Rubicum, the City of Wildflowers, was hidden in the far west of the Forest of Redwood and nestled between the streams of the river Sapfyre. It was a city of walls in an ocean of trees. While seemingly counter-intuitive, the trees prevented attackers from seeing the archers on the ramparts, and the elven allies of the nation traversed the canopy in and out with ease. Built alongside the streams of the Sapfyre Waterways, the liquid currents flowed through the infrastructure of the city as much as the land did. Buildings were dug into long existing mounts and hills. Roads meandered around groves of trees and ponds. The structures that were built aboveground were made mostly of stone and wood. Many hugged the trunks of ancient trees, all liable to be encroached by nature should the land see fit to do so in cycles to come.
The train chugged through the detritus of the forest floor. Occasionally, it passed by huts and small houses belonging to those that maintained the tracks. As it neared the city walls, a heavy drawbridge lowered with the remainder of the line into the city. On cue, the train rumbled slowly down and into the underground station on the other side.
It was dimly lit by torches and coolly misted. The amber cave was a famous tourist attraction. Naturally made, elven history noted it was formed hundreds of years ago when a large resin tree toppled in a storm. The tree was encompassed by the earth in a mudslide but air pockets and pressure squeezed the resin out of the trunks in a one in countless perfect condition. The resin formed a barrier around the tree, and as cycles passed, the trunk rotted away, leaving a formed shell of amber that held ancient history within its layers.
While half the amber cave had collapsed the first war, the remainder had been preserved by the community. With funding from Aleynonlia after the second war, the rest of the cave had been turned into Rubicum's station, allowing travellers to enter the city with their first sight being a literal view of its fossilized history.
Class C was to be the last to alight the train and the waited patiently in the car. They had slowly poured out the train's occupants from the front cabin to the last which helped as Rehiy had instructed them to stay behind to be debriefed on the attack while he and the other teachers finish debriefing Class A and B first, including Pip, who would be given a further separate session.
Ishumi shifted in her seat as they waited. Despite her relatively comfortable dressing of black crop top hoodie and shorts overlaying a dark sheered full suit, she could not ease her mind of the slight discomfort that persisted.
Opposite her, Joachim signed, “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine,” she replied. “It's just been a long time since I came back.”
Shjacky and Trini popped their heads from the seat behind him. “That's right,” Shjacky chimed. “You were from here, weren't you?”
Ishumi nodded. “I went to stay in Aleynonlia after the war.”
Trini added excitedly, “You simply must show us around the place. We can triple date!”
Joachim choked loudly, vehemently swinging his hands in denial. He signed to Ishumi desperately, “Tell them we're not dating!”
She gave him an understanding nod and turned to the girls. “We're happy to.”
It was a little joke she had been playing on him since they started school together. Because of their closeness, most people mistook their relationship for romance. She went along with it as he had no quick way of telling them otherwise.
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“Fantastic!” Trini clapped. “Seks have never even been to the forests. He'll be so excited.”
“Wait a minute,” Shjacky said. “Am I dating someone?”
“Yeah! Quinton.”
Shjacky laughed before leaning into folded arms mockingly dreaming. “If only. He's so straight-laced, he'll never go out with me until the world is perfect for his sister.”
Trini optioned, “We can ask Lua to help! Come on. I've got a plan.”
The two girls left their seats without another word and headed to find the sister of the twins.
Joachim glared at her. “I still don't understand this joke of yours.”
She chuckled. “Let me know when you do,” she gestured back.
“Is this a vengeance thing? Did I put dung in your shoes before?”
“You've placed dungs in people shoes before?” she asked.
He caught himself and looked away in denial. She smiled. She loved their banters. It was a little corner of the world devoid of noise but still full of life. The manner in which they communicated, sign language, also made her felt closer to her family in a distant sense.
But something nagged at her and she voiced worriedly, “Do you think the unspawn attacks at Hirule's Holding and the tracks have anything to do with our epitaphs?”
He turned to look at her. “It's hard to say. But the timing is oddly suiting.”
“That's what I thought too.” She stopped for a moment to compose her thinking. “I can't immediately see how the threads come together though.”
“Maybe we're not suppose to see,” he opined. “Maybe we're suppose to experience.”
Ishumi went silent. Then she signed, “I don't like that.”
“Me neither.”
The car door opened and in walked Rehiy and a woman of long red hair. Though Ishumi had never personally met her, she knew who Ruby Aelkine was. The hume Head Consort of the Rubicum Alliance, elected by the elves, humes, and humans alike to lead their diverse country. She wore a shining scarlet silk dress that split at her thighs in four strands down her legs. Beneath, sheer white cloth curtained her legs. The middle red of the dress was split from her bosom to her naval, the cleave instead being covered by a golden under shirt bearing the country's rose emblem. Two silver pins held her long hair back.
“Hello, Class C. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.” They shot to their feet and saluted. Ruby sighed dejectedly. She then smiled, a gesture which Ishumi thought accentuated her freckled beauty. “Please. I get enough recognitions from my own soldiers. You are here in Rubicum as guests. And honoured guests at that, I might say. I applaud your efforts in quelling the unspawn attack yesterday. Rehiy has given me a full rundown of the events. Had the creature been left to its own devices there was a chance it could grow and cause more havoc. On behalf of Rubicum and its allies, I thank you.”
She bowed deeply and gracefully, stunning the class. What do you do when the head of a state has their head lowered in your direction?
“My lady,” Ishumi voiced out unexpectedly. “Please.”
Ruby brought her head up and met her glance. Without breaking gaze, Ruby continued, “You should already know this, I am informed of your positions regarding your epitaphs. I know some of you might be thinking of the danger your epitaphs might pose, and I don't doubt you all smart enough to think there to be a connection between the epitaphs and unspawn attacks we've been having.”
“Are there?” Pempe voiced out of place.
She turned to him. “We don't know yet. But the timing is oddly specific. And to tell you the truth, I don't quite believe in coincidences. Nevertheless, until we get to the bottom of this, it is both mine and King Adam's opinion that you'd be safest here in Rubicum.” She paused perfectly to allow them time to absorb the information. She then continued, “Unspawns aren't able to materialize in dense population. The larger the numbers gathered, the more energy it takes. Even with the power of immortals the effort is considerable. While the tourney is being held, Rubicum's population will increase drastically. And as unspawns are easily damaged by magic, the gathering of spellblades will proof bolstering to our defences.”
Years of reading Joachim's facial expressions had given Ishumi a knack for them. Despite Ruby's confident speech, the consort's face was softened in uncertainty.
Making a quick decision to not hold back, Ishumi asked, “But that's not what you think?”
Ruby smiled at her. “No,” she honestly replied. “It is not. I think whatever your epitaphs entails will happen within the duration of the tourney, if not shortly before you depart back to Aleynonlia. I would personally implore you all to keep your eyes peeled and ears pricked for anything out of the ordinary.”
She paused and turned to Rehiy. They exchanged glances and nodded. “On lighter subjects, we'll be sending people out to investigate the damage to the tracks. But given the season, we might not be able to fully repair the bridge until after Winter. In the meantime, you are all guests of Rubicum.” She looked to Ishumi and smiled. “Except you Miss Nato. For you, welcome home.”