Marley and I continued to test various cures throughout the night. Earnest decided to go outside and take a walk, while Caius disappeared… it was unfortunate that I knew what he was doing. The only thanks I had was that this Caius and I's memories had separated. Taylor stayed close to me and when it came time to rest, laid down beside me. In the end however we could only do so much for the children. We managed to stop them trying to leave the makeshift orphanage but that was by dosing them with more drugs. The spell binding them while it wasn't too strong kept resetting every few hours. The only thing that could do that was some kind of artefact and until we took care of it, the curse would never end.
"What do you think?" I asked Caius as he finally graced us with his presence in the morning.
"You would know better than I wouldn't you?" he replied indifferently.
"In whole yeah, but I can't use my mana without hurting myself, a second check would help," I pushed him towards the closest child.
"Fine," he pressed his hand to the child's head. "Yes… I do feel something binding him. A string to the North east."
"That's the direction of the Magicians Guild," Taylor said frowning.
"A bit too much of a coincidence don't you think?" I thought the same as Taylor. "Mama looks like our goals align."
"That they do," she smiled and took a breath of her pipe. "Your passage has been arranged and this is for you." She handed a package not to me but to Caius. Her hand drew across his cheek lovingly, "For services rendered."
"Appreciated," he took the package with a sly grin. Taylor and I looked at the both of them in distaste.
"So how does this work?" I asked once they had settled down.
Mama sat down in front of us, "A guide will lead the way to the Magicians Guild under the safest and most hidden route. Leave your carriage here," she puffed out more smoke, "don't worry it'll be well kept."
"Is everyone ready?" I turned to others who nodded one by one. "Good. Let's go find Ardent."
We headed outside and were met by a small girl wearing a dark dress with a red flower in her hair.
She spoke in a monotone, "This way please."
"Earnest, Caius watch our backs, Taylor lead with our guide and Marley stay with me." With our formation set we said our goodbyes to Mama and went on our way.
The small girl guided us with a stern precision as Taylor looked at her with a complicated gaze. I had the feeling for much of her young life that job may have been given to her. With what could happen in the slums, there was no telling the potential dangers. Even as influential as Mama seemed, there were enough desperate people in the slums to go against that.
Several hours passed as we worked our way through hidden paths, crossing buildings and tunnels that looked both old and new. It was a long trek and at times we had to wait for the perfect moment to pass through, avoiding the gazes of the Empire's soldier's who occasionally ambled around. The further we went out from the slums the more there were, suspiciously so, and as the towering castle like structure of the Magician's guild came into sight, our preordained path could no longer be taken.
"An unexpected obstruction," the monotone girl mumbled. She stared with cold eyes at the moving soldiers. "This wa-."
Taylor stopped her, "It's fine, we can take it from here."
Her large black eyes stared back into Taylor's blue ones, "Understood. Good luck." She scurried back the way we came.
"Now what?" Earnest asked as we gazed towards the building. The nearby brush and shadows hid us from sight. The small tunnel we came from remained behind us. "Should we just barge in?"
I turned my eyes to him, "There should be dozens if not hundreds of magicians inside, plus the Empire's men, do you really think you could?"
"Never tried, but it would be interesting," he smirked but then his eyes hardened. "Rain in the back, those men, they look different."
"Imperium," Taylor mumbled and I confirmed it with my own eyes.
"Like we thought, they're here," I cursed beneath my breath.
"There is a path we could take in-between the guarding patrols." Taylor looked up, "The sun however is not on our side." Being midday we would be easily seen by anyone on a border lookout.
"Should we wait?" Marley asked nervously. "If they're magicians they'll sense us if we use any magic."
I crinkled my brow, "No, I have the feeling we need to get inside now. Caius you wouldn't happen to know what's coming, would you?"
He shrugged, "I haven't died yet."
"Hmmm," I stroked my chin and looked to the package he was holding, "What did Mama give you?"
"Ah yes, I haven't checked," he brought out the package and opened it, revealing four sets of robes. Better still they were Imperium robes with masks. "Well, it seems my performance last night was worth it."
Taylor snatched the robes, "That's just how she is, don't let it get to your head."
He narrowed his eyes at Taylor and then flicked them to me, "I'm sure you've enjoyed me quite some yourself."
"You're nothing like Rain!" Taylor stood her ground angrily.
"Okay enough with the comments and snide remarks," I pushed the two apart. "We have four robes and five people… who wants to play captive?" All our eyes shifted to Marley.
"Oh come on," she complained but it was too late.
*
"Stand aside!" I barged towards the line of soldiers guarding the entrance. Behind me were the others in disguise as I was and between us all was Marley chained up like a prisoner.
"Halt!" a guard pointed a spear our way, his companions watching us warily.
"You dare?" I croaked at him. "Who do you think you're blocking."
"S-sorry sir but we're under orders not to let anyone inside."
"And just who do you think your orders come from?" I glared at him from behind the mask. "I'll have you know your actions are wasting valuable time." I forcefully pulled Marley forward, causing her to trip onto her knees. "This girl is a priest of the Goddess. We have things that need to be done, understand? Now step aside."
The guards looked at each other not sure what to do. I gave a slight nod to Caius and strong flames lit in front of their eyes, hovering inches away.
"Move," Caius' voice gravelled intimidatingly. "That is of course if you like your eyes."
"Damn it fine," the guard backed away and cleared the path. As we moved past I could hear him curse under his breath, "Imperium bastards." I fully agreed and it looked like they really did act this way most the time.
Our disguise worked as none of the other guards or the few Imperium we saw bother us. It was almost too easy as we entered the Magician's Guild headquarters. Past the stone walls, the castle like structure towered into the sky, a mixture of colours against the sun. While mostly a standard dark grey, bits and pieces of the building shimmered, whereas others were clearly painted differently in blue or white. Like the people who called it home it was a unique place and showed the mysticism of magic. From what I had heard from Ardent it was a bustling place where thousands of magicians studied. Now however it looked bleak, as if the magic had been drained from its very walls. Where it was clear people should be, it was empty spare a few armed guards and the occasional Imperium. I had to wonder where they all were.
The map we had received from Mama guided my memory. Our goal was the inner sanctum where the Archmage resided. Ardent who was her apprentice should be close by, assuming he was still alive. The problem was the amount of Imperium we passed by and worse the lack of anyone else. We were still walking the corridors and there were several large areas they could be being kept but I found it hard to believe the Imperium could have overpowered the headquarters of such a large organization. Further still the Guild was meant to be neutral and while it did have ties to the Empire they were said to have enough power to hold off an army. Then again from experience I knew that even the slightest corruption could be exploited to destruction.
"Hey you four," a brash voice called to us suddenly. "What are you doing with that girl?" It was clear he was a higher rank not only from the finer robes and mask but also his tone.
"We are taking this prisoner for experimentation and questioning sir!" I stood at attention and stepped aside to show Marley. She groaned in complaint as I jerked her forwards.
"What for?" the man approached us intrigued.
"This girl is a priest of the Goddess. We found her in the slums curing people of our hold on them."
The eyes beneath the mask widened, "And she succeeded?"
"From what we could tell, yes." I lied.
"I see," he nodded. "You three go and assist the others in the great hall. The Magicians are getting rowdy again. As for you, come with me and bring the girl."
We paused. I was the one singled out. Why did it have to be me? I knew I should have had Caius do the talking… at least alone he could survive practically whatever happened. I sighed internally, there was no getting out of this without revealing ourselves. The best choice for now would be to steer into it.
"Yes sir," I bowed to him and commanded the others, "You lot go to the great hall."
They nodded. Earnest and Caius departed immediately, Taylor lingered, her eyes watching me intently. There was no need for her to be worried because I was doing plenty of that myself. If I died this time I really would be gone. It was an uncomfortable thought, though really it was a normal one.
I pulled Marley along behind the higher ranking Imperium. For a brief moment we passed the passage to the inner sanctum and as we did so a powerful wave of mana resonated out causing dust to fall from the ceiling and walls. It was mostly a foreign power but there was a small part that reminded me of Ardent.
"Tch," the Imperium man spat. "The Archmage and her dogs are still trying to resist.
"Sir, I was not informed. What is happening inside?" I asked despite the risk.
"Are you daft? The battle for the Guild is being waged inside. Once we have the Kingdom's Hero however, it will be all too easy to take over this place," he grinned greedily.
"The Hero?" I acted dumb.
"Ah right a plebeian like you wouldn't have been told. Don't mind it. Your job is to make sure no one acts up and ruins everything."
"Of course sir," I humbly bowed my head. I'd definitely make sure to ruin everything.
Another pulse of mana shot through the building. Whatever was happening must have been intense. The very walls of the Guild had been imbued to absorb mana, the fact I could still feel it this distance away meant whoever was inside had magic capable on Caius' level. We continued down the corridor and soon arrived into a medium sized private room. What was once a study had been converted to an interrogation room and not one from Jane's world. The stone floor was splattered with blood and a thick table covered in chains sat in the centre. Torturer's tools were lined up on the bench, some clearly used. Whoever had been here before did not have a nice day.