“Wait, what?” Xerxes blurted, not sure he’d heard right.

“During the assessment, your written test score was bad but not horrible. If you’d scored even a bit better, you might have made it into the group of officers. Perform well on this mission, and I’ll press the High Archon to promote you.”

Xerxes was at a loss for words.

Archon Shabadras smiled. “I can see you’re a bit taken aback. I’d expect nothing less.” Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a small leather-bound tube and handed it to Xerxes.

Xerxes took it. “What’s this?”

“Some bits of information. Don’t open it now. After we part ways in a moment, head back to the campus and find a private moment to study everything. You’ll find a written invitation to a cult meeting that we intercepted. That will be your ticket in the front door, so to speak. There’s a map as well, showing you where to go. One week before the day of the meeting, you’ll meet your partner at a shop in the northwest of the bazaar that sells coffee. You’ve heard of coffee before?”

“Of course.”

“Good, the first meeting with your partner will be an opportunity to plan how you’ll attend your first cult meeting. The week after that, you’ll make contact with a representative of the cult, who will vet you for further meeting attendance. You need to do well in that initial meeting. Inside the leather tube, you’ll also find some spending money to assist your efforts, plus two Double-Concentrated Melam Pills.”

Fingering the smooth leather, Xerxes said, “Double-Concentrated Melam Pills?”

“Yes. Keep them hidden from even your closest friends, as they’re not a type of pill a Seer should have. The name explains the pill. They contain twice the amount of melam you’ll get from a Concentrated Melam Pill.”

Xerxes didn’t need to do much thinking to realize what that meant. A Seer could use an ordinary Concentrated Melam Pill to fill their chamber of energy by about half.

“Each pill can max out my chamber?” he asked.

“Exactly. After your next Flush, you can use those pills to perform two more Flushes back-to-back. I’m giving you the pills because accepting this mission will take time away from your meditation routine. How far have you come in that regard?”

“I’m heading toward my eighth Flush.”

“Excellent progress! Once you hit eight, use the pills to get to your tenth. After that, you’ll need two more to reach the High Seer level. Who knows, you might be able to make the top twenty, depending on how things play out. Now, do you have any questions?”

Xerxes’ mind was spinning such that he couldn’t come up with anything other than some rudimentary questions. After a few minutes, the Archon showed him to a back entrance and instructed him where to get rid of the robe and mask before returning to the campus. He did as asked, and before long, was back in the school.

It was only as he walked back into his dorm room that he realized he hadn’t asked who his partner was going to be.

“Where the hell did you get off to?” Jad asked.

“I tried to go around a section and cut you guys off, but the aisle went a different way. By the time, er….”

No one was paying attention to him, as he’d walked into the room right into the middle of an argument.

“I can’t say I agree, Kash,” Jad said. “You know the saying. ‘Great rewards come with great risks.’”

“It’s the other way around,” Kashtiliash said.

“Huh?”

“‘Great risks come with great rewards.’”

Jad made a hissing sound. “Whatever, Kash. The point is that if Enusat wants to make an impression, this is definitely the best way.”

“Exactly,” Enusat said.

“What did I miss?” Xerxes asked, climbing up to his bunk.

“I’m doing it,” Enusat declared. “I’m going to the girl’s dorms tonight.”

“Seriously?”

The shorter mage glared up at him. “What, you think I shouldn’t?”

“I never said that.” Given the angle, he knew Enusat couldn’t see what he was doing, so he took out the leather tube and slid it under his pillow. Later, he would transfer it into the safety of his locked strongbox.

“Okay, then,” Jad said. “What do you think?”

Considering what happened last time, he wanted to say ‘absolutely not.’ Things had gone bad even before the school added student patrols.

But….

Jad and Enusat were on the same side of the disagreement, and Kashtiliash was opposed to them. All things said, Xerxes liked Kashtiliash the most out of the group. He was taciturn, sure, but he seemed the most in touch with reality. Jad and Enusat didn’t think things through very well, and just seemed more immature in general.

That said, by now, they all recognized Jad as their leader. Not only did Xerxes not want to defy the leader of the group, but also, it wouldn’t do any good. Even if Xerxes sided with Kashtiliash against another dorm infiltration, Enusat was going to go through with his plan.

“It would definitely be risky,” he said. “But the reward would be incredible. Just….”

“Just what?” Enusat said.

“Just… remember what happened to me. And that was before they added student patrols. It’s going to be even harder this time around.”

The big-nosed mage smiled. “That’s why I’ve got to do it. The ‘arder the mission, the better the reward will be. Besides, I’m going to ‘ave a great partner to keep me safe.”

“Not me,” Kashtiliash said.

Enusat shot him a glare. “I wouldn’t take you if you wanted to go, you bastard.”

Jad chuckled. “Calm down, boys. We all know Enusat’s talking about me.”

Enusat sighed. “Jad, you and me are closer than brothers. But in this case, I need someone who ‘as experience. And that’s why Xerk’s coming with me.”

“Me?” Xerxes said, barely managing to keep the disappointment out of his voice. Right when he was on track to becoming an officer, Enusat was trying to drag him off to break the rules. “I mean… I was the one who got caught last time. You don’t want me to jinx you, right?”

“It’s the opposite, Xerk,” Enusat said. “A bull doesn’t gore you twice, as the saying goes.”

“That’s not a saying,” Kashtiliash said.

“Shut up, Kash. It is on Jehannemid. The point is that, according to math statistics, bringing Xerk along is the best way to make sure the mission succeeds. Besides, ‘e’s got experience, and that means ‘e’s the most obvious choice there is. Now, we’ve got a few hours to go over all the latest details I found out. Let’s get started.”

There’s no way I’m doing this, Xerxes thought. No damn way.

He had too much going on. Too much going good. Too much at stake. It wasn’t worth it risking all of that for a dumb foray into the girls’ dorm.