The training sessions planned by Corentin were gruelling but fun. They practised archery, obstacle courses, fighting while balancing on a tree trunk and tons of other things. In addition, the seniors showed them some tricks to knock over their opponent and dodge blows. The only person who still had doubts as to whether they would be victorious was Noa, who continued to commit blunder after blunder. She insisted that it would be better for them all if she sat on the side lines but Corentin refused to give up.

'You can do it,' he would say again and again, never losing patience. 'The only thing you need to do is believe you can do it and I assure you, you can.'

But Noa had less confidence in herself than Corentin had because her arrows would only reach the edge of the target at the best of times and during fights on the tree trunk she would fall even before starting.

'We've seen you fire arrows much better than you have today so don't tell me you can't do it,' said Rodrigo after training. 'You need to forget about the tournament and the bet. When you're about to fire your arrow, imagine you're on your own in the forest hunting hares.'

'I can't help it,' she replied. 'Every time I draw an arrow, I start to imagine Kyle and his team laughing and clapping hard every time the arrow lands outside the target. Listen to me. It would be better if I wasn't involved.'

'We'll be having none of that,' said Darion. 'We need to do something so you can get your confidence back. I'm sure we'll think of something.'

Silently, Vega stood up, grabbed a piece of paper and a quill from the table at the side of the room. She sat down and began to write.

Kyle's behind the door. He's listening to us.

For a moment, nobody knew what to say or do, but Rodrigo soon had an idea. Maybe they could take advantage of Kyle's curiosity and make him fall into a trap. He immediately took the quill and wrote on the piece of paper as well.

Play along.

'I just remembered something that could help us win the tournament,' he said loudly. 'One of the potions we saw in the infirmary. Mirena said that a few drops would be sufficient to give you incredible strength for an entire day. Crikey, I can't remember its name. Do you remember it, Aisha?'

'Oh, yeah,' she said. 'That one that was whitish. I think it began with "R." I remember! Rumularia! It was called rumularia.'

Luckily, Aisha had perfectly understood his plan and was going along with his idea.

'Tomorrow we can slip into the infirmary by crossing the buttress and take it,' said Rodrigo. 'On the day of the tournament, we'll put a few drops of rumularia in all of our team's glasses of milk, without them realising, as it will be our turn to serve breakfast.'

'Great idea!' said Aisha. 'Thanks to that potion, we're going to destroy those on the green team.'

'That's fine. He's left,' Vega interrupted, looking towards the door.

'What were you thinking?' Oliver protested. 'Now he'll go running to Balkar to tell on us and we'll be banned from the tournament for being cheats.'

'I doubt it,' said Aisha, laughing. 'I'm sure he's off to tell his friends and they'll sneak into the tower to steal the rumularia today.'

'Oh, I understand,' said Oliver. 'You want them to be the ones cheating so you can accuse them and then they'll be expelled from the tournament. Nice thinking.'

'Oh, Oliver! You're such a scatterbrain!' Aisha laughed. 'Don't you remember what Mirena told us? Rumularia doesn't give you strength, it does the opposite. When the green team take that potion, they won't have enough strength to lift even a wooden sword. We won't need to accuse them of anything.'

They all laughed, imagining how ridiculous Kyle and his friends were going to look. Even Noa laughed quietly for the first time since the grand master had announced there would be a tournament.

The next morning, Balkar called Rodrigo and Oliver to his study. As soon as they sat down, the grand master removed two items from a drawer and placed them on the desk. Their rings, the same ones Mirena had stolen from them.

'I found them buried in the garden,' said Balkar. I would like you to keep them.'

'But there's no danger any more, is there?' Oliver asked.

'There is not, or at least, I hope not,' Balkar replied. 'Even still, I would prefer for you to have them. Rodrigo, have you discovered your gift yet?'

Rodrigo was surprised at the question. With everything that had happened recently he had completely forgotten about the tasks Balkar had given them.

'No, sir,' he replied. 'The truth is that recently I–'

'Calm down. You do not need to justify yourself,' the grand master interrupted him. 'I understand that the last few days have been very entertaining but now the excitement has died down once more I would like you to continue exercising your powers. I will soon call you for another class. Now, take your rings and look after them well.'

After leaving the grand master's study they met up with their friends. Aisha suggested returning to the infirmary to check if Kyle's group had taken the rumularia. They all agreed and headed across the courtyard.

'Are you coming too?' Aisha asked Noa. 'Are you going to cross the buttress?'

'I don't think that's necessary,' Noa replied with a shy smile. 'I have the key to the infirmary. Balkar has asked me to look after Adara. Right now I have to go and change her dressings.'

'That's fantastic!' Aisha congratulated her. 'If it weren't for you, there would be no one who could look after her.'

Noa blushed at Aisha's words but her expression reflected her deep satisfaction. As soon as they entered the infirmary, she went over to the wolf to check on her and then set about meticulously preparing a mixture. Meanwhile, Rodrigo neared the shelves filled with potions, convinced the rumularia would no longer be there but he was wrong.

'I can't believe it!' he said. 'I was sure Kyle and his friends would try to steal it before us.'

'I bet they didn't dare cross the buttress to get here,' said Oliver. 'The only thing they like doing is blowing their own trumpets.'

'I wouldn't be so sure,' said Aisha, opening the jar of rumularia and moving it towards her nose. 'Just as I thought. It's milk. They tried to switch it. I'm sure they're all dying of laughter thinking we wouldn't realise. If they knew how much we're going to laugh at them...'

'Well, I don't think it would be a bad idea to find something that will really give us great strength,' said Oliver. 'I don't know, maybe in one of these drawers. Look at this! It looks like a crystal ball.'

'I wouldn't touch that if I were you, just in case,' said Rodrigo. But his warning came too late. Oliver had disappeared.

Rodrigo looked around him and soon discovered where his friend had ended up. His shouts were coming from the roof.

'Help! I'm stuck. Can you hear me?'

'Relax, Oliver. You're right above us,' Rodrigo replied. 'Can you see a door or a trap door?'

'I can't see one. It's really dark,' Oliver answered him. 'The only light here is coming in through a small crack in the roof.'

'If there's no door there must be a teleporter so you can get out of there,' said Aisha 'Can you see a strange object?'

'There's nothing here,' said Oliver. 'Wait! I think I see something. It's a book.'

'Try and touch it,' Aisha instructed. 'Maybe you'll appear here again.'

Oliver's footsteps could be heard on the roof of the infirmary.

'Nothing happened,' Oliver said. 'I've got it in my hands and... Wait a minute! It's the seer's diary!'

'That's it!' Aisha said. 'You've found Donegan's hideout! It's the best place he could find because Mirena wouldn't let anyone enter the infirmary.'

'Yeah,' Rodrigo agreed. 'Not only that, he could listen to everything we said from up there. That's why he appeared as soon as we made Mirena fall asleep.'

'Further proof they were accomplices,' said Aisha. 'Just in case there was still any doubt about it.'

'Hey, guys!' Oliver's voice carried down to them. 'Are you going to continue discussing this for much longer or are you going to help get me out of here?'

'You're right, but we can't do anything,' Rodrigo replied. 'You have to find the teleporter that will bring you back down.'

'There's nothing else apart from the diary,' Oliver said. 'You should go and look for Balkar.'

'But we'll get in trouble,' said Darion. 'We shouldn't be here.'

'So what do you suggest?' Oliver replied. 'Should I stay here forever?'

'Fine. We're going,' Darion conceded.

'Don't leave me alone,' said Oliver. 'Someone stay with me.'

'Fine,' Rodrigo said. 'I'll stay.'

As soon as the others left the infirmary in search of Balkar, Rodrigo sat on a bed and became lost in his own thoughts. He had a feeling something wasn't adding up but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became about why he had such a feeling.

'Hey! Is anyone there?' Oliver asked.

'Yes, Oliver, I'm still here.'

'Well, tell me something. I'm bored. Why are you so quiet?'

'I was thinking. I've got the feeling something doesn't make sense with this whole thing to do with Donegan, Mirena and the murder of the seer. But I can't work out what.'

'I think it's all pretty clear,' Oliver answered. 'Mirena was a witch who was trying to poison us and Donegan would have killed Balkar if it weren't for you. There's no doubt that one of the two of them killed the seer. They did it to get their hands on what I'm holding right now: her diary.'

Rodrigo was pensive once again. He couldn't find fault with Oliver's arguments. Suddenly, the door opened and Balkar entered the infirmary, followed by the rest of his friends.

'Well, well, well,' he said as he strode in. Luckily, he didn't seem angry. 'I believe you are the most rebellious squires we have had in the last ten centuries. What were you doing here? Did you miss Mirena's medicine?'

Rodrigo felt his cheeks burning. Had Balkar guessed the real reason they had come to the infirmary?

'We... We just wanted to accompany Noa,' he lied.

Fortunately, the grand master seemed satisfied with his explanation and he directed his gaze towards the room's ceiling.

'Oliver, it is Balkar. Listen to me. Do you have your ring with you?'

'Yes,' Oliver answered. 'I have it here, in my pocket.'

'Rodrigo, do you have yours?'

'Yes, sir. Here it is.'

'All sorted then,' said Balkar. He stretched out his right hand where his ring, which was identical to theirs, shone. Slowly he moved the index finger of his left hand towards the ring's stone and he suddenly disappeared. An instant later, Oliver appeared beside Rodrigo, fright etched on his face. The grand master reappeared seconds later with the seer's diary under his arm.

'All of you out of here now,' said Balkar. 'Not you, Noa. You may stay as long as you need.'

The five of them hurried towards the spiral staircase that took them to the fortress' main courtyard.

'At least we had the rings,' said Oliver. 'If Balkar hadn't got me out of there, I'd have been trapped in that attic forever.'

'It would have taught you a lesson for always messing with things,' said Aisha. 'You're lucky the grand master didn't punish you.'

'He really didn't seem mad,' Oliver commented. 'I think deep down he's happy with me because I found the diary. I'm sure he'd forgotten about the seer's premonition.'

'I doubt it,' Aisha replied. 'I don't think the grand master's as absent-minded as you.'

'What do you mean? I remember it perfectly: "When darkness begins to recede, the Mirror of Power will appear where fire never cedes."'

'Wow, I have to admit, you've surprised me,' Aisha said.

'I'd actually completely forgotten it,' Oliver confessed. 'I just read it again in the diary while I was waiting.'

'But that's not possible!' Rodrigo objected.

'You wouldn't think so,' said Oliver. 'It was dark but there was a crack in the–'

'No, that's not what I mean,' Rodrigo interrupted. 'I thought Balkar had torn out the last page of the diary. Don't you remember what Donegan said when he had him on the ground? "The last page of the diary, the one you tore out. Tell me what it said."'

'You're right,' Oliver admitted. 'But I assure you the last page wasn't torn out. I read it just a few minutes ago.'

'Maybe it was written with magical ink and you can only read it if you have good intentions,' Vega suggested. 'That's why Donegan never discovered the prophecy.'

'That's it!' Rodrigo exclaimed suddenly. 'That's the piece that doesn't fit!'

'What are you talking about?' Darion asked.

'I had the feeling something didn't add up about all of this. Now I know why. If Mirena was Donegan's accomplice, they wouldn't need to steal the diary to find out about Agatha's premonition. Mirena was there when they found the diary. She'd already read it!'

'So she did!' said Aisha. 'Now I don't understand.'

'What if Mirena's innocent?' Rodrigo suggested. 'What if she never helped Donegan?'

'Exactly,' Noa broke in. 'That's what I've been saying all along.'

'Why would she try to poison us then?' Oliver asked. 'Why did she take the rings from us?'

'Maybe it was all Donegan,' said Rodrigo. 'He was hiding right above us and he could have crept into the infirmary at night using his coins. He could have taken the rings from us and he could have changed some ingredients in Mirena's potion for poison.'

'That seems unlikely,' Aisha said, 'but not impossible. We should find proof. If Mirena's innocent, she doesn't deserve to be locked in the dungeons.'

'But what can we do?' Noa asked.

Nobody knew how to answer her.