Chapter 61:

  Stryg opened his bleary eyes to the bright morning light. Feli had forgotten to close the bedroom curtains last night. His lilac irises felt like they would rupture from the sun’s burning rays. He stretched and groaned in discomfort. His short limbs sprawled across the large bed.

  Feli cracked one eye open to see what was wrong.

“Too bright,” Stryg muttered.

  She mumbled something inaudible and nestled deeper into his arm. He closed his eyes and threw the sheets over their heads. He was too sleepy to bother with the curtains. He rested his head over Feli’s. Her purple hair smelled sweet, like strawberries. The couple stayed in each other’s warm comfort for a few peaceful moments of silence.

  Stryg’s eyes shot open. He tore the blankets off and sat up. “Shit.”

“Mm, what is it now?” Feli groaned.

  Stryg took a moment to appreciate her naked appearance before he jumped off the bed and rushed to the closet. He found a grey shirt and a pair of black pants, the academy’s uniform.

  “Today is my Duels class’ final exam. I can’t be late.” He shimmied into his pants.

Feli sat up, her large bust swaying with the motion. She rubbed her eyes, “You forgot your underwear.”

  Stryg cursed, took off his pants and grabbed a pair of underwear.

“Why does everyone insist on using these damn undergarments,” he complained.

  “I thought you liked the lingerie I used last night?” Feli smirked.

“That’s different, I got to take it off.” He finished putting on his clothes and grabbed his nameplate from the counter.

  Feli wrapped herself in a robe and followed him out of the bedroom. “Aren’t you going to eat something before you head out?”

“There’s not enough time.”

  “The academy is only a block away.”

“Yes, but I have to stop by the main office first. Something about picking up our final exam equipment. I’ll be late as it is if I don’t run over.”

  Stryg put his shoes on and tried tying his laces. He was getting better at it. Part of him wished the Blood Fang tribe’s hunters or builders had taught him how to tie knots. Instead he had spent his days learning how to read and write from the eccentric hunter Sigte. Not a bad trade off he supposed.

  “Let me help you with that,” Feli said. She kneeled and tied the laces for him.

Stryg eyes wandered to her bust. Hickey marks covered her chest. “Thanks, Feli.”

  Feli grinned, “For the shoes or the nice view?”

“Both, definitely both.” Stryg stood up and opened the front door.

  “May Stjerne and Lunae bless you in the exam,” Feli said, invoking the names of the patron gods of the humans and goblins.

  Stryg closed the door and turned around. He pulled her in close and kissed her on the lips, his tongue intertwined with hers. Feli’s eyes widened for a moment then closed as she enjoyed the moment. He didn’t let go until she was out of breath.

  “I don’t need their blessing. I just want yours,” he whispered.

“You have it,” she said with rosy cheeks.

  “Good,” he stepped away.

  Feli watched him from the doorway as he ran off to the academy. She closed the door with a small smile. When they first became a couple her plan was to seduce Stryg, yet now she found herself simply being happy spending more time with him. It was nice to actually have someone see you for who you were, not the appearance you displayed in front of the crowds, and still care for you anyway.

  Of course, there was a chance Stryg only like her for her body, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. After all, this whole thing was meant to be a loveless marriage. Not that Feli was in love with Stryg. Feli ignored the little voice in her head. At the end of the day none of it mattered.

  Feli looked around the empty apartment. She blew a sigh of dissatisfaction. In a way she had already achieved her goal. Thanks to Stryg providing for all their material needs, she had no need to work. At most she would clean up the apartment and cook. The majority portion of her days were free. She never realized how boring it could be.

  “Maybe I should take up a hobby?” She said out loud.

  Feli strolled into the kitchen. She rummaged through the cabinets, wondering what to cook. She thought of Stryg, running through the streets with an empty stomach. The thought annoyed her. Maybe she could make something for him. She had never been to the magic academy, it would be a good excuse to visit his school.

  She began to busy herself making brunch. It’d take a bit of time, but she was sure Stryg would appreciate a home cooked meal.

~~~

  Stryg walked over to the front desk. The first time he arrived he had to stand on his tiptoes to look over the desk. Now his eyes could see past the desk’s counter, just barely. He really had gotten taller.

  Miss Byrel looked down at him from her high chair.

“Ah, it’s you,” she said in disdain.

  The drow woman was clearly still the same.

“I’m supposed to pick up some sort of equipment from professor Loh,” Stryg rapped his fingers on the desk, impatience clear on his face.

  “You’re late, not surprising really. The other students already picked up their gear,” she said.

Byrel pulled out a large chest from under her desk and rummaged through it.

  “I don’t have time to waste,” he said after a few minutes.

“And I don’t have time to spend with an upstart goblin, but here we both are,” Byrel adjusted her glasses.

  She had wanted to avoid this task altogether, but Loh had commanded her to aid her once again in her class. Byrel couldn’t refuse, but she had at least convinced Loh to allow her to hand out the equipment at the front desk, instead of trudging the large chest all the way to the testing grounds.

  “Here we are, one climbing harness, climbing cable, and a quickdraw to attach the whole ensemble,” Byrel grinned.

She threw the equipment over the desk and went back to working on her paperwork.

  Stryg looked over the climbing equipment. “What’s this all for?”

  “Not my concern. Professor Loh simply instructed me to give her students the equipment and tell them to meet her in the Academy’s underground cavern.”

  “The academy has a cavern?” Stryg asked.

She threw a sheet of paper into the air.

  “Those are the directions, now shoo, I have actual work to do,” Byrel waved Stryg away and didn’t give him another glance.

Stryg snatched the paper, gave it a once over, crumpled it and threw it over his head at Byrel. The paper ball smacked right into her face.

  “What the blazes?!” She flinched.

“Fuck you Byrel,” Stryg said.

  He picked up his climbing gear and left without giving her another glance. She needed to know where they both stood.

Her whole body quivered as she seethed in anger. She said nothing and only sneered at the goblin’s back.

~~~

  Stryg skipped down a long set of winding stone steps. He had been walking for a while now. He wondered how deep this place went. He was currently under one of the academy’s assembly hall. The directions had guided him down a small side entrance and to what Stryg could only assume would be a cavern.

  He eventually made his way to the bottom of steps and was met with a limestone tunnel. The walls and floors had organic ridges. It seemed to be a natural cavern, untouched by mining. He spotted a torchlight at the end of the tunnel. He jogged his way to the light.

  The tunnel opened up to a large open cavern spanning twice the size of the running track in the academy’s field. Torches were stretched out around the edges. What stood out the most was the enormous chasm that covered the entire middle of the cavern. Stryg looked over the edge, it had to be a 70 foot drop easily. Large stone pillars, 7 foot in diameter, rose from the bottom of the chasm and stood almost at eye level. The pillars were spread all over the chasm.

  “Stryg, over here!” Kithina waved.

  She stood with the rest of the class, next to a torch a few dozen feet away. Professor Loh was unusually early today. She sat on the only chair in the entire cavern, eyeing the class. A dwarf mage stood next to her. Stryg jogged over.

  “Sorry, I’m late, the secretary took her sweet time getting my gear,” Stryg said.

  “I don’t care for excuses. If you don’t have your gear ready by the time the exam begins then the other team will simply have a head start,” Loh said curtly.

  Stryg grimaced, “Understood.”

“Now listen well you lot, I’ll only explain this once,” Loh said.

  “Do you know how to put the climbing gear on?” Kithina whispered.
“No,” Stryg shook his head.

  Callum stepped next to Stryg. “Let me help you.”

  Stryg was about to refuse, but he held his tongue. Callum wasn’t his tribemate, but he was his friend. It wasn't a weakness to accept his help, it was okay.

  “Thanks,” Stryg whispered.

“No problem. I’ll make it quick,” Callum whispered back.

  He began to strap Stryg into the climbing harness.

  Loh eyed the exchange, but said nothing. “Many of you don’t know, but Hollow Shade’s magestone wall extends underground to form an upside down dome. This cavern is one of the deepest areas in the entire city.”

  “Before we begin the final exam I wanted to give you an explanation of why we are down here. The answer is the Magical Academic Youth tournament. Most people just call it the Great Cities Tourney. It is one of the most important competitions within all the Ebon Realm. The tourney is held every year and is hosted by one of the four great cities each year. Many of you will recall that Hollow Shade hosted last year. The great city of Murkton is hosting the tourney this year, in fact this very week.”

  “The tourney is a display of the power and prestige of each great city. Every great city has a mage academy and each one sends out a team of their four most capable students to compete against the other schools. It is a chance for the most talented mage youth to show off their skills and potentially make alliances or be recruited by the most powerful Houses in the Realm.”

  “Now, you’ll only be eligible to be drafted onto Hollow Shade’s team when you're 3rd-years but to be frank, our academy has lost the tourney for the last five years. I don’t doubt that our academy’s team is getting their asses handed to them right at this moment. As such, in the past few weeks the academy has decided to begin to prepare its students for the tourney early.”

  “This cavern’s chasm has been modified to imitate the first challenge of the tourney. The goal is simple, get your team across the chasm as quickly as you can. Whichever team finishes first, wins. You can use whatever magic you have at your disposal. Chromatic browns and reds have been allowed to bring their potions and enchanted items that they have personally made from their classes.”

  “Let it be known that this exam isn’t a perfect replica of the real tourney for a few reasons. Deaths can and have happened in the real tourney, whereas killing your opponent today will result in failure and expulsion. If you are scared for your life, just shout out that you give up, signaling your defeat.”

  “The real tourney grounds are also held under the open sky and are far larger than this cavern. The academy decided to use this small scale replica, instead of Hollow Shade’s actual tourney grounds, because the original is under maintenance. And by that I mean the tourney grounds were destroyed last year during the competition and the city hasn’t bothered to fix them yet. That’s what happens when your own team gets their asses beat year after year.”

  “Anyway, today’s teams will be composed of three people instead of the actual four of the tourney. Simply because you have all been working as a three-person team so far. Some of you may have noticed that there is water at the bottom of the chasm. It’s only 2 feet deep, instead of the tourney’s regular 20 feet. Turns out transferring over a hundred thousand gallons of water into an underground cavern is quite difficult, who would have guessed?” Loh shook her head.

  “Damn blue magi and their stupid pride. They boasted they could fill the entire chasm in a week. Yet, even with the help of the undead sentinels and the nearby Dire River, they were only able to fill the chasm with a measly 2 feet. On the plus side, there aren’t any white eels in the water, unlike the real tourney. There is enough water for a blue magi to control, but not enough to cushion your fall if you tumble down one of the stone pillars.”

  “So, be grateful that we had the foresight to order some climbing gear for the lot of you. Your climbing rope will be attached to the cavern’s ceiling to ensure your safety. It’s an annoyance, I know. But, the ropes are made of a mixture of iron and ivlid weed, they won’t break, not even against your measly magic, so feel free to go all out.”

  Loh stood up from her chair. “Alright, that should sum it all up. Get ready to jump on those pillars, your final exam is about to begin.”

Frostbird

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