Chapter 13: A new threat

The wall of clouds from the night before had disappeared. Only a few small leftovers reminded of how not even the moon had been able to fight its way to the ground. Lendrar looked at the clear sky. The blue color reminded her of a folktale she had often heard since coming here. A certain kind of blue bird was said to guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. The first time she had heard that story, she had thought of it as a reference to Sumil Bhuiya, a famous magician from the far east. He had been known for his great talent in the water attribute. In his last and most famous fight, he was said to have summoned birds made of water - a spell that would dodge any kind of counter magic. A fearsome technique. Even though he had been a prodigy of magic, his name was unknown in these parts, and of course the folktale about the blue birds was unrelated as well. Her gaze wandered to the dome, which she could clearly see from here. All the books she and Braf had lost were stored there… And Mr. Vonstadt was most likely translating them at this very moment. How much would he understand? Would he burn the books afterwards, as ordered, or would he try to keep a few for himself? As far as she knew, that was how Braf became a dark mage. He was always a man of ambitions, and so he had not let his chance to get stronger slip. As for herself… she had genuinely been fascinated by the research. And maybe that was why she lost her way. A gust of wind interrupted her thoughts. Even though it was still late summer, it was a bit cold up here. Had she known she would have to wait this long, she would have taken a warmer jacket. Or would that perhaps have seemed too suspicious? It didn't matter anymore. A look at her pocket watch told her what she already knew - Braf was late. Was he caught sneaking up here? Or did he just ignore her letter? He wouldn't do something like that. He knew that if she was caught, he would follow not long after. She sighed in relief as the door behind her finally opened. Who stepped through was a seemingly annoyed Mr. Braf. ‘Why are we here?’ Maybe he was less annoyed and more angry? His tone surely suggested that. She looked at him. ‘Because we don't have time to wait.’ She focused to let her voice sound as serious as possible. She had to agree, this meeting really was risky, but that's why she chose this location. ‘Not even the minister's have their eyes on the clock tower. We are safe here. For now.’ It was obvious that this statement wouldn't put him at ease, but she had to say it either way. He sighted. ‘So, what made you think meeting up here would be a sane idea?’ He leaned against the handrails as he scanned the schoolyard and rooftop of the main building for possible persuaders. After he made sure there were none, he began mumbling. As he finished the incarnation, the ground in a three meter radius around them started emitting a weak light. He had created a sound barrier. Now one outside the field could understand what they spoke about now. He turned towards her, expecting an answer for his question. He seemed paranoid to her. But maybe that's why he made it that far… ‘I already created a barrier beforehand. No need to…’ He interrupted her. ‘We can't be sure enough. And stop dodging my question. Why are we here?’ She sighted. Of course she had to tell him about her plans after even calling him here, but she still feared his reaction. Now even more than beforehand - he seemed a lot more nervous. She held tightly onto the dark, wooden handrails. ‘I have an idea how we could get out of this.’ He seemed surprised. ‘Our plan is to keep a low profile, there is no need to get out of here.’ While he may sounded like he preferred staying, both of them knew the real reason for his hesitation. ‘Even if we managed to get out of here, the ministry would hunt us forever! That is no life.’ They still had the advantage of anonymity. If they escaped now, it would be clear that the culprits were them. It was suicide… She knew what he was thinking, she had thought the same before she got this idea. To use her tools like this… she respected herself for that. ‘It doesn't necessarily have to be like that. What if I knew a way without them looking for us?’ Mr. Braf looked indifferent. With that poker face, it was a wonder how he never focused on a gambling career. She had no idea what he was thinking anymore. Did he believe her? Did he think she was crazy? He averted his eyes from her, focussing his gaze on the main building. He could see the headmasters office from here, and it was that moment he decided that whatever she had in mind wouldn't work on him anyways. She continued. ‘What if I even knew a way to retrieve a few of the books we lost?’ He immediately turned around. She had caught his interest. The secret room they used had many books of the dark arts stored inside it, most of them were just documentaries of research, some were ancient textbooks, but a few were even more important. They contained descriptions of rituals and spells that would lend the users immense powers. It had been hard to get their hands on it, even with the help of the capital. Abounding them while fleeing was a thought that seemed foolish. But Mr. Braf was still not convinced. ‘How in the world…’ Lendrar didn't have to hear his question to answer it. ‘Remember, all the books were transported from the main building to the Dame.' He knew that, but that didn't make stealing them any easier. Or at least he thought that. ‘I don't get how that is supposed to help us.’ She just smiled. He was superior to her in every magic aspect, was way better than her at hiding his live as dark magician and was even respected more by the students, but this time it was her genius that opened this possibility. ‘The Dame had a tight security, that is true. There are always several professors guarding it, no chance of slipping through.’ Braf nodded in agreement. He still couldn't see how this would help them. Lendrar had to suppress the urge to laugh. Not even his indifferent face could hide his confusion and increasing curiosity. ‘The guards change every day. Even we are signed up for duty in a few days…’ She could hear the metaphorical coin fall. He finally got her hint. ‘You don't mean…’ Her grin widened. Adrenalin was released in her blood by even thinking about it. ‘I do. While the back entrance is completely sealed off, the main entrance is guarded by only two professors. One of them will be me soon…’ He grasped. But his excitement didn't last more than a few seconds. ‘Even assuming I assist you and we take out your fellow guard, there will be even more inside.’ He had been just as excited as she was, but he wouldn't allow that to influence his judgment. But Lendrar continued to grin. ‘That is very true. The entrance to the basement is guarded by two other professors…’ She paused. ‘But!’ She unfolded a paper she had held in her hand the whole time. She revealed that there was some kind of map drawn on it. When Braf took a closer look, he recognised it. It was the Dame… but there was one small difference. One path that he was sure he had never seen before. Lendrar had to laugh upon seeing the change in his expression. It was the exact same look she had when she found this. ‘Mr. Stellox seems to have discovered this shortly before his death. I could save this before they found it.’ Her smile widened even further. She looked hardly like she did before. Like she was a different person… ‘It seems like the secret room was not the only thing our lovely seniors have left us.’ She sounded overjoyed. Braf hadn't heard this voice in a long time. Not since the semester break a few years ago, when they experimented in a nearby city. She was mostly calm, sometimes a bit clumsy, and that wasn't even a mask she put on. It was how she really was. But the real her changed from time to time… Mostly when experimenting on living subjects, and not the animal kind. To think she would get that excited over this. It was clear that she wasn't done yet. ‘So you suggest we take this hidden passage?’ He followed it on the map. Luckily it led right to the room the books were stored in. ‘What about Mr. Vonstadt?’ Her expression shifted to something even crazier looking. ‘We are two, he is alone. We kill him of course <3’ She said that as if she was talking about her favorite book or food or something like that. It was frightening. Mr. Braf sighted. He had seen many maniacs in his life, and she was definitely one of them. ‘In other word we will be able to get inside without many problems. But do you think that is of any meaning? Harms and his vice are sure to notice that. We won't be able to escape, it's suicide.’ He regained his composure, he kind of felt relieved after finding the obvious flaw in her plan. It was at that moment that she stuck her hand into a bag she had brought along. It was filled to the brim with the kind of magical scrolls that were used for practical magic practice with the older students. When her hand appeared again, she held an old and thick book. It had numerous pages and its cover was made of a strange leather, probably made of lesser dragons. The only reason such an expensive material would be used as a book cover was… ‘Is that a magic summoning book?!’ Magic scrolls were scrolls that could store mana and a magic circle. If the user activated them, they could cast a certain spell without any help of a caster. That meant anyone could use it, even without the slightest knowledge of how magic works. These scrolls had two problems. The first was that their size didn't allow them to store much mana, the second that their size didn't allow any big circles. Both led to only weak spells being stored in these scrolls. Magic books were of a whole other caliber. Their many connected pages allowed for not just many mana circles, which would have equal power to a single big one, but even a mana collection circle. In other words the book didn't use the mana that was stored in it but could even collect some from its surroundings. Sadly these books were one use items, and incredibly expensive of course. Mr. Braf stuttert. ‘H-How in the world…’ Did it really matter how she got that? She decided to answer his question. ‘Our friends in the capital sent this to us before the connection was cut off. If we use this right…’ Her smile widened once again. It didn't look human anymore. ‘Which spell is stored inside?’ He quickly asked. He had high hopes, but wouldn't have dared to imagine her answer to be that shocking. She opened her mouth and slowly spoke ‘Smaller In-fer-no’. There was nothing left of his once so indifferent expression. Many spells had different versions of them. In the case of inferno, there was smaller inferno, inferno and greater inferno. Even the smallest one was enough to summon a fire that would melt through stone. The Dame was, unlike the other buildings of the academy, solely made of stone. Most of it was underground to that. No regular fire could break out, but even if it did, the lack of fresh air and oxygen would end it before it could do any serious damage. But magic fire… it would be more than just devastating. ‘The Dame is done for…’ Now even Mr. Braf seemed optimistic. ‘We can use that as a distraction while we escape. They will have to focus all their forces if they don't want the fire to spread! And if they believe we died in the fire they won't hunt us down either…’ He saw the possibility that had just been created before them. He was an opportunist, it was clear what he would do. His calm and indifferent expression slowly came back. ‘I see… this is a great opportunity. We have to use that.’ He stopped for a moment. Then he looked her in the eyes. ‘If this fails, death will be a mercy we won't get. I will prepare a few things. Stay alerted.’ As he opened the door to the staircase again, a single gesture with his hand immediately canceled out the sound barrier he had created. Now even Landrar came back to her calm and normal self, as if she had never brought that other part of her to light. She also canceled out her barrier. But she stayed on the tower for a few more minutes after Braf left. It would be bad if the two of them were seen together. As she looked down at the numerous parks and finally the Dame, she imagined how the scenery would look once they excited their plan. A slight and soft smile came on her lips. Nothing like her crazy self a few minutes ago, this looked too innocent to be from a dark mage. She finally decided to also leave, she still had to give a lecture after all. Although she tried to focus on the coming lesson, her mind just couldn't let these thoughts stay on the tower. Her mind would be focused on this for the rest of the day.

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