Return of the Runebound Professor

“I’m actually busy at the moment,” Noah said.

Silvertide peered over his shoulder at Moxie and raised an eyebrow. “So I see. But I think your company would much prefer if I came in.”

Noah looked back and nearly choked in surprise. Moxie’s eyes were wide open, sparking with admiration.

Who the hell is this guy?

“Damned Plains,” Moxie breathed. “Silvertide is at your door. No – Vermil, what’s going on? You know Silvertide? And you didn’t tell me?”

“I’m not sure know is the right word for it,” Noah said, rubbing the back of his neck. He repressed a sigh. He couldn’t think of any good reasons to tell Silvertide to kick rocks, and with the way Moxie was looking at him, it probably wouldn’t hurt to talk for a little.

Noah stepped back, opening the door, and Silvertide strode inside. His eye roamed over Noah’s room without even the slightest ounce of shame. There was absolutely no change in Silvertide’s expression, so if he found whatever he was looking for, he didn’t let it on.

“We ran into each other a while back,” Silvertide said with an easygoing chuckle. “He nearly killed my idiot apprentice.”

Moxie’s eye twitched. “Ah. Of course.”

“You don’t sound particularly surprised.” Silvertide raised an eyebrow. “Is Magus Vermil often doing such things?”

“No. I trust him with my own students,” Moxie said, shaking her head and throwing off whatever surprise she’d had from Silvertide’s arrival. “I mean no offense, but if he attacked your pupil, they probably deserved it.”

Silvertide threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, he likely did. Vermil scared the daylight out of him. Kid hasn’t stopped training ever since. He’s terrified you’ll come hunting him down for some reason.”

Noah cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Sorry about that. I was–”

“Dealing with what many soldiers do,” Silvertide said, cutting Noah off. He pulled out Noah’s chair and sat down in it before glancing up at Noah and tapping the chair with a finger “Do you mind if I sit?”

You’re meant to ask that before you sit.

“No, feel free.”

“Splendid. Please, introduce me to the two lovely women you’ve got in your room,” Silvertide said. “That bright red hair – from the Torrin family? One of the side branches, I suppose?”

“That’s Moxie,” Noah said. He nodded to Lee, who was perched on the edge of his bed, watching Silvertide through squinted eyes. “And that’s Lee.”

Silvertide extended a hand and clasped Moxie’s, shaking once before turning toward Lee.

“She looks a little… young,” Silvertide said slowly. “A student?”

“Assistant teacher,” Noah corrected.

“I see,” Silvertide said. He held his hand out. Lee stared at it disdainfully. Her nose scrunched and she made no move to shake. After a moment, Silvertide pulled his hand back. “Thrilling to meet you, Lee.”

“Yep. Can you leave now?”

Silvertide snorted. “A group of very forthright individuals. I respect that. If you don’t mind, I’ll treat you in kind. I’ve always been partial to getting to the point rather than dancing around my goals.”

“That would be best,” Noah said, keeping his tone even. He had no idea what Silvertide wanted, but if Moxie knew who he was, the man was probably a powerful mage. There weren’t many reasons that Noah could think of as to why someone like that would come looking for him, and none of them were good.

“I’m currently aiding in an investigation,” Silvertide said, interlacing his fingers and leaning back in the chair. He turned his gaze toward Noah. “And I was hoping you could help me figure some things out.”

“I’m not sure how I could help, but I’ll be glad to give what aid I can.” Noah was proud of how even his words were. Even though he knew he was lying, he almost believed himself.

I’ll just deflect and point him toward Brayden. There wasn’t anything to tie me to the Hellreaver’s death since Lee stole the nametag off my corpse and nobody knows I can come back to life. Besides, I was just Rank 1 when it died. There’s no way –

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to know why you killed the Hellreaver.”

Noah’s expression flickered for just an instant. “I’m sorry? You might have the wrong person. I was a Rank 1 when the Hellreaver died. There was nothing–”

Silvertide tapped a finger on Noah’s chair. A clear note rang out, echoing through the room like a gunshot and silencing Noah instantly.

“We were being honest with each other,” Silvertide said softly. “Let’s keep things that way.”

Lee shifted on the bed, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward, getting into a position where she could lunge. Moxie didn’t move, but a vine curled out of the corner of her pant leg and started to worm its way across the floor.

“Could you clarify why you believe I killed the Hellreaver?” Noah asked. “That would be an insane feat for a Rank 1 mage, Silvertide. I’m honored you think I could pull something like that off, though.”

Technically not a lie.

“Oh, I don’t have any empirical proof quite yet,” Silvertide said with a chuckle. “The corpse we found had no Runes, and their uniform’s tag was missing. They’re a mystery – I admit that I’ve got no clue who it could be. But you, on the other hand, killed the Hellreaver. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Noah opened his mouth, but Silvertide held a finger up.

“Before you speak – let me paint a picture. A young man sets his sights on a Great Monster. He throws himself against its minions, fighting against them over and over again. Over the course of months of training, he starts to learn how they fight. Figures out everything they can do – and kills them in droves.

That young man had grand plans of doing far more than just learning those monsters’ moves. He was going to master them perfectly, and then he’d use that to defeat the Great Monster controlling them. But he didn’t realize something – the Great Monster felt all the death, and it wasn’t willing to just sit around and watch.

It turns out that, if your soul is weak, it’s possible for another being to force its mind into yours. And, if you draw in huge amounts of Runic Energy from killing a certain type of monster over and over again, the Great Monster connected to them can find a way to worm into your mind.”

Silvertide tilted his head to the side, watching Noah’s expression carefully. When nothing shifted, he let out a sigh.

“I’ll continue, then. Can you guess what happened to that young man? He started having visions. Seeing monsters in the dark. Hallucinations, and an incessant drive to hunt down the Great Monster and kill it – all placed into his mind by that very Great Monster, so it could quash out the annoyance.”

“And what happened to that young man?” Noah asked.

“He lost his leg killing the Silver Serpent,” Moxie said, swallowing. Silvertide glanced back at her, and a grin flitted over his features.

“Unfortunately so. I’m honored to know that I have a fan. You see, Vermil, you aren’t the only one that hunted down a Great Monster. I recognized that look in your eyes when my idiot apprentice Tyler aggravated you. And, ever since I heard news of the Hellreaver’s death, I knew who had done it – but it looks like you managed my feat without losing a leg.”

Just a few lives.

“Don’t deny it,” Silvertide continued. “My question wasn’t how you did it – it was why.”

Lee prepared to lunge. Noah immediately knew that, if Lee tried to attack Silvertide, she wouldn’t survive the experience. Her gaze was completely focused on the man’s neck, though. She wasn’t watching his eyes for him to give her an unspoken warning.

“Stop,” Noah barked. Lee froze, just instants from striking out. She shifted back, her eyes transfixed on Silvertide, who didn’t even glance back in her direction. “If you’re so certain I did this, why haven’t you told Arbitage?”

“Because I don’t care about Arbitage,” Silvertide said with a chuckle. “I care about the students and mages within it, but the Linwicks replaced the Hellreaver. The culprit hardly matters when their family were the ones to patch up the damage. No, I want to know why.”

I could try to keep denying, but Silvertide has me on the ropes. Shit.

Noah snuck a glance at Moxie. She was as stiff as a board. Silvertide was very strong, then. The chances of them overwhelming him, even if they wanted to, were probably incredibly low.

“Same reason you did, I’d imagine.” Noah sighed and let his shoulders slump. “It was trying to kill me.”

Silvertide smiled. “Of course it was. The why comes before the Hellreaver got into your mind. What was the reason you killed that many of its monsters?”

“Training,” Noah replied. “I needed to learn how they fought perfectly so I could teach my students. Things went a bit too far and it started getting into my head – and then one thing led to another. It was me or the Hellreaver.”

Silvertide nodded thoughtfully. “You mean that. The monster’s Master Rune wasn’t your purpose at any point, then?”

“A benefit, but not one I was aiming for. I was just trying to live.”

“Are you going to tell anyone?” Lee asked.

“If I said yes, I suspect you and Moxie would likely try to kill me.” Silvertide rubbed his beard, not even slightly concerned by the situation. “Alas, I have a thing for loyalty, and it’s rare that I see anyone willing to throw their lives away for what they know to be certain death.”

Silvertide sent a pointed glance at Moxie’s vine, letting her know that he was onto everything she was doing. Moxie held his gaze, unflinching.

“What was the purpose of this?” Noah asked. “It doesn’t accomplish anything.”

“Ah, but it does,” Silvertide said. “I have judged your character. The trust of your companions speaks for it already – though I already had my suspicions. I spoke to your students before coming here.”

Noah’s back stiffened and his eyes went flat. “What did you do?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Silvertide replied, aghast. “I would never harm a child without cause. On the contrary, they’re the reason I’m here.”

“Isabel and Todd wouldn’t have said anything,” Lee said firmly. “You’re lying.”

“Ah – I had changed the subject. I wasn’t talking about the Hellreaver anymore,” Silvertide said. He leaned forward, bracing his hands on his knees and looking Noah in the eyes. “I came because of their unique situations. I was a friend of their families, you see.”

“You knew Isabel’s parents?” Lee asked. Her eyes narrowed. “Why’d you leave them alone for so long, then? Some friend.”

For the first time in their conversation, Silvertide’s confident look fell and shame washed over his features. “A failing that lies entirely on my shoulders. I got caught up in a series of very difficult jobs that were not suitable for children to join. And that leads me to my arrival at Arbitage some time ago.”

“You came to check on Isabel and Todd?” Moxie asked.

“No,” Silvertide replied. “I came to remove them from the worthless politics of Arbitage and take them under my tutelage.”

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