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[Location: Leoncrest Estate - Tower 12]
[Date: April 25, y. 486 of the Fourth Age]
Zeke took the stairs to the Headmistress''s office two at a time, his mind made up. Three months had passed since his last Trial, and it was time to get moving again.
The berry-picking adventure with Elise last week had been great fun, but he hadn''t come to Leoncrest to pick berries, he came to complete the 34 Trials and restore House Godfrey''s honor.
The morning had started like any other. He''d woken before dawn, completed his daily run around the Academy grounds, and attended his classes with the same focus he always did.
But throughout the day, the same thought kept nagging at him: time was passing, and he wasn''t making progress on what mattered most.
When he reached the top of the long staircase, he paused to catch his breath. Just as he raised his hand to knock, doubts crept in. Maybe this wasn''t the best idea. The Headmistress wasn''t exactly known for her patience.
"Come on, what''s the worst she can do? Say no?" he muttered to himself, squaring his shoulders. "Artax wouldn''t hesitate, and neither will I."
Before his knuckles could touch the wood, the massive doors swung open with a resounding boom. Headmistress Florence appeared in the doorway, her sharp eyes narrowing when she spotted him.
Today she wore robes of deep crimson trimmed with gold thread that matched House Dracthen''s colors. The dragon embroidery along the hem seemed to watch him with intelligent eyes.
"Ah, de''Godfrey. Going somewhere?" Her voice carried a hint of mockery. "You look like you''re leaving, but the only place on this floor is my office. It makes one wonder just what you might be doing here."
"Actually, I was coming to see you, Headmistress," Zeke replied, standing his ground despite the intimidating figure she cut in her elaborate robes.
"Well, I am heading down to the administrative offices on the third floor. You may have until I reach that point to plead your case." She brushed past him and started down the stairs at a brisk pace, the scent of exotic incense trailing in her wake.
Zeke fell in beside her, matching her stride. "I was hoping we could discuss starting up the next Trial sometime soon."
"You want to take on the fourth Trial?" The Headmistress glanced at him sharply. "I thought we discussed this matter."
"Yes, but it''s been three months," Zeke said, keeping pace effortlessly thanks to his daily running regimen. "There have been no other incidents, and the attacker in the woods hasn''t been seen since,"
He caught himself too late. The Headmistress stopped abruptly, one eyebrow raised. A student carrying a stack of scrolls nearly collided with them, squeaking in alarm before darting around the pair and continuing downstairs.
"Since what? Surely you and some other students didn''t cook up a foolhardy idea about trying to ambush him in the Training Woods."
Zeke winced. "So you know about that?"
"There are very few things in this Academy that I don''t know." Her voice was cold as winter frost. "For example, I know that you and Elise discovered the entrance to the hidden room underneath the Library. I know that you were the one who struck Diocletian with the rock out in the forest."
Zeke felt his blood chill. The Headmistress suddenly stopped and spun, glaring down at him. A pair of students coming up the stairs spotted her expression, turned around, and fled back the way they''d come.
"Do you think me ignorant and stupid?" she hissed. Zeke shook his head quickly, and she took a step toward him. "Do you think that I am so blind as to not realize that an ancient cult is running business out of these hallowed halls? Do you not think that I know that Professor Karl is involved, or that Elise managed to break into his office? I am no fool, Godfrey, and you are not an omniscient prodigy who can simply walk in here and own the place."
Zeke''s eyes widened. He''d suspected the Headmistress knew more than she let on, but this was beyond anything he''d imagined.
Sunlight from a nearby window caught the golden pins in her hair, making the dragon-shaped clasps seem to glow with inner fire.
"Ah..."
"You want to know why I allow it to continue? Or why I''m speaking about it in the open?" she continued sharply. "I am speaking of it, in the open stairwell, because I know who is involved and who is not, and I know that none of them are around at this juncture, nor anyone other than those most loyal to myself. Why do I allow it to continue? Because it has existed for the last three centuries, under the watchful eyes of every Headmaster and Headmistress. The enemy that you know is better than the enemy that you don''t, and as long as they continue to operate out of this structure, I can curb their more intense plans and desires without driving them away. Would you like me to continue?"
Zeke gave a small shake of his head, fascinated despite his discomfort. This explained so much about the strange occurrences at the Academy, the shadows moving at night, the whispered conversations that stopped when students approached, the areas of the grounds that everyone instinctively avoided.
"Good." The Headmistress snorted, then turned to continue down the stairs, her robes sweeping dramatically behind her.
Zeke took a deep breath and followed. If he backed down now, it might be another three months before he got another chance.
He thought of Artax, still recovering at home, counting on him. He thought of his father, who had risked everything on Zeke''s promise to the Senate.
"I still need to take the Trial, though," he said firmly, his voice echoing slightly in the stairwell.
"If you take it now, you will die," Headmistress Florence called over her shoulder, not breaking her stride. "Don''t ask me how I know, but I do. You think that you aren''t being watched because you no longer see the man in the woods. He was never a concern to you, mark my words. I am dealing with the problem and will let you know as soon as the coast is clear. This conversation is now over."
With that, she vanished through a doorway at the landing, leaving Zeke standing alone in the stairwell. The heavy oak door closed behind her with a finality that echoed up and down the tower.
"Well, that went about as well as could be expected," he said to himself with a slight grin. At least he''d gotten an answer, even if it wasn''t the one he wanted.
A group of first-year students appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking up nervously when they spotted him.
"Is she gone?" one of them whispered.
"Coast is clear," Zeke replied with a reassuring smile. "But I''d take the west staircase if I were you. She seemed in a mood."
They nodded gratefully and disappeared. Zeke made his way downstairs, considering his options. Rather than returning to his room to sulk, he decided to head to the library.
Something about being surrounded by books always cleared his head, and besides, Adrian might have some advice.
The library was quiet as always, with only a few students scattered among the massive shelves. Afternoon sunlight streamed through the high arched windows, catching dust motes that danced in the air.
The scent of old parchment and leather bindings filled his lungs as he entered, bringing an immediate sense of calm.
Zeke spotted Ingrid across the room, bent over a stack of books. She nodded to him when their eyes met but made no move to join him.
Her dark hair was pulled back in its usual severe style, and she appeared to be studying some kind of tactical maps.
He settled into a chair at an empty table, drumming his fingers on the polished wood. The carved edge of the table bore dozens of tiny initials from students past, some dating back over a century.
He wondered if his brother had left his mark somewhere in the Academy.
Adrian appeared a few minutes later, shelving returns with practiced efficiency. His white robes rustled softly as he moved, and the many keys hanging from his belt jingled with each step.
When he spotted Zeke, he changed direction and pulled out the chair across from him.
"Ah, Zeke. You look..." He frowned, studying the young man''s face. "You look like you just failed a final but have to wait two weeks for the results."
"Something like that," Zeke replied with a lopsided smile. "Just had a chat with the Headmistress. Let''s just say she wasn''t thrilled to see me."
"Well, you probably shouldn''t have said whatever it was that you said," Adrian shrugged, his white beard shifting with the movement. "Come on, you''re a smart lad. You ought to have realized that by now."
"All I did was ask if she could get the fourth Trial going," Zeke explained, leaning back in his chair. "She didn''t take it well."
A student at a nearby table looked up sharply at the mention of the Trials, watching Zeke with interest before returning to his book. Word had spread throughout the Academy about Zeke''s quest, some students whispered about it with awe, others with skepticism.
"Hmm." Adrian stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Do you feel as though you''re ready for the fourth Trial?"
"As ready as I''ll ever be," Zeke said, stretching his arms overhead. "Been running almost every day for months. My endurance is at its peak, I''m not getting any faster, and I''m not able to run any further. If I''m not ready now, I''m not sure I ever will be."
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He didn''t mention the daily training sessions with Victoria and Ingrid, or the hours spent studying maps of the Academy grounds and surrounding mountains. Every spare moment had been dedicated to preparation for a Trial that seemed perpetually out of reach.
"There is a saying," Adrian began, a small smile playing at his lips, "if you don''t mind my telling it to you. The fury of a storm can knock down trees, but the patience of a river can grind mountains to dust."
"So you''re saying I should just wait it out?" Zeke asked, quirking an eyebrow. "That''s easier said than done when the Senate is breathing down my neck."
"Something like that, yes." Adrian nodded. "Did the Headmistress say why she wasn''t letting you take it?"
"Because I''d die," Zeke answered, keeping his voice light despite the heavy words.
"And perhaps she''s right." Adrian leaned forward, lowering his voice. "I''m not saying that I agree with the Headmistress in everything she does. I''m not saying that I personally like the Headmistress. That said, I truly do believe that she has the best interests of our students in mind. She wouldn''t delay you if she didn''t think you were in genuine danger."
Zeke tapped his fingers on the table, considering. The carved wood was smooth beneath his fingertips, worn down by generations of students who had sat at this same table, perhaps wrestling with their own challenges.
"But what if it''s always dangerous? What if there''s never a perfect time?" he asked, watching a beam of sunlight slowly move across the floor. "The 34 Trials aren''t meant to be safe, that''s the whole point. They test whether a knight has what it takes to face real danger."
He paused, thinking of another approach. "Is there any way you could talk to her? She might listen to you."
"You want me to be your errand boy?" Adrian laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"No, no," Zeke grinned. "I just think she might take it better coming from you. A fellow staff member and all that."
"More willing doesn''t mean that she will listen. She''s not exactly a fan of House Levayne either," Adrian pointed out. He paused, thinking it over. "I''ll broach it with her, yes. I have a meeting with her later this afternoon regarding the classification of some books that we recently discovered were in the public section but probably shouldn''t have been. I can bring it up then." He held up a finger. "But you have to agree to abide by her decision."
"Deal," Zeke nodded firmly. If this didn''t work, he''d find another way, but no sense burning bridges just yet.
"Now, while we wait for that meeting, why don''t you help me with something?" Adrian said, rising from his seat. "A shipment of books arrived from the capital yesterday, and I could use an extra pair of hands to sort them."
Zeke spent the next few hours working alongside the old librarian, carefully unpacking crates of leather-bound volumes and organizing them by subject. The methodical work helped clear his mind, and Adrian''s occasional anecdotes about the Academy''s history provided welcome distraction.
"Did you know," Adrian said as they shelved a particularly ancient tome, "that the fourth Trial was originally designed to test endurance rather than speed? The original challenge was to carry a boulder to the summit and back down."
"That sounds brutal," Zeke replied, wiping dust from his hands. "When did it change?"
"About a century ago, after three consecutive candidates collapsed from exhaustion. One nearly died." Adrian handed him another stack of books. "The Mountain Run was considered more humane."
"More humane, but still plenty difficult," Zeke mused, remembering what the Headmistress had said about traps on the mountain.
By the time they finished, the dinner bell was ringing across the Academy grounds. Adrian checked the ornate clock mounted on the wall and straightened his robes.
"I should head to my meeting with the Headmistress," he said. "Perhaps you should get some dinner while you wait."
Zeke nodded and headed to the dining hall, his mind still churning with possibilities. The vast room was strangely empty for dinner time, with barely a quarter of the tables occupied.
Zeke grabbed some food, roasted chicken, potatoes, and greens, and found a quiet corner to eat.
As he took his first bite, he noticed Diocletian and several of his cronies huddled near the serving line, occasionally glancing his way and making crude gestures. One of them mimicked someone falling off a cliff, then the whole group burst into laughter.
"Some things never change," Zeke muttered, amused rather than bothered by their childish behavior. If anything, their continued antagonism was a good sign, it meant he was still making progress, still a threat to their status quo.
He finished his meal quickly and headed out, figuring he''d check back at the library before returning to his room. The corridors were oddly quiet for this time of day, with most students either at dinner or already retreated to their common rooms.
As he approached the library corridor, he caught a glimpse of movement from a side passage. The Headmistress appeared, her face set in stern lines.
When she spotted him, she motioned sharply for him to follow without breaking stride.
"That was quick," Zeke muttered, wondering what Adrian had said to bring her back so soon.
He fell in step behind her as she led him back to the library, her robes billowing dramatically with each quick turn. The few students they passed pressed themselves against the walls, eyes wide as the Headmistress swept by.
Inside the library, Adrian was already seated at one of the study tables. The Headmistress pointed to the chair beside him, and Zeke sat down, straightening his shoulders.
The setting sun cast long shadows through the windows, giving the massive room an otherworldly glow.
"I really have to give you credit," she said, holding up one finger. "Even when I''ve been extremely clear with you, even when I''ve told you exactly what I expect from you, you''re willing to challenge me. That is a level of brazenness that I''ve not seen in a good, long time. Your brother got close, I''ll admit, but even he would have stopped short of something like this."
Zeke met her gaze steadily. Despite her harsh tone, he thought he detected a hint of something else in her eyes, perhaps respect, or at least acknowledgment.
"I have a duty to my family. I have to,"
"Don''t you think I know that?" she snapped. "If I''m actively preventing you from this task because of your family duty, because I feel threatened by it, telling me about it over and over again will do you no good."
"That''s fair," Zeke conceded, but his expression remained determined. From the corner of his eye, he noticed several students peering around bookshelves, watching the exchange with undisguised curiosity.
The Headmistress studied him for a long moment, then crossed her arms with a sigh. The golden dragon pins in her hair caught the fading light, their ruby eyes seeming to glow.
"If you must know everything, the cult that you disrupted? A number of their members have made both scheduled and unscheduled visits to Dragonpeak, where you will be doing the Mountain Run. I can only assume that they''ve been laying traps for you, or at the least, have taken the opportunity to do so while conducting other business there."
She paced as she spoke, her robes swishing against the stone floor. "Some of my most loyal followers have done what they can to seek out and disarm said traps, and they have managed to find a few, but the work the cult has been doing is quite good. It''s the quality of work that I would expect from trainees at the most prestigious school in the world, which is to say that it isn''t easy to find or to defeat. If you go up there, you will die. That is the long and the short of the story."
"Oh," Zeke said, his mind already racing with possibilities. Traps he could deal with, as long as he knew they were there. In fact, this was better than not knowing what the danger was at all.
"''Oh'' is right," she replied sharply. "I am not out to get you, Godfrey. That said, because you wouldn''t listen to me, you will now have to pay for your folly. I am formally setting the date of the fourth Trial for one month from now. I will design the route and give it to you ahead of time to study." She crossed her arms. "Perhaps, with some advanced preparation, you can avoid any traps they may have set up, or find a way to evade any ambushes they make against you."
A rush of excitement swept through Zeke, despite the obvious danger. A date! Finally, a concrete goal to work toward. He struggled to keep his expression appropriately serious.
"I understand," he said, nodding solemnly.
"I have tried to work with you, Godfrey," she continued, rising to her feet. The watching students quickly ducked back behind the shelves. "I hope you make it through alive, I truly do. If you do, I advise that you listen to me in the future. I will not send you to your death, and I will not simply delay the Trials so that you can''t complete them. It would be better for my House if I issued them back to back, but I have regulations that I wish to follow. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, ma''am," Zeke replied. "Thank you for the warning, and the opportunity."
"Good." With a final sharp nod, she turned and swept out of the library, her footsteps fading into the distance. The hidden students immediately began whispering among themselves, news of the upcoming Trial already spreading.
Zeke let out a long breath and looked down at his hands. Despite the Headmistress''s warnings, he couldn''t help feeling relieved. At least now he had something concrete to work toward.
"Did I just sign my own death certificate?" he asked, though there was a hint of excitement in his voice that belied the grim words.
"You sure didn''t make matters easier for yourself," Adrian said, patting him on the shoulder as he rose. "The Headmistress is a nasty woman sometimes, but she''s rarely wrong. It would be wise to keep that in mind."
Zeke nodded, already mentally cataloging what he would need to do to prepare. As Adrian walked away, Ingrid approached from her table across the room and took the vacant seat.
Her dark eyes were intense as she studied his face.
"Don''t worry," she said, her voice unusually gentle. "I''ll help you get ready."
"Really?" Zeke grinned. "How are you going to do that? Booby-trap my running path?"
"Believe it or not... yes," she nodded, a fierce smile lighting her normally stern face. "Give me a couple days to prepare, and I''ll have something ready for you. We can use the old training grounds on the east side of the estate, nobody goes there anymore. I''ll set up obstacles, traps, the works."
"That would be amazing," Zeke said, his eyes brightening. "If these cultists want to play dirty, we can play dirty right back."
"Exactly," Ingrid replied, clapping him on the shoulder before rising to her feet. "Meet me at the east training grounds at dawn the day after tomorrow. Wear clothes you don''t mind getting ruined." She paused, her expression becoming serious. "And don''t tell anyone where you''re going. The fewer people who know about our preparations, the better."
As she walked away, Zeke leaned back in his chair, his mind buzzing with possibilities. One month to prepare for traps, ambushes, and who knew what else.
It wouldn''t be easy, but nothing worth doing ever was.
He got up and headed for the door, his steps lighter than when he''d entered. The situation was dangerous, sure, but now he had a plan, and allies willing to help him.
Plus, the Headmistress had finally set a date for his next Trial. That alone was worth celebrating.
As he crossed the courtyard toward his dormitory tower, the setting sun painted the Academy''s walls with golden light. A few students called out greetings as he passed, word of his upcoming Trial already spreading through the Academy grapevine.
By the time he reached his room, he had mentally drafted a training schedule for the coming month. He''d need to study the mountain routes, learn to identify common traps, improve his reaction time, and continue building his stamina.
Ralph looked up from his desk as Zeke entered, surrounded by what appeared to be small mechanical parts. "There you are! Been looking for you all afternoon. I''m working on something new, spring-loaded throwing stars that return to the user. Want to help test them tomorrow?"
"Can''t," Zeke replied, dropping onto his bed with a grin. "The Headmistress just set the date for my fourth Trial. One month from now."
Ralph''s eyes widened. "No way! That''s fantastic! We need to celebrate! I''ve got half a bottle of Arnette brandy hidden under my mattress that my cousin smuggled in last month. What do you say?"
"Maybe tomorrow," Zeke said, pulling a blank piece of parchment from his desk. "Right now, I need to start planning. The Headmistress basically admitted there will be traps on the mountain route."
"Traps?" Ralph whistled. "That''s not part of the normal Trial, is it?"
"Apparently our cult friends have been busy," Zeke explained, sketching a rough map of Dragonpeak from memory. "But it''s alright, Ingrid''s going to help me prepare. She''s setting up some kind of obstacle course for me to practice on."
"Now that I''ve got to see," Ralph chuckled. "The Ice Queen herself, building booby traps for you? Times really have changed."
Zeke worked late into the night, making lists and plans, occasionally discussing ideas with Ralph. By the time he finally fell asleep, his excitement had hardened into determination.
One month to prepare for whatever awaited him on that mountain. It would be dangerous, perhaps even deadly, but for the first time in months, he had a clear goal in sight.
The fourth Trial was coming, and this time, he''d be ready for whatever stood in his way.
"One month," he said to himself as he drifted off to sleep. "Better make every day count."
「?????? ??????????」
【Treacherous Path: Try out the Obstacle course that Ingrid designs】
【Time Limit: 2 days】
【Difficulty: High】
[Scene Close]
[Earned Emblems:]
Heart of the Warrior, Endurance, Cunning Golden Touch
[Active Quests:]
[Treacherous Path: Try out the Obstacle course that Ingrid designs]