Return of the Runebound Professor-Chapter 673: Limits

It was a bit odd returning to Moxie’s room as if nothing had happened. But that was exactly what Noah did. Everyone split back off for the night, returning to their lodgings to prepare for what waited in store the next day.

Noah didn’t miss the thought that, if someone had really wanted to kill them, sending a second round of assassins right after the first would probably be a pretty damn effective way to pull it off. Nobody expected the second assassins.

Hell, maybe there were two more rounds of demons lying in wait. Who knew how many bodies they were willing to throw away over something like this. There was just no way for him to know. The only way something like this could be dealt with was through precautions—

Noah blinked. He forcefully blinked and shook his head.

Gah. I can’t let myself get paranoid. I’m going to end up becoming Father at this rate. No wonder the old bastard was so damn insistent of staying in his protected room. The stronger you get, the more people you have gunning for your life.

But the really strong people don’t have to hide. They just get strong enough to not get killed… and ot protect everything they hold dear.

“No,” Moxie said, bumping Noah’s shoulder with her own.

He blinked, realizing they had already arrived at the entrance of her room while he’d been zoned out. The entire trip had gone by on autopilot.

“No what?” Noah asked. “Sorry. I wasn’t really here mentally. Please don’t hold me accountable for anything I’ve said over the duration of the past ten minutes. My head has been empty.”

Moxie snorted. “I figured that out when you missed my first question a while back. I was saying no, there aren’t more assassins. So stop worrying about it. And even if there were, everyone we know is more than strong enough to protect themselves. They aren’t just helpless kids.”

“Aha. Trying to read my mind, but you were a step behind. I had already gotten past that,” Noah said. “I’m getting less predictable. You’re only able to tell what I was thinking a few seconds ago rather than what I’m thinking now.”

“That’s not the brag that you think it is.” Moxie shook her head, slight amusement twinkling behind her eyes as she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Noah followed after her, closing the door behind himself with his foot. “That’s just because you know me well. I’m not…”

…predictable. That’s what Og called my magic, isn’t it?

Shit. Maybe I really am predictable.

“Noah?” Moxie asked, the amusement falling away from her features as concern replaced it. “Are you okay? Seriously, don’t let yourself get so lost in your own thoughts like that. There’s nothing you can do to predict when some crazed demons are going to try to assassinate anyone. Losing sleep is just going to make it harder to function in the long run.”

“It’s not that,” Noah said. “Lee and I were confronted by a group of demons that were supposedly stronger than the normal ones. One of them was called Og. Big guy. Didn’t think he was anything special, but he blocked my magic. Completely.”

Moxie’s eyes widened. “You mean from… ah, your strongest rune?”

“No, fortunately not. I would be a lot more worried if that had happened. I didn’t realize he was as strong as he was, so I used Unstable Pandemonium. It’s never had any trouble obliterating things before, but Og grabbed the magic and squished it like it was dough. Said this whole attack was nothing more than some sort of training exercise to see if we were strong enough to fight the Herald.”

Moxie’s features darkened. She was silent in thought for several moments. “That’s not too dissimilar from what the one I interrogated mentioned, though he didn’t seem to think he was part of the training exercise. He was dead serious.”

“So was Og,” Noah said. “The demons we killed were meant to be fodder. They just didn’t know it. It doesn’t sound like Og wants to assassinate us — or the students. He wants to use us to make whoever this Herald is stronger.”

“That’s probably a good thing for the short term,” Moxie said. “Makes it less likely they’re going to try to actually kill anyone. You don’t intentionally overwhelm someone you’re trying to train up. We can take advantage of that.”

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Noah nodded slowly. Moxie was right. She tended to be. But training exercise or not, he’d still had his magic completely quashed by Og. It would have been one thing if it was merely a difference in rank.

But it hadn’t been. The cultist had been right.

“Yeah,” Noah said. He chewed the insides of his cheeks for a moment before shaking his head. “Well, as you said, should probably get some sleep. I’m going to really try to delve deep into seeing what my rune can do tomorrow — and I need to have a conversation with my grimoire.”

Some people might have blinked at that. Moxie just slung the massive book off her back and held it out to Noah. “Here. Damn thing was starting to get heavy. I think I was wearing out my welcome carrying it around. Enjoy. I’m going to take a shower. Just make sure you follow your own advice. No training tonight. You better be here when I get back.”

“I will,” Noah promised with a chuckle. “What kind of guy do you take me for?”

“One who likes making very abrupt decisions,” Moxie said. She gave him a slight smile, then slipped into the bathroom. A moment later, she poked her head out of the door. “And no sitting on the bed until you clean up.”

Then she closed the door again.

A grin tugged at the corners of Noah’s lips. Her plants could literally eat flesh. He was pretty sure they could consume a little dirt, but he still sat down on the chair and propped the massive book up against the desk before him.

“Right,” Noah said, leaning back on the chair’s rear legs and crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Grim. We need to talk.”

The sound of running water from the bathroom reached Noah’s ears. He tapped his fingers against his knee. Seconds slipped by.

Grim didn’t budge. The book was still and dead. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought it was nothing more than paper and leather.

Noah’s eyes narrowed.

“Don’t pull this shit now. I’m serious. I would much rather be in the bathroom with Moxie right now instead of talking to you, so we’re both not pleased about the state of things. Now get out here and—”

A sinewy black hand fell on Noah’s shoulder. It had elongated, slender fingers that nearly reached all the way down to his chest. Each of them was warped and came to a razor-sharp point at its tip. The hand was cold, even through his jacket.

“Vines,” Grim said. Amusement hung in the abomination’s tone like a swinging noose. “I ate well today. Thank you for the meal.”

I see Moxie’s kills got taxed. Classic.

“I need to know what you meant when you called me Herald,” Noah said. “I’m not dumb enough to believe it doesn’t have anything to do with what the idiots that attacked me today were talking about.”

“Herald is a title. It is hardly any more unique than King.”

“Are you seriously trying to imply that these are two entirely separate situations that just both happened to coincidentally decide that Herald was the word they wanted to use to describe me?” Noah arched an eyebrow in his best impression of Moxie. “Come on. I’m not that stupid. Hell, you’re made up from stitched-up demon bits. You even share a very vague origin to the blokes today. You said it wasn’t a prophecy, so what is it?”

Grim studied Noah silently for several long seconds. “It is as I said. Herald is nothing more than a title. The demons that attacked today do not believe you worthy of it. They have another that they believe fits the role of Herald, and you are attempting to stand in their path. It is the nature of living creatures to seek the destruction of those in their way.”

“You know, crazy thought, but I already kind of figured that bit out,” Noah said. “They made it clear enough when they tried to attack us. I want to know why. What’s so hard about telling me what this Herald shit is?”

“By the time you know, it’s too late,” Grim replied. “There is nothing that I will tell you. Written and spoken words alike have as much power as that which gives them purpose. Some words have more purpose than others. I will not speak of it.”

Noah stared at Grim. “You’re scared. That’s it, isn’t it? What the hell can scare a book that literally can’t be damaged? You’ve eaten another book that instantly kills anything it touches. What in the world could possibly get you to the point where you won’t even say what Herald is meant to mean? You already gave me the damn name, you might as well get out the rest of it.”

“We have already established how little a mere name has before it has found its purpose,” Grim said. “If it had more purpose, then you would not have to pry me with questions that will not be answered. Focus on your strength, Herald. Not on worthless names.”

And then Grim was gone, and Noah was left sitting even more confused than he had been a moment before. The abomination had made it abundantly clear that there would be no further information about the name it had given him.

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That said, Noah’s conversation hadn’t been completely useless. He’d gotten some information. It wasn’t so much about what Grim had said as it was about what he hadn’t said.

I know the Herald title isn’t from any prophecy shit from the last time we spoke. It’s some sort of title. Presumably an earned one, given that I’m being called a False Herald by the cultist demons.

Heralds are usually meant to announce the arrival of something. So they think I’m faking it, while Grim thinks I’m acutally bringing it. As to what it is, I have no clue… but I suppose that’s what I’ll have to focus on.

Noah repressed a sigh and shook his head. This wasn’t going to go anywhere unless he could interrogate an actual cultist.

The only thing he could do right now was the one that Grim had already suggested to him.

Focus on my own power. I was already planning on doing that, but it really does seem like it’s the only path to pursue right now.

Tonight, he would sleep. And then, when the sun rose tomorrow, he was putting Unstable Pandemonium to the test until he found out exactly what its limits were.