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I've got my newest assignment from the guild. I'll be working with some higher-level adepts to explore an abandoned keep. It could get dangerous, so I was hand-picked for this mission. My portals have become invaluable to the guild over the years. It's an honor, really.
Except I have to deal with Julian.
It's not that I dislike her, necessarily. She's talented and one of the sharpest adepts I've ever seen, but she never understood why I chose to become a votary instead of continuing my arcane studies. She has little respect for the art of swordplay.
Oh well, duty calls, I suppose.
* * *
The journey began typically enough. A handful of mages, with Llaren and I acting as guards. We found the keep and made our way inside. Legend says the former owner of this keep had a penchant for collecting rare tomes of magic, so the study was our final destination.
What the legends didn't mention, however, was the owner's paranoia that someone would try to steal his precious books. Which I guess is what we came to do, but Y'ffre knows the dead can't read. As a result, the whole place was trapped from top to bottom.
At first, Julian was irritated that Llaren and I needed to clear the way for the rest of the group. She was impatient to get her hands on the books and exit that oppressive castle.
With a magical glow from her staff, she felt she had enough light to see any potential dangers ahead of her. I rolled my eyes, but let her take the lead since she wanted to so badly. We progressed through the halls for a bit, when an oddly shaped slab in the floor caught my attention.
Before I could warn her, Julian stepped on it, unaware of the trap she had just activated.
Julian turned to look at me, and I knew she wasn't going to be able to dodge out of the way on her own. Without thinking, I tackled her to the floor just in time to avoid the enormous swinging blade that emerged from a hidden slot in the wall beside us.
Julian's face transformed from indignity to shock as she saw how close she had come to meeting the edge of the blade.