Entering the Maze Again

"A 'magical training exercise'? Seriously? You're going to need to do a lot better than that if you want to con someone into risking their life in a death trap."

"No no. It's not a death trap. Due to your age and mana level, you will be recognized as a student attempting the trial. The maze will not try to kill you." The headmaster paused before stroking his beard. "Well, it shouldn't. Hmm… I should probably double check exactly how they defined 'life threatening' and the skill level of an 'average' student during the First's time."

Ramona glared at the headmaster.

"Eh? What was that second part after 'the maze will not try to kill you'? I didn't quite catch that. It sounded like you needed to confirm something that you should have a long time ago before endangering my goddaughter?"

"Ohoho. We need Ms. Glowery to confirm a few things and try to pass into the central core. We'll be relying on her to explore and bring back information so that we can discover how to get Nafriton faculty inside."

"That doesn't sound like what you said at all."

The atmosphere turned tense. Aayla could feel her ears popping as Ramona's deadly gaze bore into the headmaster. Deputy Downer clapped and the pressure eased.

"That's enough, Deputy Heston. The First was known for being a man of extremes: soft on the younger students, tough on the older students. Aayla should be categorized as a beginner student by the trial. Her life should not be in danger at all. She is a staff member, not just a student. This falls under her responsibilities.

"Ms. Glowery, you should be teleported out upon receiving certain amounts of damage according to the records that we still have. We will also be giving you some artifacts for self-defense and research purposes. All that you need to do is bring the research artifact with you as you take the trials."

With the argument concluded, thus began the next two days of constant nagging and training by Ramona. Aayla had to deal with Ramona's worried nagging the entire time that Ramona taught her about the research artifact and advanced trials.

On the morning of the third day, Aayla met Ramona and Deputy Downer in the rear courtyard. What seemed like ages had passed since she had last stepped foot there. All of the windows inside the rear courtyard now had thick metal shutters. Several barricades blocked the entrances and exits. Lines on the ground formed abstract shapes and radiated out from the closed back gate.

She nervously stared at it. Memories of her first experience flashed through Aayla's head. She quickly patted her cheeks and shook her head to get those memories out of her head. Her hand reached into her backpack.

Aayla was comforted by the large roll of string that she felt inside. She wasn't sure exactly what the string was made of or how old it was, but she was glad to have it. The gremlins had dragged it out of some random hole. Aayla paid handsomely for this, so it had better be worth it. She was not getting lost this time.

"Are you ready, Aayla?"

"Yes, Deputy Heston."

"This is the first official trial, so you don't need to push yourself too much. Stay close to the entrance and get a feel for the maze. It should have changed since your last encounter."

Deputy Downer looked at his black disc in his hand, which Aayla has eventually learned was a communication artifact called a 'telefact'. Soon the bustling researchers and other personnel finished their preparation work. Most of the remaining workers left the rear courtyard before it was sealed with guards at every exit aside from the gate.

A tall researcher approached the small group.

"Deputy Downer, all preparations are complete from our end. The trial grounds should be ready for Ms. Glowery to enter. We've done our best to set the trial to the lowest difficulty possible."

"Good. Security has finished setting up as well."

Aayla raised her hand. "Why do we need security if the difficulty is set to the lowest possible level?"

"It's nothing but a precaution, Ms. Glowery," Deputy Downer replied. "If something happens, we just need to make sure that we don't lose the dormitory."

"AND ensure my goddaughter's safety?"

"Naturally, Deputy Heston. Short of sending any faculty or staff members inside."

'Oh goody,' Aayla thought in despair. 'More things that we don't know. I just LOVE being experimental subject number 1.'

The head researcher loudly coughed. "There's not much point in delaying. We need to get Ms. Glowery in and out relatively quickly since we're not sure if there's a time limit. I'll open the gate now."

The gate slowly creaked open as Ramona quickly reviewed the plan with Aayla.

"Remember, you don't need to go far inside or spend any longer than an hour. This is just a test run. Pass it if you think you can, but stay safe. Take these artifacts with you. Wear this one like chainmail, and I don't think that I need to tell you how to use this helmet one."

Ramona withdrew a fist sized orb from her bag then handed it to Aayla.

"This is a research artifact specially created for exploring magical ruins. It will automatically track where you are, mana fluctuations, life forces nearby and other things. Just keep it in your back pack."

Aayla nervously nodded and put the orb into her back pack. At this point the gate was opened wide. Now tamed hedges rose into the sky with an elaborate stone walkway lining the ground. When Aayla shakily pulled out her string, she glanced behind her.

Deputy Downer and Ramona were calmly standing behind her. The rest of the researchers were peaking out from behind the barricades. Aayla's eye twitched. Seriously? Those cowardly rats insisted that it was safe for an unexperienced child yet still hid.

When she came out, Aayla would find a way to screw them over. Clearly, she wasn't getting paid enough for this. In fact, Aayla technically wasn't getting paid at all. Aayla clicked her tongue then found a place to tie her string.

"Is she allowed to do that? I've never heard of a challenger keeping something through the gate while testing."

"An outside object extending into the trial could possibly interfere with the magic formations."

"Something so mundane couldn't be that important. Maybe its best if we –"

"Maybe its best if you consider alternative places of employment before you finish that sentence."

Ramona's frosty gaze frightened the researchers into silence. It was bad enough that these grown men and women were cowering like quails during hunting season. They had no rights to make any comments when a barely of age young lady was doing the exploring.

With one last glance behind her, Aayla quelled her nerves and stepped inside the maze once again.

**********

The Chinebar Republic was famous for three unique features: magical innovation and power, status as the only republic on Tellus and its extensive river systems. One of these was the grand Havrevel River. The rarely frozen river formed the most prominent transportation and trade route of the north.

Forest Waypoint lay near the foot of the Glacier Mountains, slightly west of the Ural Bay and north west of the Northern Divide Mountains. The Havrevel River was thousands of miles further to the west and essentially divided the Saintlenee Province in two. It started along the coast of the northern most reaches of the Republic. Salt water from the Grand Ocean flowed through the Havrevel deep into the Republic.

North Beti Town and Cuoq City guarded the northern and southern ends of the Havrevel, respectively. The only two train lines out of Forest Waypoint end at these two destinations. Cuoq City was the only major connection between the Saintlenee Province and the rest of the country. Thus, the province has become mostly self-reliant and independent from the southern provinces.

The master of the Havrevel River would grip the lifeblood of the entire province as well as a significant portion of the supply of magical materials for the entire nation. While Cuoq City was heavily guarded and North Beti Town was heavily isolated, most sections of the river were poorly monitored at best.

Magic beasts wreaked havoc on any settlements near the river's shores, and the salt in the water made the river water undrinkable. Only a few native settlements, research stations and salt farms dared to stay nearby. Aside from those residents, Nafriton University was well known for sending groups of students here for training.

After centuries of freedom, the True Order had stretched its claws into the wilderness surrounding the river. Since attempts to take over a city had failed, the True Order would build its northern bastion by taking over the lifeline of the province instead.

To do that, they planned to manipulate the beast waves for their own benefit. Decades of research and planning would soon come to fruition.