Florian stood at the site of a single gravestone, lost among the mass of tents in the nearby area. A small bouquet of flowers rested next to it, the only indication that anyone even knew where it was. As for Florian, he had only found the grave because he had asked Kayla to lead him to it following the conclusion of his eye-opening conversation with Theo.

“Done?” Kayla asked from behind him. She was tapping her feet as if she had someplace to be, and her arms were crossed as she stared at him.

Turning back to the gravestone, Florian bowed his head. Though Jones was far from a capable ruler, and a man of dubious moral fiber, being killed like this seemed to be a terrible way to go. “Now I’m done.”

Kayla led him back through the tent labyrinth, moving so quickly that he had to run as quickly as he could at times just to catch up. Their path ended at the annex, where he was quickly shown to his bed, despite it being early in the afternoon. “Rest now, Disciple Cale. Master needs you at your top form for tonight.”

“Tonight?”

Kayla smiled. “We’ll crush those mutts.”

With no further explanation, Kayla turned on her heels and left him sitting on his bed in the dark, windowless room. With a thought, Florian breathed life into a small flame above his palm. It looked as if it belonged on the wick of a candle, but it was plenty to illuminate the area around him.

There were a few dozen young men and women in their beds, most of them sleeping. A few just laid there, looking at Florian now that he had ignited the fire. All of the people in this room, Florian realized, were the people that were on the outs with Theo and his small cabal of faithful followers. It spoke volumes about his relative worth to the man.

The man – really a boy at what looked like sixteen or seventeen – on the bed next to him whispered feverishly. “Disciple Cale, is that you?”

“It is.”

“Thank goodness. They’ve killed Lord Jones, and they’ve taken control of everything. They locked us in here, and we can’t do anything to stop this,” the boy breathed a sigh of relief, the words tumbling out of his mouth afterwards. Florian shushed the boy.

“There’s nothing anyone can do to stop Theo. The man is the one who taught everyone, including me, how to use magic. Do you seriously think a few novices like us are going to be able to stop him? It’s better to just try to go with the flow,” Florian said, but the advice rang hollow to his ears. He’d tried to remain on the wizard’s better side, but nothing short of absolute subservience was ever going to be enough for Theo.

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The boy turned away, mumbling something about cowards and jerks. Florian would have laughed if he weren’t currently locked in here with the boy. It was pretty difficult to be jovial surrounded by these circumstances. Despite his better judgement, Florian decided that he would meditate for an hour. Going by the sun, he would have enough time to recover all his Control before nightfall if he didn’t overexert himself here.

Ambient mana flooded to him, infusing his body and recharging him as it always did. It was the difference between trying to breathe underwater and breathing above ground; the mana rejuvenated him. Keeping his mind focused on the particles around him, Florian entered a separate state of mind: one that didn’t care about anything but the mana.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, he began to feel the smallest strain on his Control. Letting the last of the mana leave his body, Florian stopped focusing on the little cerulean motes and laid his head down on the hard pillow to rest. He had hardly tested his limits, but he felt pretty great for having meditated an hour. His recent experiences had forced him to grow yet again, and he felt that he could have continued for another two hours at the very least. Still, he had grown tired from his trip and this experiment. He’d just close his eyes…

Kayla shook him awake, her features completely obscured by the darkness in the room. “It’s time to go, Disciple Cale. There are plenty of them tonight,” she said, and if Florian wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like she was excited about their numbers.

“Where’s my spear?” he asked. Kayla’s silhouette shrugged. He shook his head. “My mace?”

“That crude thing? I’m pretty sure I saw it in the armory.”

“Take me to it.”

Kayla shrugged again and led Florian out of the annex and into the keep, where Florian was surprised to learn that the armory was an actual room stocked with actual weapons. When it came to this alone, it seemed that Jones hadn’t been afraid to spend his newfound wealth. Florian found Bludgeon lying forgotten against the wall. Hefting the heavy weapon, Florian found himself at ease. It would be strange to fight with his old companion again, and it still looked like it had been unrepaired as of its last usage, but Florian felt more comfortable than showing up without a familiar weapon.

“What will you fight with?” Florian asked as he strapped on a spare chestplate that looked it might fit him.

Snorting, Kayla summoned a ball of water. “We’re wizards, Disciple Cale. We have no need for weapons.”

Eyebrows raising, Florian wondered what that meant for Theo, who had seemed to be particularly fond of using throwing knives to great effect. The final clasp secured, Florian secured the armor over his robes. He was ready.

No sooner than they left the keep, Florian heard the screams of Leeds’ Warriors, as well shouting that sounded like it might have come from Terry or Jerry, those two guards that he had become acquainted with.

Florian’s walk turned into a hobbled sprint. Reinforcements were on their way.