Here we go

Cover Art: Z-ComiX

Chapter 66

The Kingdom of Vale had no idea that the Collegium was in lockdown.

Ruby sat with Weiss in their room, where they had been told they could not leave unless summoned and that food, water and other amenities would be delivered to them. They weren't the only ones of course. To hear it from the servants, every Arcanist – and that included official Arcanists; not just initiates – was locked down and being questioned.

Groaning, Weiss made her way to the window and pushed it open. Warm air rushed in, followed swiftly by loud conversation as people talked to friends and neighbours by hanging head and shoulders out their windows and shouting to one another. Almost immediately, Weiss shut the window again, unable to deal with the raucous noise. She took to pacing instead, wearing a pattern into the floor as she walked back and forth, back and forth.

"It's probably a good sign it's taking so long," Ruby said suddenly.

Weiss paused. "Hm?"

"To question us," she said. "To release us. They must be going around the Arcanists first and making sure they're all accounted for. That must mean the suspect isn't an Initiate."

"Isn't that obvious? Whomever did this had power enough to destroy the Grand Arcanist's tower. I doubt that was just brick and mortar – there must have been Black enchantments and other protections in place. There isn't an Initiate in the Collegium with that kind of power."

Easy for Weiss to say, mostly because she was incorrect there.

"Do you think the Grand Arcanist is okay?" Ruby asked, thinking of the old man who had helped her out more than once. He'd all but saved her from suspicion time and time again.

"I'm sure he is. It was the Founding Festival; he was probably down at the party with everyone else."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. Right. That made sense. It wasn't like the Grand Arcanist could be absent from a big event in the Collegium. He probably had to be there to give speeches and be seen.

"That's probably why this happened," Weiss continued. "You wouldn't dare go against someone like the Grand Arcanist normally. Someone must have been using the festival as a distraction to sneak in."

"What for?"

"I've no idea. Magical artifacts? Forbidden books? There has to be something of worth in the tower of the strongest Arcanist in the Kingdom. I wonder if the explosion was them covering their tracks or triggering a trap."

"You think they died in it?"

"Maybe." Weiss shrugged. "Like I said, he's the most powerful Arcanist in the Kingdom. Wouldn't you expect people to try and take things from you? He could arrange for the best of the Black Arcana to put protections on his offices. I'm not saying he planned to bring his tower down, but maybe something went wrong, or the spells reacted with those of the intruders. Maybe the explosion was by the intruders to get rid of whatever protections there were, but it damaged the tower too much."

Weiss' theories were no wilder than those being bandied outside the windows. With so little information from the teachers, the Initiates were left to make up their own minds, and it was all anyone was talking about. She'd listened in the other day and heard everything from war to sabotage to rituals gone wrong. Part of her was beginning to wonder if the White wasn't leaving them to stew so long that when they did come along with the answer, everyone would be so tired of the wild theories that no one would question their side of the story.

The bells went off again, but I wasn't using any Wildmagic. I couldn't with Jaune next to me. Did that mean another Wildmage was in the Collegium? Had something happened at the Sanctum?

There was a knock on the door – and food had only come two hours before. Weiss and Ruby exchanged a worried look before Weiss raced over and hauled it open. On the other side, two White Arcanists waited.

"Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose," the one on the left intoned. "Is that correct?"

"Y-Yes. It is. Welcome, Lord Arcanist."

"The two of you are to be questioned as per your whereabouts at the time of the incident-"

"We were in the ballroom with our dates," Weiss said. "They can all vouch-"

"This is merely a register," the Arcanist on the right said wearily. He'd obviously been stretched thin by his job and wasn't interested in letting them waffle on. "We are to take down the locations of every single person in the Collegium. Everyone is being asked to do this, Arcanist, Initiate, Guardsman and janitor alike. Please co-operate and make this easier for us."

"Oh. Of course. I apologise…"

While Weiss was bowing profusely, Ruby let her own fear dissipate. As Weiss had said, if they were really suspecting then they wouldn't have been left to wait this long before being approached. Pulling her white initiate robes on, Ruby followed the two out the door and down the corridor.

They were taken out the dorm entirely and away to a large set of tents that had been erected in the centre of the gardens. It looked like an army set up camp in preparation to march to war, especially with how the guards at the front barred their path until the White Arcanists showed their Arcanum and were allowed to bring them in.

Ruby and Weiss were put into a queue formed of ten or so Initiates hemmed in on either side by white rope strung up between posts driven into the ground. Before them was a white tent with an Arcanist at the entrance holding a clipboard. He would take the name of a person, then sweep the tent back and allow them entry.

They did not return.

That fact had Ruby panicking for all the time it took her to notice them leaving out the other side, at which point she felt stupid for assuming the worst. They couldn't push people back through a queue, could they? Soon, the queue had diminished, though it filled up again behind them as the Arcanists brought in fresh Initiates to replenish those already seen to. When it came to her turn, the man at the front cocked one weathered eyebrow expectantly.

"Ruby Rose."

"Arcana?"

"White. Initiate."

The quill scratched over parchment before the man swept his hand back, pulling the cloaked curtain aside and allowing her entry. Inside, the tent was rather small but densely packed. A single table sat in the centre with a White Arcanist she didn't recognise sat behind it on a stool. The stool opposite remained empty. On the table sat a crystalline pitcher of blue liquid.

Six guardsmen flanked the left and right walls of the tent, their weapons drawn and stabbed into the ground. They were positioned in such a way that when Ruby approached the table she was fully surrounded. Her eyes darted left and right, trying to keep track of each of them but finding it impossible to do so. She swallowed, sitting down when instructed and shuffling on the spot. It didn't feel right having someone behind her that she couldn't see, especially when they were armed.

"This," the Arcanist said, gesturing to the pitcher. "Is a concoction created by the Emerald Arcana. As you know, they specialise in healing and the human body – but what you may be less aware of is that their research looks into all aspects of the body and mind. This potion is harmless, so long as your intentions are the same. You see, it detects lies. Or not lies per se, but the reaction your body has if you tell one. The subtle, unconscious impulses in your brain. If you drink this and then lie to me, it will cause your body to heat up, sweat to form and your hands shall feel clammy and begin to tingle. Your heartbeat will increase and increase until you begin to feel faint, at which point the antidote." He held up a small vial of green liquid. "Can be taken to save your life. I would rather not say what will happen if you do not receive it."

Ruby recoiled. "T-That's poison!?"

"Only if you lie to me, Initiate. You may rest assured that I shall only ask questions related to your whereabouts on the night of the incident. Your secrets, whatever they may be, are safe, and you are free to refuse to answer anything you believe to be an unfair question. That will not constitute a lie and you will be safe." Slowly, he decanted the blue liquid into a smaller, crystal goblet. It frothed up imposingly, shimmering and glinting. He slid it across to her. "Will you take the potion and submit yourself to questioning?"

Her heart was already thudding in her chest and she hadn't had any yet. If I take that and he asks me if I'm a Wildmage I'm in trouble. I can choose not to answer but that'll be as good as admitting it. On the other hand, refusing out of hand would only make it worse, and she could well imagine the guards were here to force it down the throats of those who did.

If you were caught in the slums, the best you could do was lie, lie, lie. Even if they produced evidence, lie harder. Stick to your innocence. In this case she really was innocent, which meant she had to stick to it even harder. Swallowing her fear, she reached out and took the goblet, bringing the blue potion to her lips. It smelled bitter and tangy. It tasted worse. The froth tasted of smoke and the liquid underneath was little better, sliding down her throat like thick gloop. Ruby hacked and put the goblet down, dredges of it remaining. Thankfully, the Arcanist determined it enough because he nodded and pulled it away from her.

"Thank you for your co-operation. I shall make this quick. Where were you on the night of the explosion at the Grand Arcanist's tower?"

"I-I was in the ballroom."

The Arcanist nodded and one of the guards wrote it down. "Did you stay for the Founding Festival?"

"I did."

"Did you go with anyone?"

"My roommate Weiss Schnee and my date, Jaune Arc."

"Arc?" The man paused. "Is that House Arc?"

"Yes."

"You realise that he will be questioned as well."

"Yeah. That's fine. We went together. Everyone – everyone who was there – saw us. We did the first dance."

"I see." The Arcanist bobbed his head and let the guardsman scribble it down. "He should be able to corroborate your story then. Did you leave the festival at any time?"

"Only when we were ordered back to our dorms. I came with Weiss and left with Weiss. You can ask her – she's next in line."

"I shall. A final question, then. Do you have any idea who might be behind the attack?"

"N-No." Ruby's hands were sweaty, her eyes wide and wild. She looked down to the antidote, something the Arcanist noticed. He held it up, eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure, Initiate Rose…? I would ask you to be certain."

"I…I…" Her heart started to beat faster. Ruby panicked. "There were rumours people were responsible for the attack on Menagerie. I thought it might be the same people." She avoided saying she'd come from Menagerie because that would have been a lie. "I also heard the bells go off and I know those toll when they detect Wildmagic. It happened with the Wildmage I met in the Archives. S-So I thought it might have been a Wildmage who did it. That or the people from Menagerie. That's all I know."

Desperately, she looked to the antidote and the Arcanist nodded, handing it over. Ruby uncorked it quickly and drank – it tasted of apple and was sweet beyond belief. Almost immediately, she felt better.

"I cannot comment on the investigation as I'm sure you can understand but your concerns are valid, if not necessarily accurate. If your story is corroborated, you have nothing to worry about. You may leave. Thank you for your time."

Woodenly, she stumbled up and through the line of guards, shaking and feeling more than a little violated. No one tried to stop her, however. Outside, she drew in a big gasp of air and let it go. Safe. For now.

/-/

The summons from Lady Goodwitch came a day later and was delivered in private, her and Weiss having been released to attend lessons in the White Cathedral again. Ruby didn't recognise the Initiate tasked to give the message, but he assured her she was to report to the upper office immediately. Lady Goodwitch was already behind her desk when she arrived, though she looked up and welcomed her with a quick nod.

"Initiate Rose. Thank you for coming."

"Am I in trouble?" Ruby asked immediately.

"No. No, in fact, I dare say you're one of the few in the Collegium not in any trouble right now." A bitter smile and bitterer laugh. "Sit down. I received a report of your answers to the questioning. Your story has been confirmed by your date. Jaune Arc was very clear that you spent the evening with him, often touching him." Glynda paused to let that sink in. "I'm going to assume you know why that most strongly vouches for your innocence."

"Because no one can use magic when he's touching them."

"Precisely. As you're aware, Jaune Arc is a Huntsman. A magical anomaly. They've been called many things through history, not all complimentary. Hollow ones. Wells. Absents. Voids. We prefer a term that speaks more highly of them ourselves. We no longer live in those dark times where anyone considered different need face discrimination. What it does mean is that you are without a doubt accounted for, something few of us can claim so fully."

"What about the truth serum?" she asked. "Surely that found someone."

Goodwitch chuckled. "Alcohol, salt, seaweed and rhubarb. It's quite a bitter mix that froths and turns blue. The antidote was sugar, honey and sliced apple dissolved in water with vegetable leaves for colour."

Ruby's mouth fell open. "It was fake!?"

"Of course it was. Do you really think we would risk poisoning children?"

She had.

"There is no such thing as definitive truth, certainly not something we could measure. One man's truth is another's lie and leaving aside subjectivity, someone misled to believe the colour green is blue could truthfully claim the grass was blue. To them, that would be the truth as they knew it. No. That little test was to root out those who reacted suspiciously, and alas, aside from some small and embarrassing trysts revealed we didn't find those responsible. If they still live."

"Were they looking for something in the Grand Arcanist's office?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Rumours in the dorms."

"Ah." Glynda rolled her eyes. "I suppose you wouldn't know. Ozpin was always an eccentric but brilliant man. He was the type of person to keep a locked chest in his room, heavily enchanted, that when you finally broke into it, you would find it filled with candy – his lien instead hidden under the floorboards. He was always playing games like that, so I doubt he had anything special or worthwhile hidden in his tower."

Ruby caught the slip and quietly asked. "Was like that…?"

"Yes. I am afraid that old Ozpin is no longer with us."

The news hit her harder than she would have expected. He was an Arcanist, someone against her, and yet he never acted like it. Always smiling, laughing and willing to talk to a simple Initiate. "Oh," Ruby breathed, voice cracking just a little. "Oh…"

"I know." Glynda said. "It's painful for myself as well. I'll have to ask you to keep this to yourself until we are ready to announce it. Ozpin attended the Founding Festival with me – it's more a ceremonial arrangement than anything, we were good friends even before he became Grand Arcanist. He excused himself halfway through the night saying someone had tripped a ward in his office. I offered to go with him, but he was adamant I enjoy the evening." Lady Goodwitch paused for a long moment before saying, "That was the last time I saw him alive."

"What is… What's going to happen now?"

"Now, the Collegium needs to decide who the next Grand Arcanist shall be. That's not something you need concern yourself with."

"Will it be you?" Ruby asked.

"I have removed myself from contention. I have enough responsibilities already and there might be suggestions of favouritism if the woman he attended the festival with took his place. Or suggestions I orchestrated his death. As I said, you are one of the few free from all suspicion. Even I am a suspect."

There were going to be a lot of changes. She wasn't sure if she was happy to hear Glynda wouldn't be Grand Arcanist or not. It might be someone worse – and whomever it was, she was sure she wouldn't recognise them. Then again, she didn't need to have a lot to do with the Grand Arcanist in the first place.

As horrible as it sounded, the distraction might even help her. If people were focused on finding his killer, they might ignore her trying to slip out to see Yang.

Wait, why is she telling me all of this? I'm just some random Initiate…

"Is there something the White wants me to do?"

"Officially, no. Innocent as you may be, you're still an Initiate and we can't place any real responsibility on your shoulders just yet."

"And unofficially?"

"You mentioned in your interview that you believed someone from Menagerie might be responsible for this. You and Lord Merlot also saw an individual we now believe to have come from the Shadow Arcana in the forests outside the city farmlands. Last night, there was an attack on said farmland by Grimm."

Ruby gasped. "Did they breach the walls?"

"No. They didn't even try, or they were dealt with before they could. Grimm do not possess anything in the way of intellect and are easily distracted by prey. I hope you understand you would not normally be privy to this information, but since you have dealt with the Grimm before and witnessed the Shadow Arcanist with your mentor, it's pointless to keep it a secret. We believe that individual to be responsible for the murder of Grand Arcanist Ozpin."

The Shadow Arcana. Blake probably would have disagreed with Glynda on that one, even if the Shadow Arcana did seem to be uniquely suited for sneaking into another Collegium. "What about the Huntsmen? Wouldn't they have seen through any invisibility?"

"They would have if they were not also attending the Festival and guarding key points. Ozpin never saw the need to guard his tower as he didn't keep anything of value there."

"The bells," Ruby blurted out. "They went off."

"Indeed, and well noticed. We believe the Shadow Arcanist might be working alongside a Wildmage, either one he aided in escaping from Menagerie's Sanctum, or one with a grudge against the Collegiums in general."

More blame for the Wildmages. Ruby gritted her teeth. "How do you know?"

"How else would the Grimm have been herded to Menagerie in such numbers? They are mindless beasts as you have seen. They cannot be led or controlled, but they can be lured into position. Merlot has likely already told you his theory that they hunt magic, and that Wildmages are particularly attractive to them. It wouldn't be hard for a Wildmage in control of their power to draw Grimm intentionally to a position, bringing more and more to the edge of a city over weeks and weeks, before unleashing them on the unwitting populace. All he would need do is buckle the walls and lure them inside – and the rest would take care of itself. The Grimm would rampage through the city, drawn inexorably toward the Collegium, slaughtering all in their path."

That was just a theory! There was no way to prove any of that and there had to be other reasons the Grimm appeared. There had to be. Besides, what Arcanist would work alongside a Wildmage to attack their own Collegium? It didn't make sense. The White just wants to blame everything on Wildmages. Even if this was an accident, they'd still use it to push their own story. It's how they work.

It was just as possible an Arcanist had done all of that. Grimm also hunted Arcanists, so a single person or a team working together could have lured the Grimm in. They'd have also had a much easier time sneaking in and out the city if they had Arcanum, and they could avoid suspicion by blaming it on a Wildmage. No one had offered any proof that a Wildmage was involved other than the fact the bells went off, but even that could be faked. The person responsible could have rung the bells themselves.

"It doesn't matter what you believe or don't," Glynda said. "The reason you are being informed is because you have enough pieces to put the conclusion together yourself, and I would rather you not come to the wrong one. What happened to Menagerie will not happen to Vale. That, I will personally ensure."

"R-Right. Good."

"Additionally, Lord Merlot has been called on to look deeper into the Grimm. This was decided before Ozpin died, and I've pushed for his decision to remain in effect. As he is your mentor, I expect he will involve you in his research and would have learned this from him anyway. It would have been next to impossible to conceal Ozpin's death from you if you're working alongside Merlot."

"Are we going out into the Outskirts again?"

"You might be. Rest assured that with the danger now readily apparent, you will not be going alone. More resources will be placed in Lord Merlot's hands, allowing for huntsman retinues and Crimson Arcanists to be called on for assistance. You shall be safe. Or as safe as you can be."

All of this was only because she happened to be working with Merlot, then. It was a relief to know that as opposed to Goodwitch having specific plans for her. She probably wanted to tell me herself to make sure Merlot doesn't skip over any info or not make the White sound impressive enough.

"Is that all you wanted me to know?" she asked.

"That is all. Again, keep the news of Ozpin to yourself. We are hoping that by portraying him as still alive, we might draw out those responsible for a second attempt on his life. Work with Lord Merlot. Listen to him. The more we understand about the Grimm, the better our odds of enduring them. And rest assured, we shall not be idle during this time. We will prepare for a possible attack on the city and continue our incursions into the forests to cull the Grimm population. We have measures in store to defend the city. Things that Menagerie did not have."

Good. If they could get rid of them all before they could gather, then the people down below would be that much safer. I'll work with the White for now. Keeping Yang and everyone else safe is important.

"I'll do as you say, Lady Goodwitch."

"I trust you will, Initiate. The Collegium of Vale is your home now. We shall all of us work together to defend it."

/-/

"What did she say?"

"I can't tell you."

To say Weiss was frustrated by the news would be an understatement. Her roommate begged and wheedled, acting almost uncharacteristic in her need to know. The gossip must have been getting to her. Ruby decided to throw her something.

"I know the truth serum wasn't real. It was just vegetables and fruit."

"What!?" Weiss leaned in, equal parts offended and curious. "What do you mean?"

"It was a trick to see if anyone would refuse to take it or panic and beg for the antidote. Goodwitch – sorry, Lady Goodwitch – said that truth isn't something you can determine with magic."

"That's… I don't know whether that's horribly cruel or ingeniously clever. Did she say anything about the Grand Arcanist? There's all sorts of rumours. I heard someone say they saw him admitted to the Emerald Arcana and he's locked in a room covered in magical glyphs and guarded by a hundred Crimson Arcanists."

He wasn't. Ruby winced.

"I don't know if he's there or not." His body might be. "I'm being called out to work more with Merlot, though. We're going to head outside the Collegium walls again."

"Lucky you. And I'll be stuck inside." Weiss sighed. "What does this mean for us taking the rites? Are we putting that on hold?"

"No. I still want us to take them." If anything, this made the timing better because everyone had so much more to focus on than a couple of Initiates taking the rites early. The real problem was getting permission to with the White having much bigger things to focus on. "Let me just talk to Merlot first and figure out when I'll be out."

"Hm. Alright…"

Something about the way she said that made Ruby pause. "What's wrong?"

"It just feels like you know more than you're telling me. And I know you probably can't tell me, but it just feels… forget it." Weiss shook her head. "It just feels like you're moving so much faster than me. We joined together and you were the first to become an Initiate, the first to be mentored, the first to be personally requested by Lady Goodwitch and now you're in private meetings with her and being let outside the Collegium. I guess… I guess I feel like I'm being left behind."

Ruby didn't know what to say. All of that was true and she did know more than Weiss did. "I'm not allowed to tell you. I was only told because Merlot knows and Goodwitch figured I'd hear it being around him."

"I know. I know. Like I said, ignore it. I'm just jeal- envious."

Ruby slid up to sit on Weiss' bed and place an arm around her shoulders. Weiss didn't push her away. "We'll become Arcanists together soon. Then we'll both be the youngest in a while to have done it."

"I guess…"

"No guessing. I guarantee it!" Grinning, she hugged Weiss close. "Best friends forever. Arcanist partners. You and me against the world." Against her will, a small smile slid over Weiss' face. Ruby didn't let it fall. "And maybe we'll get our own apprentices in time, and you can tell me off for teaching mine bad habits."

"I'll have to, won't I? You'll only corrupt them."

/-/

"You were right," Yang said the next morning. Blake looked up from her stool where she'd been busy sharpening her sword. It had grown rusty from lack of use, but if the Grimm were close then she wanted it prepared. For what little good it would do.

"About what?"

"It's all over the local grapevine that animals attacked one of the farms last night. I heard from Mac that the guard saw wolves running away. Bullshit. Hannar himself said they saw nothing."

"The Collegium works quickly," Blake said. "Or maybe it's just the gossip in this case."

"Just as like. Someone in the tavern said they were they and saw the whole thing. I nearly knocked his block off."

"You didn't say anything…"

"No. Not like I want to draw the Arcanists down here, is it?"

Good. They might not come looking for one random Dredger to silence, but Blake wouldn't put it past them to wan to question any legitimate witnesses. The Huntsmen were still around even if Ruby hadn't surged in the slums for a while. They know I'm here. The one I hit to save Ruby must have reported it. Either that or they suspect the Wildmage is still hiding here.

"What are we going to do?" Yang asked. "I mean, I assume you're not gonna let us just sit here and do nothing. Are we going back out there?"

"Do you want to? You almost lost your bowels the last time."

"You almost lost your damn head!" the blonde snapped back. "And you didn't tell me they could eat and use magic against us!"

"I didn't know."

"How did you not? They invaded your home!"

"Because everyone who fought them died!" Blake almost roared. It sent Yang stumbling back, eyes wide. "Because I was too busy running for my life like a damned coward! Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear? I survived because I ran, Yang. I ran and I ran and I ran!" Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she slammed her sword down flat on the table. "And now I'm here, trying to make up for that and stop it happening again. And yes, I'm doing a poor job of it and I've put you and your sister in danger as a result. I'm sorry. I was too much a coward to go up to the Collegium myself and deal with this."

Silence reigned. Yang groaned. "Shit. Look, I'm sorry-"

"No. It's… I deserve this. If I'd been stronger, braver, then you and Ruby would have never been involved. I'll make up for it, I promise." Blake picked up her sword again, looking at her reflection in the metal. "We'll go back out there. Not far. If they're so close they're attacking the farms, then we won't need to. The Collegium wants to keep this quiet to avoid panic and that's all well and good, but people are going to die. Have died. The city needs to know so it can prepare. Secrecy won't serve anyone."

"Fucking hell. Then we're looking for proof. How can we when they disappear on death?"

"We show people something they can't ignore. We show them the Grimm. Then, the Collegium will have to do something. The people will demand it."

That wouldn't move the Collegium, but it would stir the people up, and that would translate up the chain. Eventually, the royal family would be forced to step in and ask questions – and that was something the Collegium couldn't ignore.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to, Yang. This isn't your battle."

"Tch. This is my home. Let's do this."

Back into the doctors tomorrow about my eye

Next Chapter: 29th November

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