Immanent Ascension

The trip to Gula Bazaar was supposed to be for only a few hours in the morning, but it turned into an all-day affair. The entire Humusi Swordmasters crew was there, including Teucer. They found a cheap place to have a feast of unending flatbread and meat. Everything tasted very strongly of cumin and watercress, but given the price, nobody complained. A few extra minas brought unending ale as well.

They were all slightly drunk by the time they went shopping. It helped, apparently. Xerxes quickly found the perfect gift for Katayoun, a choker necklace crafted from turquoise, silver, and tiny pearls arranged in a flower motif. The ale helped him channel Gandash to negotiate heatedly with the vendor, bringing the price down from five shekels to three. After they sealed the deal, and the vendor went to package the choker, his friends nearly went crazy.

“Three shekels?” Teucer said. “Are you crazy?”

“I need to impress her,” Xerxes said stoically.

Enusat gripped Xerxes’ shoulder dramatically. “But three shekels? Three? That’s more than the stipend!”

“That’s a lot of money,” Jad said. “I said to impress her, not imply you want to marry her.”

“I’m going to marry her,” Xerxes blurted, then blushed.

Jad, Enusat, and Teucer gaped.

However, Kashtiliash brushed Enusat aside, put his arm around Xerxes’ neck, and said, “In that case, good choice.”

After buying the choker, they stayed away from campus for as long as possible. They bought a pair of dark cloaks for the mission on Firstday. Teucer wanted to buy a cap. Kashtiliash needed oil for his sword. Jad kept them roaming around the bazaar while he looked for something he refused to explain. Xerxes saw a few dolphin trinkets that he thought his sister Ahassunu might like. However, none of them seemed quite right. He wanted to get her something that would last for her entire life, and always scream Sin-Amuhhu when she looked at it.

They found one of the sword shops Mystic Rabya had mentioned, and they ogled at the beautiful and well-crafted weapons that none of them could dare to purchase without going completely broke.

Enusat kept wanting to return to a part of the market that sold rugs, which was quite mysterious until they realized there was a brothel across the street.

“It’s against the rules,” Jad said. “Shabadras must have mentioned it three times.”

“Aw, lighten up,” Enusat said. “Xerk’s planning to break the rules tomorrow!”

“That’s different,” Kashtiliash said.

Jad grabbed Enusat’s elbow and dragged him away. Kashtiliash and Xerxes followed.

Time slowed to a crawl that evening. The Swordsmasters went to the woods to practice, but Xerxes spent most of the time off to the side thinking about the following night’s mission. Despite how he’d agreed to it, he was still hesitant. What if he got caught? What if he ended up kicked out of the school? Sent back down to Mannemid?

That night after lights out, they made their final plans.

Jad, by means of his friendship with his fellow Jehannemid mage Inatli, had a basic idea of how the Unsighted guards patrolled the corridors. He also knew a trick to pop the lock on one of the doors.

Meanwhile, Enusat had called in a favor to find out which dorm room Katayoun was in: 162.

There was a small argument over who would be Xerxes’ partner and wingman.

“I have to see the girls’ dorms,” Enusat said.

“Fuck off, En,” Jad said. “This thing was my idea. I’m the wingman.”

Kashtiliash’s argument for himself was the most weighty. “I’m the quietest.”

Enusat raised his finger as if to make a dramatic point, then slumped.

“He’s basically right,” Jad said.

In the end, Kashtiliash became the wingman.

Firstday classes would have been torture if it weren’t for Mystic Rabya. Practical training was fun, as Rabya had them working on footwork, ensuring that their blood was really pumping.

But the entire time, in the back of Xerxes’ mind, he knew that he had only a few hours left until the mission.

His nerves were so jangled by evening-time that there was no way he could do any reading or meditation. Practically speaking, he could have attempted his second Flush. Instead, he paced the dorm room until the other Swordmasters threatened to pelt him with dates. After that, he lay on his bunk staring at the ceiling.

The worst was after lights out.

According to Jad, they needed to wait for an hour. Xerxes was so nervous he felt like he was having a seizure.

Finally, Jad said, “It’s time.”

Xerxes sat up in bed and looked at the timepiece above the door. It was an hour after lights-out.

He slid down the ladder, then reached into his pocket to make sure he had the choker.

“Remember,” Jad said, “the guard shift happens right about now, so the halls should be clear. But the guards carry warning bells. If they so much as see you, they can sound a warning very quickly.”

Kashtiliash climbed out of his own bed and threw on one of the dark cloaks they’d bought the previous day. The other, he handed to Xerxes.

Xerxes put the cloak on and threw the hood over his head. It was so big the hem nearly touched the ground. “Ready.”

“Same,” Kashtiliash said.

Jad and Enusat were both sitting on the edges of their bunks.

“Good luck,” Enusat said.

Jad gave him a sloppy salute. “You’re going to do amazing, Xerk-man.”

With that, he and Kashtiliash slipped out into the corridors.

Students weren’t supposed to go anywhere after lights out other than the restrooms. That in itself gave them a bit of leeway, as it wasn’t completely prohibited to be out and about. Kashtiliash and Xerxes moved cautiously until they reached the final door leading out of the dorm area.

Leaning over, Xerxes quietly said, “Ready?”

The bearded mage nodded.

They were outside, having left a writing stylus propping the door open for when they returned.

Xerxes looked around the corner, then beckoned Kashtiliash to follow. They dashed across the grassy area between the dorms.

The door was locked, but they knew the trick from Jad. Kashtiliash pushed on the upper left quadrant of the door, next to the top hinge. At the same time, Xerxes twisted the handle a quarter to the left. Then he sent his mage sight into the door to find the locking mechanism. Sure enough, thanks to the pressure from Kashtiliash and the slight turn of the handle, the lock needed only a tiny bit of finesse to click open.

Xerxes pulled the door open and the hinge let out a very long squeak.

Fuck, he thought, but at the same time, he slid inside. Kashtiliash followed.

The door squeaked shut behind them.

“Go,” Kashtiliash whispered.

Right, left, right, left, Xerxes thought as he went through the girl’s dorm area. The hallways were empty. The doors were shut. Soon enough, he found room 162.

Kashtiliash poked his shoulder. He looked over.

The bearded mage gestured back at the previous intersection. Xerxes nodded, and watched him pad back to keep watch.

Xerxes paused in front of the door and fingered the choker in his pocket. Then he clasped his hand into a fist and raised it up so the knuckles touched the rough wood. Was it really going to be this easy?

He knocked. Three times in a row, quick and clear.

A second passed.

Two seconds.

He knocked again.

Just barely, he heard voices from inside.

And then he caught motion from the left as two guards rounded the corner.