After helping Kaia up from the bed, the two headed downstairs to see if Amrin could get anything to eat. Being unconscious for two days made him quite hungry. As they walked into the dining area they could see Grandall and Lestith already seated at a table, having a conversation.

                “It’s good to see that you’re up and about. Is everything alright?” Lestith asks, as Amrin and Kaia seat themselves at the table.

                “Yeah, sorry about that. Guess I used a bit too much power back there. I’m good now though.”

Amrin was glad to see a few bread rolls on the table, immediately grabbing one and taking a bite. They must have been recently pulled from the oven since they were still warm in the middle.

                “So did I miss anything?”

                “Nothing to dwell upon, no.” Lestith answered quickly.

                “Agh, the Captain is just being modest. He saved a small child last night from a couple ruffians. Just this morning took him to the barracks and asked that they look after him, train him as a recruit in a few years.”

                “Is that right?” Amrin curled his mouth down and nodded in surprise.

He could see a slight tense in Lestith’s shoulders as Grandall mentioned this. It seems he wasn’t one for praise or compliments. Not that there was anything wrong with that, modesty was in short supply among the higher class.

                “As I said. Nothing to dwell upon. Anyway, Lady Kaia, I trust you were able to relay the need for a carriage with Her Grace?” he attempted to change the subject.

                “I did. Just last night. She said that it will be here in the next three days. But that was while we were under the impression that Master would still be unconscious…so…”

Kaia pursed her lips and tried not to make eye contact with Amrin. He noticed this and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

                “Is there something you’re not telling us?” he asked.

                “Lady Elena has told me to relay information to you, but she also said it was not going to please you…”

He narrowed his eyes and looked straight at Kaia. He wasn’t upset, but more concerned as to what information she would need to relay that would upset him.

                “What is it?”

                “Just yesterday, Lady Elena had received a message in the form of…of a golem.”

Amrin wasn’t sure where this was going, but so far he wasn’t too worried about a golem bringing Ely a message.

                “She said that it contained a message inside it, in the form of a shadow image. I am unfamiliar with the names, but she told me that you would know exactly what it meant. She knows where Meladris is.”

In that instant the area around the table grew colder, each of their breaths plainly visible as they exhaled. Kaia, Lestith and Grandall looked to Amrin and each noticed the color in his eyes began to swirl with black, like ink being dropped into water. His gaze looking at nothing in particular and his breathing steady and calm. But anyone that was subjected to the presence they were at that moment knew that there was definitely something wrong.

Murmurs from other tables began to fill the room. Complaints about it being cold all of a sudden and how the fire was beginning to sputter out.

                “Master!” Kaia raised her voice and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Amrin closed his eyes and slowly the temperature in the room began to increase, and in a few moments everything returned to the temperature it was originally. When Amrin opened his eyes, they were once again the ash gray color he normally had, and he exhaled slowly.

                “What else?” he said simply.

                “The golem, she has seen its craftsmanship before. She said it was…”

                “Belgard’s work?” Amrin finished.

His reaction to Belgard was one of indifference, or perhaps he was just unaffected since he already knew of the whereabouts of Meladris.

                “Y-yes. That’s correct.” Kaia said.

                “This is good. Perhaps now I’ll be able to get the answers I seek. Where are they?”

                “That’s the problem she mentioned…” she paused and turned to Grandall and Lestith. “They are with Valdiss.”

Grandall and Lestith both flinched at the mention of the name, causing the table to shake slightly. Each of their expressions grew grim and their brows knitted in concern.

                “Why is that a problem?” Amrin asked. “Who is this Valdiss?”

Lestith placed his hands onto the table and clasped them together.

                “Duke Dramden Valdiss. The man is a tyrant the likes of which you would never believe. The king of the lands he now rules had him as his advisor for some time. For one reason or another, Valdiss killed him, openly, and declared himself the ruler of the lands.”

                “Still don’t see how that’s my concern.” Amrin said, his tone of voice showing disinterest.

                “If we were to cross into his borders it would be no better than a declaration of war.”

Amrin held his hands up and shook his head.

                “Nobody said anything about you entering their borders. This is my task. It doesn’t concern you.”

                “Actually, Master…” Kaia interrupted. “Lady Elena made it a point for me to discuss this with the Captain and Lieutenant present.”

                “Why?”

                “Lord Valdiss has been a thorn in the side of Arestoth and The Dominion for years and years. He rules his kingdom with an iron fist and the chanters and soldiers he has at his disposal are…formidable.”

                “Even more than the forces of Arestoth and the Dominion?”

                “Separate? Yes. Combined? I doubt we’ll ever know.” Lestith answered.

                “Ok, again. What does this have to do with me? I told you that I’m looking for something…I’m one step closer to that. I’ll not have something as petty as border disputes in a kingdom I have no allegiances with, hold me from it.”

                “Master, Lady Elena has said that she would like you to speak with her in person before you make any decisions. She said that there was something very important that needs to be discussed before you take any action.”

                “Then let’s go.” Amrin said as he stood up from the table.

The other three recoiled in surprised and looked at each other in turn, none having any idea what to say or do.

                “B-but, Master. Lady Elena is sending carriage to pick us up. Shouldn’t we wait?” Kaia asked.

                “No. That was only so that you wouldn’t have to worry about my unconscious body. I’m conscious now, so there’s no reason to wait.”

                “But what about the adamantine?” Lestith questioned.

                “The only reason I needed that stuff was to cross borders with little to no effort. Now that I know where Meladris and Belgard are…I don’t care much for it.”

                “Now wait just a minute…we almost died out there to get this ore. I’ll not have it just left here and forgotten.” Lestith argued.

                “I don’t care what you do with the ore, Lestith…”

                “How about...” Grandall interrupted. “How about, we have Master Gilreth process all of the adamantine we have, allowing him to keep a percentage as payment, and the carriage will can be used to transport it back to Arestoth for use later? And since we released our mounts to return to the Knight Barracks here before setting into Infernus Pass, we have mounts refreshed and ready to go.”

Amrin and Lestith both looked at Grandall in surprise. They raised their eyebrows and curled their mouths down, which caused Grandall to frown and raise only one of his eyebrows.

                “Grandall that’s….” Lestith began to say.

                “Actually a really good idea.” Amrin finished.

                “I appreciate it…but you think you could not look at me as if I grew a second head because of it?”

Kaia relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief at Amrin calming down and accepting the logical solution presented by Grandall. This way they could make way to Arestoth right away, and still get the ore they risked their lives for. It was a win-win situation. Although she couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling she had in regards to Meladris and Belgard. She had no idea who they were, but for Elena and Amrin both to be concerned and on edge because of them, it wasn’t good.

After relaying what they had planned to Miss Emily, Kaia and Grandall headed to speak with Master Gilreth while Lestith and Amrin headed to the barracks to retrieve their horses. Upon entering the Barracks, Lestith was immediately set upon by a small figure that latched onto his leg and refused to let go.

                “Uhh…friend of yours?” Amrin asked, a grin plain on his face.

                “Well, not exactly. Remember the child that Grandall mentioned this morning?”

                “Ahh, right. So a friend of yours…” Amrin said with the same grin on his face.

Lestith shot a sidelong glance at Amrin, clearly not amused.

                “Ah, Captain Lestith. My apologies, he started to run down the stairs just a few minutes ago, I suppose this is why.”

                “It’s fine. How is he?” Lestith said while trying to pry the small child from his leg.

                “Well, after the healer took a look at him and used another dose of Healing Water, he’s been running around non-stop. I don’t understand where he gets all that energy from.”

The man Lestith was talking to was a smaller statured man, full brown beard with traces of gray showing through. The armor he wore was similar to what Grandall and Lestith wore but had slight differences in color and insignia, most likely due to the difference in location, but Amrin didn’t dwell on it other than notice it in passing. What really caught his attention was the fact that he was a dwarf.

Reminding him instantly of Belgard it caused him equal parts anger and sorrow. He always enjoyed the banter and talks he had with Belgard in the past, ever a level head and calming presence to the rest of the group, someone he could rely on if something needed to be done. But now he was among the names Amrin would hunt down, and soon, meet once more face to face.

                “I see, that’s good. Hey, come now, I have business I must attend to.” Lestith said to the child.

The demi-human boy looked up and smiled big, Amrin and Lestith noticed something that caused them to narrow their eyes in confusion.

                “W-why are some of his teeth missing?” Lestith asked.

He was fully aware that children lost their baby teeth at a certain age and then permanent teeth replaced them, but it was typically the front most teeth and one or two at a time. This child’s smile revealed that four very specific teeth were missing. His fangs were gone.

                “Ah, that. Well, he’s been de-fanged.” The dwarf replied.

                “Have you done this to him?” Amrin asked, his tone of voice caused the dwarf to go wide eyed and flinch, swallowed hard and immediately hold his hands up.

                “No! No, sir! I swear! It’s a barbaric act that the local thugs and criminals due to assert some ridiculous sense of superiority or dominance!”

                “And his ear?” Amrin asked, looking at the child’s left ear that appeared to have been torn or ripped off.

                “Afraid I don’t know. Haven’t heard of any reason to do that to just one of their ears. There’s some folk that cut their ears right off…but no reason to just mutilate one like that."

Lestith cringed at the thought of anyone doing that to any person’s ears. It was barbaric and made him angry that it was even possible for people to do that.

                “Mister come back for Filcher?” the child said happily.

                “Filcher?” Lestith looked to the dwarf.

                “Apparently it’s his name…says that’s all they ever called him.” He shrugged his shoulders in response.

Lestith furrowed his brow in sad realization that this tiny being didn’t have an actual name, but instead a word to indicate his reason for existence. He gently grabbed the child by his shoulders and pulled him off of his leg and knelt down.

                “Listen here, little one. You have a chance to make a name for yourself. You are no longer required to steal. But in exchange you will work here, in the barracks, and when you are of age you will become a squire and one day a Knight if you so wish.”

The child titled his head to the side and placed his finger on his lips while looking into the air at nothing.

                “I no understand. Filcher is not filcher?”

                “No, you don’t need to filch any more. And your name…what do you want your name to be?”

                “Name? Filcher.”

Lestith shook his head and wondered how he could convey that the child no longer had to use a term for stealing as a way to address himself.

                “Wouldn’t it be easier to just give him a name?” Amrin asked.

                “Mister give Filcher new name?” the child smiled once more and stared at Lestith.

He had no idea what to do. He couldn’t think of any name on the spot like that. Lestith felt that naming the child and just disappearing would feel wrong. But leaving him to be forever called Filcher was even worse. What could he possibly name this child?

                “How about Aendor?” Amrin chimed in after noticing Lestith’s hesitation.

                “Aendor?” Lestith repeated and turned to look at Amrin, perplexed.

                “It means new beginnings.”

                “In what language?” Lestith asked.

                “An old one…”

Lestith turned back to gaze upon the child, the gaps where his fangs should be not detracting from the childlike and innocence that it conveyed.

                “Your name is now Aendor. Are you ok with that?”

                “Ayn…door?” the child repeated, seeing how it sounded from his own mouth. “Mm! Aendor!”

                “Good. Now, Aendor, you will live here with the knights. You will be taken care of, fed, taught how to read and write and…you will achieve great things. I know this.” Lestith spoke as he placed his hand gently on top of Aendor’s head.

                “I no go with Mister?” he asked.

Lestith shook his head and sighed in regret.

                “I’m afraid not. No. But trust me when I say that you are in good hands. The men here will treat you as one of their own. Do not be afraid. Work hard, be good and I’ll see you again someday soon. Alright?”

The child pursed his lips and was visibly sad that he couldn’t accompany Lestith, but knew better than to talk back or ask for something he was already told he couldn’t have. Instead of speaking, the boy nodded his head a few times and looked to the floor.

                “Good boy.” Lestith said as he stood upright. “Now, we are here to retrieve our horses, the ones that would have arrived at the barracks most likely four days prior.” He asked the dwarf.

                “Ah yes, they are in the stables. The saddles are along the walls of their pens and they have been fed, brushed and are fully rested. They are ready to leave at any time. Would you like me to harness the saddles of two of them?”

                “Not just two, we will require all four, the other two are for our companions.” Lestith replied.

                “Right away.” the dwarf said and quickly began to head towards the stables. “Ah, Aendor, would you care to help me?”

The child quickly ran to catch up with the dwarf and they disappeared into a back hall to ready the horses.

                “That was…interesting.” Amrin said.

                “I was not expecting that. My apologies for the delay.”

                “It’s fine. Nothing we could have done about it. I’m not so impatient or crass as to ignore a child that clearly wanted attention from his savior.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

                “I only wish there was more I could do.” Lestith said, staring in the direction Aendor has left.

                “I’m quite sure you’ve done more with this one gesture than you can imagine.”

                “I hope so.”

After retrieving their horses, Amrin and Lestith waited at the fountain in the middle of the city for Kaia and Grandall. It was taking much longer than they had hoped and were beginning to worry how much longer it would take, and hoped there wasn’t anything wrong with the transaction they had discussed earlier.

                “There they are. Finally.” Lestith spoke out.

Grandall and Kaia made their way to the fountain and didn’t look all too happy.

                “Something tells me it didn’t go quite according to plan?” Lestith asked.

                “Fraid not, sir.” Grandall said as he lifted himself into the saddle of his horse.

Amrin handed Kaia the reins to her horse and saw she was even less pleased than Grandall about something.

                “I suppose we can hear more about it on our way to Arestoth.” Lestith commented.

                “Works for me, the sooner we make way, the better.” Amrin declared.

The four of them snapped their reins to get the horses moving at a gentle pace. Once they had cleared the walls of the city they picked up their pace slightly, but not fast that the beating of the hooves on the ground could drown out any conversation they wished to have.

                “So, why the long faces anyway?” Amrin asked.

                “Master Gilreth is a thieving, greedy, no good dirty….” Kaia began to speak.

                “Ahh!” Grandall shouted to keep her from repeating the same thing that caused a few people to stare at them while they were making their way from the refinery to meet up with Amrin and Lestith.

                “What Lady Kaia means to say is that Master Gilreth seems to be quite the entrepreneur.”

                “Entrepreneur!? That greedy monster wanted forty percent of the total yield of the Adamantine!”

Lestith and Amrin’s eyes went wide in surprise. That was definitely more than any legitimate businessman would ask for.

                “I hope you were able to talk some sense into him?” Lestith asked.

                “I was able to get that demon down to twenty percent. But even that was too much for his greedy, filthy, womanizing…” Kaia trailed off.

                “Womanizing?” Amrin asked.

                “Right…that.  The first time we met, he was under the impression that since she was with me she was a servant of some kind and that he would drop the price of the refinement if Lady Kaia would umm…”

                “Provide services?” Lestith finished.

                “Yes, thank you, sir. After which he proceeded to inspect her…”

                “That filth is lucky I didn’t beat him to within an inch of his life!”

Amrin began to chuckle at the retelling of the events. Kaia quickly turned to look at him with a pained look and mouth slightly open in surprise.

                “I’m sorry, I just…can’t say I blame him is all.”

                “Mm, agreed.” Lestith said.

                “Indeed, although I shouldn’t be agreeing…” Grandall said while scratching his beard.

                “What do you mean?!” Kaia shouted.

The three men refused to answer her and continued to look straight ahead, mouths closed tight.

                “Why can’t you blame him!? What are you three going on about?!” she continued to want answers.

Amrin finally began to laugh once more, quickly followed by Grandall and Lestith. While she might not have realized it, she was quite beautiful, and any man would certainly not be opposed to any services from one such as herself. But they weren’t stupid enough to tell her that.

                “Now, we’re only teasing, Kaia. Pay it no mind. But I hope you three realize that I intend to reach Arestoth as soon as possible. Stopping only to let the horses rest and then continue. I want to reach the Academy in two days’ time.”

The group realized that making the trip in such a short amount of time would mean little to no sleep whatsoever. The horses would be pushed to their limits and they would be physically exhausted by the time they reach Arestoth. But none of them would mention it. They would follow him regardless. Kaia would do so for she would not want to be separated from him by such a large distance. Grandall and Lestith would due to the curiosity regarding the one named Meladris and what Elena Aqua’s plan for Valdiss was.

After pushing their horses to the limit of their endurance, only letting them rest the bare minimum before setting off, the four of them rode casually into the gates of the Academy. Lestith, Grandall and Kaia looked on the verge of passing out. Dark circles under their eyes, dismounting sluggishly and awkwardly so as not to fall onto the ground. Their eyes closing and opening slower and slower, each time taking longer to open once more.

It was the middle of the day and the students milling about the courtyard started to stare are the strange group that charged through the gates and could barely stand on their own after dismounting. Laughter, murmurs and whispered conversations abound. Kaia’s ears flittered about and changed direction multiple times unconsciously, until she heard something that made her realize that she was not in full armor and her tail as well as her ears were in full view of everyone.

She couldn’t make out all of the conversations but the key words stuck out to her and made it all too apparent that she was being talked about. She cringed slightly and forced her tail to stay still, while her ears continued to pick out words that made her self-conscious of her surroundings. Earlier in the day Amrin had used the communication crystal to relay that he would be arriving within a few hours and to be ready to explain the situation and prepare a place for the others to rest if they needed it.

While they had all missed the same amount of sleep, traveled the same length and endured the same level of hard riding, Amrin was the only one that was not affected. He did not appear tired, exhausted or otherwise any different than when they set off from New Randess. Lestith and Grandall noticed this, but were too tired to bother caring.

Moments after they dismounted, a few attendants rushed out from the main entrance to the Academy and took their horses. Following behind them was Elynara, wearing yet another richly elegant dress that accentuated her figure and made her look quite mature. Amrin couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing this because the way she was before was similar to that of a child, while now she looked like a well figured young woman. He made a mental note of it, but would keep it to himself lest Ely begin to pout because of it.

Beside Ely was the other Knight that Amrin had noticed from before he and Kaia had been acquainted. Karin. She wore armor that was quite similar to Kaia’s before it was destroyed, but was missing the helmet. She was a human so the need for one wasn’t there when compared to the reason Kaia wore hers.

                “Master. I’m glad to see you have arrived safely. Although you didn’t need to rush.” Elynara said.  

                “Yes, I suppose you’re right. I realized that after riding through the night. It’s already been a few thousand years…what’s another day?”

                “No, I didn’t mean…”

                “It’s fine, Ely. I mean it.” Amrin said with a smile to calm her and reassure her that he wasn’t upset. 

                “My master…can I be excused?” Kaia said behind him in a timid and almost pained voice.

Amrin turned around and saw Kaia’s ears flittering about, then looked around him and noticed the whispered conversations around them. All of them staring and pointing. Each of the students at the Academy had either grown up under the influence of hatred towards the demi-humans by their family, friends or surroundings, or it was something they determined for themselves one way or another. Either way it wasn’t something that he enjoyed watching.

Before Amrin could say anything he quickly saw the faces of the students that were gossiping quickly turn to shock, surprise and confusion. He turned to see what they were looking at and saw Ely hugging Kaia tightly.

                “I’m so happy for you. I wanted so badly to be the one to help you, but realized long ago it was beyond me. I am so glad Master was able to do what I could not.”

Kaia’s tail that she forced to stay in place was now dancing about uncontrollably. Her cheeks flushed red and hands out to her side not knowing what to do.

                “M-my lady…there are people watching…they could…”

                “I don’t care. I should have done so long ago, but I don’t care about what they believe or see anymore.” Ely said as she hugged tighter.

Kaia was at a loss, she knew the students would no doubt tell their family about how the Headmistress of the Academy was a demi-human lover. She avoided doing this to make it easier to be accepted by the kingdom, and Kaia realized it and never faulted her for it, but feeling her warmth and knowing that she has cared about her this much this long, she didn’t care anymore either. She wrapped her arms around Ely and squeezed tightly.

                “Now, let us head inside and take care of business, shall we?” Ely finally moved away from Kaia and wiped her eyes.

Amrin began to walk beside Ely and started to converse. Karin and Kaia side by side and Grandall and Lestith sluggishly following behind.

                “Kaia, you have another set of armor waiting for you in your quarters. I took the liberty of having it adjusted and finished once Lady Elena had told me of the events at Infernus Pass. It is good to see you are well.” 

Karin said, as they began to walk up the steps into the main building.

                “Thank you. If not for My Master…I would not be here.” Kaia said, glancing at Amrin while he and Elena spoke.

                “Is he truly worthy of such devotion?” Karin asked.

Karin was a guard and attendant to Ely for years before Kaia was healed and swore loyalty in return. She was a very capable and admired Knight on the campus grounds. While she had seniority and all rights to be addressed as such, she never once demanded it. If anything, Karin was like an older sister to Kaia and one she respected and loved greatly.

While waiting for an answer, Karin turned to look at her and saw something that made her eyes go wide. Kaia was smiling in a way that she never saw, or expected to see. Her gaze fell onto the man named Amrin’s back and her eyes showed true admiration.

                “More than you could ever know.” Kaia said simply.

Smiling back, glad that she could witness Kaia smile from the bottom of her heart at least once, she nodded in acknowledgement.

Lestith and Grandall were ushered into a guest room so they could rest, assured that they would be filled in on any details regarding any movement into Valdiss’ territory. Kaia and Karin headed to their quarters to fit Kaia’s new armor on so that she would not feel so awkward while walking about the school grounds.

Amrin and Ely immediately headed to her office. Kaia wanted to be there the entire time, but seeing how she was acting earlier, Amrin told her to equip her new armor and join them when she could.

Upon entering her office, Amrin fell onto the couch he used previously and exhaled deeply.

                “You must be exhausted, master. Would you rather not rest before continuing?” Ely asked.

                “Mm? No…no I’m fine.” He said and sat up, rubbing his face with both hands as if the tiredness was something that could be cast off.

                “Very well. Would you at least care for something to drink?”

                “Oh, yes, water is fine. Please.”

Heading to the wet bar along the wall, Ely poured a glass of crystal clear water and presented it to Amrin. Taking a large gulp of the water he rested his head against the backrest of the couch.

                “Now…where’s the golem?” He asked without lifting his head.

                “One moment.”

Ely headed to her desk and retrieved a relatively large cloth wrapped object and placed it on the table in front of Amrin. She then took a seat on the couch opposite him and remained silent.

Amrin lifted his head and gazed at the cloth covered item, knowing what he would find under the veil. He’s waited so long to get even one step closer to finding them, and directly in front of him was that step, so why was he not tearing the cover off the golem and getting the answers he wants? He steadied his breathing and closed his eyes.

Immediately the memories of times long since gone flooded his mind. The happier times he could remember, everything moving in slow motion as he recalled it all. His family smiling and laughing, Ely chasing little Gin around for some foolish reason and Belgard reprimanding them.

He laughed at it all and turned to see Justinian drinking something he concocted in place of mead and cringed at the flavor. Adding to his laughter even more. Turning more, he could see Sarya walking out of the house, her silver blue hair waving in the wind as she carried out a tray of drinks that the rest could enjoy. Behind her…Meladris. Her eyes caused him to lose himself many times before. Her pure white hair danced about just as Sarya’s before her. Then she smiled. He loved her smile so much.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Ely was crying, but silent. Her eyes filled to the brim and tears streaming down her face. Amrin tilted his head slightly in confusion and felt it. The wetness running down his cheeks. The reason Ely was crying was because the one she loved more than anything was in pain, crying himself, and she could do nothing to help.

Once more he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and smiled. After opening them he looked at Ely and was truly grateful to have found someone that was still as loyal and caring as her. He feared that however he was losing control of himself, if he had found anyone else, he would no doubt have lost all control and wrought untold destruction on this world.

                “I’m sorry, Ely. Please don’t cry.” He said.

                “I tried…but seeing you just now made me realize that I cannot do anything for you, even in times such as this…” she managed to say before having to cover her mouth and keep the sob at bay.

                “Just being here and caring so much for me that you show such emotions, is more help than you know. Thank you.”

Ely quickly nodded her head in acknowledgement and sniffed hard to keep herself from sobbing again.  She watched as Amrin tossed the edges of the cloth to the side one by one to finally reveal the golem she mentioned. It was not the best work from a master crafter such as Belgard, but it was still quite exquisite work.

Amrin noticed the scuffs, scratches and patches of color that might have been from berries or other flora it ran through to reach its destination. But what was that destination anyway?  Why now of all times did Ely receive a message from not only Belgard, but Meladris as well?

                “So you said that the golem contained a message?” Amrin asked.

                “Yes, that is correct.”

                “Other than the fact that this is quite clearly the work of Belgard, how could you know that Meladris was also part of the message?”

Even though there were no telltale signs of the golem being Belgard’s, the fact that they could feel traces of his aura on the figure were enough to tell them that it was indeed him. But he felt nothing in regards to Meladris’ aura or power.

                “It was contained within the golem. In the form of a shadow message.” Ely said.

                “Shadow message?”

                “Yes. But first I should tell you about how I came to find it.”

                “Well I would assume it was looking for you specifically, no?”

                “Yes and no…I believe it was simply tracking my aura and not me personally.”

                “I see.  Go on.” Amrin told her as he leaned back into the couch and listened intently.

                “When it first entered the school grounds it began to run around aimlessly, as if lost. Since I have lived in the Academy for so long, traces of my power linger in various parts of the grounds. A few of the male students thinking it would be funny, began to chase after it and attempt to capture it. But the speed it possessed was enough to elude them. Over time more and more boys joined in on the event and the noise accompanying it all drew my attention.

                After heading to the courtyard to figure out why such a large crowd of students had gathered, it ignored the students altogether and made a direct path towards me. Once it was in a few paces of me, the golem came to a complete stop, opened its mouth and the shadows erupted from it.”

                “…”

                “The message was quick, to the point but only lasted a few moments before it dispersed and the golem became inert. Luckily with the amount of students present, they were all witness to the message and I was able to have them compile their findings and have this made.”

Elynara pulled a folded piece of paper from just inside a small vest she wore over her dress and pushed it across the table towards Amrin.