The discussion of each of the projects went on. At one point the discussion and eventual yelling got out of control and [Silence] spells had to be cast for decorum to be restored. In the end, the time needed to discuss required an additional thirty minutes to discuss. The various factions within the King’s Research Group claimed one of the three projects and defended it vehemently during the discussion time.

Ethan sat and watched the events around him and did not call for one idea to win over the other. He hated politics and tried to avoid being roped into one of the factions' ideals when he could.

‘Each of their ideas has merits and if all of them are successfully implemented then our growth will spike. Louise’s alchemy products are a great idea and could help crop yields, but she doesn’t have any concrete numbers to show their importance. She should have advocated using the funds to pay for a trial run on some isolated farms and see exactly how it will affect a farm's crop. If it was successful enough then buyers would be willing to invest in seeing the price of her stuff go down to keep profits high. Arron’s idea is good, but not needed right now. The cost of production and implementation is too high. If we do get another outbreak then things will happen about the same as last time. People will be quarantined, and healers will bombard the place with healing paid for by the king. Now Naren’s idea has strong potential for profitability. He has provided model versions and has a rough idea of the exact cost. His and Louise’s ideas are the only ones that will bring in money and that is more important when deciding these things. There is also the factor of Louise’s birth. She has done great to rise to the ranks she has but not all of the members are fond of elves.’

Once the discussions ended the votes were called and a winner was chosen. In third place was Arron with his rookie submission. In second place was Louise with her agricultural submission. And the winner was Naren. He was brought back up to the stage and did a quick congratulatory speech before the next topic was brought up.

Discussions continued with their next topic. The next topic was on some political matters regarding different cities and how to deal with their problems. People sitting in the stands got very heated as well as things progressed. It took a while for proposals to be made and a new vote to be cast. Eventually, the meeting was called to an end, and everyone was dismissed. Ethan found Andy waiting by the doors for him and he followed him out.

“What did you think?” asked Andy.

“It dragged on but was interesting at times. It is too bad that topics of politics were brought in and shows of power were displayed.”

“So, the usual then.”

“Yeah, the usual.”

“What are you doing now?”

“I am going back to some new books for ideas on the golem. What are you doing?”

“I am meeting with some others about a development with the gnomes, but why don’t we grab some food first?”

“I guess I could go for some food now. Do you have a place in mind?”

“Yeah. Come on I’ll show you.”

Ethan followed Andy out of the building and down the stone steps out of the courtyard that made up the Research Group’s building. On their way, they passed other government buildings. Other people milled about on other businesses going towards and away from the buildings as well. The two of them turned onto a more business-centric street and entered a restaurant.

Andy greeted the hostess at the door, and they were soon seated at a table on the second floor after a minute. The hostess handed them a menu before leaving them be.

“I heard about this place recently. Didn’t it open last month?” asked Ethan.

“Yes. I know the head chef and owner. I do own a stake in this restaurant and helped get the certifications to get it started. Today your lunch is on me.” Andy said picking up his menu and looking it over.

Ethan did the same. “Thanks. Then this food should be great based on your usual standards for quality. Now tell me about this recent development with the gnomes. What have they been up to? I thought they didn’t bother either us or the elves much.”

“They don’t but this change affects their standing and power. From our spies in the bodies of power within their people we first heard rumors of an item that keeps dungeon cores largely intact because it usually disintegrates soon after leaving its area of influence and collapses into itself.”

“Where did they find such a tool or how did they make it?”

“That is something our people couldn’t find out. Our best guess is that it was repaired and not recently made. We now also know that about six months ago that a dungeon core was captured with this tool.”

“That coincides with when they expanded some of their outposts into new territory and bolstered their defenses in their cities in the forests.”

“Yeah, they..” Andy paused as the hostess came around to their table.

“What would you like to eat?”

“What would you recommend?” asked Ethan.

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“Our most popular dishes are the roasted vegetable mix with our signature sauce or the catch of the day mana beast that has been battered and fried,” she replied.

“I will have the vegetable mix then.”

“What about you?”

Andy looked up from his menu. “I will have my usual.”

“I’ll be back soon with your food,” she took the two menus from them and left to help others.

“As I was saying,” Andy continued. “They have entered into a spike of new development. They seem to be using the core to grow their army, but we aren’t sure.”

“Maybe they have a way to make it easier to manufacture artifacts weapons and armors?”

“That is what we first thought but we can’t confirm it. The gnomes weapons supply doesn’t seem to have changed much but we also don’t have access to the exact numbers. If they are making more than usual then they aren’t making enough to affect prices of the weapons very much.”

“So that is what you are debating with the others in your meeting. How are the gnomes using it and how could we use it?”

“Pretty much. We are also looking into what options we have to allow us to use it as well. We can’t currently reveal that we know of its existence until we are ready.”

“My lips are sealed on this matter.”

“I know you will keep it a secret. It is something I will deal with later. I have more important things to deal with. Sadly, in this work, there is a never-ending line of problems to be solved. I guess that is why most of us joined it. To fix the kingdom in what little ways we could and occasionally in larger ways as well.”

“Yeah. I hope recreating the golems from old will do that for me. Now if only I could figure out a proper way to power it.”

“I’m sure that you will figure it out eventually. Though you really should find a secondary project to start on and give yourself a break from that monotony.”

“Maybe I should but I like this one and I don’t have any immediate ideas for one. Maybe after evaluations when some of the other scholars start recruiting for group projects.”

“Yeah. Maybe we could finally start on one together.”

“That would be nice.”

The two of them continued to chat when food was brought out. They moved on to other topics and finished off their meal. When they left they split off into different directions. Ethan returned to his workspace while Andy left for his meeting with other scholars.

‘What would I do with a functioning dungeon core. Well, I would use it for my golem project of course. I mean it ticks most of the boxes for the problems I have with the current designs. It would introduce some new problems as well. I’m not sure how well a semi-sentient being would like being trapped in a new body and told what to do. I would have to use some new encasing spells to keep the dungeon from growing beyond its golem shell and memories would need to be implanted… and I already have a spell for that. Huh. I should go back over that book with that in mind. If Andy can negotiate the use of that tool or the dungeon then I might be able to make it a reality.’

Ethan returned back to the Research Group building. He greeted a few people as he passed them in the halls. When he opened the door to his room he felt something was wrong. He looked around his room and items were out of place. Some only slightly but they were changed.

Ethan moved his hands and cast a spell. Some areas of the room and items glowed brighter than the others. “Some broke into my room for sure. For what purpose I don’t know but it must be tied to Andy’s work or my return from the dig site. Let’s see what they did to my workspace.”

Ethan set up some protection wards For his room before moving on to his workspace. Papers were spread all over the floor and pieces of the armor were missing with the rest broken into pieces. Resting on the table was a note that read ‘We know you have the book’. Tools were also moved around or stolen because of their value. Ethan took a deep breath before beginning to clean and catalog all of the items.

‘It is a good thing that I have my most important items with me at all times. I guess I can rule out the people going after Andy through me because of our meeting. Is it someone who followed me from the dig site? I did not notice any magical changes in the book when I opened it. Did it happen while in that trance during my initial reading? I wish I had my working tools. Maybe I can scrounge up something from this mess to destroy it. I have already accomplished most of my goal of memorizing the spells. It is too bad I won’t be able to use the book to fully understand some of the harder ones.’

Ethan returned to work on cleaning up the mess. His thoughts returned to his adventure at the dig site and the Black Blood Cult. He piled up the tool and started organizing them along with the materials left in the workroom. He decided on organizing them by use first before size as he went.

‘To destroy this book, I am going to need the chemicals here and this spell should do it.’ He thought as he flipped through the pages of one of his books. ‘Spell breaking is not really my forte. I wish I could ask Bartholomew about this, but he would get suspicious immediately and I’m not one to talk to him regularly.’

Ethan began mixing some ingredients together. The vial he was using was chipped but did its job. Setting it down when he was finished he found a metal disk with runes inscribed on it. He placed it on the table and then activated it. The rune markings glowed blue. He placed the book on it. The book hissed like a snake and when he poured the mixture on the top the book’s hissing increased, and it seemed to warp back and forth between its normal state and a scaly creature. Ethan activated another rune on the disk, and he was thrown back. Lightning formed above the book and struck it, but the disk shattered into thousands of pieces.

As Ethan started to get back up the door to the room was thrown open.

“There he is. Grab him.”

Ethan was thrown back down to the ground when he tried to dizzily stand back up. Two guards grabbed both of his arms and put cuffs on them quickly. Ethan tried to focus. The force had pushed him back and many of the items in the room. The book however looked the same from the glance he got at it.

“You are charged with practicing necromancy and now the destruction of evidence and the crown’s property.”

‘How? I was set up. Can’t you see that my place was ransacked, or do you ignore it to focus on the explosion? I should have cast the protection spell in this room as well. I was too focused on other things. The person or people behind this must have trapped this room as well and knew exactly when to step in. This was too well-timed otherwise.’

Ethan was shuffled to the door, and he did not resist. A few others had stepped in and documented everything in the room. As he was moved out the door he thought he saw a familiar face in the group going over the room.

“Andy! You have to help me.”

The man in question turned to look at him. It was and wasn’t Andy at the same time. He recognized the magic illusion. His mouth was grinning behind the mask as he stared into Ethan.

“Sorry you’ve got the wrong guy,” said Andy in a different voice. Andy returned to looking over the book as Ethan left the room.

He put up a little fight as he was escorted out of the building. Others looked at him with a mix of emotions and whispered things he could barely hear. Ethan just looked down and tried to clear his mind. It didn’t take long for him to be walked down the street to his final destination, a dungeon cell.