The Currents of Magic

Chapter Twenty-Nine

They walked back to the dormitories in near silence. Cade mused aloud as to how Moon had known about their encounter with the unliving, and Ander reminded them to be thankful that Moon had not turned them over to Jebb for punishment, but Meyer merely shook his head and shrugged absentmindedly. The first lesson of the day had already begun, yet as they approached the dormitories, they seemed to silently agree that there was no reason to attend its second half.

Ander, Cade, and Damian settled in the empty common room, and Meyer followed stiffly after them. The meeting with Moon had calmed his emotions, but it had also heightening his sense of purpose. The lord had told them nothing important, but his latest vision from the ring was running through his mind unrelentingly. The man in armor had mentioned Raiders—Meyer shuddered to think that Eschera could be attacking towns in the Outlands—but so much was going on, he needed to think clearly...

"Well, I can't believe it," said Ander. "A war going on, and we wouldn't even know it—sorry I doubted you, Cade."

Cade shrugged. "Now we know the truth..." he said slowly.

Ander nodded.

"I feel as though I should be scared," continued Cade. "I just feel empty."

"We have to trust Moon," said Ander. "It's not worth being worried—and there's nothing we can do anyway."

"We can talk with Ollie," said Cade. "Stay updated on anything that happens outside the Dale..."

But as Cade trailed off Meyer stopped listening. His friends were clinging to what they wanted to believe. Meyer felt a panic rising in his chest again. Eschera could be attacking towns in the Outlands. Images of black hordes approaching the walls of Vanroc flashed through his mind—bloated asphyxiated heads, rolling over the ground...

Meyer stood up, snatching the ring from his pocket. He had wasted enough time already. He needed to use the ring while he still had the opportunity... before Moon noticed it was missing...

"Meyer!"

Cade spoke so loudly that for a moment Meyer turned his attention away from the ring.

"What are you doing with the ring?" he continued.

Ander groaned. "I thought you put it back before Moon entered his office," he said. "This is going to be bad."

"Eschera could be attacking the—" but Meyer never finished his sentence. He had just noticed a discarded book on the ground titled Geography of Ilith: Magical and Physical, and suddenly he knew why the Darnac Stronghold sounded familiar.

"Wait here," he said, dashing from the room.

The rest of the way to Scholar's Hall was a blur. The paths were mostly empty, the tempests all in their first lesson, and when Meyer turned onto Old Path, he broke into a full sprint. As he pushed open the doors to Scholar's Hall, his arm scraped against the wooden portal, reopening the cuts on his elbow, but he took no notice. He leapt up the wide staircase towards the second floor, turning into a large room filled with atlases and maps. He scanned the rows of scrolls and books, almost surprised when on the second shelf he searched he laid eyes upon a large volume titled Outland Maps. He grabbed the thick leather book and rushed back towards the dormitories. When he arrived back at the third floor, the common room was no longer empty, other tempests having returned from their morning lessons.

Ander, Cade and Damian rose as Meyer entered.

"My room," he said, and turned back into the hallway. By the time Ander, Cade and Damian had shuffled into his room, Meyer had already found the page he was looking for, the book titled Outland Maps splayed open on his bed.