Multiverse of Magic & Mistakes (Completed)

2.1.7 Chapter 7

The Mages College of Verdyn, Verdyn, October 2019.

Vi, Rho and Middy, along with Cary and Parrie, in their human forms, emerged out of the portal into Novice Riley's bedroom. The Mage had been expecting them, for a strong privacy charm surrounded the room, and Linnea, Theo and Mallory were all sitting crammed on the bed waiting. Allen was sitting in Riley's desk chair.

After a quick round of introductions and a discussion of the situation, to make sure the seven Mages and three Guardians were all in agreement, they got down to business. The Guardians had discussed how best to deal with the threat of the mages, long into the night after Vi, Rho and Middy's trial. Parrie had proposed they did what the Guardians did best; spy on the mages, gather information and sabotage Reynold's plans. But in order to be successful, they would need help from those familiar with the Mages College. Rho and Violet had exchanged a wordless glance, then Rho had said "We have some friends who could help."

The Guardians had returned their Conveyors and Vi and Rho had made some calls. Vi could not help but be infinitely grateful for Allen's genius in modifying their devices so that, even though she was deep underground in the Guardians secret headquarters, and her friend was in the lush gardens of the mages realm, she could hear Riley's voice in her mind as clear as if they were sat next to each other. Riley had promised to help before Vi had even finished outlining the plan.

Parrie, who was the oldest and most experienced Guardian other than the Harmonizer, started by showing the Mages the runes the Guardians used to create such strong Anti-Detection charms that they were nearly invisible. As Cary took their Mages necklaces to modify with the new Runes, Parrie explained how the Guardians strong Anti-Detection charm allowed for the caster to only be visible to those they wished could see them. To everyone else, eyes would skim over, and the caster would be just a faint shimmer in the air.

It was a sign of the Guardians true desperation and the extremity of the situation Vi realised that after keeping their existence hidden from the Mages for so long, there were a group of Guardians openly giving away their secrets. She desperately hoped that together they would be able to do enough.

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For the second time in about a week, Vi found herself hiding around the corner to Master Reynold's office awaiting a signal. This time, she was almost invisible, covered by the Guardians strong anti-detection charm which she had activated from the new bead on her Mages necklace. Waiting calmly next to her this time was Rho, as well as Mallory. They had practised using the new charm on each other, marvelling at how they could be seen by their friends, but be invisible to enemies. The Guardians specialised spell-casting really was something.

Their objective in Reynold's office was two-fold. Firstly, for the Guardian's and their new group of allies, was to try and find any of Reynold's invasion plans. If they could find some written proof to bring back, it would be invaluable in convincing the Guardians who were sceptical of the threat Reynold posed and could help them bring more of the Mages over to their side. Secondly, Rho, who was still reeling from Middy's tale of the true history of Verdyn was desperate for some kind of proof. He didn't want to blindly trust the Guardians, as he had Reynold, especially given the fact it turned out the Guardians were responsible for Mallory's injuries in Prague, Vi and Rho's attack by the Lurker, and it seemed the Middy had unintentionally collapsed Vi's portal, causing Rho to be trapped. Despite the fact the Guardians claimed to be 'the good guys' in this multi-verse, they did not have a good track record.

This time, luckily a distraction was not needed to draw Reynold away from his office. They knew he would be busy somewhere on the College grounds. It was simply a matter of finding out where.