Fate Weaver's convergence

C83 Winters Crescendo 2

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Beryl looked on with concern as she grabbed one of my horns and raised my head.

"I'm fine."

I rolled my eyes, my jaw hanging to the point my teeth barely contacted each other. My reply was abrupt and rude but I felt it best to actually press this concern out of my mind. It was one thing to trust others with my concerns-

But that dream? That dream still has me feeling shaky. The monster looked familiar too.

I groaned as I dropped my arms to the table. My unsteady state aside, Beryl, Vaughn, and I were all sitting in a small room underneath the city keep. We waited for Callum to return with a supposed update on the day's events. We were to perform a task for the adventurers guild regarding our admission.

Something about evaluation... some exams and grading. Ugh, I'd appreciate some free time right now.

"For shite's sake are we gonna be here all day?"

I looked at the set of wooden doors, the only entrance to the room. We were roughly four meters under the streets above for the time being. I would have to ask Lorn at a later time, but I was sure the structure we'd seen already alluded to some form of an extensive network of tunnels underneath the keep. Extensive halls, large enough for a caravan wagon to fit within their confines. Rooms that had no source of light or fresh air save a small hole that led to the surface or a small crystal.. Amongst it all, cleanly cut wood laced the foundations, walls, and ceilings as if the tunnels were cut straight through them. Lastly, the occasional wooden floor that assisted in passing over rooms was too closely spaced to allow any other material in use.

"I doubt anyone would be happy if we searched them out. They're probably still setting things up. Wouldn't be much of a test for us to take them in the guild hall or outside the city in the open."

Vaughn leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed.

"I assumed we'd be doing a number of tests regarding our physical limits. Though, that's all they have you do deep in the Empire. Mother Sophia never was an adventurer and Mother Cressida wasn't either."

Beryl placed her elbows on the table surface as we each brooded in boredom.

"Testing aside. Kiyomi, we noticed something was up when we saw you this morning. You've been talking oddly as if you hadn't just seen us last night."

Beryl leaned to one side, cushioning her weight on one of her arms.

"Slept badly, on the couch in my living room after exhausting my mana I think."

I shrugged Beryl's question aside with a 'realistic' answer and averted my eyes.

The last thing I need to do is bother you two with that. You need to focus on the testing, not me.

I grimaced and looked back to Beryl, the Lamia unperturbed by my attempt to divert the conversation.

We sound like Beryl did before the pass. I should give her something at least.

Just as Beryl squinted and was about to ask further.

"What exactly do you two think the tests are going to result in? Callum worded it like it was a favor, and no one else will say a word."

Vaughn was next to speak, his chair suddenly clattering as the two suspended legs dropped downward. He looked downward at me as his face was directed upward.

"Realistically, probably just some kind of test to get our 'Scri'. There's no way we'd be in the keep for any other reason given they want us out of trouble."