"I can see where this is going, Books." The Princess interrupted. "You took on the scribing and temple jobs to stay out of the Academy, long enough for them to finally cut you. Which means you were cut on a technicality. Which is not a real cut, to me."

"That was the plan," Tanna replied with a bow, "or at least what I thought the plan was going to be, but instead the Headmistress came up with something...a little different. Something I was not expecting. I can assure you, my cut was not a technicality."

The Princess only harrumphed her response, so Tanna continued.

-----

Well. This is unexpected. Tanna was not sure what she expected after receiving the note from Nulor asking her to meet at a private residence outside the Academy's campus, but it was not the gloomy manor home looming over her. The large residence was done in the style of the Old Empire, exposed heavy, aged timbers tracing vertical lines up the tall facades. Tall, narrow windows shrouded in ornate painted wooden details emphasized its height.

The crooked, jagged shadows that reached down from the barren branches adorning the silent sentinels flanking the road danced a chaotic dance around Tanna's feet as she quietly deliberated on how safe it was to approach. She picked her way through the dying overgrown shrubs lining the path to the entry before hesitating again as her hand lifted the heavy, ornately sculpted iron knocker. Before she could work up the courage to knock, the door creaked wearily open on its own.

"You are Lady Tanella, I presume." The crag-faced butler rumbled before Tanna could say anything.

"Uh, yeah," Tanna said, recovering her nerves. "It is just Tanella, though." Tanna corrected.

"Of course, Tanella. This way." The butler said as he waived her inside. She followed him deep inside the house, until they reached a small circular stair. "You will find what you are looking for downstairs." He grated.

Tanna steeled herself and marched into the dark.

"Good." The Headmistress said as Tanna descended the cramped stair. Headmistress Nulor was holding an oil lamp high in one hand, a steady beacon in the dark. "You are here." Chaotic tendrils of doubt tightened their grip on Tanna's mind, like the inky fingers of dark that threatened to smother the periphery of her vision as Tanna followed Nulor further into the dimly lit basement. Despite their clear path, Tanna could see the darkness held within it an assortment of furnishings and equipment that rivaled the collections in many of the Academy's laboratories. "And now we are all here." Nulor said as she stopped in front of a large, old, weathered boulder that sat in its own corner, half sunk in the floor. "Adjudicator Essela Elge, this is Tanella Lawgiver, of Roundhill." Nulor said to the stone.

Tanna tried to peer around the stone to see if anyone was hiding behind it, but had to cut her investigation short when Nulor motioned for her to bow. When Tanna came up from her bow she jumped with surprise at the slightly built Adjudicator now standing in front of her. "I am honored by your Order, Adjudicator." Tanna managed to stammer before giving another bow for good measure.

"She does not look like much." Elge said after a moment of scrutiny.

"Poor marks in Etiquette, but otherwise one of the top of her class." Nulor said.

Elge leaned in for a closer look. Tanna felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny. She was not sure if it was a trick of the light, but it felt like Elge was looking through her as much as she was looking at her. "She will have to be tested." Elge said suddenly.

Nulor looked at Tanna for a response. "That is, uh, fine with me." Tanna haltingly said.

"Very well." Elge said. "First, put this on." She handed Tanna a stiff leather collar.

"Can I ask why?" Tanna asked as her fingers caressed the embroidered runes covering the outside. No language I know, which means it is really ancient.

"To measure your Chaos tolerance." Elge said.

Chaos!? What kind of job is this? These runes are really ancient...or maybe just really Chaotic. "What do I need my Chaos tolerance measured for?" Tanna hesitantly asked, but found herself putting the collar on anyway under the combined weight of Elge's and Nulor's serious gazes.

"It is just a precaution." Elge said, which did nothing to relieve the unease building in Tanna's stomach.

What is a Justice doing with a Chaos artifact anyway? And why would my Chaos tolerance ever matter? Tanna sighed. Does it really matter? Just get through it. For Ash. Its just a little Chaos. The collar began to tingle against the skin of her neck, and Tanna reached a hand up to adjust it.

"Hands down!" Elge snapped, and Tanna reflexively moved her hands back to her sides as the tingle receded. "Touching it during testing can affect the results." Good to know now. The tingle began to return. "The best way to allow-"

Tanna lost focus on her words as the tingle continued to build to a sharp pain in her neck. Tanna had to grip her belt with her hands to keep them away from the collar.

"Is it supposed to hurt?" Tanna asked through clenched teeth as the sharp pain dulled back to a tickle, and then disappeared entirely. Okay, just a little more Chaos. Not that I deserve it. For Ash. Not that she deserves it either, since we both should have made the cut.

"It is Chaos, child. Of course it will hurt." Elge patiently explained. "But you must learn to accept-"

"Nnnggg-!" The pain came back again, the most intense so far, and this time it did not recede until Tanna was on her knees. Elge was still talking, but even with the pain gone Tanna could not focus on the words.

Before it returned for a fourth time, Tanna already feared its return, and decided it would be best to stay on her knees. "How many times does it-". This time Tanna saw red before the pain faded, whole body tense. She did her best to get her breathing under control and slow her heart, but the dread of another wave kept her whole body tense.

Not worth it! For the Order, not again! Another wave of pain washed over her, and Tanna barely held on to her sanity. She puked involuntarily as the pain seemed to linger at the end. Stupid! Why did I put the collar on so easily? Tanna could feel the tingle beginning to build again, but her hands were too busy keeping her face out of her own mess to get to the collar. "No!" Tanna pleaded, "I don't...I don't think-"

-----

"-only the sixth level." Tanna heard Elge saying. "It is not as much as hoped for, but I suppose we can make it work."

"Excellent." Nulor replied.

Tanna managed to get her eyes open as Elge continued to talk. She had been moved to a cot in a different room, fortunately free of vomit, although the acrid taste remained in the back of her throat. Tanna groaned as she turned and the voices stopped.

"You are up?" Elge asked, hovering over Tanna as she painfully managed to move herself upright.

Her body felt exhausted, but she still managed to get a hand up to check for the collar. Yes! Collar free! "Yes. I think so." Tanna replied hoarsely. "That was pretty rough."

"Not too rough, I hope." Nulor said as she stepped up to the cot beside Elge.

"No, ah, I can continue, if you want." Tanna did her best to keep her voice level. Just find calm. Find Order. The Order will guide us. I hope the Order is guiding us.

"Excellent. Then. There are a few things that you need to know, and a few things that will need to happen." Elge said. "I need a Seeker of Information, to help bring Justice to a murderer. This is not an official position with any court. It cannot be, because...I am dead." What! "This means that you will not have any official protections, despite potentially interacting with dangerous individuals. You will also not be able to use this appointment to satisfy your Imperial duty requirements, despite the possibility that you may need to quit the Academy to fulfill your responsibilities of a Seeker."

Tanna's pain-addled brain was having a hard time keeping up. Dead! She's Chaos-cursed dead. And she's talking to me. "Then how-!"

"I have linked my soul to the stone." Elge said and gestured to the heavy stone in the corner. You can do that!? "It will not hold for long, but hopefully long enough, Order guide us."

"That is, I didn't-" Tanna stammered. What exactly is going on?

"Headmistress Nulor will place you at a temple, if everything works as planned. Your scribing numbers were good enough that obtaining a temporary scibing or clerk contract should be trivial." Elge continued.

"Alright." Tanna said cautiously, still trying to figure out what exactly Elge was.

"While there you will need to collect information on a certain priestess. It is highly probable that your contract will be a temporary one, and if so, I will be unable to be extend it. It is imperative you collect the necessary data as soon as possible." Nulor said.

No pressure. Just collect a little data. From a priestess. For a ghost. How hard could that be? "Which data, exactly, will I need to collect?"

"Justice Elge was murdered by a Chaos wielder, that much is certain." Nulor said as Elge moved far enough from the cot to be swallowed by the darkness. "The evidence suggests the murderer was also a former student of Justice Elge. Those two criteria narrow the list of possible culprits to three. We only know the location of one of them."

"At a temple." Tanna said.

"Precisely." Nulor said. "The other two may require some additional effort to locate." Tanna nodded. "The Chaos-wielder used a very specific type of Chaos when committing their crime, so we need to determine if any of the three former students are capable of this type of Chaos."

"The easiest way to do that is to use one of these." Elge said as she re-emerged from the dark holding a stone about the size of a fist. She placed the stone on the cot beside Tanna. "This is a stone that has been re-Ordered to act as a filter for certain types of Chaos spirit." She placed a painrod near the stone, and Tanna could see the stone pulling out the Chaos stored inside. "This is what will happen with most types of Chaos."

"Whoa." Tanna said as she watched the the Chaos flow over the stone like a heavy white fog rolling itself into regular waves.

"And now..." Elge swapped the painrod for another and the stone lit up like a rainbow, wisps of multi-hued Chaos rippling and swirling across the surface of the stone. "The Chaos we are looking for."

"Whoa." Tanna said again.

"One of your tasks will be to locate the three former students." Elge said. "We have already identified the first. Then, get near enough to them to confirm which, if any, are capable of using this type of Chaos. You will need to do this while still fulfilling your Imperial duty requirements, although we will help you with favorable placements as much as possible. Do you think you can do that?"

"I do." Tanna said, mesmerized by the swirling rainbow.

-----

"What did you do, Tanella?" Ash asked, standing in Tanna's doorway.

Tanna cracked her eyes open to see quiet fury radiating from Ash. "Huh, wha-?" Tanna groaned as she struggled to wake. She typically did not have trouble getting up in the morning but her body was still very stiff and sore from her 'testing' the day before.

"Your name is not on the list, at all! And, coincidentally, I'm back above the cut." Ash explained.

Tanna realized she had never seen Ash mad before. Well, not before now. "Yeah, uhm, I got a job?" Tanna mumbled.

"Except nobody can get a job right now. Not a real one anyway." Ash countered. "I know. I tried. The only ones left are temp positions."

Tanna stifled a groan as she had to use all her focus to get her hands high enough to rub her face. "Yeah, I got one of those then, a temp. So, I'm off the list."

Ash gave a frustrated sigh. "Are you trying to ruin me, Tanna? Any temp job will end before the next school year, and you'll be put back on the list, and I'll be back off, without any time to make alternate plans."

"Whoa, no Ash. Its fine. You don't have to worry about that. I made, like...a deal."

"A deal!? A deal with who?" Ash asked.

"The Headmistress." Tanna replied. "I'll be cut after the temp-"

"Tanna! How is that fine?" Ash began pacing the room, another very un-Ash-like behaviour. "Its stupid! The only reason this place is even marginally bearable is you!" Ash stopped near the head of Tanna's bed, tiny form looming over Tanna. "But either you make the cut and I don't, or you make your deal and I get to stay. Those are both terrible options."

"Maybe," Tanna countered, sitting up. "But what is really terrible and stupid is that the Academy doesn't want you. You are one of, if not the, smartest in our class, Ash. I'm serious. You are the fastest with numbers, and you know as much Imperial history as me, Ms. Former-Storysinger herself."

"I don't know, you're pretty smart, too." Ash said, a little calmer.

"Yeah except I'm a filthy Barbarian who can't pass Etiquette." Ash gave a snort of agreement. "If only one of us belongs here, its you. I mean, nothing really changes for me if I spend another year at the Academy, other than I get to delay paying back my time a little longer. Either way I'll end up a lowly clerk in some remote posting. But if you get another year, that puts you on the Advisor track. Possibly even a pick for the Palace."

Ash gave another snort. "I don't know about the Palace..." Ash muttered.

A soft knock at the door froze Ash and Tanna for a moment before a pottery shard slipped underneath. Ash hesitantly retrieved it. "Summons. Nulor wants to see us." Ash said after reading the shard.

"Both of us?" Tanna asked. Ash nodded. "Well then, lets go see about a deal."

-----

"I take it you have already filled her in on the situation." Nulor said after Ash and Tanna had squeezed into her office.

"Uh, not exactly." Tanna said. "I was not sure how much I could tell."

"A wise precaution, but for this to work, we will need a way for you to get information to me or Justice Elge." Nulor explained.

"Uh, isn't Justice Elge on sabbatical?" Ash asked with a worried glance that bounced between Tanna and the Headmistress.

"Not quite." Tanna said, and then gave a brief summary of the situation.

"That...that is the biggest load of Chaos I have ever heard!" Ash exclaimed when Tanna finished.

"Excuse us for a moment." Ash said when Tanna had finished, and pulled her out into the hall. "Murdered!?" Ash hissed. "And the murderer is still out there! And you are now hunting this murderer? I would expect that kind of half-thought-through plan from you Tanna, but from the Headmistress!? Something does not feel right, Tanna. Too much disorder."

"It will be fine." Tanna assured her. "I hope." Ash did not look convinced.

"Tanella, your first job will be with the local temple of Makron Peth." Nulor said when they reentered the office. What! "It is a prestigious temple, they hold themselves to a high level of Order."

"I think we are all aware." Ash muttered under her breath. Makron Peth was important to Tanna for other reasons, but she had not expected a posting there.

"Um, I was..." Tanna stammered, Chaos rising in her throat. Maybe Ash is right, too much Chaos. "Are you sure that is the temple you want me at?"

"The only former student we currently have the location for is at that temple." Nulor said. "She is a Priestess with the Order named Shala." Nulor gave Tanna a serious look. "Just a reminder, Tanna, this is a temporary position. You will need to use the opportunity to get her alone, and get the stone as close to her as possible, as soon as possible, without her knowing. Another opportunity like this may not present itself for some time."

Tanna nodded, still stunned. "Understood." Ash answered for them.

"Good." Nulor said. "Then you until the end of tomorrow to move out."

Ash and Tana bowed to Nulor and marched out of her office. "Come on Tanna, Makron Peth is not that bad." Ash said after they exited, taking her turn at reassuring Tanna. "Aren't you the one always complaining that this place is not Orderly enough for you?"

"Yeah." Tanna said but she could hear the doubt in her voice. "But still-"

"Look, if I can handle the Academy alone, you can make it through a temp position at Makron Peth." Ash said confidently. Order guide us.

WC:2833