Trey missed his afternoon classes on the last school day of the week. Marvin’s schedule gave him just enough time to attend Frye’s physical training and Karl’s weapons training. Afterward, Jeffers handed him a set of onyx-steel armor, neatly packed and ready for his mission.


    As Trey passed through the gateway to leave campus, he was surprised to see a familiar redhead standing next to Marvin. “What is she doing here?” he asked his older mentor.


    “Well, excuse you!” Bree said with a mock scowl. “You don’t want your Papa to meet your girlfriend?”


    “Cut it out,” Marvin''s grumpy voice interjected. “Both of you. We have a long journey ahead and I’m not the least bit interested in babysitting.”


    “I’m a teacher, too!” Bree protested.


    Marvin snorted. “Could’ve fooled me.”


    The fire magic teacher raised her arm to punch Marvin, thought better of it, and instead, slugged Trey in the shoulder.


    “Hey! I didn’t say anything!” Trey exclaimed, glaring at the redhead.


    Marvin rubbed his forehead, trying to massage out the newly forming headache, then started walking. Trey and Bree looked at each other and then broke into a trot, catching up to the older dark mage.


    “Where are we going?” Trey asked after reaching his mentor’s side. Both professors were wearing non-descript robes, with no signs of Windrake allegiance on them.


    “We’re going on a Trey-sure hunt, obviously,” Bree joked, winking at Trey.


    Marvin rolled his eyes. “Koljun.”


    Trey stared at his cantankerous mentor. “A little more, please?”


    “I haven’t been able to contact Hektor since our meeting,” Marvin explained, not breaking stride. “Yet, one of my other sources claims to have spotted him recently in Koljun. Here, put this on.”


    Trey grabbed the lightweight cloak and covered his Windrake tunic. “And Bree’s coming along in case there’s trouble?”


    Marvin nodded. “Something doesn’t feel right. I’d expect Hektor to be dead if I lost contact with him, yet he turns up in a town just outside Greshelm. It feels… off. I decided to bring along some extra firepower—just in case.”


    “I’m still missing a lot of details,” Bree chimed in. “Why do we care about this Hektor?”


    “Is she this talkative during your lessons?” Marvin asked Trey.


    “During my lessons, I can interrupt anyone I want,” she said primly. “Professor''s prerogative.”


    The young guardian shrugged. “I think she’s just excited to be included in our secret mission.”


    Bree snorted. “Speaking of secret missions… Marvin, how have you managed to keep a mind mage hidden for so long?”


    Marvin’s eyes widened and he stumbled to a dead stop. “Dammit, Trey,” he growled, shooting a scowl at the boy. “What did you tell her?”


    “Nothing,” Trey answered, slowly shaking his head at the devious fire magic teacher, who had the smugness of victory plastered on her face.


    “Then how does she… Fuck.”


    “I thought I taught you better than that, old man,” Trey retorted with amusement. “I can’t believe you fell for such a silly trick.”


    Marvin opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. “Now we have to kill her,” he eventually said in a tired voice, pulling out his wand.


    “What?!” Trey and Bree yelled in unison.


    Marvin burst out laughing. “You both deserved that—Trey, for attacking my dignity, and Bree, for pulling that juvenile goblin shit on me.”


    The dark mage then slapped Trey upside his head. “And there’s no way she pulled that out of her ass without some kind of hint. I have no doubts you revealed something.”


    Trey shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. They continued traveling in silence for nearly half an hour, which was the amount of time it took for Marvin to stop pouting. He finally relented, filling Bree in on the relevant details.


    “So,” Bree asked, clarifying her understanding. “You think Harold Greene, Aribelle Forswick, and possibly Grimstone might be in Koljun?”


    “This is the best lead I have,” Marvin replied, “even if it’s fishier than a mermaid prostitute.”


    Bree glanced over her shoulder at the teleporter they had just passed. “And we aren’t using the teleporter because you’re worried they might be watching the other side?”


    “Smart girl,” Marvin remarked. “It’s only a few hours'' walk, and I want to get there early to scout the best spots and form a strategy for a potential evening breach.”


    The trio continued on their way until they reached the perimeter wall surrounding Greshlem. After passing through the guarded exit, they entered the outer section of Greshlem, where the buildings began to spread out more sparsely.


    Marvin glanced around as they walked down the road. Convinced that they were isolated enough, he turned to Trey. “Have you gotten anything more from Mako?”


    Trey shook his head. “Not since our team meeting.”


    “Who?” Bree asked, not bashful about eavesdropping.


    “Makorra Kinche,” Marvin answered. “Do you know her?”


    “I think I recognize the name from when I was a student,” Bree replied. “She’s a dark mage?”


    Marvin nodded. “Apparently Professor Greene got to her and she’s been given a mission: eliminate me.”


    Bree’s jaw dropped. “She’s trying to kill you?”


    “That’s what my sources—uh, Trey—discovered.”


    “They even have a codename for him,” Trey said with a chuckle. “Night Badger.”


    Marvin pursed his lips at his nickname.


    “Fitting,” Bree teased. “Isn’t it nice, now that I know?”


    “No,” came Marvin’s curt reply.


    “What are you going to do about Mako?” the fire mage asked.


    “Trey is going to find out all he can the next time he sees her,” Marvin responded, “then I have to figure out how to make Gordon suspicious of her without clueing him in on our undercover mind mage.”


    “What would happen if the Grand Oracle found out about Trey?”


    “What do you think?” the dark mage said grimly.


    Bree studied Trey as she strode alongside him. “Hmph.”


    “What does that mean?” Trey inquired.


    “Marvin knows the Grand Oracle better than I do,” Bree said, “but even I could imagine him having an adverse reaction to discovering a new mind mage.”


    Trey frowned. “I was hoping Marvin was just being overly paranoid.”


    Bree smirked. “While he’s definitely paranoid, I can’t ignore his wisdom.”


    Marvin remained silent as they strode along the road, the trees on either side growing taller and thicker. The conversation between Trey and Bree continued naturally, with Trey curious about Bree’s experience as a student. Bree, in turn, was amused by the tales of Marvin’s attempts to teach Trey fire magic.


    Arriving near Koljun, Marvin led them off the main road and onto a dirt path that wound around a farm before heading into town.


    “Try not to stick out,” Marvin said to Trey.


    Trey glanced over his shoulder at the bundle of armor that was weighing on his back, wondering what Marvin was expecting him to do. They found a small group of five ruggedly dressed woodsmen to follow. The men, axes slung over their shoulders and wood shavings clinging to their overalls, chatted amongst themselves, completely unaware of the trio tailing behind them.


    Breaking off when they arrived in the more central, densely populated area of Koljun, Trey followed Marvin behind a brick building that housed a cluster of shops. They navigated down a long alley that brought them to a road. Across the road lay a lumberyard.


    “There it is,” Marvin muttered to no one in particular. He peered both directions from their alleyway vantage, and after waiting for two travelers to fade from sight, he rushed across the street, gesturing to his companions to follow. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    They hopped over a short wall and then moved along the perimeter, hidden by the large, neatly organized stacks of freshly cut lumber. It took them a while, but they made it to the opposite side of the large yard without any encounters. Peeking over the wall, Marvin examined a regal, but gloomy structure adjacent to the lumberyard. The building’s stone walls promised strength, but it looked worn, if not abandoned.


    “That’s our target,” Marvin announced quietly. “It’s the warehouse where Hektor was supposedly poking around.


    “Should I go knock?” Bree jested, playfully rifling through her hair as if she were making herself presentable.


    “No,” Marvin said, ignoring her jest, handing her a long spyglass instead. “I want you to keep a vigilant eye on it. Trey and I will venture around town, and see what information we can gather. Be back in an hour.”


    Slightly surprised, Bree took the spyglass as Trey deposited his bundle at the base of the wall, and scurried after Marvin.


    The duo made their way back through the lumberyard and snuck back towards the busy part of town. “I’m going to stay mostly out of sight,” Marvin instructed. “You’ll be most likely to go unrecognized and you''re a walking lie detector.”


    “So, find some people and ask what they know about the warehouse?”


    “A little more finesse than that, please,” Marvin responded. “You''re a young man just passing through looking for some manual labor for a quick coin. You should be able to easily steer the conversation to the warehouse without raising too much suspicion.”


    Trey nodded.


    “There!” Marvin said, pointing out a well-groomed man with an official-looking uniform on. “Go see what kind of mood he’s in.”


    Trey sprang into action, stepping onto the street with a casual stride. "Excuse me, good sir," he called out. "Could I trouble you for a moment of your time?"


    The man glanced back. "I''m hurrying to the courthouse right now, but I could lend you the tick of a clock.”


    "I''m just traveling through and looking for some quick work," Trey said. "Do you know of any places that could use some extra muscle?"


    "Hmm," the man pondered for a moment. "You might want to check out the lumberyard. I bet you could find a day''s work there."


    "Thanks!" Trey replied. "Is that the lumberyard just beyond this city block?" He gestured over a cluster of buildings.


    The man nodded and turned to leave the conversation, but Trey interrupted his escape with another question. “There’s a warehouse near the lumberyard, correct? Might they hire someone like me?”


    "Ah, you must be referring to the old prison," the man explained. "It was used during the Burning Covenant to hold dangerous mages. About ten years ago, though, it was converted into a warehouse. I can''t tell you much about what they do. Whoever runs the operation over there is… Well, they keep to themselves."


    Trey nodded, discerning the unspoken parts with his mind magic. He could feel the man''s hesitation and the hint of wariness in his tone.


    “I must really be going now,” the man said, excusing himself from the interaction.


    Trey roamed the street, engaging several others in a very similar conversation, but didn’t discover anything additional. After about an hour, he and Marvin started heading back to the lumberyard.


    “You did well,” Marvin said as they stepped into the alley. “I almost forgive you for slipping up with Bree.”


    Trey snorted. “Who was it that slipped up?”


    “We need to be more cautious now that she’s aware,” Marvin replied, his tone serious. “I don’t trust her to be careful around the Grand Oracle.”


    “The secret will come out eventually,” Trey warned.


    “Speaking of which, what did Skye request of you for her birthday?”


    Trey froze. “Uh, what?”


    “Did Skye ask you for something specific for her birthday?”


    Trey bit his bottom lip, but luckily, Marvin continued before he felt pressured to respond.


    “She wants me to tell her the truth about her parents.”


    “Oh,” Trey said, exhaling with relief.


    “I think it might finally be time,” Marvin said, prompting Trey’s brow to raise. “I’m just worried how she’ll take it.”


    “She’ll find out at some point,” Trey advised. “I think it would be best to tell her now.”


    Marvin fell silent, lost in thought.


    Weaving through the lumberyard, they swiftly made it to the far side, the warehouse looming ahead. Upon spotting their approach, Bree waved them over with quiet urgency. They dashed over to see what the commotion was.


    “I saw him go in,” the redhead told them excitedly. “Harold Greene.”


    Marvin’s eyes widened. He looked up at the sky, where dusk was rapidly descending, though enough light lingered to illuminate their surroundings. “We make our move as soon as the sun sets. Trey, gear up.”


    After a moment of preparation, the trio of covert operatives darted over to the warehouse. Marvin quickly glanced around, ensuring they escaped detection, then he turned to the structure, running his hands along the stone wall. “These walls feel thick. You said this used to be a prison?”


    “Yeah,” Trey replied.


    Marvin frowned. “There might only be one entrance then—and we might need to go through it.”


    They sidled along the base of the exterior as they crept closer to the entrance. From the tip of Marvin''s wand, a tendril of dark magic snaked through the air, targeting the lock on the heavily reinforced door. With a few deft twists, the latch clicked open.


    "Trey first," Marvin whispered. "We need to enter quickly and catch them off guard. Keep your eyes peeled—I''m still not convinced this isn''t a trap." He signaled for the operation to begin.


    Sword and shield in hand, Trey charged through the door. The first room was surprisingly small, occupied by two startled guards, who were fumbling to draw their shortswords. Before any effective defense could be formed, Trey reached the first guard, driving his sword into his gut. He followed that up with a slash across the throat for good measure. The other guard’s fate was abruptly served in the form of a flaming-hot fireball.


    Marvin quickly brushed past them, casting another Lockpick spell on the barred door that offered a limited view into a much larger storage room. With relative ease, the door opened and the three intruders rushed in, spreading out as they expertly scoured the area for threats.


    The search through the storage room proved to be anti-climatic as no fugitive mages appeared. Along the edge of the massive room, walls partitioned off semi-isolated spaces, each nook filled with stacked wooden crates.


    Marvin and Trey peeked into a few wooden crates, finding different ores and gems. Trey found one that held an assortment of artifacts, but Bree called his attention to her side of the room before he could investigate further. A bunch of boxes had been strategically stacked to form a maze-like path to a hidden staircase that led deeper into the ground. Marvin took a deep breath, then unleashed a puff of smoke down the stairs before nudging Trey forward.


    Trey climbed down, securing the landing in the smoke screen while the two professors joined him. After Marvin dispelled the smoke, the trio scanned the area, remaining on high alert as the eerie silence gnawed at them. The basement consisted of a labyrinth of corridors and cells, providing numerous nooks for a potential assailant to hide.


    “We stick together,” Marvin whispered, much to Trey’s approval. “Don’t group up, but stay within eyesight.”


    Down a corridor they went, trudging forward with cautious confidence. Trey rounded a corner and tensed, thinking he saw movement. Bre, who was behind him, jumped forward with her wand ready.


    “What did you see?” she whispered into his ear.


    “I’m not sure,” he replied. Edging forward, he re-established a safe distance between him and his fire magic support.


    Once again on the prowl, he turned another corner, squinting through the darkness trying to spot anything out of place. He advanced down the corridor, feeling an increased sense of unease.


    Suddenly, the basement erupted in a blaze of radiant light, blinding him for several seconds. The sounds of clanking metal and cranking mechanisms filled the air, followed by Marvin’s thunderous roar. Just as Trey regained his vision, he saw a dark spell streak down the corridor and strike Bree, sending her spinning to the ground. Reacting instinctively, he raised his shield just in time to deflect the fire spell aimed at him.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, he grabbed Bree and yanked her into a corner at the end of the corridor, all while dodging a storm of magic that whizzed past them.


    While their new position protected them from being flanked, they were now cornered, with three figures blocking their path. Trey instantly recognized Hektor by his braided hair and identified Harold Greene and Aribelle Forswick from Marvin’s rough descriptions.


    They wasted no time, launching a vigorous assault that demanded Trey’s full focus. “Bree, you good? I’ve got the whole crew here,” he said, gauging her condition amidst the havoc. He could still hear Marvin angrily yelling in the background.


    “Yeah,” she replied, a hint of teasing in her voice. “I was just enjoying the show of you rescuing me.” A rush of fire jetted from her wand, directed at their enemies. Trey frowned, realizing her magic was missing its usual oomph.


    "Night Badger is contained!" came a shout from behind the chaos of the battle. The trio of assaulting mages looked relieved at the confirmation, celebrating the news by sending a barrage of magic at the pair of trapped trespassers.


    Trey grunted and he blocked the brunt of the attacks with his shield. He maneuvered skillfully in front of Bree, doing his best to shelter her from the onslaught.


    “Gortrun!” Harold Greene bellowed, launching a Shadow Missile straight at Trey. “Begin the Necrotic Gas on Night Badger! Put him down!”


    “Nothing personal, Marvin!” Hektor yelled.


    “I will fucking kill you, Hektor!” the furious dark mage shot back, his rage only slightly muffled by distance.


    “Well, maybe a little personal!” Hektor replied. “You’re an asshole!”


    Magic continued to fly back and forth, though a lot more flew in Trey’s direction. “Why does everyone have Mindguards?” he muttered with frustration.


    Though his question was rhetorical, Bree still felt the need to answer. “Because mind mages are terrifying… and hot. They’re scared the Grand Oracle might show up.”


    Trey clenched his jaw, knowing there was no chance Marvin clued the headmaster in on their plans. He blocked an incoming fire projectile and dark magic spell, but a ray of light magic tagged him on the shoulder. “Fuck,” he cursed, shaking off the pain. Bree flicked her wand, returning fire, but Trey could tell she wasn’t at her full strength.


    “I got hit with a Dampening spell,” Bree told him. “My magic is going to be shit for a little while. Take my wand and blast the fuck out of them.”


    Trey reached for the wand, but his enemies exploited his split-second shift in focus to launch a wave of spells. Luckily, Trey managed to block the deluge of magic targeting him. Unfortunately, a fireball slipped past and hit Bree. She screamed as her torso became engulfed in flames, with the wave of her hand, the flames were snuffed, but she wasn’t expecting the dark magic spell that came flying in, nailing her square in the chest. She went flying back, slamming into the wall behind her, and then crumpling to the ground.


    Trey roared, using his newly acquired wand to unleash an Infernal Vortex down the corridor. The raging torrent of flames smashed into the group of attackers, with Hektor catching the spell head-on. He was thrown back, falling to the ground in a pile of smoldering robes.


    “What in the Archmage’s name?!” Harold exclaimed. “The null guardian is a fire mage! Fucking Marvin!”


    Hektor rose up gingerly while Trey unleashed a series of firebolts at the other mages. Trey stole a glance back at his downed ally. His rage was mildly alleviated when he saw the redhead stir, but she was not in good shape.


    He sliced through an Infernal Vortex that was sent his way and blocked another Shadow Missile.


    “Trey,” a weak voice came from behind him. “You need to make a run for it. You''re the best chance we’ve got at getting help.”


    Trey laughed despite their predicament. “The moment I leave, you’re dead.”


    “I’m dead anyway.” He could hear the despair in her voice. “I think I could conjure enough magic to cover your retreat.”


    Trey shook his head. “I’m going to get you out of here,” he promised, though he had to admit the situation was bleak. “I’ve got one more trick up my sleeve.”


    He raised his wand, ready to even the battlefield, but before he could cast, ice spears soared into the havoc, seemingly from nowhere. They smashed into the attacking force that had the battered pair pinned down. A bright flash followed, accompanied by a blazing arc of light that sliced through Hektor’s midsection.


    “Oh, fuck!” someone screamed. “The Golden Goose has landed!”