Chapter 42

Natalie could hear the loud, thumping music nearly from the Union Plaza. The healer’s guild was in the back right of the five-pronged star, at least from the direction Natalie approached, and as she closed the gap to the white and green building—green was the color of healers, the same way gray was for tanks, or red for fighters—it started to vibrate in Natalie’s head.

She found herself grinning in anticipation. She’d been honest when she’d said that she hadn’t come to Tenet to party, but that the pseudo-university was infamous for them? Well, she didn’t consider that a bad thing. Plus, after the events of the past few hours—or, gods, honestly the past week—she could use a few drinks. Time to cut loose and burn off some stress. Company with Sammy was sure to do that. A girl with who her relationship hadn’t become so suddenly complicated, like Jordan. Not that Jordan’s company was ever stress-inducing, just, it’d become ... again, complicated.

People were strewn about the benches, yard, and the pointed edge of the plaza leading up to the guild. Tons of them. Dozens and dozens, probably close to a hundred, outside alone, bleeding from the healer’s guild and out into the Union Plaza, encroaching on other guild’s territories. Half the campus had to be here.

Some stood about, drinking and talking, others playing various sorts of drinking games. They’d appropriated tables from somewhere and set them up outside, the inside of the guild apparently too cramped.

Natalie even saw some couples getting probably a bit too frisky for public, emboldened by how the sun had set, and, presumably, the alcohol buzzing in them. Natalie only smirked, glancing sideways as the couples so shamelessly—and not half as subtly as they thought—groped each other. It boded well for her. Managing the less appropriate parts of her class really might be easier than she’d first thought. The Tenet campus had redundantly made itself clear: not a prudish place to be.

Inside, the healer’s guild was cramped, as expected of the packed outdoors. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, and the flashing, magical effects zipping around the room to add ambiance. The music was even louder in here, though she grew quickly accustomed to it. Definitely, it wasn’t the same atmosphere as parties back home. Or, kind of. Same basic package: stands with drinks, cliques clumped together laughing and drinking, dim lighting and the smell of alcohol in the air.

But everything was dialed up. And the crowd, the sheer number of people, was dialed up twice over. There were so many people. Natalie had been reminded constantly that she’d crawled out of nowhere-land and to the capital city of Valhaur, but here, she was given another huge one. Seriously, half the campus must have come to this party. It was packed.

Her eyes sought out Sammy. In face of the enormous press of bodies, she was suddenly concerned about whether she’d even be able to find her. Sammy was waiting for her, right? Watching the doorway from wherever she was, maybe the upper balcony? But people were streaming in and out, and Natalie didn’t want to stand in the way. She scanned around the enormous lobby, and higher up, tracing the stairs and the upper landing. But it was too dim. No success.

Shrugging to herself—she’d find Sammy eventually—she waded through the crowd, headed for the drinks table. Sammy was Natalie’s first priority, but getting buzzed was a secondary mission. Might as well attend to that one first, then tackle the other afterward.

She briefly noted the people here. She’d come dressed the way she usually did, though with a bit more effort than normal, and that was probably a good thing, because even with the extra effort, she looked kind of scruffy. She wasn’t alone in that style, but most of Tenet’s studentbase had a casual form of dress that was only a step or two below Natalie’s formal.