Vayal Academy

It’s slow moving through the cave while Indel regathers her mana, but at least with Abana along to alleviate our fatigue the snail journey through winding, plunging caves is comfortable, if not exciting.

“Yo, Hattie,” Alyx says, slowing down to walk beside me — which slows Nym down, too (and of course Indel’s practically attached at my hip), so it’s just Abana walking slightly ahead of us. “How you feeling about this whole win at any cost thing? I’m kinda coming around to it.”

“Yeah? What changed your mind?”

“I think maybe my blood’s up after killing the stakebait. Maybe. But then it might just be, you know — we’ve made it to here. Kinda wanna see how far this goes.”

“Might be easier with our Evokers.”

“Didn’t have a choice, Hattie — you know that. They were gonna kill Nym.”

“Gods, I know. I just wish…”

“I am ready, now, to take us to the finish line,” Indel declares with a swoop of her beak. “Let us all bundle together.”

We gather in a circle, and everything becomes theoretical. There’s nothing more to talk about — only a game to win. With one quick move (okay, probably more like five quick hops) we’ll have outsmarted the Fifth Years and proven ourselves for ever. Exciting!

But when Indel snaps her talons, I know immediately something’s wrong — I can tell by the searing pain. Immobilising pain. My senses work overtime to place us. Still underground, in near-darkness, but now I’m back in water — freezing cold instead of slightly warm; instincts latch onto the crackling blue gem suspended just above the pool’s surface, lighting up the cavern. “Your vampyr’s idea wasn’t half bad, so I stole it,” comes Nym’s voice, from high above. “Made it better, though.” A pulse from the gem arcs more pain through my body, through Alyx’s, through Abana’s, through Nym’s. Indel’s body lies on the rocky ledge, crossbow quarrel through the heart.

Syrene stands over her, foot on the corpse like a posing trophy hunter. Wait? Syrene?! Shouldn’t she be on our team?

“Here’s how this is gonna work,” she says, shoving the lifeless Indel. Her corpse careens through the air and hits the water with a splash which hits the gem, prompting another wave of pain. “Without her, you’re stuck down here. Me and Glasses here,” she shrugs towards a lean, raven-haired Conjurer with a shy, almost flustered face — her clothes oddly askew — “could kill you right now. Or you could do Invention a little favour and agree to slow Diligence down for us. Put up the best fight you can. It’s a more dignified end than what you’re facing right now.” The hovering gem lowers an inch. Pain, pain, pain, like a million needles pressing in from all sides, sinking in razor points.

And then there’s a moment of relief, a moment to gather my thoughts, which mostly devote themselves to figuring a way out of this — but there might not be one. Strangely, Syrene responds to the silence.

“That’s right.”

“--”

“So, it’s a deal, then? Good, good.” She pauses, looking at her paws, then at us, then at her teammate. “Oh, Nym… Surely by now you know you can’t get anything by me. I love you too much; I know you too well.” The electricity returns and I cry out. Nym tried, at least. “No more tricks. If you wanted that illusion to work, you needed to have your stupid friend make some pithy comment. One that tries too hard to be effortlessly cool.”

Ahhh. Okay. I had thought this whole elaborate torture setup was a bit… much, for what is ultimately just another Gauntlet game. But things click into place, now. The mouse hates Alyx almost as much as she hates Nym. I just wish I didn’t have to be punished alongside them.

Abana collapses forward, floating face down in the water.

“Uh oh,” Syrene mocks, “just lost one. How long do you think your bodies will last?”

Just focus. Just breathe. My vision shakes with each jolt, but I can focus, I can keep the gem in my eyes. Because I’ve been Syrene before. I’ve reached out and closed my paws around Kivali’s voice, her charisma, wrenched them both away and accreted them to me. Just need to do that.

Come on. You’re a Mystic. It should be easy. Tailina can do all this.

I’m groping for something I barely even understand, but my projected mind manages to find a sliver to dig my nails into, the barest crack in the rocks, and with a tug the gem stays just where it is — but its lightning? That goes to me.

Before Syrene can realise what’s just happened, I spin a hurl a bolt towards her. Still, she manages to leap back, and it hits Glasses instead, her body tumbling to the water.

“Hattie!” Alyx shouts, as a vine rises under me, carrying me with it so I’m level with the ledge.

“Fuck! Nevermind. She’s already gone.”

I wish she didn’t just drop me into the water, but I can’t fault her for conserving her strength — I’ve got basically nothing left after my maneuver with the gem.

After we’re out of the pool and head up a smooth, natural ramp to the ledge, Alyx tilts her head at the mass of metal spikes and silver cages rigged together by copper wire. “The hell is that?”

“Teleportation trap,” I say, no idea how I know but certain I do. “That’s how she got us.”

“I don’t get it.” She prods at one of the prongs, which pulses in response. “Shouldn’t she be on our team?”

“I was wondering that too.”

“Are you serious?!” Nym shouts. We both turn to her, confused by her sudden anger. “Have you not paid attention to anything outside of your stupid contest?!”

“What?”

“She won the solo race! Invention put her on their team! It’s a huge deal; everyone’s talking about it? You seriously don’t know?!”

In hindsight, I suppose I have been ludicrously focused on Mae. Hell, I haven’t even watched most of the other events, just spent all my time preparing for my next one.

“Gods, you two are unbelievable. I’m so sick of your fucking contest. I’m so sick of hearing about Mae Maiven.” She shoves me — her anger’s so sudden and intense that I’m not prepared, and even though she’s half my height she sends me staggering back. “I’m only here to help you,” she wheels on Alyx, “and you don’t even care! You don’t even want to win! Because of your stupid Mae!”

Alyx falls on her, knocking them both to the ground. She presses a hand over Nym’s mouth, the other over her forehead to pin her. “Shhhh, shhhh,” she coos. “It’s alright. Just calm down. Relax. I’m here, Nym. Your friend’s here.”

But Nym keeps bucking, thrashing, so Alyx’s hand trails down, off her forehead, and snakes under her blouse, groping her gently. That turns the thrashing to twitching, and the muffled screams to muffled moans. “Oh, good, good. You’re so good for me, Nym.”

The elf’s eyes shoot up to me, her face bright red. Pretty sure mine’s as purple as it gets. Should I… do something?

“Oh, are you embarrassed? Well, maybe you should think about that next time. You already had such a humiliating tantrum in front of her.” With a pop Nym’s buttons fly free. Alyx twists her around so her chest is on display, and I turn my face — now I’m definitely as purple as it gets.

“You see that, Nym? That’s why Mae’s worth fighting over. If it were Mae here she wouldn’t be able to look away.”

“Alyx,” I say, flustered.

“Now, have you calmed down, or do I need to fuck all that useless energy out of you?”

Whatever Nym does doesn’t please Alyx, because a second later I hear a juddering moan accompanied by a slicking noise. “Alyx,” I repeat, still quiet and unable to look. It’s one thing to stare into the past — which I do by accident, most of the time! — and another to have someone right there… I don’t know how Mae does it.

“Alyx, we need to-”

“Just a second, Hattie. I think Nym has more to say. Don’t you wanna hear? I know we both value her opinion so much.”

“Alyx, this isn’t-”

“Hattie. I told you to wait. Here, Nym,” the moans are suddenly unmuffled, echoing through the cave with a strange, windchime quality. “No? Nothing to say? Hattie,” there’s a strange, sudden sharpness to her voice. “Look at me.”

I remain staring off in the distance, at the indistinct black.

“Hattie. Look at me.” The urgency is hard to account for. Strange enough that, despite wanting no part in Nym’s torture, I turn my head.

Holy shit. Behind her, transfixed, Syrene, eye twitching slightly as she creeps forward, dagger drawn. This is strategy?! Extremely fucked up of Alyx, but- But fuck, we’re a team, and you gotta stop wasting this chance!

Lightning flies from my hand and strikes Syrene. It bounces right off her ward — the magically conductive metal of the teleport trap sucks the spell straight into it and then explodes in a pulse of wild, uncontained magic. The rest of the device follows in a coronated, cave-collapsing chain reaction.

As the teleportation trap breaks, space ceases to exist. There’s an uncomfortably long sensation of falling, and then I’m waking up on hard ground.

“Fuck. That was hot.”

“Alyx!” my voice is loud in the darkness, but when I see Mathilde lying unconscious on the ground beside us, I bring my volume down, not wanting to deal with a fledgling vampyr. “That was completely out of order!”

“Hattie, it was for the team. You gotta play to win.”

“It doesn’t matter! You can’t do that to her!”

Alyx smiles lazily. “Nah. Nym doesn’t mind, do you?” The wood elf just blushes, holding her broken blouse closed with her hand.

“Not just Nym; Syrene, too!”

“Pff, what about Syrene? You ask me, she doesn’t appreciate Nym enough.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just…” Maybe their relationship didn’t start on the healthiest ground, but… well, there are rules, aren’t there?

“Just what, Hattie? Nym wants it, I want it; I’m not the one in the relationship. If I wanna fuck her right here on the ground then I’ll-” she goes to grab Nym, but she’s not there. She’s in Mathilde’s jaws, eyes glassy as the vampyr drinks and drinks and drinks. “Shit!” Alyx shouts — she’s on Mathilde in a flash, stake in her heart.

But it’s too late for Nym.