Andrew Rowe - Sufficiently Advanced Magic

I vastly preferred this idea to trying to take Vera by force, even if we could accomplish it. If she cooperated, we had a better chance of talking Katashi down.

Unfortunately, this meant trying to arrange for Echion’s escape while in the company of someone I suspected was involved in the whole conspiracy. I needed to arrange this in a way that Derek wouldn’t find out where they were going.

I took a breath. “Okay. I think I can make this work. I have someone outside that can teleport us. If your brother and Echion are nearby, we can go to where they’re located and teleport a group of us straight to a train station. I don’t know what her range limit is, but she probably has enough influence to get Echion and your brother on a train without any questions being asked. Maybe even get you some fake passports if you need them. Give me a minute to make some arrangements.”

I turned to Jin. “Can you keep her company for a minute?”

Jin nodded in assent and I stepped back outside. I found the other three members of our group looking bored.

I turned to Professor Orden. “I think I’ve made sufficient arrangements, but I need to talk to you in complete privacy.”

Orden sighed dramatically. “Of course you do. Fine, fine, let’s get this over with.”

She went through her usual incantation, teleporting us into that strange void that she called a safe location.

“Well?”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. “Okay. Long story short, she’ll go with us voluntarily if we put her brother and a child from Caelford on a train back home in a way where they won’t be discovered or stopped. Complication is that people from our government are surveilling them, as you already mentioned.”

Professor Orden chuckled. “You want us to bypass border security? Is that all?”

I didn’t know if she was laughing because that was easy or hard.

“Uh, she’d want to watch them leave, and any assurances that you could give that they’ll make it back to Caelford would be helpful…”

Orden rolled her eyes. “Give me a few hours and I can get them all the way out of Valia on my own. When we’re in the Unclaimed Lands, I’ll put them on a train. Do you want to come along?”

My curiosity said yes, but my stomach was very at odds with that instinct.

Ultimately, I decided on the responsible route, even though I knew I was going to regret it when my seasickness kicked in. “Yes.”

“Anything else?”

I nodded.

At this point, I could have told her everything that Vera had just told me, but I knew that Professor Orden was a member of some kind of secret organization with an agenda of their own. I didn’t think she was involved, but I still didn’t completely trust her, either.

“She gave me a considerable amount of information about what happened in there and I have a strong reason to suspect that Derek might be involved in all this. I don’t think we should bring him along.”

Professor Orden’s eyes narrowed. “I’m going to need a little more than that, Corin. That’s a fairly serious accusation.”

I debated how much to say. “She witnessed Tenjin being attacked, but she wasn’t one of the people who attacked him. She described one of the attackers as a tall Emerald-level swordsman with short brown hair.”

Orden went still for a moment, and then shook her head. “That is… worrisome, I agree. I believe it would be wise to bring him along and see how he behaves, but I will take significant precautions. An Enchanter is always prepared for contingencies, but in this case, I will take extra care.”

I nodded. “I’ll be careful, too.”

Orden grinned. “I’m certain you will be.”

Two hours later, I stood outside a train station in the Unclaimed Lands.

It had taken ten teleports to get us here.

Professor Orden was waiting with Echion, Vera, and Aloras right near where the train was set to arrive. They were conversing about something, but I wasn’t paying much attention.

One reason was that I was feeling horribly motion sick. Teleporting with the concussion had been more painful, but ten teleports managed to be way higher on the nausea.

As I threw up into a nearby bush, though, I noticed something I’d never experienced — tiny droplets of water falling freely from the sky.

Rain.

I knew what it was intellectually, of course, and I was no stranger to water itself.

But natural rain? I’d never experienced it. I hadn’t realized that it would make the air itself feel wet, that it would make things smell stronger. Everything in the rain felt a little bit more present, more real.

It was glorious.

Even with the world swimming around me from my motion sickness, I basked in the sensation of the droplets impacting against my clothes and hair.

I barely noticed when Vera said tearful goodbyes to Aloras and Echion.

I did notice something just before Echion stepped on the train, though.

He gave me a shy smile, waved, and whispered, “Thank you.”

I waved in return.

Maybe, in all this mess, I’d done one small bit of good.

After we watched the train depart, our group wandered a short distance away from the train station. It wasn’t difficult to find a location to talk discreetly. We were miles from the nearest town, and only a few hundred yards in each direction around the train station had any signs of civilization. Beyond that, we hit the boundary of one of the deep forests that characterized much of the Unclaimed Lands. The Aspen Forest, maybe? I was terrible with geography.

We didn’t wander too far. It was well-known that dangerous monsters prowled freely in these forests, and only the powerful wards around the train station and tracks kept them from being assaulted. Before the tracks had been built there had been no easy path between Valia and Caelford. The two countries were on opposite sides of the continent, with hundreds of miles of the Unclaimed Land and a few smaller kingdoms like Sytennia and Erawen in between.

I was shocked at how thick the plant life was. Nearly every inch between the trees was covered in some sort of bushes or vines. We only walked in about a dozen meters before pausing in a small ring of grass.

Professor Orden spoke first. “I trust you all are aware of how dangerous this particular excursion into the tower will be. If any of you want to bow out now, this would be the time.”

Vera smirked. “I have a feeling that I don’t get that option?”

Orden shot her a dark look. “No, Miss Corrington. You do not.”

I glanced to Jin and Sera, then back to the professor. “I can’t speak for the others, but I’m definitely going in.”

“Clearly.” Professor Orden looked at my companions. “Well?”

“Going.” Sera said.

“I am also going.” Jin added.

“Yep. Definitely going.” Derek added, unprompted. “We should probably talk about what we’re all capable of. At this point, I should let you all know that I’m an Emerald. I can handle most of the heavy combat for our group.”

Vera’s eyebrows rose at Derek’s claim. I’d have been incredulous, too, if I hadn’t physically seen his Emerald aura. Wisely, she remained silent. Arguing with him wasn’t going to accomplish much.

I scratched my chin. “I’ve seen you fight, but I still don’t know what your exact capabilities are. What attunement do you actually have?”

“Oh! Of course. I’m a Soulblade. It’s sort of like a combination between a Summoner and an Enchanter. I make contracts to bind monsters to items, giving the items magical properties. I can also bind monsters to myself , which gives me some of the monster’s physical advantages. There are disadvantages, though.”