[B2] Chapter 57 — Accusations, Friends, And A Surprise

The arrow ripped through the barrier, a wispy hole in its wake as it streaked toward the abjurer girl, passing in front of her and sucking out key portions of the abjuration spell’s matrix on its way through the large, complex construct.

A whip of water grabbed the girl and yanked her back just as the spell began to violently unravel.

Ria didn’t have time to determine where the water whip came from or feel relief at not accidentally striking the girl. Eyes wide at the suddenly coming cataclysm, she hurried to extend her domain to still as much of the destabilized magic around her as she could. The explosion slammed into her domain, slowing like when Aldri used his magic to escape Tallien’s explosive attacks.

Unfortunately, unlike Aldri, Ria didn’t have anywhere to escape to.

Dropping her bow, she pulled her cloak’s hood over her head as she dove to the ground. She prayed to Hemse, and when the world began to slowly crush her into the fire-dried dirt, she could only wonder if the academy insignia would be enough to save her.

The moment painfully stretched on, crushing her more and more, and she used her pitiful remaining reserves to strengthen her body for even a moment longer. Just when she thought her bones would break or the cloak would fail, the pressure receded.

Her domain spell gone, sound returned with a staccato patter reminiscent of rain… and coughing?

The fight might not be over yet.

Desperate for air, Ria raised up enough to refill her lungs and sucked in a lungful of dust.

Coughing and wheezing, she summoned her staff from Jeni’s pouch and, drawing from the staff’s stored energy, used air magic to provide fresh air to breathe and to clear away the dust around her.

Though sore all over, Ria moved to climb to her feet, but her foot found air before finding dirt again. Taking in her immediate surroundings, her eyes widened at the realization that she was on a Ria-shaped island in the midst of a crater of destruction.

No, not completely Ria-shaped. The area around the box of voidstone arrows was fine.

And the rain was a rain of falling clumps of dirt.

Just how big was the explosion?

Climbing to her feet, Ria found the smashed remains of her bow—half of it anyway. If her bow was in that bad a shape…

Worry began to seize her. Had she killed some of them? She thumped the staff against the ground to cast out her senses.

What she sensed made her stomach sink. The crater was huge, reaching most of the way to the halls on either side. A shade tree was tilting into the crater and the sitting garden in front of Serenity Hall had been mostly destroyed. On Shining Sun Hall’s side, the voidstone arrow had somehow embedded itself in a tiny gap between two large cut stone slabs of the hall’s golden facade, and a nearby window had shattered inward from the force of the explosion.

She had no idea how dangerous unconstrained energy was!

Ria made a grim expression at only finding six of the cloaked girls—the source of the coughing—but bodily impressions and tracks in the dirt suggested five of the others had successfully fled. The abjurer was nowhere to be found and neither was the source of the water whip. Had an instructor intervened?

Rather than the voidstone arrow, should she have risked an attempt at summoning her staff to hold out just a bit longer? Could she have managed the conversion to orichalcum energy from the attuned energy in her phoenix quill or dragon brush? The spirit tokens?

No. It was too late to second-guess herself now.

After downing a healing potion and an energy replenishment potion, Ria resealed and stored her voidstone arrows. There was no longer a need to seal the one stuck in the building, the arrow’s voidstone tip had absorbed enough energy (probably from the building’s wards) to turn to magicite.

But damaging Shining Sun Hall! Keira’s never going to let her hear the end of it!

Was it good or bad that Keira’s morning class was in Crystal Tower instead? She could sure use some help. Six against one was still not great odds even if tremendously better than twelve against one.

The cloud of dirt was settling enough to see without the aid of magic, and for some reason, the academy staff still hadn’t arrived yet. Had they decided not to intervene unless someone was in danger of dying? Were they waiting for a clear victor? Or until she had been humiliated enough?

Ria huffed. That was fine by her. Just from the amount of time it was taking her opponents to recover, these girls likely weren’t arena or battle hardened, and a certain four-legged reinforcement was rapidly approaching with a surprise rider. She would have to thank Iselyn later.

Should she attack now or stall for time?

The leader girl’s coughing eased enough for the girl to stand. “You… you almost killed us all!”

“‘Almost’ means the duel isn’t over yet,” Ria remarked, making her training dagger appear in hand. “Or am I mistaken about how this works?”

She had considered summoning her magic dagger to conserve energy, but with all the damage to the grounds there was no way she wasn’t already in plenty of trouble without adding any punishment for intentionally injuring fellow students. No sense in making her situation any worse.

“You still think you can stand up to us? After directly taking that explosion?” the leader girl incredulously asked. “You’re already going to be expelled. Now you want to add attacking nobles to your crimes?”

“You accepted my duel terms,” Ria reminded. “If I am to be punished, I intend to get both my grievance's worth and my punishment’s worth out of you.”

“If she demands a real fight, then we should stop going easy on her and give her what she wants!” one of the girls from behind Ria spat out, already forming the matrix for a lightning spell.

“Wait, Leriah!” the leader girl objected, but it was too late.

The Create Water spell matrix ready, Ria formed a curtain of water in the bolt’s path, but the water wasn’t going to reach the ground in time.

Combat instinct took over, and she dove into the crater, rolling down its slope as the arc of lightning hit the water and split into weaker arcs that sought the ground below. Elder Genwald was right about the speed of simple spells, but that didn’t do any good if the produced effect was too slow!

As Ria rolled to her feet to prepare for the next attack, a gray blur streaked past, and Leriah’s “Eek!” was cut off by the air leaving her lungs from the impact. Ranger snarled and snapped his jaws in the lightning girl’s face while holding her down with his weight. With Ranger’s enthusiasm, Ria suspected the girl might have been the one who shot lightning at him before.

A flash of fire and an “Oww! Stop it, you weird little mushroom!” came from the opposite side of the crater, where Malleron was effortlessly whacking a girl in the shins and elbows with the flat of his blade every time she tried to use her magic. The arrival of reinforcements including a nature spirit was enough to make a nearby cloaked girl turn and run.

A spell matrix started to form from their leader while Ria’s attention was diverted, but the casting was interrupted by a rush of familiar energy, and Ria spun around in surprise to see the leader girl, hood down, cocooned in embers except for her eyes and nose, looking terrified.

“Not happening,” a familiar voice mocked the captive target.

“Zena!” Ria called out in surprise.

“Got your back,” Zena greeted with a fierce grin. “Go show the rest what Team Z.E.D. can do!”

Worried about Ranger, Ria started sprinting toward the only target who was by herself and already forming a strong ice spell.

“Get him off me!” Leriah cried out. Through applied use of terror and hopping pounces, Ranger had been disrupting each of the lightning girl’s attempts to cast.

{Dodge, Ranger!}

Ria desperately threw up an Air Shield. To her dismay, the air magic hardly slowed the dangerous javelin of ice that flew at Ranger, but her worry proved unfounded as Ranger skillfully dodged and, with two loping hops, pounced the ice girl into the ground, accompanied by another truncated, “Eeek!”

Frustratingly, before Ria could further join the fray and add her efforts to subduing her attackers, a man’s voice thundered out, “Cease all casting! What is going on here?!”

The academy staff shows up NOW?! Just when she was finally going to get to clobber one of her tormentors?!

“Bullying, looks like,” another familiar voice offered up to the man in academy colors, amusement in her tone for some reason.

“Orlisi!” Ria exclaimed, unable to suppress the warmth that bubbled over from knowing that so many of her friends had come to help her, even if it meant missing class—or getting in trouble.

The elf girl was, of course, sauntering over with a grin as if the crater, general destruction, and clumps of dirt decorating the area were everyday sights. Ria had to quickly wipe back the tears forming at the corners of her eyes and may have sniffled a bit—but would never admit it!

“Call off your familiar, Ria of Shadewood,” the man ordered while briefly making use of a mysterious cube device that felt of divination magic, and Ria promptly did, privately praising Ranger for coming to her rescue as she approached the man along with the others. Reminded by the cube, she also took the opportunity to put her divination-blocking ring back on. When she glanced back up, Malleron had hopped onto Orlisi shoulder and seemed content to stay there.

Looking around, Ria realized that the lightning girl had made use of the ice girl’s distraction to escape. With her name revealed, that wasn’t a problem, but Ria was surprised the aggressive girl hadn’t launched a bolt at Ranger rather than fleeing.

Zena dragged an unwilling Sohpia, one of Ophesia and Nielle's followers from Ria’s abjuration class, to their gathering by the arm. Interestingly, it wasn’t Elaine, whose father was disgraced by Desi’s investigation, leading the group of bullies this time.

All the bully girls had their hoods off now, and with the enchantment deactivated, their cloaks appeared as normal cloaks, each now different colors and slightly different designs, too, which Ria suspected was intentional. Unfortunately, she didn’t recognize the two first-year ice and fire girls.

With only first-years exposed… Had all the second-year girls escaped? Or, from the start, were they all first-years other than the abjurer girl?

“Master Rocari, that foreign commoner girl used dangerous magic against us and tried to kill us!” the ice girl accused.

The fire girl added her agreement, “She did.”

“What Deitra says is true,” Sophia affirmed, jerking her arm out of Zena’s grasp. “She should be sent to an administrator for judgment.”

The man, Master Rocari apparently, looked toward Ria. “Is that true?”

“No, Master Rocari,” Ria denied. As surprising as it was, she hadn’t had the chance to directly attack them yet. That Deitra knew the man was curious but might be happenstance. Ria had come to know many of the guards in Vorshan’s Hills, after all.

“Liar! You summoned nether energy and used dangerous fire magic! You actually shot a voidstone arrow at…” Deitra cut her words short to avoid naming the missing older student, instead faking worry, “She might even be dead...”

The man’s eyes narrowed. “You used voidstone weapons against another student?”

Ria’s chest tightened at the change in the man’s demeanor, but she could only do her best to justify her actions at this point. What was done, was done. “No. Their spell was damaging over 50 gold worth of magical equipment that is important to me, and after asking them to stop three times, I used a voidstone arrow to disrupt the spell.”

The fire girl blanched at the claimed value of the items, but Deitra seemed incensed by her answer, “You-! You threatened us with a real fight and said, ‘in war, people die!’”

“I did,” Ria agreed. “And it is so.”

“Use of voidstone weapons against students whether in duels, training, or arena events is prohibited,” Master Rocari stated. It wasn’t a question.

“I didn’t use the arrow against a student,” Ria asserted. “I only took the shot when I could disrupt the spell without hitting the older student that was casting it.”

“What does that matter if she’s dead now?” the fire girl objected, incredulous.

“As dangerous as all of your actions were…” Master Rocari included all of them in his gaze before continuing, “...there hasn’t been an alert for a stasis safeguard being triggered.”

A wave of relief rushed through Ria at that confirmation, but she kept her expression as neutral as possible.

“If it’s any help,” Orlisi interrupted and lazily gestured over her shoulder, offering dryly, “You’ll find the third-year cause of that big explosion taking a nap just around the corner over there. Her spell went out of control, and BOOM! She really should be more careful.”

“Injured?” Master Rocari demanded, unamused.

“Meh.” Orlisi made a dismissive brushing motion with her hand. “Nothing serious.”

The man’s brows drew down, and after touching his insignia (which gave off another feeling of divination magic), he formed a spell matrix that reminded Ria of Iselyn’s telepathic tethers. “Requesting a healer to the north side of Shining Sun Hall and a level 2 repair for the grounds in front of the hall.”

Master Rocari nodded once, probably in reaction to a distant or telepathic reply, and turned his attention back to Orlisi. “What makes you say this was bullying?”

“Saw the whole thing.” Orlisi smirked. “Twelve girls with prank cloaks hiding their identities, setting a vine trap, and ambushing a lone first-year student with magic—hard to see it any other way.”

Wait. What did Orlisi mean by she ‘saw the whole thing’? She was here the whole time and didn’t help?! Ria side-eyed her elf friend and received a discreet wink. Empty cupboards! Ria cursed. The mischief-enjoying elf definitely left her to solve it on her own!

“This isn’t the first time they’ve attacked her,” Zena added.

“Woof!” Ranger nodded solemnly, adding his agreement.

“None of that changes what she did, or any of the destruction she caused with her reckless and dangerous behavior!” Sophia countered, pointing at Ria.

The other two from the bully group, again voiced their own complaints, but the man collected the cube from where it was floating in the air and cut them off. “The Recording Cube will be analyzed, and the truth determined. Expect an administrator summons later in the day, until then you should go about your studies—somewhere else. If you have grievances, file them with the Administrator of Student Affairs at the Hall of Registration and Advancement as is proper.”

Master Rocari turned his attention from them and began casting illusions to mark off the damaged area with ‘do not enter’ and such.

“Let’s go, Deitra, Murriel,” Sophia addressed her two remaining accomplices before sneering in Ria’s direction. “We’ve done enough. She will get what she deserves.”

Zena laughed. “Maybe you girls should attend to your own appearances instead of worrying about others?”

Deitra and Murriel’s cheeks colored upon glancing at each other’s dirt-covered faces and disheveled and dirt-sprinkled hair arrangements, but Sophia snapped back, “At least we don’t relish fighting in the dirt as you arena types do,” and turned, leaving with a huff, her friends hurrying to catch up.

Orlisi waved happily and called after them, “Bye, was nice visiting with you!” which caused Zena to chuckle and shake her head at the elf.

Ria imagined that she didn’t look much better. The dirt was probably hiding the bruises that still remained even after the healing potion.

Feeling shaky and drained after the tension of the attack and its aftermath, she didn’t resist when Orlisi and Zena led her around the edge of the crater and outside the marked-off area to help her clean up before continuing on northward toward Farenthil Hall which was at the academy’s northernmost.

As they passed Keira’s Order’s gaudy golden hall, Ria looked for the third-year girl that had caused her so much trouble and saw her being attended to by a member of the academy staff wearing a Healing Hands mantle.

When their eyes met, the third-year girl shrugged with what seemed like an apologetic gesture.

“She’s from the Unseen Hand. Sophia probably hired her,” Orlisi offered.

The Unseen Hand! That was the Order that shared the Gray Tower with Desi’s Order, The Twilight Cloak. Supposedly, they specialized in hidden missions: infiltration, item acquisition (theft), kidnapping rescues (abductions). Some say they even perform assassinations!

What were they planning to do once they captured her?

That wasn’t Ria’s only question though, now that she’d had time to go over the events in her head. “Zena, how did you know to come? That I needed help?”

With Orlisi, the reason for her arrival was surely divination, but Zena…

“That was the weird thing,” Zena muttered with a laugh, running a hand through her raven-black hair as she held out a suddenly appearing fancy envelope with the other. “I was told where to find you by a third-year boy named Calvini. He gave me a letter to give you before running off saying he was late for class. What’s that about?”

The envelope was addressed ‘to Ria of Shadewood’ in feminine handwriting that reminded her of the style of writing Hulle and Phaelys used.

Calvini? Where had she heard that name before?

“Ah-!” Ria hurriedly opened the envelope and read the letter inside.

A healthful and timely greetings to the good friend of our soon to be little sister! Hopefully, you received the aid you needed. Bianca and I wanted to be there but couldn’t afford to miss today’s class.

But to the main matter that I write! Regrettably, a week has already passed without Rienne and I being able to provide advice and encouragement as your seniors at the academy! To rectify that, you should join us for afternoon tea at Whitestone Hall’s fourth floor balcony after classes today!

In friendship,

Iori Novidus

Orlisi chuckled. “Your life sure isn’t boring. Guess I could show you around Whitestone Hall later.”

Ria glanced back to see both her friends and Malleron reading over her shoulder.

“Who is Bianca?” Zena asked.

“A diviner friend of Iori’s,” Ria answered and tried to remember if she heard the name of Bianca’s family but… “I’m sorry, I’m not sure if she mentioned her House.”

“House Navi,” Orlisi volunteered. “I’ve had some classes with her. She prefers methods that are a bit unconventional.”

“Navi, huh,” Zena mused. “I don’t think I’ve met her. Shame Iori seems to want you to come alone; the girl sounds more fun than I’d expect for a Novidus.”

“Huh?” Ria turned to look at Zena. “Why alone?”

“Because she obliquely mentions you as Iselyn’s good friend in the greeting but doesn’t mention Iselyn or her brother or Keira in the invitation part,” Zena pointed out and shrugged. “I could be overreading it, and maybe she sent them separate invitations.”

“Oh.” Ria hadn’t read it that way at all, but assuming she could bring others along would probably be rude anyway. Having to go alone to an afternoon tea at the noble-only Order’s hall was certainly a lot scarier now that she thought about it—even if she was going to visit friends—but… she did promise she’d sign up for etiquette lessons, and the sooner she got that done the better. Her week was just getting busier and busier.

“Guess with the letter delivered, I probably should get to class,” Zena suddenly decided. “I’m glad I got to help. The look on Sophia’s face was hilarious. And with those girls' identities known now, they’ll be taking more risk if they try to act against you further. I’ll make sure to put in a good word or two for you when I get the summons to tell my side of events.”

“Thank you, Zena,” Ria said, and added, “For everything.”

“Woof,” Ranger also barked his appreciation for Zena’s help.

“Sure thing,” Zena responded, giving a light laugh and a wink. “You’d better pull through, Ria; I’m counting on you for our abjuration evaluation. Later.”

Ria couldn’t help thinking the hero’s daughter with her long black hair catching a breeze as she walked away while giving a small wave over her shoulder was someone she wanted to learn more from.

“She’s a good friend to have,” Orlisi told her.

Ria nodded.

From Orlisi’s shoulder, Malleron made a throat clearing noise, and once he gained her attention, made a ‘gimmie’ motion.

The groan Ria let out made Orlisi laugh.

A single spirit token filled with nature energy seemed to appease the greedy nature spirit, and he disappeared, probably returning back to Iselyn.

Now that they were alone, Ria petulantly grumbled at Orlisi, “You let them ambush me and didn’t help me.”

The elf girl shrugged. “Didn’t seem like my help was required. You handled it, didn’t you?”

Ria spun on her friend. “I barely escaped punishment with Soulkeeper Renard earlier today! What if I actually get expelled this time?!”

Orlisi moved her hand back and forth to deny the possibility. “There’s no way the Novidus or the Vesali will allow that. Besides, it’s not like my grandfather wouldn’t take you on. You’re already a disciple of our family’s martial arts. And the energy and truths are denser in the Reserve than in the academy proper.”

This time Ria just stared, at a loss for words.

Unbelievable.

But… Ria had taken off her ring. Maybe Orlisi had foreseen everything.