Shattered Sanity

The closer the group got to the Northern Forest, the more focused they became, as their laughter gradually began to die down while Riven’s attention shifted towards the trees looming ahead.

’I need to make this work.’

This was no longer simply about surviving the group pursuing them. ℯ

Riven needed to set the tone for the remainder of Black Week and make everyone else planning to take him down understand that engaging him came with consequences.

’I need to take them all prisoner and return to Argent Castle, and my infamy needs to shoot through the roof.

It’s exactly how my father said.

They need to fear me, or else they’ll overrun me.

So failure is not an option.’

Riven thought, as he desperately searched the approaching trees for the markers Jeff and Matt had prepared, knowing that entering the wrong section of the Northern Forest could prove considerably worse for them than the people chasing them.

Then he finally spotted one.

A small nail had been driven into the trunk of a tree near the forest’s entrance, with a thin branch awkwardly tied around it in a manner that looked completely meaningless to anyone who didn’t know what they were searching for.

Riven smiled.

’There.’

As he continued running towards it, Circuit’s instructions from several days earlier began playing through his mind.

—-------

(A Few Days Ago, Circuit’s POV)

Circuit looked towards the six idiots sitting across from him and released a deep sigh before spreading a large piece of paper across the table between them.

”My sources tell me that as soon as Black Week begins, a bunch of Aureate students are almost certainly going to chase you down. Amongst them will probably be those you knocked out during Physical Training during the first week of the Academy, alongside several others who already have beef with Randy and Batista. However, that’s not what’s important,” Circuit explained, as he picked up a piece of charcoal and began sketching the rough outline of the Northern Forest.

”What’s important is that if you somehow manage to overwhelm those people and turn them into prisoners, it will send a powerful message that the six of you are full of tricks and surprises. And to do that, you shouldn’t defeat them in a straight fight. You need to outthink them.”

The casual expressions around the table gradually disappeared.

”So listen to my plan carefully.”

Circuit began shading several trees onto the map before drawing a winding route between them.

”So I did some digging and amongst the resources House Argent obtained this year are several sets of equipment that can be used to construct basic traps.

So... If Riven spends some of the Merit Points he received for fighting Gary, and approaches Housemaster Cedric with a list of what we need, I’m fairly certain he’ll allow us to purchase the equipment for our own use.”

His charcoal moved again.

The first mark was a narrow pit positioned between two trees, shallow enough that falling into it wasn’t likely to cause permanent injury but deep enough to take someone out of a chase.

Several meters farther ahead, Circuit drew a thin line between another pair of trees.

”We put trip cords here, although the point isn’t simply to make someone fall. Anyone running behind them will either crash into the person who falls or instinctively spread towards the sides, which means we already know where they’re going next.”

He marked two additional locations.

One route led towards another concealed pit.

The other passed beneath a bent branch that could be released using a simple trigger, sweeping across the path at chest height and catching anyone sprinting through without paying attention.

”And this is where it becomes useful,” Circuit continued, as the map gradually filled with lines, circles and arrows. ”None of these traps are particularly impressive on their own. We’re dealing with Ascendants, not ordinary people, so expecting a rope and a hole to defeat them would be idiotic. The purpose is to keep forcing them where we want them to go.”

For the next fifteen minutes, Circuit continued explaining how each trap connected to another, with some intended to knock pursuers down while others existed solely to funnel them towards a particular route or separate several people from the larger group.

By the time he finished, the northern section of the map had become covered in markings.

Circuit finally placed the charcoal down before looking towards Jeff and Matt.

”The two of you are going to have to do most of the groundwork undetected for this plan to work. However, if it does work and you manage to take down a large group of Aureate students early into Black Week, then for the remaining days everyone else will think twice before blindly chasing you into an unfamiliar area.”

Riven looked towards the map.

Circuit tapped the Northern Forest with one finger.

”Because after this, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve actually prepared another trap somewhere else. They’ll always wonder if you have. Every time you run into a forest, an alley, an abandoned training ground or anywhere they can’t immediately see what’s waiting for them, they’ll have to consider whether you’re leading them into another one.”

That was when Riven finally understood what Circuit was actually trying to accomplish.

The traps weren’t merely meant to win one fight.

They were meant to create a reputation.

”And that hesitation might be enough to let you escape whenever you’re outnumbered,” Circuit continued. ”However, all of this is theory. The execution depends upon the six of you, and more importantly, upon you idiots not getting tangled in your own fucking traps.”

Batista chuckled at that, although Circuit ignored him and drew one final symbol beside several trees.

”So we’re going to leave markers that only the six of you recognize. I propose driving a small nail into selected trees and tying a broken branch around it so it looks like meaningless debris unless you know what you’re searching for.”

He drew the symbol again.

”Whenever you see this, remember one rule. Go left of the marked tree. Never right. Every dangerous section begins on the right-hand side, while the route along the left remains clear enough for you to pass safely.”

Circuit looked around the table, making certain all six were paying attention before tapping the map one final time.

”You follow that rule and you’ll be fine.”

A small grin appeared across his face.

”But your pursuers won’t.”