Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 408: It's Toddin time

It took Noah and Moxie a little while to figure out where Lee had taken the students. After their date which consisted mostly of sitting and chatting on her bed while eating meat pies had ended, theyd hurried off to the transport cannon.

There was nobody there. It was odd to see the area completely empty. Ropes had been put up around the base of the cannon to keep anyone from trying to ascend it. The cannon was their normal meetup location, but it obviously wasnt much use if nobody could actually go anywhere with it.

The two professors had directed their attention to the nearest restaurants, but to their surprise, none had seen Lee or their small class. That had been quite the problem. Arbitage was a huge area and there were countless different locations that everyone could have gone.

Noah dug through his memories in search of where Lee might have taken the kids, stumbling into a thought nearly on accident. They changed courses and hurried over to the arena. It had been so long since Noah had been there that hed nearly forgotten about its existence.

The last time hed come had been just shortly after hed first met Isabel and Todd and they were showing him their abilities. It wasnt really a private training area, but it seemed like it might have fit the bill.

And, sure enough, as they stepped out onto the sand and scanned over the sparse groups scattered across it, Noah caught a flash of Emilys telltale silver hair. Their entire group had taken over a small portion at the far side of the arena and were flopped out in every direction like drying leather.

I think Lee might have decided that today was a stretching session, Noah said as they walked over to join the others.

When does she not? Moxie asked with a shudder.

Todd pried his head up from the sand, relief shining in his eyes as he spotted Noah and Moxie approaching. He rolled over with a groan and pushed himself upright.

Were free, guys.

Free from what? Lee asked. Do you know how many muscles there are in the human body?

No, Todd said.

Neither do I, but Ive been counting, Lee said. And Im pretty sure you havent stretched all of them yet. You dont want to be lopsided, do you?

Just a question. Do you think bones are muscles? Isabel groaned from beside Todd. Because they arent.

Anything is a muscle if you try hard enough.

Im not so sure thats how it works, Noah said, tussling Lees hair. Thanks for covering for us, though.

No problem. I can finish class today. We just have a few more things to stretch.

The panic in everyones eyes was so intense that Noah couldnt even bring himself to make a joke about it. Thats kind of you to offer, but weve got some other stuff we need to cover before tonight.

Tonight? Whats tonight? Alexandra asked.

Another advanced track meeting, Noah replied, sitting down in the sand and crossing his legs beneath him. A real one, this time around. I imagine we want to make a good impression.

He thought back to the first meeting. Lee had certainly made an impression with his body, all right. Shed eaten just about everything on the table, silverware included. He repressed a sigh.

As good of an impression as we can still salvage.

Does our reputation matter? All that matters is outperforming them so we can get the resources, Alexandra said.

Youre not wrong, but this is an opportunity to do what we wanted to do the first time around, Moxie said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. And that is to check out what the students of the other professors are capable of. Take their measure.

Invisible dick measuring contest, Todd concluded.

Moxie rolled her eyes. Thats one way to put it, sure. Whatever the reason. We want to see if these idiots are actually worth our time and what theyre capable of. Dont forget we know very little about them. Just because the rest of Arbitage is a little bit pathetic on average doesnt mean they will be.

Do you really think theyve got anyone stronger than Alexandra? James asked. I mean, shes a Rank 3. Thats the same as a few professors.

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Now that I think about it, didnt Revin claim to be a Rank 3? Hm. You know what? Im not so sure I buy that. Now that I know more about Formations well, I havent seen him since reaching Rank 4. I suppose Ill find out if we run into each other and I can tell hes got a domain.

Dont overestimate me, Alexandra said. I have Body Runes. Even if I win in certain circumstances, Im at a severe disadvantage against anyone that can keep me at a range. I dont have a way to attack anyone outside the reach of my sword.

You could throw it, James offered.

And then I would have no sword.

Tie a string to it? Todd added in.

Alexandra took a page out of Moxies book and rolled her eyes. Thank you, guys. Ill strongly consider tying a string to the hilt of my sword so I can fling it at anyone who isnt kind enough to come into its range.

Youre welcome, James said without a hint of shame. He yawned, then pushed himself upright. So what are we doing in class today? More patterns?

Noah looked around the arena. It wasnt exactly a discreet area. There were other students, some alone and some in groups, milling about. Practicing patterns or Formations here was going to be a little too exposed. Even if nobody was too close to them right now, it could end up drawing more attention than he wanted to get.

That was unless they changed what the others could see.

I dont want people looking at us while we practice anything even slightly unique, Noah said. Isabel, do you think you could

She picked up on Noahs line of thinking before he finished the sentence and rolled to her feet. Isabel pressed her hands to the sand and a faint tremor ran beneath Noahs feet. An eight-foot-high wall of stone jutted up behind him, curving overhead. Several more walls rose up in succession, making a barrier that blocked out anyones view of the section of the arena they were in.

It was the exact same strategy theyd used in the Windscorned Plateau to make sure they didnt accidentally draw the scorn of too many Fluffants at the same time. Noah gave her an approving nod.

Perfect. Thank you, Isabel.

Why didnt we do that before? Todd asked.

Because nobody in their right mind is going to get near Lee when they see what shes doing to us, Isabel replied. It was a more effective deterrent than anything I could ever do.

Another benefit of stretching, Lee proclaimed proudly. It is a multifaceted activity with an ever-growing range of positive aspects.

Is she trying to pitch it to a company or something? Now that I think about it, Lee would make a great motivational speaker. One of those people that shows up to the schools and tells all the teachers that theres one quick trick they can do to improve their days. Its just that her trick is borderline shattering every bone in your body in a stretch that really shouldnt even be possible.

Somehow I do always feel better after her stretching sessions, though. Just not better enough to voluntarily do one.

Well then, Noah said, coughing into a fist and shaking his head to draw himself back to the matter at hand. I should bring you all up to speed on some stuff that happened recently.

Todds eyes flicked from Noah to Moxie. You mean why you and Moxie were late? We kind of figured that out.

No, not that, Noah said hurriedly. Yesterday.

We really dont need to know what Isabel started, a small grin pulling across her lips.

Arbitage was attacked, Noah said before Isabel could finish. The transport cannon, specifically.

That got everyones attention.

What? I heard it just broke down, Emily said. It was sabotage?

Not sabotage. It was housing an artifact. The person that was controlling all those plant puppets was behind it. For anyone not aware, his name is Wizen. Hes probably a Rank 6 if not stronger, and it turns out that the thing he was after this whole time was the artifact powering the transport cannon.

This seems like major news. If it isnt out already, its being suppressed, Alexandra said with a frown. Are you sure you should be telling us?

Yes. Understanding what youre up against is very important. Wizen is powerful, but I dont think hell have any more interest in us but thats not enough for me to make a bet on it. The item he took was a key to the Damned Plains.

A key? Why? Isabel asked.

We havent figured that bit out yet, Noah replied. But I want you to all be aware of it. Just make sure youre more aware of any demonic activity of the malicious kind.

He watched Lees expression as he spoke, but she didnt seem any more interested or disinterested in the key than any of the others. She had a slight worried crease in her brow and nothing more.

Any questions? Moxie asked.

What kind of questions are we even supposed to ask? Emily replied. Can we do anything about it?

Not really, Noah said. Not other than working on getting stronger, that is. The Enforcers are already looking into Wizen and what happened. Your job is to just make sure youre as powerful as possible to make sure that you can protect yourself when the time comes. Oh and dont tell anyone else. I wasnt supposed to share this, but Ive never really cared much for rules.

Nobody looked even the slightest bit surprised at that.

So the rest of today is more sparring, I take it? Alexandra asked.

Id say so, yes. Cant ever have too much of that and itll also be good practice for the meeting with the advanced track tonight.

You think well be fighting? James asked.

Who knows, but I tend to find myself fighting more often than not when meeting new people.

I think that speaks more to your personality than anything else, Emily informed him.

Thank you, Noah said without missing a beat. Now, Todd, I believe I promised you wed have a match. Yesterday got a bit hectic, so why dont we start with you? I trust youve got your newly imbued stuff on you to show off?

Todd grinned and held his hand up, letting the sleeve roll down to reveal a metal bracelet on his wrist. Always.

Good. Lets see what youve got, then.