Return of the Runebound Professor

By the time Noah was out of the T building, he had a plan. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a huge fan of it – but he couldn’t think of any other good ways to get information in a short period of time.

Lee fell in step with Noah as he headed out toward the market. He barely even noticed her approach until she was already beside him. They didn’t speak for several minutes.

“Well?” Lee asked. “You’ve got a look on your face.”

“Everyone has looks on their face.”

“And yours is dumber than usual.”

“Thank you,” Noah said dryly. They turned onto a main street, walking past a group of students. Once they’d passed, Noah scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks for getting Moxie. You saved my ass."

"No problem," Lee replied. "I knew you needed some help getting Brayden out of there, so I told Moxie it was urgent. I take it that it worked?"

“Yeah, but I’m going to need your help again. Well, your help would make things easier.”

“Need someone killed?”

“What? No.” Noah glared at Lee and she snickered. He paused for a moment, then pursed his lips. “Actually, I might. It depends how things go. But first, how good are you at finding people?”

“It’s not exactly part of my skillset, but if you mean Brayden, it probably won’t be too hard. He shakes the ground when he walks.”

“Good. I need to get him back to my room.” They drew up to the market and Noah stopped at the front of a large tavern, peering through the window. It was fairly empty, but there were still a fair number of patrons in it. “Do you think you could find him? He knows you’re with me, so he’ll probably listen. Just tell him I want to meet with him to celebrate his arrival, but make sure he doesn’t stick with you.”

Lee shrugged. “Shouldn’t be an issue. I can probably find him within the hour.”

“Fantastic. Once you do, I’d appreciate if you could hide in my bathroom. I’m going to need your help, and I’d prefer that he doesn’t know you’re there.”

She raised an eyebrow but nodded, setting off. Noah turned and walked into the tavern, making straight for the counter at the back next to the kitchen door. The bartender looked up at him and gave a polite nod. He adjusted his glasses and set down the mug he was polishing.

“What can I get you?”

“A barrel of the strongest drink you have,” Noah replied. “Preferably one that doesn’t taste like acid. Easy to down. That kind of thing.”

The bartender tilted his head to the side. “Planning a party?”

“Something like that.” Noah nodded. “I, uh, don’t have a lot of gold for this. So let’s lean more toward the strong side than the tasty one.”

“And just how much do you have to work with? I’m not typically in the business of reselling my stock, but I’m not opposed.”

“How about five gold?”

“Eight.”

Noah winced. “Will it be strong?”

“And it’ll taste more than a step beyond passable. My own personal stock. It’s good stuff, I can promise you that. Aged for a year and flavored with a special combination of spices that I won’t be sharing. You’ll like it, assuming you don’t black out too soon to remember drinking it.”

A grin stretched over Noah’s features and he reached into his coin pouch, pulling out the requested coins. “That sounds exactly like what I’m looking for. I don’t suppose you can include a way to move it and two mugs as well? Call it a seller’s fee.”

The bartender studied Noah for a moment, then inclined his head. “Very well. Two mugs, and my assistant will help you move it anywhere on campus within an hour from here. Is that acceptable?”

“Perfectly. Can we do it now?”

The bartender rapped twice on the kitchen door. A moment later, a large man wearing a stained apron poked his head out, glancing curiously at Noah before turning his attention to the bartender.

“Please get a barrel of my spiced rum and deliver it to wherever this professor needs it to be. You’ve got an hour.”

The man gave them a curt nod and turned back around, letting the door swing shut behind them.

“Don’t be offended if he doesn’t say anything,” the bartender said. “He’s mute. Just tell him where to go and he’ll deliver it. Don’t treat him like an idiot, though. He’s mute, not a moron.”

“I won’t,” Noah promised.

A few minutes later, he was on his way back to his room, two mugs clasped in his hands. The assistant followed in tow, carrying the large barrel of alcohol over his shoulder like it was a small child.

The two of them made their way back to the T building and up to Noah’s room.

“Right here is fine,” Noah said, nodding to the middle of the room. The assistant set the barrel down gently, raising an eyebrow slightly as Noah set the mugs down on top of it.

He didn’t say anything, but his silent features had a remarkable way of carrying emotion and thought without needing a single word. Noah crossed his arms defensively.

“It’s a small party, okay?”

The assistant snorted, then nodded to Noah and headed out without another word – which was to be expected, Noah supposed. With him gone, Noah quickly grabbed his gourd and headed into the bathroom, taking one of the makeshift daggers made from a Slasher claw with him.

Lee hadn’t returned yet, which he’d been counting on. Noah knelt by the cabinet and gently placed his gourd at the bottom, letting the end of it stick out slightly. From all his revivals, he’d found that he never actually arrived directly on top of the gourd, but rather next to it.

He’d also never appeared impaled in any tree branches, so that meant he showed up in the closest area he could actually fit in. Noah closed the door slightly, leaving only the tip of the gourd poking out. It would be borderline impossible to spot if someone wasn’t looking for it.

Nodding to himself, Noah straightened back up. He set the dagger down at the edge of the sink. There was a small window above his bath, which would probably be more than large enough for Lee to slip through should she need to escape. It wasn’t like size was a big restrictor for her.

Good. Everything is ready. Now I wait. Hopefully Lee can find Brayden.

Noah left the bathroom, closing the door behind him, and sat down in his chair. He picked up the book on the Linwicks, scanning through it one more time to refresh his mind on the information it contained – which wasn’t much, but it was still far better than nothing.

And thus, he waited.

Lee was true to her word. A little under an hour passed before a heavy knock thudded against the door. Noah snapped the book shut and rose to his feet. He slipped the book into a drawer beneath his desk, then opened the door to reveal Brayden.

“Your girl told me that you wanted to talk,” Brayden rumbled. “What is it? Did you finally decide to report on something?”

Noah raised an eyebrow and stepped to the side, revealing the barrel. “I think business discussions can wait. I haven’t had a chance to properly welcome you to Arbitage.”

Brayden blinked. Then a wide grin stretched across his lips. “You don’t say. You really have been living it up here, haven’t you?”

Stepping inside, Brayden carefully picked up one of the mugs using just three fingers – the rest didn’t fit in the handle – and sat down cross-legged on the floor. Noah closed the door and walked over to join Brayden.

Noah turned the spigot at the bottom of the barrel, filling Brayden’s mug. He filled his own drink, then sat down across from the larger man.

“It’s been too long since we got to sit down,” Brayden said with a satisfied sigh. He took a sip from the mug and his eyes lit up. “Not bad at all. I’ve had better, though.”

“Thanks,” Noah said dryly. He took a hesitant sip, then repressed a grimace as the liquid slid down his throat. It was definitely strong. It didn’t taste quite as bad as he’d feared, but it was still like drinking paint stripper.

“Don’t feel too bad. The good stuff is hard to get. On a teacher’s salary, especially that of a Rank 1, I bet this was most of what you could afford.”

Noah grunted. Brayden was right about that. He wasn’t a huge fan of wasting an entire month’s salary, but some things had to be done.

“How has work been treating you, then?” Noah asked. “Better than it’s been treating me, I hope.”

Brayden let out a bark of laughter. He drained the mug and poured himself another one. “I think that’s a given. It’s been good, Vermil. Better than normal. Things are going well. It’s a shame the Hellreaver died, but it isn’t the only monster with a Master Rune. It’ll take a few months to get a replacement captured and it’ll cost a good bit of coin, but nothing we can’t afford.”

Noah nodded sagely, nursing his drink. He didn’t dare avoid drinking from it entirely – despite Brayden’s actions and words, his eyes were sharp. It was too likely that he’d notice that something was amiss if he didn’t drink as well.

“I don’t see why you’ve got to be worried about any of this,” Brayden said with a shake of his head. He poured the entirety of the mug down his gullet once more. The man was like a living alcohol disposal machine. He glanced over at Noah as he poured another drink. “By the time it actually gets around to affecting anything, you won’t have to worry about the fallout.”

“Yeah, I know. Just curiosity, really.”

“You always were.”

They drank for a little over twenty minutes, exchanging idle words and jokes. Noah worked his way through a cup and was forced to pour himself a second. He could already feel the effects of the alcohol creeping into his system, slowing his thoughts and actions.

“I never did have your drive,” Brayden said, breaking the silence. His smile flickered for a moment. He wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve and set the mug down on the ground. “Getting stronger is great, but I don’t understand how you weren’t at least a little scared.”

“I never said I wasn’t.” Noah poured Brayden another drink. Brayden accepted it with a nod. His cheeks had gotten flushed, but he was still far from completely drunk.

They both worked through their drinks. Noah was well and truly drunk now, even though he’d drank less than half of what the other man had. Vermil’s body was just too small in comparison.

If I wait much longer, I might end up being too drunk to actually do what I need to.

“It just must be nice to trust your abilities that much. I wouldn’t have had the balls,” Brayden said with a heavy sigh as he refilled his mug. “Still don’t. Don’t take it the wrong way, but I’m glad it’s you and not me. There’s no way I wouldn’t screw this up. Even if you’re delayed, I know you’ll be able to handle this. I’m looking forward for when you rejoin us and stop this worthless teaching job.”

Noah blinked heavily. It was getting harder to think through the fog building in his mind, but hadn’t Brayden said he was supposed to die? How was anyone supposed to do things after they’d died?

He gritted his teeth and raised the mug to his lips. Then he lowered it slightly, hiccupping. “I gotta go. One moment.”

Brayden took a long drink from his mug and snorted. “Lightweight. You better not pass out on me.”

“I won’t,” Noah said. His words slurred as they came out of his mouth. He staggered upright, struggling to keep his balance as he stumbled over to the bathroom. Noah nearly missed the handle on the way in, catching himself a moment before he smacked his face into the door.

Brayden burst into laughter behind Noah as he swore, fumbling before managing to turn it and step inside. Noah quickly closed the door behind him, his head spinning as he grabbed the counter to catch his balance.

Lee raised an eyebrow from him within the bathtub.

She really likes doing that. The eyebrow thing.

Noah shook his head. He was getting distracted already. Fumbling, Noah shrugged out of his jacket. He slung it over the sink, then pulled his shirt off as well. Lee tilted her head to the side curiously as Noah pulled the rest of his clothes off.

He grabbed the dagger from the sink and staggered into the bath. Lee stepped out of the way to let him in. Noah tightened his grip on the dagger and gave her a pointed look. Lee nodded.

Noah steadied himself. His thoughts were swimming so hard that he nearly forgot what he came there to do in the first place.

Bit harder than I thought this would be. No matter. I need to be able to think.

It’s just one. A good price to pay for information.

He raised the dagger and ripped it across his throat.