Back once again for some Arcanum.

Book 1: Wildmage

Chapter 3

"Hey Yang. So, I'm being hunted by the Arcanists, who have just locked down the Lower Quarter and are combing the streets. Oh, and I have some secret object they want bad enough to do that on me and I can't get rid of it because of some magical thing a mysterious and cloaked Arcanist put on me. Oh, and Junior is probably going to kick us out onto the street because he's not going to want to deal with the Arcanist's attention. Surprise!?"

Ruby stared at her reflection in a muddy puddle, shaking slightly.

"Yeah, right…"

Dashing the image with one foot, Ruby tucked her hands into her pants and stormed away, dodging through the crowds milling in confusion on one end of the dirt road, watching as a team of Arcanists along with a bevy of Collegium Guard did whatever it was they were doing. It was probably a bad idea to be so close, but they'd been moving through the slums for the past three days now, combing it from top to bottom. Better I know what they're doing than not.

Three robes today and six guards. She wasn't sure why six were necessary, especially given that it'd take a brave person indeed to have a go at even a single Arcanist, let alone three. The guards' armour shone brilliantly in the midday sun and their tabards, a rich purple with a cloak a slightly darker shade of the same, stood out in the squalor of the lower quarter. It was probably just cotton, but purple dye was some of the most expensive there was. You couldn't buy that just anywhere.

The Arcanists were huddled around a circle drawn on the floor with chalk and whispering to one another; they were much too far away for anyone to make out the words. It looked like they were arguing, or maybe debating. Deciding on the best way to do something, and there was obviously some disagreement there. It wasn't the same three from the gate. In fact, these all looked a little younger. Twenty to thirty at best.

Eventually, they decided on a course of action and got to work doing… whatever it was they were doing. That was the moment she decided elsewhere was the place to be, especially since she knew full well they were looking for a `young boy around the age of twelve to thirteen with short black hair tipped with red`. Before they sent the Arcanists, they'd had the guards come alone. Of course, the denizens of the lower quarter closed ranks and wouldn't talk to people like that. Then they'd sent the Arcanists and suddenly no one felt comfortable.

Twelve or thirteen. I know I'm short, but come on… She didn't bother correcting the `boy` part. Meals were scarce and meat even more so, and her frame had suffered for it. The height issue? Well, they'd only seen her wearing a cloak and hood. Those had all been tossed away and Ruby made sure to cake her hair with a little mud to hide the distinctive tips. Yang had never asked, too bothered with the sudden increase in danger on her and Junior's turf. They hadn't connected the dots yet, luckily for her.

Yang would never throw her out, but Junior would toss them both out. He was the boss after all you didn't make it that far in the slums without knowing how to cut off loose ends. He wouldn't hand them over to the Arcanists – it wasn't worth drawing their attention, be it good or bad – but he wouldn't help them either, nor take the risk of their attention being drawn onto him. That was why she hadn't mentioned the box or the missing Arcanist. As far as Junior and Yang knew, she'd taken the box back and handed it over, cancelling the contract.

"Would if I could," she mumbled. "Idiot Ruby. Someone offloading hot goods onto a courier is, like, the first trick in the book. Should have known something was up when she offered that much lien for it. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

And she couldn't toss the thing away, either. She'd tried now that she knew the Arcanist wasn't coming back for it. Hurled it up over the walls, threw it in a pool of fetid water. Smashed it with a hammer. Nothing worked. The thing was indestructible, at least by the standards of what she could pull off, and whenever she `lost` it, she'd inevitably find it in her pocket again a few minutes later.

She'd stopped trying when the Arcanists closed the gates. People were still allowed in and out, but they were checked. No idea what for, but she imagined hair and whatever magical sense this thing gave off were top of the list. Ruby couldn't get out of the city. It was a miracle Junior hadn't noticed when giving her jobs, though she supposed he didn't want to risk anyone at the gates either.

Unable to get rid of the box and unable to slip past the Arcanists, she'd turned her attention to the only thing she could – opening it.

The box was a box. Whatever was inside the box was probably what the Arcanists were after, but it was the box that was stuck to her. Or so she hoped. There was nothing that proved any of that was true, but she needed some hope to hold onto. It gave her something to work towards.

/-/

Ruby growled and stabbed her knife into the table, frustration peaking as the stupid cube thing sat there unharmed and with one of its faces absolutely not pried off as they should be. No amount of cutting worked and there just wasn't a seam to find. Angrily, she tossed the thing out the window, barely even reacting when she felt a weight settle in her pocket a second later.

The door opened before she could pick it out and try again. Yang stepped in with a loaf of fresh bred under one arm and some cheese on top. She eyed Ruby and the table. "You realise we have to eat on that, right?"

Ruby worked the dagger out with a red face. "Sorry!"

"Long as you don't break it." Yang came in and set the goods down. The scent of warm bread mixed with rye wafted through her nostrils and her mouth suddenly felt very, very wet. "Figured we could have a treat since you brought in so much money the other day. Fresh bread and cheese. And, wait for it…" Yang pulled out a corked wooden flask "Fresh milk!"

Despite the failure and the Arcanists, Ruby's spirits soared. It was a feast by the standards of the slums and certainly compared to what they normally had. It wasn't exactly a big block of cheese, especially split between two, but it was enough for Yang and Ruby to cut off small strips and place it on chunks of bread. The taste was rich and creamy. Both the bread and the cheese were soft and gooey, which was so much better than the stale and already-hard chunks she was used to.

"Mhm. So good!"

"Yeah." Yang bit down and chewed on her own, eyes closed. "You know, I heard the people up top eat stuff like this as a snack. It's not even a meal."

"Mm. Really?"

"Yeah. It's why they get to be so fat." Yang winked and poked Ruby in the cheek. "Maybe if you ate more like this, you'd grow a little more in the chest department."

Swatting away her sister's hand, Ruby tried to scowl. It was hard with the taste of cheese and milk in her mouth however, and she laughed a second later. There was only a pint of milk between them, but she sipped slowly at it, wanting to make it last. It was cold and fresh with a rich texture; it would have been so easy to down it all.

I wish we could eat like this more often. It wasn't every day she could come home with over ten lien, though. Yang had initially panicked, thinking she'd stolen it from the guards, but after a quick explanation – leaving out the red eyes – Yang accepted it. They'd even shared the beef strips Sergeant Hannar gave her.

Bloated and satisfied, Ruby leaned back and let out a little burp, giggling when Yang echoed it except twice as loud. There was still some bread left – food for the morrow – but the cheese and milk were well and truly gone. "Ah." Yang picked at her teeth. "A feast fit for a noble."

"Noble lady Yang and Ruby. It sounds good."

"Yeah? I'd have thought you'd like the title `Arcanist Ruby` more." Yang said it casually but Ruby tensed, only to relax when Yang laughed it off a moment later. "I'm surprised you're not out there staring at those guys."

"Ha ha. Well, I did for a bit, but they're not doing much, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Looking for someone, I hear. Making Junior nervous."

"Why…?" Did he suspect?

"Junior's worried they might call on him if they find out what he does. You know he deals with information – and so do a lot of people here. Only need one to get nervous and let slip and we'll have Arcanists knocking on our door."

That, Ruby decided, would be very, very bad. "Is he afraid of them?"

"Who isn't? Even if they pay, you still don't want to tangle with their sort. They're looking for someone. Young boy by the sounds of it, and they're desperate to find him. Won't say why, of course, not to scum like us."

"You talked to them!?" Ruby asked.

"What? Nah!" Yang laughed. "They visited Sandra, you remember her, the baker off by the north wall?" At Yang's look, Ruby nodded. "She told me all about it while I was buying our dinner tonight. They're visiting places they think someone has to go – butchers, bakers and the like. Idiots." Yang snorted. "Like a kid down here would have the money to buy cuts of meat."

"Y-Yeah." It was worse than she expected, much worse. "What do you think they want with them?"

"Who knows? Nothing good, that's for sure. You wouldn't come in force like this if it was."

"Yeah…"

"Closing the gates, going through the streets… It's like they're hunting for a wild animal." Yang leaned forward, voice dipping to a whisper. "Wanna know what I heard?"

Honestly, no. She didn't want to know anything. But fear mixed with the need to know what she was up against forced her to lean in. "What?"

"Got it from a friend who knows someone – someone who works in the guard. Lower quarter guard, mostly just working the gates, but they hear stuff. He was asking why they need to cut off the gates, my friend said, and this guy was dumb enough to ask that to an Arcanist. Crazy thing is, the Arcanist answered. He got slapped down a moment later by an older one, or so my friend's friend says, but he gave an actual answer."

"W-What did he say?"

"Apparently…" Yang leaned in further. "They're looking for a Wildmage."

Ruby's stomach dropped to her knees. A Wildmage? They couldn't… They didn't mean her, right? She couldn't use magic. Heck, she'd tried when she was younger – like every kid did in the hopes they were special. Besides, only people from the wealthier districts got to join the Collegium. Everyone knew that. If you were an Arcanist, the very fact you could use magic inevitably made you wealthier.

"If that's true, I feel sorry for the poor guy," Yang said, missing her distress. "They're destined for the Sanctum if they catch him. No one who ever gets thrown in there sees the light of day again. Fate worse than death."

The Sanctum. People talked about the Sanctum in hushed tones, but no one really knew what it was, only that it was a prison of sorts. Somewhere bad Arcanists were sent to, and a place from which none ever returned. At least with the prisons run by the city, you saw people come out after they served their time. Or they were executed if the crime was big enough. No one knew anything of what happened in the Sanctum.

There had to be a mistake. Obviously, the object she had was the thing setting them off – and maybe they thought it was her. Maybe they thought it was her using magic when it wasn't. But what would happen if she went to them with it? Would they care to listen to her, would they question how or why she had it?

What if they couldn't take it off her because of the spell on her arm? Wouldn't it be easier to just toss her in the Sanctum and call it done? Or kill her. She was just a Dredger. No one cared about them and they died all the time. What was one more? Sanctum or death. Both were pretty much the same as far as she was concerned.

I can't go to the Arcanists. There are too many questions. I need to find the one who did this to me in the first place. Except that she was missing and unlikely to ever come back. Or I could take it to the person she told me to. Maybe he can remove the spell on me…

It was a long shot. A ridiculous long shot.

"Hey Yang."

"Hm?"

"Are all the gates locked and guarded?"

"Mostly the ones leading out of the city. Why? You're not thinking of going up into the merchant's quarter again, are you? If you want to see the Arcanists, there are plenty wandering around down here."

"N-No reason…"

"Hmph. Sure." Yang didn't believe her. "Just be careful, whatever you're up to. With everyone on edge down here, I wouldn't put it past the guards to be a little more violent than usual. Don't test them."

"I won't."

"Good." Yang looked her over. She'd never been good at hiding her thoughts from her sister and that didn't look to have changed. "Hey, don't let the rumours get to you. Okay? Just because the Arcanists are here doesn't mean they're going to cart off just anyone to the Sanctum. It's only for other Arcanists. Them and Wildmages." Yang touched her hand. "We'll be fine."

Ruby smiled a smile she didn't feel. "Yeah. Yeah, I know…"

/-/

Junior didn't have any work for her in the morning. He claimed it was because no one wanted to cause trouble with the Arcanists about, but she knew it was more that he didn't want to. Normally, she'd have balked at the loss of income, but they had enough from what she'd earned before to get by, and she needed to find a way up the Upper District today anyway. That alone was the kind of thing that would get most Dredgers killed or imprisoned.

But if I don't, I'm going to be found by the Arcanists in the slums eventually. I have to get rid of this thing before they realise the young boy they're looking for is actually a girl.

Vale's districts weren't made equal; that was obvious to anyone in the lower quarter, but it continued upward as well. It wasn't overly hard to get from the lower to the merchants. The gates were guarded and watched carefully but the walls weren't. They relied on size and intimidation to keep the dredges out, but like everything in the slums, they were ill-maintained and prone to water damage. Some had been damaged so badly that tunnels had formed.

Ruby avoided those – people tended to live in them, and the guards knew where they all were by now and watched the other ends. Instead, she took to climbing the wall itself. Or not the wall, but the buildings close to it, which were a little less sheer. It wasn't hard to find a few handholds and she was light enough to get up and over. The balconies looking down into the slums were abandoned obviously. No one wanted to see them.

The merchant's quarter was a hundred times better than the lower district, but it still wasn't entirely safe. Oh, it was better obviously; there were more guards, better homes and less crime, but the it was also right next to the slums and you couldn't ignore that. Patrols stuck to the areas they needed to look after, namely the markets, banking houses and residential districts. The quieter areas off by the slums were a middle ground. It was where the poor of the merchant's quarter – who were still far wealthier than any of them down below – lived.

Sticking to the shadows and dark alleys, Ruby made her way westward, over towards and then along the river. Crossing it would be impossible. The bridges were well guarded, and the water was strong enough to carry you back down into the slums, as it did much of the waste from the upper districts. Luckily, the upper quarter was the next along and covered both sides of the river, meaning she didn't need to get across to reach the walls.

The problem was getting through the walls.

People said the upper district was where the real Vale began. The merchant's quarter was nice, but it was where you went to shop – full of foreigners, merchants and peddlers, which many saw to be almost as bad as Dredgers themselves. It was a middle ground given only as much attention as it needed by the guards, whereas the upper district marked the real start of civilised life.

The walls were solid and tall, watched by several towers evenly spaced out with bells set in each, ready to ring the alarm at the slightest sign of trouble. Three large gates manned both the east and west side of the river, and they were all guarded by a garrison of well-trained guards.

Not incorruptible guards, as Junior knew, but certainly by the standards of what wealth she had on her. Attempting to bribe them with the paltry amount of lien she had would get her beaten and thrown on her face if she was lucky, more likely beaten and tossed in the river. That tended to get rid of undesirables, either carrying them back down to the slums or getting rid of a body entirely.

Ruby bit her lip as she checked the third gate. It was just as well-guarded as the first two. She watched as a wooden cart rolled up to it and was stopped. Two guards moved forwards with large halberds and spoke to the driver. They then walked around to the back and removed the covering checking the supplies and even poking wrapped-up bundles of cloth with the tips of their weapons. One even looked under, making sure no one was clinging to the bottom. Satisfied, they waved the man on and stopped the next.

Is it always this thorough, or is it just because of what's happening in the slums? It didn't really matter either way, since sneaking a ride on a wagon was obviously out of the picture. Sneaking through at all was going to be difficult. There just wasn't enough room to do so and the walls didn't have any buildings nearby. She was a good climber, but not that good.

"There has to be some way through…"

There was a good chance Junior knew of a way. Something he wanted to keep to himself and not use lest the guards find it. He wouldn't tell her, not for something like this. She didn't have the time to check every inch of it either, and crossing the river wasn't going to work.

Unless…

Hurrying back the way she'd come, Ruby darted through the crowds, ignoring those who called out insults and running away at the smallest glance of a guard. Cutting across empty streets required looking both ways to make sure no one was watching and while the locals sneered and shied away from her, few dared to call her out. They didn't know how dangerous she might be.

The river running through Vale, known only as the River Vale, was fairly calm in the summer months. It got worse over winter and deadly in spring when the floods came, but for the few months after that it was gentler. And lower. Looking along it to the point where it passed through the walls, Ruby saw the metal bars that cut down from an arched opening where the stone had been built over the water. It wasn't a single arch, but five in total, with stone pillars reaching down into the water at intersecting points. The bars looked solid from a distance and she doubted any would have rotted entirely. The gaps were too narrow for a normal person to fit through, but she wasn't normal. Short and thin, the gaps might just be wide enough.

There were a few people further down the river washing clothing in the water or collecting buckets full. Some further down pissing into it, ignoring what that might mean for the Dredgers further down. Ruby grimaced and found a spot closer to the wall, directly under it where anyone watching from above wouldn't be able to see her.

The water was cold as she dipped a foot in. Grimacing, she fought the urge to pull it back and instead stepped in until she was submerged to her shins. The current was strong, made all the more so because of how the water was stopped by the wall and forced through the narrow culverts. It evened out a little further down but that didn't mean much for her. The current would be at its strongest exactly where she wanted to push through.

And if anyone was watching on the other side…

"Can't think of that. Be brave, Ruby. You can do this."

Yang and she knew how to swim. You couldn't live in the lower quarter and not. When the floods came, those who didn't know how inevitably learned or drowned. Swimming upstream was harder, though. Ruby waded through the river as far as she could, keeping her back to the wall and crouching low to avoid detection, at least until the water became so deep that she couldn't crouch and keep her chest above it. She shivered at the plunging temperature and ought to keep her footing as water rushed against her back and threatened to force her down and under. She was still a good three or four feet from the metal bars.

Now or never, she thought, taking a few deep breaths and preparing herself. Any longer and she risked being spotted or whisked away by the current. With her final breath, Ruby sealed her lips shut and dove to the side, along the wall. Her arms hit the water first, followed by her head. The current dragged her back immediately, but she kicked with both legs and held onto a rock, dragging herself through the rushing river that stung her eyes. Though hazy, she could make out the indistinct shape of the bars.

Reaching out desperately, she strained to reach one. Her fingers almost touched it.

A fresh barrage from the river struck her shoulder and knocked her back. Her legs sailed out uselessly and it was only her fingers digging into the rock that kept her in place. Eyes stinging so bad she had to close them, Ruby flailed with her free hand until she found the same rock, then scrambled for a grip. Using both hands, she pulled herself against the current. Her lungs were burning.

Just a little further. Just… She was so close! The pain was unbearable, but she forced herself on, pulling her body up and getting a foot on the rock – then lunging forward, falling into the current and almost being sent somersaulting backwards.

Her hands hit metal. Wrapped around it. One arm hooked through and behind, holding her in place as she kicked up towards the surface.

"Haaaah!" she gasped, poking her head through and drawing as much air as she could.

Hanging onto the bars, her body was battered by the rushing water that came faster and faster than ever, forced through a narrow chokepoint. It splashed up into her face and mouth, making her splutter. Her body wanted to rest but she couldn't let it, all too aware that she'd become exhausted just holding on. With another breath, she dived down again.

Working one hand through the bars was easy. Working the second, then her shoulders, was harder. A part of her mind brought up the image of her stuck between the bars, caught between her shoulders and hips and held there underwater until she drowned. They'd maybe find her a week later when she began to rot, trapped between the bars. The fear galvanised her and she struggled through, all too thankful for her narrow and under-developed hips that slipped through with just a little wriggle.

The rush of water was less on the other side. Bracing her feet against the bars, Ruby was able to kick off and to the side. She was swept back against the wall, but thankfully not through the bars once more. Dragging herself along the base of the river, she was able to crawl her way to the shallows and then stand, gasping for breath as she came out exhausted and collapsed onto the bank. The soft grass cushioned her fall and she lay there in the shadows of the wall, shaking and panting with her clothing stuck to her body.

Something poked against her shoulder.

"Is it dead?"

"Hit it harder."

Ruby wanted to protest but could only yelp as a swish followed by a crack heralded a thin piece of wood striking her back. Her wet shirt dulled the blow slightly, but it still left a stinging line against her flesh. "Ow!" she hissed, glaring up.

There were two boys nearby. Younger than her, maybe ten or so. One of them had a long, thin stick he had used to hit her. The other was half-hidden behind him. Both were dressed in finery she could only dream of, rich purples, greens and blues with silver belt buckles, yet their trousers were covered in grass stains regardless. They were plump and ugly, though that might just have been their expressions.

"It's from below," the one hiding said. "Is it a Dredger? Mom told me they're born in rivers and left there by their mothers. Only those who can drag themselves out survive."

"Disgusting," the first said. "Does that mean this is a new born one?"

"Ew. We don't want it here. Push it back in the river."

The first used the stick against her shoulder, trying to push her back into the water. Ruby growled and fought back. Normally, she'd have had no issue, but she was tired, soaked and starving as it was. They managed to force her a few inches until she dug her feet in and scowled at them. "Piss off," she hissed, trying to sound like Yang, "Or I'll break your knees."

"Y-You can't talk to me like that!" The first brought the switch up and struck down at her. Ruby panicked and curled both hands over her head a second before it struck. The stinging lash caught the back of her neck and her hand. "I'm the first son of Melrose Ducont! Take this, and this!" He brought the stick down two more times, once on her head and the second time on the small of her back. "I'll have you flayed for your insolvence," he squealed, getting the word wrong. "I'll strip the skin from your back. I'll-"

Ruby caught the stick on the next strike and pulled sharply. The boy stumbled forward and was unprepared for her to shift it to the side and jab it forward again. The end of the branch caught him firmly in the face, right between his nose and his mouth. At best, he split his lip, but the kid fell back with a stunned expression. She took the time to toss the branch away and climb onto one knee.

"Y-You hit me… You struck me!"

"I'll do more than strike you," she wheezed, water dripping from her hair and clothes. Her back stung and she thought there might have been some blood. "I'll beat you black and blue."

"It's a barbarian!" the second whispered, tears in his eyes. She wasn't sure why seeing as she hadn't even hit him.

Yet.

"Ah-ah…" The boys burst into tears and scrambled to their feet, running away screaming about telling their father and how she would regret it. Ruby watched them go and slumped against the wall, using it to rest on as she wrung her top out, pouring water onto the grass.

Got to keep moving, she thought dully, wanting nothing more than to take a break. Guards will have heard something, assuming they don't run straight to them. And she was in the upper district, of course. If her clothing didn't give her away, the fact she was soaked certainly did. Ruby checked her pocket and was unsurprised to find the cube still there. It probably slipped out when she'd been pushing through the bars, but it would have come back.

The longer she spent, the more risk there was of being caught. This wasn't like the merchant's quarter, either. There were less people to blend in with and guards all over the place. To the north, above the walls, she could even see the spires of the Arcane Collegium. Before, it had always stood as a place of wonder. Now, it cast a looming shadow.

Inside, the Sanctum stood.

"I'm not going there," she hissed, trudging on. "I'm not."

/-/

Even if she wanted to be gone as soon as possible, it took over three hours to find Vincent's Antiques and Curiosities. The biggest problem was that she couldn't read. The smaller problem was that she had no idea where anything would be, having never been to the upper district before, or ever having seen it. If the merchant's quarter looked like the place where the rich lived, this looked like a home for royalty. The houses were wide and spaced far apart with few touching one another and each having a space around and to the front where people would grow flowers, ostensibly for no other reason than because they looked nice.

The waste of space was staggering. They could have grown crops in those spaces to feed a family, but they wasted them on brightly coloured plants and stone ornaments or wooden chairs. They did make for cover for her and places to hide and catch a break, but they were otherwise useless.

The worst part was that the upper district wasn't even where the noble families lived. Those were beyond, past even the Collegium and in what was termed, quite aptly, the Noble's Quarter. Above that was the Royal Palace itself. Those in the Upper District were what she'd heard guards call `the gentry`. Most in the slums just called them moneybags.

Finding Vincent's had in the end required a little bit of risk, calling out from the shadows to passers-by in the hopes someone would answer. Most looked her way and hurried on. Some threatened to call the guards. Most ignored her and turned their noses up.

One answered without looking, "Off down the street and to the left. Can't miss it. Place with the big sign shaped like a compass." The man had begun to turn to face her, eyes narrowing as he realised he was talking to a girl hiding behind a bush.

"Thanks." Ruby darted away before he could do anything.

Sign like a compass. That, she could work with. She'd never had one, but Junior did, along with a map on his wall. It would either be a four-spoked wheel or a circle with a few pointers in it. If nothing else, she understood her north, east, souths and wests. It was a lucky break.

Reaching the end of the cobbled street, Ruby peeked out from cover. It wasn't busy – nowhere in the upper district was, they had so much space – but there were guards walking towards her from the left. Ruby hunkered down between a fancy looking home and a tree and waited for them to go by, chatting between themselves. Once they had, she waited longer, letting a few minutes pass and then looked again.

All clear. Ruby dashed across the street.

She spotted the sign off to the side – on the left, as promised. The sign had a bunch of characters she didn't recognise but assumed was `Vincent` or `Antiques` and there was a four-pointed star beside it, the top-most one taller than the others to represent north. Ruby clung to the backs of the buildings, which flanked the walls, and made her way to behind what must have been the shop itself. It was far too big to just be that, so she assumed it was Vincent's home as well.

I can't break in. I need him to take this stupid spell off me. Biting and teasing her lip, Ruby hesitated behind his store for what must have been ten minutes. Plans to sneak in and find him were discarded immediately out of fear he'd feel threatened. Leaving a message was no use if he couldn't read her street signs and waiting until night would be risky when the guards came to light the torches. They might notice her. If nothing else, Yang would notice her absence. Checking one last time to make sure she was clear, Ruby took the plunge and walked in the front door.

A bell above it tinkled lightly as she pushed the wooden door open and stepped onto a fancy floor of a much darker wood, polished until it was shiny. A wave of wood polish, dust and leather assaulted her nostrils, followed by warm light from several torches set up on either side of the entrance and hanging from wall sconces. There were numerous cabinets and counters leading off from the main room with a counter at the back, a man behind it with his back to her, probably Vincent.

The sound of clinking metal and a hiss of steel came from her left. Panicking, Ruby ducked right, spinning in time to see an armed man with a mail vest looking at her with beady eyes, sword half-drawn in warning.

"You shouldn't be here," he said.

"I -I -" Ruby fell back on what she was used to. "I've been sent with a message for Master Vincent!"

The guard hesitated just long enough for the man in question to turn. "A message?" He was middle-aged, younger than Ruby expected, with a neatly trimmed moustache and goatee, and a small pair of glass spectacles balanced on his nose. "I have not been expecting a missive. From who, boy? Speak or I shall have Desmond throw you out on your behind. Your kind are not welcome here."

Her kind. Ruby didn't challenge him. "It's more a delivery," she said, watching his eyes widen as he heard her clearly feminine voice. "I was told to bring it to you and that you wanted it. That you'd take it off my hands."

"Really now? Hardly the first time someone has sent a prospective seller to me. I warn you, bo- girl, I have an eye for antiques. I will not be fooled by any old bauble." He tapped the counter before him, though he didn't move closer to her. The guard, Desmond, followed behind, his bootsteps echoing on the wood. "Place it here and let me see."

Ruby drew the wooden cube out and put it down on the side.

"That's it?" Vincent asked. "A box?"

"I-It's more than a box." Ruby paused. "I think. It was given to me by an Arcanist and they said you'd want it. They said you'd pay for it." At this point, she'd be fine with him just taking it. "I don't know how to open it, but-"

"An arcane device?" Vincent recoiled. "Are you mad-? I cannot- No one can sell arcane devices. To even do so would be to court the attention of the Collegium." His eyes narrowed. "Where did you find this? How?"

"I just said! An Arcanist gave it to me to give to you."

"Lies. No Arcanist would trust a Dredger with something like this. You stole it. Didn't you?"

"No!"

"Desmond."

A hand settled on her shoulder and gripped down. Another caught her hip, gloved hand closing over her knife before she could think to draw it. Ruby twisted to try and break free, but his grip was solid. He stepped into her, pinning her against the counter. Ruby's heart hammered in her chest.

"N-No, it's fine," she said. "I'll go. Just let me go!"

"Keep hold of her," Vincent said. "Something like this, the guard need to know."

"You can keep the stupid box!" Ruby shrieked, all too aware that it would come back to her regardless. "Just keep it and give it to them. I don't want it; I never wanted it. I'll be no trouble, sir, I promise. Just let me go!"

"Dealing in arcane goods, and right under the nose of the Collegium. They'll have to be told. Damn it, but they'll want to search my store. Keep hold of the girl, Desmond. The Arcanists will want to speak with her, maybe beat some answers out of her or whatever it is they do to those that steal from them."

Arcanist-? Here?

Sanctum, Sanctum, Sanctum. Ruby's breath came out in short gasps, eyes bulging and darting from left to right. She pulled and pushed on the man behind her, but he wouldn't budge. Attempting to stamp on his foot earned only a grunt and a solid knee to her kidneys.

"Fucking Dredger," he grunted. "Sit still."

They were going to arrest her. They were going to lock her up, interrogate her – hurt her and then throw her away in the Sanctum where no one would ever hear from her again, least of all Yang. Terror welled up inside her and she felt something snap. Heady whiteness rushed through her head and blood poured from her nose as she drove an elbow back into the man's crotch, twisted when he backed away with a grunt and a snarl, then pushed one hand out towards his chest.

"NO!"

Bright light flashed. Something poured from her hand and slammed into the man, catching him in the chest and lifting him up with so much force that he flew back and over a display unit and came crashing down against the back wall, knocking down a suit of antique armour and breaking several cases of glass. He slumped at the base, blood dripping down his skull.

Ruby stared at her hand, small wisps of smoke coiling between her fingers.

"Did I-?"

Vincent stumbled back, tripping over something behind his counter and crashing into the back wall, arms spread along it as if he were looking for any possible escape. His eyes were wide and white, the irises barely visible.

"N-No," Ruby said, holding a hand out. "It's not what you think. I just… I… It just happened!"

"Wildmage…"

"No!" Tears stung at her eyes. "I'm not!"

"Wildmage," he said again, this time a whisper. He slid toward a door. Ruby lunged to stop him, but he was out before she could scale the counter, out and screaming at the top of his lungs, "Wildmage! Sound the bells! Summon the guards! Wildmage! Wildmage!"

Ruby's shoulder crashed into the door and out, past the downed guard. The door exploded outwards and she found herself before the faces of numerous people, all of whom had been looking toward the building after Vincent's panicked escape. Her eyes met theirs, wisps of smoke still pooling from between her fingers.

In the distance, in the Arcane Collegium, a grand bell began to toll.

Ruby ran.

Wildmage? Or Vague-mage, amirite? Yes, I'm being very vague on what a Wildmage is or what it means or why people are like this, etc. Ruby kind of already knows a little, so it would be unreasonable for her to just `tell` the audience. We'll get some more explanation soon enough.

Ruby doesn't know everything of course, but she knows the barebones definition.

Next Chapter: 4th June

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur