After Grey’s impromptu speech to the troops, our caravan was quickly escorted into the town proper. The gates weren’t quite shut behind us, but the large guard contingent that was posted seemed to be a pretty firm reminder not to bother us. Once inside, our ragtag caravan of former slaves was descended upon by the townsfolk at the request of Grey. A good amount of them had gathered in the town square to greet him. I guess he was pretty well-liked in his hometown.

As I watched the people that I had helped save get escorted away by the people of Hollow Hill to get fussed over, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. I felt a little guilty about it, but I was incredibly relieved that I was no longer in any way responsible for looking after the former slaves of Addersfield. Now the work of getting them back on their feet didn’t depend on the efforts of some kind of…homeless interplanetary strandee.

Wow.

I sure didn’t like thinking of my situation in those terms. Moving on.

Once the people of the caravan had been sorted out, that just left what I had been mentally referring to as ‘my group’ along with the people from the Order. In other words, me, Azarus, Grey, Sylvia, Walter, Rachel, Van, and Gren. Fade was sitting at my feet as well, silently observing our antics. I could tell that Grey was already being urged to step away into some kind of closed-door meeting. The huge guy in the red plate mail had left after exchanging some quiet words with Grey, along with a number of other Order people. Illuvia had stuck around though, presumably to keep an eye on the returned Headmaster. Speaking of…

Grey cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the group. He smiled at us. “Well! So our journey comes to an end. Mr. Freelith,” He said to Gren. “As promised, you will be compensated for undertaking such a perilous task. I’ll make sure that one of the Order treasurers seeks you out. Mr. Belluci, Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Meyers, I’m afraid that I don’t know what your current plans are?”

Rachel and Walter exchanged glances while Van stepped up, looking more confident in himself than I had seen since before our escape. He bowed slightly to Grey. “I will be leaving with Merchant Freelith once he has restocked, Headmaster. I’ve spoken to him, and he has agreed to take me on as an apprentice.”

I started in surprise. This was the first I had heard about this. Judging by the look on Azarus’s face, it was for him too. “You…sure, Van?” He asked hesitatingly.

Vandimar Belluci turned to face Azarus with a melancholy smile. “I’m sure, Lord Azarus. I’m afraid that the life of a revolutionary simply wouldn’t suit me. This isn’t goodbye, my friend. Only until we meet again.” He stepped forward and extended his arm to Azarus.

Azarus took a deep breath and then gripped Van’s forearm. “Safe travels, Van.”

“You as well, my lord,” Van said with shiny eyes.

Gren stepped up as well. “Don’t you worry, Azarus. I’ll keep an eye on this soft-hands. Maybe teach him a thing or two as well.”

Azarus huffed a laugh, while Van faked outrage, laying a hand on his chest. “Keep an eye on yourself, too. Got the feeling Principality lands are gonna get real chaotic soon.”

With the dwarves wrapping up, Rachel and Walter stepped forward to approach Grey and I. “Ah…H-headmaster,” Walter stuttered, before stopping. He took a deep breath before trying again. “Headmaster, I’d like to ask for…a favor.”

“Of course, Mr. Meyers,” Grey said with a raised eyebrow. “Ask away.”

“I…don’t have anyone anymore,” Walter said, eyes downcast. “My family was all k-killed by those elves. I don’t have any other relatives. I don’t have any money. I don’t even really have many levels or much skill in Professions yet. But…even still…I have a favor to ask you.” He raised his eyes to meet Grey’s, surprisingly resolute. “Will you let me attend your Academy? I think…that way I can have an actual future.”

Grey smiled widely at Walter. “I would be absolutely delighted to admit you, Mr. Meyers. I think that’s a wonderful idea. Don’t worry about the tuition, I’ll make sure that it’s taken care of. You can provisionally consider yourself a first-year student at the Academy of Mystic Arts,” His smile took a wry edge. “Well, once the current situation in the Kingdom has been dealt with.”

I stepped forward and clapped Walter on the shoulder. “Congrats, Walter! Don’t let all the homework keep you down, eh?”

“I’d say the same thing to you, Nathan,” I heard Grey say to me. I turned to face him in surprise. My mentor had a mischievous smile on his aged face. “As my apprentice, once this conflict has been resolved, I intend to enroll you as well.”

I blinked in surprise. Before I could say anything, Azarus cleared his throat loudly. Looked like he had finished his goodbyes to the other dwarves. Grey rolled his eyes. “Yes, Azarus, there is a place for you. I’ll make sure you’re enrolled when the time comes. The Academy welcomes peoples of all species.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Azarus stepped back, satisfied.

Meanwhile, Grey turned to face Rachel. “And you, Ms. Fergusson? Did you have a request of me? Perhaps you would like to enroll in the Academy as well?”

“Nay,” Rachel said, shaking her head. She crossed her arms, unbothered to be talking to such a powerful person. “Schoolin’ ain’t fer me. I was wonderin’ if ye needed a cook.”

Grey blinked slowly at her. “Ah…I suppose. I would be happy to hire you on as part of my personal kitchen staff. You’ve certainly demonstrated enough skill, managing the caravan kitchen. However, the majority of said staff is currently in the capital. You…can practice your craft in the tower until your employment can be finalized.”

Rachel nodded, satisfied. “Good enough fer me.”

………………………………………

After that, I made sure to give my own goodbyes to Gren and Van. I wasn’t very close with either of them, but I still appreciated their help these past few weeks. Both of them clasped my forearm and wished me well. I did the same.

With our business settled, Illuvia informed us that a meeting had been called to brief Grey on the war situation. Somewhat apologetically, she said that only members of Grey’s retinue could follow him into the meeting, meaning that Walter and Rachel would have to sit it out. They didn’t seem to mind. Hell, Walter had been happy to look after Fade while I was busy in the tower.

I didn’t think a military headquarters would appreciate the presence of an animal, no matter how cute he was.

Illuvia led our group up through the small town of Hollow Hill to what was apparently Grey’s wizard tower. He told me on the walk up there that he hadn’t actually been born in the tower, but had built it centuries ago as a retreat. Sometimes, he told me, he just wanted to get away from his responsibilities and relax. It was also apparently where he had done most of his original experiments in creating the Sculpted. Sylvia was ‘born’ in that tower.

Thankfully for my opinion of Grey, the facade wasn’t extravagantly decorated. The tower was mostly plain grey stone stretching high into the sky, with a crenelated battlement at the top. It was large though. Much larger than I would expect one person to need. Honestly, it looked more like a slice of a castle.

As Illuvia led us inside the tower, I saw that it wasn’t very ostentatious inside as well. Rather it seemed like it would normally seem downright homey. I say normally, because even the bottom floor which mostly seemed to function as an entryway was absolutely packed. Tables were haphazardly shoved against the circular walls, where clerks and soldiers were pouring over parchment. On one wall, a large map of what must be the continent, or perhaps the world of Vereden, was pinned to the stone. Wherever there weren’t piles of paper though, there were supplies. Crates and boxes and bags dotted every last free space available. There was a low, tense undertone to the chatter that filled the air inside the tower.

Grey wandered over to one of the bags and opened it. I peeked over his shoulder to get a look myself. Inside, it seemed like the burlap bag was filled with flour. Grey looked up and raised an eyebrow at Sylvia.

She shrugged. “I told them that they could use the bottom floors of the tower how they saw fit.”

Grey snorted before closing the bag. “Are they…?” He trailed off, directing a question to Illuvia.

She dipped her furry head. “The second floor has been temporarily converted to a war room, Grand Marshal.”

“Temporarily converted,” Grey muttered to himself, before shaking his head. He started making his way through the chaos of the ground floor, with Sylvia, Azarus, Illuvia, and myself following him. Well, and Venix. Glancing back, I found that he was still following us silently.

That guy was surprisingly unobtrusive for being a giant ant person.

The personnel on the ground floor were too busy to pay any attention to us, so we reached the staircase set along one wall without being accosted pretty easily. Climbing up it, I found that the war room was an accurate depiction.

The second floor was dominated by a huge circular table that lay in the center of it. On that table were more maps, reports, and scraps of parchment than I could count. I’d give them this, though. It did seem more organized than downstairs.

Arranged around the table were a…lot of chairs. Most of them were filled. In fact, I’d say that the war room was pretty goddamn packed in general. I guess most of the important people had been notified of Grey’s return.

As we stepped off of the landing onto the floor, dozens of eyes fell on our party. The people sitting down hastily stood up. My step nearly stuttered at the attention, but Grey didn’t seem to care at all. He just calmly started making his way to the biggest chair that was arranged around the table. The huge guy from earlier in the red plate was standing up from a chair next to the one Grey was beelining to. I tried to follow his example, making sure to follow in his footsteps. Illuvia faded into the crowd of people, while Venix merely lingered near the entrance of the room. As Grey reached the chair, Sylvia moved around to stand on the right and slightly behind the chair. I followed her example, deciding to stand off to the left and behind Grey, while Azarus stood next to me.

Grey let go of his staff. It didn’t fall over, instead hovering in an upright position next to him. Slowly, my mentor lowered into the chair with a sigh of satisfaction. “Ahh,” He said aloud into the dead silent room, closing his eyes in pleasure. “There’s nothing quite like sitting in your own chair after a long journey, isn’t there?” Opening his eyes, Grey swept them across the room and the people in it. “Please, my friends. Be seated. Let us not waste any time. Marshal Leopold, if you would be so kind as to update me on the state of the Uprising?”

One by one, the important-looking people lowered back into their chairs, some more opulent than others. The only person who didn’t was the huge guy in red plate. I’m guessing this was ‘Marshal Leopold’.

Said Marshal lowered his head in Grey’s direction. “As you wish, Grand Marshal,” He said in a deep, rumbling voice.

“The Uprising is failing.”