rachel casich

They scoured the underground rooms and corridors, searching for Reiss. Noah checked the waiting and recovery rooms, eventually finding the man’s belt. He wouldn’t leave it behind if he had simply quit the tournament. He spotted a puddle of wine on the floor nearby, but no cup. Noah sniffed the wine and tasted a small drop, feeling his tongue burn. He looked around and noticed a broom closet with broken doorknob. Noah pried it open with his sword, and out fell Reiss’s corpse.“Of course,” Noah muttered.

As Ziradith cackled about her plans, Noah walked the silent evening streets back towards Valia’s home. Shannon had insisted on transporting him to the palace on her back, but he abstained, telling her that he wanted to do some night fishing and she might scare the fish away. His first catch tugged hard on the line when an attack came, a ring of glowing wind passing through his clone and striking the ground. Noah, walking several feet away in his invisible state, turned and looked up at a nearby building, with his clone mimicking his actions.

“I can see your treasury. By now, all of the loot from the church raids must be long spent, most likely on the arena, with any remaining money going to repairing damages from the Wassengel battle and the loss of Welindar’s revenue. That pile of gold is going to keep getting smaller and smaller. Either Galvin is going to bankrupt the country, he’ll raise taxes, or he has a new resource to exploit. So which is it?”