>>5830754Izirina was, of course, stricken.
“It’ll be okay,” you assured her. “The Archmage will handle it. She’s TERRIFYING. She’ll protect you… For one reason or another, I’m sure.”
"R-right," she murmured. "I just need a little more time... Just a bit more time..."
Izirina hadn’t seemed convinced, though… And a few weeks later, she stopped attending classes altogether. You never saw her at all, though you saw her adoptive mother. When you demanded an explanation, you were told only:
“It isn’t safe for her right now. Obviously. Do not be foolish.”
When one day you spied the Green Knight, Sir Yosef, leaving the Archmage’s office… You thought you understood why. There was scrutiny upon this place. Perhaps that was why, with all her dedication to escapism… Izzy never escaped her room, to come and see you or otherwise.
Then, the second harbinger came calling: the Prince-to-Be.
When he arrived, the strange Easterling was a curiosity: a demon-fighting exorcist from foreign climes. You’d been excited to learn of this man, in fact—and knew that, if only you could liberate poor Izzy from her captivity, she would have been DELIGHTED. She was enamored with the Far East, after all, and the man was apparently something of a wunderkind in unknown magical aptitudes, especially those of routing demons. Where the Green Knight saw serpentine secret agents and smashed them, this newcomer united with him to destroy dens of demonic activity… And in doing so, he had won the heart of the royal family and ESPECIALLY of the Paladin King’s young daughter Princess Ekaterine. Or, well, so Testa told you; you were rarely one for courtly gossip.
Things accelerated from there—unrelated events, or so it seemed, that cascaded into one another. Hostilities deepened once more with the Southlands, and security was tightened, dampening the spirits of your friends even worse than had Izirina’s absence. Zith-Zi and Efron went on a prolonged dungeon-delving expedition, perhaps more as an excuse to avoid being in town during such turbulent times; Blanchette and Testa both took up apprenticeships in outlying provinces, though perhaps that was justa matter of timing. Only Logan Pearce remained.
“What’s that Eastman saying?”Pearce murmured one evening as you both indulged in a forlon night of spirits—the alcoholic sort, this time.
“May you live in interesting times,” you supplied grimly.
You toasted and drank to that, the both of you.
“You know, I’ve seen him around the Tower,” Pearce whispered grimly. “The Exorcist… Long Wang, he’s called apparently.”
“Maybe YOU wish,” you said. "Come on. Really?"
He scoffed, and shrugged.
“What does he want?” you asked more seriously.
“Damned if I know,” Pearce said, “but he was speaking with the Archmage,.. And they say he’s a member of the Green Knight’s adventuring party.”
