Purattu couldn’t stop a grin from spreading out on his face. I knew we were going to get a special mission.

He glanced over at his friend who now owed him thirty shekels, but his friend assiduously avoided his gaze. He laughed to himself.

“We’re to retrieve the key?” said one of the other High Mystics.

“Not exactly,” the Archon said. “You’re going to hide it. Right now, there’s a lot of political tension on Sin-Amuhhu, with accusations flying left and right about people being tied to the Cult of the Eternal Father. As a result, they want the Gateway Key sent to an unknown location where no one can find it. That’s where the ten of you come in. The first step of your journey will be to Ira. To ensure the maximum level of randomness, I’ll cast lots to determine where you’ll be sent, both on Ira itself, and beyond. Only one of you will be sent to retrieve the actual Gateway Key. The rest will be sent to other locations and given false keys. None of you will know whether or not you have the real key. After Ira, you’ll go down two levels, to much lower starisles, where you will hide the key in a secure location.

“Of course, the true nature of your mission won’t be announced publicly, and you’ll have a secondary task to serve as cover. You will travel from planet to planet in the various subsidiary starisles, where you will conscript any young mages you encounter into military service. The Sin-Amuhhu Institute of Military Magic wants new recruits in case this conflict with the Abhorrent can’t be resolved quickly. You’ll carry orders from me personally to have the Gateways open at regular intervals to let you easily go between the subsidiary starisles. You’ll also be able to send messages up as needed.

“After your mission is complete, you’ll return here to Ku-Aya with your recruits before escorting them up to Sin-Amuhhu.”

Not even I got to attend college on Sin-Amuhhu, Purattu thought. I can’t believe a bunch of lesser starisle runts are going to get that privilege.

Not able to purge such thoughts from his mind, he raised his hand.

“Yes, Purattu?” the Archon said.

“Sir, this mission doesn’t conform to the usual guidelines. And it sounds exceedingly dangerous and risky. Is there… extra compensation?”

“Of course. You’ll receive tenfold remuneration compared to a standard mission. Plus bonuses depending on your performance.”

I guess that isn’t too bad, Purattu thought.

“Any other questions?”

There were other questions, but Purattu quickly tuned them out. The other High Mystics were, for the most part, fools and idiots, and he didn’t want to waste brainpower listening to their ridiculous observations and issues. Instead, he contemplated methods to determine if the Gateway Key he ended up with was the real one. There had to be ways to do so. He had enough of the right contacts that he could probably just pay for the knowledge. Regardless, if the Mage Parliament gave him enough time to do at least a bit of research before leaving Ku-Aya, then he would come up with a way.

After an hour of roundabout discussion, the Archon finally said, “I don’t think we’re making any headway with these questions.”

The only useful bit of information that had surfaced was that they would have two days to prepare for their mission. Upon hearing that, Purattu rejoiced. That was more than enough time to acquire the information he sought about the Gateway Key.

The Archon used mage touch to activate a spell formation inside the table, causing the center of it to open up, and a pedestal to arise from within. Resting on the pedestal were ten pink, bivalve shells.

“Within each shell is your assigned destination on Ira.” He splayed his fingers, and the shells rose into the air. “Don’t open them until you’re in a private location away from here. Commit the information to memory, then destroy the shells. Two days hence, gather at the Gateway complex. Good luck, High Mystics. I’m sure all of you realize the gravity of the responsibility being laid upon you. Please, live up to that responsibility. The fate of the Pontifarch’s empire could rest in your hands.”

Purattu nearly shuddered at the thought of one of the other fools in the room being the one to escort the Gateway Key into hiding. In fact, he was already convinced the Archon would manipulate the entire thing to make sure he was the true escort. After all, the old man had made it more than clear throughout the years that he thought of Purattu as being the best of the best among his peers.

The pink shells floated out to the ten High Mystics. Purattu grabbed his, stood up, and left.

After leaving the tower, he lost himself in the crowds on the street until he reached the fabled Hanging Gardens of Ku-Aya. Based on what he’d heard, the Hanging Gardens here paled into comparison to those on Sin-Amuhhu. But these ones were beautiful nonetheless. Strolling through the lush vegetation, he found a secluded spot next to a pond and cracked open the bivalve.

Inside the left shell, inscribed delicately with dark ink, were the words: After arriving on Ira, travel to Cloudspear Island to accept the parcel.

On the right side were the words: With parcel in hand, travel to Humusi. Do not linger there. Instead, go to each of its nine subsidiary starisles to conscript mages. Leave the item in hiding on one of the worlds you travel through.

He snapped the shell shut, dropped it onto the pathway, and crushed it beneath his heel. Kicking the resulting dust and rubble off to the side, he started walking again, all the while reviewing what he knew of the Humusi starisle. It was a subsidiary of Ira, which was a subsidiary of Ku-Aya. None of the places below Humusi were particularly noteworthy. However, he did have their names committed to memory: Kartos, Erishti-Aya, Solut, Nos, Ahatsunu, Mannemid, Hannemid, Jehannemid, Gehannemid.

I’ll have to do some more research before I pick where to start, he thought. He didn’t exactly relish the idea of going to such backwater places, but the premise of the mission was intriguing. And as the Archon had said, the fate of the empire could indeed be involved. There were quite a few things to get in order. Spell components. Weapons. Maps. Traveling gear. He needed to research all the key figures on each of the lesser worlds he would be visiting. And of course, identify a good place to hide the key.

This is going to be fun, he thought. Lots of fun.