They had stolen themselves into a relatively small room. Jano could feel the powerful stone essence emanating around him. Pulsating and pushing its way into his spirit. Nara managed to conjure a tiny light above her shoulder. With the room illuminated, he could see wooden handles and a variety of brushes. “Well this is less grand than I thought.” He whispered in a bad attempt at a nervous joke. She did not look impressed.

Nara gave him a short look and she moved to the door. She peered around. When she was satisfied that there was no danger there, she gestured for him to follow her. Jano took a cautious look after she moved away, just to be safe.

They moved into a large room with a massive window stretching the entire wall opposite. It twinkled at the head of the room, even in the darkness. Light wooden pews stretched across the room. The smell of old paper was strong. “Are we sure this is the right place?” He whispered. Nara surveyed the room.

“This way.” She replied as her whispers rustled throughout the room. Scurrying along the floor like invisible mice.

They walked around the pews and kept to the shadows, passing through a door which led to another corridor. The path was streaked with windows, so there was nowhere to hide. Still, the corridor was empty. Walking quickly, they reached the end and turned right. The silence was awful, it made every step Jano took an exercise in trying to keep his heart rate down.

A gigantic stairwell spiralled upwards, with stone steps circled by a gold plated metal railing. Are all the Mage’s buildings as fancy as this? He thought, but he dared not ask Nara. The stairwell led to multiple floors above them which branched off the stairwell. There was a dim lighting in the communal areas, but he could still not see the top of the stairs from where they were.

Nara quickly but silently ascended the stairs and Jano did his best to follow suit. He wasn’t used to these shoes and so he strained himself to keep his steps light. Their shadows danced behind them as they circled upwards, passing the first floor.

The gold railing was stamped on either side with runes, similar to those on the arch in the Dome. They weren’t glowing here though and so Jano hoped that they were purely decorative. As they reached the middle of the stairwell, Nara slowed.

“Voices.” She pointed to the floor just below them. A light flickered into view and they both pressed themselves to the stairs. He gripped the handle of the dagger he had hidden away.

Two figures in plain robes came into view. They pushed up against the railing together. His body tensed as he realised they might come up the stairs and find the two intruders. “Sssssshhh!” One of the voices called as the other giggled.

“Are you scared the Archmage is going to catch us?” The more confident student replied.

“Am not! Come here.” The two figures embraced and Jano felt a little awkward. He was watching two teenagers kissing. It felt wrong. And they’d both be a higher Class than him.

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“Let’s go down for a midnight walk.” The confident one said. The two students began walking down the stairwell they had just come from. Jano relaxed as he watched the two students descend. Their long hair flowing over their hoods and down their backs in the patchy light.

“Brave kids. The University can be pretty strict on relationships between students.” Nara said. Jano was about to respond, when he realised Nara had already started her ascent once more. She stalked up the stairs, like an animal focussed on its prey. He didn’t want to think what was going to happen if there was someone lurking between them and their destination.

It took another hundred steps or so before they reached the top. One hundred brutal steps. Jano was absolutely exhausted. He didn’t know that there were this many stairs in any building ever. Nara came to a stop just in front of a half moon shaped door. It had large black metal brackets across the front and it looked as though it belonged in one of the banks of the city and not the University. Whatever is behind that, probably isn’t good, he supposed. Or, it’s very good.

He rested against a large coloured glass window as he examined the door and Nara. He glanced outside and saw nothing but darkness. Then his eyes adjusted slightly and he saw how high they were from the ground, before quickly backing away. Heights weren’t exactly something he was used to.

“So what’s behind that?” He finally felt obliged to ask. Nara had been silent since they reached the top. It was quiet and cold up on this floor. As though there was a draught coming from somewhere. Probably from that death trap of a window he thought. She gave him a look, thoughtful but with a hint of annoyance.

“Are you going to get us in?” She replied, ignoring his question.

Jano nodded and moved to the stone which surrounded the massive door. He tapped his spirit and gathered the stone essence. He began manipulating the stone. A small screech accompanied him moving the first large brick.

He stopped and cast a glance towards Nara. She looked on expectantly. “Yes?”

“I just thought… never mind.” He said.

He began pulling the thick stone from its place, screeching and all. He took the brick from the top of the wall, to reduce the risk of collapse. It was even thicker than the outside wall. The amount of essence given off was so strong, that if Jano’s spirit was stronger, he was sure he would be able to do all sorts of things. He made a mental note to raise that point with the Mage.

“Take as small an amount as possible. We need to leave the way out open.” Nara whispered.

No issue there, he thought. He could feel his spirit straining moving and manipulating the ancient stone. As he got one large brick out, Nara began climbing and crawling through the small hole. Her swords scraped off the stone above. The noise crept up Jano’s spine and he almost lost concentration.

He settled everything down and followed Nara through the wall. He dropped down the other side and it was the exact opposite to the little supply cupboard they had found themselves in moments before.

Nara stood surveying rows and rows of artefacts and weapons. There were shining colourful jewels wherever he looked. It was overwhelming.

Nara realised he was by her side. “Good job.” She said.

“Thanks.” Jano looked at her nervously. “Now is probably a good time to let you know that my spirit is pretty exhausted. I’ve got maybe one or two big shifts left in me. Especially with this kind of stone.”

She didn’t look angry, just focussed. “Good thing it should be in here then isn’t it?”