Chapter Twenty-Seven - Three Rebellions

She sniffled and then feebly tried to kick the locker door again, but it was solid steel. The Academy of Dawn didn’t cheap out with its construction and the little energy she could put into a kick did very little to even so much as budge the door. 

This was, of course, Princess Marcia’s fault. Well, her and her attached group of cronies, but mostly it was the Princess’ fault. She had caught Eleanor leaving one of her classes and then dragged her here.

Here happened to be the locker rooms of the equestrian club. The space smelled like sweat and old boot leather. She knew that the club met every morning... so maybe someone would let her out then?

She really, desperately hoped that it wouldn’t take so long. Eleanor was bruised already from being dragged around and... well, a night in a locker was a bit much, wasn’t it? 

Not that she could report it. The staff turned a blind eye to whatever Princess Marcia did. 

She sighed. With nothing better to do, she focused on her magic. She had been cramming hard to keep up. One of the problems with the Academy of Dawn was the sheer level of skill on display. So many of the students here were attending thanks to some of the Aerie’s fantastic scholarships. Those were the best their small towns and cities could offer.

The other half of the student body were the nobility and the children of Titled and other powerful individuals. Within those circles there was a less scholarly sort of rivalry.

She had no chance of standing out amongst the nobles, so her best bet was learning lots and being a good scholar only... it was hard. Magic was complicated. She didn’t let that stop her, of course. She studied all night sometimes, and went to sleep with her head splitting.

Even now, stuck in a locker, she experimented. Right now, they were learning about the [Light] spell, not because it was complex, but rather the opposite. It had much to teach someone who actually studied how the simple spell functioned, and it served as a good starting point for underlying theory. 

One didn’t learn how to write by writing the most complex word that had the most exceptions in it. One started small and simple, sounding letters out one at a time. 

She cast [Light], feeling the dip in her reserves, then she summoned her Grimoire. It was one of those strange items not stored in her inventory, and therefore the fact that she had no Strength didn’t matter so much. 

She used her [Light] to read the pages in her grimoire dedicated to the spell. She kinda appreciated the irony.

Then the door to her locker opened and she spilled out with an eep.

“Oooo,” she complained.

“”That’s the sound an owl makes,” A familiar but not unappreciated voice said. “And here I thought you were more of a goat-kin.”

She looked up, then away with a blush as her gaze from so near the ground was leading to somewhere indecent.

Above her was Pepper Dawntreader, with her arms crossed. “I overheard some of the princess’ lackeys talking. Figured I ought to rescue you, again.”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered.

“Uh-huh. Just... get back to the dorms. At least you don’t stink this time.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

Pepper sighed. “You really need some help.”

Eleanor picked herself up, dismissing her grimoire as she did. She didn’t need Pepper seeing it... or her family’s crest on its cover. “Some help would be nice,” she said.

Then she recoiled as the system dinged at her in a way it never had before. 

Congratulations!

You have inherited the Throne of Lithos

You have gained control over the following cities:

N/A

You have gained control over the following estates:

Ruins of the Hellisdalr

The following persons loyal to your cause have moved to assist:

Rosario Thorn - The Faithful Maid - The Black Apron Archmage - The Guardian Sword of Hellisdarl - Level 661

Assistance is coming.

“Oooooo!”

“Now what?” Pepper asked. “Eleanor? Eleanor, why are you still ooo-ing?”

“Oooooo!”

***

Things had gone...

Well, they’d gone. 

Penny took a deep breath and tried to still her heart. She hadn’t even been directly in the combat, mostly she’d been helping along the edges, distracting people, informing others, relaying orders and giving out her own.

The rebellion’s chain of command was... vague. Some of that was by necessity, of course, but... she might have been exploiting the fact for her own gain as well. That was fine. The day had been won. They had lost three members. More had been injured. Four guards were dead. More injured. Two young nobles were dead. More were injured.

It was a bigger blow than any they had achieved so far, and yet a lot of the day had been bungled and messed up and with just a bit more organization behind them, they would have been far, far more successful.

Still, they had gotten away with it, at least for now.

She expected Aerie to react. They’d send in more guards, maybe more of those [Aerie Royal Guardsmen]. One of those had taken out two of theirs and injured a few more before they retreated. A third tier with a specialized job was nothing to sneeze at, and wasn’t something they could face just yet.

There were a few adventurers in the rebellion, and with more money coming in from donations and some of their more clandestine operations, they were able to recruit more and bankroll the training of more, but a proper fighting force was a ways away.

Her job in all of this, the thing only she could do, was to help the non-fighters. She had turned a few level 15 [Farmboys] into [Mages] and some [Milk Maids] into [Fighter]s. The deception helped. It kept their members safe and confused their foes. Too many people, she realized, expected to know who anyone else was from a simple [Inspect].

She knew for a fact that most people couldn’t keep track of names at all. They relied on the text above other’s heads. 

When someone like her came around... well, that changed things a little. 

They needed more actual heavy-hitters.

She hissed under her breath as she recalled that one [Scullery Maid]. She wasn’t sure if the woman was an [Assassin] like her old man thought, but she was strong. Now, someone like that could come in handy. Maybe now that they had a victory under their belt she could go visit her and play nice, use her charm on her a little? She had all that Charisma for a reason, right? It wouldn’t hurt to--

The door into the barn she was hiding in burst open. It was Jake, a level 28 [Trash Remover], and he was sweaty and red faced.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she stood. Her hand was already reaching for the knife at her hip.

“The Castle’s on fire,” he said with a gasp.

She blinked. The Castle? There was only one castle that could be, The Castle, in the centre of Alpta. There had been a guard from the castle with the people they ambushed today. Or at least, as part of the counter ambush they had counter ambushed. 

“What do you mean?” she asked.

An ally? Or a spilled candle, maybe? It happened sometimes, though the city kept a few current and former [Firefighters] on the payroll, just in case. A holdover from the way the Demon Lord used to do things. 

He shook his head. “You have to see. The castle’s... it’s fire.”

“I know what fire is,” she snapped. Still, she followed him out of the barn, then she paused and looked up. The sky was overcast and grey. Strange. She expected mild weather all day, with few clouds. That’s what the predictors said, at least.

More strange was the orange glow in the sky. It wasn’t even midday yet, the sun couldn’t orange the sky like that.

Then she came around the barn.

She expected to see a few little plumes of smoke coming from the Castle, more than would be expected from the fires they and the rest of the city used on cooler days.

There was a pillar.

The barn was far off to the north, on the distant outskirts of the city. From there, the Castle was as large as her thumb set sideways at the end of her arm.

The pillar rose two handspans above the Castle, plunging up and into the sky, past the clouds where the end of it spun and frayed apart with likes of fire that burned off. The pillar was glowing so red and hot that it seared itself in her vision.

She found herself staring at it anyway.

It took a minute, maybe two, before she noticed that it was fading, growing weaker with every passing second. 

“What the hell,” she muttered.

***

Cricket stared at the fire. 

It was a pretty big fire.

Big big. Very hot.

Somehow, this was Rose’s fault. 

***