Mayor Boro paced the length of his cramped office over the worn-out rug.

He had been in the old Mayor’s office before the Catastrophe twenty years ago. His father, the old Mayor, had owned a wonderfully furnished study where he hosted as many concerned citizens as he could throughout the day.

Now, he was instead enclosed by suffocating, moldy walls of one of the few buildings that hadn’t been destroyed during the Catastrophe.

The citizens had told him to move to a better place multiple times, pointing at villas, or even offering to help him build a place anew.

Boro, however, had never felt comfortable with that option.

Placid City still suffered from that despicable man’s actions of twenty years ago.

Therefore, he wouldn’t resort to better conditions until he had brought the perpetrator of the Catastrophe to justice.

Routinely, he had to deal with the same man who came here now to clear his conscience when the damage, sadly, had already been done and was, by all means, irreversible.

He had tried telling the Academy about that monster, to tell them he didn’t deserve to wear their uniform.

But they had ignored him.

As far as the Academy was concerned, their Professor was a hero put in an unfortunate situation.

However, unlike them, Boro knew the truth.

There had been only one person responsible for the survival of the few original citizens of Placid City twenty years ago.

And it wasn’t that Iakopo.

Now, things were about to finally come together.

He had been assured by a man he placed great trust in that this would undo the bastard’s life, finally giving him what he deserved.

Still, sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cool evening air drifting through the open window.

He paused, glancing first at the iridescent communication shell sitting on his desk, then at the figure lounging on his worn leather couch.

“Lady Apikalia,” Boro cleared his voice. “Would you like some refreshments?”

“No, darling,” she smiled coquettishly. “Please, just go ahead. I’m here to make sure we stick to the plan.”

Apikalia sprawled across the cushions with a catty smile and malicious amusement painted over her bright red lips.

She twirled a lock of her raven hair around one finger, her other hand idly tracing patterns in the air, leaving faint trails of shimmering energy.

Boro felt extremely nervous in the presence of the unpredictable caster.

This girl was still low-level, but he had seen her fight once six months ago, and that cemented the idea of never messing with her in his mind.

“Oh, do calm down, darling,” she purred, her voice a silky drawl. “You look positively green. It’s most unbecoming.”

Boro swallowed hard, his throat bobbing visibly.

“Easy for you to say,” he muttered. “It’s not your neck on the line.”

Apikalia’s laughter was like broken glass, sharp and cutting.

“No, it’s not,” she agreed, sitting up with fluid grace. “But it will be if you mess up this call. Now, shall we begin?”

Boro picked up the seashell in his clammy palms. He uselessly tried to calm his nerves.

The mold particles hanging in the office entered his nose, mixing with the strong perfume that Apikalia wore, making him want to discharge all the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

“It’s now or never,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Steeling himself, Boro activated the shell.

A soft glow emanated from its core.

For a moment, there was only silence, broken by the distant sound of waves lapping against the shore.

Then, a stern voice emerged from the shell.

“Water Rider Academy. State your business.”

Boro’s throat went dry.

He licked his lips, struggling to find his voice.

Apikalia swiftly rose from the couch and went to his desk, leaning forward toward him.

“Placid City—This is Mayor Boro… of Placid City,” he cleared his voice, wincing at the quaver in his tone. “We have an urgent situation regarding… Professor Iakopo.”

A pause stretched between them, and Boro could hear scribbling on the other hand.

Boro’s free hand drummed nervously on the desk.

“Explain,” the voice finally replied, sharp and skeptical.

Boro glanced at Apikalia, who mouthed the words.

“He’s... he’s not himself,” Boro stammered. “His behavior has become erratic, aggressive, even. Some of the townsfolk are frightened. There’s also increased monster activity that maybe…”

“This is a reserved line for city emergencies, Mayor Boro. What is your business with the Water Riders?” The voice cut through his rambling.

Apikalia nodded encouragingly, her eyes alight with malevolent glee.

“I... I don’t trust Professor Iakopo’s actions,” Boro admitted, sagging into his chair. It creaked loudly under his weight.

“Something is very wrong here. We need help.”

Apikalia rose and circled around the desk, leaning close to Boro, whispering in his ear.

“Tell them about the students,” she hissed. “How they’re in danger.”

Boro nodded frantically, his words tumbling out in a rush when he heard that the man at the Academy, on the other end of the shell, didn’t seem to take his warning seriously.

“The students... they’re in danger. Professor Iakopo was supposed to accompany them to the Placid Cave, the city’s Dungeon. We’ve had reports of increased monster activity there, far beyond what’s normal for this time of year. And, for some reason, the Professor has been refusing to go with them. He’s been growing more and more paranoid, too.”

He paused and tried to make it sound like he was panicked--which, to be fair, he actually was, just not for the reasons the man on the other end of the seashell would imagine.

“Just yesterday, some locals spotted two students fighting off an unusually large number of Slashing Crusters on the beach at night. It’s not like Professor Iakopo to expose first-year students to such risks.

"There’s more. We’ve discovered... evidence of possible Cultist activity in the area. The students reported a summoning circle on the beach. Did Professor Iakopo report that?”

Silence came from the other side of the clam, and Boro sighed in relief, raising his eyes to the ceiling.

“I fear Professor Iakopo might be deliberately putting the students in harm’s way, perhaps as some sort of twisted test. Or worse... he might be working with the cultists themselves.”

He leaned closer to the shell, now whispering.

“Please, you must understand. Placid City suffered a catastrophe twenty years ago that nearly wiped us out. Professor Iakopo was here then, and now, with his erratic behavior and these dangerous circumstances... I fear history might be repeating itself. We can’t risk the lives of these young students—he keeps sending them into the Dungeon even though there might be Cultists around! They need protection, and quickly, before it’s too late.”

“We’ll send a team to investigate,” the voice from the shell finally declared. “In the meantime, report any further unusual behavior immediately.”

“Yes, of course,” Boro nodded vigorously, relief washing over him. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Boro slumped back in his chair as the connection faded, exhaustion etched into every line of his face.

Apikalia’s laughter filled the room, dark and triumphant.

“Oh, you did wonderfully, my dear mayor,” she cooed, running a finger along his jawline. “The trap is set, and soon, oh so soon, we’ll have everything we desire.”

Boro shuddered.

Apikalia watched as the Mayor slumped in his chair.

A great sense of satisfaction washed over her. Apikalia had left her old, dysfunctional family behind to find a place to belong, people who could truly appreciate her talents. It didn’t matter to her that she had to give up on her normal magic to fully embrace her role.

She had found power beyond what she had imagined possible.

Sure, there was some irony in this.

She had to join what was considered a dark and evil group to find her place.

But it didn’t matter.

Cultists weren’t the mindless, destruction-obsessed fanatics that the Water Riders painted them to be.

No, they were visionaries.

Having been around nobility, she knew how corrupt that world was.

And today, they’d move one of the first steps toward bringing that world to its knees once and for all.

Even Boro fears us, Apikalia thought, amused. Even after getting our help, he didn’t like us.

It was a shame that so few could see past their prejudices to understand the noble goals they pursued. Apikalia thought of the students she had been observing from afar when they visited the Dungeon.

Most of them were clearly painfully naive.

But there was one—the blonde girl— intrigued her.

“You know,” Apikalia mused aloud, causing Mayor Boro to start nervously, “what we’re doing here... it’s justice, pure and simple, Boro. The nobles, the Academy - they’ve had their chance to make things right. They’ve failed time and time again. Now it’s our turn.”

She stared right into the Mayor’s eyes.

She didn’t even know why he was telling him out of all people, but she felt the strict need to vocalize her thoughts.

“We’re not the villains of this story, my dear.”

Apikalia walked toward the door and rested her hand on its handle.

“And soon, very soon, everyone will see that truth.”

She looked over her shoulder, through the window, at the sun dipping below the horizon, plunging Placid City into shadows that seemed to anticipate what was about to happen.

The endgame was about to unfold.

Apikalia left through the door, but unbeknown to her, a figure crouched upon the mayor's roof frowned and silently retreated.