Return of the Runebound Professor

“You’re as melodramatic as the last time we met,” Tillian said, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a weary sigh. “I was really hoping that was just an act to make sure I didn’t get too comfortable.”

Revin sent him a blank stare. “Naive. You can’t change someone when you start a relationship with them. Who they are is who they will remain.”

“That’s romantic advice. It’s not even deep or thoughtful. Who hasn’t heard that from their parents or friends at some point or another?”

“It’s good romantic advice. You’ll never know when it’ll be important. People all say they know it, but few actually know it. Everyone thinks that they’re different. There’s a big difference between logically knowing something and actually understanding and applying it.”

“I am not here for romantic advice.”

“You aren’t?” Revin’s brow furrowed and he tapped a finger on his chin. “Odd. That’s usually why people visit me.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I have some trouble believing that. I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind would come here of all places to get any form of advice for their relationships. You live in a hole under a cave.”

“Bah. Judgmental, are we? You shouldn’t think poorly of someone based on their housing. I’ll have you know that this is a very specialized training arena for my student.”

Tillian grimaced. “You have a student? That might be the worst news I’ve gotten all day. Look, Revin — drop the act. Seriously. I don’t know what you’ve been up to, but I know you’re not a complete idiot. This is serious. The world is in danger. Chaos—”

“Rather rude, yes.”

Revin hopped down into the hole he’d climbed up through a few seconds before. Tillian followed after him, more to make sure the other man couldn’t make a run for it than because he actually wanted to follow Revin anywhere.

The room below the cave was furnished, but only barely. A single wooden table sat in its center, a few paces away from where the two of them dropped down. Three old, uncomfortable looking wooden chairs sat around it. One of them had a soft cushion placed on it.

Aside from that, it was empty. A stone door at the side of the room was cracked open, but not enough for Tillian to see anything in the hallway.

“Feel free to take a seat,” Revin said, promptly plopping himself down in the chair with a cushion. “Not the one I’m sitting in, mind you.”

“I had no plans of taking that one.” Tillian sat down at the table across from the strange, sharp-toothed man. If he hadn’t seen firsthand what Revin was capable of, he’d have thought him deranged.

“So,” Revin said, his mouth stretching open in a wide yawn that he made no move to hide. “What’s got you in such a panic that you came all the way across the kingdom to find me, Tillian? Last I recall, you were hot on Wizen’s tail.”

“I — wait. I thought you didn’t remember me. You definitely do.”

“Do I?” Revin cocked his head to the side. “That will likely depend on how much of my time you are wasting. I’m a very busy man, you know. I have a student to train.”

“The Chaos in the kingdom has increased. Significantly.”

Revin paused. “Okay. That might be a worthwhile problem. You have my attention. What a pain in the ass.”

His hand shot to the side. Shadows exploded up from the ground, forming into the shape of a wicked-looking scythe. The weapon carved through the air before Tillian could even think of moving. It hooked around his neck in a split second.

A loud clang echoed out through the cave, the ring of metal on metal.

There was a thunk a moment later as a sickle thunked to the floor to Tillian’s side. He stared at it in surprise. The attack had come out of nowhere. He hadn’t felt any presence or magic against his domain, and the room wasn’t nearly large enough for anyone to hide outside of his range.

Revin pulled his scythe back as the sickle was suddenly yanked back into the darkness at the edges of the room.

A young woman stepped out, the silver hair falling around her shoulders marking her as a Torrin. Her eyes were as flat and dead as the moon on a clouded night. The sickle that Revin had just blocked hung from a chain in her hands, swaying like a pendulum as she drew up to the table.

“Sorry, Elly,” Revin said, sounding genuinely apologetic. “Can’t practice against this one. He’s a guest.”

“Since when does anyone want to visit you?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“I am a very popular man. One with a dozen friends. Maybe even two dozen. Haven’t I ever told you how cool I am?”

“More times than I could ever care to count. People with a lot of friends don’t have to count them. They also don’t have to say they’re cool.”

“People with smart mouths don’t get friends at all. And it is called manifesting. You should try it sometime. Start by manifesting some skill,” Revin countered. He pointed at the last chair. “Sit down. You may as well sit around for this.”

“Who is this?” Tillian asked, tracking Elly through narrowed eyes as she lowered herself gingerly into the chair across from him. “Your student? How did she conceal herself from my domain?”

“Inquisitor training must be lacking these days. Did they not teach you about concealing your runic energy? She’s matching the energy leaking from her body to the ambient energy in the room. Makes her invisible to dunces that only use their domains to feel for fluctuations in power.”

“That’s a ridiculously high-level technique,” Tillian said. “One that’s almost impossible to hold for a long period of time. I was under the impression that your student was going to be a Rank 2 or something. What rank is she?”

“That’s a good question.” Revin scratched his chin. “Ellison, what rank are you?”

“Can’t you at least try to get my name right?” Elly asked wearily. “Ellison isn’t even a girl’s name.”

“It can be if the girl wants it to be,” Revin said. “Anything in this world can be taken with sufficient power. I’ll put effort into remembering your name once you’ve gotten to the point where it’s worth my time. Just be glad I start with the right sound.”

“I’m Eline,” the girl said, looking to Tillian. “And you must be desperate or stupid.”

Tillian frowned. Eline… that name rung a bell. She was definitely a member of the Torrin family. Sure, the hair pretty much gave that away, but this made him even more certain of it.

“Why is a Torrin here?”

“Her idiot mother gambled her life away. I won it,” Revin replied with a shrug. “And I can’t tolerate incompetence. I’m a very dedicated godfather. She should be honored. How many people do you know with cool godfathers? Not many.”

“Revin is your godfather?” Tillian asked, aghast.

“No,” Eline said. “He gets confused.”

“I preferred James to you,” Revin informed Eline. “He was much less whiny. You, however, can make eggs considerably better than he can. Though you do also get out of bed on your own. That’s two points in your favor.”

Tillian rapped a finger on the table. He’d wasted enough time on this — and if he was honest, once he was past the surprise, he didn’t care much about why Revin had one of the Torrin family’s scions here. His work was far too important to be distracted for long.

“Chaos,” Tillian reminded Revin. “I think something happened in the kingdom. I lost Wizen’s trail when he made it into the Damned Plains, but I found his hideout. There were strong traces of Chaos magic in it, just as we suspected. And I felt that chaos energy again, recently. It’s getting stronger.”

“That is problematic,” Revin said. An uncharacteristically serious expression crossed his features. “I’ve never been particularly sensitive to chaos, but I recall you having a rather keen sense for it. It’s how you were tracking Wizen in the first place if I recall correctly. Is this increase significant?”

“Quite. It was like the balance had shifted,” Tillian said. “And it hasn’t gone back to normal. This is big. I wouldn’t have come looking for you if it wasn’t, trust me.”

“Oh, I do,” Revin said. “I do my best to make sure idiots don’t bother me when I’m working unless the circumstances absolutely mandate it. Perhaps I’ll have to adjust my plans.”

“What is Chaos?” Eline asked, her brow furrowing. “Some kind of Rune?”

Tillian half expected Revin to get mad at her for the interruption. But, to his surprise, the madman answered it without missing a beat.

“A primordial form of runic power. A very dangerous one that can do a whole lot of damage in the wrong hands. It’s not something that I was planning on teaching you about anytime soon. It was at least a few years down the track. That’s quite a pain in the ass. I’m going to have to skip so many cooking lessons.”

“You told me those were done!”

“The pursuit of perfection never ceases, Elliot. Knowing how to prepare food with only the items in your possession is a very important skill. Not even James could master it.”

“Yeah, that’s probably because he didn’t use a weapon. How are you supposed to cut meat with your hand?”

“That’s his fault for picking no weapon.”

“He might have picked a weapon if you’d told him he was going to have to cook with it.”

“Luck plays an equal part in success to skill. A sickle is better suited for cutting wheat, but it’s definitely better than hands for cutting food. Well done.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Eline said, sinking lower into her chair.

“Children,” Revin said with a shake of his head. “They’ll come to understand eventually. I’m sure you know what I mean, Inquisitor.”

Tillian did not.

“Right,” he said, somewhat unconvincingly. “Of course. But about the chaos—”

“Yes, yes.” Revin shook his head and raised a hand. “I haven’t forgotten. It seems I’ve been a little bit too distracted as of late. Perhaps it’s time to head back to the surface.”

Eline’s eyes went wide. “Yes! That sounds like a brilliant idea. Chaos is very dangerous. It needs to be dealt with, so we’ll have to all work together to ensure it can’t threaten the kingdom. I’ll come, of course. To help.”

“No. You’re staying here and practicing alone.”

Eline’s mouth dropped open as all the excitement and hope drained from her body in a split second. “What? No! Please, don’t leave me here. I want to see the sun again!”

Revin let out a cackle. “Just kidding. Your training isn’t done. There’s more you have to learn. Oh, I know. I’ve got a brilliant idea.”

“You do?” Eline squinted at Revin, a tiny flicker of hope re-igniting in her eyes.

“Oh, yes. All of my ideas are brilliant, but I like this one because it means I get to pass some of my work onto someone else.” Revin rubbed his hands together and nodded. He rose to his feet and gestured for the others to do the same. “Come. We have a trip to start.”

“To where?” Tillian asked. “Do you have a lead on the chaos somehow?”

“No,” Revin replied. “But I do have a few seeds I planted that should have begun to flower. I’d imagine we’ll find some of them should be bearing fruit right about now.”

“So where are we going?” Tillian frowned. It was difficult to tell whether Revin was insane or if he had an actual plan — though, most possibly, it was both.

“To one of the Bastions,” Revin replied with a wicked grin. “We’re going to Arbitage.”