The rest of the day went about the same as it had. Geoarcanology reminded her she needed to go look up those maps she’d found in Bainrose again, and Artifice Physics was the same combination of high philosophy and practical arcane physics it had been the first time.

She kept her eyes open during lunch and between classes, looking for any sign of the spies. Nothing.

Valen hadn’t said anything to her in Artifice Design. Though she hadn’t left her name with the Couriers, she’d checked a few times to see if the governor or commander of Fort Aegrimere had sent any sort of reply. Of course not. And she’d heard nothing from Viridian of course.

Mirian had heard the rumor she started once or twice, though it had morphed. Now the guards were part of a secret crime syndicate that was running Torrviol, and they’d murdered one of the deans, though no one could say which one. Was that Valen’s work? Or just the natural tendency of rumor to morph into unrecognizable nonsense?

That meant she had basically two ideas left: One was to run around in the streets yelling that the Akanans were coming to kill them all. She was sure that would go over well. The other was Nicolus. He knew people. The problem was, he also knew that everyone was trying to manipulate him because he had power. Or they just thought he was handsome.

Classes went well on Secondday. Then, it was time for the next study session. First study session you’ve been to, she reminded herself.

She didn’t bother making a show of not knowing which room to go to. No one was looking for that kind of thing, so what was the point. When she opened the door to room, though, it was just Sire Nurea.

“Oh, sorry… am I in the wrong room? I’m looking for Xipuatl and his friend.”

That got a raised eyebrow from Nurea. “You’re in the right room. I’m Sire Nurea March. I serve the family of Sacristar. And therefore, Nicolus.”

“Oh,” Mirian said. “So… he’s a big deal?”

Nurea muttered, “He’d certainly like everyone to think that, wouldn’t he?”

They chatted amicably, with Mirian relearning all the things she’d learned about Nurea so she wouldn’t have to try to remember what she knew and didn’t know.

Finally, Nicolus and Xipuatl showed up. “It’s not on the shelves,” Nicolus said as he dropped the three other textbooks he was carrying onto the table. “Someone already checked it… oh, there it is, on the table. Nurea, did you…?”

“She did,” Nurea said, nodding toward Mirian.

Mirian looked at the copy of Spell Engine Tolerances and Mana Flow Maintenance, Revised Edition in front of her. She’d forgotten that they hadn’t even assigned each other books to study and report on yet, and she’d just picked up the one she’d done last time without thinking. “Oh. Sorry, I… thought it’d be useful.”

“Well! It just means you’re prepared. I’m Nicolus, by the way.” He held out his hand, which Mirian shook. There was a sort of perfection to his handshake that was downright suspicious. Mirian suspected he’d practiced it far more than he would ever admit to.

“Mirian,” she said.

Then they got right to work. After all, when they weren’t bickering, both the boys were quite studious. After they divided the readings up again, Mirian sat back and made her move. “So have you heard about all the weird stuff going on in Torrviol?” she asked.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Nurea get very still.

“Yeah, something about break-ins?” Xipuatl said. “Seems weird they haven’t caught them yet.”

“Is there any basis to it?” Nicolus asked. “Last year it was going around that a group of bandits was ambushing people on the road, and it just turned out that some first year had seen a military patrol on their way to the Frostland’s Gate stronghold and didn’t realize they wore fur coats over their uniforms in the winter. He was from one of the southern cities and had just never seen patrols. Or snow, for that matter.” He laughed.

“I thought it was nonsense, but I’ve had a maintenance issue for like two weeks now and they just… never showed up. The office is closed. And I heard two of them went missing.” Mirian leaned in close, then whispered, “I even saw someone skulking about on the roof, wearing all black.”

“Really?” Nicolus said. “Hmm.” He looked over at Nurea, though he didn’t say anything to her.

“It’s weird that the Academy has been totally silent on it too. Like, remember when Pl—” Mirian stopped herself. She had been about to say ‘remember when Platus died,’ which hadn’t happened yet. “—when those students went missing briefly in the Mage’s Grove?”

“Maybe they’ve looked into it and it’s nothing. They’re probably being more cautious now so that they don’t look like fools, like they did last time,” Xipuatl said.

“Do you think it’s one of the syndicates?” Nicolus asked.

“This is going to sound stupid but… what are the syndicates? I heard someone else mention them.”

“Organized crime groups,” Xipuatl said. “Usually they smuggle dangerous magichemicals to evade taxes or regulations on them. Some move drugs around, or smuggle alcohol. Certain gangs might get into power in a city and run a protection racket, or otherwise squeeze money out of a corrupt local government. The Syndicates are all over Baracuel, vying for territory and power. Occasionally, the Crown Bureau will stamp a group out, execute a bunch or throw them in a prison, but that usually just means a rival moves in a few years later and the cycle starts again. The Syndicates usually stick to the big cities, though. Small towns just don’t have enough money running through them to be worth it.”

“We don’t really have that out east,” Mirian said.

“Yeah, it’s more of a west-Baracuel thing. They’re mostly descended from old guilds that got overthrown and went underground, warped by a few hundred years of historical circumstance. Then they got used in the Unification Wars and had some legitimacy, then after the wars they were outlawed again. Except…”—Nicolus glanced at Nurea again—“some of the noble families work with them. No one ever admits to it, of course, but it’s how a Syndicate can get their hands on the levers of power. So they become another board game piece to move around in the halls of power.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Why not make them legal, if everyone is using it? Then they don’t risk getting caught,” Mirian said.

“If the Syndicate is illegal, it means the person controlling them always has leverage over them. They can always expose them to arrest. And they use the Syndicates for doing the kind of shady stuff that would get a corporation’s crown charter revoked,” Xipuatl said.

“Huh,” Mirian said. “That is not what we were taught in history class.”

Nicolus laughed at that. “You get a very different education in Baracuel if you’re expected to hold power. You have to know how things actually work, or you’ll be made a fool.”

Mirian frowned. Anyone was supposed to be able to hold power in Baracuel. It was a republic. They had elections and everything. That meant everyone was supposed to know how it worked, because they either were going to be an official or a voter. That’s why she’d had to take civics class in secondary school! She also realized the conversation hadn’t gone the direction she intended. “Do the Syndicates ever work with other countries?”

Nicolus said “No” at the exact same time Xipuatl said “Yes.”

“Okay, which is it?”

It was Sire Nurea who answered. “It’s the wrong question to ask. Power doesn’t care about the borders of a nation.”

“Huh,” said Mirian, not at all sure she understood. But she had an agenda to push, damnit! “Okay so… what if that is all going on? How does someone put a stop to it? I don’t really want Syndicates running around kidnapping or killing people in Torrviol.”

“That depends on how much you want to stick your neck out. If innocent people are going missing….” Nicolus looked again at Nurea. “It also depends on who’s pulling the strings. It doesn’t quite make sense that they’re making a big splash, usually you want to keep a smuggling operation quiet. Torrviol is known for myrvite organ smuggling, and not really anything else.”

“It is!?” Mirian asked.

“Maybe something’s changed,” Nicolus said, ignoring her. This time, when he looked at Nurea, he raised his eyebrows.

“I’ll look into it,” Nurea said, and she said it in this casual way that felt like she was unsheathing a rapier. It gave Mirian chills. It also was exactly what she was hoping might happen.

***

It seemed to Mirian that an atmosphere of tension permeated Torrviol. She continued to mention rumors to anyone it seemed convenient to.

“Did you hear someone said they saw Akanan soldiers in the towns west of here? It sounds ridiculous, I think people will believe anything they hear these days,” she told one boy after class.

To a girl the next day, she mentioned, “Someone told me they saw a guard harassing the staff of the Academy, but Archmage Luspire won’t do anything about it. What a world!”

Whenever small talk left an opening, Mirian did her best to sneak in a strategic comment. All the while, she tried to keep a low profile and listen. Now that her class in Artifice Design gave her free use of the shops and discounts on materials, she also spent a great deal of time in the metal shop and the spellforge. With any luck, her spellrod would actually turn out well, and she could add it to her prized possessions. A few times, she caught other students in the shop peering at her curiously, then looking away when they realized she noticed them. Well, they hopefully were admiring her skill, rather than wondering what in the hells she was doing.

In the evenings, she helped Lily with Alchemistry by explaining the learning schema framework she was using, and Lily showed her some of the enhanced spells she was practicing.

On the Fourthday meeting with Nicolus and Xipuatl, she didn’t mention the spies or the Akanan attack. She figured it would be a bit weird if she kept bringing it up. Instead, the two of them rehashed the argument about Xipuatl’s idea that Tlaxhuaco druid magic would change the theoretical frameworks used in Baracuel and again let his disdain for fossilized myrvite and spell engines be known.

Fifthday, after classes, when Mirian went dueling, she saw Selesia again. This time, she didn’t wait until all her bouts were over. She went over to the fourth year and sat down next to her, which made Selesia’s eyes go wide. “Oh, hi Mirian,” she said, then blushed.

Not even I can be thick enough to miss that, Mirian thought. “Enjoying the bouts?” she asked.

“Yeah, they’re fun to watch. I mean… I was even thinking… well it’s silly, never mind.”

“No, tell me,” Mirian said.

“It looks fun, so I was thinking of learning dueling too. There’s a beginner’s room, right?” So that’s where she had gone off to the first time, Mirian realized.

“Yeah. But it’s… uh… hey, I’ve got an idea. I can show you the basics. We can use one of the practice rooms, I doubt anyone’s using them.”

“Really? I mean, don’t you have your bouts?”

Mirian shrugged. “I’ve fought them all before, I sorta know how each duel will go. It’s fine, let me just go tell the judge to cancel me in the rotation.”

First, they checked out a duelist’s jacket and rapier for Selesia. Finding a practice room was easy, they were all empty. Each practice room had a half-circle floor instead of a full circle, a little area for equipment, and a single arched window looking out onto Torrviol. Mirian hit a glyph by the door so that the glyph lights in the room lit up.

“First, there’s the stance. Your feet go like this,” Mirian said, demonstrating the even spacing and slight crouch. “The point is to be able to move back and forth fast, and keep your torso small. Feet farther apart. There you go,” she told Selesia. “Now your back should be straight….”

At first, Selesia’s form was terrible. Mirian eventually just started adjusting her position with her hands, moving her shoulders back or a leg forward, or guiding her to show how the footwork was supposed to go. Then she realized Selesia blushed every time she did this, and felt strange about it herself. She’d screwed it up the first time, and they’d never talked after that. Now, she had this second chance.

For a few hours, Mirian showed her the parries and attacks, and they practiced a few times. It took Selesia a few rounds not to be terrified of the blade, but when Mirian showed her that the magnetic repulsion enchantments on them made it basically impossible to hurt someone, she relaxed. It was nice spending time with her. Selesia was a kind person, and Mirian enjoyed teaching her. She found herself smiling a lot as they practiced.

After awhile, Selesia said, “Alright, I’m way too tired. It looks a lot easier, you know, when you’re just watching.”

Mirian laughed. “Yeah. Let’s head over to one of the fountains.”

Stygalta Arena had several small courtyards with large fountains in them for people to drink from, and also just sit by and watch. Special light glyphs had been placed in the fountain to make it look like the waters glowed, illumining the stone courtyard and casting it about in soothing shadows. Above, the night sky glistened. Heat enchantments in the stone benches kept them warm and free of snow, so as they sat, it warded away the winter chill.

“So what’s Akana Praediar like?” Mirian asked.

“A lot like here,” Selesia said. “There’s a different culture, though. Akanans are obsessed with money and competition. And even on the holidays, they don’t like to relax. Life is slower here. I like that.”

“Hm. I never feel quite like I can relax. There’s always more to do. Books to study. Spells to practice. Glyphs to learn. I have to remind myself to take time off, or I push myself too hard.”

“You seem very driven.”

“Do I? I feel mediocre. Average. Worse, really, because I put in all this effort and barely get the same result as anyone.”

Selesia looked sad. “Is that how you see yourself?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to… that’s probably too much sharing,” she said.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. You seem smart to me,” Selesia said. “And, uh, athletic. Thanks for… showing me some stuff.”

“Ah, of course. It was nice spending the evening with you. We should spend some more time together.” Mirian didn’t know what to say after that. Akana Praediar attacked the Academy in twelve days. Did she tell her that? Mirian didn’t think anything she’d done was going to stop it. “Next Fifthday. Same time and place? And then we can go get dinner,” she said. Maybe by then she’d work up the courage to say something.

Selesia smiled. “I’d like that, Mirian.”

Mirian liked when she said her name. Something about it made her smile too. “Until then, Selesia,” she said.

On the walk home, Mirian admired the Divir moon, that steady light above them, shining in the clear, cold sky.

That night, the strange dreams returned.