The sun had already set, leaving behind a serene evening sky, painted in hues of orange and purple as Elaine finally exited the School Library. The day had been long and arduous, but they had accomplished what they set out to do—organizing the Archives. Elaine had been skeptical about finishing the task in a day, especially after the incident with Custas, but she was pleasantly surprised. Once he had recovered, they were able to work together smoothly, making the process much easier. 

As they stepped out into the cool evening air, Elaine couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction and relief. Without any diversions, curses, or deranged professors to fret over, they could concentrate fully on completing their tasks, which she had done with renewed haste. Elaine only assumed that the same applied to Kliff and Fearne as within the next four hours or so, the two groups had merged together again, both halves of the Archive room returning to some semblance of uniformity.

But Elaine couldn't guarantee that everything was up to the standards of the School Council; that would be for Micah to decide, and the Vice President had yet to exit library doors after he'd announced that he'd assess their progress himself. Elaine nervously bit her thumb as she leaned against the fencing, eagerly awaiting Micah's report with beads of sweat spotting her forehead.

She had no idea what he would say to them. After a while or so, it was as if Elaine's brain went on autopilot. During the first hour, she'd been fully committed to not making any mistakes and that every folder and document was in its designated spot. Unfortunately, one hour before her last, Elaine definitely could attest that she'd not been the most vigilant organizer, and she worried that while her attention to detail began to wane, she'd made a glaring mistake. That certainly would be...tiresome, if not a little annoying.

Custas had been by her side, that much was true. However, she couldn't be certain that he was completely dedicated to their assignment, not after his encounter with Professor Marsh. It was understandable that anyone would be shaken up after staring into the hollow eyes of one of the most powerful professional sorcerers in the country. They all knew that he could easily extract their Essence with his unbound shadows should he choose to do so, and they'd be utterly powerless to stop him. As mere novices, what could they possibly do against a master like him?

Elaine cast a quick glance at Custas standing on the opposite side of the pathway. He had his arms folded and was staring at the clouds with a pensive look in his dark eyes. The afternoon breeze was playing with the sash he wore around his waist as well as his already bushy hair. Elaine was relatively new to his acquaintance, but she had learned enough about him to be able to sense when he was distressed. He was usually quite talkative, but today he had been uncharacteristically quiet, which made Elaine feel uneasy. She kept hoping for a witty comment or a dry joke from him to lighten the mood, but there had been only silence between them as they worked.

"Argh, what's taking him so long?" Fearne complained, and she sounded as nervous as Elaine felt. A common mannerism of hers, Elaine had noticed, was that her roommate would stroke her braided ponytail as she was doing at the moment. It served as an instant indicator that something was wrong. "What if we messed up in there? What will happen to the Aire Club?"

"Let's stay positive," Elaine consoled her with a half-baked smile. "We all did the best we could, didn't we? And if the Student Council nevertheless wants to get rid of us, well, then..."

"We'll just have to show them how strong our conviction is," Kliff continued for her. He stood beside Fearne with his arms folded, dark blonde hair interfering with his firm expression because of the wind. "Master Micah has already displayed his contempt for the club's very existence so I doubt he won't assess our work through biased lenses. If worse comes to worst, then we'll have to regroup with Casey and strategize countermeasures. For now, we wait and see."

It was only a few seconds after Kliff had finished speaking that Fearne hopped in place as Micah burst out of the library. Those few students near the entrance stiffened upon his arrival, straightening themselves prior to leaning into a bow with a hand placed over their chest as he passed them. Elaine frowned. He didn't appear to be upset, then again, it was difficult to get a read on the guy, and as he approached them, what little confidence she'd procured began dwindling away like the light of a dying torch in a cave.

Fearne nervously gulped next to Elaine as she proceeded to stroke her ponytail. Elaine was clearly anxious, but not to the same degree as her roommate, who looked like she'd shatter into pieces even from the most fragile of impacts. Movement to her side caught her attention, and she saw Custas, the boy sauntering over to them, hands in his pockets. He looked more exhausted than nervous. Then there was Kliff, who, true to his words, didn't seem concerned in the slightest. He protested with a narrow glare that almost seemed to mirror Micah's, standing upright with bawled fists, prepared to either praise or criticize with a look of sheer indifference.

"Hmph, I'll be the first to say that I wasn't expecting a lot out of you," Micah said as he stopped before them. "I'd wager not even the strongest charms known in creation can get students to accomplish anything over the weekend. But the work you've done in there...is adequate, I suppose."

"Adequate?" Custas grimaced. "We spent the entire day cleaning up your mess, and it's only adequate?"

Micah shrugged. "There's no other word that I deem more fitting to describe your performance than that."

Custas scoffed. "Whatever, asshole. Are we off the hook or not?"

"That entirely depends on you," Micah said curtly. "I can't promise the Student Council won't revisit the Aire Club's case at a later date...but for now, I think I can permit you to do as you please, just so long as you actually contribute something to this academy. Regarding your specialty, I highly doubt that you'll ever rise out of the Council's shadow. Moreover, I still have yet to decide if the reason you did this was because you truly sought to help out a friend or just to spite me, in particular."

Fearne hesitated. "I beg your pardon? Just what are you implying, sir?"

"I mean to discern the degree of your devotion," Micah clarified. "You've shown that you'll cooperate in the club now, but what about next week or the week after next? In a month's time, will any of you even stick around? And what will your course of action entail should it be the case that you aren't getting any work requests? Will you waver in the desire to join the more entertaining clubs, or will you quit once your extracurricular life and academics clash with one another? Where are your priorities? Where does your devotion lie?"

Custas glared. "Is there even a point in asking this? After everything we already did to help Casey and the club, there's no way we'll part ways now."

"Hmm, I don't think it's as obvious as you're making it out to be," Micah said. "At the end of the day, a club is a team. Even now, I can already tell that yours leaves a lot to be desired, especially with how two among you already seem to despise each other."

Elaine didn't have to ask who he was referring to, and she started as he made his way past her, not bothering to say a farewell or look back as he departed. "Inform Cassandra," Micah instructed, "that her end of the deal has been fulfilled. But I advise you not to lower your guard; we'll be keeping tabs on you all when the occasion arises. Until then."

They all fell into a silent stupor as they watched Micah make his leave. In time, he materialized as little more than a dimly lit figure in the far distance, just before disappearing from their field of vision. Elaine let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. It was strange that their victory felt so dull and joyless. The four of them looked dejected, as if they had only just scraped by in an exam. Inherently good news, but nothing really worth celebrating either. 

"It's over," Fearne exhaled, deflating to the floor on her knees. "I guess we're not total failures."

Kliff chuckled lightly. "That's one way of putting it. I'm sure our club leader will be pleased to hear the news as well."

"Raine told me that she's busy with an assignment this weekend," Elaine said as she helped Fearne to her feet. "She'll probably reach out to us when she finds the time. If not, then I suggest we wait until Wrez to give her the good news."

"For now," Fearne sighed. "I could use a hot bath and a meal. Who knew organizing folders could be so tiring?"

"Oh, come on, guys! Where's your sense of gratification?!" Custas exclaimed, sidestepping in front of them. "We just beat that Micah guy at his own game. Now's not the time to be acting all doom and gloom! No, sir. We should commemorate our irrefutable victory!"

Elaine opened her mouth to gape. Where was he hiding all this energy before?

"I'm fine with celebrating if that's what you want...but do we have to do it now?" Fearne moped.

"Yeah, man. We're pretty spent. Plus, I've got homework that I've been putting off."

"Please, I couldn't care less if you don't come, fireboy," Custas said sharply. "I was mainly talking to Elaine and Fearne. What do you say, you two? If it's a victory meal you're craving, then I know just the place."

Admittedly, Elaine got a rise of interest out of that, and she also noticed the flare inside of Fearne's widened eyes. "Oh, really?" Elaine asked, stepping to him with arms tied behind her back. "I can use a break from the cafeteria's menu, even if it is some of the best food I've eaten in my life."

Custas sneered. "Now we're talking."

"What are the prices like?" asked Fearne, leaning closer to him as well. "Are they cheap?"

"They gotta be if I'm the one suggesting it," Custas joked. "You guys will love it. Trust me, the grub they've got there is to die for."

*

* *

Elaine felt like her stomach was dying. Before her, lying on a plate oozing with orange-colored sauce was a type of steaming dish that she'd never even heard of in the countryside. They called it the dragonmelt; essentially, it was a cuboid slab of meat—hopefully, it wasn't actually from a dragon as they were highly endangered—with a thick bone piercing through the middle and popping out of the other end. 

It looked coarse, however, it was deceptively soft as for when Elaine stabbed a knife into it there was little to no resistance at all, the knife's tip sinking inside of it as if the thing were made of butter. Elaine would have downed it in one bite—she'd attempted doing so as soon as she laid eyes on it—if the dish wasn't so piping hot. Having to sit there taking pint-sized chunks out of such a delicacy was torture only the truly famished could relate to.

Peppery spices and seasonings rose off the meat chunk in streams into her nose, and the smell itself reminded her partially of well-cooked bushgoblin, a particular kind of flavor that could best be described as a hybrid of chicken and duck; it tasted a lot more appetizing than it sounded, more so when it was well seasoned.

Elaine had already anticipated the taste before she had taken her first bite, however, when her mouth clamped shut onto the fork, her taste buds exploded from the fiery flavoring that stabbed her tongue like thousands of tiny incubated needles. Quickly, Elaine shot a hand to her glass of water and finished it all with one gulp. She wasn't the best when it came to spicy food, she already knew this on account of Milo sneaking some lavapepers into her breakfast on time last summer. She couldn't taste anything for a solid week after that. But this...dragonmelt was on a whole other level.

Luckily, she hadn't taken a big piece, and she worried to think what might have happened if she had done so. Sitting across the table though, Custas wasted no time in gouging down the meal, a knife and a fork eagerly cutting apart the dragonmelt as his smiling lips chewed what was inside of his bloated cheeks. Elaine couldn't tell how the boy could stomach eating such a sharply seasoned dish, but he made it look easy.

"So, what did I tell you? Is this place awesome or what?" Custas bragged, shoving another meat strip into his mouth. "The prices are reasonable, and the food is as good, if not better than some of those high-end restaurants they've got in the Capital."

Elaine gave a reluctant smile. "It certainly, ah, has its charm."

This eatery was called The Happy Salamander, a reasonably large establishment located near the center of Lakestone, just a few blocks away from the local park. It hadn't taken them that long to get there—the sun had yet to set, though it was getting dangerously closer to the horizon line—given they traveled using the archgate on campus. Elaine didn't think she'd ever get used to the strange enchanted doorways, but she wouldn't deny that they were convenient.

At this hour, the restaurant was pretty filled. Sitting at a table at the rear of the room and adjacent to the front door, Elaine could get a nice view of the place. Rectangular wooden tables that could hold a total of six people were littered around, either situated into rows composed of five tables each or pressed against the stone walls on the side, as theirs was. 

Waitresses in long burgundy brown or white dresses darted this way and that, either carrying plates of food or jotting down orders into notepads from their customers. They'd have to heed extra caution too, as stone pillars stretching from the floor to the roof segmented the place into sections, and if one weren't careful, they could very well end up colliding face-first into one. All the while, a steady torrent haphazard with the contrasting scents of various meals seeped into the room from somewhere she couldn't see—presumably the kitchen.

Sighing, Elaine glanced back at her plate, mentally deciding the best method to attack it. She didn't want to burn her tongue off. Sitting beside her, Kliff wasn't making much progress with his meal as well, the noble instead picking at the stack of steamed vegetables organized in a pile on the side of the plate. Fearne, on the other hand, had already finished half of hers, but perhaps she'd eaten too quickly, as the girl was now lurching on the table, her face smeared beside the plate.

"Oh, what's the matter, fireboy?" Custas smirked, wagging his fork at him. "This humble lowborn food not to your liking? Why, I figured you'd get a kick out of dragonmelt, considering you specialize in Fire Magic."

Kliff frowned. "What does my specialization in Fire Magic have to do with my meal preferences?"

"Heard that the kind of magic you practice supposedly serves as an indicator of your personality," Custas answered matter of factly. "Water mages are free-spirited but strong-willed, like the ocean. Plant mages are as caring and mysterious as the forest. You know, stuff like that."

"The Soul Essence Theory," Elaine chimed in, impatient for a distraction from her intimidating meal. "It was coined by a Reacher during the Arcane Age. It dictates that every mage is born with a predetermined affinity for a specific kind of magic and that their Essence will inevitably be molded to suit that magic better." Kliff shot her a confused look. "What? We learned about it in Magihistory. I thought it was pretty interesting."

"Yeah, well, I've never been one to believe in superstitious stuff like that," Kliff commented, finally taking a bite out of the dragonmelt, though it looked like he was fighting to conceal a cringe, the muscles in his jaw twitching against his will. "And I've no problem with eating spicy food, Custas. In case you were wondering."

"Could have fooled me," Custas smirked. "Man, when I'm a famous Professional Sorcerer, I'll be chowing down on meals like this every night!"

"While we're on the subject," Elaine said, "I'm curious, what are you guys planning on doing after we graduate? I mean, I know that's a long way from now, but do you have anything, in particular, in mind?"

"Why, Elaine, that's easy," Custas smiled, snapping his fingers at her. "I wanna be rich."

Elaine arched a brow. "Rich? As in, you're doing this for money?"

"Yup!" Custas confirmed excitedly. "Whether it be the Arcanum or the Military, it goes without saying that Professional Sorcerers are hugely in demand right now. Hell, even Independent Sorcerers get compensated handsomely. And once I get my license and everything is finalized, I'll be living the life I've always dreamed about. Can't ask for more than that, I'd say."

Well, he was right about one thing: sorcerers were greatly sought after, now more than ever. A little-known fact was that, despite this being the so-called Era of Magic, only 20% of Incante's population were mages, and an even smaller amount were, in fact, licensed Professional Sorcerers. There was always a need for someone who could bend reality to their will, and she imagined that it wouldn't be difficult for any of them to procure a stable job post-graduation. But Elaine already had her hands full taking care of her family; she'd piece together the complexities concerning her future...well, in the future.

He's not that much different from me, Elaine thought to herself. I love studying magic...but I also need tokens to support my family. At least, until business improves with the shop.

A scoff from Kliff ushered a disgusted scowl from Custas as he was helping himself to a glass of carbonated drink. "Something funny to you, fireboy?" Custas grunted.

"Oh, it's nothing," Kliff shrugged nonchalantly. "It's just that, your aspirations for being a sorcerer... are a bit, I don't know, superficial. But, hey, that's my opinion. Far be it for me to stand in the way of what'll make you happy."

Custas sneered. "Ha! Hey, guys, get a load of this. A goldblood lamenting someone for wanting to make money. Now I've truly seen it all."

"It's not that," Kliff countered swiftly. "I like to think that a sorcerer's interests should be delegated to the service of the country, much less filling their pockets."

"Well, what about you, huh? Your family is chock-full of sorcerers, isn't it? And from what I've gathered, there's been a ghastly amount of rumors surrounding House Dresden as of late, none of them good. You want to talk about integrity; start by taking a gander at your own family business."

Kliff's face darkened. "I...I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah, Custas," Elaine glared. "We should drop this."

"Hey, I'm only saying," Custas said, raising his hands. "We're all playing the great game of survival here. Could you really blame me for wanting to be more than what I am now? Me? A filthy lowborn growing up in poverty, his good-for-nothing parents having ditched him in some ally?"

"Look, I'm not trying to undermine your strife," Kliff exhaled. "But you seem to have a special distaste for those of us in the upper class. Let's say everything goes according to how you envisioned it, and you really do become a rich and successful Professional Sorcerer. In doing so, you would inevitably crown yourself a noble, whether you want to admit it or not. Help me understand, Custas. Where's the logic in chasing a dream that'll end with you becoming that which you detest?"

Custas snickered. "Come now, fireboy, I would have expected you, of all people, to get where I'm coming from." When nobody answered him, Custas ran a palm through his hair as he released a disappointed sigh. "When I was younger, I had to earn a living as an errand boy in the Capital. Never cared much for the nobles that lived there; however, being around them taught me a very important lesson, one that I remember even until this day." Kliff swiped something that glistened out of his shirt's pocket. Pressed between two fingers was a single, sapphire token—a measly five credits—though the rust cloaking the blue-colored coin implicated its age. "The real power in this world ain't magic; it's money. Wagon-loads of it. Some people survive by running, others by amassing as much gold and silver as they can carry. You should know a little something about that, shouldn't you?"

Kliff scowled. "So you're just trying to escape poverty? Is that it?"

"It's why I accepted the offer to enroll at that insane academy, at least," Custas sighed, and with a flip of his thumb, he sent the coin spinning into the air. As it came back down, Custas swiped it in his hand, and when he unraveled his fist, the coin had disappeared, only to appear a few moments later balanced atop his forefinger. "I'm a lowborn if ever there were one. I've seen it with my own eyes; goldbloods trampling over us as if we're hardly worth the garbage we sleep in," Custas said angrily. "They disgust me. Sunder 'em all into the Shadow. The world would be better off without them interfering in our lives."

"Hmm, but what about Fearne?" Kliff inquired, tilting his head towards the girl. "Do you hate her as well?"

Elaine figured Fearne hadn't heard much of what they were talking about, seeing as how she didn't even bother to respond to the mention of her name, instead remaining slumped in her chair, her face planted on the table.

"I could never. She's my friend, and so are my other classmates. They are some of the good ones," Custas nodded. "And I will be, too, in time. This coin," he said, thumbing the sapphire token, "was given to me at the lowest point in my life, ironically by a noble. It made me realize that not all of them are scumbags...just most. So once I'm made a noble, I'll be sure to do the same to anyone who needs help."

"Pfft! You don't know what you're even talking about," Kliff muttered.

"What was that?!" Custas spat.

"Guys, don't..." Elaine said, but Kliff proceeded as if he hadn't heard her.

"You go on and on about 'goldblood this' or 'lowborn that,' but you couldn't possibly know the truth. It might surprise you to learn that being a noble isn't all just sunshine and rainbows. At the end of the day, we're humans too, with our own problems." Kliff fisted the table as he stood. "If my life was really so easy, why, pray tell, do you think I'd even bother attending Glyph Academy when I could just lounge around in one of my thirteen mansions, having my butlers tend to my every need?"

"Oh boo hoo," Custas said mockingly. "Forgive me for not sympathizing with some pampered nobleling who's had a silver spoon stuck in his mouth since he was a diapercrawler."

"I didn't ask to be born into this!" Kliff shouted. "None of us can choose where our destiny begins!"

"True, but you're sure as hell ain't making the rest of our lives any less difficult," Custas retaliated, shooting to his feet as well, pointing a finger at Kliff. "You can pretend to sound honorable all you want. But when it boils right down to it, you're just part of the problem."

"Say that again, asshole!"

"Why? Got rubble in your ears?!"

"Guys! Stop!" Elaine screamed, and that finally caught their attention. "In case you haven't noticed, you two are kind of making a scene." Kliff and Custas hesitated, and then the two shared a look at the rest of the restaurant, only then noticing that practically everybody else—customer and patron alike—was staring at them with either a look of surprise or irritation. "We're supposed to be Glyph students, aren't we? Let's set an example."

Kliff steadied himself with a long exhale. "I suppose we did get carried away."

"Whatever," Custas pouted, sinking back into his seat. "I don't even know why I'm talking about this crap to someone like you."

"Anyway," Elaine sighed. "I think we should get Fearne home. She's not looking too hot."

Custas started as Fearne drowsily leaned her head onto his shoulder, a line of drool seeping out her mouth. "Jeez, you're right," Custas said concernedly. "She's totally out of it. Well, dragonmelt's aren't for everybody. Hey, Fearne, can you hear me."

"Seconds...please...?" she requested, lazily. "I'd like to have another..."

Elaine snickered at her delirious friend. "I'd wager that's not the best idea right now."

"Yeah, we should probably get going," Custas shrugged, slowly moving Fearne off of him and positioning her in the seat to where she could better sit up straight on her own. "And luckily for us, I happen to know the perfect shortcut to the archgate."

"Really?" Elaine asked, hopeful.

"Yup!" Custas exclaimed. "We'll be there in a flash!"

*

* *

Twenty minutes later, and the four of them stood facing the dead end of a vacant alleyway, a bricked wall towering above them. By now, there was barely any sunlight, and the sky had turned purplish as pink-colored clouds scrolled across a canvas occupied by very few stars. Custas paused at the front of the group, scratching the nape of his neck as he stuttered something she couldn't quite make out.

"Wow, some shortcut. Color me impressed," Kliff smirked.

"Oh, shut it, fireboy!" Custas growled at him. "It was getting dark, so I must have taken the wrong turn! I can't help it if everything in this town looks the surgin' same!"

"I guess this is our fault," Elaine chuckled bashfully.

Kliff raised a brow at her. "How is this your fault? He's the one who—"

"We knew from the get-go that Custas isn't the best when it comes to directions. I was surprised that he managed to lead us to the restaurant at all," Fearne admitted. She was feeling much better than before, however, Elaine still didn't feel confident enough to let her walk by herself, and given how clumsy she was, it was only a matter of time before the girl tripped over nothing and wound up with a bloody nose. For now, Elaine let Fearne lean on her for support; she was a petite thing so it wasn't a chore.

Kliff's smirk grew louder as he glanced back towards a cursing Custas. "Terrible at directions, huh?" he laughed. "I saw you during Professor Marsh's test. You're Summoner, aren't you? Don't you have a spirit that can literally guide you wherever you want to go?"

"Oh, so you're an expert on spirits now, are you?" Custas muttered. "Hey, genius, do you have the slightest inclination of how much magical energy is required to bring even a Minor Spirit into the Physical Realm? I only Summon if I have no other choice; it's a last-resort kinda thing. Don't talk on a matter you know nothing about, fireboy!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who got us lost, buddy," Kliff said, starting for the mouth of the alley.

"We're not lost!" Custas shouted after him. "Just...a bit turned around, is all."

"So, lost," Fearne smiled, patting him affectionately on his shoulder.

"In any case," Elaine said languidly, "let's take the normal route. It shouldn't be far from—" Elaine froze when Kliff suddenly shot his arm in front of her. "Wh...What's the matter, Kliff?"

"We've got company," he replied somberly.

At first, she hadn't a clue what he was talking about; they were the only persons in the alleyway. But Elaine followed his firm, blue-colored eyes to the mouth of the alley, and there she would discern three figures obscured in shadow and fading light. Elaine's throat tightened as they began to approach in an unhurried trot, the pace of a predator who had its prey trapped and helpless, and therefore had no need for urgency.

"Finally," the stranger at the front said in a voice weighted with anger. "We've found you."