"We won!" Riley cried, bouncing in her cage. "We won! We Won!"

Chadrick was curled in a fetal position, shaking, while Mavora was still out cold. Tobias rose from his knees, looking around, lost in a stupor, until his eyes locked on Riley's cage.

"Are you ok?" She cried out, beating against the side of her cage.

"Hush now, beast. Your master is unharmed," the servant from before said, grasping the handle above her.

"That won't be necessary. Let her free." Tobias order.

"Of course, sir," The servant said, with a bow, opening the door.

Riley flew from the cage, dashing across the grounds, leaping into Tobias' arms as he went down on one knee.

"I don't think I could have done that without you," Trembling, he held her tight to his chest.

"I'm just so glad you're safe!" Riley grunted, nuzzling tight against his chest.

The healer she had seen zapping cancer rushed out, attended by two servants carrying a stretcher. She knelt down next to Chadrick.

Her hand glowed as she moved it over him, and her nose twitched, then wrinkled in disgust.

"You can help him up," She ordered.

Each took one arm, lifting the Duker of Astor, revealing brown streaks that had soaked through his robes.

"Unhand me," He slapped their hands away, stalking off the way he came, grabbing Mavora's cage in a seething rage.

"Please tell me that means he failed. He needs to be knocked down a few pegs," Riley said.

Chadrick turned, pointing a long and bony finger.

"I won't forget this!" He spat, before vanishing.

"Sir, we need to clear the field; there are other students," The man in the copper torc urged.

He couldn't have been older than thirty, his face pained, torn between duty and expediency.

"Thanks, friend," Tobias smiled, letting Riley go, "where to next?"

"You're to follow me to one of the muster tents. That is all I know, sir," He replied.

Passing the staging area and the next two hopefuls, the servant led them left, out of the grand tent to a medium-sized one set off to the side.

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Entering, Tobias stiffened at the sight of an old man in maroon robes that, to Riley's eyes, looked ten years past his expiration date. On a table in front of him was a black robe and a golden torc.

"Grandmaster Silas," Tobias exclaimed, going down on one knee.

Riley cocked her head.

"You've acquitted yourself especially well today and throughout your trials, so I thought I'd handle this bit personally. You passed," He held out a shaking, decrepit hand towards the robes.

Tobias remained rooted, staring down towards the ground, "I'm honored you'd take the time, sir."

"That is, of course, not the only reason," he chuckled.

Riley tried not to think of the crypt keeper.

"Sir?" Tobias asked.

"It is my understanding that you have a new companion. They often augment a sorcerer's ability, leading to manifestations of new power, but you showed abilities we've never assessed before. Tell me, how did you come by her?" He asked.

"Oh shit, this is bad," Riley went from tension to panic. Slowly, she began to look for exits, backing up.

"A gift from my Grandfather for trials. Her magic is of the celestial and chaos," Tobias reported.

"Which leads to the life confluence! She's a liminal, a rare and valuable specimen. One would be surprised if she were just a dumb beast then. Say hello, little one; you are under no threat from me," The old man smiled ruefully while Riley felt the jaws of fate clamp down upon her neck.

"Uh… Hello," she projected.

"It's always been my understanding that sapient companions were only of the first tier," Tobias continued to kneel with his head bowed.

"Normally, it is so, but with confluences, things become.... murky. You are wise to keep that close to your vest. It will prove an ally in your trials to come, and for now, at least, I shall keep your secret. It is the prerogative of every sorcerer team to face the world in their own way. You have earned that right, but be warned, I am not the only one who has seen your abilities," he cautioned.

"Please, sir, if I may ask, what do you intend? How am I to be assigned?" Tobias asked.

"That I cannot say, but you have distinguished yourself both as a scholar, a caster, and brave all the while. I try to make time to meet the standouts. The future of our order rests on the shoulders of those like you," He rose, shuffling by Tobias with an awkward stooped gate, "ah, and you may go."

Tobias stood, looking down at Riley, removing the silver torc from his neck.

With a sigh, he set it down on the table. Years of fear and doubt lifted off of him like a weight.

"Was that wise? Tobias, I'm scared," Riley scanned around again, searching for any sign of a waiting ambush.

A prompt flashed to life in her vision, alongside two exclamation points that pulsed in the upper right hand corner of her sight.

Your magical contract has expired, and your party has been disbanded.

"Tell me how I could have done otherwise? He clearly knew, and others might know too," He replied.

"What does that mean? Will people try to split us up?" She worried.

"We're supposedly bound to one another, so that wouldn't work. To be honest, I have no idea what he intends, but he said he'd keep our secret," Tobias shrugged.

"Not comforting," Riley said flatly.

"No, it is not. You've been nothing but chaos since you came into my life, and I'm thankful to the thirteen gods for you," He said, taking up the golden torc, turning it over in his hands before fitting it around his neck.

"I've been waiting my whole life for this, and I wouldn't have made it today without you. Chadrick intended to kill me."

"He did. Mavora was using her magic to buff and control the monsters. It smells rotten," Riley said.

"Then we made an enemy by surviving," Tobias surmised, rubbing at his chin.

"By all means, let's keep pissing him off," Riley said.

Tobias nodded and took up his black robe.

"Should I hop out to let you change?" She asked.

"There are some things you don't want to see, and this seems private enough, so at least turn away. Next, we need to go find Justinian and my parents," Tobias grinned, all as the look of new concerns shone from behind his eyes.