VIII. Bearer of Bad News
"However," Hector began when he finally halted to a stop, "I can't explain it by myself. And I doubt you'd believe me anyways."
Caelum narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her staff. "Stop being ambiguous."
Hector shook his head as he rummaged through his cloak compartments. "I'm sorry, I really am. But I can't say much right now. There's a mole here."
Caelum wasn't entirely sure if it was an excuse she had come up with on the spot or sheer paranoia. All the same, it intrigued her. She couldn't think of anybody at the academy who could arose major concern from anybody significant. "I have every reason not to trust you," The blonde mage stated simply as she walked over towards Hector.
"Therefore, I think we should set a couple of ground rules."
At that very moment Hector retrieved a sphere from his cloak with such a sickening purple tint. The boldness of the shade made her eyes sore and something about that particularly bright color made her sick to the gut. "Of course," Hector responded. "What are they?"
Caelum felt her head swimming and she swore it had something to do with the sphere. There weren't any curses or hexes or any type sinister magic really that the sphere was imbued in. At least, she sensed nothing and Caelum considered herself well versed in that field of magic.
"After you provide me with an explanation for this mess, empty your compartments and tell me exactly what everything you have is going to be used for. In the event that you'll drag me into your mess, you're not permitted to use any of my possessions. Do you comply with my terms?" She said calmly despite the perpetually growing pounding in his head.
"Yes, I do." Hector replied. "Is that all?"
"For now," Caelum groaned as her overwhelming dizziness was now compounded by a strong, tell tale urge to puke. "And you've stalled for long enough."
"Impetuous as ever," Hector scoffed as he tossed the sphere into the air. A gaping abyss of dark purple emerged in front of him. "If you want answers, we'll have to visit a friend of mine."
"Where..." Caelum began and she felt her voice trailing off. At this point, she was far too tired to do anything really.
"The place Sir Aevus takes you to in your lucid dreams," The taller mage explained as he inched closer to the portal. "It's real."
"What makes you think I'll follow you into a place you won't even tell me about? It's like tackling a test with no prior context," Caelum retorted as a head splitting force pierced through her head.
Hector only smiled. "Your comparisons have always pertained to school and it's quite charming that they haven't changed."
He turned his head around for a brief moment, still smiling. "I don't but I have a feeling you will. I'm going in first. Besides, what do you have to lose?"
Without another word, he leapt into the portal, which was now shrinking rapidly.
She wouldn't admit it but Hector was right. Her curiosity had always gotten the best of her, so she took the leap of fate.
-|-
(Flashback from Ch. III- Dungeon Crawling)
"Everyone is confined to their own prison in the Phantom Lair," The male voice explained.
"I have no clue how you ended up in mine. I also clearly told you to leave this place."
"I gladly would've if I could've," Rolan retorted. "You sounded downright miserable when you begged me to leave."
Then Rolan paused as an epiphany befell him. "What's the gleam of amethyst?"
"Amethyst is the trademark of a nasty, nasty phantom. Unless you're a masochist, avoid everything with amethyst eyes."
"I'm afraid it's too late for that," the Regina said lowly in a steely tone. "We've been followed by one."
"Regina," The baritone voice said lowly and his voice now took on a darker hue. "What do you mean?"
"I thought it was a familiar at first," She explained. "There was a cat that had been following us when I retrieved him from the Academy. I thought it might have belonged to him or a colleague of his. It didn't have a tag on it so it certainly didn't belong to a council member."
"It was a really pretty cat. It had black fur and amethyst eyes. Now that I look back on it, there was something really unusual about the cat." She continued. "But I couldn't have known."
"You're probably overthinking it. Cats can have purple eyes," Rolan pointed out. "It could've been my roommate's cat. His cat has dark fur and blue eyes that look purple at certain angles. He also sends his cat out to find me when I try to skip class or stay up too late. He was probably just concerned that I didn't show up at the Great Hall."
"If the cat was truly a familiar, it would've done something when somebody aimed a lightning spell at you. It would have also attempted to shield you from the dragon's attacks." Regina argued.
"Regina, that's enough. Unlike your’s, most familiars are relatively weak. They can provide information about a person's whereabouts but seldom fight. A mere cat is no match for an experienced mage or an old dragon." The baritone voice cut in. "He's right, you're being paranoid. You two need to leave now."
"We can't." Regina told him coldly. "I promised a colleague that I'd meet with him here."
"Are you insane?" The male voice cried with an unstable fierceness that frightened Rolan.
"Why would you meet somebody in the Phantom Lair? You're just setting yourself up to become a phantom's prey!"
"Would you still want me to leave if I said that your visitors are Aevus's new apprentice and Hector?"
"...Cenyth got roped into this?" He said dismayed. "The boy had a bright future."
"Don't underestimate him. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to assemble to Watch of Reparation."
"How?" The mage said in an exasperated hiss.
"I suggest you wait for him to arrive and ask him yourself."
Meanwhile, Rolan had decided to lean against the wall and shut his eyes. Though he was technically unconscious, he felt unusually sleepy in the Phantom Lair.
-|-
Author's Note: The concept of the Watch of Reparation was inspired by the Odencat Game "Clock of Atonement"
For those of you that have read this far, thank you! I hope that at least one person enjoys this story.
I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism.
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