After the Dread Reapers' announcement about their 'team-building activity' Rynhara found herself dragged deeper into the absurd and morally questionable chaos that defined the club.
"Alright, listen up, team," Nalia began, standing at the head of the clubroom table. A crude map of the Royal Strategy Club's headquarters was laid out before her, complete with annotations like "Guard here – idiot" and "Secret door? Maybe explosives?"
"We need those documents on military tactics for…ethical reasons," she continued.
"What reasons?" Rynhara asked, leaning back in her chair with a skeptical look.
"Does it matter?" Axel said, juggling small fireballs. "We're doing it because it's fun."
"No," Nalia corrected, smirking. "We're doing it because it will solidify our reputation as the most dangerous club in the school. Besides, their leader is a pretentious twit who deserves to be humbled."
Seraphine sighed, flipping through a necromancy book. "The real reason is that Nalia lost a chess match to him and is holding a grudge."
Nalia's cheeks flushed. "That's completely irrelevant to the mission!"
Kaelira, who had been quietly observing, leaned toward Rynhara. "This is what you signed up for."
"I didn't sign up for anything," Rynhara muttered.
The mission was scheduled for midnight. The club assembled in their usual chaotic fashion: Grigor brought his absurdly large axe, Axel had a suspicious satchel of "tools," and Seraphine summoned a few wraiths to act as lookouts.
"Doing this subtlety is key," Nalia said, her tone completely at odds with the group's current state of armament.
"Subtlety?" Rynhara echoed, gesturing to Grigor's axe. "We're about as subtle as a lightning storm!"
"That's the spirit!" Axel said, giving her a thumbs-up.
The group approached the Royal Strategy Club's building, a well-guarded facility with enchanted locks and patrolling sentries.
"Okay, newbie," Nalia said, turning to Rynhara. "You're up. Use your teleportation magic to get us inside."
Rynhara sighed, summoning her scythe. "Fine, but if we get caught, I'm blaming all of you."
With a flick of her scythe, she carved a portal into the air, leading directly into the archive room.
The moment they stepped inside, everything went wrong.
Grigor tripped over a stack of books, sending them clattering to the floor. Axel accidentally set off one of his firebombs, causing a bookshelf to catch fire. Seraphine's wraiths began arguing with the enchanted library guardians, resulting in a minor skirmish.
"Subtle," Rynhara hissed, dodging a flying book. "This is anything but subtle!"
"Adapt and overcome!" Nalia shouted, grabbing a stack of documents.
Guards burst into the room, their armor glinting in the light of the magical flames.
"Halt! Intruders!"
"Oh, this is justnfantastic," Rynhara groaned, summoning her scythe and blastingaway the guards with her wind scythe skill.
What followed was a chaotic chase through the academy grounds. Axel lobbed firebombs to create distractions, Seraphine animated a group of skeletons to block the guards' path, and Rynhara used wind magic to propel the group forward.
"You're all insane!" Rynhara shouted at Nalia as they darted into an alleyway.
"And you're loving it!" Nalia retorted, grinning.
To her dismay, Rynhara realized she was enjoying it. There was something exhilarating about the chaos, the camaraderie, and the adrenaline rush.
The group finally escaped into the safety of the clubroom, collapsing into chairs and laughing breathlessly.
"We did it!" Axel cheered, holding up the stolen documents.
"Barely," Rynhara muttered, though she couldn't suppress a small smile.
" However it's better to be safe than sorry so if you all don't mind, I will be making my grand exit," Rynhara said as she tore through space with her scythe before grabbing Kaelira's hand and turning into a lightning bolt that entered the gap in space time.
" An overly cautious one ain't she?"
"Yeah."
"Well have to get her to let loose a bit. Being stiff all the time is bad for your health after all. "
"Now to see the fruits of our labour, " Nalia said as she opened a scroll only for it to erupt in a flurry of light which bound every present with skill sealing chains.
" Damnit! It was a set up! They knew we would do this sooner or later, no wonder the guards let us of so easily!"
" I must say Rynhara's sense of danger is something else isn't it?" complemented Axel.
Let's just get comfy guys . Looks like only the principal can undo these," Nalia said as she gave up on breaking the chains.
The next day, the school was buzzing with rumors about the break-in.
"I heard the Dragon Princess led the heist herself," one student whispered.
"They say she summoned a hurricane to fend off the guards!"
Rynhara groaned, burying her face in her hands during breakfast.
"Mother," she began, "you'll be happy to know I'm now officially the school's most infamous student."
Tiamora beamed. "That's my girl! What happened?"
"We broke into the Royal Strategy Club's archives, set a fire, fought the guards, and barely escaped," Rynhara said flatly.
Tiamora's grin widened. "You're making me so proud."
Rynhara sighed. "Why do I even try? But hey at least i wasn't caught like the others were. By now they're probably getting a lecture lol."
Kaelira, standing nearby, smirked. "At least you're consistent, Princess."
And so, the Dread Reapers Club solidified its reputation, much to Rynhara's chagrin—and Tiamora's delight.