“Ah, some of my favorite students. Make sure to entertain me.”
The group exchanged worried glances.
The preparation room was the same. I glanced at the three exit doors with my attunement on. Two of them glowed with purple auras. Presumably the effect that would teleport us into the testing area.
“Same rules as last time,” Orden explained, leaning on a long dueling cane. “Any questions?”
Sera shook her head. “No, professor. I believe we’re clear.”
“Great. Who’s sitting out with me?”
We’d agreed on our plan the night before, but I still felt a little nervous.
Marissa spoke. “I’m starting outside.”
Orden raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re leaving your Guardian behind?” The teacher shook her head incredulously. “Well, whatever. Your funeral. Head to your doors, kids.”
I nodded, heading to the same door I’d taken last time. Patrick was with me — he’d be our muscle. Jin and Sera headed for the other door.
“Good luck,” Sera offered to us.
“Same,” I replied.
Professor Orden walked over to each group and handed a member of each team a return bell. “Don’t forget these.”
We accepted our return bells. I tucked mine away in my bag, turning toward the entrance door.
“Aaaaand...begin!”
I turned the door handle, swung the door wide—
—and appeared on a pedestal in the midst of a chamber filled with water.
Oh, resh.
We’re in the wrong room.
***
We’d talked about several different ways the test could go the previous night.
The test could have been identical to last time — same rooms, same configuration, same tricks.
We considered the possibility of a completely different test, too.
Or that the tests might outwardly look the same, but have subtle changes to trip us up.
We’d spent hours discussing ways to prepare for those more complex scenarios.
We’d never planned for the very simple idea of them swapping the entrance doors.
If we’d pre-planned for this scenario, it’d be trivial to just use the bells to switch rooms. But we don’t have any way to coordinate that now.
I really should have made an item to send messages.
I took a deep breath, scanning the room. It was bigger than the other chamber — but not by much. I could see several pedestals that were within jumping range, just as the others had described.
I could see the swirling of something moving within the water, too.
As much as the disruption was terrifying, the consistency with what the others had described to us was a comfort.
We hadn’t explicitly prepared for this, but we had shared information.
We knew what we were up against, and we could probably handle it.
But we did have a better solution.
I took the bell out of the bag. “Swapping for Mara. She’s been in here before.”
Patrick nodded. “Sorry if you’re bored out there.”
I shook my head. “No problem. Don’t get killed.”
I rang the return bell.
***
Sitting in the waiting room wasn’t exactly an epic adventure, but I felt like we’d taken the smart route, even if I didn’t get to contribute as much personally. Sometimes the success of the team was more important than my personal excitement.
Professor Orden was sitting in the waiting room. She raised an eyebrow at me as I appeared. “That was quick. Losing your nerve, Cadence?”
“Nothing like that. I wasn’t expecting you to switch the room configuration on us. Mara will be better at handling that room, since she’s been there before.”
Orden made a ‘hmm’ noise. “Perhaps.”
We sat in relative silence for the next few minutes. I was very tempted to ask what was happening with the Voice of the Tower, but this didn’t seem like the right place or time.
I was a little surprised when Jin appeared in the room, not far from where I’d teleported in.
What would have happened if we’d rung our bells one after another? Could people be teleported inside each other?
I shook my head, dismissing the disturbing thought.
Jin folded his arms at me. “Marissa was supposed to be in here.”
“We already swapped.”
“Hmpf. I was hoping to get Sera some real muscle. But I suppose you’ll have to do.”
I rolled my eyes at his teasing. “Your confidence in my abilities is overwhelming.” I stood up and headed to the exit door. “What should I know?”
“We handled the shadow monster.” Jin lifted up the monocle I made him. “Works.”
I blinked. I hadn’t expected invisibility detection to work on that shadow creature. Considering it could pass through walls, I figured it was some sort of plane shifting effect.
Not that I was complaining. I wanted to ask for more details, but Sera was waiting. “Anything else?”
“We opened the other door this time as planned. Might be even worse than the fire room — and it ate the key.”
Oh, perfect.
We’d been hoping that other room would be easier to handle than the fire statues. Apparently, we’d gambled poorly. “Details?”
“No imminent danger. Sera will show you what we’ve found.”
I nodded, waving to Jin and exiting the room.
I drew my sword before heading into Sera’s entrance. It never hurt to be prepared.
***
I felt my stomach lurch as I appeared in a familiar chamber.
The setup was similar to what I remembered — lit torches on the walls, a sealed container sitting in one corner, and a huge fountain in the center. The key had already been removed from the fountain.
There were only a couple differences from when I’d last left the room. One was the room that they’d chosen to open with the key, as Jin had already mentioned.
The second was Sera’s presence in the room — I hadn’t had her with me last time I’d gone in here. In fact, I’d never worked with her in any major test — we’d done some minor team activities in Teft’s class, but nothing of any significance.
She shot me a raised eyebrow when I appeared.
I shrugged in reply. “We already stole Marissa. I hope you’re not too disappointed. I could get a wig, maybe talk with a country accent?”