The barrage of arrows fell amongst the Team Flagbearer, creating multiple flashes of red and amber. Several porters had their own shields flare as they fell under the indiscriminate hail of fire.
Supplies were dropped as quickly as possible, but the second volley fell amongst them before they’d even drawn their weapons. Another group of glittering shields flashed, but there was no third volley. Instead, two rows of spearheads closed in from either side of the trail, advancing ahead of the ambushers that wielded them.
Team Flagbearer had been taken completely by surprise.
“Come on,” Li Na hissed urgently, pulling on Yaric’s sleeve. “Use your bow!”
“No, we must retreat to your team. We have to try to warn them before they get ambushed as well.”
“We can’t leave your team. Lauren will be fine; every Dragon is here! We have to help your team first.”
“Lina, retreating is helping them. Our job is to keep the flags, remember? We can’t just hand them over for nothing. Look!” Yaric pleaded, pointing at his team. Less than twenty of his teammates were still standing, and they were all fighting in three small, isolated pockets.
Li Na stared at the one-sided battle for a moment, before stamping her foot in frustration. “Fine… But we should move down the trail first. If any more of your teammates come up here to meet the supply drop, they will be caught as well.”
Yaric paused, shocked that the thought had never occurred to him. ‘Of course, the others will want to rejoin the team.’
They quickly ran back down the trail, deliberately making some noise as they went. The Dragon team was behind them, so they felt that the risks of running past Flagbearers was higher than the risk of running into a hostile player.
It only took 5 minutes to run into Anton, almost literally, as he was running along the trail in the opposite direction.
“The Dragon’s are back that way, they ambushed our team again,” Yaric quickly explained.
“And you managed to escape a second time?” Anton asked in amazement.
“Um… no, the Dragons attacked just before we joined up. They didn’t see us,” he explained sheepishly.
“Stop it, you made the right call,” Li Na remarked, kicking Yaric.
“So what now?” Anton seemed very uncertain about what their next move should be, and Yaric could empathize. They’d been on the brink of winning the whole competition, becoming the first 5th year team to ever achieve a victory, when everything came crashing down. Now they would be alone and on the run for another week.
“We join up with Team Thunderstorm until next week,” Yaric finally concluded. “Then we make sure that those Dragons don’t wipe out our team for a third time.”
“They must be enjoying themselves right now,” Li Na grumbled under her breath.
“What’s to stop them from taking our flags when we join them?” Anton asked, still unsure of the best way forward.
This time he was the one on the receiving end of Li Na’s kick. “The deal was we team up until we collectively have all eight flags, and we only split after we hold them for 24 hours, so the deal’s still on.”
“Ok, ok.” Anton conceded, jumping back.
“Let’s go, there’s still three more of us out there,” Yaric interrupted, trying to get everyone back on track.
The trio set off down the trail, making noise again as they went. They were halfway down the trail when both Vano and Marlon stepped out of the trees, waving them down. Yaric quickly explained the situation, and they carried on together. No one else was found.
“We just have to hope that Luke doesn't walk into the Dragons with our last flag then,” Vano pointed out, turning toward Team Thunderstorm’s camp. The party of five started running again, now looking to join up with Li Na’s team.
It took three hours to get there. The camp was still covered in ash and charred wood, but there was no one there and nothing else was moving, so Li Na quickly led them to the supply trail. Halfway up the trail, they finally heard voices.
Lauren had moved her team off the trail and into a small clearing, where they were in the process of unpacking supplies. Li Na ran ahead, but no one moved to stop the members of Team Flagbearer when they followed. Thunderstorm’s other flags had already joined up with the team.
“You guys came to us first?” Lauren asked, confused to see four members of Team Flagbearer coming in with only Li Na from her own team.
“No, the Dragons were waiting for our team. They’ve been knocked out again,” Yaric answered despondently.
“Already?!” Lauren exclaimed.
“Yes. We were stupid, we didn’t think it through properly.”
“What do you mean?” Anton asked, slightly offended.
“Well, they’ve been using the last few days to try to hunt us down, while we had no team to protect us. We’ve been trying to hide until today, when we could rejoin our teams. But it didn’t work out that way, because they just paused their search to ambush our team and give themselves another week to look for us. It was their most obvious option, and we didn’t think of it,” Yaric pointed out.
“It’s easy to see things in hindsight,” Lauren asserted. “Don’t beat yourselves up over this. Besides, we need to change our plans now.”
“What plans?” Yaric asked.
“We were going to join together while we had all eight flags, and fight off the Mighty Dragons with our numbers advantage,” she explained.
“Don’t call them that,” Li Na protested.
“You don’t think you can fight them off on your own?” Yaric asked, ignoring Li Na.
“I doubt it, 6th years are too tough in a fair fight.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“I’m not sure yet,” she sighed. “We’ve only just come back into the competition, and I doubt that the Dragons will wait for very long before coming after us. We probably need to hide like you guys did.”
“Someone burned your camp down,” Vano added helpfully.
“So I heard,” Lauren sighed.
“How about we join you guys, and we can show you where we’ve hidden supplies,” Yaric offered. “That will make you more mobile, and we can hide better. Your numbers will also let us keep a wide screen to warn us, so we can keep moving for the rest of the week. Then we can all go as one to meet up with Sven and everyone else.”
“That’s more or less what I was thinking, but I didn’t know about your supplies. Carting all of this around,” Lauren said, gesturing to the bags scattered around them, “would have been the most difficult part. If we can abandon most of it we should be able to pull this off.”
“There’s no reason to abandon anything, we just need to hide it as well. These supplies will still be useful,” Yaric pointed out.
Lauren snapped her fingers. “Oh, that reminds me!”
Turning on her heel, Lauren strode away, heading to the person holding her three flags. She took one of them, Cormac’s boar flag, and quickly made her way back.
“Here,” she said, thrusting the flag into Yaric’s arms.
“What? Why? We’re still keeping to our deal.”
“Yes,” she replied, smiling, “and that’s why I’m giving this back to you. It’s one of yours.”
“But you guys were supposed to have three, that’s what we agreed.”
“I know. One of our runners got caught. So did one of yours, by the way, that’s how we got this flag. Kaeden was hiding with one of our flags, and he saw four Dragons coming by with this one, obviously after they’d taken it from your teammate.
“He had a bow with him, so when they got close enough, he foolishly shot the one carrying this flag. Then he shot the one who tried to pick it up. The other two tried to run, and he got one of them too, then collected your flag and hid with both.”
“Damn,” Yaric whistled, “Sven is not going to let this go. He’s definitely going to make sure we help you get your lost flag back.”
“I know,” Lauren smiled.
The four members of Team Flagbearer then broke off to start helping Team Thunderstorm with packing their supplies. They quickly showed everyone how they had been splitting up the supplies, how they’d been wrapped, and the various methods they’d used to hide them. Then Team Thunderstorm got busy creating their own caches. Fifty-four students made light work of the job, leaving them plenty of time to hide the provisions all around the sector and to find a temporary camp.
As soon as he could, Yaric pulled Lauren to the side.
“Did something happen to Lina?”
Lauren’s eyes flicked up to meet Yaric’s. “Why do you ask?” she queried, concern etched on her face.
“She hasn’t been herself. I can’t tell you what it is, she seems to be the same as always, but something’s definitely off.”
Lauren looked down, looking even more anxious. She took a deep breath before answering. “So you’ve noticed too. I don’t know. I’ve been worried about her since the night we came up with our team’s name. It’s like you said, she seems to be herself, but she’s also been weird. Sometimes she just acts out, and it’s not like her.”
“But we had to hand in our team names before the competition even started,” Yaric protested.
“I know,” Lauren replied, sighing deeply. “I have no idea what’s happened. Two weeks ago, I tried to ask her, and she laughed at me like she normally would. But she got very angry when I pushed her a bit. And I don’t mean her fake anger when she wants an excuse to hit you, her whole face went red.”
“But if it wasn’t something that happened in the competition, what could it be? And why won’t she tell you?”
Lauren just shrugged in reply, before one of her teammates waved to get her attention.
“Don’t try pushing her,” Lauren warned as they started making their way back, “but please keep an eye on her.”
“I will,” Yaric promised. “I’m pretty sure you’ve had both eyes on her this whole time, haven’t you?”
Lauren smiled weakly in reply, then bumped his shoulder like Li Na would and sped up, hurrying over to her team.
There was no real camp, just a slightly clearer patch of ground to sleep on, and a wide net of lookouts keeping watch. No one had heard or seen any sign of another team, and it was almost dark, so they focused on being able to run quickly instead of hiding.
Nothing disturbed the team during their first night back, and they set out again very early, almost three hours before sunrise.
Yaric led Team Thunderstorm around the entire exercise area, making for Cormac’s sector. It was a fair distance from his own team’s original base camp, and directly opposite Thunderstorm’s. Everyone was hoping that it would be the last place anyone went to look for them, although Yaric doubted that the Dragons would let the other teams know about Flagbearer being knocked out again. It was likely that the pointless searches would continue.
Once they made it to the sector, everyone got to work making a new camp - a hidden camp.
Many students had wanted to set up camp close to the boundary line, putting them as far from the base camps as possible. It would also limit the directions that they needed to watch. Lauren, however, was concerned about getting pinned against the boundary line. They were relying on the ability to run after all.
They went five days without being discovered, after which a small search party stumbled across one of their lookouts one day before the next supply drop.
Things worked out well this time, as the lookout ran back to the camp to warn everyone, while the five students in the search party chased the lone Thunderstorm team member. They chased him almost all the way to the camp, before spotting the large number waiting just ahead.
It was too late.
Other lookouts had been alerted by the chase, and they closed in from the sides, quickly surrounding the group. There wasn’t much of a fight.
Unfortunately, they had already fired off a signal arrow, causing the entire camp to start picking up their things to run. Again they were lucky, since the team that was hunting them had divided up into groups of five, and they had to regroup before launching an attack. Lauren led Team Thunderstorm away long before anyone managed to form a proper assault force.
The rest of the day was spent moving, but that too was in their favor. Sven would be returning the next day, and their escape route brought everyone closer to Team Flagbearer’s supply path.
Lauren insisted on moving into position after nightfall, and led her team right up to the boundary where Sven would enter the competition. There they waited, camping through the night.
The horizon glowed like embers that morning, lighting up the forest floor for the lookouts that spread out widely. Almost the whole team was sent out to keep watch, allowing Lauren to receive warning from further out without allowing anyone to slip through the gaps.
There was less than 15 minutes before the supplies were expected to cross the boundary when lookouts came running through the trees.
“They’re just over 10 meters down the path,” one of them whispered frantically. “Everyone split up, hiding on both sides of the trail where the bushes are thick.”
“Didn’t you say that they ambushed your team from much further down?” Lauren asked, turning to Yaric.
“Yes, but they probably moved closer to try and catch them by surprise again.”
“So Sven still isn’t prepared because he thinks the ambush is still far away?”
“Exactly, but there’s no way he doesn’t walk in here already prepared to fight,” Yaric replied confidently.
He was proven correct 15 minutes later, when the majority of Team Flagbearer led the porters over the boundary, already lined up for battle.
“Sven!” Yaric hissed, waving from the trees.
Sven stayed in position, but waved Yaric over instead. Yaric ran up to meet him, followed closed by Lauren.
“You’re still working together?” Sven asked, sounding happy.
“We didn’t keep all eight flags for a full day like we agreed, so the deal is still on,” Lauren replied, smiling gently.
“We owe them a flag too,” Yaric added, “I’ll explain later. For now, there’s another team hiding just a short way down the trail, waiting to ambush you. Probably the Dragons like last time.”
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“Yeah, that didn’t go so well for us,” Sven mumbled.
“I know, I saw.” Yaric smirked when he saw the surprise on Sven’s face.
“Come on, let’s go get you your revenge,” suggested Lauren.
This time it was the ambushers that were ambushed, in a surprise attack. Sven led Team Flagbearer around one side, while Lauren led Team Thunderstorm around the other, with both teams moving quietly into position just 30 meters from their would-be ambushers.
They didn’t have to wait long until they heard Anton singing quietly to himself. He’d volunteered to be both the distraction and attack signal, marching boldly down the path toward the waiting trap. As soon as he started singing, both teams started moving forward, managing to close to just five meters before being detected.
Then Flagstorm unleashed chaos, falling on the Dragons with a vengeance. Which is exactly what it was.
Retribution was swift and merciless, and neither half of the Dragons were able to put up much of a fight after being caught by surprise, crouching in their hiding places, and outnumbered two to one. They didn’t even have anyone ready for defense, as half had bows in their hands and the other half were spread out with spears.
No arrows were fired before the charge made contact, and none of the isolated spear wielders managed to last long against the proper attacking line. Most of them weren’t even able to get their spears facing the attack, as the thick bushes there were hiding in made turning the long spears almost impossible. Six Dragons chose to run out onto the trail instead, where they met justice at the hands of Anton.
Things might have gone differently had they run out together, but their staggered retreat brought them before Anton one by one, usually with their spears now caught up in bushes on the other side of the trail. Three were brought down by Anton before the others dropped their weapons and raised their hands. One of the three was too slow, only seeing a flash of blonde hair that was immediately followed by another flash, this one a crimson red, protecting him from the mace that lifted him off his feet and threw him back into the bushes he’d come from.
In less than a minute, the not so Mighty Dragons found themselves knocked out for a full week, lying under their mage shields while Flagstorm looted their weapons. Two were taken prisoner.
Everyone from both teams knew about the missing flag by now, but they were disappointed to discover that the Dragons didn’t have it.
“What happened to the flag?” Li Na demanded, brandishing her mace.
“We don’t have it anymore. The Bulwark, Falcons and Ravens set up outside our base camp and demanded we hand every flag we have. We only had the one, I swear!”
“And you just handed it over?”
“Andrew said we could fight them and get knocked out, or we could hand over one flag and stay in the game, so we could take the other seven. We knew only Thunderstorm was left and that they had all the other flags, but we couldn’t find them.”
Li Na turned away from them, looking questioningly at Lauren. “Do we even take prisoners?” she asked, as if the prisoners weren’t a meter away.
“Yes Lina, we can take prisoners. We just have to feed them. Otherwise this is considered unconventional warfare, and the competition rules allow us to refuse to take prisoners.”
“Oh,” Li Na replied, grinning, before whipping her mace around and into the first prisoner. “I guess we refuse to feed them then?” she asked, pummeling the other prisoner as well. Two more red shields glowed softly on the ground.
“What?” she asked, looking around at the stares she was getting. “They all have shields, and we have the option. Besides, do you really think we can drag these two around with us without slowing down?”
Yaric had to admit she had a point, but he was still worried about her.
Flagstorm went back to fetch the supplies that Sven had left behind, then they prepared everything for storage and hid it all. The rest of the day was spent running around the perimeter, then dashing toward the center to check base camps, looking to see who was trying to guard a flag.
They found out who it was the next morning. Who it really was.
“The Bulwark are all in their camp,” Yaric reported, running back to his waiting team. Delmar and Chelsea had already returned.
“It’s not just them,” Lauren replied. “Two other teams are hidden further back, deep in the forest.”
“They’re about to be attacked?” Yaric asked excitedly. He was grinning with the anticipation of ambushing another attacking force.
“No,” Lauren said, dunking Yaric’s excitement in a bucket of cold water. “We think it’s The Ravens and The Falcons. It looks like they wanted the last flag to use as a trap.”
It didn’t take Flagstorm long to decide on a plan of action. They marched around the hidden teams, straight to their undefended base camps. The first was looted and destroyed before lunch, and the second followed 3 hours later.
Then they headed back, hoping to ambush one of the waiting teams while they were tired after a full day spent waiting for a team that never showed. Neither team was in a vulnerable position, and there was no way to attack them without exposing themselves badly.
Lauren and Sven both elected to pull back to try again the next day. It was crucial for them to pick their battles.
The next morning found Flagstorm looking down at The Bulwark, only to discover that all three teams had moved in. Those teams were already preparing to march out, no doubt to try and hunt down Flagstorm. They simply moved around the camp, dodging the outgoing teams, but the three teams had split into two, limiting their numbers advantage. Worse, they followed each other out, so despite being able to see their missing flag clearly, they had no way of knowing which direction it would go in.
The game of cat and mouse continued daily, with Flagstorm trying to shadow the team carrying the last flag, but constantly being blocked, with the other teams hunting for them. Close calls occurred almost weekly, with one particularly bad one occurring when The Bulwark and The Falcons noticed their tail and turned to give chase, while Flagstorm immediately ran away, only to run into Chris and his team during their escape.
The chaotic battle allowed their pursuers to catch up, leaving forty-six team members knocked out for three days after they fought Chris and then slowed their hunters down, buying enough time for the rest to escape.
Twelve weeks of cat and mouse games left the game in a stalemate. Not once were The Flagbearers and The Thunderstorm able to find a decent opportunity to seize the last flag, and no one ever succeeded in pinning Flagstorm down.
Chris, Cormac and the Dragons became the wild cards, as running into either of them at the wrong moment could easily tip the balance, but besides the one close call that knocked out almost half of Flagstorm, no one was ever pushed into that position.
Finally, just as Flagstorm finished breakfast one chilly morning, every single team member felt their medallions vibrate as one.
The competition was over.
----------------------------------------
Lloyd strode through the entrance hall in front of the Council Chambers, his boots clacking across the marble floor. The courtier looked up and froze, while a pained look spread across his face. He was torn between making a futile attempt to do his job and simply bowing to the inevitable. The choice was made for him, as Lloyd strode past before he managed to make up his mind.
Not one of the four guards put up even token resistance, simply standing at attention and allowing Lloyd to push the doors open himself. They swung forward dramatically, silencing the meeting already in session.
Everyone appeared to be present, with Sandy Ivers sitting in the central seat between the committee leaders. There was still only one person to her right, leaving one of the five seats open.
‘They’re obviously still hoping I’ll join this circus,’ Lloyd thought to himself, finding the situation funny.
“High Wizard Lloyd Chen, you’re back safe and sound,” Sandy stated. “How did your mission go?”
“It went as well as could be expected, if not as well as one would hope,” Lloyd answered cryptically, striding up to the table. He was now almost entirely surrounded by the Council, and Lloyd caught a glimpse of Eli sitting far to the side.
‘Not so important now, are you?’
Lloyd looked around theatrically, before turning to face Sandy. “I have grave news,” he announced. “High Wizard Gardener was able to determine that the transporter discovered by High Wizard Strenger was indeed used to create the kobold infestation around Dragon’s Fang. She was unable to determine the exact origin point, but she was able to confirm that it had only one connection point, east by southeast. The distance is unknowable.”
“So it was an attack?” Sandy asked, leaning forward with a deep frown.
“It is an attack,” Lloyd corrected her. “Another swarm came through while she was studying the formation, proving that the attacks are ongoing.”
“At least they are not aware of our discovery then!” Sandy exclaimed. “Perhaps we can still track them down.”
“That is possible,” Lloyd conceded. “But there is more. Duke Kyrylo has another large wilderness area in his lands, the Smoking Forest. I went to investigate that area as well, and discovered a second infestation.”
“That is troublesome,” Sandy agreed, “however, I’m certain that the Duke can handle multiple kobold infestations. The bigger issue is the damage they could cause if they went undetected for too long. And obviously, we are either under attack by a group of terrorists, or we are already at war and don’t yet know.”
“My apologies High Wizard Ivers,” Lloyd interrupted, “but the second infection was not due to kobolds. They were Fengári Spiders.”
A wave of murmuring broke out around the Council at the news, interrupted only by one very large wizard to Lloyd’s right.
“Impossible!” High Wizard Eli blurted.
“It would indeed seem so,” Lloyd nodded understandingly, “and yet, it is true.”
Lloyd reached into his robes and pulled out a sack, removing a wrapped parcel within. Most of the councilmembers recoiled slightly, still remembering the grisly package that Lloyd had brought them the last time he’d had something in his robes. Sandy had even mentioned that the smell had lingered until the next day.
This time, however, Lloyd removed several large, silvery fangs, tied together in pairs. Several were blackened by flames.
“Those could only have come from the northeast,” one of the councilmembers pointed out.
“Did High Wizard Gardener pinpoint the origin point for these spiders?” Sandy asked, looking more and more concerned with the direction Lloyd’s report was heading.
“I’m afraid not. The infestation was significant, and the forest itself is thick and untamed. As you know, Fengári Spiders are ambush hunters that use stealth – I deemed it too dangerous for High Wizard Gardener. It would be impossible for me to protect her adequately, and she specialized in spatial magic, not combat. The risk was unacceptable.”
Sandy nodded at Lloyd, smiling for the first time since he’d walked in.
“Moreover, I directed Duke Kyrylo to cordon off the forest and patrol the perimeter, but to keep his soldiers out. I’ve promised him that Lekton would take care of the issue, he’s expecting our mages and wizards to clear out the forest on his behalf.”
Sandy nodded approvingly again.
“They will need someone to lead them, someone who can also investigate the hidden room I found. I will mark the location on a map and give a proper description, though they should leave at once. This infestation has the potential to be far more dangerous, and far more difficult to clear. Might I suggest Eli Collingwood for such an important mission?”
Sandy scowled disapprovingly, while someone to Lloyd’s right began choking.
“This council will determine the force required, as well as its structure. High Mage Lawson, please collect the register of available staff at once. We will adjourn for an hour, and meet again to discuss the register. I expect the expedition to be informed before nightfall, and they should be on their way by sunrise tomorrow. That forest is our main source of many key items, including some that are essential to the Academy. We need the Smoking Forest cleared at once!
“Thank you High Wizard Chen, we will summon you for those directions. You are dismissed, and this meeting is adjourned.”
The council members began talking amongst themselves as they stood up and started making their way out, but when Lloyd turned to follow, Sandy called him back.
“High Wizard Chen, a word please,” she said, gesturing to the door that led to her private office.
She didn’t wait for him, but walked right in, leaving the door open. Lloyd quickly made his way around and went through, closing the door behind him. Sandy’s secretary simply nodded and gestured to another private door, also standing open, this one leading into the office itself.
‘Sandy seems very worried about all this,’ Lloyd thought to himself, concerned. ‘I hope she doesn’t expect me to lead the team that clears the forest...’
Lloyd followed the secretary’s direction, and found Sandy already seated behind her large desk.
“Sit,” she directed, pointing at one of the large chairs in front of her. She already had a crystal decanter on the table, with two large glasses. Sandy began to pour while Lloyd took his seat.
“I suppose you think this is about the spiders,” Sandy began, placing the stopper back on top of the decanter. The smell of wood and caramel reached Lloyd, causing him to glance at the liquid in his glass.
“I’m assuming it isn’t…” he replied trailing off. “Sandy, why are you pouring your favorite drink? Is this a celebration?”
“In a way,” she answered with a slight smile. She savored the drink, before using her glass to gesture to the one in front of Lloyd. “Drink,” Sandy instructed him.
Lloyd picked up his glass hesitantly, realizing that something wasn’t quite right. That didn’t stop him from enjoying his own drink.
“Did you know that High Wizard Spyros is planning to return to his studies soon?” Sandy eventually asked, talking as though they were having a casual conversation over coffee. “He’s only going to teach for three more years. With the amount of credit he’s accumulated, he’s planning to spend a few decades using a private Tek Duinn.”
“Really?” Lloyd asked, unsure of where Sandy was going with this.
“Oh yes, he’s already planned out his research. He’s quite excited. From what he’s told me, we should have several new spells when he’s done. Some of them are even offensive spells, so you might want to speak with him before he goes into seclusion. The details he discussed with me sound like something you would be excited to learn.”
“I’ll be sure to speak with him before he begins,” Lloyd confirmed, raising his glass in thanks.
“Well you will certainly have to… who do you think will be replacing him in his teaching role?”
Lloyd spat out his drink, only just managing to bring his glass back up in time.
“What?” he choked out, his eyes starting to water from the whisky that went down the wrong pipe.
“Who better to take over from Emil than you?”
“You can’t be serious?” Lloyd spluttered, wiping his eyes clear.
“I couldn’t be more serious, I’ve already informed Emil. He will be preparing a complete hand over for you.”
“Is this some ploy to get me to accept a position on the Council?” Lloyd asked, still unable to work out what Sandy was trying to accomplish.
“There is no ploy. Contrary to your beliefs, the Council runs the entire Academy, and supervises all arcanists of every level. We don’t accomplish that by being inept or plotting schemes. We need a teacher for magical studies, and you’re uniquely qualified for the role.”
“Are you mad? I’ve never taught a class in my life! I’m the least qualified wizard in the entire Academy.”
“On the contrary, you yourself have five affinities, three of which are quite rare. That gives you a unique insight into all spells related to those affinities. And you have an apprentice with an unheard of nine affinities, eight of which are unrelated to your own. You have extensive experience teaching her. Your knowledge of various types of magic is both extensive and varied. I can’t think of anyone more qualified.”
Lloyd was left speechless, unable to process what was happening.
“Is this my punishment for threatening Eli? You know what he was doing!”
“No, this is not a punishment. But your reaction is concerning. I’m appointing you to an important post, and you think it’s a punishment?”
“Of course I do. You know I don’t want this.”
“And what do you want?” Sandy asked, leaning forward and staring intently at Lloyd.
“Not this!” he spluttered, completely out of his element. Lloyd was used to being in control of any discussions.
“And THAT is your problem,” Sandy exclaimed triumphantly, leaning back in her seat and taking another sip.
“Not wanting a teaching role is a problem?” Lloyd asked incredulously.
“No… not wanting anything is your problem,” she replied, stabbing her finger at him with each word. “I’ve thought long and hard about the issues you’ve created, and they all come down to one thing. You don’t want anything! You have no goals, no drive, no ambition. You already have everything you want, and now you’re bored.”
“You are mad!” Lloyd exclaimed, looking suspiciously at his drink. “You think having everything you want is a problem?” he asked, his disbelief readily apparent.
“Exactly,” Sandy grinned, leaning forward again. “Look at any normal person, Connected or not. The Unconnected outside this Academy all have their own hopes and dreams. A farmer might be working to improve his yields or to plant a new field. He might have ambitions of expanding to new crops or expanding his trade network. A blacksmith will work to improve his craft or learn new techniques, he might even dream of developing his own. People want families and homes; they want to raise their kids or look after their spouse. Everyone has goals to work toward.
“Connected are the same. We want to improve our skills, learn new spells, break new ground in the areas of magic that most interest us. We want to push our power to new heights or get access to new resources. Some of us want to help guide the kingdom or look after newer generations.
“But you? You don’t want anything! You’re a High Wizard that has little reason to fear even Arch Wizards, you’re practically a celebrity amongst the nobility, you’re certainly a celebrity amongst the common folk. You have enough credits saved to push your studies further for centuries. You’ve only ever sponsored two students here, and one is possibly the most promising student to ever step foot in the Academy while the other is arguably the most unique!
“You have more money than most, the ability to go wherever you want, do whatever you want, and the power to do so without any fears or concerns. Tell me, when was the last time you felt like you needed to look over your own shoulder? You can’t even remember, can you?
“As you’ve said, being in such a position is something to aspire to, not despise. But there is one thing that you don’t have, and it’s the reason why all those other things are now a problem…
“Responsibility! You aren’t responsible for anything. You aren’t dodging titles or positions; you’re dodging the responsibilities that come with them. And now that you have everything, and nowhere more to go, you’re bored. That altercation with Eli was simply…”
“You know what he was doing!” Lloyd interrupted angrily.
“I know how you responded! And how you goaded him. Not because of who he is or how you feel about him, but because you find it entertaining. All of your immature actions, they aren’t childish jokes or naivete, they’re the actions of a man with no responsibilities, accountable to no one, who’s bored out of his mind and desperately trying to amuse himself.”
“You know how I feel about the ambitions of most arcanists,” Lloyd objected.
“Yes, and instead of having ambitions of your own, ambitions that are aligned with your beliefs about how things should be, you simply choose to have none. You don’t act as a counterbalance, you don’t set an example, you simply pull away from the world and poke fun at it from your safe little bubble. And that’s your other problem!” Sandy added accusingly.
“I’ve never pulled away from the world and you know it!” Lloyd argued.
“You have, but that’s not the other problem. Your other problem is that you’re a coward,” Sandy stated bluntly.
Lloyd’s face turned red.
“You have complained to me for decades, and for centuries before I became the Council Head. Always pointing out the Academy’s failings, pointing out where we fall short. But you never take action yourself. Not once have you stepped up to show everyone else how it’s done. You complain about the Council, but ignore every invitation to join the Council and make the changes yourself. That changes now.”
“Fine,” Lloyd grumbled, gritting his teeth. “I’ll join your stupid Council.”
“Ha ha, no,” Sandy laughed. She leaned further over her desk, looking Lloyd in the eye with a much softer expression. “Look, I’ve come hard at you today because it’s the only way I could get through to you. Anything else and you turn it into a joke. But seriously, we’ve already had an internal discussion, and the offer has been withdrawn. We can’t have someone on the Council who is so antagonistic toward others. Even you have to acknowledge that your more recent history has raised questions about your suitability for such a position.
“You can fix that though,” Sandy added gently. “Teach your classes, show everyone how it should be done. Show us all that you can handle the responsibility, and other positions will become available to you again. But you will teach that class. Where you go from there is up to you…”
“And if I want to ‘retire’ after teaching that class?”
"You mean leave the Academy?"
"No, I mean quit teaching and go back to the way things were."
“Ha! Not happening. You have responsibilities to the Academy, and from now on I’m going to ensure that you fulfil them.”
Lloyd was silent for a minute, staring contemplatively into his half-finished drink. His anger from before had disappeared, but he felt tired and defeated. He wasn’t able to figure out why, but he also felt embarrassed and ashamed, something he wasn't used to feeling. Mind racing, Lloyd struggled to catch up with everything that had just happened.
“Come,” Sandy said quietly. “I have to get ready to organize a relief force for your friend, but afterward I’ll need to get something to eat. Your first responsibility will be to keep me company.”
Lloyd smiled awkwardly and drained his glass. Still in shock over the sudden turn of events, he stood up and followed Sandy out of her office and back into the Academy. Looking around at the familiar buildings, everything felt strangely different.
And oddly terrifying…