"Ease up with the glare." Lily held a smirk while pointing a thumb at the headmaster. "Vic is cool."

Cal felt the right to be more than a little annoyed. A simple 'by the way we're about to run into the headmaster' wouldn't have gone amiss.

"That is not the proper way to address me, you know this Liliane." It came out as a statement of fact, no bite being present. "And we haven't been formally introduced." The headmaster's stony face turned Cal's way, pausing to give a hard stare. "Callum Ardere, an unexpected addition."

The headmaster, Victor if his memory was right, stood in the center of whatever this place was. He looked much the same as during the speech. Dressed in his black suit with a red cape hanging loose behind him, he struck a surprisingly imposing figure. His hand gripped the wooden staff Cal had called simple before, up close he could now tell it very much wasn't.

"Do you like it?" Victor raised it horizontally, letting it balance on his hand before snapping it back into the upright position. "Many suspect it more than what it appears, that look in your eyes tells me you know more than most."

Cal had no idea what it was but he did get the sense that being hit by it would hurt. If he were pressed to make a connection, he'd say it was reminiscent of the cabin. The logs making up the cabin were the antithesis of life, warning all those still breathing to turn away. Meanwhile, this staff almost gave the illusion of being a normal piece of wood. The only thing making the connection was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that they were related in some way. Certainly, they felt more akin to the cabin than the walls ever did.

"I just thought it would make a good walking stick, all guys are on the lookout for one of those."

It was one of the truer statements he'd ever said.

"Indeed we are." Cal could not determine if Victor had bought that. "A shame I don't do much of that nowadays."

The headmaster could fly, whoopie-doo. Flight was a stupid waste of magic and that was a hill Cal was willing to die on. Not that a death was any great sacrifice.

"As funny it would be to see you put through a wall or two," Lily spoke, facing them both. "Don't try and punch him."

Cal thought that overly harsh, the headmaster wouldn't stoop so low to attack a-. Oh, she was talking about him.

Rude.

Hand to hand he'd get trounced but if he were to throw caution out the window he should be able to handle him one way or another. Of course, pointing that out would not only be childish but also idiotic.

"Well, nice to meet you but I'm pretty sure we should be going." Cal turned on his heel to make for the door, only to see it had disappeared. "You know that trick doesn't work so well when she can blow it open."

Cal gestured with his head towards Lily who didn't seem to be in any rush to leave.

"You'll find that more difficult than expected. We sealed these tunnels for a reason, students are not meant to be down here."

Tell it to Mia.

"Yeahhhh." Lily dragged the word out, showing little decorum. "But you're not the type to harp on something like that."

Victor didn't comment on that, keeping his focus on Cal who was beginning to wonder how coincidental this meeting was.

"Do you know what my duties as headmaster entail?"

The question came out of left field. It didn't sound rhetorical and Cal mulled over it before replying.

"To keep the Academy running smoothly and whack anyone on the head with that stick if something goes wrong."

Victor stopped short of snorting but did exhale out of his nose.

"No, I don't get involved in the day-to-day of the Academy. That is left best to my Deputy, who I'm told you are now acquainted with." Lily's lips moved, presumably to add some derisive comment, but no sound came. "My role is to deal with everything but the Academy."

Victor tapped the staff and clouds came rushing down, organizing themselves into a shape that became clearer by the second. It was the Empire. Calling it a map would be a stretch but it was undeniably meant to represent their lands.

"Name the three major political parties of the Empire."

It was a basic question, something anyone should know. Yet, Cal found himself turning up a blank. They hadn't been covered in any of his coursework.

"I suspected as much. It's not something someone from your background would have concerned themselves with." Cal tried not to show how on edge that remark put him on. There was no way this guy knew, right? As the head honcho was he considered trustworthy or another liability? "And for good reason, you would not have learned it here."

The Academy's position on the 'map' was raised. In comparison to the rest, it was tiny.

"I am a bulwark. The shield that protects those in these walls from the machinations of those outside."

Cal felt a sense of indignation for the millennial old Spirit. This guy certainly thought the world of himself, he was also bad at his job if Cal's presence was any indication.

"I don't discourage squabbles among students but there is a conspicuous lack of overt political affiliation. This isn't by happenstance, it has been orchestrated by generations of my predecessors. It is the torch I now carry, to insulate us from the worst of the Diet. This is a place of learning and progress. We won't be browbeaten into adopting what others think right at the time." Cal watched Victor's grip tighten and his voice drop in tone. "So I must ask why, did you think it prudent to invite Justiciars into my house." Victor's head turned, slowly and methodically towards the only other occupant in the room. "Liliane."

Wait. Did he think…

"Does this mean I can go?" There was silence as both turned to him. Cal took some steps back and pointed behind his shoulder. "I mean there's a souffle I've been dying to make and I want to get it done before dinner so…"

He took the lack of response as permission and turned on his heel, only to have clouds create a circle hemming the three of them in.

"I mean a normal person would just say no."

Not that he was the authority on that.

"Sorry, Vic but that's got nothing to do with me." Lily tossed her hands up in a helpless manner before gesturing to Cal. "Or us for that matter."

"This isn't an interrogation Liliane. I know you were involved in our late student's disappearance and death."

"Woah." Lily blinked, staring off into space for a moment before recovering. "I figured he was missing with what that pair has been asking about but dead?" She finished with a mumble, bringing a hand to her chin and looking down in thought. "I mean I'm not going to lose sleep over it but dead? That's heavy..." She trailed off and her face shifted from one of incredulity to one of understanding. "Wait, you think I did this?" Lily continued furiously, her arms trembling in rage by her side. "You can't believe I'm capable of something like this?!?"

She finished with a stomp sending sparks flying.

That was surprisingly good. She didn't hold a candle to the performance that was Emily but it looked and sounded convincing.

The air in the room seemed to thicken, the tension rising. That might have also just been the air actually thickening.

"I do," Victor said, widening his stance.

At a moment's notice, Cal was ready to spring into action. What that action would be was a mystery to Cal himself but he'd figure it out once fists started swinging.

"Drat." The single word seemed to clear the room of any hint of hostilities. "I was hoping you weren't paying attention. But as much as I'd like to claim credit. We have nothing to do with it." Lily shrugged casually, displaying her lack of concern. "Alie is going to be happy though. Callum, you should make a birthday cake instead to celebrate."

"You are not listening Liliane. I know you. Save the explanations for those who don't." Cal couldn't help but have a bit of schadenfreude at the accusation. "And you," Victor addressed Cal again, who'd thought he was about to get off scot-free. "I presume you were connected in some way. Can you spin lies as convincing?"

That was the plan but he was getting weird vibes out of the direction this conversation was going.

"I'm really lost here. What's happening?"

It didn't sound like they were getting apprehended.

"I don't want to risk any misunderstandings here so I'll speak plainly. Your encounter with the Justiciars, you could have leveraged your testimony for amnesty for any other transgressions. I have little doubt their office would have jumped at the opportunity to not only settle an old grudge but use the excuse to demand a permanent presence on campus and erode our independence."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Hold up. He could have thrown Ferguson under the bus and saved his own skin? He'd killed a student, granted the guy was guilty as sin but were the Justiciars really willing to sweep that under the rug?

Cal would have liked for that option to be presented earlier. Not that he would have taken it.

"On a personal note, I thank you for not causing further complications for my friend."

That last part stuck with Cal and realization dawned on his face.

"That's why he hasn't been fired."

He declared, with a fist striking his palm. Cal had thought it was the man's supposed reputation but it turned out to be good old-fashioned nepotism.

For the first time, he saw a crack in the stony exterior and the man had a hint of embarrassment.

"He has performed better in the past." Victor brushed past it quickly. "In consideration of everything, I'm willing to compromise here. I will impede them as I can and make their progress in the Academy frustratingly slow. In turn, you two will lead this off-campus. I do not care how it is done, only that no other members of the Academy are implicated in it."

This stank. The headmaster of the Academy was not only okay with a student being killed but offering to help cover it up? Something wasn't right.

"Wow, and I thought you were cool." Lily's mocking voice had a sharpness to it. "Don't dress it up. If we were involved and caught, the Justiciars would wave that around to get concessions out of your precious Academy. Your best-case scenario is for an unaffiliated third party to take the fall. "

Essentially then, everyone here was trying to save their own ass. How remarkably human.

"This is more than I would offer others. You are only receiving this opportunity because both of you have proven competent in individual ability."

As Cal had long since learned, there was a big difference between being able to hit things hard and acts of subterfuge.

"You want us to pin this on the Federation then? Isn't that what-" Cal stopped himself from saying 'you'. "we always do?"

The irony was almost too much for him. Needless to say, he'd never agree to something like this.

"No, there is a better alternative in the form of an accomplished and feared mage, one who has little to lose. I have it from a credible source that he was spotted in the city recently. Get in contact with him and I'm sure we can come to an agreeable sum for him to take the notoriety associated with the slaying of a Baron's son."

A professional fall guy. Trusting anything like this to a criminal struck him as incredibly stupid but options were options.

"Hypothetically, what's this guy's name?"

There was a pause and Victor closed his eyes. The clouds reformed into a vaguely familiar silhouette.

"The Whistling Death."

Fuck.

—

"This seems ill-advised."

Cal looked out to the pit of water ahead of him. The murky water tossed and turned as the irritated occupant inside swam circles.

The squid-like creature's beady black eye watched them from the depths but that wasn't where Cal's attention was drawn. He furtively glanced toward the sides where the other enclosures sat.

Colloquially this entire area was dubbed the stables. There were actual stables, as he'd first seen in the distance during Ryan's tour, but behind that lay much more. It was divided into roughly three sections. The largest was a forested area, similar to the rest of the Academy's grounds. It was rivaled by a more arid area with rugged rock and small dunes.

Cal was currently in the smallest of the sections, a series of pits made out of hardened stone meant for aquatic beasts. Most of the time beasts were kept in their specialized pens located at the main stable building. Enclosures like these were most commonly used for their training. A more niche reason for their usage was breeding, which was why he was here.

In the next pit over was a clutch of eggs being monitored by members of the Beast Husbandry Club, he kept tabs on one in particular.

Romero Venito, second son of a Viscount house was fairly average as far as nobles went. From what Anne had provided, he hadn't been involved in disciplinary actions and by all accounts had passable marks in his seventh-year courses. By the end of the year, he was expected to graduate and be appointed to some position in his house's lands. He was also dealing modified cores on the side and number one on the list of people Cal would like to have a locked-door conversation with.

"Are you listening to me? I've made several valid points as to why I think this foolhardy."

Marcus's aggrieved voice sounded beside him, reminding him of his presence.

"Huh," Cal tried and failed to recall anything from the man. "Sorry, I got distracted for a minute."

This area was only accessible to those taking related classes or members of certain clubs. Apparently, being the heir of a Dukedom allowed you to bypass both of those criteria. When Ferguson canceled their second class of the week and Marcus suggested they use the time for their own training, Cal was happy enough to direct their session here.

"Does our previous class weigh heavy on you?"

"I don't know if that's how I would describe it," Cal spoke evasively before getting to something he'd been meaning to ask. "Why did you take up Rolland's deal? Just for the money?"

Lily had been very interested in finding out what the headmaster was referring to with Ferguson and the Justiciars, Cal had been decidedly less so in telling it.

It turned out they were roughly on the same page with that. Making any sort of deal with the Justiciar was tantamount to admitting guilt and was better kept as a last resort. The Justiciar herself seemed content to bury it but Lily was convinced the more senior one would have different ideas. Something about being more ingrained into the system. Whatever that meant.

"My decision was independent of his meddling," Marcus had looked almost conflicted before his features smoothed out and responded. "My house's interests don't lie with the Justiciars, cooperating was never my intention. I played on a rare opening in Rolland's sensibilities to extract concessions out of him. It's something you would do well to imitate."

These guys loved to blackmail each other. Belatedly, he realized the hypocrisy of the statement.

"Sure, now are you going to stop stalling or what?"

Frankly, this method of training was suspect at best. He really just needed the excuse to be here and grasped at the easiest solution. To be fair, it wasn't much different than what Ferguson had done to them and he was a teacher.

"You haven't addressed any of my concerns." Marcus rightfully pointed out.

It was tough to offer rebuttals to things he wasn't listening to, he was also pretty sure he wouldn't be able to convincingly resolve them.

"What's the matter? Doesn't your place border the water? This shouldn't be anything crazy for you."

Their lands were towards the southwest of the Academy. There was some noble in charge of a buffer zone between them and the great river but they were considered the core military force in the area.

All of that was proof that his studying hadn't been totally for naught.

"We respect the ocean and its dangers."

That was a nonanswer, well he'd find out soon enough.

"You have that shield badge, right?"

Marcus reached into his pocket and held it up.

"I understand your intention but these are only effective in duels because students know to display restraint, this untamed beast is another matter."

Cal didn't get why the man was suddenly reluctant. They'd already gone through the trouble of getting permission to get into the water with this thing.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." He didn't. "Activate the thing."

This had been the way he learned if you took out the water and added far more beasts.

"Not until-"

Cal tuned out the complaint and focused back on Romero. How to proceed was a question that needed answering. With regards to his suspect and the Justiciars poking around. Luckily, there was a team of professionals he could bully into helping him in the city. For now, all he had to do was get a sense of the suspect's magical signature.

"Suit yourself" Cal assumed Marcus had finished and slapped him on the back, sending him carreing in the water. "Feel the movement in the water! Should be able to anticipate it before it strikes!"

Cal yelled a bit of advice, he doubted it would get to the man but it was the thought that counted.