Olly Briggs
It was quiet but not devoid of people when Olly entered the library. Despite the early hour he wasn’t too surprised that other students were taking advantage of the quiet of the morning.
Olly looked around to see if he knew anybody. Unsurprisingly, most of the people were Cartographers though he saw a few upper year Conductors in the mix. He took up a vacant spot near where he usually studied with Sarah and Bowen. Despite missing them, particularly Sarah, he was relieved that he didn’t see anyone he knew by name. He wasn’t here to work on his core classes. He knew he really should but his latest dream had reminded him of his other concerns.
The False Prophet.
Olly hadn’t opened his mythology book apart from when he needed it for class. He wasn't able to face the fear that there was some kind of connection between the two of them. However, with his weird powers suddenly manifesting, the strange phenomenon in the forest with his uncle many months ago, and the dreams that had plagued him since coming to the Academy, he couldn’t ignore it any longer. His list of questions was growing and it was time to find the answers.
The assigned textbook for his mythology class had little more to say of the False Prophet so the library was his next best bet. In consulting the catalogue he quickly realized most mythology books were firmly in the fictional category. There was only one book in the library, a rather old tome by the description of it, that was classified as non-fiction. However, it was labelled within the catalogue as being restricted. He frowned. He didn’t know how to get permission to access it but it was curious to him that a book on mythology would be restricted in the first place. It wasn’t promising but he filed it away mentally to look into later.
In the meantime he collected a few of the fictional mythology books but quickly realized that none were particularly helpful. He had selected books that seemed to focus on characters but the stories contained within were borderline childish. They tended to focus on heroic deeds performed by the Magician and Scientist; how they always seemed to swoop in to save the problem-of-the-day that some back water village was facing. The False Prophet was conspicuously absent despite the other prophets coming up as semi-frequent cameos. The few times he did find a reference to the False Prophet she was only mentioned as a footnote. The only thing of interest that he found was that anytime she was mentioned the restricted tome was cited as a source.
Legends of Olde.
It was promising but thoroughly frustrating. It further drove his need to get his hands on that book.
“Is this seat taken?”
He looked up at the familiar voice and felt his forehead release its tension involuntarily. He hadn’t even realized he was frowning so deeply.
“Not at all! Have a seat, Bowen.”
He swept aside his stack of books and made space for his friend. His research was going nowhere as it was; he might as well enjoy someone’s company this morning.
Bowen looked curiously at the stack. “Mythology homework? Seems a bit intense for you to be here so early over an elective course.”
Olly laughed gently. “No, just a bit of a side project. I should probably focus on something more relevant though.”
It was true. The time had evaporated quickly and he did want to focus his attention on real work.
Bowen shrugged. “Nothing wrong with a passion project.”
They lapsed into a bit of an awkward silence.
“Look, about yesterday,” Olly began, “Are you okay? I’m sorry we didn’t check in with you.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. It was more confusing than anything from where I was standing. It’s clear you and Sarah have a tendency to get caught in the thick of things. Must be a Conductor trait.”
He said it lightly but Olly could tell that he wasn’t unserious either. Olly wondered for the first time if them being in different Guilds was contributing to the distance that had been forming between them. He usually spent more time with Sarah, with them having more classes together and living in the same dorms, but he was beginning to wonder if it was driving a wedge between them and Bowen.
“Must be. I’m trying to keep my head down but things seem to keep following me.”
“Where is Sarah by the way? Don't you usually study together?”
“I couldn’t sleep and decided to come down and be productive. I didn’t want to wake her up needlessly.” Olly kept his response light and hoped Bowen didn’t pick up on his dispirit.
It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t quite the truth. Bowen would pick up on any distance between them at breakfast or mutual classes soon enough.
The thought of being so visibly alone made his stomach clench painfully. Even though he was getting along better with his classmates there was no doubt that he was different. Sarah didn’t care about his oddities but no one else had shown interest in becoming anything more than acquaintances. Perhaps the constant antics that seemed to follow him were off-putting. But suddenly it crashed down on him that the idea of openly having lost the one friend in his Guild would be unbearable.
“So what happened out there?” Bowen said, seemingly oblivious to Olly's distress, “All I could see was that there was some kind of device malfunction and you and Sarah were caught up with the Grandmaster and the two researchers trying to repair it.”
He tried to recover. “Well… We were mainly there by chance when the weak spots cropped up. I didn’t do much but Sarah and Steven figured out something was wrong really quickly. So they’re really the ones to thank for saving the day.”
Bowen looked puzzled. “But one of the machines caused it, right?”
Olly looked at him curiously. “No? The weak points formed spontaneously. Well, one did. Brandon's machine might have indirectly caused the other one but Sarah picked up on the first one before it was even visible.”
“But I thought Brandon’s device opened them both up and that's what the commotion was about.”
Olly’s breathing hitched in his throat. “What do you mean?”
“Well, he ran that demonstration for us and it was in that spot that the first anomaly occurred, wasn’t it?” Bowen asked curiously.
He thought back to the day. Brandon had run a test and the machine had shown no signs of instability. And the one weak spot was close to that location if memory served. Shortly after that was when Sarah and Steven had felt the first signs of instability. But… Oh no.
“He re-ran the test and a second spot opened up,” Olly said in a hushed voice, “We were right in the thick of it and didn’t put two and two together.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought I saw. Nobody said anything about the machine afterwards?” Bowen asked with a frown.
“Nothing at all. Ugh, how could I be so stupid to not notice?”
“You aren’t. You just needed a different perspective,” Bowen said with a gentle smile but then his eyes widened, “Wait… Does this mean I’m getting drawn into your drama?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Do you want to be?” Olly asked, “Because I’ve got to tell at least two people and if you don’t want to become a pariah like me you better let me know now.”
“I suppose it was inevitable. I did ask to sit here,” Bowen said with a faux resigned sigh.
“Well, welcome to the shit show. I need a favour though.”
----------------------------------------
Olly tried not to look harried as he made his way down the hallway to the laboratories. He didn’t quite know which office was Steven’s but was also determined to seem as if he knew where he was going and belonged here. If someone happened to see him he did not want to appear anything but calm and collected. He didn’t need anyone questioning his presence, particularly Brandon.
Fortunately, he saw no sign of anybody and, at the very dead end of the corridor, found an office with Steven’s name plate on it.
He knocked deliberately and hoped his thudding heart wouldn’t betray his anxiety. It was still early but he hoped that Steven might be a morning person.
The door opened a mere crack and one of Steven’s eyes was revealed. It widened and Olly wondered if Steven was considering slamming it in his face.
“Can I help you?” he finally asked in a suspicious voice.
“I have questions about my mythology homework,” Olly said confidently.
Steven paused for a moment and Olly wondered if he was going to tell him to go away. “Alright,” he finally said.
The door reluctantly opened and Steven disappeared behind it. Olly quickly entered and shut it firmly behind him. Looking around he could see immediately that the office was neat and orderly. There were very few personal effects and the only things in any state of disorder were an open notebook and several very advanced textbooks laid particularly around it.
Steven sat behind his desk and closed his notebook with an almost inaudible sigh.
“Is this really about mythology?”
“Actually, yes. I need your help with some extra credit work. And I can make it worth your while if you’re willing to help me.”
Steven looked moderately concerned and bit his lip.
“Look, we’re all in quite enough trouble and I’m under a strict enough watch as it is…”
“Do you think Brandon is suspicious?” Olly cut him off mid-sentence.
Steven eyed him warily. “What makes you say that?”
“I overheard him yelling at you in the lab one day. He was silencing you. The same way he silenced you on the meteorology field trip. You’ve been trying to improve safety mechanisms, haven’t you? So why would he stand in your way?”
Steven bit the inside of his cheek. “I don’t see how this is relevant, nor do I see how it’s any concern of yours.”
“It is my concern when his activities are noticed by others and he’s made active attempts at sabotaging the safety of my peers.”
Olly forced eye contact until Steven broke and looked away, appearing deeply uncomfortable.
“What do you want?” he finally asked.
“How does someone borrow a restricted book from the library?” Olly decided to start small.
Steven shook his head. “Only graduates can take out restricted books. No students are permitted to do so.”
“What if a graduate borrowed a book and lent it to me?” Olly pressed, “There’s no harm in that, is there?”
Steven looked at the wall uncomfortably. “Why would they risk their reputation to do that?”
“If I had information to bolster their reputation I suspect they might.”
“What information do you think you have? I’m not going to agree to something damaging unless it’s real,” Steven lowered his voice but there was a slight edge to it.
Steven was interested but he was growing impatient. Olly had to reel him in and fast.
Olly leaned forward, resting his palms on the desk in front of him.
“On the field trip Brandon used his device twice. Both times triggered an anomaly. After the first time, you told him that you felt something was wrong and he brushed you off. When Sarah and I brought it to the Grandmaster’s attention and she asked him to re-run, but it he didn’t really want to, did he? I don’t think he intended to run it twice because he knew it was more damaging than even you suspected.”
Steven went silent.
“You knew it was going to be potentially destabilizing. But could it, under normal conditions, have caused such a dramatic weakening of the space-time fabric?” Olly asked further.
It was a gamble and for a moment Olly wondered if he had overplayed his hand. If Steven called his bluff, or if he was outright wrong, then Olly had little to offer.
However, finally, Steven shook his head. Almost imperceptibly.
Olly wanted to jump up in victory. Instead he willed himself to remain calm and pressed onwards.
“I think in the chaos he was able to get away with most people not putting two and two together. I think you’ve been on to him for awhile now but have been unable to get anything concrete. It sounds like you could use someone to help feel things out from another angle. Someone who, oh I don’t know, has been of interest to Brandon?” Olly suggested.
Steven gave him an evaluating look. “What book do you need?” he ventured cautiously.
And that’s when Olly knew he had him.
“Legends of Olde,” he offered casually.
Steven gave no indication that the book was particularly damaging or controversial. Olly took this to be a good sign.
“Give me a week to borrow it. I want a bit of a buffer before I take it out. However, I will want a bit more information before I hand it over.”
His uncle had once told Olly that anyone who made a bargain without stating what they wanted out of it couldn’t be trusted.
“Done,” he agreed and offered his hand.
They shook on it.
----------------------------------------
Bowen had delivered on the favour and Olly met Sarah in Bowen’s dorm room before their first class of the day together.
“You shouldn’t have used Bowen to apologize for you.”
She sounded unimpressed.
“I know but there was something I needed to take care of before I talked to you and I was running out of time.”
She shrugged. “Fine. What did you want to say to me? Bowen filled me in on what happened at the field trip with Brandon. He also said that you were sorry and believed me, but that you needed me to stay quiet until we could talk in private. What more could you possibly have to say to me? All it proves was that I’m right about this place being corrupt.”
“It’s true, it is. And I wanted to get that information to you without delay and trusted that you wouldn’t do anything rash, so thank you for meeting with me first. For what it’s worth, my apology is more sincere than what I wanted Bowen to relay. I am very sorry that I brushed off your goals yesterday and I don’t want the fact that we have different motivations for being here to come between us. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes here and I need you as a friend and an ally.”
She remained skeptical. “So you’re sorry because you don’t want to lose my help?”
He shook his head fervently. “No, I’m sorry because I can’t stand to lose you as a friend. And to be blunt I think it’s mutual. What’s also mutual is that if you want to be successful with your goals you’re going to need my help.”
“You’re going to have to explain your logic a bit better.” She hadn’t fully given in but she had softened.
“Look, you’re honestly awful at hiding your true intentions. If you want to get close to any type of change you’re going to have to get a whole lot better at concealing your feelings. If you don’t, you’re going to be found out and kicked out of here well before you have a chance of doing anything meaningful. And if you leave here it would make this place entirely unbearable.”
She looked moderately offended but seemed to consider his words.
“So you want to help me to get better at hiding because you want me to stick around. Not because you want me to achieve my goals?” she pressed.
“I believe in your goals, I do. Bowen unintentionally helped me see it this morning. You’re not wrong, Sarah. Things are corrupt and I don’t know to what extent. But I also need to be able to stay here to figure out what the hell is happening with me. I think our goals are connected but I need time to figure it out. However, since I can’t ask you to trust me blindly and put your goals aside forever I could leverage some of my connections to find out more information that could help you in the long run,” he explained.
“Like what?” she asked curiously. She clearly wasn’t used to the tit-for-tat he was proposing.
“I have Steven in my pocket now. I’ll keep you in the loop with whatever dirt I can find through him. I can also help you stay under the radar. All I’m asking you in return is to trust me and try not to make too much noise. We'll work out the rest together as it comes up. Does that sound like a good deal for now?”
She searched his eyes for deception. Finally, when she was confident she found none, her shoulders fell with a heavy sigh.
“It’s so hard being here and knowing what happened. I think you’re the only person I can trust right now,” she admitted, “Fine. I’m in with whatever you have planned. Just promise me you won’t keep me in the dark?”
“I promise.”