Annabelle’s Bastion

The person who texted Gregory’s phone didn’t seem to have any bad intent. Rather, it was likely to be the opposite. Aria overheard the way Gregory spoke to him, and there couldn’t be a positive relationship there.

But that didn’t matter.

Regardless of what he wanted—be it to thank her, offer her aid, or attempt to blackmail her—he was a witness to her actions. A loose end that could spell her doom with just a word. But it was harder than it should have been to decide that.

She was already waiting in the cafeteria, there before him. Her plate of food was in front of her, and she ate it slowly as she waited for classes to end.

The stares directed at her in this silent building made it hard for her to focus on eating, so she instead thought about her plans.

What should she do?

Gromak said it was entirely her decision, but if she were to get caught, he would not be able to do anything. He could give her an alibi, but he’d act like an idiot if she got caught anyway. In other words… he’d pretend Aria betrayed his trust.

His only advice was that she shouldn’t go on a murder spree so easily.

Aria wasn’t a mindless killer, of course—that was where her dilemma was born.

Regardless of the man’s identity, he was part of Gregory’s group—complicit. Just for the part he likely played, he could die.

Perhaps that was why he texted her, actually. He knew Aria had the phone, which pretty much gave her a list of all the people she could target. Her actions could easily be misunderstood.

But then, why not report her?

Soon, students began to filter into the cafeteria. Chattering flooded her ears as tables filled around her, most pointedly ignoring her table. Even though the dorms had their own cafeterias, most students learned that the public ones served better food.

Aria agreed, but Gromak was kind enough to cook for her when he made his food.

She stood, leaving her plate unfinished and watching the crowd.

Unfortunately, she didn’t recognize who it was. He was saved as Scott in Gregory’s phone, but that didn’t help her recall if he was present during the expedition or the ambush.

He would have to approach her first…

At least, that’s what she initially thought.

But it was soon quite clear who it was, as an average-height man with messy brown hair, brown eyes, and rectangular glasses looked horrified to see her standing in the spot he pointed out. He looked like he hadn’t slept since texting her about the meeting.

She almost moved to him, but that would probably scare him away.

Eventually, he worked up the courage to approach.

“Y-you’re… actually here.” He spoke like a frightened lamb, barely above a whisper and cautiously. It was the tone of someone testing for temperament.

“Yes—let’s go,” Aria said and immediately started moving toward the island’s edge—a familiar place, one she went to with Annabelle on their first day.

She ignored the man as she walked, memories returning from that day.

How were those students doing? Aria hadn’t seen or spoken to them after that interaction, even when Annabelle was there.

Scott followed far behind… but he still followed. Aria had no fear of an ambush or attack; her senses were too good for that, and she could beat any student.

Once near the edge, she stopped.

She found the rock Annabelle sat on when they discussed mana control with those students.

It took some effort to tear her eyes off of that spot. But she had to, lest the nostalgia consume her like it usually did in this area.

This was her favorite spot. Empty, tranquil, and she could see the distant blue of the harsh ocean. She had come here many times during the last six months.

The pleasant wind hitting her ears and the ocean waves crashing into the rocks below were beautiful sounds.

It made calmed her.

Soon after, Scott approached her.

“So… I, uh—”

“Why did you call out to me?” Aria interrupted, turning toward him.

He flinched and took a step back in fear. “I— I heard…  heard all of it.”

Were phones that clear? Gregory didn’t scream, and she didn’t have to cause him enough harm to make him since he was a cowardly man. That was good, too; while the dorm rooms were built for as much secrecy as possible, she wasn’t sure how well they worked.

Gromak claimed they could fight a war in them and that Dwarven engineering was a million times better than humans.

“And?” Aria questioned.

“You’re—” He stopped and took a deep breath. “You’re going after all of the— us, right?”

No.

She didn’t have that kind of time, and with that many people, she was sure to make some kind of trackable error. Three would be fine. Well, he could be the third.

“Yes.”

He seemed shocked she’d say it so simply.

“I— I knew… I knew you’d see my n-name… in his phone.” He quickly shook his head. “But I had nothing to do with attacking you! I… I just give him people. I j-just wanted… to clear this up. Please... Please believe me!”

Was that really it? Impossible.

“Did you call me out here for that?” She lightly shook her head. “You could have gone to a teacher and reported what you heard me do—you know that.”

Better yet, why not just pretend he didn’t hear anything? While he didn’t seem like he was one to report her—given his association—anything was possible if the reward was lucrative enough… or the threat violent enough. A mix of both was likely how he was kept in line.

“N-no! I… I think he deserved to d— … die.” He kept rapidly shaking his head. “He was… not a good person.”

That was one of the most childish, naïve lines Aria had ever heard.

“Neither am I.”

He rapidly shook his head. “Not like that! He… he,” Scott’s fists clenched as he looked at the ground and spat through gritted teeth, “He… murdered my friend… you asked him about it, right? During the last expedition. I… don’t think he even knew.”

The man he was rumored to kill to get his Flamelash Sigil. Gregory confirmed it, but Aria didn’t care much for that.

“That’s it? You did this hoping I would let you go with that?”

“Of course not!” he quickly shouted, raising his hands.

“Then, speak.”

She still hadn’t decided if he needed to die here. Story aside, it was more than just a little risky to have someone like him around.

But could she really kill someone like this? He would probably get on his knees and beg for his life if Aria just materialized her ring. She didn’t know.

What would Annabelle do?

Actually, that answer was obvious.

He swallowed nervously. “I’ll help you,” he barely spoke above a whisper.

Of course.

“I don’t need help.”

“Information! I know who gave Ashton the Sigils!” He quickly added. Seeing Aria’s lack of response, he continued, “I… I was there when Ashton promised them to Greg… and I overheard him mention the name after!”

Aria lightly scoffed.

Ashton wasn’t that stupid; a man that careful wouldn’t make such a foolish mistake.

But Scott didn’t seem like he was lying; his desperation and fear were palpable. He had to know that if Aria detected falsehood, she’d just kill him there. It was risky, but there shouldn’t be patrols nearby yet.

Scott looked like he was eagerly waiting for her words, both with fear and expectation.

“Tell me the name.”

“B-but—”

“If I wanted you dead, you would be in the ocean by now.”

Truly, she felt little desire to kill the cowardly man before her. The only thing on her mind at that point was the principal of it—the risk of letting him live.

Yet, when she thought of just killing him to end her problems, all she could think of was how Annabelle would react when she found out.

“S-shadow.”

Exactly as useful as she expected it to be.

“Shadow?”

“It’s a nickname!” He hastily explained, raising his hands again as though he wanted to stop her from slicing him down. “That’s… what Ashton knows him by… not his real name.”

Obviously. 

“That doesn’t help me in the slightest.”

She hadn’t heard the name before, and it seemed like it would be an extremely common moniker for someone to use. In fact, that name was likely given by Ashton on purpose to test the loyalty of his people.

“I… know… I think I know his meeting spot—their meeting spot.”

“What?”

He eagerly nodded. Her shock clearly gave him some confidence, and he finally lifted his head… only to avoid meeting her eyes. “I didn’t follow him or anything, but I pieced it together myself!”

“Tell me, and I won’t harm you for as long as you keep silent.”

Still, Aria didn’t expect much.

“Of course!” He worked up some courage and looked into her eyes. “B-but… w-what could you do? N-no disrespect! But… this is a teacher - a real Bastion mage… Actually, he’s why I didn’t try to get away or tell anyone! What good can that do with an ability like his?”

Ability? How could he possibly know the power of a man he only heard the name of?

“Speak. And explain why you believe so.”

“Okay… okay, fine.” He took a deep breath, a futile attempt to calm himself. “Ashton and I… we share a Dungeon Knowledge class. But he always skips! Yet… yet he somehow has the highest grade in the class. He… probably… he probably studies on his own, but I suspected foul play. We share a dorm, too. And I usually hang out all day on the first floor… r-reading… One day, I saw him leave... but never come back. Yet… I saw him come down again for food. So I got suspicious. Originally, I thought the teachers were playing favorites with him. It only happened once... but I can't forget it - there's only one student entrance to the dorm.”

“Teleportation,” Aria said.

“Yeah! And… I started thinking about it a lot—where could Ashton meet a teacher without giving anything away?”

Aria couldn’t think of a good spot for absolute secrecy. There were relatively private areas, sure, but nowhere she’d personally have that kind of meeting.

“So?”

He turned around and pointed at the distant castle. “The dungeon!”

Despite his fear, he seemed proud to shout that.

“What?”

He eagerly turned toward her like he was excited to finally share this knowledge with someone. “The main building looks like some kind of castle, right? Even the inside looks like it was just refurbished! And castles have dungeons! I... I first thought of caves underground... or maybe locations in the ocean, but this was one I confirmed first! I saw a mage walk into a room that had its entrance guarded, too.”

After that, he seemed to remember his fear, lowering his head again.

“That’s…” She paused.

Not implausible.

Annabelle said it before, too—that the main building was definitely some kind of castle before it was refurbished for the academy. Even now, most major classes take place in other buildings. The castle itself was only for entirely class-based lessons. 

“I… I know it sounds… crazy. Like a wild a guess.” He shook his head rapidly. “But... but I’m positive! There... could be some other location... But I even asked a teacher about a dungeon, and he scolded me for even trying... to dig into it. They don't seem to be allowed to talk about it. That... or they don't know anything about it, either. Like a rumor for the mages... I think.”

That wasn’t that doubtful part. Annabelle even mentioned in passing once that she wouldn’t be surprised if such a place existed beneath the castle. But she thought that was where the so-called Abyssal Hole was.

But for that to be a meeting spot and for Alisha herself to be unaware? That was the implausible part. However, it might work if their meetings were infrequent - which Aria believed they were. 

“How can you be certain?” Aria asked. “This island is filled with powerful people; how could they not notice?”

“T-the same reason…” He conjured some more courage to look into her eyes. “The same reason they don’t know we’re talking right now… being… Powerful doesn’t mean they have god-tier senses!” He flinched at Aria’s squinting eyes. “I-I think! But also… the place has been magically sealed, too. I saw glowing markings through that door in some kind of circle! I... I admit I didn't see much, but that looked like a seal!”

That felt far more lecturey than Aria would have liked. It must have shown because Scott flinched and avoided meeting her eyes once more.

“S-sorry.”

But… he had a point.

Most people at that level did have an extreme sixth sense, but not to the extent that they’d know everything happening on the island. Barring abilities, of course. Jaxon was close, but the island was so full of people that he probably didn’t even bother trying.

Then again, Aria knew some of how seals worked. Usually, senses did not work through them—they were meant to prevent anything from entering or seeing inside. The castle was a constant on the mostly artificial island, so there was a chance the seal was placed even before their time. If so, likely from someone on Alisha's level or higher.

It felt silly but unsurprising.

But why was the dungeon sealed off? Something was probably hidden down there, something she hadn’t even heard in passing during her childhood. If someone had somehow gotten access… it would be the greatest meeting spot.

Still, she just couldn't fathom Alisha being unaware of someone accessing it.

The only explanation Aria had would be that whoever this Shadow was had a teleportation ability that went from off-planet directly into the dungeon. She wasn't sure about the mana requirements of it nor how such an ability work work, but that should be the only way.

Scott fidgeted with his shirt and looked like he could barely hold still.

“What do you propose I do with this information?” Aria asked.

“Uh…” His head tilted slightly. “Tell someone?”

He thought a teacher was working with her, too. Probably Alisha.

“No.”

“O-oh.”

But she did get something valuable here—teleportation. It was an incredibly rare ability, one that Aria didn’t believe would be secretive.

“I won’t kill you,” Aria said. If there’s one thing she wasn’t, it was a liar. Annabelle hated liars.

“T-thank you! I promise my information is… probably completely accurate!”

Aria nodded and pushed past him. It was probably better to avoid them being together for any longer. Even this was too much.

She stopped, remembering the text.

“Give me your phone.”

“I… I knew you’d ask, so… here,” he said wryly, holding out the phone. “Good riddance to it… I say. But…”

“Ashton will not find out.”

“Oh.” Then, he seemed to realize. “Oh… that man is… he’s evil, too. Just… hides it better.”

“Good,” Aria said, nodding as she grabbed it.

It almost felt like these were trophies that marked her felled enemies.

As she walked away once more, she paused again. Annabelle’s words ran through her mind, something she had told Aria repeatedly.

“Thank you,” she said as she walked away.

Scott’s exuberant reply didn’t come until a few seconds later. Perhaps he was simply shocked at her actions, unable to come up with words.

“You’re welcome!”

Unfortunately, though… she intended to look through this phone. If he had any indication of being involved with Annabelle, he’d die, lying be damned.

Regardless, she felt like she was closer to Annabelle than she had been in the last six months.

“Wait for me, Annabelle.”