"I followed your letter."
Midas had a hard time being as relaxed as Jikith was, sitting in front of two pirates in some basement while every so often the wooden boards above their heads creaked with every step taken above - the youth felt tired out; relentlessly chasing one task after the other barely made room for him to rest. Jikith nudged Fuegir silently; his knuckles tapped against the side of his arm, making him slowly get up from the old stool to head upstairs - most likely to keep an eye on what happened inside the guild building.
"I already guessed that you wouldn't forget about the favor you owe us... Don't worry, though; what I need from you is relatively straightforward - at least if you don't get caught."
Signaling to come closer, Jikith eventually expanded an old paper scroll depicting the entirety of Montcanal from the same top-down view the sketch drawn in the letter had; however, now Midas was able to see seemingly every building that stood on each of the layers, instead of the small fraction of the city. Tapping his finger onto a circular building that sat on the second layer of the city - Jikith continued to explain the plan.
"This is the largest of the fiew prisons that the knighthood controlls - inside of it is a man you will have to get out of, if you manage to do so... you can bet that whatever you owe is made up for. Once he is free, we will have a much easier time actually making some progress - since this man easily handles a group of knights on his own."
"Is he that important...?"
"Definitely. Even with only his Null-Ability he poses a real threat - I don't know how he does it, but if you're around him, don't name any of your body parts... It might sound confusing at first, but it might save you a finger or two. You'll get inside by the water canal that is running beneath it; from there, you will have to make your way upwards onto the third floor - he is kept in one of the cages on that floor."
"You don't know in which cage that man is kept...?"
"It would be great if we knew, of course - but the only informant we had was some corrupt knight that was captured and executed only recently. Thanks to the Troi'Facon we have a much harder time actually getting through the defense of the knighthood, survalence had never been so strict in this city - plus, their gear here is of much greater quality than the few troups sent out to the plant kingdom or the eastern parts of this land..."
"I see, so that's why I am sent to reduce your losses."
Opening his mouth to reply, Jikith couldn't help but nod with a sharp grin - his amused expression eventually fading as the entrance above was quickly opened. Hearing the creak of the door, the cheerful chatter and dancing began to still completely, the eerie silence disrupted by only the steps of three people above - one of them approaching the bar keeper. Midas and Jikith silently tried to look through the slim cracks of the wooden floor above them. - Jikith seemed to be right; the knighthood was directly on their tail.
"Jahanem Iquis Is someone named like this present in this room?"
"Yes, that's my name."
Announcing through the dead silent guild building, Midas was able to hear the footsteps of the bar keeper - the two men besides the one that spoke, seemingly closing in on him. Anyone else that was currently present at the tables didnt seem to even dare breathe. The voice of the bald man was unchanged, as if he was silently accepting of what would happen - seemingly being treated the same as Jelle, who was forced out of her carriage on his way to the city without any particular reason.
"You are charged with possible involvement in pirate activity. If you resist arrest, any possible punishment will become harsher. Do you understand...?"
The tone of the knight right above them was loud and unhumanly clear; no hesitation was felt as the men beside him bound the hands of the barkeeper together behind his back. Staying silent, he simply walked out of the building with the set of knights - any adventurer that remained inside whispered amongst themselves, a fraction of them directly leaving the building after.
Midas took a breather once the three of them were eventually gone; if one of them decided to randomly look deeper around the building, they or Fuegir might've also been dragged away. Tightly folding his fingers into each other, the youth stared down onto the pebble floor - being captured here would most likely spell his end, either because of the fact that the son of the water kingdom commander that took Skye with him had a more direct reign over him - or because of what he had done at the plant kingdom festival.
"Jikith, we have to go."
"Here... take this so you have a place to stay in - if you actually manage to bail him out, I might give you more."
Midas was quickly on his feet, not even posessing a weapon to defend himself with other than the two mana stones in his posession - he reluctantly took the five copper coins from Jikith, making sure to quickly leave with him after. Able to escape out of the back of the building, the youth wandered through the tight alley that slithered between the backsides of the grouped buildings - tight and locked behind dark metal gates. Watching Fuegir lockpick the small gate, he and Jikith eventually split up on the wide street - forced to turn his back to him, as if he never knew him.
The youth walked away from the guild building with a sunken head. Midas tried his best not to be spotted as he wandered around to find some inn he could spend the night in - rain began to slowly trickle down as he made his way from one blue glowing lantern to the next until he eventually stared at a shop that seemed to be selling some sort of gear. Pressing his forehead against the display glass to look into the dark room, the youth was able to make out the rough shape of swords, lances, and even a sickle in the dark.
He now knew where he could find a weapon from, something he would definitely need if he planned to enroll at the Eau'Troi academy - since he most likely had to do some sort of physical exam or duel like he had done in Cascrender. However, with the spare five coins in his possession, Midas had to decide whether he should spend a night in the inn or invest in a weapon he would most likely have to make use of later.
Looking at the alley beside the store, the youth eventually clutched his teeth as he crouched down beside a wooden crate to sit on the cold, wet pebble floor. Bawling up, he silently forced himself to fall asleep as he decided that possessing a weapon is of greater value than actual rest - having to endure just a day more. His head sunk into his crossed arms as he hugged his legs to his chest, having not much cover in the alleyway as he felt his clothes dampen in the dim rain.
With heavy eyelids, Midas was eventually forced to awaken by a dry cough - the smell of urine forced itself into his nose as his eyes locked onto the empty glance of an old man, his clothes riddled with stains and barely fitting onto his slim limbs - he watched the youth over his shoulder as he peed against one of the walls of the alley. Stumbling slightly as he hastily made his way out of the alley, the youth rubbed his heavy eyes - with an aching back and the sun already peeking over the city wall, the youth made his way through the door of the weaponry shop.
"Hello... I'd like to buy this tool here."
Blankly staring at the shiny grey sickle in front of him, Midas didn't even bother looking at the perplexed expression of the shopkeeper; slowly undoing the weapon from its hinge, he silently stared at the youth as he examined the flawless steel.
"Two silver, please."
"Do you have any others that cost less...?"
Murmuring to the clearly concerned shopkeeper, the youth watched him drag a rusted version of the same tool out of a barrel beside his counter - different sticks and handles already peeking out of it as their dated blades clunked against each other once the sickle was taken out of it. Silently paying the price of two copper coins for it, Midas tightened his palm around the slightly loose wooden grip of the stained weapon - flaky texture of the muddy brown metal similar to his old sickle.
Nodding simply at the shopkeeper, Midas eventually left as fast as he entered the store - with a sickle to his name again and some spare coins left; he eventually made his way back to the academy gate. Yawning, the boy made his way between passing carriages and tight crowds that wandered on the broad streets of the city - his dark brown robe stuck out from the fine silk and white wool that was worn by many, also wearing the same type of light blue that was widespread among underwater kingdom folk.
Able to hear a distant belltower ring from behind the gate he stood in front of, Midas looked at the crowd of young people like him - cramming the entrance to finally be let inside. From the tumult, he was able to see knights making way for a group of noble children - like the worn-out leather he wore, their shining blonde hair and fine garments stood out from the average child that was pressed to the side by the row of knights parting a way towards the gate.
After them, another small crowd followed - instead of wearing light blue, they wore green, however - if a noblety was born in the plant kingdom or the water kingdom didnt make much of a difference to Midas anymore. Like Helm, they don't try to hide the fact that they benefit from the efforts of the lower classes, be they pirates or children originating from the desert. The knights guiding them inside didn't seem to care much who they shoved away - simply following orders as they were deaf to any insult or scoffing they received from the crowd.
Unlike the university he visited first, the separation between whoever was not of noble blood and who was seemed much broader apart - most likely to ensure their safety. Midas began to wonder if Haya or Javelin were among the many that were finally let through the gate; he didn't know much about what he had to do in order to secure his seat - the only thing he was ensured of was the fact that the theoretical exam was skipped due to Avalon's connection with the academy head.
The age of the children surrounding him varied; some of them seemed older than him - one of them at least two heads taller, even though Midas's height was roughly the average of a boy born roughly thirteen Trestempos ago. Behind the gate was the large academy building, four large sections that were connected with walkways on what seemed to be the first and third floors - each compartment having five. Attendees were sprinkled around the large grass field that was still wet from the rain of last night - finally able to catch his breath, Midas looked around himself, having managed to squeeze through the gate.
Watching as the broad walkway that stretched from the gate directly to the entrance of the main building began to flood with more attendees, Midas was eventually able to notice a handful of students in blue uniforms guiding the lost attendees towards a lengthy building to the left of the main building; his eyes widened as he managed to see Ivyda amongst the others. Not thinking much about it, he made his way towards her as she watched one of their group instruct another attendee with a bored expression.
"Ivyda...?"
Half-mindedly fiddling with the hem of her beige scarf she wore around her neck, Ivy's bored eyes widened almost shockingly as she saw who stood in front of her; stilling her fingers, she looked down onto him, blinking twice.
"Midas...? You didn't lie about the whole sandstorm thing, huh...? The sun definitely darkened your skin..."
"I had to walk on my way back - more importantly, you seem to know where I have to go if I want a seat at this academy."
"Well, you definitely have one guaranteed... thanks to whoever Avalon contacted. Unfortunately for you however, there is still a physical exam you have to attend. There is an arena designated for that in this building here. We all had to go through it, oh... and pray your opponent is not backed by the Troi'Facon, or anyone of noble decent."
"Wouldn't be much surprised if they used mana stones like the general's son..."
"Oh, they do - funnily enough, the same guy you seem to have already encountered in that Fort was promoted to be the head general... but I'm sure he will be occupied with whoever was involved in stealing the Nor'Luft powder."
"Good to know... I'm sure we will see each other after the exam."
"No worries - me and the others will gladly watch you... at least get beat up a bit if you get to skip the theoretical exams."
"Really motivating."
Being guided by Ivyda, Midas approached the entrance of the building - an arch built into the stone foundation of what turned out to be a oval building, in the midst of it was perfectly even ground to fight on, similair to the ancient colloseum. People sat on the seats that surrounded the dusty field - sitting on the upper floor made of wood that was built atop the dated foundation, allowing whoever sat there to look down on whoever was fighting. Walking towards what seemed to be a waiting room, he could see a broadly grinning blonde boy shaking his fist in the air, his opponent lying still on the ground.
Ivyda eventually parted from him; the room had a few benches - all of them already filled with people that seemed to originate from different parts of this continent, one of them clutching an axe that reminded him of Uteli. Eventually seeing a knight enter, Midas's eyes lit up surprisingly as he was pointed to - hearing one of the many other attendees groan behind him as he was guided onto the sandy field.