dismiss him, but he glanced between Alice and Field. Maybe it wasn't a terrible idea. "You can go with Alice."

"Luka," she said. "That's not—"

"Yes, it is," Luka cut her off. "The last time I found them, I nearly died. We'll be faster if we split up, and you're not going anywhere alone."

"Fine. Is there a plan?"

"Yeah," Luka said. It was coming together, at least. "Just give me five minutes, and a wifi connection." He looked around, at how far from any actual structures they were. He wasn't going to plan this in the middle of a grassy field on his phone. Field followed them back to the urban side of the Academy, and into the library, where Luka commandeered a computer. He still believed the restaurant meant something, and that they should start with abandoned buildings. If that yielded nothing, they would search wider. Besides, he already knew where he needed to go first.

Luka was plagued by a constant adrenalin rush that wouldn't let go, no doubt triggered by the countdown still running uselessly in his head. It had taken residence under his skin and left him feeling jittery. When he sat down in front of the computer, had to force himself to sit still, it became all the more obvious. His hands trembled along with his entire body, but it was the lack of fine motor skills that frustrated him the most. He clenched his fists, trying to shake it off, before raising his hands to the keyboard, hoping Alice and Field didn't notice.

According to the city's homepage, there were nearly 400 distressed buildings in the city. It provided a list of those buildings, every one that wasn't occupied, and was either boarded up, burned, or otherwise deteriorating. There was no way to narrow that number down, but they could at least start in the inner city. Mutiny had been a necessity, but Chinatown had been a choice. For now, they had to assume the main base of operations was at least reasonably close. Luka wanted the Emerald Necklace, but he obviously couldn't claim the entire thing, since it included the majority of parks in the city.

"You take the rivers and the Common," he said. "I'll take the south areas." It didn't cover much of the necklace, but it did cover most of the inner city, which was were they were going to start the search. He didn't like that he was sending Alice into the parts of the search that lay closest to the restaurant, but he had a hunch.

One of the buildings listed had a familiar address, and Luka was pretty sure it had been an old hospital. A quick search confirmed it. It used to be an asylum before it was abandoned. Maybe wonderland really was a reference to Alice in Wonderland, and he was meant to descend into madness.