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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 3309200" data-attributes="member: 5808">Part the Two-Hundred FifteenthIn which: Profanity!  Reunions!  And the vast onyx-acquiring conspiracy gets a name!“Umm… Eva.  Class is over… You can wake up now.”Eva slowly comes back to herself—and the massive crick in her neck—in the now empty classroom in the west wing of the Temple of the Attendants.  Late afternoon light slants through the narrow windows.  The rest of the room is deserted.“Blood and Milk,” Eva groans.  “What time is it?”Thatch turns about four shades of pink at Eva's choice of expletive.  “It’s a couple hours before dinner… and… um… can you not say that here,” he grimaces.“Sorry.”  Eva unfolds from her chair, licks two fingers and draws a sign on the wooden desk to appease the goddess, to which she adds an additional, “sorry” upwards for good measure.  The spit evaporates quickly, which Eva chooses to take as a sign of an apology accepted.“I got a note from Dame Jenna,” Thatch says.  “Professor Alexandra wants to meet with us about planning security for the archmages’ visit.”Eva gestures to the door.  “Lead on.”###Thanks to Eva’s nap, she and Thatch are among the last to arrive for the meeting.  Anvil is at the front of the room, consulting with Professor Alexandra about something.  The rest of the group is clustered in a knot near the middle.Kiara spots the new arrivals and beckons eagerly.  “Guys!  Come on!  Come on!  She’s back!”Back…?  It takes Eva a split second to realize who Kiara means.  And where she is back from.But the group parts, and there’s Lira, warm as life.  Eva wonders if any of the others notice the faint shadows in the sorcerer’s eyes.  Then she wonders if the shadows were caused by anything similar to the ones that have haunted her since her own “return.”Eva gives her friend a gentle squeeze.  Asking low in her ear, “Are you okay?”Lira’s grip tightens reassuringly.  “Pretty much.  Yeah.”They part slightly, and Eva feels Lira’s eyes searching her own.  “I think it was better for me.”Eva gives an almost laugh.  “Wouldn’t be hard.”The two sit together, with Thatch on Eva’s other side, as Professor Alexandra signals for the group’s attention.  “In order to evaluate the archmages as candidates for chancellor, we will be hosting all of them in the city for a few days.  Given your prior experience, we were hoping that you would each agree to act as hosts and, frankly, escorts while they are in the city.”“You anticipate they will cause disruptions?” Anvil demands.“No, we anticipate they might be a target of them.  The Purists have been active over the last few months and we don’t want to take any chances.”“The Purists?”The Professor looks surprised for an instant, than sighs.  “Of course, you’ve been gone.  The group responsible for attacking the Academy has gone public.  There haven’t been any attacks on the scale of the night of Sedellus Ascendant, but there have been more isolated incidents.  They seem to be working to gain public support.” “And they call themselves the Purists?”The Professor nods.There is a brief pause as the party takes that in.  In retrospect, it was foolish of them to assume they had heard the last of those behind the attack on the Mages’ Academy.  But it has been over six months since the attack, and while their attention has been occupied with other matters, the Purists have not been so distracted.Lira wrinkles her nose.  “Pure what?  Horseshi—?”“—Be that as it may,”  Alexandra interjects before Lira can complete the thought, and waving a hand to settle the light smattering of laughter that accompanied the remark.  “Whatever their agenda may be, hopefully ours will involve sufficient preparation.  And on that note…” Professor Alexandra lays out the plan for the arrival of the archmages.  They will be arriving that Friday.  They will have time to explore the city during the afternoon before a grand banquet to be held on the Academy grounds that night in their honor. Saturday, the archmages will be busy meeting with representatives from the various power bases in Dar Pykos: the four Churches, the Mages’ Academy, and King Orin’s government.  The party will once again serve as guides and security escorts.On Sunday, the entire retinue will make their way out of the city walls to a specially prepared parade ground where the archmages will perform a demonstration of their abilities.  This demonstration is not designed to be dangerous per se—Alexandra takes pains to point out—but it is designed to test how the candidates react to potentially dangerous situations.Finally, on Monday, the Selection Committee—made of up of one representative from each of the power bases (Tenacious for Kettenek, Dame Jenna for Alirria, Brother Brightly for Ehkt, Sister Shifting, a Harbinger, for Sedellus, Professor Alexandra for the Mages’ Academy, and Sir William Collingswood, the King’s Chamberlain, for the King)—will meet in private to decide which of the archmages will be offered the position of Chancellor.Anvil gives a sharp nod as the Professor finishes explaining.  “Good.  This schedule will not interfere.”“Um… do you have something else to be doing?” Thatch asks.“I do.  As do you.”Reyu looks faintly confused.  “What would that be?”“There is a meeting Wednesday of the Universal Law Caucus.  You have all been invited to attend.”  Anvil looks over his companions and adds, with an air of resignation, “This is an honor which I anticipate some of you may not appreciate.”Lira’s eyes cut to Eva, and she mutters, “I knew I had a reason to live.”</blockquote>

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