Let’s Play Minecraft in a World of Swords and Spells

Garina turned around no more than a few moments after she’d vanished into the clouds. It would take the Inquisitors at least a minute to make it to Noah’s group, which was practically an eternity when someone could move as quickly as she could. There was absolutely no reason to rush.

After all, they weren’t going to find Noah a second before she let them.

She hadn’t been entirely honest with Noah with regard to the Inquisitors. Even though Garina had only just mentioned their presence, they had arrived in the Scorched Acres nearly an hour ago. She was willing to bet they were all staring at their bone necklaces and scratching their heads in befuddlement that they hadn’t found their targets yet.

It would have been really bothersome if they’d shown up midway through her lesson. Garina had absolutely no desire to deal with a bunch of whiny brat mages trying to figure out what she was while interfering with her work, so she’d sent them on a short wild goose chase.

That chase could have lasted another six hours if she’d had a mind for it — but Noah’s students had pretty much all somehow all managed to accomplish their tasks without any extensive interference from her.

Now that they had, there really wasn’t much reason for her to keep her nose in Noah’s buisness. He was more than capable of handling his own problems. Playing around with the Inquisitors was beneath her.

Unfortunately, there had been two small problems. The first was that she’d promised to look after his class until his magic had returned. That really shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. She hadn’t imagined they’d somehow manage to get into trouble within literal hours of returning. Then again, they were Noah’s students, so the fault really laid on her own shoulders for being so naive.

The other problem was the new student. Even though Garina had taken the steps to rock her soul around and get things moving, she still hadn’t managed to figure out how to shape her soul. That meant she was vulnerable.

And that means she’s still technically my responsibility. I’m not going to just drop the girl on her head because dealing with her a bit longer is a mild inconvenience. It is tempting, but I gave Noah my word.

She had been very, very wrong. Every single student and teacher was fascinating in their own way. The potential they collectively held was so massive that it boggled her mind. She simply had to know more about them…

And this seemed like the perfect opportunity to observe them. There were few things that brought out the true character of a person more than imminent danger.

And so Garina floated high in the clouds, well out of view of any prying eyes, and looked down upon the Scorched Acres. She crossed her legs beneath her and braced her arms against her knees as a wry smile pulled across her lips.

Let’s see what they’re made of.

***

“Turn your souls back to normal,” Moxie ordered. “Everyone relax. Nobody make any sudden movements. Just sit down and look bored. Do not pay the Inquisitors any mind. Pretend like they’re just some random people interrupting our class.”

Noah nodded. His mind was already spinning into battle mode. Not all of the demons here had been completely repaired. Vrith and Violet still needed to have their runes patched. If the Inquisitors started using their anti-demon magic, the two of them would be affected by it.

Torick and Edda were both un-repaired as well, but they were back with Tim at the transport tower and safe for the time being. The same couldn’t be said for one of the demons in the group beside him.

“We need to get Vrith out,” Noah said. “I haven’t had a chance to repair her with Sticky’s Runes yet.”

“I can do it,” James said, rising to his feet and brushing his clothes off. “The Inquisitors won’t notice us. Especially if we shape our souls and pull them inside of ourselves.”

“Do it,” Noah said, suppressing his surprise. The only thing more surprising than the inquisition was James offering to do work on his own volition. His thoughts were mirrored by the stunned look in Emily’s features — a look that was quickly replaced with an approving grin.

James grabbed Vrith by the wrist and the two of them vanished from sight. The only remaining sign of their passing was the crunch of sticks beneath their feet as they ran.

Everyone else also rushed to follow Moxie and Noah’s orders. Everyone other than Yulin, who still laid on the ground, her eyes closed in either sleep or unconsciousness.

Noah’s lips thinned as the students all flopped down in a lazy circle around him. This was less than ideal. He could handle the Inquisitors just fine when he actually had magic to call on. But, with an entire group of students, half of whom were demons, and no power to call on…

I suppose I could try to keep them talking for twelve hours. Not entirely impossible if I get the right roll on which Inquisitors show up. I really hope it isn’t another meathead. But, statistically, it probably will be.

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The most important thing he could do right now was avoid getting into an actual fight with the Inquisitors. Even if they won, it would tear apart too many of the plans he’d set into motion. Noah needed the Inquisitors focused on the noble houses and on Father.

Tagging him and Janice as traitors, whether it was actually true or not, had worked incredibly well for his purposes. He couldn’t afford to redirect the Inquisitor’s attention to himself… especially when Father was strong enough that he could scare even Jalen.

A rustle from the trees warned him that he had no more time to plan. Garina really couldn’t have taken off at a more inconvenient moment. Noah crossed his arms behind his back and let a bored expression wash over his features as if he was midway through a particularly uninteresting lecture.

“…which is why you should always make sure to know exactly how far your runes can be pushed. Knowing yourself is the first step to knowing your enemy.”

Noah was pretty sure he couldn’t have said something more generic if he’d tried, but he wasn’t exactly trying to convince the Inquisitors that he was a riveting teacher. The last thing he needed was even more people deciding they wanted to sit in on his classes.

That thought nearly made him bust out laughing. The universe itself would probably crack and shatter if a bunch of inquisitors suddenly decided that they were going to sit down and sit in on a lesson together with demons.

“Vermil,” Moxie said.

He glanced at her, then over to the forest as if noticing the disturbance for the first time. It might not have been the most convincing performance, but the Inquisitors hadn’t even emerged from the trees yet.

When you didn’t have context as to what was happening, then the mind would fill in pretty much everything to make it logically fit — and given the fact that all the demons were just sitting around Noah, nobody would ever assume he was trying to hide anything.

After all, who would assume that the thing I’m hiding is what I’m teaching rather than who I’m teaching?

“I see we have company,” Noah said.

The trees rustled once more. Three inquisitors emerged from within them. Each of them wore long black robes with hoods that hung low to block out their features. Bone rosaries hung from their hands, readied but not yet lifted offensively.

And, from behind them, emerged Fuyin.

The white and silver armor she wore glistened in the light, standing out like a frozen lake against her snow-white hair. The woman’s flat eyes bore into Noah like they bore the very essence of winter within them.

“Vermil,” Fuyin said.

“Ah. Fuyin.” Noah inclined his head just enough to acknowledge her but not nearly to the point where it could have been misconstrued for respect. “What a coincidence. I didn’t think we would be running into you here.”

“A startling coincidence,” Fuyin agreed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Have you been here long?”

“A coincidence indeed. We’ve been here quite a while,” Noah replied. “An hour at least. Probably much longer. And I must say, we’re currently rather busy. If you had something to say to me, I would suggest you do it back in Arbitage. I do not appreciate it when my class is interrupted.”

Fuyin’s gaze drifted past Noah to land on the demons around him. Her expression didn’t so much as twitch, but the inquisitors around her looked considerably less comfortable. Their grips tightened around their rosaries.

“I see,” she said. “But certain sacrifices must be made in the pursuit of truth and protection of the Empire. We all have our own price to pay — and you, Vermil, are at the center of a very serious plot. I need to speak with Spider.”

“He’s busy,” Noah said. “But I’ll arrange a meeting for you back at—”

“Now, Vermil.” Fuyin’s eyes narrowed. Particles of frost crawled across her armor. “He has information I need. The information he passed on has proven to be more accurate than I would have liked. There are traitors throughout the Empire. Father has gone missing, as has the head of the Linwick Family. Time may be of the essence. Let us drop the games. I did not seek you out to have idle chat. Bring me Spider.”

“Mistress Fuyin?” one of the Inquisitors turned to her, his head tilting slightly as confusion entered his voice. “That isn’t the mission we were assigned.”

Well that’s interesting. It looks like Fuyin isn’t exactly playing by the rules of the rest of her order. I should definitely figure out what it is she needs Spider for. Could be useful to know.

“And what exactly is the mission you were assigned?” Noah asked casually, desperately wishing he could call on his Runes. He didn’t like the way the Inquisitors were holding their rosaries. Their knuckles were too tight, their postures too stiff.

He exchanged a glance with Moxie. Even though her features didn’t so much as twitch, Noah knew she was on the same page. If the Inquisitors attacked, they would be met with a nasty surprise. Probably a few of them. Between Lee, Yoru, and Moxie, there were few random mages in the empire that had much of a chance against their group.

“Mistress Fuyin,” the Inquisitor said again. He tried to hush his voice, but the forest carried sound far better than the man probably would have hoped. “Our orders came from above. We need to act. Now. If you don’t, I will be forced to report it when we return.”

“Sit,” Fuyin snapped. “You take your orders from me when on a mission. Feel free to take it up with whoever you would like when the mission is completed. Until then, I am your god.”

The Inquisitor’s hand tightened around his rosary. Then he turned back to Noah’s group. He started to raise his hand, and his other two compatriots both readied their magic as well. They were about to attack.

Damn it. What a fucking waste. Now we’ll have to kill all of them to make sure word of this doesn’t get out.

Noah opened his mouth to order Lee to attack. She was the fastest. The Inquisitors would never see her coming.

But, before he could, a faint crackle cut through the forest.

Noah’s skin prickled as a wave of cold washed over it. His eyes widened as his next breath of air came out in a white puff. The temperature had dropped to near freezing levels instantly.

Shit! Fuyin is attacking us herself? Was that all some kind of act to get us off guard?

Noah lurched toward her — and then he froze in place, lips parted in a mixture of shock and disbelief.

The top half of the cloaked Inquisitor pitched forward, then crashed to the ground, leaving his legs behind. A thin layer of frost covered both halves of the man’s midsection and was rapidly spreading to cover his entire body. The rosary spilled from his whitening, frost-covered fingers.

And he wasn’t alone. Two more thuds marked the other Inquisitors falling to the ground. All three of them had been killed in a split instant, and the spreading ice covering their bodies made it pretty clear who had done the deed.

The fuck?

Fuyin had just killed her own men.