"It was him," Isaac said to Arnold, who was seated in a tall wing-backed chair.

Isaac looked around at the common area of the Circle Tower. There were about a dozen upperclassmen gathered around a table covered with piles of seeds. They were having an enthusiastic discussion about what seeds should be put in a specific bucket.

"Huh," Arnold said with a grim smile. "How did you find out so quickly? I figured it'd take a day at least to get him to talk about it."

"We should go upstairs," Isaac said. He gestured towards the upperclassmen.

Arnold stood and led the way to the elevating platforms. They got off on a floor with an indoor garden. Nothing was currently growing, but string delineated squares of soil and there were tiny signs in each of the squares. Arnold led the way to his room.

"These rooms are so much nicer than the first year rooms," Isaac said, looking around at the spacious room. "How come?" The room had a decent sized bed, a desk area with bookshelves, and a conversation area with three chairs and a table.

"I don't know. I never cared to look into it, as I was here by second semester." Arnold tossed a book on his desk and plopped down in another wing-back chair. Isaac sat in a bergere chair opposite him.

"So. How did you find out?" Arnold asked.

"I'm his roommate."

Arnold smiled and then laughed. "And here I was worried we'd lost our last lead and a new one dropped right in our lap." He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "What did you find out?"

Isaac leaned back and sighed. “I like him. He seems like a good person.”

Arnold scoffed. "I don't care about that. I think he's an ass. None of that matters. You said he was there?"

"I asked him about his familiar. He said he got her after a fall about a week ago."

"Well there's no doubt then, is there? He was on the wagon that went over the cliff. That means he knows what that artifact was. I thought I recognized him. I just wish I'd noticed it sooner." Arnold leaned back and tapped his lips. "He seems pretty free with information. Do you think you get him to talk about the artifact? Did he give it to the merchant?"

"We only talked about the familiar. It's possible I could find out more on the artifact. How direct should I be?"

"I don't think it matters if we tip them off. We've made a move on the artifact already. The merchant is running more caravans now. He's got shipments going in and out to every nearby town. He knows we are watching."

Isaac shook his head. "But he doesn't know who we are yet. And the raid has not been connected to any of us yet. If the kid tells the merchant about us, things could get really hard."

"You're right. Go lightly then." Arnold scowled, clearly unhappy with needing to be patient. "We need to know what it was and how they're using it. They'll be choosing a new target soon. We can't wait long."

"I'll talk to him. He's pretty talkative, it shouldn't be hard to get what we need."

"I'll leave that up to you. We'll need him expelled soon too."

"I don't think we should do that," Isaac disagreed.

"Why not? I figured you'd want him gone before we even found out what they're using."

"I don't think he's actually involved. He seems pretty naïve. And as I said, I like him." Isaac shifted uncomfortably.

“It doesn’t matter if you like him. He is involved. We need to get rid of him and quickly.”

"He is friendly, tries to help out, and is still just a kid. He’s the youngest student I’ve seen here at school."

"Exactly. He’s too young to be here. He could be dangerous for other students. He's not worth the risk. You just met him today, and he's an ass. Why are you defending him?"

"He's not an ass."

"He hit me with fish! Fucking fish!"

Isaac chuckled. "I think that might have something to do with how eager you are to get him expelled."

"No, it doesn't. I can keep my personal feelings out of my work."

Isaac smirked. "Also, his brother lost his power. I don't see this kid doing something like that to family."

Arnold sighed. "You just found out that kid was on the caravan moving the artifact. And he was the only one to see it after it fell. For all we know he brought it to school with him. Do you really want to risk leaving him be?"

"He's not a mastermind. If anything, I think he's pretty gullible. He doesn't have a remarkable power either."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"No, he doesn't. But he befriended some of the most powerful talents in the year on the first day. Maybe he's trying to make a deal to get his brother's power back," Arnold argued.

Isaac sighed. "I'm not going to do anything to an innocent kid."

"You don't know he's innocent."

"And I don't know he's guilty."

"Fine. We just wait while you question him. Though I think we should at least consider more robust questioning if you don't get anywhere. If he has the artifact with him…"

"If he is dangerous to other students, then yes. I'll help to get him expelled."

"Good." Arnold leaned back and put his feet on the table. "That water power girl is probably the next target. Her power has gotten all kinds of attention. Stay with her as much as you can. If she leaves the school, absolutely go with her."

Isaac nodded. They both fell silent for a few moments.

"How about that familiar?" Arnold asked. "Could that have been what they were moving and not the artifact we thought they took?"

"No. Seth said he found the family there too, all dead."

Arnold accepted the argument. "I've been wondering about if what they actually found wasn't an artifact. What if it was something else? They got to that chamber before anyone else and stripped it. It could have been something else."

"The simplest answer is an artifact," Isaac said. "Only an artifact could do what they're doing. I can't think of anything else it could be."

"It took them so long to move it though. Unless they have more than one."

"Don't invent problems, man. We chase this bit down to the end, and then see where it leads us," Isaac said. "We get the kid to tell us what it was. Then we can look for more."

Arnold sighed. "I can't stand that kid."

"He’ll be in your class later this week.”

“Unfortunately.”

----------------------------------------

The following day Seth’s class schedule had more but shorter classes and each class was significantly smaller, with only about ten students in each. The morning was focused on magic courses while the early afternoon was more general topics.

The first class was on magic materials, and involved memorizing lists of materials and their classifications. Mau paid attention for about ten minutes and then went to sleep. When Seth asked the professor about power loss, the professor theorized about environmental contaminants poisoning a person's mana source.

The second class was Ritual Geometry. Ten minutes after the start of class Seth and the other students were still waiting awkwardly inside the classroom for the professor to arrive. The room was circular with a ring of tables around an open area in the center. Designs were painted on the floor.

Finally a familiar young woman entered. She slammed the door shut behind her and locked it.

"Bastards," she said as she looked around the room. Seth couldn't tell if she was talking about him and the other students or someone else. Then he realized he recognized her. It was Isolde, the woman who'd done the familiar ritual for him and Mau.

"Right. Class. If you're here, say 'here'." She looked around expectantly. No one said anything. "Wow, we got some sharp ones today. Let's try that again. Everyone say 'here'."

"Here," Seth and a few other students said.

"You didn't call anyone's name," a girl said.

"Of course not. Because I don't actually care who you are. But I am required to take attendance. And I'd say that sorry performance is good enough." She walked to the center of the room and dropped the box she was holding. "This is Ritual Geometry. I am Professor Isolde. This will be a necessary but boring hour for all of us. I get the wonderful privilege of teaching you brats how to draw lines and connect them to other lines in ways that don't mess up their magic power. You will have homework every class. You have to turn it in. And I don't actually care if you pass. I'm not graded on that. You do need to do the homework and I need to take attendance." She pulled a rod out of the box and extended it. She did something to the end of it and used it to draw on the floor.

"We'll start with the basic circle."

Several student's hands went up.

"I don't care if you have questions," Professor Isolde said without looking up.

"Are you really the professor for this class?" a girl with a small deer asked.

"I'm actually a rich noble and I'm just doing this because I'm bored. Yes, I'm your professor." Professor Isolde kept drawing on the floor. "Being able to draw an actual circle and not some squiggly blobish shape is actually difficult."

"You're not acting like a professor," another student said.

"You brats are judgmental today. Fine. I'm a duck wearing human skin. Pretending to be a professor is how I get fed. Now back to circles."

"Are you for real?" the first girl asked. "Is this a real class?"

Professor Isolde sighed and pointed her stick at the girl. "Would you feel better if I told you no, I'm not the professor, I'm just a substitute? I'm lying. Yes, I am the Professor. No, I did not want to do this. I am the best ritualist in the city. I am being blackmailed by my father to teach here. Or I really am a duck. I don't really care what you think or believe. I'm here to talk about circles today."

Class settled down after that. Professor Isolde was actually very competent at the material. She also had a way of explaining it to make perfect sense. Seth had a feeling that a lot of what she was telling the class would work in his Sigils class too.

She assigned a single page of homework, saying, "I don't want to have to look at more than that."

Seth waited for most of the class to clear out. Professor Isolde was using her extended stick with a sponge on the end to wipe away all the lines she'd drawn. Seth was distracted for a moment when he realized the sponge was wiping away an area much larger than itself.

"Yeah, I recognize you, kid. No refunds," Professor Isolde said.

"Oh, not that. I've still got my familiar," Seth said.

"Good. That one had gone a little wonky. You got about thirty seconds before I'm done here. What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering if you knew why or how someone could lose their power, and how to get it back."

Professor Isolde paused a second and turned to him. "What the fuck, kid. That's not a thirty second question. The thirty second answer is 'lots of ways' and 'you don't'."

"Saben lost his power. I want to help him get it back."

"Things don't always work out how we want them to, kid."

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

Professor Isolde cocked her head. "Let me think about it for a bit. Ask me again later. Your best bet is going to be–"

"The Circle Tower," Seth and Professor Isolde said together.

"If you already knew that, what are you bothering me for?" Professor Isolde asked.

"I'll ask everyone until I find someone who knows."

"Huh. It might not be a person that knows, kid. You just might need to discover it yourself."