“Is Delph just trying to get us angry at him so we win the tournament?” Damien asked.

“Almost certainly,” Nolan said. “It’s working.”

More students piled into the courtyard. A small crowd had formed, and there were a good number of teachers hovering around. Most of them were affiliated with Kingsfront, but there were a few from other schools as well.

Princess Yui emerged from the crowd, the other Kingsfront students encircling her protectively to keep anyone from getting too close. She grinned and gave a quick wave.

“Are you all ready for the second half of the tournament?” Yui asked. “You’ve got a big advantage, but don’t think we’re going to let Blackmist win everything.”

“I’d like to see you stop us,” Mark said. “Your teachers aren’t too mad about Kingsfront not making the semifinals, are they?”

“Mark!” Nolan snapped.

“Oh,” Mark said, clearing his throat and screwing his eyebrows together in intense concentration. “Right. Friends. Uh, I hope you don’t get completely destroyed this time around. You can do it. Or something.”

Yui hid a laugh behind a hand, but the other Kingsfront students looked much less pleased. “Thank you for the kind wishes. You’re Mark, right?”

“Yup. You’re… uh, a mage with four elements. I could see that being pretty strong. It would be fun to spar against.”

“That’s about as much of a compliment as you’re going to get from Mark, Princess Yui,” Nolan said apologetically. “He’s a bit rough around the edges, but he means no harm.”

“I told you to call me Yui,” she said, crossing her arms. “And it’s quite refreshing. People never talk to me disrespectfully. Even Damien and Sylph were cordial. I must say, it makes me feel… excited to win. Perhaps I should hire someone to do it before every tournament. Gaves, how much would that cost?”

“I don’t think you’d be able to find someone willing to insult you on a regular basis, Princess,” Gaves said, glaring at Mark.

“I’d do it for free,” Mark said. “See, Nolan? Yui knows how to talk like a normal person. No tiptoeing around. If all nobles were like her, you’d be better off.”

“She didn’t give you permission to use her name,” Gaves said. “Treat the Princess with respect.”

“Oh? Are you going to make me?” Mark asked, a hungry grin crossing his face. He paused and glanced at Nolan. With a heavy sigh, he took a step back. “Never mind. Find me in the Crypt and I’ll be more than happy to exchange friendly pointers with you over a cup of tea.”

“I might do just that,” Gaves said.

“Relax, Gaves,” Yui said, giggling. “Mark, you may use my name without honorifics. Really, I wish everyone would. I don’t need to be reminded that I’m a princess every time I talk to someone. We both already know it.”

Damien scanned the crowd while the others spoke. Many of the other schools’ representatives shifted from foot to foot, their hands clenched at their sides and eyes darting around. Tension as thick as butter hung in the air.

He locked eyes with Drew. The other boy stood at the far side of the courtyard, the other Mountain Hall students around him. Drew bared his teeth in something between a smile and a snarl.

“Something tells me he isn’t going to follow the suggestion of avoiding combat with other students,” Henry observed. “We should keep an eye on him.”

With any luck, we’ll find the piece of junk that Whisp wants and get out of there before he catches up. I’m sure we can take Drew on at full strength, but Second might be there as well. You don’t have a way to check for him, do you?

“Not a good one,” Henry said. “Your human spark did a lot for me, but it’s eating my senses like a starving man. I can still detect anything that isn’t actively trying to hide itself, but Second and the Corruption are beyond me. You might have to ask Herald for help.”

I’ll pass unless we’ve got no other choice. Herald has been blissfully silent recently. I’d like to keep it that way.

“Students of all colleges,” a voice boomed. A hush washed over the crowd as everyone turned to look toward who had spoken.

A barrel chested man with flowing black hair and a thick scar running across his tan face floated in the air above them, a thick cape draped over his shoulders.

“I’d like to thank you all for arriving early. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Gerald. I’m the Dean of Kingsfront. There are still a few teams that have yet to arrive, but that’s alright. The second half of the intramurals will be starting in a few hours. We will begin opening the portals to the floors and sending the healers in to scout. I’d like to remind everyone present of the rules in the meantime.”

He paused, waiting for everyone to process his words before continuing. “First, this portion of the tournament will be judged by the artifacts retrieved from the Crypt. The methods you use to acquire the relics do not matter, so long as you get them from inside the Crypt. Fighting between students is not encouraged, but it is not prohibited either. You will be sent to a floor of the Crypt corresponding with how well you performed in the first portion of the tournament. Are there any questions?”

“How is the judging done?” one student called. “Artifacts can vary a lot, so it seems like it would be hard to know if one was better than the other.”

“We have a device that is capable of determining the magical power of an artifact,” Gerald replied. “It should be capable of revealing a definite victor between two artifacts. If you’re concerned, try to bring back more than one. It’ll improve your chances. I can promise that we’ll do our best to judge fairly.”

Nobody had any further questions after that. Gerald floated back down to the ground. Several people wearing Kingsfront colors stepped out from the crowd and made their way toward the front of the courtyard.

They extended their hands. The Ether around them started to twist and churn. Damien cast his mental net out to get a better look. Slowly, the lines before the mages started to form roughly circular structures.

Faint red light lit the Ether and Damien let his net fall as three portals stretched open, their edges wavering unsteadily. A new set of mages approached, relieving the previous set of their duties.

The portals grew smoother and the ripples receded until there were three flat disks floating in the air like a painting. About a dozen healers lined up in front of each portal. They headed through them a few minutes later.

Nearly an hour passed. Damien and the others passed it sitting around, observing the other students.

“It’s about time to start getting ready,” Gerald called, breaking the muted chatters. “Vinna the Lifegiver herself has entered the third floor of the Crypt and I’ve just received word that there is nothing amiss within it, so we can proceed. There’s still a good bit of time before we begin, but we can start getting students into the Crypt now. Once you’ve entered your portal, treat the word of the healers as law. Anyone that disobeys them will be treated as disobeying a direct order from the Queen. Now, please start lining up.”

Gerald floated up again, taking position over the rightmost portal. “Students that made it to the finals, please come to this portal.”

He moved over to the middle portal. “If you made it to the quarterfinals, please come to the middle portal. All other students, approach the portal on the left.”

The crowd churned as people scrambled to follow the large man’s orders.

“Good luck,” Damien said.

“Thanks,” Nolan replied. “We’ve already put on a great showing, but it’d be nice to snag an artifact as well. Good luck to you as well.”

“No need for luck,” Mark said. “You and Sylph better get something good. I’ll be on your tail before you know it.”

“I look forward to seeing what you and Sylph can accomplish,” Yui added. “Come, Gaves. Let’s go get lined up so we aren’t the last ones in.”

The group broke up, heading in the directions of their portals. Damien could feel hundreds of stares burning into him and Sylph as they pushed through the crowd and arrived at the right portal.

It didn’t take long for people to reach their destinations. Of course, the vast majority of the students were lined up at the portal on the far left. Damien was grateful for the students in the middle line, as they blocked a few of the stares that were getting sent his and Sylph’s way.

“As a reminder, the tournament does not start until the healers tell you it does,” Gerald said. “I just want to get you all ready as soon as possible to maximize the time you’ll have in the Crypt. Please keep in mind that we will keep the portals open for exactly eight hours before closing them. Do not be late. There is not another safe way out of the Crypt. Does everyone understand?”

A spattering of agreement rose from the students.

“Good. You may step through the portals. Good luck, and may you find the artifacts you seek!”

Damien let out a slow breath to steady the jitters building in his chest and followed Gerald’s instructions. The moment his foot hit the red portal, tingles raced up his leg and the world went white.

What felt like hundreds of little pinpricks raced across his skin, biting him. But, before he could properly react, his foot hit the ground and his eyes opened. The courtyard was gone. A dozen large torches illuminated a circular high-ceilinged room. Sylph appeared beside him a moment later.

Healers milled about the room, setting up tables of supplies. There were only two doors in the room – one in front of them, and one at the back. A tall woman with graying hair approached them with a kind smile.

“Congratulations on winning the first round of the tournament,” she said. “I saw your fight. It was quite exciting. There’s about an hour before we can let you leave the room, so please feel free to relax as much as possible until then.”

“Thanks,” Sylph said, glancing around. “Is there anything else we should know about the Crypt?”

“It’s dangerous,” she replied, her eyes thinning. “But most things of value are. The artifacts are often guarded by monsters or puzzles of some sort. The opposition you will face grows the deeper into the Crypt you go. Do not descend deeper than the fourth floor either. The monsters beyond it are significantly stronger.”

“Aren’t they scaled to our strength?” Damien asked.

“To a degree,” the healer said. “The monsters do seem to be proportional to the power of the people entering the Crypt, but past the fourth floor, they follow that rule less. I suspect they’re protecting something in the lowest floors of the Crypt, and this is a method to keep people from getting too bold. The fear of the unknown is more dangerous than a powerful enemy. Just keep to the third and fourth floors. You’ll find what you need here.”

“We will,” Damien said. “Thank you for the advice, Miss…”

“Just Vinna, please,” she said. “Getting called Miss makes me feel old. I am, of course. That’s besides the point, though.”

Vinna cackled and headed over to one of the tables, gathering up several things into a bag that she brought back over to them. “Here. Food and emergency treatment supplies. Just in case you need them. With any luck, you won’t. If you get injured, come back here and we’ll take care of you.”

“Thanks again,” Damien said, slinging the bag over his shoulder. “Is there anything else we should know?”

“That’s it. The door at the front is the way into the rest of the third floor, and the one behind us leads to the second floor,” Vinna said. “I’ll let you know when you can start.”

Damien and Sylph headed over to a section of the wall that had been yet to be claimed and sat down. Sylph took the bag and searched through it before giving an approving nod. “Bandages and poultices to stop bleeding. That’ll be useful.”

“What about the food?” Damien asked.

“Just jerky,” Sylph replied. “I carry my own around, but it can’t hurt to have. We might be able to use it to bait a monster away too, depending on how smart it is.”

“Good idea,” Damien said. He scrunched his nose and sighed. “I hate waiting, though. I wish we could just start.”

“Normally I’d like to plan something out, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. Whisp said the layout changes, so all we can really do is try to get through the third floor as fast as possible to get the artifact in the fourth. Unless you want to try and get something while we go?”

“Better not,” Damien said. “Unless it’s right in front of us, we should go with what you said. Drew is going to be on our heels, and Second could be anywhere. Besides, if we get the artifact that Whisp wants so badly, I’m sure we’ll win. She isn’t going to be drooling over something that isn’t worth a lot.”

“Good point,” Sylph said, leaning back against the wall. With nothing else to do, the two waited for the next portion of the tournament to start, each lost in their own thoughts.