Shrouds, like bulwarks, are among the oldest types of spells in existence. Most of them were created shortly after, or even during, the Second Bane as a means to defend oneself and one's community against the many horrors that roamed the world in those days. It is for this reason that both bulwarks and shrouds have many different forms and exist within every possible dyad.

  Excerpt from 'Introduction to the Workings of Magic'

  “That's him, alright,” Karan said as he eyed the rotund man in the distance. “I would recognize that pudgy figure anywhere.”

  “Excellent,” Maria said as she watched the carriage that held Sill Yerwede going down the approach to the haunt. “And it looks like he isn't leaving any time soon, either.”

  A smile crossed her lips. “The situation couldn't have been better.”

  She turned her head towards her fellow magistra who was seated in the back of the room they were hiding in. “Lakrima, signal Ingrid and then everyone else. Everything is going as planned.”

  “Yes,” Lakrima answered, reaching for one of the signal stones spread out on a table in front of her.

  “I must admit I'm surprised Sill decided to come here by himself,” Karan said as he watched the archmagister enter the haunt. “I thought he knew better than that.”

  “I bet it's the house arrest,” Maria said. “He probably figured he should see for himself how far the deciphering has come before the arrest comes into effect.”

  “A stroke of good fortune,” Karan said as he turned away from the window. “But we aren't there yet. Are you certain we can pull this off?”

  “Of course,” Maria replied, waving her hand dismissively. “Do you doubt the capabilities of our guild?”

  “Just making certain,” Karan said. “I will get into position, then.”

  Just making certain, he says, Maria thought as Karan left the room. Does he think that magistras are less than magisters? Her lips drew a thin line as she stared at the small mansion in the distance.

  Callium's secret haunt was part of a group of estates, called the ring mansions, that lay at the eastern edge of the city. All the lands further east belonged to one of these estates, meaning that the city could not expand any further in that direction; hence the 'ring' part of their name. The mansions themselves weren't overly large, but the gardens around them usually were. This one was no different, with a large barbed steel fence surrounding the estate and only a single gate allowing access.

  It's a lot of ground to cover, but nothing we can't handle.

  After learning that two members of the inner circle were seen entering the haunt last night, Maria had decided to put the plan in motion. They had already secured the two hidden escape paths; one was a tunnel that led to the very place she now stood and the other was a blackshift anchor point in a shed on the edge of the property.

  The operation had begun earlier that day and Ingrid, one of the nine magistras involved, was already inside the Winged Keep asking to speak with one of the guard-captains.

  We aren't very far from the Winged Keep. They should be here soon, and once they arrive...

  She almost hugged herself; the thought filled her with delight. It wouldn't be much longer until Sill Yerwede was carted off to prison and Callium ceased to exist.

  “Maria?” Lakrima said, interrupting Maria's reverie with a tinge of worry in her voice. “There is a problem. The Royal Guard isn't coming.”

  “What?!” Maria exclaimed, spinning around to face Lakrima. “Why not?”

  “I'm not entirely certain, but Ingrid says that for some reason none of the lances have time.”

  “Tell her to reveal herself as a magistra of our guild, then,” Maria said. “That will add gravity to her claim.”

  “She did that. They still ignored her.”

  Maria stood in silence with her mouth slightly agape as her mind raced. Why aren't they coming? I thought they would jump at the opportunity to seize anything related to White Candle, so why are they ignoring us?

  “What do I tell Ingrid?” Lakrima continued. “She's asking what to do next.”

  “Tell her to keep trying. At the very least, find out why they don't have time.”

  Maria brusquely turned back towards the window to watch the mansion in the distance, her earlier delight completely forgotten. Without the Royal Guard, the entire operation was ruined, as it was essential they caught Callium red-handed with the White Candle spelltomes.

  Why is this happening now? Just when Callium's archmagister is in there. This is the perfect opportunity. She clenched her hands into fists. It can't end like this.

  Time went by and Maria impatiently paced through the room while Lakrima clutched her signal stone. Eventually, the stone started to vibrate again and Maria immediately halted, waiting for the message.

  Lakrima closed her eyes as she interpreted the vibrations. After a while she opened them again, betraying shock. “Ingrid was thrown out of the Winged Keep.”

  Thrown out? Did she throw one of her tantrums? Maria had picked Ingrid to deliver their message to the Royal Guard as her dramatic personality would fit the story. However, it sounded like she had overdone it this time. “So no Royal Guard?”

  Lakrima placed her free hand over her cheek. “She says that they are busy for the coming days, yet nobody would tell her with what.”

  “The house arrest,” Maria said, before slapping herself on the wrist. “That's why they called for one. They have something planned.”

  I should have known there was more to the house arrest than just the sanctum wards expiring.

  “What do we do now?” Lakrima asked. “Without the Royal Guard, we can't do anything.”

  “I know,” Maria snapped, “but we can't stop now, not when we are this close.”

  “Isn't it better to abort the operation now?” Lakrima asked. “At this point we can get out of this without Callium noticing anything and try again another time.”

  “No, we can't!” Maria yelled with a shrill voice that startled Lakrima. “It has to be now!”

  Why doesn't she understand? “We won't be able to do anything once the house arrest comes into effect this afternoon. And by the time it is lifted, the tomes might be gone from here and out of our reach.” She pointed towards the mansion out the window. “For all we know, Archmagister Yerwede just arrived there because they completed the decryption. It has to be now.”

  Lakrima did not say anything. She just stared at Maria with wide open eyes, the corners of her mouth turned down as if she was about to cry.

  “I'm sorry for yelling, Lakrima,” Maria said immediately, resuming her normal tone. “But you know how much this means to all of us. This is our only chance.”

  Karan stepped into the room with a worried expression. “What's all the commotion? Did something happen?”

  Yes, but there is no need for you to involve yourself in this. I don't need your help. “Nothing happened,” Maria said. ”There is a minor problem but it's nothing I can't resolve by myself. I will join you at the tunnel exit shortly.”

  Karan looked at Lakrima, whose lips drew a tight line as she clenched her jaw. “What is this problem? It doesn't appear to be minor at all.”

  “As I said, I can handle it,” Maria replied. She turned away from Karan as if the conversation was over and positioned herself in front of the window.

  Ingrid's story didn't give the Royal Guard enough cause to respond. So all I have to do is make certain to give them just that.

  “Well?” Karan said from behind her, obviously not content to let it go.

  “Lakrima,” Maria said, ignoring the magister. “Order the field group to destroy the shed, and make certain it's flashy so everyone can see it. We are moving the plan up to phase two.”

  “What?!” Karan exclaimed, grabbing Maria by the shoulder. “Have you gone mad? Why would you betray our presence before the Royal Guard arrives?”

  “Because they aren't coming,” Maria bristled, striking Karan's arm away from her shoulder. “Ingrid was thrown out of the Winged Keep. They either didn't believe her or have more important things to do right now.”

  “What good will revealing ourselves do, then? We should abort the operation and wait.”

  “There will be no more waiting,” Maria snarled, her body shaking with anger. “Or is this not according to your plan? Were you perhaps trying to betray me?”

  “Don't speak nonsense. I risked as much for this as you did.”

  “Did you, now?” Maria spat. “Because all I know about your situation is what you told me. You could have been working with Callium the whole time and I would have no idea.”

  “You don't believe that,” Karan said.

  “Don't I?”

  “No,” Karan said with a dark face, “because if you did, you would abort the operation, not go ahead with this madness.”

  Maria turned away from him towards Lakrima. “Relay my orders, Lakrima. You know this is our last chance. Only by the blatant use of magic can we draw the Royal Guard's attention now.”

  With a trembling hand, Lakrima reached for one of the signal stones.

  Maria nodded approvingly.

  Karan shook his head. “You do realize that by doing this your guild will come out much worse even if we do succeed—the chances of which have just diminished greatly.”

  “Why?” Maria shot back. “Their first response will be to hide, not flee.”

  “Their response will be to send for help from the Imperator.”

  “If they do, then that person will have to come through the tunnel where we will stop him. As long as news of the disturbance reaches the Winged Keep first, we will succeed.”

  “What if they still don't come?”

  “They will. They are bound by law to do so, regardless of whatever it is they were planning to do today.”

  Karan tilted his head forward and covered his forehead with his hand. “I should have known,” he mumbled.

  Known what? Maria thought. He's not really an infiltrator from Callium, is he?

  A bright flash of light appeared from somewhere in the mansion garden, immediately followed by a loud rumble that shook the glass of the window.

  Maria stepped forward and opened the window, allowing a high-pitched wail to enter the room. Warning sigils, she thought.

  The avenue that separated the ring mansions from the rest of the city wasn't very crowded this early in the morning. The explosion, however, had halted everyone to see what was going on.

  Then the screaming started.

  At first Maria couldn't see where it was coming from, but as she leaned out of the window she saw two maids shrieking and pointing.

  A flaming figure was running across the avenue near the front gate of the mansion, causing the people nearby to watch in horror.

  What the...? Is that the gatekeeper?

  The scene didn't last very long, as upon reaching the other side of the road the figure collapsed onto the stone pavement, the flames continuing unabated. Looking back at the gatehouse, Maria saw a small figure with a hint of green around her neck.

  It's Bo, Maria thought, recognizing the green sash the magistra was wearing today. What did she do?

  “It seems like you got what you wanted,” Karan said after opening another window. “The Royal Guard will definitely not ignore this, and neither will the city watch. It's just too bad that man had to die for it.”

  “That wasn't supposed to happen,” Maria stammered as she watched the flames consume what was left of the man. “She was only supposed to render him unconscious.”

  “This is what happens when you act on impulse,” Karan said with a remarkably calm voice. “Your group isn't a lance of trained soldiers. They're spoon-fed magistras who've never done anything more dangerous than cooking their own food. Give them a flame spell and an uncertain situation and this is what happens.”

  He shook his head as he watched at the people on the avenue running away while two men tried to throw a blanket over the burning man. “I should have known better than to leave it up to a woman.”

  Maria didn't respond to the insult as she stared at the two men trying to put out the fire. Eventually they succeeded, but the gatekeeper did not move at all.

  A pinching feeling appeared in her chest. He's dead.

  “Just be glad you can't smell it,” Karan said, closing the window. “Burning human flesh is a stench you won't forget.”

  He looked at Maria with pity. “I'll be at the tunnel, and I suggest you prepare yourself as well. Success is the only way to salvage this operation now.” With that, he left the room once more.

  Maria closed her window as well, suddenly afraid of smelling what Karan described.

  “What happened?” Lakrima asked from the table with signal stones in both her hands. “Who's burning?”

  “The gatekeeper,” Maria replied as she tried to banish the image from her mind. “It looks like Bo ran into some trouble.” She clenched her hands together to stop them from shaking.

  I can't think about that now. I have to stay calm and in charge. I knew things like this could happen.

  “That's...” Lakrima started, but didn't finish as several of the signal stones were now shaking.

  “Answer those,” Maria commanded. “We move on as planned. I will be at the tunnel.”

  She left the room and made her way to the cellar where the tunnel led from there to the mansion.

  To Maria's surprise the small one-room cellar was well lit, yet despite the abundant light she couldn't see Karan anywhere.

  “Magister?” she whispered.

  “I'm right here,” Karan's voice came from her left.

  She turned, and indeed he was standing right there against the wall. Where did he come from? He wasn't there a moment ago.

  “How did you do that?” she asked, her curiosity momentarily overriding her sense of urgency.

  “A Dream dyad spell I brought with me when I fled the Imperator,” Karan said with a faint smile. “It's only an archetype, though.”

  “You tampered with my mind?” Maria asked. She didn't like that at all.

  “A mere nudge to convince you that I wasn't here. But as I said, it's only an archetype. I can only affect two, maybe three, people with it.” He smirked. “Though I'm glad to see the spell is working fine.”

  “Fine, you say,” Maria echoed, changing back to her tense state. “But I can't do that, so I'm going to dispel the lights.”

  “That would be unwise,” Karan said. “The light was on before we even arrived here, and it's my guess the keeper of this house deliberately kept it so.” He waved towards the cupboard at the far wall that covered the tunnel exit. “If we eliminate the light now, whoever exits that tunnel is going to be even more alert than they already are.”

  “I can't hide in plain sight; I need darkness for my shroud spell.”

  “Hide in the shadow of the pillar over there,” Karan said, pointing. “They won't see you until...”

  Karan broke off and turned his ear towards the far wall. Maria did so as well; she could hear the muffled sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching.

  Her heartbeat accelerated. They're here.

  With no other choice, she positioned herself behind the pillar and reached for her runepouch.

  Her hand grabbed nothing but thin air.

  Oh no, it's not here! Because of its extra weight, she had taken it off and placed it on the table next to Lakrima. With the sudden rush of events she had completely forgotten to pick it up before coming here.

  “What are you doing?” Karan hissed.

  “Shut up,” Maria hissed back, forming a channel loop with her hands. She wasn't in the mood for more of his criticism, no matter how warranted.

  She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. What the blaze was the pattern again?

  Quintessence and Radiance started running through her arms towards her fingers, and she slowly started to move them around, weaving the ?ther that flowed from her body into the invisible ?ther container between her hands.

  A loud clanking sound emerged from behind the cupboard, followed by the sound of muffled voices.

  Maria ignored them, focusing with burning desperation on the pattern that was forming between her hands. Was my weaving always this slow?

  Like most magistras of her age, she had entered the guild when the availability of runestones was already firmly established. The training to weave spells remained mandatory, but there was little pressure to improve one's speed. Even the fastest weaver would never beat the casting speed of a rune, as they allowed one to completely skip the step of forming the required pattern.

  The wood of the cupboard creaked loudly as if it was about to crack. The people behind the cupboard seemed to be having trouble opening the door, as made evident by some dull thuds against the cupboard's back.

  Don't rush, Maria thought. If I miss a thread, I won't have time to start over.

  With a final controlled twitch of her index finger she finished, and immediately cast the spell, pulling the woven pattern from the ?ther into the natural world.

  Her hands and arms vanished into a dark haze and she could feel the slow drain of ?ther all over her body.

  The cupboard behind her swung open violently, causing some jars stored on its shelves to shatter on the hard mud floor.

  “I told you it was stuck,” a male voice wheezed.

  “Be quiet, fool, what if someone is here?” a shrill male voice answered.

  “Do you seriously think they wouldn't have heard us by now? And besides, do you see anyone here?”

  “Alright, let's go then. It's still a long walk to the Imperator.”

  Maria glanced sideways along the edge of the pillar to Karan, who raised a hand extending two fingers. He then pointed one of them at Maria.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  You take one and I take one? But I don't have my runepouch with me.

  She shook her head at Karan before realizing that he wouldn't be able to see the gesture.

  Great, now what do I do?

  She racked her brain, trying to remember all the spells she ever learned to weave, but came up with nothing. The two men finished closing the cupboard.

  Dull footsteps came from behind her.

  No time left. Maria broke the channel loop she was still holding and pressed herself against the pillar.

  Karan was closer to the cupboard than Maria. He allowed the first man to pass him by unhindered before reaching out towards the next one.

  The first man now stepped past Maria with his eyes focused on the stairs ahead.

  From the corner of her eye, Maria saw the second man go down to the ground. She responded immediately by grabbing the first man's left arm and bending it behind his back.

  He screamed with a guttural roar as she pushed his arm up against his back.

  His other arm swung around wildly but was unable to reach Maria, who held her grip tightly.

  Karan stretched out his arm past her and touched the man's head, who immediately stopped screaming and turned limp. He fell down onto the mud floor, banging his head against a nearby shelf, leaving a bloody gash across his skull.

  “Did you have to dislocate his arm?” Karan asked.

  “Did I?” Maria said, somewhat stunned by how quickly everything had happened.

  “Why do you think he was screaming like that? Or do you perhaps have an extremely powerful grip?” Again, a smirk was visible on his face. “Well, at least you didn't set him on fire.”

  How can he be so casual about this? She wasn't about to show Karan her own unease, however.

  “Is everything alright down there?” Lakrima shouted from the top of the stairs.

  “We're fine, Lakrima,” Maria yelled back. “We've secured the runners. Everything can go ahead as planned, and fetch me my runepouch, if you will.”

  She dispelled the shroud and leaned against a wall, covering her eyes. Despite the positive outcome and a feeling of relief, her muscles still felt tense and her mind kept wandering from one potential disaster to another. What if they find another way to escape? What if more people are killed? What if one of my fellow magistras is killed?

  Maria stared at the thin line of blood that was streaming from the first man's head and an image of Jolene lying on the ground, covered with blood, popped into her head.

  No, no, don't think about things like that. That won't happen. Everyone knows not to take any risks. As long as they keep their distance, their bulwarks will keep them safe.

  “They don't have any tomes with them,” Karan said as he started to tie the two men to the pillar. “But they wouldn't give those to a couple of adepts like these two.”

  “You know them?”

  “I've seen them both before. They're part of the leeches that attach themselves to the inner circle in the hope they can advance more quickly. If they sent these two, Sill must still be feeling safe inside the mansion.”

  “Nobody should be attacking them,” Maria said. “A stand-off is in our best interest.”

  “Indeed,” Karan said, running the rope around both men several times. “Though weaving a spell instead of using a runestone is not.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why did you weave your shroud instead of using a rune?”

  “I left my pouch upstairs,” Maria admitted hesitantly, before making a throwaway gesture with her hand. “It worked out in the end.”

  Karan scoffed. “Who do you think held the door shut while these two tried to get in?”

  That surprised her. He did that? She suddenly felt clumsy.

  “I had a Force spell prepared in case there was a large group. But as you said, it worked out in the end,” he said sarcastically.

  Maria wanted to argue, but she knew he was right. The moment things got serious I turned into a stumbling fool, Maria thought bitterly, before recalling the burning man outside. And it's not just me, either.

  “You were right,” Maria admitted. “Magistras aren't cut out for this.”

  “I'm glad you understand,” Karan said. “But you can never prepare for everything, and things almost never go as planned. I learned that the hard way at the White Candle.” His expression became dark and remote.

  That's right, Maria realized. He already went through something much worse than this. Is that why he can remain so calm now?

  Karan pulled the rope hard one last time, rendering the two Callium men as a pair of tightly bound rolls. “That should do it.”

  “You were in charge at the White Candle, right? Did you make mistakes?” Maria asked.

  He stared at her for a moment and then looked away as if considering whether to answer.

  “I did,” he eventually said, now staring down at the two bound men. “Looking back on it, I made several bad decisions.”

  “Like what?”

  Again there was a brief interval before he answered.

  “During the first moments of the attack, right after the explosion, I gathered everyone in the lounge and focused on the nearby stairs. I just assumed that whatever was happening would appear from there.”

  “And it didn't.”

  “No,” Karan said, now looking Maria in the eyes. “It was through sheer dumb luck that we discovered the attack coming from the rear before it happened. Had we not, I probably wouldn't be here; all because I made a single false assumption about the situation.”

  He made a wrong call. But did I as well? Should I have aborted the entire thing instead?

  She was still pondering those questions when Lakrima called from upstairs. “Maria? I have your pouch here.”

  “Oh, good,” Maria said, before walking to the stairs.

  “Can you catch it?”

  “Just throw it,” Maria replied. “They can withstand a fall like that.”

  “Ingrid said that one of the Royal Guard lances has left the Winged Keep,” Lakrima added, before throwing the pouch. “They are headed this way.”

  “Excellent,” Maria answered, handily catching the pouch. “Tell me when they arrive. Once Callium notices the Royal Guard is here, they will try to flee with the tomes for certain.”

  She turned back towards Karan, who was inspecting the contents of a runepouch he had taken from one of the adepts.

  Behind him the cupboard started to move, slowly swinging open with a loud creak.

  Karan and Maria turned to stare at the person standing in the tunnel, a scrawny, middle-aged man with thin grey hair, wearing a Callium magister robe and holding a lit sun sigil.

  You can't prepare for everything.

  “Hello, Binn,” Karan said with a light tone. “I see you managed to crawl out from under your desk again.”

  “You?!” the Callium magister exclaimed. Binn dropped the sun sigil and his hands reached for his runepouch.

  Maria immediately did the same, though Karan was the first to hold one in his hands.

  “Remove your hands from the pouch, magister,” Karan said, stretching out his arm with the runestone held up. “This rune holds Major Guided Force and I will drop that entire tunnel on your head if I have to.”

  Binn slowly retracted his hand from the pouch.

  “Show me your hands.”

  The Callium magister did as he was told. Both hands were empty.

  “Good. Now throw that pouch over here and keep your hands apart at all times.”

  “I should have known it was you behind all this,” Binn said with barely contained anger, throwing the runepouch towards Karan.

  It landed on the floor with a small cascade of clacking.

  So this is Binn Akkazon, one of the inner circle.

  “You didn't think I would let you and Sill ruin my life like that, did you?” Karan said, his face turning red. “How delusional can you be?”

  “So you enlist these bitches to help you?” Binn scoffed. He glowered and pointed at Maria. “Your guild of whores will be done after this, you hear me? Done!”

  “The only one who will be done is you,” Maria said, ignoring the petty name-calling. “This is nothing compared to what you did at the White Candle. Now tell us why you are here.”

  “He's probably running for his life,” Karan smirked. “Does Sill even know you're here?”

  To Maria's surprise, the Callium magister turned even redder and pulled his arms close to his body. He actually tried to run away?

  “You don't know anything,” Binn snapped.

  “Whatever,” Karan said, using his free hand to beckon the Callium magister inside. “I don't really care about insignificant flies like you. I have bigger goals. Magistra, if you will.” Karan softly kicked Binn's runepouch towards Maria.

  Binn slowly started to shuffle into the cellar, his eyes searching the walls.

  Then, just as Maria squatted to pick up the pouch, he leaped forward and tried to grab Karan's outstretched arm. As he was still several steps away, Karan had more than enough time to retract his arm, and Binn tumbled to the ground as a result.

  Maria grabbed the pouch and withdrew a few steps.

  Binn placed an arm in front of his face. “You are both fools,” he muttered.

  Then the tunnel sucked him back in, his orange robe flapping around him.

  “Krat!” Karan yelled as Magister Akkazon tumbled back into the darkness of the tunnel. “He had another runestone hidden somewhere.”

  Maria's tension peaked. “We have to stop him—if he gets back to the mansion and tells them you are here, they might destroy the tomes.”

  “That won't happen,” Karan said. “Though they won't try to leave through here anymore.”

  “You keep saying that they won't destroy the tomes, but they definitely won't allow themselves to be caught with them.”

  “They'll try to escape,” Karan said. “Just look at what Binn did.” He moved towards the cupboard to close it before Maria grabbed his shoulder.

  “No, they won't,” Maria said. “Once Archmagister Yerwede learns you are here, they will realize what our plan is. And if not then, he will realize the moment the Royal Guard arrives.”

  “It won't matter,” Karan said, shaking off Maria's hand.

  “Not for you, it doesn't,” Maria said. She sped past him into the dark tunnel.

  “No, wait!” Karan yelled after her. “You don't understand...”

  He said something else as well, but Maria didn't listen, focusing instead on the dark path ahead.

  In the blackness of the tunnel her run quickly slowed to a walk, and then to a careful shuffle.

  The walls felt rough beneath her hands; a combination of compacted sand and small rocks.

  Where is he?

  Binn had dropped his sun sigil, so he was just as much in the dark as she was. She didn't dare light one herself, though. That would only make her a target.

  The light of the cellar behind her had vanished, and she realized she was alone. Karan had not followed her.

  Doesn't matter, Maria thought. This is the right call to make. If Magister Akkazon makes it back to the mansion, all will be lost.

  The doubt she had felt earlier left her. Determined, she quickened her pace as much as she dared in the absolute darkness of the tunnel.

  After a while she heard something in front of her: a soft wheezing sound.

  There he is.

  She silently crept closer to the breathless magister who seemed to be struggling to advance.

  He doesn't know I'm here, but what do I do now?

  She took a moment to cast Ashira's Veil on herself: a bulwark that shielded her from most harmful spells targeted directly at her body. It would keep her safe from the Force spells of the magister in front of her.

  Unfortunately, he was quite safe from her as well, as she had no idea which spell to use to stop him. Any spell with violent or environment-altering effects was out of the question. If the tunnel collapsed, she would be dead for certain. The darkness combined with her desire not to kill the magister erased the remaining options.

  How did Karan knock out those men? I should have asked.

  A loud cough came from somewhere in front of her, followed by a moan of pain.

  “Damn that traitor,” Binn muttered.

  He's injured, Maria realized. I better not try anything, then. If he panics and uses that spell of his without control, we're both dead.

  Maria didn't know how long they had been underground when she saw a faint light in the distance.

  There it is, she thought, right before something with an earthly smell stuck into one of her nostrils.

  With a whipping movement she snapped her head away from it, barely maintaining her balance.

  What was that? A tree root?

  A small itch started in her nose, swiftly growing into an overwhelming urge to sneeze. Maria covered her nose with both hands in an attempt to stop it, but to no avail.

  Her sneeze echoed through the tunnel.

  The ragged breathing in front of her briefly stopped, and a moment later she saw a dark figure outlined against the faint light of the tunnel entrance.

  “Is that you, Karan?” Binn's voice said. “Are you following me?”

  Maria didn't answer. She waited with bated breath.

  “I certainly hope so, because you can die here then.”

  The finality in Binn's voice spurred Maria into action. I have to take him out now.

  But Binn did not cast any spell. Instead, he started to run towards the entrance.

  With a sense of relief, Maria hurried after him. He's a coward, alright.

  “Help!” Binn yelled. “Help, they are coming through the tunnel!”

  Maria crashed into his back, sending them both to the ground.

  I can't let him cast anything! There was a brief struggle as Maria desperately tried to find Binn's arms.

  “Let go!” Binn yelled.

  Her hands grasped a limb and she immediately placed a knee on it. Binn howled in agony in response.

  I need to silence him somehow, Maria thought frantically. Under the circumstances, however, she couldn't even try to knock him out as she had no idea where his head was.

  Then something knocked her in the jaw and the impact caused her to fall down again.

  What was that?

  She couldn't hear Binn's wheezing breath anymore, and after feeling around on the nearby floor, she noticed the magister was no longer there.

  Did he blackshift?

  Behind her, deeper in the tunnel, she heard the sound of something hard hitting wood, immediately followed by yet another agonizing scream.

  No, he used that spell of his, Maria realized as she scrambled to her feet. Great.

  She put a step forward towards the noise when another sound reached her ears. One similar to heavy rain upon the roof of a tent, only with less sharpness to each drop.

  For an indivisibly small moment, Maria froze in place, before spinning around and dashing towards the entrance, knowing full well what that sound meant.

  The tunnel had started to collapse.

  Behind her the frequency and intensity of the rumbling sound increased and Maria ran as fast as she could.

  Before she reached the tunnel entrance, the sounds behind her stopped and Maria slowed her pace to listen more closely. The darkness behind her remained silent.

  Maria shuddered. Buried alive. What a horrible end.

  She did not regret her part in Binn's death, however. It was his own mistake, and I have other things to worry about now.

  Before her, less than ten steps away, lay the entrance to the mansion. So far she could not see any movement beyond or hear any voices. For now it appeared that nobody had heard Magister Akkazon's cries for help.

  I can't stay here though, Maria thought. Someone is bound to show up sooner rather than later. But where do I go? I can't go back.

  Maria's group of magistras had set up a blackshift anchor in case of an emergency, but that was of no use to Maria as her channel strength was four ranks short of the Entropy required for the spell, and she didn't have a charged blackshift sigil with her.

  I just need to hide somewhere until the Royal Guard gets here, Maria thought as she retrieved her shroud runestone. I can worry about what happens next afterwards.

  She cast the shroud and then skulked towards the light.

  The cellar of the mansion was at least five times the size of the cellar on the other end of the tunnel. Wine racks covered all the walls, and small barrels were stacked in several discrete piles in the middle of the room. There were no windows; all the light came from a handful of sun sigils spread out over the room that revealed no-one present.

  Maria hurried towards the darkest spot in the room, which was located beneath the stairs that led to the ground floor.

  A sizeable pile of neatly stacked firewood was kept underneath, and Maria found a particularly large block to seat herself upon. I doubt anyone is going to make a fire now.

  There she waited for some time, occasionally hearing footsteps moving over the floor above or the distant sound of voices. She wondered what was going on above her. Were the others still successfully confining the Callium magisters to the mansion? And what was happening at the other end of the tunnel right now? Lakrima would know by now that Maria had entered the tunnel by herself. How would everyone respond to that? I should have taken a signal stone as well, Maria thought, scolding herself. Why do I only realize I'm missing these things when I need them?

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of many rapidly approaching footsteps, followed by the cellar door above her being swung open with a loud bang.

  Instinctively, she made herself smaller, even though the odds of somebody seeing her were close to non-existent.

  “I'm telling you that hole is where the tunnel is,” a voice said as several people started to descend the stairs. “They found it.”

  “We'll see soon enough,” another voice said.

  Three men, two in magister robes and one in common clothes, headed straight for the tunnel entrance.

  Maria could only see the backs of their heads, so she had no idea who they were. None of them was fat, however, so Callium's archmagister wasn't among them.

  “You want me to go in there?” the man wearing the common clothes asked hesitantly.

  “If that hole is indeed the tunnel, it's only a small distance away,” the taller of the two magisters said. He was the owner of the second voice that Maria had heard.

  “Get in there,” the other magister snapped. He ran a hand through his black shoulder-length hair as the subject of his ire tentatively walked into the tunnel.

  Wasn't there an inner circle member with long hair? Jakken Salfazon, he was called.

  “What do we do when the tunnel is blocked?” the taller magister asked.

  “Not use it,” Jakken said drily.

  “And the adepts we sent?”

  “Who knows? They could be dead or be at the Imperator right now. Or maybe they were the ones who caused the cave-in because the enemy found the tunnel.” He shrugged. “We can speculate until our lips turn blue, but that doesn't change the fact that their fate doesn't matter at the moment. All that matters is whether or not it's blocked.”

  “That's...” The taller magister didn't finish his sentence.

  “Don't worry about it,” Jakken said with confidence. “When they attacked us at the Candle, it was the same. All we have to do is hold out until the Royal Guard shows up and that won't be much longer.”

  Maria smiled. They don't even realize that it's us attacking them. They are going to let the Royal Guard right in.

  “And the tomes?”

  “If we can't take them away, we'll have to hide them. The Royal Guard doesn't know we have them, so they won't be looking for them.”

  And that's where you are wrong. Because of Ingrid, the Royal Guard already knew that White Candle spelltomes were being kept here.

  It does change things though, she thought as her smile disappeared. The original plan had called for them to intercept the tomes as they were being removed from the mansion. If they were being hidden inside the mansion, there was a chance the Royal Guard wouldn't find them.

  Again, she silently cursed her lack of foresight to bring a signal stone.

  “The tunnel is closed,” the third man said as he re-emerged. “I don't know what happened, but there is no way through it now.”

  “Any sign of an explosion?”

  “No, nothing. It's just sand. It looks like one of the support beams gave out.”

  The taller magister turned towards Jakken, allowing Maria the first glimpse of his face. He was a young man, someone who had likely just received his title.

  “So now what? That was our last way out.”

  “I'm more concerned with the reason for the collapse,” Jakken said, “though it seems it wasn't intentional. Perhaps it was caused by one of the tickers they keep throwing at us.”

  “Are you certain it wasn't deliberate?”

  “If it was, why did they collapse it here? If they wanted to prevent us from using the tunnel, why not collapse it at the other end instead of coming all the way here first?”

  “But what if that wasn't their purpose?” the taller magister insisted. “What if they came in through the tunnel and collapsed it to lure us here into a trap?”

  Silence fell as the three men all turned to look around the cellar, casting nervous glances in all directions, including the stairs Maria was seated under.

  She held her breath.

  “Don't be ridiculous,” Jakken said eventually, although his voice lacked its previous confidence. “If there was a trap, it would have been sprung by now.”

  Maria exhaled slowly and soundlessly. That was close; if they were going to scry, they would have found me.

  Above her, the cellar door opened. “Magister Salfazon?” a new voice called.

  “I'm here,” Jakken answered, the three of them moving back to the stairs.

  “The archmagister wants to know if we can use the tunnel and if you found Magister Akkazon yet.”

  “No and no,” Jakken responded. “I'm afraid we're going to have to hide our research before the Royal Guard arrives.”

  The three men started to ascend the stairs when Maria heard a fast clacking sound accompanied by something moving near her stomach.

  Her heart skipped a beat as she instinctively struck at the source of the movement, only to realize that her runepouch was the culprit.

  What?

  Above her the loud footsteps on the stairs drowned out any sound. The Callium men left without hearing anything and closed the door behind them.

  In the meantime her pouch continued unabated, moving and clacking.

  Karan's signal stone! With a surge of hope she opened her pouch and retrieved the vibrating stone. I forgot all about it. It was the same stone Karan had given her to contact him. She had put it in her runepouch then, and having only used it once since, she had completely forgotten she had it.

  Her right hand grasped the stone and she sent back the general confirmation signal.

  Where? the stone vibrated, each character in turn.

  Cellar.

  Status?

  Hidden... Trapped... Tunnel gone.

  Callium?

  Trapped... Waiting... Hiding tomes.

  Guard arrived... We withdrew.

  Good, Maria thought. No sense getting into a fight with them. Now I just need to extract myself from this predicament.

  The biggest question with regard to her situation was what exactly the Royal Guard believed was happening here. They knew that Callium was hiding White Candle spelltomes here, or so Ingrid had told them, and they knew that there was a fight going on.

  That makes it very likely they will believe the same thing Callium does. The same attackers from before have returned, only this time they are targeting the spelltomes.

  The stone vibrated again, asking for a response.

  Not much I can do, she realized. If she wanted to leave, she would have to go through the door above her, and being underground meant she couldn't force her way out either.

  I stay hidden, Maria signalled back. Surrender to guard if needed.

  The stone confirmed her message and Maria put it away.

  She waited in silence for a while, listening to the sounds above her, until heavy footsteps approached and the cellar door opened once more.

  Through the gaps of the stairs Maria could see two men slowly descending, carrying a chest between them. A third man followed them, and once they reached the bottom, Maria saw they were the same three as before.

  “Where do we put it?” the tall magister asked out of breath. Whatever was in the chest was heavy, and Maria felt a surge of excitement. That must be the tomes!

  “In the ground,” Jakken said as he stepped past the two men holding the chest. “Wait a moment while I make a hole.”

  “Can't we just put it in the tunnel?” the tall magister asked. “They will enter the mansion any moment now.”

  “The archmagister will keep them occupied,” Jakken said, looking around the cellar. “And the tunnel is a bad idea. They are bound to find it because of the pothole outside.” He scratched his chin. “In fact, leave the tunnel door open as well. They will focus on that if they happen to enter here.”

  “So where?”

  “There, in the corner.”

  The men shuffled past Maria, who made herself as small as possible.

  In the corner of the room Jakken knelt down and used an empty bottle to poke into the ground. “This will do.”

  He retrieved a runestone from his robe and closed his eyes.

  Is he just going to force the dirt down?

  A loud thump confirmed her expectation.

  The two men lowered the chest into the hole, and Jakken covered it with a folded winepress cloth.

  “That's it,” Jakken said. “Let's get back upstairs.”

  “Shouldn't we be watching it?” the tall magister asked.

  “Are you kidding me?” Jakken snapped. “The guard will be immediately suspicious of someone just standing around in a cellar.”

  “But shouldn't we check the area at least? To make sure nobody is here?”

  In her mind Maria called the tall magister every curse word she could remember. One of her hands reached into her runepouch.

  “Are you still going on about that?” Jakken said, now clearly annoyed. “There is nobody here. Now get back up there and look scared and haggard. We need to put on a show.”

  A moment later, Maria was alone once more.

  She grabbed the signal stone and started to repeatedly send a message.

  Found tomes.

  After a few moments, a response came.

  Where?

  Corner of cellar near stairs... Underneath cloth.

  Okay... Will inform guard.

  Maria had to stop herself from cackling with glee. With this, Callium's fate is sealed.

  Slightly dazed, she sat back down on the block of wood. The thought that everything she had hoped to achieve would come true within the hour filled her with a radiant and enveloping warmth.

  She stared at the purple stained cloth that covered the chest. So much knowledge in such a small spot. She turned her head to listen for any sounds, but apart from some distant and faint noises, she heard nothing. Maybe I should check the contents of the chest. There's still a possibility it's something else, after all. She nodded to herself. Yes, I should do that.

  After tossing the cloth aside, she stroked the polished wood of the chest before trying to open it. The lid didn't budge.

  Locked, of course, Maria thought. I have something for that though.

  She retrieved a small runestone from her pouch and held it near the lock, only to realize she couldn't see what she was doing as the shroud obscured her hand.

  Again she listened to the sounds above her. Still nothing, but I'd better hurry.

  With a tingle that ran through her entire body, she dispelled the shroud and immediately started to focus ?ther into the little runestone that contained a magnetism spell. If she used it in the right way, it should be able to turn the metal hook that kept the chest locked.

  The lock made light ticking noises as she adjusted the power of the spell.

  The hook should be here, she thought before giving it one more nudge.

  With a loud click, the chest unlocked.

  Overwhelmed with a sense of euphoria, she grabbed the lid with her left hand and swung it open. Contained within the chest was a stack of tomes, notebooks, several densely scribbled papers and a few runestones. A small white sun sigil was set into the underside of the lid, allowing Maria to read some of the words.

  This is it! She eagerly reached inside with her free hand and pulled out a tome and several notebooks.

  The white sun sigil's light started to flicker at a slow pace.

  Maria didn't notice, overwhelmed by the possibilities these tomes offered. Should I take some of these with me? No reason for all of them to be taken by the Royal Guard.

  The sound of heavy footsteps drew her from her musings and she turned her head towards the stairs. Oh krat! They're here.

  The cellar door opened and Maria turned back towards the chest to close it, only to be blinded by a bright green light that emanated from the chest. At the same time she felt a brief but searing pain run through her left arm.

  Blinded and dazed, she fell backwards as a queer smell entered her nose.

  What happened? she thought as her sight started to recover, returning other colours than green to her vision.

  She could hear voices behind her, but she paid them no heed as part of the green light in her vision was refusing to disappear.

  After blinking and moving her head about, she noticed the green light was coming from her left arm. Or more specifically, the green flames that covered it.

  I'm burning?

  Still holding the papers in her right hand, she climbed back to her feet, staring at the green flames that had already finished with her robe and now devoured her flesh. There was no pain, and she watched the licking flames with a distant curiosity.

  A voice came from behind her and she staggered as she turned around to face the group of men watching her. Some were dressed in Callium robes, others wearing the purple cloak of the Royal Guard.

  Maria realized the now overwhelming smell was coming from her arm. So this is what burning flesh smells like.

  Then everything turned black.