Return of the Runebound Professor

Like Noah had requested, Tim didn’t mention a word of what had happened the moment they both awoke in the outside world. Noah rose to his feet and helped Tim up. The old man stared at his hand for a second, then finally nodded to Noah.

That was all he had to say. Noah returned the nod and stepped onto the lift. The floor bucked beneath him and the chain rattled as the platform lowered. Light flickered in the room above him as Tim reactivated the transport cannon.

Even after everything that happened, it didn’t look like Tim had any plans of taking a break. Noah suppressed a laugh. The lift reached the top of the stairwell and he stepped out, heading for the T building.

It felt like a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He’d been telling himself that he’d fix Tim’s runes for nearly as long as he’d been at Arbitage. It wasn’t like he couldn’t have done it before, but the risk had just been too significant.

The wait had likely helped Tim in the long run. Only recently had Noah gotten enough runes in his grimoire to really be able to hand them out. Before, he’d have had to seek out the runes Tim wanted after confirming that Tim wanted help.

That’s not to say I’ve got an infinite number of runes. I still need to get more. A lot more. And not just for other people. I’ve been at Rank 4 for a little bit now. I’m starting to get pretty used to Natural Disaster.

It should be just about time to figure out what I should get for my next Rank 4 Rune. Something that synergizes with it – that’s a no brainer. The problem is what. I still feel like working some space magic into whatever I’m doing would be clever. Being able to teleport is insanely useful. Brayden showed me that much.

Noah arrived at the entrance of the T building and paused at the steps. A frown crossed his lips and he tilted his head to the side.

Huh. Speaking of Brayden, I wonder where he is. Didn’t Lee say that he would be out last night? I guess he had other things to do than come straight to us. It would have been odd if he showed up in the middle of the night.

Noah headed inside. He hadn’t spoken to Brayden in person since he’d revealed that he wasn’t actually his brother. The fact that Brayden hadn’t cut them off forever had been a huge surprise. He hadn’t thought there was all that much he cared about in this world. That hadn’t been true.

Brayden had proven to be a true friend and losing him would have hurt. But now that he was somewhere in the area, Noah wasn’t sure what to feel. They couldn’t just pick things up the way they were.

I suppose I could try to tell him the rest of the story. I think I can trust him enough for that. This is probably going to be awkward either way. Oh well. Nothing I can do about it but deal with things when the time comes.

Moxie was alone in the room when Noah got back. She was hunched over her desk with a book open in one hand and a quill in the other. It scratched furiously against the paper as she copied something down. Noah closed the door behind him with a soft click to avoid distracting her.

He craned his neck back to check the ceiling for Lee. The rafters were, however, devoid of demon. The open window was a strong indication that she’d yet to return from her nightly adventures.

Noah walked up behind Moxie and waited until the quill stopped leaning in to wrap his arms around her. She pressed her head against his.

“How’d things go with Tim?” Moxie asked as she set the quill down in its holder.

“Really well. His soul is completely screwed,” Noah said. “I was only able to modify one rune before I had to use the Fragment of Renewal to keep him from splitting apart. That was the worst soul damage I’ve seen from such a little change – not counting Lee, that is.”

“I suppose it makes sense if his runes are really that bad,” Moxie said. “The soul expands if there’s a lot of pressure within it. If there isn’t, then it’s only logical that it shrinks. He’s pretty old and his runes are awful. That’s not conducive to having a very healthy soul.”

“Yeah. Either way, I think it should start going smoother soon. I gave him a True Earth Rune. Next time, we’ll have to figure out exactly what it is he’d like to do in the future. I might have to get specific runes if I don’t have what he needs.”

“By hunting?”

“Maybe. Maybe a class trip,” Noah said. “I need to get more runes either way. I bet the students would all like to start getting more of their own as well.”

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“That’s a good idea. They’ve been fighting each other a lot recently. It would be nice to see how far they’ve grown with some hunting. Maybe we can work it in between advanced track meetings – whenever those normally are.”

“I figure Ulya or someone else will roll up soon enough to tell us,” Noah said. “It feels like they’ll probably meet in the evenings or have announced events. I’m sure we’ll get more than enough warning. Nobody is just sitting around and waiting for them to show up.”

“Yeah. I’m more expecting a letter, but I digress.” Moxie picked up the paper she’d been working on touched the ink to make sure it was dry. She tucked the paper into the pages of the book and closed it.

Noah let go of Moxie and stepped back as she rose to her feet. “I saw Todd and Alexandra sparring early this morning when I was heading back after doing some training with Isabel and Emily.”

“Oh?” Noah asked. “I take it something was out of the ordinary?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’d say it was out of the ordinary. They’re both quite talented. But Alexandra was fighting without her sword and it looked like Todd was holding his own. It was pretty clear Alexandra was keeping her power limited to his level since she’s a whole Rank up on him, but still.”

“Huh,” Noah said. “Was it just hand to hand combat?”

“No. I think they were trying to use patterns,” Moxie said. “Alexandra definitely was. Todd was using his bracers. But, considering his pattern has to do with imbuing, I suspect that he was doing the same.”

“And?” Noah asked. “How’d it seem like they were doing?”

“You’ll have to see for yourself, but I think it might be time to move them to the next stage of what you’re teaching.” Moxie shook her head and smiled. “Alexandra definitely has it down. I felt like I was watching a butterfly fight. And, considering Todd wasn’t completely getting crushed, I think he’s brought himself close to her level.”

“Speaking of patterns, how’s yours doing?” Noah asked. “I haven’t had time to see how you’ve been progressing there recently. Have you been having any luck?”

“A lot,” Moxie said. “I had to adjust my angle a little bit to understand it better. I think some of my sparring sessions with Isabel actually helped.”

“Isabel? Really?” Noah raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Her pattern is basically mounting pressure. I know it’s meant to be a landslide or the like, but it feels like she’s steadily growing more and more aggressive as fights lengthen. It gave me a lot of insight into the plants I was trying to focus on. Instead of just plants, I’ve been focusing on their growth. That seems to have gone a really long way.”

Noah considered her words for a moment. Growth seemed like a pretty solid pattern to focus on. It was definitely versatile. There were a lot of different ways he could see it being applied both in and out of a fight, and it meshed very well with her current Runes.

“That seems to suit you really well,” Noah said. “And what of Lee? Do you happen to know if she’s been making progress?”

“If you count eating things as progress, then yes.”

Noah snorted. “I’m assuming she’s probably out terrorizing the local wildlife right now. If that includes eating it, then I assume it would technically count. You know, in some ways, Lee reminds me of James.”

Moxie squinted at Noah. “How? I don’t think I can think of a single similarity between them.”

“Their patterns. James’ pattern is literally doing nothing. Lee’s is stuffing her face. They’re both ridiculously outlandish and really feel like they shouldn’t work. And they do. James has already demonstrated he’s actually quite good at embodying his pattern. Lee… well, I have full faith in her. I don’t think she’s ever failed to do anything she set out to.”

“Okay, I see it now,” Moxie admitted. “To be honest, I think everyone in the class has really gotten a good handle over their abilities in recent days. And, especially after the fight in the Windscorned Plateau, I think everyone is eager to get stronger. Do you think the students are ready to move on to the next step?”

“They very well might be. What about Emily? I remember she was having some trouble.”

“That was the next thing I was going to mention,” Moxie said with a wince. A note of disappointment intertwined with her words as she continued. “She is. She’s made great progress, don’t get me wrong, but she’s really fighting to catch up with the others. I wanted to ask if you could privately tutor her sometime today so she doesn’t fall too far behind. I’d do it myself, but… well, I don’t really understand enough to.”

“Are you sure Emily would want that?” Noah asked. “We’re at a point where I think we both understand each other, but I still don’t think Emily likes me much.”

Moxie snorted. “Emily doesn’t like anyone. Not externally, at least. She’s scared to show any feeling because of how the Torrins are. Connections are weakness when you aren’t strong enough to defend them. Trust me, she thinks rather well of you. If she didn’t, she’d be telling me how much she hated you every single time we met.”

“Noted,” Noah said with a laugh. “In that case, I can try to find her today and see what I can do. Maybe you can handle the normal class while I do that?”

“That would work,” Moxie said with a smile. “And, speaking of which, we should probably head out to meet the kids. We’re probably late.”

Noah looked out the window and cursed. “Oh, shit. I forgot. I hope they don’t think class is canceled.”

Moxie grabbed the book with the paper that she’d been working on and stuck it under her arm. “Yeah. I know. Let’s go. If I had to guess, Lee is probably distracting them right about now.”

That was a sobering thought. Lee’s distractions a tossup between mandatory stretching sessions or handing everyone half-eaten squirrels to snack on. They hurried out of the room and set off for the transport cannon to meet the kids before Lee could use the lack of supervision to traumatize anyone too badly.

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