Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 894: Better company

Noah dodged through the crowds. It had been minutes since his not-so-little performance. He’d heard his own name more than a few times within the conversations around him, but things were already shifting. This was a big tournament. The antics of one potentially-crazed idiot weren’t enough to last for long. He was sure a few scattered people were still speaking of it, and with any luck, the story would continue to spread over the next few days.

It would reach Moxie’s ears. His students ears. All of them. It had to. But he was going to have to make sure he was actually able to find everyone once the tournament was over. Nobody would be able to meet back up with him if he got dragged off to join some asshole’s retinue.

And that starts by making sure none of them can find me now. They’ll have to get bored and distracted by someone else at some point. I just have to burn a few more minutes. Maybe half an hour. Doesn’t this stupid masquerade have anything planned? A dance? A show? Something to get people’s attention?

He snagged a drink off a serving platter as he passed it by. At this point in the night — which was frankly quite early — a fair number of the mages in the crowd had already given up on bothering to conceal their faces completely. Several had removed or shifted their masks to the side so they could eat and drink.

Even still, it was hard to make anyone out. Most people wore hoods that concealed the majority of their features, even while they were dining.

Noah didn’t have any plans of taking his own mask off. Right now, anyone looking for him would be looking for his costume. Being able to slip out of it should the situation require would be invaluable. Unfortunately, that still wasn’t a possibility right now.

For the second time that night, he cursed inwardly. Not bringing a backup change of clothes had been a massive blunder. Then again, he hadn’t been expecting to go and create a massive formation. The whole plan had been to play a nice song and get people talking with that.

Ironically, he wasn’t sure if his arrogance in thinking he was the only musician in Obsidia or his initial plans to try and be a little more humble and avoid doing anything too flashy had caused more problems. He supposed it didn’t matter right now.

There were still people in the crowd trailing him. He was certain of it. Every few paces, he caught a glimpse of someone in a tiger mask somewhere at his back. They didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry… which probably meant they either had great eyes or some way to track him.

Goddamn it. This is such a pain.

Noah glanced down at his drink. Chances were, his best bet at actually avoiding a very annoying conversation would be if he could somehow find a conversation to insert himself into and get lost within. It would be easier to turn down requests to speak if he was already talking to someone.

I just have to look for somebody far enough from where I was playing that they won’t recognize my appearance.. Rumors are fast… but not that fast. Either that or somewhere out of the way where I can just hide for a little. After all, this hall is huge. It shouldn’t be too hard to find one of the two.

***

It was taking Vivian a very considerable amount of effort to keep from blasting a large portion of her own hall into kingdom come. She couldn’t quite recall the last time she’d been quite so furious. Her robes were soaked with beer. The little rat that had somehow stumbled into her — at least, according to his desperate excuses and apologies — had walked off without a single hair on his head being disturbed.

She wasn’t entirely sure how he’d pulled that off. At some point during the time where he’d been dabbing at her with a napkin that he’d procured, apologizing profusely and repeatedly with enough volume to draw the attention of everyone in a wide circle around them as he bounced around her like a fretting parent about to send their son off to a tutor for the first time, he’d vanished into the crowds.

Vivian could have tracked him down. She could have crushed him with the mere pressure of her runes for daring to throw his drink all over her. She was certain it hadn’t been an accident. At least… she’d been certain. Now she wasn’t quite sure.

Her attention had been split, her mind fully focused elsewhere. There was a faint chance that it was entirely an accident that had just looked terrible. And with everyone staring at her, it wasn’t like she could go ballistic. The idiot that had splashed her had drawn too many eyes.

She was being watched. Even if she’d been feeling in a particularly vindictive mood and wanted to track that little bastard down, it wouldn’t have been worth the time or effort. She’d have to let him go. Vivian probably could have tracked him down later by the signature of his soul. But that was far too petty and far too much effort for something that might not have even been on purpose. As much as she hated to admit it… she had to let him go. It irked her to no end that the mage would never even know just who it was he’d gotten away with dirtying.

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Then again. Perhaps that is for the best. I don’t need to start building up the reputation that I’ve gone soft. It was probably just some clumsy mage stressed over being selected and not watching where he was going. He likely just tripped over his feet.

That was the explanation she was going to have to go with, for her own sake just as much as anyone else’s. It unfortunately wasn’t helping much.

In all the chaos, she’d completely lost track of the tiny trace of Beyond. Her taunter had darted off once again. Vivian’s jaw clenched so tight that she could have bit through solid steel. This entire masquerade may as well have been going up in flames around her.

Her pursuit of the Beyond user had also made her lose track of the other Faction Heads. While that likely meant they’d missed the humiliating exchange, she was now the lone Faction Head with nearly no idea what the others were doing… and this was her own party.

And, as if to top it all off, people were staring at her.

That was the last thing she needed. There was no way she could slip through the party and keep an eye out for anything interesting — much less the taunting bastard she’d been chasing — if people were talking about and staring at her.

But if she disappeared or flew off, then people would know she wasn’t just a random mage attending the masquerade. Nobody was permitted to leave until the proceedings had completed. The first part of leadership was following her own rules. And even if only a few people in the crowd noticed her slipping away… using her magic would almost certainly alert the other Faction Heads.

Ugh. I don’t have a choice. I need a drink.

And Renewal, I swear by everything in your name. This time, I need it in me. Not on me.

Vivian repressed a curse. Then she strode off into the crowd, trying to ignore how sticky her shirt felt, and set a course for the tables at the edge of the hall. She was going to have to wait until her clothes dried at the very least. That would give her a moment to gather her thoughts.

Maybe I’ll pick up on another trace of the Beyond or something. I should try to find whoever was playing that music. If I can get him to play something again, maybe my antagonizer will get baited into using his powers once more. He can’t keep getting lucky forever.

Vivian spotted an empty table along one of the walls, away from the majority of the crowd. Pretty much every other one was taken up by at least one mage. There was a small platter of meat and drinks set on it. She set a course for the table immediately.

A short mage darted out from the crowd in front of her, passing so close to Vivian that her magically-empowered reflexes were the only thing that kept her from running the poor sod over. She jerked to a stop instants before plowing right into them.

Gods. They’re so short I barely even saw them. Did we start inviting children to the tournament at some point?

“Sorry!” The mage, a young woman by the sounds of her voice, said. “I didn’t mean to get in your way! I wasn’t watching where I was going. I should have been more careful.”

“It’s fine,” Vivian said tersely. “Just watch where you’re going, would you?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Of course.” The mage nodded hurriedly. Then she adjusted the blue-painted ceramic mask on her face. “Have a good party!”

Then she slipped off into the crowd.

Vivian just shook her head. She looked back to the table.

Then her eye twitched.

It had been taken.

You cannot be serious.

Vivian’s fingers twitched at her sides. She glanced at the other tables, but every single one of them in sight had someone at it. Most of them had small groups. The idea of wandering back into the center of the masquerade right now made her want to bash her skull through a wall.

I am not leaving without a drink and a seat.

Her eyes landed on one of the small tables where a lone man sat, a drink sitting untouched before him as his eyes scanned the crowd in search of something. While everyone else spoke, he couldn’t have looked more standoffish if he’d tried. The black robes covering his body, embossed with gossamer silver patterned like a spider web, paired with a matching mask, did not make him seem particularly inviting.

It doesn’t look like he’ll bother me with too much conversation.

Perfect.

Vivian strode up to the table. She didn’t even say anything. She just pulled the chair out across from the man and sat down.

He glanced at her.

She said nothing.

He did the same.

For nearly a minute, the two of them simply sat in silence.

Then Vivian nodded to the untouched drink.

“Do you—”

“Help yourself,” the man replied. “I don’t even know why I grabbed it, to be honest. I’m not thirsty. Just do me one favor in return.”

“That depends on the request,” Vivian said wearily.

There’s no way he knows who I am. What’s he looking for?

“If anyone comes toward us looking like they want to sell something or recruit me, glare at them until they leave. I’m not interested in whatever garbage they’re coming to waste my time with.”

Vivian smiled behind her mask. The man couldn’t have sounded more fed up. From a very quick feel of his domain, he was somewhere around Rank 6. But even with the leagues of power separating them… she couldn’t help but feel the faintest sense of kinship toward the weariness in his words.

Nobody ever would have dared speak like this to her had they known who she was. It was actually somewhat refreshing. Especially after all the bullshit that had somehow happened right at the start of the night. This was a nice change of pace.

“Deal,” Vivian said.

It’s too bad more more mages aren’t like this one. He didn’t ask my name. Didn’t offer his. Amiable but not overly friendly. Doesn’t give a shit who I am at all. He just doesn’t want to be bothered. Hard find better company than that.

I suppose I’ve earned at least a little bit of luck after all the other shit tonight.

Maybe I’ll sit here a little while. It’s a good place to escape the crowd while I try to figure out how I’m supposed to find that Beyond user.