{ Earlier that day }
At most, Cade had gotten two hours of sleep.
He had expected to awake in a world of pain, as the aches and bruises from the night before had begun to set in before he’d even fallen asleep.
When he ultimately awoke, however, his body reacted in a wholly unexpected way.
The first thing he noticed was the absence of pain in his hands. He looked down at them, marveling at the reduced swelling and retreating blisters in wild fascination.
The second was, in fact, the sheer clarity his eyes could now perceive. He must’ve been so tired from his evening training that he missed this shift. But now, in the clear light of day that peeked through his plain brown curtains, it was unmistakable. His eyesight was significantly improved.
To be fair, his countless hours reading and drawing as a youth, especially at his old academy, were probably the greatest culprits to his worsening vision. But now it was like the world was made anew, the blurry veil that had once enveloped it removed forever.
Strangest still was the energy he felt coursing through his body. He had only slept for a few hours, and yet he felt rejuvenated. While he might’ve once blamed it on nerves or adrenaline, or possibly even those spectacular breakfast rolls, he could feel it was because of what happened last night.
He grinned.
It was happening.
He could do this. He could really do this.
Cade swiveled on his burlap sheets and stood up. He swept his cloak over his body and strapped the leather pack behind him, sighing in satisfaction at the new limberness of his muscles.
He felt alive.
The floorboards creaked as he exited his room and took the narrow staircase down to the tavern. The sweet scents of honeyed bread and the sharp tang of citrus wafted toward him as he descended, and he was greeted by several raised mugs from the locals.
“Bloodsucker!” they all chorused with a dip of their heads.
“Good luck out there today, lad,” Greta added as Cade raised his hand in farewell.
“Thank you, Greta. Everyone.” He smiled over his shoulder at the gathered people, taking in the sight with a nostalgic gaze. If everything went to plan, there was a good chance they would never see this place again.
His eyes met Greta’s, and she shook her head as silver gathered at the edges of her red-rimmed gaze. “Go give them hell, boy.”
“I think I’ll do just that,” the young thief replied.
He breathed in the pungent aromas one last time, then exited before his nerves got the best of him.
Walking from the Twisted Oak down the familiar path to the arena was a somber experience. Seagulls and hydraflies proclaimed their opinions from the rooftops, and a fresh breeze of salty air kicked up from the southeast shores. Cade’s footsteps echoed off of the tree bark and brick that encompassed him on either side, both of his hands in his pockets. The leather straps of his pack dug into his shoulders, and he grimaced slightly under the new weight he carried.
It was strange to take this path alone, Cade realized. A few pedestrians walked quickly in the same direction, some even recognizing him and pointing conspicuously as they whispered to their companions.
Cade smiled ruefully and winked at a young child who gawked openly at his passage. Her mother knelt and held the little girl’s shoulders affectionately, whispering instructions to wave instead of impolitely pointing. The girl adjusted immediately and waved at Cade. He waved back.
The dilapidated state of the district that housed the Twisted Oak and similar establishments bled away to the opulent streets and manicured hanging gardens of the central square. Even from this distance, the arena’s volume was bestial. It was like one of the ancient Progenitors had arisen from their graves to roar one last time. His path diverged from the crowd as he made for one of the service entrances.
Checking to make sure he wasn’t being tailed, he slipped into the small iron door and closed it shut behind him. He tapped his chest, checked the straps of his pack, and then double-checked that the focal stone was still in his pocket.
“Are you ready, Gavin?” he sent telepathically.
The focal stone warmed slightly as the enchantments pulled on the ambient magic in the environment to work. He waited by the iron door, his hands fidgeting with the inner lining of his pocket. His nerves were as taut as a sail caught in a fierce gale.
After nearly a full minute, Gavin finally responded.
“Yes! Sorry about that, Cade. I’m ready,” Gavin’s smooth and refined voice echoed in his thoughts.
“Did everyone get set up at the Court okay?” Cade asked quickly as he resumed his walk into the arena’s underbelly.
“There were a couple of minor hiccups, but nothing worth worrying about. The dice are in place. I managed to get three different con artists I know to start their work near the Court.” Gavin paused for a heartbeat and Cade could almost imagine him biting his lip nervously. “Is this a bit much? I mean, I get needing a diversion, but is using the Discord Dice a little overkill?”
“No,” Cade answered decisively.
He had read their description in both the Lifekeeper’s list as well as a collection of famous events in Elysia that he’d purchased off of a merchant who’d stopped by the Twisted Oak to see Greta.
“They’re perfect for what we need,” he said. “No one will see them coming until it’s too late anyway. Besides, I think it’s fair we use a page out of George’s own book, if what you say about her fortress is true. Psychological warfare can go both ways.”
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Cade halted as a set of footsteps approached from the opposite direction. His breath caught. There was nowhere to hide, and he had no excuse for being down in the maintenance tunnels so close to the start of the next trial. He pressed his back against the stony wall and waited. The footsteps got closer. Sweat beaded across his face, and he prepared himself to incapacitate whoever it might be. He called on his magic, and it flowed toward his fingertips with more ease than ever.
The soft echo of leather shoes against stone retreated. Cade let out a soft sigh of relief and began to walk in that strange way Orro had been drilling into him. He barely made a sound as he moved ever deeper into the underground maze of hallways.
“It’s starting,” Gavin sent before the connection was cut. It wasn’t like before when distance or wards negated the telepathic link.
No, this was different. Gavin was concentrating too hard to focus on anything else at the moment.
Good.
Cade navigated through the ancient corridors lined with various shades of glowflakes. The mesmerizing cascade of colors shimmered along the sandstone floor, the air damp and humid as he took stairway after stairway toward his destination. He heard a few Lifekeepers behind shut doors along his route, but most of them would be up top assisting with the trial.
At least, that was what he was banking on.
The young thief reached the top of the final stairway, the same that had led him to that ancient cavern. The air tasted different here. Dust and neglect were interlaced with the distinct scents of rich soil and budding flowers. He couldn’t believe he’d missed this before. Whether it was due to his recent advancement or just that he was looking for these hints now, Cade couldn’t say.
Even with the incalculable tons of rock between him and them, Cade heard the arena’s audience roar.
The games were on.
He didn’t linger any longer and soon Cade was flying down the spiraling staircase. His arm traced the smooth surface of the stony cylinder as he took the steps two at a time. The glowflake sconces grew farther and farther apart with each minute he descended.
Now, to see if that same strange force would guide him this time, just like it had the last time he was here.
Sure enough, as Cade raced down the staircase, a peculiar sensation washed over him. It started as a faint tingle at the base of his skull, then spread like tendrils of ice through his veins. His vision blurred and fogged like frost on glass, but his feet moved with a certainty he didn’t feel.
Cade's limbs moved of their own accord, his consciousness pushed to the background as if he were a mere passenger in his own body. The air grew thick, heavy with an otherworldly presence that seemed to curl around him like smoke.
He drifted through winding tunnels, each twist and turn feeling both foreign and familiar. Shadows danced at the edge of his vision, whispering secrets in languages long forgotten.
Deeper and deeper he went, descending staircases that spiraled into darkness. He was more aware of the route, this time, but he still had no control over where he was going. The walls seemed to breathe, pulsing with an energy that sent shivers down his spine.
Just when he thought he might be lost in this trance forever, the sensation began to ebb.
Cade blinked, his own consciousness settling back into place. He reached the bottom final stair of the last staircase, breathing heavily. Urgency rushed back into his bones, but he forced himself to slow down. Whatever had overtaken him might return at any moment. If it did, he would be ready this time.
Probably.
Cade’s heart raced as he realized where he was. This was it—the path to the chamber where he'd found the Remnant. But something felt different this time, and the air felt charged with an energy that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself against the wall. The lava rock hummed beneath his palm, a low vibration that seemed to resonate with something deep inside him. Whatever had guided him here clearly wasn't finished with him yet.
So be it. He wasn’t done, either.
He reached for where he knew the torches were and fumbled in the darkness until his fingers felt the familiar rod of iron and wood. The torch burst to life, and the volcanic tube ahead of him relinquished a shred of its secrets to the light.
With a mixture of trepidation and determination, Cade pushed himself off the wall and began to walk down the corridor. Each step echoed in the narrow passage, and a part of him was convinced they could hear it far above in the arena. The young thief pressed forward. With each step he delved deeper into this lava-tube, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was walking into the maw of some great beast, its teeth ready to snap shut behind him.
But there was no turning back now.
He moved quickly, uncaring of any tracks he might be leaving. When he made it to the opposite end, he turned off the glowflake torch with a press of the runes at its base. The cavern yawned in front of Cade, the jagged teeth of its stalagmites and stalactites barely visible in the glow that started to return to this space.
Pausing at the edge of the cave, he cast a wary sidelong glance at the spikes that would happily spear him if he wasn’t careful. Delicately, he took out a piece of chalk from his pocket and drew the rune he’d found in the book he’d taken from the vaults.
“Well, here goes nothing,” he said, wincing a little as he stuck it out past the spikes.
Nothing happened.
He peered through one eye, half-expecting for the spikes to shut on the torch in a delayed reaction, and he let out a slow sigh of relief when it didn’t happen.
“Ha!” he shouted up at the ceiling in Elena’s vague direction. “I told you books weren’t useless!”
Carefully, he kept the rune-riddled torch close to his body and stepped through the entrance. His foot settled onto the path on the other side of the trap, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
He was through.
“No time to waste,” he said to himself, walking down the thin trail that led to the massive oak tree in the center of this impossible valley of vegetation.
As his boots found purchase in the loose earth, he swung his leather pack around and retrieved the bound scroll Stephen had given him. The black parchment was lined with the sharply curved white lettering of the Morlan people. Cade knew from his time studying in Eldrin that the Morlan were experts at two things: masonry and killing people.
As Cade unfurled the long scroll, he concluded that it was an excellent representation of that conquered nation left to ruin by its envious neighbors some centuries ago: a backdrop of darkness with faint bright lines to remember them by. It only enhanced the metaphor with the fact that this particular scroll contained a pretentiously named spell of pure Destruction magic.
Blightstorm.
Cade rolled his eyes at the name emblazoned horizontally along the scroll. He had to admit though—dramatic as it was, the title was fitting.
“You know,” A voice dripping with venomous delight spoke up behind Cade. “When I had you followed after your stunt at our vaults, I really didn’t expect my efforts to lead me here.”
Cade whirled, the Morlanian script forgotten where he unfurled it on the soft and vibrant green grass. There, joined by at least seven other Lifekeeper guards and officials, stood Bazz. His skin wrinkled as he sneered down at the thief. The white robes lined with green and gold billowed softly as the wood elf spread out his hands.
Kallista loomed behind Bazz with an expression like a child who just tattled on their sibling and was now there to watch the punishment begin.
“You are in the most sacred of locations to our religion—to our beloved goddess. For this heresy, you are hereby sentenced to death, Cade Stormhollow!” Bazz declared gleefully.
His fingers brightened with yellowish energy flecked with gold. At his command, thorny vines grew from around his feet only to dive back into the dirt, rushing toward Cade’s position. The seven other Lifekeepers burst into action and Cade darted out of the way. He picked up the spell scroll and rushed to the side, the black parchment billowing like a war banner in his wake.
With his free hand, Cade called on his magic. The vibrant orange and searing white energy rushed forth, and he grinned widely as he saw thin tendrils of silver lace his scorching wind spell.
Cade grinned at his enemies, stuck in here with him.
It was time to try out his new tricks.
What's the REAL perk of Cade's new silver rank upgrade?
