6th of Season of Fire, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

Newt placed his hand on Obsidian's trembling shoulder. The big man's nervousness had grown more and more palpable with each step they took up the stairs, culminating when they reached room five-o-three. Obsidian turned around and gave Newt an appreciative nod before opening the door to their flat with a quivering hand.

The five-o-four's common room was dark with curtains drawn, but it wasn't pitch black. No light seeped in beneath the doors to the girls' bedrooms. Obsidian's chest rose as he took a deep breath.

"Jas, Rose, Newt and I are leaving for a mission in an hour," he said, his voice nearly a shout. "If we don't go, the order will demote us and cut off our stipends."

Before Newt got to consider how awkward the whole situation was, the door to Jasmine's room opened with a bang.

"You're doing what?" she shouted, stumbling into the room.

A wave of alcohol fumes strong enough to melt non-awakened rolled into the room, but at least she was decent. Apparently, getting a new roommate forced her into wearing pants and sleeveless shirts even when passed out drunk.

"We accepted a mission, and we're leaving, with or without you." Obsidian stopped shaking, his tense shoulders finally relaxed. Saying the words seemed to free him of his burden. Whether it was because his path of retreat was severed or because he was finally moving forwards, Newt couldn't tell.

"You dumb kidney stone! Why'd you do that? What's wrong with that thick skull of yours?"

While Jasmine screamed, Roselilly opened her door a crack, just as decent and just as terrified as her friend.

"We have selected a mission because we got a letter telling us we had forty days to complete one or we would all get demoted. You don't have to join us. Newt and I can handle it alone."

"Like hell I'm letting you go!" Jasmine glared at her brother, then turned towards Newt, murder in her eyes, her finger pointing accusingly. "You! This is all your fault!"

Obsidian stepped between them just as she was about to stab Newt with her finger.

"This is nobody's fault. The rules state that we will get demoted if we can't fulfill our missions or pass the tests. I don't want to fail because of a technicality. I was just informing you because it's the right thing to do. You can do whatever you want with that information."

Newt wanted to peek around Obsidian, to see Jasmine's face, but Obi turned around and faced him.

"Come on, let's go."

Go? But I don't even have a proper weapon. Newt had his family's swords, and the short-sword Dandelion got him at Thunderbluff, but his master still didn't give him the glaive she had won in a bet against the other champion.

"Give me a sec." Newt dashed into his room and picked what he could. He strapped his family's ancestral weapons and added the short-sword's scabbard to his belt before rushing out of the room.

When Newt returned, the quiet stare-down was still ongoing, with neither of the twins giving up, and Roselilly just standing to the side, looking at them like a lost child. Then, Obsidian marched into his room, his movement overly dramatic, and fetched a large flanged mace. The intimidating weapon was as long as Newt's arm, and while Obsidian was muscular, he was still a mage, and Newt was certain he couldn't swing it for longer periods of time.

Suddenly, as if something clicked, Roselilly moved and blocked the door.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"You can't go! Are you insane?" she said, flailing her arms. "You're going to die."

"Rose," Obsidian's voice turned gentle, as if he were speaking with a child, "missions are dangerous. We were unlucky once, things spiraled out of control, and we lost someone precious to us all, but that doesn't mean it will always happen. We can't stay holed up in our rooms. And if that is your solution, you should consider quitting magic altogether."

"And what's yours?" she shrieked. "To jump straight in the middle of unknown danger? What if the description is wrong again? What if a previously unseen dangerous variant appears and wipes us all out?"

Obsidian hesitated, he agreed with Roselilly in principle. There was no telling whether the order got the mission details right, whether an unknown element may move in or randomly appear at a critical moment. But such were the risks associated with their chosen way of life. Nothing was certain, and death could come at any moment.

If he could, he'd choose to clear out scuttlers from an inn's basement and work his way up until they built proper confidence and teamwork once more, but Explorer's Gate had no patience for such childish thoughts. In the case of anything unexpected happening, they had to toughen up or die.

Yet, he couldn't say stuff like that. Instead, Obsidian drew a deep breath and sighed.

"I agree it's not a good solution, but it's the only way forward other than giving up, and I don't want to give up. To evolve and reach higher realms is to go against fate and against the heavens. I'm afraid that giving up now means I'm forming a crack in my realm, maybe even creating an undefeatable heart demon, because I think there's no going back after surrendering to fate. I'd basically give up on ever advancing, and I don't want that. Do you?"

Roselilly lowered her gaze, biting her lip. Watching things unfold, Newt felt like a stranger, an extra who should wait outside the room for this conversation to finish, even if he was the stone which created the ripples leading to this conversation.

"I'm going with you." Jasmine's harsh voice broke the silence. "I don't know about my realm, and I haven't considered advancing in a long time, but I don't want you to go somewhere so dangerous without me."

Yes! Newt's heart raced as a grin escaped him. He had made a difference. He glanced towards Roselilly, but the young woman was still staring at the floor, blocking the way out.

"I don't know." The words were barely louder than a whisper, then Rose looked up, her voice growing louder, more certain. "I love you guys. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. But… But, I don't think I'm ready."

She bit her lip yet again, balling her hands into trembling fists. "I need time to think. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Obsidian bit his lip. "We can give you half an hour. The ship is scheduled to set sail in half an hour, and they won't wait for us."

Roselilly paled, but nodded, and returned to her room.

Newt felt awkward. What were they supposed to do for half an hour while waiting for Roselilly to reach her decision?

Jasmine said nothing. She just stood there, glaring at her brother with hands on her hips, really, really not helping the already tense and awkward situation.

"You big, dumb kidney stone," she grumbled. "I'm so angry with you. Have you any idea how dangerous this is?"

"Yeah, I do. I mean, I know already." Obsidian gave a mirthless laugh. "But we need to do something. Otherwise, it's all over. All our years of hard work would crumble to dust without us getting a shot at the fourth realm, and I'm not gonna let that happen."

He turned surprisingly determined towards the end, as he balled his fists and stood straighter, growing even taller. Newt glanced at Jasmine. She was a hard woman, and when her scowling glare shifted from Obsidian to him, he could see all the resentment and accusation she kept from reaching her tongue.

"I'll need to freshen up." With that she went to her room, picked up an armful of clothes and went to the bathroom, the sound of shower hitting a few moments later.

Obsidian went to open up the curtains and vent the alcohol fumes out of the room.

'I think it went well,' Newt mouthed.

Obsidian mulled over the words before nodding thoughtfully. 'They are both coming.'

Newt sure hoped so. A lone third realm spiketail the mission had advertised shouldn't be too dangerous even for Newt and Obsidian, as long as they were careful. The beast was large, lacked armor, and its only weapon was its sharp tail and whatever abilities its element granted it.

Then again, a spiketail had killed Roselilly's boyfriend.

What are the odds of their first mission being a nearby spiketail? Was it fate?

The mission had appeared while he and Obsidian were browsing them. The timing was convenient; the ship setting sail so soon after the mission was issued also felt weird. Newt took the break to consider the matter, and the more he thought, the more convenient everything seemed.

It could be a coincidence, but Rose is the ward of the Healing Chaplain, a valuable dual-element innate mageknight. Did the order orchestrate the whole thing?

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