"NO!" The scream came from within the room. It was full of anguish, and Noble could feel Flint's emotions spike.
Immediately, the floating Master pushed in the door, unsheathing her Zenith as she did.
"Flint!" she cried as the others filed in behind her, ready for battle. "What in..."
Noble couldn't even finish her sentence. Her confusion was profound.
A checkered board was flying through the air, with pieces going in every direction.
"You cheated!" Flint cried at the top of his lungs. His face was red with frustration. He turned to his newly arrived companions while pointing his finger at the man in the other chair. "HE CHEATED!"
"Cheated?" Roan glanced around the room. He picked up a dark colored piece that had clattered by his feet. "Master Flint...are you serious?"
"What is going on?" Noble could tell by the cohort leader's judgmental tone that she had missed something.
Roan tossed her the piece. She stopped it in mid-air and let it hover in front of her face. The stone figure reminded her of chess, though this piece was more grotesque than any set Noble had ever seen.
"It's the Death Game," Helie explained. "It is played here among certain classes of people."
She added the second part cryptically to avoid Drusus's confusion, but Noble knew what she meant. As a professor, Noble had seen Legacy students play it to pass the time, but she had never stopped long enough to look closely or learn the rules.
"I see," Noble quietly lifted all the pieces from the ground and put them back on the table between the two men.
"That explains the what, but not the why?" Roan placed his hands on his hips. "Did you really think it was a good idea to wander off and play a game in an enchanted palace..."
'With a relative stranger?' Noble filled in the part that Roan had left unsaid. The pair had saved the man's life, but they knew very little about him or his capabilities.
"You worry too much," Flint seemed to have recovered from his anger. "I made sure the game was mundane before we started. What are you worried about? That we might get sucked into an alternate dimension and have to fight those monsters for real?"
"Stranger things have happened," Aether seemed unwilling to elaborate. "We were worried."
"I was bored. Did you expect me to sit and crochet all afternoon?" The man crossed his arms.
"We had no delusion that you sat idle all afternoon," Noble tilted her head meaningfully.
"Indeed not," Flint allowed a mischievous smile. "Anyway, when you sent me to babysit…I mean, watch after Dru here, I tried to find something for us to do."
"So you went exploring and found this game?" Helie raised an eyebrow contemplatively.
Of all the strange things Flint could have done, this wasn't really on her list.
"I went through this part of the palace last time we explored, so I knew this was here, and Dru was willing to play." Flint shrugged. "If he hadn't cheated, we might have had a nice time!"
"That scream of yours really had us going," Noble forced a smile. "I am glad to see you are well."
The surly Master glanced between his companions, his harsh eyebrows relaxing. "You were actually worried about me? I'm a little touched. Not enough to go braiding each other's hair or anything, but it's nice to know I am not forgettable."
"It is good to see you back to your more usual self," Aether's stoic dip of his head hid his immense relief.
"I am always myself, just different moods of it," Flint tilted up his chin. "And if you are saying that calling someone a cheater when he clearly made an illegal move is not polite, then I may as well quit this Nightmare here and now."
"We weren't saying that," Noble held up her hands.
"In my defense," Drusus spoke for the first time. The clarity in his voice was a far cry from the wide-eyed person she had left there earlier that afternoon. "I did not cheat. I asked if we could play by palace rules."
"And that rule says you can jump four spaces without warning?" Flint glared at the soldier.
"With that piece? Yes. Did you really not know?" Drusus's mouth twisted in confusion, further exasperating his opponent.
"How in the world would I have known that when I have never heard that rule in my life? It's not like I am from around here or know anything about this time period!" Flint resisted the urge to throw the game a second time.
"Uh, Flint..." Noble felt Drusus's emotions become unstable.
"What do you mean?" The soldier pushed back his chair as he stood.
Flint pressed his lips together. Perhaps he really did have foot-in-mouth syndrome.
"I uh...only mean that I spent a lot of time far away. That is where I met Bel the first time. And I'm so very old that I feel like I am from a different time period. I cannot keep up with you young people and your newfangled rules." Flint rubbed the small of his back.
"Newfangled?" Noble suppressed a smile.
Flint grunted. "Yes, and I stand by it. It's a word from the dark times, and I think it applies here."
"Dark Times?" Drusus seemed agitated again.
"It's a term from Bel's world. Don't mind it too much, Dru." Flint ran his finger across the scar over his right eye nervously.
Noble sent calm to the soldier, and he seemed to settle slightly. He looked at her with a bit of confusion about what had just occurred.
Child of Promise coughed. "Uh, Drusus, now that you are well enough to go help outside, might we have a moment with Flint?"
"Of course, My Lady," the soldier bowed, and without asking for directions, he headed out of the room.
The five Masters were left alone. Flint gave the game a final glance.
"Palace rules...how pointless..."
"I am surprised you and Drusus became friends after you were so adamant that something was wrong with him." Roan shut the door before speaking.
Flint shrugged, "Oh, there is something very wrong with him. The game was just a test."
"I don't understand." Noble took another look at the checkered board.
"Games have a way of making people talk. And you know what I found? Other than being a cheater, that kid is crazier than our two Saints. I mentioned that girl of his, the one who died, and you know what? He didn't even blink. No reaction whatsoever." Flint snorted.
"Nothing?" Noble found that hard to believe. The man had felt deeply for Livia to the point of not wanting to live without her.
"Not even a watery eye. So either he didn't really care for her in the first place, or something happened to his memories." Flint squinted as he continued. "And then there is the matter of his back. He somewhat unwittingly let me examine him..."
"Unwittingly?" Helie narrowed her gaze.
"I told him he had a spot on his tunic and offered to help him get it out. The man was too dazed to do anything but comply. That's not what is important. I touched his arm, and I couldn't find the injury on his back. Usually, even when I heal something, I can find the spot again for a while after it is made whole. The same goes for natural healing." Flint explained.
He pointed to his own back as he continued.
"But that guy? It was like he never had anything happen to him in his whole life. He couldn't have suffered any injury like that and had no repercussions. It's almost like..." Flint paused.
"Like what?" Noble feared what he was going to say.
Flint lowered his voice as much as his Flaw would let him. "It's almost like...the injuries happened to someone else. It's like...it's like that isn't Drusus at all."