Embers in the Dust

In the morning, they all prepared themselves for a long morning and afternoon of rowing. Rhokhishi stretched lightly, having offered her assistance for most of the length of the journey. Standing beside the boat, Lyla and Rhokhishi pushed it further into the water, until it was no longer touched by the shore. Hopping on, they sat, grabbed their oars, and started to paddle.

“There’s no storm here, so we should be able to just push through, right?” She asked Leaf.

“I honestly don’t know. There’s always been magical wards that prevented people from coming to the islands, but they could still be there and not visible.”

“So, we’re rowing into the unknown. Got it.”

She was surprised to see that the water was calm, and as they passed what she assumed was the location of the protective arcane barrier, she was excited to know they would be back on land in only a couple hours. The first hour moved slowly, and even she felt the exhaustion starting to build an ache in her arms, back, and shoulders. When the hour passed, some of the party switched places, and they began rowing again.

In the second hour, they could see a boat coming their way. When it approached, she was able to see Versira Mistmoon waving, a look of confusion on her face. She turned off the machine that rowed her boat, then waited for them to get closer.

“I was coming to get y’all right now! What are ya doing?”

“Versira! We totally forgot that you’d be picking us up,” Myla shouted across.

“It’s been a long few days. Any chance you can let us board?” Leaf asked.

“Of course! Get closer and hop in!”

They transferred their bodies and things over to the other boat, and then Mr. Muffins took his time releasing the spell on their crafted boat. Rhokhishi watched as the items fell apart, then sank into the depths below. Now relaxed, Versira asked questions, and they all filled her in on what they felt could be stated without causing a panic.

“Well, it seems like y’all had a pretty intense few days! I’m sure everything’s alright, but I do want to let you know about the academy.”

“What happened?” Leaf asked, his eyes widening in worry.

“Oh, nothing too crazy, but the bubble-thing? It’s not there no more. It’s been snowing on the academy since yesterday, and some of the students are a little worried. Teachers closed the school for the week, but you’ll know more than I would about the place, Master Leaf.”

She paused for a second, thinking about her response for a moment.

“Master Leaf or Archmage Leaf?”

“That’s still to be determined, I guess,” Leaf answered.

Rhokhishi understood his reply. Their situation left a lot to wonder about.

Did he pass his test?

Was everyone okay?

So many things were up in the air. Her thoughts were interrupted as they saw Berkton in the distance. The skyline was usually taken by the bubble of magic that surrounded the academy, and now contained no such thing. She felt the seriousness of the circumstance, and sat quietly as Versira hummed to herself and let the machine row the boat closer and closer to the docks.

At Whalehunter’s Dock, they stepped off, thanked Versira, and then moved away from the crowd. Rhokhishi felt the tension as Leaf tried to think quickly. When he spoke, she could hear him trying to force confidence through his body.

“Alright. We have a lot to do, and we need to move quickly to get as much information as possible. I want to head to the library at the academy. That’s where the arcane barrier for the school is. Someone should head to the Deans’ homes and see if any of them are there. Lastly, someone should reach out to Darion and see if he’s okay.”

“You and Wulgar go to the library. I’ll take the rest to the Deans,” Mr. Muffins responded.

“We’ve made contact with Darion before, if Lyla and I work together, we might be able to send a message out to him. It’s a long distance, but we can at least try,” Myla added.

“I want to head to a scroll shop,” Gisela stated after.

“What?” Leaf asked.

“If you can’t send a message, it would probably be good to get a scroll for it.”

“Have you ever been here before?” Lyla questioned.

“No, but I can ask around.”

“And how do you expect to find us again?”

“Well, I can meet Leaf and Wulfgar at the library,” She explained.

Rhokhishi could see Lyla’s concern return to her face. It did seem odd that Gisela wanted to separate so quickly, but it also made sense for her to want to go and get supplies that they might need. Not wanting to let concerns get the better of them in the moment, she clapped her hands loudly, then spoke.

“Let’s get moving! No time to dawdle.”