Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 889: The Showstarter

“You cannot be serious,” Brayden exclaimed. “Mandatory? That’s ridiculous! Why would I want to go schmooze with a bunch of the other competitors?”

“It’s not the competitors you’ll be rubbing noses with,” Fist said with a weary sigh. “It’s the ones who funded the tournament. All the people looking for their new disciple. Faction Heads and their ilk, not to mention the roaming mages and other powerhouses that might be looking for a way to bolster their cities or families.”

“I don’t have any more interest in speaking with them than I do with the other people fighting in the tournament,” Brayden muttered. He let out a groan and dropped into one of the chairs with a thunk. “What a waste of time and energy. And the masks won’t even shield us from the important folk, meaning we can’t tell them to pound sand.”

“Well, you can. That’ll just come with consequences,” Fist said with a dry laugh. “Trust me. I’ve done it a few times. One doesn’t get landed on a team with Mordred without pissing a few people off in the process.”

“Don’t get disappointed too early,” Noah said slowly. “This might not be a terrible thing, Brayden. It could actually work to our advantage. All the competitors are going to be there. All of them.”

“Thousands,” Fist pointed out. “If you’re looking for anyone in particular, you’ll be pretty hard pressed to pull it off. They probably weren’t joking about the quality of their masks. Even Mordred would have trouble seeing through them.”

“That’s quite fine,” Noah said. There was more than one way to locate somebody, after all. If every single competitor was going to be in the masquerade, then he could think of a number of different methods that had a decent chance of at least spreading enough rumors to reach the right ears — and only one or two of them would end in killing himself.

“Right,” Fist said slowly. It seemed she didn’t much like the sound of Noah’s voice. “Just don’t go dragging me into anything too bad. We’re part of the same room. I figure the Faction Heads and their ilk are going to know who is from where. Don’t need the Prophet any more pissed at me and the team than she already is.”

No promises.

“What are you thinking?” Brayden asked, looking up at Noah with a flicker of hope. “You think we could somehow use this to find...”

He trailed off.

“Can’t hurt to try,” Noah replied with a shrug. “But we’ve got to prepare. There’s an hour before this thing starts. That should be more than enough.”

“Precisely,” Lee said. “And it starts with answering some very important questions.”

“Like what?” Fist asked.

“How is Spider going to wear a mask when he’s already got one?” Lee asked, pointing to Noah. “Will they give him a magic hat? Or will he have to wear two masks at once?”

The three of them paused for a moment.

That was a good question.

***

Vivian interlaced her fingers and leaned back against the wall of the enormous masquerade hall. By most definitions of the word, enormous wasn’t even sufficient to describe it. The room was enormous. More than a hundred large, circular tables lined the back end of it, all laden with food for the tournament’s competitors. They were just far enough from each other to allow for easy communication.

Large swathes of smooth ground had been cleared for those who preferred to wander around and mingle, and the room had been broken up into large sections that would help absorb some of the sound and separate the groups that would inevitably form out a little bit.

Around a hundred mages were already present. They were the seekers. Among them were the other Faction Heads, already disguised and milling about the room as they prepared to examine their targets. Many of them had already identified a mage that they had some middling interest in — though nothing would be set in stone until the tournament progressed farther. This was just a cursory glance for them.

The ones that would be really hunting right now were the weakest of the strong. The independent mages and the groups that were looking to recruit new flesh for one reason or another. They’d be hoping to pick up some promising new talent before any of the stronger mages made their move.

As for Vivian, there was only a single thing on her mind. There was someone using the Beyond to screw with her, and she was certain that they’d be present at the masquerade. This banquet would gather together all three brackets of the tournament. Rank 4s would be mixed in with 7s. And her target was indubitably amongst the strongest mages in the room.

For that matter, there was a very, very good chance that they were already here. She didn’t have any proof to know that the one using the Beyond wasn’t one of the people who had come here to recruit new talent. That was a chilling thought.

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The Beyond was her weapon alone to control. Nobody else could be trusted with its power. If someone spread it… if they misunderstood how it worked even slightly, it would have a chance to worm its way into the Mortal Plane even deeper. Vivian did not want to think about just how disastrous that could be.

But whoever can control the Beyond… they’ve been taunting me. They want my attention. And now they’ve got it. If they use it again here, I should be able to find them. They can’t hide in this proximity.

Vivian would have loved to just spend the entire masquerade hunting for them. Unfortunately, there were still other tasks on her plate. Too many people would be watching her. Even with the deer mask covering her features and her power suppressed, the other Faction Heads knew where she was — just as she knew where they were.

And the Beyond user wasn’t the only person she had to worry about right now. The Rank 7 and up bracket had started. Among their number were the Apostles. She still didn’t have the faintest idea what it was they were after. There was nothing for them here.

But their Prophet wouldn’t have brought them here for no reason. They were after something, and she still didn’t know what it was.

Vivian resisted the urge to clench her hands into fists. There were too many different moving parts. She’d tried to reach out to Renewal, but the goddess hadn’t responded. She rarely did. But if Decras had somehow been involved in this whole thing, then Renewal definitely would have said something.

Whatever was happening, it was entirely Vivian’s problem to deal with.

One thing at a time. I’m not alone. I’ll just have to trust the Mistress and the Executioner to keep an eye on things while I’m focused. I may be stretched, but this is still Aqua Terra. I am in control. And if anyone tries to screw with me or my tournament, they’re going to get a very painful reminder of exactly how I earned the title of Prophet.

***

The ground dropped out from beneath Noah’s feet for a brief moment. Then it returned as quickly as it had left, sending a faint jolt running up his legs. He blinked the shimmering motes of green light away, grimacing behind his cloth mask.

It had been an hour since Baun’s announcement. And, sure enough, he and all of the others had been swallowed up by a wave of magic right on time. But the magic hadn’t quite dropped him off where he’d expected to be. Instead of any kind of masquerade hall, Noah found himself standing in a small, homely room.

There were several crates running along the walls, brimming with costumes that had been hastily tossed into them. Dozens of animal masks hung from the walls and were scattered across the ground. And, standing directly in front of him, back turned, was a short man with the frizziest hair that Noah had ever seen.

“I’m your outfitter. Let’s make this quick. Got a lot of people to get through tonight. You’re going to need an outfit,” the short man said, ruffling through one of the boxes. “Pick something. Put it on. Take a mask too. They’re all the same. Doesn’t matter which one.”

“Do I need to?” Noah asked, glancing around. “I kind of brought my own.”

The short man let out a long-suffering sigh that made it clear he’d heard similar requests many times before.

“Absolutely not. Whatever drivel you’ve purchased for a sliver of a Crystal in some backwater town is not going to match up to what we have here,” he said, still not bothering to turn around. “Our robes are enchanted by talented Imbuers and tested to a minimum required standard. They will ensure your identity and magic remain concealed. We can’t have anyone’s magic leaking through. It causes problems.”

Noah glanced at the clothes. Despite the careless way they’d been tossed into the crates, they did seem to be of high quality. But compared what Eliana had made him… this was a bunch of toilet paper.

“I think I’ll be quite fine,” Noah said. “And I don’t fancy the idea of doubling up on masks. I’d look like an idiot.”

The short man finally turned around.

Then he froze.

His eyes went wide.

Neither of them moved for a long second. Then the short man practically lunged at Noah in his haste to get a closer look at his clothes. He stared at them intently for several long seconds before his gaze snapped up to Noah’s face.

“Gods above and below,” he breathed. “What — who made these?”

Are they really that good? I mean, I knew they were good, but this is quite the reaction.

“Do I have to answer that?”

The other man paused. He visibly reigned himself in.

“No. No, of course not. I got carried away. Forgive me. I wasn’t expecting to see anything like this here. I apologize for insulting you. You wouldn’t believe the trash I’ve been shown. Your clothes are more than sufficient. Anything created by a master like that will fulfill our requirements.”

Can he really tell so much about Eliana’s work just from a quick look? This guy must be a pretty damn good Imbuer to have senses like that.

“Thank you,” Noah said. “Out of curiosity, if someone takes their mask off, what happens?”

“The masks are to protect your identity. We don’t care so much about that as much as we do concealing your magical energy — and that’s what the robes are for. Just don’t go stripping, yeah?” The man let out a bark of laughter. “If you want to reveal your face, that’s your problem.”

“Right,” Noah said. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Don’t need to sound so serious,” the other man said with a wry grin. “What, you think someone is liable to go stripping in public? Doubt it.”

Somebody is yet to meet Bird.

“You never know,” Noah said.

“Suppose I don’t,” the Imbuer agreed. “I’d love to stay and talk more. It’s rare that I see someone wearing quality of this level. Whoever made that… no. It’s none of my business. I’ll have you on your way. Lots to do tonight, after all. Best of luck with the masquerade.”

He waved his hand.

A shimmer of energy washed over Noah, and then the world shifted once more.

Noise slammed into him like a wall. He blinked behind his mask, shaking his head as he oriented himself. The small room was gone. In its place was a cavernous hall, so massive that he couldn’t even make out the other end from where he stood.

A large and growing crowd of mages in various masks were all around him, with more appearing every second. There was no sign of Brayden or Lee. It seemed they’d been sent here alone.

But that was fine. They knew their parts. And Lee… something told him that she’d be easy to find.

Noah adjusted his lapel. Then his lips pulled into a faint smile.

It was time to get started.