Betrayal

"So what is this plan of yours, Sera asked. She had both hands folded, leaning back on the door of the healing chamber. The room was dim, moonlight poured through the window, outlining her silhouette.

"We find a new team and help them defeat the blood mage when the red hornet fails," Seth answered as he hurried to the chamber's bed.

"That simple, huh?" Sera quipped. "Why do you think the team is going to fail?"

"The team will fail because their plan won't work, not against a blood mage." Seth peeled off his cotton shirt, summoned a plain shirt from his interdimensional ring, and began dressing.

"Why won't it work? It's a good enough plan?"

"Poisoning him after he's grown weak from battle won't work. Blood mages grow stronger with each foe they slay and can heal instantly from most wounds; I doubt they don't have spells guarding against poison." Without turning, he summoned a light padded cloth armor and slipped it on. He strapped it at the edges.

"Where are you getting this information from?"

Seth paused before he answered, "my experience with the mages." He finished with the straps of the armor and turned to face her.

She raised an eyebrow in question, or so Seth thought as most of her silhouette was submerged in shadow.

"I didn't realize this till much later, but the mage only grew stronger with each exchange. It consumed the blood of our fallen teammates, and his attacks grew more vicious," Seth selectively explained.

With his betrayal at the tavern still fresh in his mind, he refused to divulge any more, not even to Sera.

Sera's frowned, "that is unfortunate. We grew up on stories of their nature and powers, but I never actually thought-"

"The stories about them were true," Seth finished for her. "I came to that realization and several others as I meditated and waited for you." He turned back to her, "I have so much more to share with you, but only if we leave for the forest now. The red hornets must catch up to us. Not until I want them to." He reached out with his hand and a confident smile on his lips. 'Come with me' he mentally begged.

Sera stepped out of the shadow. Her eyes briefly met his outstretched hands before she spoke. "You still haven't mentioned anything about this team we are joining."

"So, that means you'll be joining me?" Seth asked, his voice slightly more eager than he intended. He needed her for his plan to work.

"As I said, I'll make my decision after I have all the facts."

Seth's eyes briefly darted around the room before he spoke, his voice near a whisper. "There is a team of knights with intermediate magic knights who are going to be hunting the mage alongside us. With the information I have, I can negotiate a sizeable split for us."

Seth refused to believe Bastion would trust mercenary mages with his apprentice's life. If he couldn't come himself, he would at least send someone. After all, he'd trained Tessa for close to a decade now. Though he'd vehemently deny it, he saw Tessa as a daughter. Seth could imagine him abandoning her.

Just in case, Bastion somehow failed, he had a backup plan that involved a certain monarch. Certain that the Emperor wouldn't simply let the campaign go unsupervised, he was confident he would find a lord or at least an Iron guard at the helm of things. Both plans were not ideal, but anything was better than sitting and waiting.

"And what might that information be?" Sera's said, pulling him from his thoughts.

"You will find out when we find the team we are looking for," he answered in a flat voice.

"You don't trust me? That's smart. I wouldn't trust me either," she said with a wry smile. "But I need to know more," her tone shifted, her eyes grew cold, yet firm. "You can't ask me to betray everyone without giving me a good reason."

"What I told you is more than enough to help you make up your mind," Seth stood firm. " What I just mentioned is but a taste. Come with me, and when we find the team I have in mind, I'll tell you all about it," Seth said, stretching his hands once more.

Sera wordlessly stared at him. Her eyes shifting from his wavy black hair to his slightly pale skin and then his armor. She sighed. He left her very little choice. "Alright, give me about thirty minutes. I need to pack my things." "Not everyone has a borderland Ring," she added with a smirk sensing the question rousing up within him.

Seth nodded and watched her leave the room. The moment the door swung shut, he bolted it and hurriedly prepared himself.

He stripped off the rest of his clothes and dorn the greaves and the bottom half of the armor he purchased from Linburn. He knew it would take several minutes for Sera to reach her room and gather her things, but he still hurried anyways.

He knew something was wrong- or rather felt it. She gave in too easily. It was almost like a voice even, warning him, telling him to prepare to flee. A notification screen popped up,

[Mission

Task: Flee the tower before Sera returns

Reward: Your life]

Seth's face blanched. 'What?' This was the first kind of mission the system was dolling out like this. His life? Even back in the forest, when he was about to die, it pushed him towards danger, not away from it. If- if it was asking him to run, then- no. He calmed himself. With limited control over Mana and nobody to back him up, he wouldn't be able to fight his way out of the forest.

Even if he managed to, he couldn't survive negotiating in Grechit or braving the Black Wershe forest himself, while the Red Hornet was still after him. Without Sera, his chances of survival even after escape were dismal, and he knew it. Though his instinct yelled at him and warned him to do otherwise, he waited. He waited for her to come.

Seth was not delusional enough to believe that Sera, by some miracle, would choose his side if it didn't benefit her. So far, his side offered the better deal, but that could change. So instead of blinding trusting in Sera, he chose not to solely place his trust in Sera or refuse the system. He would stay close to the tower's window and dive out if he heard more than a single pair of footsteps approach.

With a determined nod, he reassured himself of his simple plan and went back to preparing. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and dorn the greaves and the bottom half of the armor he purchased from Linburn.

When he was done, he climbed onto the bed frame bordering the window. He set the plants aside on the herb table and settled in the now empty stone slab, ready to jump at the slightest sign of danger.

He peeked out the window and saw small bricks jutting out of the tower's walls, probably knocked loose after years of countless repairs.

He summoned both daggers from his dimensional pocket, and sheathed them, and closed his eyes, and focused on listening to fleeting sounds around him. He listened to the soft hum of the wind, heard the slight rustle of the leaves on the table, and the low hum of energy coming from the mana crystals tucked in the shelves.

If the world remained as serene, and his focus didn't falter, he would hear Sera approach. But that was only if she chose not to conceal herself. His eyes shot open. The only way he'd be able to sense them approach, even if they tried to hide it, was with a sensory spell. He needed to master Life Sense before she returned.