The door finally closed behind Councilman Juno. He chuckled to himself quietly, considering the expression that was painted on Miss Sathauris’ face. The darting eyes, mouth agape. The clammy skin on her palm as he gripped her hand. A lovely mix of shock, panic, and reverence, blended into a skillful gradient. ‘What a talented painter I am.’ He thought to himself.

  His smile faded quickly though. Someone was coming out of the classroom. He could feel their footsteps just barely tapping on the polished stone floors worn ragged by the feet of thousands of students rushing in and out of the exam hall. ‘This school is too sentimental’, he thought, brow furrowed. ‘Too many symbols of scholarship and diligence and not enough action.’

  The Councilman had to compose himself. It wouldn’t be good for anyone if someone saw him laughing and scowling at the same time. The door behind him opened, just as he had expected. He continued a light stride forward, turning his head just a bit as he looked behind out of the corner of his eye. The right door opened just a little, enough for one person to leave comfortably. The right door. So the left door from the inside. The person was probably left handed. There were only two people who were left handed inside that room. He brought his hand up to his mouth to hide the smirk. ‘She probably wants to give the rest of them some time to get acquainted’ he thought. Juno turned on his heel and held a steep bow. He peeked up and saw that his guess was spot on.

  “Well that was quite the meeting, wasn’t it Lidia?” Juno asked slyly. Dean Kedam scoffed, closing the door behind her.

  “I don’t want to hear it. Not when you did practically nothing to ease the process.”

  Juno simply shrugged.

  “It’s not my job to make it easy, it's to make sure everything’s done right. Do you think managing that flea circus is easy?” Lidia sighed, the tension in her old shoulders and perfect posture relaxing, even just slightly.

  He looked at her face. She hadn’t been sleeping, though he could only tell that now that she was disarmed. He had noticed the small smudges of ink left on her hands, assuredly from the writing of letters or notes to keep things straight after the absolute nightmare before them. They were always so good at reading each other. Juno dropped the guise of professionalism and let a toothy grin spread across his face. Lidia visibly cringed at his face.

  “Do you have to look so nefarious when you smile? Show less teeth, you look like a damned beast.” Juno just smiled wider if that was even possible. There was a reason he had learned to stifle it, but around the Dean, that lesson was moot.

  He tempered his smile and leaned over to look at the door behind the Dean.

  “Will they be long?” He asked.

  “Probably. Besides Mr. Strivor and Ms. Sathauris, none of them have met each other. They’re going to be meeting each other for the first time for a while.” Lidia sighed. Juno recoiled microscopically at the statement. Lidia caught on quickly asking, “Is something wrong Councilman Juno?”

  Juno laughed wryly to himself, retorting, “I’m sure you know this but by its very nature: you only meet someone for the first time once.”

  “I don’t think so. I think people meet for the first time plenty of times.”

  Juno gave an exasperated chuckle, taking a deep breath.

  “Have you been messing with temporals again? You know those are only hypothetical right?”

  Lidia shook her head slowly, a look of disappointment spread on her face.

  “I expect more from you councilman. You usually have such an open mind.”

  “Pardon me for closing it to impossibilities, but I thought we had that meeting entirely to think of logical solutions and not some pipe dream.” The Dean was slowly becoming less patient. She took a defiant stride forward, the hem of her long robe flowing ahead like a billowing cloud of smoke.

  “If you truly believe that meeting was any sort of logical, I’m sorry to say that you are more of a fool than I give you credit for, and I give you a lot of credit.”

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  The Councilman scoffed, his smile fading more.

  “You may not have liked the meeting, Hell I didn’t even like it, but it was a necessary step. Without diplomacy we are nothing more than animals.”

  Lidia laughed loudly, sneering in Juno’s face.

  “Diplomacy is a skill, one that is practiced and learned and used to set traps for unwitting prey. That sounds more like an animal than you care to admit.”

  All semblance of diplomacy cleared itself from Juno’s face in an instant, the smile vanishing, replaced with a contorted look of rage. He seemed to have closed the gap between the two of them in the same instant, their noses almost touching as he snarled.

  “Oh I am more than comfortable being like an animal, but you seem to be missing the point. You cannot make these decisions alone. You are no king, you are the leader of this council. If we didn’t convene, it would be tantamount to some petulant ambitious prince sending an infiltrator to demolish a palace like in times of old.”

  “Oh please, like you are above subterfuge.”

  “Again, I’m not, but we represent a nation of intellectuals, we need to represent that ideal and we need to send people who align with that image, hence why I question your choice of Mr. Helbert and Ms. Sathauris.”

  “What is there to question? They are the natural best choices to go. I defy you to find better candidates.”

  Lidia had fully put up her guard once again, her expression nearly incomprehensible. The tired look had evaporated, replaced by the same steely look that had dominated the council. Juno relented, taking a step back.

  He commended Lidia, “In such a short time, I doubt I could, but if we gave it more time, I believe that we can find a better group.”

  “Don’t try and butter me up with your words. We are both too aware of how hollow they are.”

  Juno grinned. It was worth a shot. Given how tired she is, maybe her guard would have faltered. Lidia continued.

  “No one else offered any alternatives, just half baked criticisms. Besides, I know this academy better than I’d care to admit: There were no better options. They can’t see it because they’re too engrossed in nepotistic thoughts of glory for whatever brat in their bloodline they favor, but I hoped you’d understand.”

  “You say that, but you’ve chosen your own niece for this!”

  Lidia snapped, “And if you knew anything, you’d understand that if I had any other choice I would immediately have them go in her stead. She is of my blood, tantamount to my daughter. Unfortunately she has her father’s sense of duty ingrained in her.”

  “But what of Mr. Helbert and Ms. Sathauris? You still haven’t defended your choices.”

  Lidia threw her hands up and gave a hearty laugh.

  “You and the council have the same problem. You only look at base intellect and success. You never seem to consider the effect of experience or failure, virtues that Mr. Helbert and Ms. Sathauris embody perfectly. These four are the result of hours of careful consideration and any addition, tweak, or alteration would simply reduce their efficacy. I can understand to a degree that the other’s can’t recognize that, but I expect more from you.” Lidia huffed.

  “You expected more from me? I thought you believed me a fool?” Juno bellowed. The pair’s voices were beginning to echo loudly throughout the stone hallway, their spat turning into a heated debate.

  Lidia retorted, “You know what, you’re right. I shouldn’t expect more from someone who can’t see past a grade on a page.” She paused to take a deep breath and stepped closer. Lidia’s voice came down to a dark whisper. “Councilman, think about the reality of this. Consider the fact that this is not some test or study, this is a legitimate expedition beyond the walls of this school for a source of magic that no nation in the world would ever want to give up. That means they will fight for it. They will be outside the scope of our protection, and in a realm where they could seriously get hurt. Ruggedness and combat readiness are not things we often have to test for at this school. So I defend my choice of Ms. Sathauris and Mr. Helbert by saying that they are resilient enough for this journey and other ‘more appropriate’ candidates are not.”

  She had gotten very close to Juno’s face, marching forward with every point she made. They stared at each other, Juno recognizing an incandescent sharpness in her eyes and Lidia searching the miasmic soup of his for any semblance of sympathy.

  Juno sighed. He knew that she was ultimately right. No one knew the school’s directory quite like Lidia (Student and Staff) so if she claimed that these four were the best, it was likely that these four were the best. But still, the two outliers irked him for some reason. They seemed to be committed, but how much of that was true resolution and not some show put on to appease the council?

  There was only one day until they had to send some kind of group. After that, they risked other nations getting a headstart. Could they really trust this group to do the necessary work?

  He then smiled to himself. Trust? This had nothing to do with trust. They would do their best out of self preservation. They would win any fight coming their way because they ultimately want to live. Lidia was right, they were more like animals than anyone would like to admit, and there is little more trustworthy than a cornered animal’s will to survive. Juno let out a heavy chortle.

  “Ha! Fine. I relent. I acquiesce. You are a wise one after all.” He sang, waggling his long and thin finger. “You make very good points, Dean. I will go talk to the other members: Convince them that your plan has merit.”

  Lidia nodded, straightening herself out. They had gotten quite heated there for a minute. The Councilman continued,

  “I guess I mean what I said to Ms. Sathauris before I left the chamber. I wish them a bountiful journey. I hope you understand where you’re sending them though, Lidia. It’s not some vacation, it is a perilous path that you’ve set them on. If anyone would know, that ‘anyone’ would be me. Better yet, that would be us…”

  Lidia only nodded silently in agreement. She understood the risk. The mountain they needed to climb was a worrisome one indeed. The ever moving observatory on the floating mountain.

  The Impetuous Crest.

  The Telescope in the Sky.