Shaggy Breeches stood before them, arms crossed, with a supreme air of confidence. After a tense moment of staring at Millie and her group, he lowered his hands, one lifting to wave at them casually, while the other slapped the breastplate of a nearby Tomb Guardian. Despite the obvious strength in his motion, even causing the armored warrior to stagger slightly, it made no sound.

So he was the reason they were silent? Millie thought. Once he was done showing off his troops, he stepped forward, leaving his formation as he sauntered up towards the group and their barrier.

“Can…can we push past them all?” Tanya asked nervously.

Catherine paled, shaking her head as her hands trembled, grasping her glowing cross. “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven…”

Millie tuned out the muttered prayers, sweat beading on her forehead as she watched with dread as the undead Viking stopped in front of their barrier.

“We’ll need to break through their line to the exit,” Raj said quietly. “Before the ones chasing us catch up.”

Fuck, I almost forgot about them, Millie realized, glancing back at the dark hallway behind them. It was still empty. When she looked back, her eyes briefly lingered on Raj’s chest and the remnants of his wound. Katelyn had run out of Mana trying to heal him but had saved his life at least.

We can do this, she told herself. We have to do this.

Shaggy Breeches paused dramatically, staring over the group once more, as though taunting them. Then, he lifted one hand up and backward, where a Tomb Guardian silently tossed him a large battle-ax. He caught it without looking.

Should we preemptively attack? Millie thought. No, wait—why aren’t the other skeletons joining in? Does Shaggy want to fight us solo?

Lifting the ax overhead, Shaggy dropped it with a smooth, graceful motion, striking the barrier with an impossible force. Golden cracks splintered out across the translucent surface. He then lifted his ax again, preparing another strike.

“Get ready!” Raj shouted, one hand on his ax and the other on his wound. The others moved into position.

Another crash and the barrier splintered more, like a windshield about to give in. Millie could feel the Mana leaking into the air, making her head start to ache. She ignored the pain, oddly calm as she stared at death, and loaded a magic rock from CJ as she held her sling at the ready. Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Tanya set and draw her bow as Isabella shut her eyes, one hand clenched in front of her as though in deep concentration.

“Fuck this,” D’marco cursed. “I don’t wanna die. Let’s get ‘em fast, eh cornrows?”

Braylon grunted in agreement as a terrible silence signaled Shaggy’s readiness.

Then, the final blow came and the barrier shattered into motes of energy.

Stepping up, Braylon blocked the strike as Shaggy Breeches carried through. Steel rang, and Braylon pushed forward, swinging his hammer. D’marco added to it with a wide overhand smash using his tetsubō. His attempt to catch the undead on his retreat failed, however, as Shaggy Breeches blurred backward with incredible speed, then ducked when an arrow from Tanya whizzed by him, smashing against the armored Tomb Guardians silently standing beyond. Why are they still standing there?

Millie ignored them, timing the undead Viking’s bobbing and weaving, before hurling her infused stone his way. It was a clean shot, one she could be proud of, and CJ’s voice called out activating the stone’s magic, enhancing it. Infuriatingly, however, the skeletal monstrosity lifted a hand up and caught the stone contemptuously, and a resounding crack echoed in the confined space from the impact of the stone shattering in his grasp.

No way, Millie thought numbly. How are we supposed to beat this just to get through?

Her incredulousness was matched unexpectedly by Shaggy Breeches himself. As he hopped backward, avoiding another flurry of attacks from Braylon and D’marco (Raj was nowhere to be seen, Millie noted), the undead Viking paused briefly to stare down at his hand. The once pristine boney appendages were covered in small, hair-thin fractures, and he dropped the now shattered stone to the ground, waving his hand as though in pain. He nodded towards Millie and CJ, the first real show of respect she’d seen of him. He then focused back on the fight.

Lifting his ax up, he caught Braylon’s hammer, then kicked his shield, forcing the big man stumbling back. Spinning, he then swept the legs out from D’marco who’d tried to flank, and then stared challengingly towards the shadows. There, Raj’s figure suddenly appeared. He’d clearly tried to sneak up on them using his Prowing Stance, but the skeleton was having none of it.

In fact, he seemed satisfied with his test and decided death was their reward. Lazily, he lifted a hand in signal, and the rows of Tomb Guardians stepped forward, javelins made ready as they prepared to bombard the group. They were all out in the open, completely exposed.

Cheap bastard! Millie thought. Their final moments were going to be spent gawking at yet another unfair maneuvering of Magincia.

“Hold!” Isabella shouted, her voice echoing like thunder in the room as the tattoo on her neck glowed visibly. “We—we wish to entreat with you.”

Despite the grim situation, and the instincts screaming at her to keep her eyes forward, Millie found her gaze sliding towards Isabella. She could practically feel the pulsing of Mana exuding from the beauty, and out of the corner of her vision, it looked like everyone else's attention was on her too.

Her Attainment, Millie realized. That stupid presence thing!

“Ah, seiðkonur, you wish to discuss your circumstance?” Shaggy Breeches said, raising an arm and gesturing to the troops behind him to hold. “It is dire, no? Very well, what is your plea?”

Isabella stared the skeleton down. “We aren’t in a position to challenge you, so we ask to be allowed to flee.”

Shaggy Breeches threw his skull back and laughed. “Oh? And what will you offer to get my men to clear the way?”

Isabella looked panicked, her eyes drifting over the group, before she steadied herself, lifting her chin. “We will offer nothing. You’ve made it clear we’re allowed to run away, so we will.”

The light in Shaggy’s eyes flared in surprise before he shook his skull disbelievingly. “I suggested before that you run, yes, but I said nothing of their being no cost.”

“That doesn’t matter, does it? Not if you can’t touch us.” Isabella began signaling for the group to fall back. They began to do so, trusting in her Attainment to protect them.

“Oh? You see so little, vǫlva. Where will you go that I will not find you?”

The group of Tomb Guardians that had first ambushed them appeared from behind cutting off their retreat. It was as though they’d been waiting for this very moment.

They were trapped.

What do we do? Millie thought

A choking noise came from Catherine, who was waving her arms, as though trying to catch the group’s attention. Belatedly, Isabella seemed to realize her Attainment was stifling conversation if it didn’t relate to her directly, so she lifted a hand, giving Catherine permission to speak.

“W-wait!” Catherine shouted. “I, I have a solution!”

“Yes, vísendakona?” Shaggy Breeches said. The causal way he did so made Millie concerned he was actually just humoring Isabella’s power.

“T-tribute!” She said. “We’ll give you tribute to let us pass. I…I never took my weapon from the third-floor trial. Take that and let us go! Please!”

The skeletal Viking rubbed at his skull in thought, before shrugging. “Tribute. Hmm, I do like the sound of this. However, I will need more than that,” his gaze swept the lot of them. “Your group is too large for so little to suffice.”

The group exchanged glances before Raj pulled out his wand and tossed it to the ground. When the undead Viking looked to still be considering, Braylon added his damaged shield. Shaggy Breeches tsked.

“Very well, be gone cowards. Next we meet, show me your strength, or pay me my tribute.”

With that, he waved his hand, and the Tomb Guardians parted, letting Millie and the others through. Turning back as they headed out, she watched quietly as Shaggy Breeches picked up the items, the previously ruined shield bending back into place, restored to perfect condition in his boney hands. She had the sudden premonition that the items left in tribute would come back to haunt them later.

There’s no helping it, she thought. We have to survive now to regret it later.

Whatever it takes.

“That was a fucking disaster,” D’marco complained, splashing the healing waters irritably. The entire group was in the bathhouse, though only those who were injured were in the water. The rest had pulled out the submerged chairs and sat next to the pool, trying to relax. It wasn’t really working.

“What else could we have done?” Catherine asked. She looked uncomfortable, but Millie was fairly certain that was from her shock of being in a mixed bathing area.

“A lot of things,” Raj said darkly. “But this is what we get for being arrogant.”

“How was any of that arrogance?” Isabella challenged. “We’ve been taking baby steps this whole fucking time working our way up. What more could we have done?”

“Taken time to train as a group, perhaps?” Katelyn offered. “We’re barely amateurs at magic here.”

“Time isn’t going to change that,” Isabella responded with a scoff. “Past figuring out the basics, taking time to train is actually a waste of time. One hour with Coach, and we have months if not years of study done. You think he’s the only case of that? Even Spells, which we can barely cast without blowing through our Mana pool, get more efficient with experience—experience we can accelerate with enough Formation scraps!”

Katelyn grimaced before Millie spoke up. “So you’re saying we should be using our free time grinding for resources and only train when we have a good method available.”

As Millie considered it, she couldn’t fault the girl’s logic.

“Exactly!” Isabella said, gesturing towards Millie. “And yeah, we got fucked with that run. But we did everything correctly, and had every reason to expect it to go well.”

CJ sat forward in his chair.

“Maybe the Archives are hard mode?” He offered. “What other options for resource gathering do we have? I know there are production quests—I have an exclusive line with my lab. Braylon, did you get anything like that with your training yard?”

CJ turned to his side, where the big man was sitting in the pool.

The group turned as one to look at Braylon. He looked up with a start, clearly not expecting the limelight to fall on him during their conversation. I don’t know why, Millie thought. He was practically the MVP that got us through that mess.

“Well,” Braylon said, hesitating as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t recall seeing anything like that, but I know the yard can simulate a lot of things. I’d have to pay to unlock them though, but in theory it could set us up with a skirmish against summoned Tomb Guardians.”

“How expensive is that?” Raj asked. “Can anyone with access use it?”

“It’s divided between situations and targets,” he answered. “The prices weren’t bad, but grow with the strength of the simulation, I think. Um, past that I believe anyone I’ve given a pass to can use it, so that should mean others can chip in to improve it. Sorry this doesn’t help with getting resources though.”

“It’s fine,” CJ said, reaching forward to lay a hand reassuringly on Braylon’s massive shoulder. “What other options are on the table?” He asked the group.

“Didn’t you already suggest a good one?” Catherine asked. “What about those production quests? How feasible is it for the rest of us to do?”

CJ grimaced, before looking toward Tanya. The petite girl shrank in the water before CJ cleared his throat.

“We, ah, kind of found out even the easiest production requests are harder than we thought they’d be. Even I can’t get anything out of them right now, resource-wise. Not efficiently at least. Maybe if I can find accelerated training, like with Coach but for Alchemy? Then I’d be able to start producing something substantive, but for now I’m really just tinkering around.”

Disappointing, but not unexpected, Millie supposed. But why had Tanya reacted like that? Her response bothered Millie.

“Did something happen with you two?” Millie asked, first looking towards CJ before directing her gaze at Tanya.

The petite blond sighed. “I…kind of blew up one of the lab tables.”

“Holy shit,” Millie cursed. “Are you okay?”

Tanya shrugged, before lifting a hand to let the softly glowing waters spill out. “Nothing a bit of a soak didn’t fix, but I wasted a lot of materials. Now I’m…kind of hesitant to mess around with Alchemy or anything else like it. Not without Attainments, at least. They really make a difference.”

“I told you that you could get one for Alchemy,” CJ said. “I don’t mind sharing.”

Tanya shook her head. “I’m still not sure what to get, and I’d rather wait. I just…don’t really know what to do, I guess.”

“I promise you,” Raj said, his deep voice rumbling. “Many of us feel like that.”

“I guess we’re back to square one then,” Katelyn said. “What options do we have, if we’re taking the Archives off the table?”

“Are we taking them off the table?” Millie asked. “We had to run from Shaggy, yeah, but he’s just a chance encounter, isn’t he?”

Katelyn bit her lip in thought, as the rest of the group chewed on the reminder as well. Eventually, Raj spoke up.

“If we go back, we need to have exit strategies. Preferably ones that can let us run without having to pay tribute. Otherwise, the cost of the Archives is going to be too high to risk. We should also at least run through our other options for resource generation.”

Millie considered it, before laughing slightly. The group turned to look at her.

“Well, it has its own dangers, but…you could all start looking into Expeditions.”

While Millie had been frustrated by the holes in her vision, given that anything she did know about seemed to be unactionable for her in the short term, it didn’t change the fact that what she did know could be useful to others. Case in point—Expeditions.

It was almost ironic. Expeditions were the thing she knew most about in Magincia. They’d even been the only thing the servitors had explained to the students. Yet, because of her current situation, she’d all but discounted them. After all, what was she going to do, go hunting Goblins while pregnant?

“You’re going to hunt Goblins while pregnant, aren’t you?” CJ accused her.

I swear, she thought. He’s freaking psychic or something.

“Not necessarily,” Millie deflected. “I brought it up for everyone to consider because there’s lots of low-hanging fruit. In some cases, literally.”

And I know where they all are, she thought deviously. Why hadn’t she considered this plan sooner? She could finally put that vision to work earning cold, hard RP.

“Millie, you can’t be serious,” he retorted, setting down a book he’d been reading when she’d come into his lab, following his invitation. It was ‘morning’ now, after their mid-cycle rest on the third M-day. “Even if you know how to use a sling, you’ve told me what you’ve faced. In excruciating detail.”

Millie winced. Perhaps venting to her best friend had been a poor choice. “I know it's dangerous, and I wasn’t saying I’d go—”

“You were planning on going,” he said flatly.

“—I just wanted to float the idea. I’m…running out of options, CJ.”

Her friend sighed. “Look, I get what happened in the Archives was frustrating, but we can try the quest again, maybe even in smaller groups this time. The less people, the smaller chance Shaggy shows up, right? Hell, everyone’s been in and out of Collections for reference work dozens of times and they’ve never seen him. Not once. It’s too soon to start jumping to desperate choices.”

Millie chewed her lip, before shrugging. “Fine. I get it. Sorry I brought it up.”

“Millie, I…” CJ’s hand lingered on his book before he looked away. She knew instinctively what his body language was telling her. He has bad news.

“Just get it out,” she told him. After her talk with Katelyn and how the past few E-days had gone, there wasn’t anything he could say that would shake her.

He remained quiet for a few moments more. Then, resolving himself, he lifted up the book. “I managed to find some information about souls and demons,” he said.

“Let me guess—the soul bit Liam gave us is a dud?”

CJ hesitated, before shaking his head. “Not…necessarily,” he said, his lips quirking into a small smirk with his callback. “How much did your vision tell you about Sympathetic links?”

She rolled her eyes. “Fuck, I didn’t want a quiz coming in,” she laughed, before scrunching her face in concentration. “I…think it’s something to do with as ‘above so below?’ ”

“The principle’s similar,” he agreed with a nod. “In its essence, it's about ‘like calls to like.’ The more similar one thing is to another, the easier it is to get magic to flow through that connection. Part of the reason ‘as above so below’ works, is because a miniature version of Universal Truths exists within our souls, connecting to the greater Truths that exist…somewhere out there, I suppose.”

“Magic quantum tunneling then,” Millie said smugly. “Got it. What about Sympathetic links?”

It was CJ’s turn to roll his eyes, before swatting her arm playfully. “Why does everything have to be science-y with you?”

She gave him a shit-eating grin.

“Whatever,” he said, with mock exasperation. “The issue we have with the soul bits is that they definitely contain strong Sympathetic ties to something evil. I can’t tell much more than that, but the fact that I could is kind of scary.”

“Wait, really?” She said. “How?”

CJ looked about to answer, before he paused, and then facepalmed. “Shit, I completely forgot to cleanse you. Hang on a second.”

Cleanse? She watched with bemusement as CJ meandered to one of his nearby desks, ruffling through items (a few of which clinked, suggesting several vials). Then, he pulled out a small glass container. In it was a sparkling blue liquid.

“Alright Liam, this is your only warning,” he said out loud. “Pull the Shade back, or it goes poof like the others.”

He shook the little vial menacingly at Millie. Raising her eyebrow, her questioning words died on her lips as something rose from her shadow.

She screamed in horror, as the gaunt, twisting creature morphed from the darkness, a breathy, scratching noise hissing from its maw; a terrifying caricature of a human’s face. With a wail that sent every hair on end across her body, it peeled itself from the floor and flew out the door.

Millie turned a pale face towards her best friend.

“What. The fuck.”

He shrugged nonchalantly, before walking over to her and pouring a few drops onto her shadow. When nothing happened, he re-stoppered his vial and pocketed it, then leaned against the nearby table.

“You asked me to look into Liam’s spying, so I did. I’m still working on a way to detect them outside of sprinkling holy water on everything, but so far I’ve chased away three Shades.”

“G-great,” she said. “Next time, warn me when a fucking dementor is going to morph out of me.”

He gave her a shit-eating grin. Fuck, I walked into that, didn’t I?

“Anyway,” he said, the atmosphere sobering. “I, ah, figured out how to use a modified Exaltation Rune to detect an aura of something demonic coming from the gemstone. It could be the gem itself, but I should be able to see the influences of that energy inside it with my Attainment now that I’ve learned to recognize it. I haven’t, so…I’m pretty sure it's the soul bit that's tainted.”

“Yeah, well…I’m not surprised,” she admitted. “The day I trust anything from Liam is the day the Headmaster gives us all free hugs. But you said this isn’t all bad?”

“It isn’t,” he agreed, taking a moment to find and present the small, black gem. “I’ve figured out how to extract the bit, and could even use it right now on you if you wanted—”

“I’ll pass on demon AIDS, thanks,”

He laughed. “I figured. But the point is, if I can replicate something able to hold ephemeral energy, I should be able to extract the soul from it and then cleanse it once I can properly target it. Right now, the black gem is interfering and I worry about what’ll happen if it breaks.”

Millie nodded warily. “That’s for the best, I guess. Poisoned or not, if I can get something out of this, all the better.”

“Good, I’m glad we’re on the same page,” he said warmly. Then he narrowed his eyes. “No hunting Goblins. Not until we’re really desperate for resources, okay? Let’s try the Archives a few more times.”

Millie sighed but ultimately agreed. What was one more try going to hurt, anyway?

Shaggy Breeches ambushed the class on their second attempt. They managed to fight their way out without losing anything in tribute, but only barely.

Millie decided to change strategies. It was easy to overlook, but upon investigation, Magincia wasn’t short on resource-making options. While the group had explored the Archives the most—and were now looking into Expeditions for somewhat obvious reasons—there were still more opportunities waiting. For example, the dueling arena.

“We can’t do the dueling arena,” Raj said. “Not unless we want to fight someone to the death. The challenges against monsters and other trials aren’t available until after Hospitality week is over.”

…right, Millie thought. Another dead end.

Still, other options were there. For instance…the general job board! Millie had been ecstatic when she found mention of it on the Forums (scouring the Forums for information had quickly become the best use of her free time). A short while later the others scouted it out for her.

“There's not really anything there,” Katelyn said. “The only jobs seem to be about Spirit wrangling.”

“Spirit wrangling?” Millie repeated. It was Catherine who stepped up to explain to the group, who’d gathered together for another briefing.

“The Spirit population in the Academy is growing,” she said, her tone lecturing. “But they aren’t like Eden, they’re more wild. Also, the price needed to pacify them with offerings is far less than the quests are worth because they operate in groups. Even if we did it as a group.”

“Can we subjugate them?” CJ asked. “Maybe together we can beat them into submission?”

The girl grimaced, before shaking her head. “I…wouldn’t recommend it. When I say they operate in groups, I mean there’s a lot of them. Several dozen at once.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Millie said. “How…bad is it? Do we have any clues?”

Catherine exchanged a glance with Katelyn, before sighing. “Well…three students have already died trying to re-file paperwork for the servitors. All the other groups trying have canceled their attempts.”

“Filing paperwork?” Millie asked incredulously. Catherine nodded gravely.

“Apparently the Spirits didn’t like the way it was organized and have been restructuring the reference libraries in the Admin district. It’s…actually turning into a serious problem because they’re demanding payment from any student that wants to read the books there. Otherwise, they make sure you can’t find anything.”

“Shit, is that going to happen in the Archives later?” D’marco asked.

The whole group shuddered at that idea, but eventually, their meeting ended. The thought of the Archives getting harder lingered with her, however.

Like we need things to get worse, Millie thought glumly. But she tried not to give up yet. There were options. She just needed to find them.

Too bad turned out to be total shit.

“What the fuck do you mean my Expedition site changed?” Millie demanded from the servitor. The robotic unit had a little safari hat on but wore a strained smile as Millie cursed at it.

“I-I’m sorry Initiate McArthur, but as a Seed bearer, you’ve been given a more challenging location. This is because your Seed gift can be brought with you on Expeditions. The system needs to compensate—”

“I don’t care what it needs!” Millie said, slamming a hand on the desk. She knew she was causing a scene, and the Navarro siblings who had escorted her here were glaring. “I need that location. I know where everything is! Do you know how much you're screwing me over here?”

“I’m sorry, Initiate McArthur. Perhaps you could take this up with the Headmaster?”

Millie’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. I have a better chance of convincing the sun not to shine than to get that thing to help me.

She stormed out of the Expedition Center shortly after.

Which was why, not long after, she found herself with Katelyn and Raj back in the Archives once more.

The third M-night had fallen a bit ago, and they were only a few Earth hours away from their next mid-cycle rest. However, while the others had shown some promising rewards from their first Expeditions (outside of a harrowing tale of D’marco biting off more than he could chew and nearly getting torn apart by a squad of Goblins), Millie was getting desperate. Not just for time, but for resources.

I only have two hundred and eighty RP left, she thought. The others had told her she didn’t have to keep chipping in on group expenses, and she was starting to worry they were right. While it looked like a lot of resources on the surface, in reality, given the cost of items and services, she only had a few purchases before she’d be broke. Worse—she had no idea what she should buy, especially given the large-scale costs for her child she still hadn’t addressed.

One thing at a time, she told herself, as she followed Raj’s broad shoulders.

“Are you sure the group’s going to be okay with us taking this quest?” Millie asked. “I know no one wanted to do the ‘Disputed Heirloom’ again, but…”

“They said they were fine with it, Millie, it's okay,” Katelyn assured her. “Besides, it’ll be back next week. Assuming the banshee was telling the truth.”

Millie nodded, before lapsing into more introspective silence. After the second Shaggy Breeches’ ambush, the group had cornered Mistress O’dani, demanding answers. She’d assured them that while the odds of an encounter increased the larger the group was, at best they were looking at maybe a five percent chance with the whole class. But for only a few people? Practically zero, she’d assured them. While there, they’d also learned that Archive quests could respawn, only it was wasteful for so few to do them.

The reason for that was simple: the number of Archive quests was limited, and her class shared the same pool. So if the total possible RP they could gain was ninety as a class, obviously sending three people to get thirty was a terrible trade. The only advantage was a lower chance at an already rare encounter.

However, after the third time they’d gone in as a group and, like clockwork, Shaggy Breeches had ambushed them, many had decided to change tactics. While that time had gone smoother, it was only due to a Spell Catherine and Raj had cooked up to try and detect the undead. The forewarning had let the group retreat, but they’d still failed to complete their quest, and blood had been shed.

What are the fucking odds of that anyway? Millie thought darkly, as the three of them neared the now-familiar mausoleum. The others had equated the occurrence to rolling three ‘natural ones’ on a twenty-sided dice. While Millie understood the reference, she didn’t care for it.

To her, it seemed more likely that they were simply being lied to. That, or perhaps the odds shifted based on the total number of students in the Archives, and them being one of the only groups exploring it was backfiring. She wasn’t sure of the truth, but she could understand the other’s willingness to write the Archive quests off. She just hoped the promise of a zero percent chance really meant—

Raj suddenly lifted his hand, calling for their small group to stop.

“What is it?” Millie whispered, her eyes peering into the dim tunnels of the Collections. “Did the Tomb Guardians leave their turf again? What do your dead eyes see?”

Raj rolled his eyes at her bad joke. He’d taken ‘preparing’ quite seriously the last few E-days, and when he hadn’t been doing scouting missions for Millie’s puzzle pieces he’d been working on basic Necromancy, adding on to what he and Catherine had devised.

“I’m not…” Raj paused, shaking his head. “That undead detection Spell isn’t working right. Somethings wrong. We’re falling back.”

“What? Oh, come on…” She wanted to scream. How was she supposed to get resources?

“I’m sorry, Millie,” Raj said. “But we’re not risking it. The Spell shouldn’t be—”

Raj lifted his ax just in time. Lunging from the shadows was an even more familiar sight of Millie’s least favorite undead. Only this time, he’d opted to have his ooze skin on.

“Back—now!” Raj bellowed. Millie did as he said while Katelyn lifted her wand and began to hurl bolts of water towards Shaggy Breeches. They missed, however, as the undead warrior deftly shifted out of the way, and began orienting to use Raj as cover.

“You have got to be shitting me!” Millie screamed as she readied her sling. For what good that’ll do without CJ here. “Why are you here? What happened to almost zero!”

The oozy skeleton just shrugged, his face a smug look of innocence. “Blame the Wyrd, little seiðkonur, or the Nornir. It is they who’ve entwined you, not I.”

“Can we reach the exit?” Katelyn said.

Raj didn’t answer.

“The last time we met, warrior, you did well,” Shaggy Breeches said respectfully to Raj. “I wonder, will you do as well when I—”

Shaggy Breeches flinched as a piece of wood smacked into his face. It was Millie’s wand.

“There,” she said through grit teeth. “There’s your fucking tribute you piece of shit!”

The undead Viking and former marine paused their struggle to stare at Millie, but she’d already started stomping away.

A short while later, all three had safely left the Archives.

“The weird?” CJ repeated, looking to the others. The class had gathered for one last meeting before the mid-cycle rest of the third M-night.

“No—the Wyrd,” Catherine suddenly translated, her eyes widening as the realization of what Millie was attempting to repeat sunk in. “And you said he used the term Nornir? That’s plural for the Norn. Ancient Nordic deities of destiny.”

“Destiny?” Millie said, snorting. “Are you serious?”

CJ snapped his fingers. “Right, the Wyrd was their word for fate.”

“Are you saying he was telling me to curse fate itself then?” Millie said, already at her wit's end. “Why was he there then? Four times in a row for me? Was that fated or some shit?”

The group exchanged looks as they sat there, clustered around the common room’s Kotatsu. Clearing his throat, Raj leaned forward.

“Millie, what are the chances that this is related to your…Drawback?”

She slowly turned to face him, and as the words sunk in, it was like the floor fell out from under her. No, it can’t be, she thought. It can’t be that simple…can it? But it was, wasn’t it?

In hindsight, it was obvious.

Millie let out a long sigh, fighting off tears as she buried her head in her hands. “Eden said Drawbacks existed to test those with the Seed gifts. The Axiom isn’t just about seeing the future, it’s about influencing it too, isn’t it?”

“Wait, what? What the fucks going on?” D’marco said. “Is Shaggy her Drawback or something?”

“No, dumbass,” Isabella snapped at her brother, before turning back to Millie. “It's the odds. They're fixed against you, aren’t they?”

“I thought things were tough just because…” Millie trailed off, before shaking her head and dropping her hands to the table. “It’s not because I’m pregnant that things are so hard. It's because I got these stupid cards. The moment I got that gift everything’s been going wrong, every chance it could.”

Hell, even before I got them, she realized. She’d been led to this fate from the moment she’d woken up in Magincia. Doomed from the start, with the cards and the vision being offered as the only things that could ‘save’ her. Could they though? Or were they really just the nails in her coffin?

“Hold on,” Katelyn said, lifting a hand up. “How sure are we that this is what’s happening?”

“I have a Drawback of some kind,” Millie said. “Liam’s is his demon. Thomas can’t benefit from Alchemy and is stuck as he is forever. Rebecca’s Spirit controls her. Obviously, the person who can see the future gets the cards stacked against them so they learn to shuffle the fucking deck!”

She wanted to spit as she said it. To throw her cards into a fire. Would that even help? She thought. What is it with poisoned gifts?

“Can you get rid of them maybe?” Katelyn asked. “Surely they aren’t worth it in the current circumstances?”

“I…don’t think she can,” Catherine said. “They’re a gift, even if it's one of the greater ones. Gifts can’t be traded, recycled, or discarded.”

“Fuck this place,” Millie said. “Whatever. At least now I know why Magincia has such a hard-on for screwing me over. Raj, I hate to ask, but how are you with the puzzle pieces?”

The group turned to look at him. Millie felt horrible having to rely on him constantly, especially as she looked at the dark bags under his eyes. Is he even getting enough rest?

“I’ve got a few more I need to find,” he said. “But I’m sure I can have it finished by the time our mid-cycle rest is over.”

“Wait,” Katelyn interjected. “Are you going to be scouting while the rest of us sleep? Raj, you need to rest too.”

“I…I agree with Katelyn,” Millie said. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but—”

“But nothing,” Raj cut in. “There are potions that can reduce the need for sleep. Time equals resources, right?” He said, looking briefly at Isabella. The beauty looked away, fatigue covering her features as well. “I still stand by the strategy of getting Millie up and running asap. Not just for peace of mind, but for the possible benefits. And if fate is against her, it’s against all of us. Fuck Magincia.”

He nodded crisply towards the group, before leaning back and crossing his arms. Millie wanted to cry with gratitude, but instead, let her head droop a little. Fuck, I’m so tired. Sixteen-hour-long days are torture.

“Alright,” Katelyn said quietly. “If that’s how it is, I’m not going to argue. I understand, just please know your limits, alright?”

Raj nodded solemnly.

“There’s…a problem, though,” CJ said, turning towards Millie. “How are you going to cast that Spell, Millie? I’ve seen the photos—that isn’t a low-tier Spell.”

“What tier is it?” Catherine asked.

Millie paused as she considered it, and then scoffed. The group looked at her questioningly, and she sighed.

“It’s at least a tier-four,” she said. “The spreads seem pretty consistent with numbers. One to three is a first-tier, four to six is second. Then, seven to nine for third, and so on. So with ten, it’s almost certainly a fourth tier.”

“That’s…way out of your abilities,” Katelyn said, her features growing pale. “How is that supposed to work?”

Millie sighed again, before rubbing at her temples. She was getting so tired of her frequent headaches lately. A side effect of hanging out with people pumping out magic constantly.

“I don’t think it's meant to be cast by someone of my level period,” she said. “So that means I need help.”

“From who?” D’marco scoffed.

“From whom,” Catherine corrected.

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” D’marco replied. A…distressingly innocent look on his face.

Millie ignored his reaction, however.

“There's only one place I know to go about this. It’s time to pay the Fortune teller another visit.”

And find out just how much I really can trust him.