Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah was doing a remarkable job of repressing his laughter as he looked at Aylin. The demon stood awkwardly before him, clad in one of Noah’s professor uniforms. Black sleeves hanging past Aylin’s arms and his pants were scrunched up around his knees to avoid getting stepped on.

“You might need to grow into it,” Noah said, scratching at the back of his neck.

“You could fit him and Violet alike into those and still have some room to spare,” Moxie said dryly from behind Noah.

“Now that’s just cruel. You could not,” Noah said. He glanced back at Aylin, who pulled his collar nearly half a foot away from his neck and peered down at his chest.

Okay. Maybe you could.

“Is… it imperative I go like this?” Aylin asked hesitantly.

“No,” Noah said with a sigh. “Never mind. Just change back into your normal clothes. We’ll just have to get you something better before we go doing anything like this again. Better to look a little ratty than to look like you’ve raided your father’s wardrobe.”

Aylin nodded. Noah and Moxie stepped back out of the tent to give him some privacy. The thick shadow of the night had finally started to relent as dull orange sunlight poked out at the end of the horizon and spilled through the cracks in the alleys to illuminate the market square.

As long as Pirren hadn’t taken him for a fool, Noah was optimistic that she’d show up pretty soon. He’d have to go find her himself if she didn’t. That would have been rather bothersome.

“Do we have enough gold to buy anything at this auction?” Moxie asked, lowering her voice so nobody could overhear them. “If it’s for higher ranked demons, I’d imagine things aren’t going to be going for too cheap.”

“I’ve got a fancy little rune to sell as well,” Noah replied. “And I can always toss together another one or sell an existing one if I need to. I think we should have more than enough between that. How much gold do you actually have on you?”

“Around five hundred.”

That wouldn’t have gone far at all in the mortal plane, but the Damned Plains didn’t have naturally occurring gold from what Noah had seen. That meant it went far farther here than it did back home.

Between that and the nearly perfect rune he’d made in case he’d needed to show off to Pirren, Noah was pretty confident he’d be able to get his hands on at least one powerful Matter or some more Space Runes.

Even though he already had both, he needed something a little more powerful if he wanted to save himself from wasting hours hunting. Of course, that was only one of the components he needed.

Noah had the exact same problem with regard to matter that he’d had with space. He just didn’t understand it extensively enough to be able to combine a rune effectively. Fortunately, he had a way around that.

Space wasn’t the only thing that he’d gotten intimately acquainted with in the Line. Matter — or rather, the striking lack thereof — had been among the anomalies. Matter was an object that took up physical space.

As far as he knew, everything was made out of matter. That included the invisible and borderline intangible things like air.

If that’s true, then what is the soul? Is it tangible? If it is, then it has to be matter of some sort. If it isn’t, then what is it? Pure energy? I haven’t tried actually influencing the world while I was a soul. It’s my best lead, so I’ll have to see if I can leverage it. If not, I’ll find a different way to work matter into my powers.

Whatever the reason, I need those Runes… among other things. This auction is important. Fortunately, there’s more than one way to make an impression on people.

Aylin stepped out of the tent, wearing his normal clothes once more. His emergence broke Noah from his thoughts. Moxie arched an eyebrow at him and he coughed into his fist.

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“I’m sorry I didn’t fit. I — uh, left the clothes behind in your tent,” Aylin said, fidgeting under their gaze. “Is there anything else you require of me?”

“Just wait,” Noah replied. “It’ll be the three of us and a guide going to the auction. Lee will stay behind to make sure no idiots try anything with the camp. Do you remember what I did when we first got to this camp?”

Aylin’s face paled a shade and he swallowed before giving him a stiff nod. “Yes. You told everyone present to attempt to kill us.”

“Fun, wasn’t it?” Noah asked with a grin. “Just do what you did then.”

“Are— are you going to do that again?” Aylin asked nervously. “To the whole auction?”

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. I just meant the stay calm and don’t panic part. Pretend like you’re in control,” Noah said with a laugh.

Challenging the entire auction was too stupid, even for him. It was going to be completely stuffed full of Rank 5 and 6 demons, and he wasn’t equipped to take every single one of them on. He was pretty sure his limit would be a demon at the upper reaches of Rank 5 or possibly one with awful runes at Rank 6. Taking on the entire upper class of the city was still too much.

And besides, I need them. This is about more than just getting some more Runes made. Wizen has the way back to the mortal plane. He’s got a way to make an army, so I’m going to need the same.

As to exactly how he’d get an entire army behind him, Noah hadn’t quite figured that bit out yet. Rallying all the streetlords was one thing. None of them were all that powerful. They gave him a degree of legitimacy, but he’d need more than that to sway Rank 6 demons.

I’ll figure that out when I get there. As long as I can keep amassing power and growing, an opportunity will eventually present itself. And if it doesn’t, I’ll make one.

Noah’s train of thought derailed when he realized that Moxie and Aylin were both staring at him. He cleared his throat.

“Sorry. Got distracted. Did you say something?”

“He asked when we’re going,” Moxie said, shaking her head and sighing. “You need to stop doing that when we’re talking to people. It’s creepy to watch your eyes glaze over like you’re looking at someone that isn’t there.”

“…is he?” Aylin asked quietly.

“No,” Noah said, but he was pretty sure it was a bit too late to stop that particular rumor from taking root. He repressed a grimace. “And we shouldn’t have to wait much longer. Our guide should be arriving sometime soon. I was told that the auctions take place every two days or so. One day has already passed if we count the night, so unless we got really unlucky and it took place last night, we’ll be hearing from her soon enough.”

Aylin nodded his understanding. “I will await your call, then. I think Vrith should be able to make sure everything continues without me as long as this auction ends quickly. The other streetlords may suspect cowardice if I’m gone for too long.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t keep you forever. It’s just for appearances,” Noah said with a wave of his hand. “Bringing you along proves that I’m confident enough in my strength to expose a weak link. It’ll make the other demons at the auction more hesitant to try anything with me. Besides, your ability to tell if people are being truthful or not is incredibly useful. I can’t not use that when we’re at an auction.”

“I see,” Aylin said. He didn’t seem even slightly offended or annoyed to be used as leverage. Noah wasn’t sure if that was because he was just a good liar or if he was just resigned to his current position.

Before he could ask, his tremorsense picked up on movement in the shadows. A few moments later, his domain brushed against Vrith as she emerged from the darkness, her head lowered in respect.

“There’s a demon approaching our camp. The scouts spotted her,” Vrith said, a flicker of unease in her voice. “She’s strong. Far stronger than any of the streetlords.”

“Looks like a snake with ropes for hair?” Noah guessed.

Vrith blinked in surprise. “I — yes, actually. I did not realize you were already aware of her presence. Should we prepare to fight?”

“Fight? No need for that. She’s with us for the time being,” Noah said with a shake of his head. “That would be Pirren. She’s a Rank 5. Try to be nice to her. She’s agreed to take us to the auction.”

Vrith and Aylin stared at Noah.

“You have a Rank 5 working for you?” Aylin asked, his voice weak.

“Just a business deal.” Noah shook his head. Fixing Pirren’s runes would have been too much of a hassle. She was just too deep along her path for him to repair, especially when she wasn’t even part of his gang. “I just promised not to kill her and her people in exchange.”

Vrith swallowed nervously. “Ah. I am familiar with the offer. If you’ll excuse me, I will go hide in — ah, work in — the tent to make sure the matters with the other streetlords remain handled during your absence.”

“Feel free. Come on, Aylin. And remember what I said. No fear. No hesitation. Don’t give the other demons any openings.”

“I understand.”

Noah smiled and exchanged a nod with Moxie. This wasn’t their first run at an auction. They might not have been the strongest demons going into it — but they hadn’t been the strongest in the last auction they’d attended either.

Demons were used to dealing with other demons, but they’d never dealt with him. For their sake, he hoped they had better bullshitters than Pirren. Because, if she was the best they had to offer, Noah was going to fleece them for everything they had.

“Let’s go meet our guide and check that auction out, shall we?”

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