Toby’s Day

’Toby’s Day’ (part of ’The Hive’) is a story written by Alp Mortal and Chambers Mars, writing as Carter Seagrove.In the story ’The Hive’, Toby is sent off to find help, following the uprising in Homestead.In that story, Toby’s journey and the events that unfold when he gets to Noble City, are not part of the original story because they warrant a story all to themselves (what might have been two chapters turned into a story of 30k words!). Therefore, while it is not essential to read ’Toby’s Day’ before reading ’The Hive’, a reader would be advised to read ’The Hive’ before reading ’Toby’s Day’.In ’Toby’s Day’, Toby journeys to Noble City, seeking help, carrying with him Ali Ben’s medallion as proof of the horrifying truth - that the cleaners are all dead. He is fortunate enough to encounter a woman, Anita, who is intimately linked to the story of the cleaners. She is horrified by what Toby tells her. Together, they must garner the remaining forces of the Mbathwi and overthrow Noble’s corrupt regime before there is any hope of help being offered to Homestead.Struggling to convince anyone to act, Anita and Toby venture into the heart of the ruling elite’s enclave, where Toby meets Rifka and Yves. Again, their hopes of finding help are virtually dashed until Rifka breaks ranks and a rebel Mbathwi girl - Lissa - volunteers for the daring plan to overthrow Guardian and the Council.With seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them, Toby, Lissa, and a ragtag bunch of other Mbathwians attempt the impossible - to penetrate the palace defences and bring down a centuries-old regime that is as corrupt as it is cruel.In the final reckoning, everyone has to decide which side they are fighting for, including Yves, the sole survivor of the great city’s founding father - Noble Scholar.The outcome is not certain until the final sortie against the Council.’Toby’s Day’ is a necessary annexe to the main story (’The Hive’) and there is the distinct possibility that we will write further stories from the Noble Scholar universe.We sincerely hope that you enjoy reading this story as much as we enjoyed writing it.Alp Mortal & Chambers MarsWriting as Carter Seagrove