The Dustbin

Day 4: Night School (Part 1)

26th of the Great Tree Moon, Evening

"... Please tell me that you were born cursed, Professor Yuga." Seteth sighed out. "At least that way, I can somewhat excuse you of your... frequent misgivings."

Once again, Karna was now in Seteth's study with the rest of the students, sans Cyrus, currently trying to amend their worsening situation of their... complicated logistical disaster.

"If I said no, would you believe me?" Karna pointed out.

"Nevermind, I must be going insane having to deal with you and your herd of cats that you call students..." Seteth grumbled out. "Part of the reason why I just cannot send these kids back home is that one of them no longer has a family to go back to..."

"Oi, I'm standing right here." Byron spoke out before he buried his face behind the book labeled "The Wayward Chronicles".

"The other, we don't even know where he used to live..."

Vidar lets out a small grunt before scratching his bandages wrapped around his head.

"Those two are literally political hostages..."

Sorcha and Selena exchanged looks with each other before shrugging.

"The other's too dangerous to let run loose..."

Topaz flips of Seteth.

".. Point is, as much as me and the rest of the board would like to just up and throw these kids out, we afford to, for several reasons." Seteth pointed out. "Not only we'd be sending these kids to their certain deaths, which would drastically damage our PR, but Lady Rhea insists that no one should be forsaken lest they stray from the will of the Goddess. Regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, I'm willing to help aid your situation, despite you, Professor Karna Yuga, have proven to be a literal, walking disaster area!"

"I have no excuses nor apologizes." Karna replied. "I've been through so many perilous travels that I kind of forgotten how that other people aren't as used to danger as I am."

Seteth grumbles on his desk before face back towards the cloaked professor.

"... I'm going mad." Seteth grumbled to himself. "I'm going mad just having to deal with you and your-"

Suddenly, the Archbishop enters the office.

"L-Lady Rhea!" Seteth greeted and bowed.

"At ease, Seteth." She replied. "... Is something troubling you?"

"If that's the case, I'm willing to help him in return." Karna interjected. "I have an extremely-strong blend of Almyran Coffee Blend that's bitter enough to wake the dead, or an extremely-potent concoction of tranquilizer that could even make the most obsessive of workaholics sleep like babies, a guaranteed 10 perfect hours of uninterrupted sleep. Either option is welcome to your desk jockey here, if he continues to aid me in my... current gripes."

"So negotiations are going poorly then." Rhea pointed out. "... You really are a unique case, aren't you?"

"Did you know that my time at the Adrestrian Empire wasn't full of my misfortunes, or at least, as much as it shouldn't?" Karna pointed out. "Even I myself was surprised that I managed to get my own lab there without anything exploding around me for three years straight. In a two mile radius, there was one laboratory that did explode on the other side of Embarr, but I was by the city gates, so I'm not the who started the fire, I assure you."

"Would've it killed if you stayed there?" Seteth pointed out, his tone grinding at the last dredges of his patience. "At least that way, we wouldn't have to pave another wall..."

"Now that I think about it..." Byron interjected as he closed his book. "... How did a structurally-sound bulwark collapse after the sub-basement under it caved in?"

Vidar grunts while shrugging.

"... I'm no bloomin' architect." Sorcha dismissively remarked.

"Sorry... I'm just as clueless as everyone else." Selene apologized.

"Might've been the termites." Topaz pointed out. "The desks were practically carrying the said infestation when they were thrown into the basement as disposal, am I wrong?"

Everyone in the room turns their heads towards the diminutive Almyran.

"... Just what are you implying?" Seteth asked.

"Someone wanted this to happen." Topaz pointed out. "Think about it, those desks were to be disposed, correct?"

"Yes." Rhea answered. "All equipment that are to be disposed as firewood if timber, or be donated to the local blacksmiths as raw material."

"... Desk jockey."

"You may me Seteth." The man behind the desk pointed out.

"Seteth." Topaz spoke out. "Just for the past month, who was in charge of the garbage disposal?"

"Usually, we have the pages do in the monastery to the labor..." Seteth pointed out. "... But in regards to distribution, we usually give that responsibility to the students as part of their logistics course."

"Just what the bloody 'ell's that?" Sorcha asked.

"It's an officer's academy." Byron answered. "Logistics and distribution is an essential part of warfare and land management, and they technically do commoner's work without getting their silk-gloved hands dirty. So much for dirty work humbling the nobles with that little loophole present..."

"So you're assuming that someone bribed them?" Karna pointed out.

"Impossible." Rhea remarked. "They've taken the goddess's words to heart, so surely they won't partake in such sinful actions..."

Karna then stares at the Archbishop with a judgmental look in his eyes.

"... Archbishop, the oldest of those pages are 13. I would know, because I ran into an Almyran kid in the Greenhouse." Karna pointed out. "Fact of the matter, minority or majority, they're still kids. They're still prone to naivety and simple bribes to be suckered into whoever's whims possible. Now, I'm not saying that they're untrustworthy. Far from it, actually, but it's because the opposite is true."

"They're overly trusting, that's what you're implying, Professor?" Byron asked.

"That is correct." Karna replied. "But still, it can be hypothesized that whoever was in charge of the garbage disposal for the past month might've coaxed those pages to put the termite-infested desks into the basement."

"... Now that I think about it, it seemed rather odd that perfectly-looking desks would end up in the The Dustbin." Selene pointed out. "As if someone wanted us to have it..."

All of the people inside the study go silent in thought.

"... Well, I suppose we can begin the investigation tomorrow-"

"No." Karna pointed out. "We strike now."

"But Professor! You do realize that it's nighttime, correct!?" Rhea pointed out. "Surely, you're not thinking of barging into their-"

"Look Lady Archbishop." Karna retorted with a glare. "Whoever put an entire termite nest into the basement where you and the educational board put them in, they were trying deliberately to kill them under a pretense of an accident."

"How so?" Seteth asked. "Is there any evidence of such thing?"

"Plenty." Byron interjected. "From what I've heard, the garbage disposal schedule was the perfect cover to concoct any scheme involving anyone who clearly has an agenda against us. And as far as I can recall, the only students that the board has graciously exiled us into the semi-basement that had bad blood with any of the previous students are..."

He then points towards the tattooed twins.

"Them." Byron pointed out. "Also worth mentioning, those two were ex-Black Eagles, meaning that the whole 'accident' implies unfinished business."

"And more time we give them, the more time they have to conflate their possible excuses or justifications." Topaz remarked. "Spare nigh a single unturned stone, that is our most ideal course of action."

"The nobles first." Karna stated. "Who are they and which house are they in right now?"

Seteth looks through his catalog and finds two names written down for the current month.

"Iago Romeo Macbeth and Hans Todeskampf Grosse." Seteth remarked. "Both of them being... Black Eagles."

"Judging by their names, I assume that they're nobility?" Byron pointed out. "I mean, only nobles have names that superfluous, I mean for goddess's sake, my name happens to be Byron Amadeus Noa! For goddess's sake, just call me Byron! That's enough of a name to get my attention, isn't not!?"

"... Ignoring that, just barging into their upper-floor dorms would cause unnecessary attentions, so we'll opt a more subtle approach." Karna remarked. "Sorcha, Selene, Topaz, scout the dorms for those two. Byron, Vidar, with me."

"Wait, Professor Yuga." Rhea interjected. "Before you do anything rash, please reconsider."

"Oh I'm being legitimate while remaining in my boundaries, Archbishop." Karna remarked. "Your job as headmistress is to make sure that everyone's getting along. My job as a Professor is to make sure they learn. And besides, it's best if you stay out of this. Political clout aside, imagine what happens if word of students killing each other got out. Surely, that would not only get me fired, but probably for the rest of the staff uninvolved as well."

Rhea steps back upon hearing those words.

"... Are you... blackmailing the Archbishop!?" Seteth barked out at the Professor's audacity.

"Oh, unfortunately, 'blackmail' is such an ugly word." Karna remarked with a sly grin. "... Call it a 'reality check'."

The Professor lets his students out of the study to do their thing.

"You'd expect that the students from formerly warring nations to get along, one being an empire that I happened to dodge multiple assassination attempts to secure my funding, the other being a nation responsible for a near-genocide of an indigenous ethnic group, and the third having the cohesion of which a tower of soggy biscuits can easily best." Karna pointed out. "Your job is to keep the peace between three nations? Go ahead, suck the three nations teats as long you're happy. My job for now?"

He then sticks head back into the study with the rest of him at the audience chamber.

"... I'll get this dirty deed done dirt cheap."

At the Page's Quarters...

"Alright, who's knocking?" Karna asked as he and the two students from Faerghus stood in front of a small dorm building.

"Definitely not Vidar." Byron pointed out. "Poor bastard's got the eyes of murderer and face that only his mother can love. No offense."

Vidar grunts in response.

"And definitely not you, Byron." Karna pointed out. "I happen to know your type. You hate kids, don't you?"

"I can stomach them, at best." The bookworm replied. "It's just that I've developed a reflex to stay away from them. For my book's sake."

"... Guess that leaves me, then." Karna remarked. "Thankfully, I just happened to know one of them that live here."

The professor knocks on the door, waiting for a response.

"... Hey so, why is Vidar's face bandaged?" Karna asked out loud.

"It's not just his face." Byron pointed out as Vidar nodded slightly.

"Then I shall refrain from asking for further details." Karna apologized.

The door opens, revealing Cyril.

"... You know the whole dorm goes lights out in five minutes, right?" Cyril glared at the Professor.

"Pardon me, but we only need to ask you boys a few questions." Karna pointed out as he stuck his foot between the door's gap. "Who was involved last month's garbage disposal? It seems that one of your fellow pages have been unwittingly carried out an attempted murder on one of my students via termites."

"... What?" Cyril gawked out in disbelief. "Fine fine, I'll ask the others-"

I'll be sure to leave the door open." Karna pointed out. "I only need one answer."

"... Fine." Cyril grumbled out. "Oi! Who was in garbage duty last month!?"

"It was me!" A youthful voice remarked.

"It was Pit." Cyril answered.

"I'll remember that." Karna remarked. "Apologizes for taking your time."

"And just in time too." Cyril remarked before he headed back into the dormitory. "Alright everyone, lights out!"

The doors shut in front of the three as all lights in the dorms flicker out for the night.

"... Well that was surprisingly easy." Byron pointed out.

Vidar grunts in agreement.

"That was meant to be easy." Karna pointed out. "The hard part is finding the actual suspects."

"But we can leave it to the three girls, right?" Byron asked.

"That's no excuse to do some footwork of our own." Karna replied. "Come now. The game's afoot."

"... Oh! You've just quoted Herlock Sholmes from 'Face of a Thousand, Mind the One: The Great Game of Wits'!"

"Wait what?" Karna asked. "You mean the book that was filed several lawsuits for copyright infringement?"

"Still liked the story, though, especially during that freight ship climax."

At the Upper Student Dorms...

"For the record, me and my sis only spent one week in these godforsaken dorms before we got evicted." Sorcha pointed out to Topaz, while the three of them were above the dorm's ceiling peeking through a gap formed, noticed by no one.

"Well, whatever works." Topaz remarked quietly. "Assassinations back at Almyra were often crapshoot, with counter-assassins, false informations, and leaked plans. I swear, sometimes I wondered if the Hassan is trying to kill me off."

"Did the Hassan have any reason to?" Selene asked.

"He didn't need one." Topaz replied. "Us assassins were expected to die in the line of duty eventually. 'Live by the sword, die by the sword'. That's the creed that me and the other kids lived by."

"Shh, they're here!" Sorcha shushed at the two before they looked down at the gap.

The three spot two students, one being a tall and lean male youth with slightly pale skin and black hair that resembles uprooted seaweed, while the other was built like a stone fort, with not a single hair on his head. Both of them had a natural sneer on their faces, the pale one was carrying a thick tome around his arms while the big one had his arms crossed across his burly chest.

"... Doesn't those two remind you of someone?" Sorcha remarked. "I can't be the only one, can I?"

"Shh." Topaz shushed. "Focus on the mission at hand."

The three then see the two Black Eagles look around the halls before entering into a room together.

"... That seems odd." Topaz remarked. "... It's only about a few minutes before lights out, so why are they risking such action?"

"1000 Gold says that those eejits are up to somethin'." Sorcha pointed out. "How do we follow em'?"

"This way."

The three then crawl across the darkness and find themselves above a rather... alarming conversation.

"... So, that plan was a bust."

"Yeah, guess we can't trust those brats with anything."

"No no, they did their job properly. It's just a stroke of luck that the twins survived."

"So what now, mister genius? If the Crown Princess catches us in the act, our heads are gonna be rollin' off of the executioner's whetstone!"

"Fret not, dear Todeskampf. We will fulfill our mission to annihilate Brigid and Dagda off the map just as our families desired so decades back. We just need to find a different approach."

"Why not just hire a few sellswords and let em gut em for us?"

"And have the transactions traced back to us? Hardly. We need to do this right, so we must do this deed ourselves. Have faith, Hans."

"... Guess I got no choice but to let the genius do the job, eh?"

"Lest thy name is not Iago Romeo Macbeth."

The three look at each and nod in agreement.

"It's them." Topaz remarked. "... Although the way they managed to go this far to keep their trail cold is quite impressive."

"Can you stop being impressed with the ones who tried to kill off me and my sis off and just jump em right now?" Sorcha asked. "If they wanna scrap with us, we'll give em one."

"... Um, won't that make our situation way worse than it is?" Selene pointed out. "I mean, we're in the dorms so making noise seems rather... ill-advised especially during this time of day."

"She has a point." Topaz remarked. "So we'll have to confront them separately."

Below them, the three overhear the rest of the conversation.

"Well, it's kinda getting late, Mr. Genius. You gonna hit the sack anytime soon?

"So says the one who stays up until morning. You really gotta kick that habit of yours."

"Well, no rest for the wicked."

"Right back at ya, beansprout."

"Well, off you go then. Go ahead and chase around the Abyss for all I care, but do try to arrive on time for the morning classes."

"Yeah, yeah... Geez, are you my mum or something?"

"You're a friend, Hans. I have to make sure that you're well."

The three then hear the doors open and close beneath them.

"... Sorcha, Selene, you two follow the musclebound one." Topaz stated. "I'll deal with the bookworm not on our side."

Topaz then brandishes her knife.

"... Quietly and discreetly as possible."

The twins look at each other in befuddlement before turning away from the Almyran assassin and out towards where Hans was walking away towards.

"... Perhaps it's too late to point out that I'll try and curb my old habits?"

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: So a few things happened on why I had to hold this fic off.

One, been really busy writing other fics. Particularly the Apocrypha and CotWTH.

Two, I had to plan out the whole mini-conspiracy to make it concrete as possible.

And three, I saw the let's play for the Cindered Shadows DLC to make an assessment before I bought it, and nope, it's not worth the price (and FUCK the Golems) for me, so I'll buy it later if I have nothing better to buy off.

Also, yes, Iago and Hans are pseudo-transplanted characters from Fates, with the former's full name referencing Shakespeare's works like Othello, Romeo & Juliet, and Macbeth (in that order), while Hans is a bit of a tribute to Wolfenstein, particularly Hans Grosse from the original PC version and the 2009 remake. Todeskampf means "Death Match" in German, so yeah, nice guy (NOT).

Also, the more I go over this, the more I try to make this a "short-story" format per chapter. I dunno, might write this once and a blue moon. Until then, here's a short investigation arc for why the whole classroom when literally six feet under.

... We'll see how this goes.