<b>[Scene Loading...]


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    <b>[Location: Leoncrest Castle - Dining Hall]</b>


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    [Date: August 28, y. 485 of the Fourth Age]</b>


    The next few days wore Zeke to his core. He was exhausted as he dropped down into a chair across from Elise at dinnertime, every part of his body aching.


    She looked up at him and smiled, and he smiled wearily back.


    "Sounds like you''ve been having quite the time," Elise commented. "Everyone''s talking about you."


    Zeke sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Well, I suppose they say that any publicity is good publicity. Do I want to ask what they''re saying?"


    "Some people think that you''re already the greatest knight that the realm has ever seen, and you''re pushing yourself to heights that the rest of us could only imagine," Elise shrugged. "Then, others think that you''re nothing more than a weakling, and you''re doing all this extra work to avoid drowning here."


    "Hey, nothing wrong with a little bit of elbow grease," Zeke muttered. "Not my fault that I had to cram it into two months'' time instead of doing it over the course of twenty years."


    "Hey, I''m right there with you," Elise shrugged with a smile. "You''re doing well, from what I can see."


    Suddenly, her face scrunched up, and she leaned to one side. "Do you mind if we just take our food and leave?"


    Zeke glanced in the direction she was looking. He recognized her instructor, who had just entered and who was looking around sharply.


    At the same moment, he saw Diocletian slip into the room as well, along with a growing pack of cronies who seemed to be attracted to his power.


    "That works for me," he nodded. "Let''s go."


    They lost no time getting out of there, and quickly rose and made their way to the exit. There, a handful of wooden platters stood at the ready, and they quickly transferred their food from their ceramic plates to the more durable wooden ones, then made their escape.


    Zeke thought he heard someone call out after them, and Elise waved at him.


    "Hurry!"


    They dashed ahead, then ducked into a dark doorway. There was a moment of breathless anticipation, and footsteps echoed behind them.


    "Elise?" The instructor called out. After a long moment, the woman hmphed, then walked away.


    The two of them let out a sigh of relief, and started walking along.


    Neither one of them asked the other where they wanted to go, but by some common consensus, they wound up back in Zeke''s room. Inside, once the door was shut, it felt like they had a bit of privacy, and Zeke sighed and sat down at his desk while Elise sat down on Ralph''s bed.


    "So what''s the deal with your instructor, anyway?" Zeke asked as he started to munch on his meal of chicken and vegetables. It was quite good, seasoned with some sort of sweet (and yet spicy) flavor that he didn''t recognize.


    "Oh, she''s just worried about me," Elise sighed. "All the commoners have one. The assumption is that we don''t know our left foot from our right, or how to talk to anyone, or how to behave in society without grabbing pitchforks and torches and charging the nearest noble to overthrow them. Most of the instructors for the other commoners I know are actually pretty nice, and have really done a good job helping them to adjust, because it is an adjustment, but mine? She seems to think that I''m totally and utterly incompetent in every sense of the word."


    "I''m sorry to hear that," Zeke sighed as Elise started in on her food. After a moment, he flashed a smile. "Does that mean that you don''t want to grab pitchforks and torches and overthrow all the nobles?"


    She laughed and shook her head. "Actually, peasant life wasn''t that bad at all. From what I can tell, it gets stereotyped as this hard and cruel life, and I''ll admit that having servants at your beck and call is pretty nice, but living out there on the farm was rather peaceful.


    We had a community of people in the area who helped out with things. There was one family that had something like six milk cows, and they made all the butter and cheese for the area... And then we had a wheat field and made bread, and there was another family that specialized in vegetables...


    We didn''t have storehouses full of food and treasure, but we never went hungry, either."


    "Huh," Zeke frowned and leaned back in his chair. "Interesting."


    "So how was your life, growing up in a castle?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye. "Every whim and appetite able to be pleased at a moment''s notice?"


    Zeke had to laugh, and he shook his head. "Actually, it was pretty miserable."


    "Really? But you had servants and feasts and everything," Elise said, her eyes wide with surprise.


    "Oh, sure, there was plenty of food," Zeke nodded. "But our father was... strict doesn''t begin to cover it. Lord Agrian Godfrey believes every second should be productive. No idle hands in his household."


    "What about when you were really little?" Elise asked. "Surely even your father wouldn''t expect a small child to be productive every minute."


    Zeke smiled, remembering. "That''s where Artax came in. He''d sneak me out of my lessons to go fishing or exploring in the woods. We''d climb to the highest tower and drop things onto the guards'' helmets to see what made the loudest noise."


    "No wonder you''re good at survival in the forest," Elise laughed. "You''ve been training since you were little."


    "I wouldn''t call it training," Zeke said. "Just brothers having fun. Artax taught me more about life while playing than our tutors ever did in their lessons.


    Father caught us once, building a raft to sail down the river that runs through our lands. He was furious, but Artax told him it was a practical lesson in engineering and buoyancy."


    "Did he believe that?"


    "Not for a second," Zeke grinned. "But he couldn''t argue with Artax''s logic."


    They sat and talked for several hours, about their childhoods and their various struggles and ires with the Academy. Zeke told her about his morning training sessions with Victoria and his evening aura lessons with Professor Gilda, while Elise shared stories about her magic classes and the challenges of being one of the few commoners at Leoncrest.


    "I''m really glad we''re friends," Elise said suddenly. "Most nobles don''t even look twice at someone like me."


    "Their loss," Zeke replied sincerely. "Besides, you''re helping me more than you know. All these extra classes are great, but without someone to just talk to normally, I think I''d lose my mind."


    Elise smiled, and Zeke realized he''d completely lost track of time. Suddenly, they heard several shouts of laughter from outside.


    It was followed by the booming of closing doors, and Elise''s eyes went wide.


    "Oh no," she breathed, rushing up to the window. "It''s past curfew!"


    Zeke leapt to his feet and rushed to the door. He pressed his ear to the wood, and sure enough, a few seconds later, he heard the odd, stony footsteps that were present every night.


    Just what were they, anyway? He sighed, and Elise spun back to him.


    "What are we going to do?" She asked, worried. "If I try to sneak back, do you think they''ll accept the excuse that I just lost track of time?"


    "I doubt it," Zeke muttered. "I mean, you''re more than welcome to stay here, if you want. I apparently have an empty bed." He glanced at Ralph''s bed, then frowned. "Which also raises the question of where Ralph is."


    Elise shook her head. "I have a presentation first thing in the morning. I won''t have time to get back to my own room to get my things once the curfew lifts."


    She looked almost beside herself with worry, and Zeke sighed and crossed his arms. He didn''t know what to do, except to try and break the curfew?


    A moment later, though, something came fluttering under the door. It was a small piece of paper, folded up like a little crane, and it flapped up to land in Zeke''s hand.


    Without any input on his part, it unfolded, and Zeke frowned down at a bit of chicken-scratch writing.


    "Hey, bud! Ralph here. Got myself into a bit of a jam, and I''m afraid that I''ve gotten myself trapped in the statuary on the third floor. The one with the dragon. Any chance you could come and rescue me? Thanks heaps. Ralph."


    Zeke sighed as he read the note, and he passed it over to Elise. She frowned down at it as well, and nodded.


    "I know how to get to where he''s located."


    "Alright, then," Zeke grinned, suddenly feeling a surge of excitement rather than dread. This was exactly the kind of adventure he and Artax used to seek out. "I guess we''ll be sneaking out, after all."


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    <b>「?????? ??????????」


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    <b>【Midnight Rescue: Save Ralph from the statuary】</b>


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    【Difficulty: Medium】</b>


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    【Reward: Unknown】</b>


    The two of them quickly made their plans. Elise had a bit of magic that she thought could help them, and they crept to the door and slowly cracked it open.


    Zeke caught sight of something vanishing around the corner of the hall, something large and dark, and he shuddered. He didn''t know what it was, but he had to imagine that it would be nothing pleasant to run into.


    In any case, the path to the central staircase was clear, and he and Elise quickly slipped out and dashed into the stairwell.


    Down they went, moving quickly but quietly. At each floor, they hesitated. Zeke could hear those strange, heavy footsteps on every single level.


    They were slow, they were firm, and they just sounded to him as if they were made of stone. What was going on? He didn''t have the faintest idea...


    But he was soon to find out. When he reached the bottom of the stairs and poked his head out into the long hallway, he froze, and almost felt himself go white with fear.


    After a moment, though, all of it faded away as it was replaced by simple curiosity.


    Stalking down the hall, away from him, was a gargoyle.


    The thing was shorter than he was, only about five feet tall, but it was stooped over and carried a battle axe. Its wings were folded tightly against its back, but it looked to be able to spread them at a moment''s notice.


    Its long tail flicked this way and that, and it let out a soft growl. Zeke ducked back out of the way before it could notice him, and he gulped.


    "So that''s what makes those footsteps," he whispered to himself, suddenly understanding. All those stone statues on the castle rooftops - they came to life at night! No wonder the curfew was so strict.


    He nodded to Elise, and whispered the discovery as best he could. She nodded back, her eyes wide with a mixture of fear and fascination.


    A few seconds later, they heard the footsteps vanish into the distance, and both of them crept out.


    They moved down the hallway quickly and quietly, heading in the direction that Elise indicated. Zeke couldn''t see any more of the gargoyles, but he could hear them here and there, in the distance.


    As they neared a cross-hall, Elise held up her hand, and motioned for him to stop.


    "Just a second," she whispered. "This might sting."


    Zeke nodded and set his jaw. Even with the warning, when Elise hit him with her magic, it just about knocked him flat.


    A bolt of lightning seemed to flare through his whole body, crackling and writhing, and he gasped in silent pain. An instant later, though, he found that he could see clean through his hands.


    In fact, he could see clean through his whole body.


    Looking down, he found that a small mouse now stood on the floor where he was standing, and a second one where Elise was. The Elise-mouse darted forward, flashing across the hall, and Zeke followed.


    As he stepped out, the mouse moved along with him. It was strange, because he could still feel his feet, his arms, his legs, his head, everything, so he hadn''t actually been turned into a mouse, it just looked that way.


    In any case, as he passed through the hall, he found himself only feet in front of a gargoyle.


    Its stony eyes turned downward to look at the mouse, and it grunted softly. Idly, Zeke hoped that it wouldn''t try to eat the little critter.


    After a second, though, it grunted again and moved on, and Zeke continued his journey to the other side. The Elise-mouse ahead of him darted down the hall, but only made it a few steps before, with a burst of light, it transformed back into Elise.


    Zeke transformed back at almost the same time, and it was just as painful as before. The flash of light flickered through the halls, and he heard a grunt behind him.


    Quickly, he and Elise ducked into a darkened doorway, pressing themselves up against the wooden door.


    "Who there?" The gargoyle grunted, coming back to the hall that it had just passed. They heard an odd snuffle-sniffing noise, and it started to walk forward, thumping steadily toward them.


    "Grok! Ain''t nobody there," another gargoyle called from behind.


    "T''is. Heard something," the first gargoyle grunted.


    "Heard mouse."


    "Heard magic," the first gargoyle continued to press. "Heard naughty student. Tasty student."


    "Mouse. Come," the second gargoyle insisted.


    There was a grumble, and the first gargoyle turned around. Zeke let out a sigh of relief as he realized that they had just barely managed to get away.


    Well... They''d gotten away with that one. There were still a whole lot more out there.


    "That was close," Elise whispered. "Sorry about the illusion breaking so quickly. I''m still working on making it last longer."


    "Are you kidding? That was amazing," Zeke whispered back, his eyes bright with excitement despite the danger. "How did you learn to do that?"


    "Been practicing in secret," Elise admitted with a small smile. "Most mage students work on fireballs or lightning, but illusion magic is way more useful."


    "No argument here," Zeke nodded. "Think you can do it again if we need to?"


    "Maybe once more," Elise said. "But it takes a lot out of me."


    "Save it for an emergency then," Zeke decided. "Let''s try to sneak the rest of the way."


    They slipped out of the doorway and headed on to the statuary. It was right where Elise said it was, and the two of them stepped inside to find a number of elegantly-carved marble statues depicting warriors and scholars from the centuries.


    There was a huge, paneled dragon that wrapped around the whole upper wall, so lifelike that it almost seemed to leap off the stone. A dark figure rose up from behind one of the statues, and Ralph poked his head out.


    "Zeke! Oh, I''m so glad to see you."


    "What exactly are you doing here?" Zeke hissed.


    "Hey! I was just doing some studying, and I..." Ralph shrugged. "I fell asleep?"


    "You''ll have to do better than that," Elise raised an eyebrow. "I don''t have the most powerful lie-detection magic, but I''m not too shabby, and I can tell you''re hiding something."


    Ralph sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "I... I don''t know... I may..." He sighed once more, then shrugged. "I was talking with some girl, and I think she used sleeping powder to knock me out."


    "And why, pray tell, might she have done that?" Elise pressed.


    Ralph bit his lip, then groaned. "Because I told her that I knew a trick to stay awake when hit with sleeping magic. And I do! Did. Not my fault that it didn''t work."


    He huffed and crossed his arms, and Zeke shook his head. Suddenly, they heard something out in the hall, and all three bolted back into the shadows of the statues.


    A gargoyle slowly walked past, snarling softly. It glanced into the statuary, its beady eyes roving over the area, and then stomped onward.


    "That was too close," Ralph whispered when the creature had passed. "Those things give me the creeps."


    "So," Zeke whispered back, "who was this girl who knocked you out, and why were you bragging to her about resisting sleep magic?"


    "Her name''s Lydia," Ralph admitted. "She''s from House Byron. Pretty red hair, killer smile. I was trying to impress her with stories about the special skills House Arnette nobles learn."


    "And she was so impressed she drugged you?" Elise asked skeptically.


    "She said she wanted to test my resistance," Ralph said defensively. "I figured it would be a good chance to show off. Next thing I know, I wake up alone in here with the doors locked from the outside."


    "So she trapped you in here on purpose," Zeke frowned. "Any idea why?"


    "Probably a prank," Ralph shrugged. "Or maybe she wanted to get me in trouble for breaking curfew? The Byrons and Arnettes have been feuding for generations over mining rights in the eastern mountains."


    "Or maybe she wanted you out of your room for some reason," Elise suggested, thinking. "When did this happen?"


    "Right after dinner," Ralph said. "We were supposed to study together."


    "So anyone could have been in your room for hours," Zeke realized. "We should get back and check if anything''s missing."


    The three didn''t step out again until they were certain that the danger was past. With that, Elise crept up to the door, and glanced down the hallway toward the female dorms.


    "Alright," she murmured. "I''ve got to get going. Will you two be able to get back to your own room without me?"


    "We''ll manage," Zeke nodded. "Thanks for the help, and good luck with your presentation tomorrow."


    "And thanks for the mouse trick," Ralph added with a grin. "That was incredible."


    Elise nodded and smiled, then darted away. She vanished down the hall, and was soon lost amidst the shadows. Ralph looked after her, then glanced back at Zeke.


    "You ready?"


    "I guess," Zeke muttered. "Really, though. So where''d you learn a trick to stay awake when hit with sleeping magic?"


    "It was in a cool spy book I read when I was a kid!" Ralph shrugged as they slipped out into the hall.


    "And why did you go bragging about it?" Zeke raised an eyebrow.


    "I don''t know. When you''re talking to a girl, you show off your stuff. I figured that would be a cool thing to know," Ralph answered. "I mean... If you''re a noble, people are always trying to assassinate you. It''s handy to know to help prevent that sort of thing."


    "If it works, maybe," Zeke rolled his eyes. "Now come on, and stay close to me."


    Zeke was starting to realize what the limits and patterns of the gargoyles were, and, slowly and carefully, they made their way back through the halls toward their dorm room.


    They had a few close calls - once, they had to duck into an empty classroom when a gargoyle turned unexpectedly down their corridor, and another time they froze in place for nearly five minutes while two of the stone creatures had a guttural conversation in the hallway ahead.


    But each challenge only made Zeke more determined. There was something thrilling about outsmarting the vigilant guardians, like the games he used to play with Artax, sneaking past the castle guards at home.


    By the time they reached the stairs to their tower, he had mapped most of the patrol routes in his head.


    When they finally arrived at their room, Zeke let out a gasp and flopped onto his bed, closing the door firmly behind him.


    "And we''re back," he grinned, feeling oddly exhilarated rather than exhausted.


    "Indeed we are!" Ralph flopped down, utterly unconcerned. "And hey, it''s only 9:30. Plenty of time to sleep and still wake up with enough time to do everything I need to do."


    "Check your things," Zeke reminded him, sitting up. "See if anything''s missing."


    Ralph rummaged through his possessions, checking under his bed and in his small chest of belongings. After a few minutes, he shook his head.


    "Everything seems to be here. My coin purse, my spare dagger, even my lucky gambling dice."


    "What about any papers or books?" Zeke suggested.


    Ralph''s eyes widened. "My notes! I had some notes from my uncle about special Arnette forging techniques." He dug frantically through his desk drawer, then sighed with relief. "Still here, thank goodness. Uncle would have had my head if those got out."


    "Seems like your Lydia didn''t find what she was looking for," Zeke mused. "Or maybe she was just playing a prank like you said."


    "Either way, I''m not talking to her again," Ralph declared, then paused. "Well, probably not. Unless she apologizes. She did have really pretty eyes..."


    Zeke shook his head and laughed. "You''re hopeless."


    "Speaking of hopeless," Ralph said, his tone changing to something more serious, "how are your extra classes going? Victoria''s supposed to be brutal."


    "She is," Zeke admitted. "But I''m learning a lot. And Professor Gilda''s aura lessons are helping too. I almost managed to levitate my inkwell today without spilling it."


    "Almost being the key word," Ralph teased.


    "Hey, it''s progress," Zeke grinned. "Professor Gerald actually nodded at me today instead of scowling. That''s practically a standing ovation from him."


    They talked for a while longer, sharing stories from their classes and speculating about why the gargoyles patrolled at night. Zeke found himself warming to Ralph more and more - beneath his carefree exterior, his roommate was sharper than he let on, and fiercely loyal to his friends.


    As they were getting ready for bed, Zeke remembered something. "Oh, I meant to ask - have you heard anything about a second Trial coming up? The Headmistress hasn''t mentioned anything, but it''s been almost a week since I completed the first one."


    "Nothing specific," Ralph replied, climbing under his covers. "But there''s a rumor that the second Trial is always held during the first full moon of the term. And that''s coming up in a few days."


    "Great," Zeke muttered. "Just when I''m starting to get into a routine."


    "That''s the point, isn''t it?" Ralph yawned. "They don''t want you comfortable. Comfortable knights don''t make history."


    Zeke thought about that as he stared up at the ceiling. He wasn''t here to be comfortable, after all. He was here to save his family''s honor and complete the 34 Trials.


    Tonight''s adventure with the gargoyles had been a timely reminder that Leoncrest was full of dangers and secrets - and he''d need to master them all.


    Still, though... If he ever did need to sneak out again, it was handy to know that it could be done. And with friends like Elise and even Ralph, maybe the impossible would be a little more possible after all.


    <b>[Scene Close]</b>


    <b>[Earned Emblems:]


    Heart of the Warrior


    Endurance</b>


    <b>[Active Quests:]</b>


    <b>


    [Roommate Problems: Figure out what makes Ralph tick]</b>


    <b>


    [Coming Soon: Prepare for the Second Trial]</b>