Chapter 38

Headmaster Agrust’s Chambers

Moren and Aren

“So, you said you’d been here before right?” Aren asked Moren as they walked down the halls of Horath toward the headmaster’s office. “That mean you know anything about this Agrust guy?”

“Only a little, unfortunately,” Moren replied. “Every time I’ve been here I have been an escort for someone else. I would drop off a person or something else at the door and I’d be on my way. I think I’ve only ever seen him once before this and that lasted about five seconds. I’ve heard plenty of rumors about him, but the academy does a pretty good job keeping their information under wraps for the most part. A lot of things go in, but scarce little seems to come out under Agrust’s control.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Aren grumbled. “That’s what’s been worryin’ me. We’ve all heard horror stories about this place, the whole reason I kept Sani away honestly. Even then, hard to tell what might actually be true or not. I mean, I can’t imagine some of the things I’ve heard are real. Then again, I’ve seen plenty these past couple of months that I never thought was true. Either way, if even a few of the stories are true, this Aust guy must be pretty twisted to be sitting at the top of it all.” Moren nodded in agreement as the men continued to trudge toward their destination. Several rooms shifted and slid past them as they went. One in particular left an uneasy feeling in Aren’s stomach. The room itself was small and only stayed in his peripheral for but a moment, but in that short time, there was a blood-curdling scream from within. After an uncomfortable moment of silence following the scream Aren spoke, “So Kraevos did say to make a ruckus right? Cause I’m itchin’ to make somebody pay for whatever is going on here. Like I said, if even half the rumors are true we’d be doing all of Surren a favor.”

“My friend, I am emotional with you, but I think it’s best for the moment if we keep our fists as a last resort,” Moren replied. “In the time I’ve known Kraevos, I’ve come to understand the nature of his ideas. He has a bit of a flair for the dramatic as I’m sure you’ve realized. Sometimes this leads to making things unnecessarily messy. I think the quieter we can keep our visit here, the better chance we have of catching Emeria off guard.”

Aren pondered this for a second, “surprised or not, the fight’s gonna happen though.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Moren responded, “But I’ve been around her for a few fights and let me tell you, giving her time to prepare is the wrong move. She’s enough of a monster when she’s not expecting a fight, giving her time to work up bloodlust would not be in our favor. You may think that this place is scary, but I can assure you, it is nothing compared to what I have seen of her.” Moren’s eyes trailed off as he finished, clearly replaying dark moments in his mind.

“I can only imagine,” Aren said, “Though I get what ya mean, even my dad is afraid of her and he doesn’t fear much on this ball o’ mud that we call home.”

By the time Aren had finished talking the two men had reached the door to Agrust’s chamber. The doors themselves weren’t noticeable immediately. The only reason the two men knew they were there was due to their map. There was simply a faint blue outline of a doorframe upon a sheet of liquid silver shimmering on a wall. Moren reached out his hand to knock on the door, but as he reached out the door dissolved away revealing the Headmaster’s chamber. As the men had both started getting used to Horath, the inside of the chamber was far larger than the room appeared from the outside. The room itself was a library, but what was impressive was that it had to be at least as large as the royal library of Draeton, which as far as Aren knew was the largest collection of knowledge on all of Surren. It made Aren wonder how much knowledge had been held back from the rest of the continent. The room was set up so that two incredibly long bookshelves formed a path down the center, leading directly toward the Headmaster’s desk at the very back of the room. Aren kept walking, though he tried to read the titles of the books as he went by, though many appeared to be in languages he couldn’t read or kept changing as he looked. As the two men reached the end of the room they found Agrust sitting at an oversized oak desk that was covered in scrolls and texts.

“Gentlemen, how nice to see you again, Agrust said, feigning a smile. “I am sure that the rooms here were to your liking and that you’re rested at least a little from your long journey. I do so hope to give you a satisfactory look into the academy that will please the empress.” He brought his hands close to his face and paused for a second, pondering his next words. “I wanted to discuss the prisoners that you brought with you and a few other matters briefly before I do so though.” He waved a hand out and two large wooden chairs formed from the floor. “Please, take a seat and let us discuss these important matters.”

Both men sat down hesitantly, feeling like the chairs themselves might be a trap. Aren couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable from the moment Agrust began talking. The way he talked, the way he moved, it came across as very calculated in the same way Aren had always felt when talking to his own father. He assumed every sentence was a lure, every motion a trap in a verbal game that not everyone knew they were playing. He hoped that Moren had training in dealing with matters like this, as much as he hated it, his time with his father made him very capable of handling these situations. Agrust snapped his fingers and all of the books and scrolls strewn across his deck began to glow, floated off the desk, and filed themselves away quickly.

“I apologize for the clutter, knowledge never sleeps in Horath and that can lead to quite the mess.” Agrust leaned forward and took a look at the two men sitting across from them before waving his hand across his desk. Images of Vella, Sani, and the form Kraevos had taken appeared on the desk. “I must say, you brought me some very interesting people. I am glad that Emeria has taken such an interest in the academy and our pursuits, this is a great sign for our ongoing relationship.” Aren looked at the images, making sure not to break composure, and took a mental sigh of relief. They were static images, not a view into the dungeon cells. Though that meant he didn’t know what state his friends were in, it also meant that Agrust wasn’t actually viewing them at this moment. His face slipped for a moment as he looked at Kraevos’ form, forgetting briefly who it was. “Is there a problem sir,” Agrust asked, catching the break.

“No, no,” Aren stammered, collecting himself. “No problem at all, I was just looking them over again. That one gave us quite the fight, still have a few bruises from the encounter,” he said as he pointed at the image of Sani, trying to change the focus.

‘Ah yes, that one is quite the prize actually,” Agrust replied. “I was particularly happy to see that you had brought her in and on reputation alone, I can only imagine what you went through to capture her. I know the strength of the Huntsmaster, but you yourself must be formidable as well.”

“I do all right,” Aren replied, trying to act flattered.

“Given your positions with your different kingdoms, I assume that you know of the Wild Order?” Both Aren and Moren nodded at Agrust’s question. “Well, she is someone of very high rank within the organization, she has sabotaged many of the academy’s pursuits in recruiting new mages and has turned others in the magical world against us as well. I personally have not had an encounter with her as I tend to stay at the academy, but I have had many of my best mages return here beaten and defeated after dealing with the infamous Greenbraid.” Agrust brought his hands together and a wicked smile crossed his lips. “I will personally be seeing to her interrogation. I will be most thorough and make sure that every bit of information is extracted from her before she is disposed of.” Hearing this Aren’s fists began to instinctively tighten and he had to fight to keep his composure, though he could tell he would lose if the conversation kept going this way.

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Clearly sensing his ally’s anger, Moren pushed the discussion on. “What of the other two, Headmaster?”

Agrust pointed down to the image of Kraevos’ form, “They are of less tactical interest at this moment, though puzzling in their own ways I suppose. This one seems to have a large amount of magical energy within their body, but they show little of the wear and tear that exerting this does to a body. He likely has not even been doing magic for very long and has suppressed this energy for quite some time. He will be most intriguing to examine during his autopsy post-interrogation.”

Aren brought his hands together and could feel his nails digging into his skin. He’d thought he was prepared to handle this conversation, but it seemed he had grown a few too many feelings and emotions since his younger days. Moren on the other hand didn’t skip a beat, “And the youngest one?” he asked.

“Fortunately she is young enough to still be saved and brought into the light of the academy as long as she does not resist. She shows little sign of training so likely she will be willing to join us. She might have been one of the children who the Wild Order attempted to hide from us. She is lucky to be here, a few more years and she might have been beyond saving. We should be able to start her education right away. Without having to undo any of the Wild Order’s teaching she will be able to enter the academy in earnest.” Agrust paused for a moment and looked at the words scrawling along next to the image and looked happy for a brief moment. “Interesting, She may actually have a link to a very old magic bloodline, that would be an excellent asset to the academy. At the very worst it means if she is a sleeper for the Wild Order we can simply drain her blood and learn from it.” Aren had reached his limit and despite his trying he was noticeably angry now. “Are you alright, has something I’ve said agitated you?” Agrust looked to Aren with a raised eyebrow, readying himself for what might come next.

Before any of the men could respond there was a piercing whistle that went off in the room and a voice echoed through the walls. “Horath is under attack! The prisoners in the dungeon have escaped! All battle-prepared mages are to head to the dungeon, and all guards to the gate!”

As the words finished Agrust narrowed his gaze at Aren and his lips tightened, “Well now, I doubt this is mere coincidence, did you two fools really think you could deceive me so?” Agrust stood from his chair and his hands began to glow a deep blue. His desk vanished into the floor, as did the chairs and the bookshelves began to push themselves back and away from the men. Agrust let look a crackle of lightning that forked at Moren and Aren, who both dove away.

As Aren picked himself from the ground he grinned and yelled across to Moren, “So can I punch him now?”

Moren charged forward and yelled back, “Not if I do first!”

Aren paused for a moment and took in a deep breath, letting the runes on his arms begin to work, his body beginning to turn to iron. He leaped from his position toward Agrust, barely reaching him before Moren. Agrust leaped to the side and unleashed another bolt of lightning that crackled and passed over Aren, having no effect on his metallic form. “Ahh, metal it is then, easy enough,” Agrust said. He brought his hands back together and twisted his fingers, the glow on his palms changed from blue to purple. He pushed his palms out and the purple glow extended to Aren, covering his body. Aren moved his hands as Moren charged and Aren’s body was slammed across the room at him. Moren had to lunge out of the way to avoid getting smashed into by his ally. Aren crumbled a bookcase at impact as Agrust taunted him, “Magnetism with magic is quite simple to do, didn’t anyone teach you that?” Agrust laughed as he motioned toward Aren, readying to throw him again.

As Aren pushed the books off, he noticed the pull beginning and he tried quickly to deactivate his runes and free himself from Agrust’s grasp. His feet began to pull from the ground before his own magic wore off, dropping him again into the pile of books and broken shelves. As he looked across the room he saw Moren approaching Agrust. He was walking calmly, his familiar green aura beginning to gather around him. Agrust loosed several more bolts of lightning toward the Huntsmaster but they did little to impede him. Each one hit the aura and was no more. Changing tactics Agrust brought his hands back in a swirling motion and then pushed them forward, creating a gale-force wind. This only served to push Moren back a few feet but did not stop his march. With each step, the green aura intensified, a mass of swirling energy humming with vitality around its master. Agrust retreated as far back as he could, which was only a few steps. This time he slapped his palms to the ground and wooden spikes shot forth from the floor and shelves, each one shattering harmlessly as it reached the green aura, achieving nothing. “What are you!” Agrust yelled out in frustration.

Moren took the last few steps toward the headmaster raising his fist, “I am the Huntsmaster of the great forest, he who runs at the head of the pack and he who fights with honor,” Moren replied. “All things you could never hope to understand. More importantly, though, I have had enough of you.” With one simple motion, Moren threw but a single punch straight to the chest of Agrust. The headmaster was launched back at high velocity against the back wall of the room, hitting with such force that he became cratered in the wall, unconscious. His body went slack and hung on the wall in front of Moren he stood triumphant, letting his aura dissipate with a calming breath.

Aren pushed himself out of the pile of books and walked over to Moren, in awe of the power he’d just witnessed. “What in all of the world was that?”

“That is the gift of the forest, that is my bond,” Moren replied, “Even if no Huntmaster has paid the full price, we still have this gift. We haven’t had the same green as the other kingdoms, but we know this gift is more than enough to protect the forest. Ours is a gift that balances and protects, as long as I am unwavering and driven, my shield will be the same.”

Aren scratched his head, he was still getting used to the way Moren went back and forth between talking cryptically and like a normal person. “So, care to put that into like human words? Cause that sounded like one o’ those old books I had to read when I was little.”

Moren laughed and gave Aren a slap on the back, “You’re not wrong, that’s just the way it was explained to me when I was young.” Moren paused and thought for a moment, “I guess I haven’t really had to explain it much because everyone in the forest hears it the same way and we don’t really like to show off to outsiders. The best I can put it is that my magic is a shield, an intimidating-looking one, but a shield. It won’t let any magic harm me if I am focused, it absorbs the magic and allows me to redirect the energy. We thought nothing could penetrate it until recently, until Emeria. Whatever she did to me bypassed the shield in a way the forest has never seen before.”

Arne looked, his pride sank a little as he spoke, “So how exactly did I manage to throw you into the ocean back in Lazzure? I mean I’m strong an’ all, but there’s no way I should have beaten you. For that matter, we still shouldn’t have been able to beat you the last time either.”

“Well that’s pretty simple actually,” Moren said as he began to turn around, looking back toward the door, “I wanted you to beat me. Emeria may have beaten me, but in her arrogance, she didn’t ever come to fully understand my power. As much as she could control my body, she couldn’t control my mind and my spirit. Since my power is tied to that she couldn’t actually make me use much of it. So both times we fought my body was just using as much as it could force me out of self-preservation, so roughly about half of the power I’ve accessed.”

Aren ran his fingers through his hair, taking one last look at Agrust, crumpled into the wall. He turned around to follow Moren with a shrug, “Good thing you’re on our side then. You’re a scary man when driven Moren.” Aren cracked his knuckles as they walked to the door. “Doesn’t mean I’m just gonna give up though, Agrust still just counts as one bad guy taken down, so that means we’re even.” he slapped Moren on the back, “Technically if we count when I took you down I’m ahead, two to one.” Both men had a hearty laugh.

“Well that said, our cover is rather well blown here, so we may as well go find the others and cause as much of a ruckus as we can, I’ll tilt the score back in my favor before we leave,” Moren replied with a smile.