Noah headed out of Moxie’s room early in the morning, adjusting his jacket and combing his hair out of the way as he headed down the hall. His grimoire was slung over a shoulder, and the large book thumped against his back with every step.

He’d been slightly waylaid after he’d woken up, but he was determined to find Tim and repair his runes before the day was over. The only question was if Tim would be back in the tower by the time he got there and – if he was – how Noah would be able to justify what he could do.

I wish there was a way I could do this without revealing the existence of Sunder. Actually – what happens if I knock him out while we’re in his soul space? Or, what if I knock him out before the Mind Meld’s potions take effect?

That kind of feels like assault with extra steps, though. Damn. Maybe Tim will give me permission to bludgeon him with a heavy object. That would make it fine.

Noah arrived at the base of the Transport Cannon a short while later. There was a small line built up at it, which was a good sign as to Tim’s whereabouts. After a few minutes of waiting in line, he found himself standing on the lift as it rattled up to the top floor.

Tim sat at his desk, stroking his beard and reading a book as Noah arrived. He glanced up, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “Vermil! What brings you here? I don’t see your students.”

“I’m here to see you, actually,” Noah said. “I heard about what happened yesterday.”

Tim’s smile faded and he nodded. “Yes. It could have been a horrible thing. I was relieved to hear that they were all safe, but I heard that speaking about it was a bad idea. The person responsible may have had some dangerous ties.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, that’s not why I’m here,” Noah said. “Not specifically, at least.”

“Oh? Headed somewhere, then?”

“Not that either,” Noah said. He glanced through the window. The majority of the line had already gone through the transport cannon, but there were still a few more people waiting. “Do you think you’ve got a little while? About half an hour or so?”

“I suppose so,” Tim said. “Let me just handle the rest of the crowd and then I’ll shut down for a little while.”

“Thanks,” Noah said, moving to stand in the corner of the room. The lift rattled back down, and Noah waited as Tim spent the next few minutes sending everyone off to a variety of different areas.

Once he’d finished and the line had dried up, Tim pulled a lever at the corner of his panel and pressed his hand against the desk. A small wave of energy ran throughout it, racing through imbuements. The lift rattled up, locking in place at the top floor.

“All closed up for the time being,” Tim said, sitting back down. “I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to help, but I’d be glad to hear what I can do for you.”

“It’s more the other way around,” Noah said. “Some time ago, you told me about how you ended up here.”

“Did I?” Tim asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “My memory isn’t what it used to be, but I suppose I must have. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, you mentioned that you landed this job because your Runes weren’t good enough to let you advance, right?”

Tim grunted. “Yeah, but I haven’t been beat up about that for years. You learn to deal with your lot in life as you get older.”

Noah reached into his bag and pulled out a Mind Meld potion, setting it on the counter. Tim tilted his head to the side, studying the vial with a confused look. “Is this alcohol? It’s quite… shimmery.”

“No,” Noah said with a laugh. “It’s a potion. One that’ll make it easier for us to speak privately.”

“Alcohol does the same thing when you use enough of it,” Tim said with a cackle. He pulled the wax seal off the top of the potion and sniffed at it, then shrugged before draining his half.

Noah took the bottle and removed the other seal, draining the rest of the bottle before returning it to the table.

“Stay sitting,” Noah said. “You might feel a bit dizzy.”

Even as Tim nodded, a buzz enveloped Noah’s mind. He quickly lowered himself to lean against the wall, keeping one hand on his grimoire as the potion yanked him out of his mind and into Tim’s.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

When Noah’s eyes opened once again, he found himself standing on a plain grassy hill. Seven Runes floated in the air around him, and Noah wasn’t surprised to find that they were all horrendously bad.

They were all Rank 2, and even though they’d been filled, Noah could tell that not only were there constituents probably horrible, but they’d been combined rather poorly as well. But, despite that, the hill was probably one of the most hospitable souls that Noah had been to.

Gentle rays of sunlight warmed his back, and a brilliant blue sky rose overhead. Tim stood at the top of the hill, looking around in surprise.

“Is this a Mind Meld potion?” Tim asked. “I’ve never used one before, but it appears that we’ve entered my soul.”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “You drank that without realizing what it was? I thought you were joking.”

“I’m afraid not,” Tim said with a laugh. “I’m much too old to care about what gets put in front of me now. I doubt poison is going to kill me much faster than anything else, and I can’t imagine you’d try to poison me anyway. So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?”

“This,” Noah replied, gesturing vaguely around himself. “But first, I’m going to need a promise from you. Everything that I say and do here needs to stay between us. Nobody can ever find out what happened.”

Tim’s smile faded as he took in the intensity in Noah’s voice. “This sounds serious.”

“Incredibly so,” Noah said. “And it’s dangerous enough to get all of us killed if the wrong person finds out.”

“Do you want a Rune Oath?” Tim asked.

Noah almost refused on the spot but paused to think for a moment. He did trust Tim, but as kind as the old man was, the information he was about to share had dire consequences. If anyone stronger than him found out about Sunder, infinite lives would do nothing for him. They’d torture him until he gave them the rune or imprison him for its powers.

Except making an oath here really doesn’t even do that much in solving the actual problem. The only thing it helps is if Tim was going to rat me out intentionally, and I don’t think he’s got any plans to ever do something like that. It’s more likely that someone figures out he knows something and tries to get information from him forcefully. A Rune Oath would do nothing there. Either Tim says nothing, or his runes get shattered and he tells them anyway. But therein lies the problem with Rune Oaths. If I made it so strong that it killed Tim if he broke it, he might just get killed and give my information away anyway.

“No,” Noah said. “I don’t want a Rune Oath. They’re flawed tools. I will take a normal promise, though.”

“I can do that. I swear I’ll keep anything you tell me to myself, no matter what happens or who it involves.” Tim paused for a moment, then cleared his throat. “Unless it brings threat to a student. I take my job as a worker at Arbitage very seriously. If you’ve got issue with any students, it may be best that you do not tell me.”

Noah smiled, even more confident that he’d made the right choice. “I’ve got nothing like that. This is entirely about you, Tim.”

“Now I feel like I’ve done something wrong.” Tim laughed. “Just tell me, would you? What is this about?””

“Your runes.”

A flicker of shame passed over Tim’s features as he looked out at the poorly constructed runes circling them. “Ah, yes. They’re not much too look at, are they?”

“No,” Noah admitted honestly. “But that’s why I’m here. I can help you fix them.”

Tim coughed into a fist, hiding a smile. “That’s very kind of you, Vermil. I’ve had the offer before, but I appreciate it every time. Unfortunately, I can’t accept. No matter how much I would be thrilled to repair some of the damage my younger self did to me, it’s impossible. At my age, the soul damage would tear me apart.”

“I can circumvent that,” Noah said. “I have a way to handle the soul damage, and I have Runes as well. Not an infinite supply, but I have a lot of the basic ones. Even though you’ll probably get sent back to Rank 1, I can give you another chance at this.”

Tim lowered his hand, narrowing his eyes in confusion. “I’m sorry? You’ve found a potion that’ll heal soul damage?”

“Err… something like that,” Noah said. “And a way to remove the runes from your soul without being too invasive. It’s safe, so long as you actually want me to do it.”

“This isn’t a joke, is it?” Tim asked.

“Not at all. I’m completely serious. Just say the word. I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle everything at once, but I can do a lot of it.”

“Just like that?” Tim stared at Noah, letting his hands drop by his sides. “How?”

“I think we should probably focus more on if you want it or not,” Noah said. “The exact details are… well, I’d prefer to keep them as close to chest as possible. It won’t be relevant to its effectiveness, though. I’d be willing to show you with a single rune if you’d feel safer that way.”

“I – no, I don’t doubt you,” Tim said hurriedly and shaking his head. “I just – well, it’s hard to believe. You’re claiming the impossible, Professor Vermil. Nobody can remove runes without soul damage. If you’ve gotten a potion that lets you do that, is it really wise to waste it on me? It would be worth millions. Maybe more. You could retire for the rest of your life and never worry about another thing.”

“Sounds boring,” Noah said. “If I was going to sell it, I would have. It’s up to you. Don’t feel pressured if you aren’t comfortable with it, but the offer is there.”

Tim swallowed. “Show me.”

“What kind of Rune did you want?” Noah asked. “I may not have it, so I’d have to go get my hands on it.”

“Er… an Earth Rune, perhaps?” Tim asked hesitantly, still sounding like he couldn’t tell if Noah was playing with him or not.

“Ah. That, I can do,” Noah said. This had been a long time coming, and he was eager to get started. “Ah… could you turn around? The less you see, the better.”

Tim turned to face away from Noah. “Is this fine?”

“Perfect. Just stay there for a minute.” He cracked his knuckles. “Let’s get you fixed up, shall we?”