“Hey Caroline, how you’re holding up?” right after Caroline and Jason retrieved the small clay bottles from their living quarters, Caroline got a call from Thomas: “I think Aimee and I found something about your case - do you have a minute? Better find somewhere safe and discreet for this.”

“Yeah, we have a quick minute.” Caroline put Thomas on speakerphone and said to Jason: “Hey Jason, Thomas has something to tell us, let’s find a quiet place.”

Caroline and Jason found a corner around the academy, and Jason cast a simple isolation spell around them in an attempt to block off their conversation - he was not too well practiced in this spell, so the spell ended up being quite crude and lackluster, but it was better than nothing.

“Okay, I think we’re safe - ish.” Jason scratched his head in embarrassment: “Let’s make this quick though.”

“Not a problem. I will be very quick - you guys remember that silver metal box you found in the Martin House warehouse? As your reward for winning the student duel?”

“Yeah I remember. What about it?” Jason asked: “Are you saying it has something to do with the hearing? A bit of an overkill, isn’t it?”

“No, the ‘codex’. The ‘key’!” Caroline grabbed Jason’s arm and smacked her own forehead: “Holy fuck we’re so stupid and blind. The box you have - you weren’t able to figure out what it is, and Cristian and Michael never contacted us with information and have people come and figure out what it is.”

“So it’s the codex? ” Jason thought for a while and said: “I thought a codex would be more of a book. It’s gotta be the key.”

“So you guys already figured it out huh?” Thomas chuckled: “So here’s the thing we suspected, nay, we became kinda convinced of - the hearing is just a setup for you. Aimee is checking the academy bylaws now, and we are thinking that the hearing is an attempt at your personal effects.”

“Personal effects? What does that mean?” Jason frowned and asked.

“That means your stuff, your personal things and possessions, they’re trying to get to your stuff.” Caroline answered.

“Nonono, I know what ‘personal effects’ mean, I was just wondering why the hell the academy would even be interested in our stuff. We don’t have anything that expensive or valuable - oh - oh oh oh, the silver box? But it was just there in the warehouse!”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Wait, you guys don’t have something someone would covet? You’ve got a mysterious master of a boss!” Thomas asked: “But - never mind - our current theory is that the box was never meant for you. You remember how surprised Cristian and Michael were?”

“Okay. So this is the ‘key’ my stalker was going after. And it is either the codex itself, or it is a key, which can help one find that codex.” Jason said: “This seemed a bit of a stretch, but it makes the most sense right now.”

“Hey, Jason, Caroline.” Aimee came to the phone: “I just checked the bylaws, this kind of investigative hearing or inquiry has its consequences. Should you fail to prove your innocence, the academy could issue a mandate that you forfeit some of your personal effects for evidence of an ongoing investigation. So yes, some people are indeed trying to get at your stuff.”

“And they just figured it out, it is the silver box.” Thomas said to Aimee while still on the phone: “So we will be cross checking the schedules of faculties and even students that were exposed and try to make a solid case for you. But we are not familiar with the rules and practice of this kind of hearings, so as former law enforcement officers I would advise you to please seek counsel to help you build a case of defense. And don’t say anything to anyone from the academy.”

“Thank you Thomas, we fully understand this.” Aimee said: “Actually we’re on our way to do that, we’ll tell you this later, but Ms. Wong helped us get into contact with a professor we could trust and we are on our way to find her.”

“Good! Good! Let us know what happens.” Aimee said: “And we will continue checking on our side for you and ask around a bit.”

“Alright. Thank you very much for your help guys, really really appreciate it.” Caroline said.

“No problem, good luck!”

Right after this call, Caroline and Jason went straight into the academy main building and found an office at the far end of the second floor.

“Professor Kapur?” the door was open, and when both of them went in, they found that the inside of the office was much more spacious than it looked from the outside, just like many other labs and offices in the academy, and the setups inside were a bit like the forensics labs they saw from the SFPD, which was somewhat different from other faculty offices they’d been to.

“Professor Kapur?” Jason called out again.

Something lit up behind a door inside of the office, from the glass window on top of the door they could tell it was a flash of blue light.

“I’m here, I’m. Excuse me, but I was caught up by some experiments in a lab and lost track of time. So I teleported back immediately when I saw you through the lense.” the door slid open, and Professor Kapur rolled out on a wheelchair in front of them. Both Jason and Caroline noticed right away that she was missing her left arm: “What can I help you with?”

“Hi Professor Kapur, my name is Caroline Baker, and this is Jason Lin.” Caroline was not quite sure what Professor Kapure was referring to, but still answered: “Ms. Josephine Wong referred you to us - ”

“Ah, yes, Josephine called.” Professor Kapur extended her right hand to the side and pulled out two chairs from under one of the desks in her office: “You’re looking for a toxicology report right? For your hearing?”

“Yes.” Jason and Caroline answered at the same time.

“Okay, from what Josephine told me, I would need your containers for these medicines you have, and I would need you to give me some blood samples, would that be okay?” Professor Kapur nodded and said: “It’s gonna take me one day to finish it. That would be soon enough for you, no?”

“That’d be perfect.” Caroline and Jason exchanged looks and said: “That’s just great. Thank you so very much!”

“I do have to warn you - this report will probably not excuse you of evidence tampering accusations.” Professor Kapur pointed at one of the desks, and two metal boxes popped out, one containing some test tubes and one containing some needles: “So, you’d better prepare for that as well.”