Arkat Alumnus

7: Allies?

Dreaming - Home - Absent Friends - Exploring - Sister Clareta - The Square Room
A Former Friend - Friends and Foes - Prudence - Praxis - Codebreaking

~oOo~

Eren and Pavel both sleep fitfully on the cold hard floor of the mural room.

Pavel dreams of an enormous wave, like the one in Salazari's picture. He watches it slowly rolling towards him as he stands on Syran's docks, simultaneously fascinated and horrified by its power. He frowns and looks about him, but everyone else seems to be going about their business, oblivious to the danger. As it draws nearer and nearer, he can see that the monster wave will engulf the whole city. Shouldn't someone do something? Tell everyone to run away, or take shelter?

Then he sees Carrick standing nearby and calls out to him: "The wave! The wave! Can't you do something?"". But the adept just looks at him impassively and says: "Why should I?"

"But what about all of these people?" Pavel asks. Carrick shrugs. "Who cares about them," he says. "They mean nothing to me."

Turning back to the stare at the looming wave, Pavel sees that there is a small vessel carried along on its crest and a tiny figure inside it, waving at him. He's inexplicably certain that he knows the person, knows them well, but try as he might, he can't work out who it is...

Eren dreams are initially filled with fleeting impressions of half-familiar scenes and abstract patterns. Then she dreams that all the figures on the walls around her come to life, stepping out of their murals and coming over to plead, argue or remonstrate with her, but their words slip through her mind without finding purchase.

Unable to bear their incessant babble, she flees to the other room and slams the door behind her with an echoing 'Boom!' only to turn and find that the Hell portal is active there is a hooded figure standing in the middle of it: the adept who had tried to abduct her! Turning to face her, he laughs horribly and raises the hood to reveal his face...

"Jayron!" she shouts, waking up with her heart pounding.

"What?" murmurs Pavel sleepily. "Where?"

"B... b... bad dream," Eren tells him, shivering. "Go back to sleep."

She lies awake for what seems like hours after that, her mind gnawing at the image of Jayron in the portal, before eventually drifting off into a more peaceful sleep.

Both apprentices are awoken by the sound of the door opening.

"Here's breakfast, as promised," Jayron tells them as he bustles into the room, laden down with provisions. "Plus water and more food for later. I'll bring a couple of bedrolls this evening - I don't expect you slept too well, did you? Now like I said last night, I want you to stay here while I make some enquiries. I can't possibly guarantee your safety if you leave this room. With any luck it'll only be for today, but if what you told me last night is true, we can't take any chances."

Eren feels a burst of fear, anger, and resentment at being dismissed like this….always it is "stay out of sight, don't cause trouble, let the men take care of it." That is why she'd always hated the story of Saint Gerantius and the Tower, because Eren identified with the Nun, despite her representing one of the failings.

He turns to leave.

She just has to keep him around a bit longer, figure out if she can trust him. She garbles out a mix of the Nun's `speech on the steps' and her own dreams:

"Master Jayron, I pray of you do not leave us so swiftly soon! I was haunted by most wondrous foul dreams that I could but hope you' d help banish e'er your going. For to be left in this place, safe in body but restless in spirit, not knowing the day, errrr, hour, of your return, not knowing if your heart beat still strongly or be stilled cruelly, ummm" she quickly skips the part about his handsome figure and noble visage, then continues at a more easily adapted place.

"Haunted yet by these visions hellacious, it would be a torture-true of the spirit that might be endured by one of your, errrm, trained nature, but under which my less formed being may flinch and quail. For truth I fear yet the man all robed and hooded, and know now what to do if your return seem overlong delayed, nor would I know what trust to extend to a messenger of no matter how fair words."

She stops, embarrassed. Then mutters: "That is, please don't just leave without us having more of a plan that that."

Jayron seems to be rather thrown off-balance by the girl's unexpected theatrical pleadings.

"I... I... I'm sorry," he stammers. "That is... Dreams, you say? Visions, ah... hellacious?"

Inwardly congratulating herself on the success of this tactic, Eren wastes no time in telling Jayron about her dream, omitting only one detail: the fact that it was his face that she'd seen when the hooded man revealed his identity. The master turns pale when she describes what she's seen in the other room.

"And did you recognise this hooded person when he revealed his face," trying to sound nonchalant.

"I'm afraid not," Eren fibs, watching him closely. "I woke up at that point."

Jayron is visibly relieved and immediately forces a smile. "Well I'm sure I don't need to tell you that it was just a dream and... nothing to worry about. That is to say... umm, it's understandable that you'd have nightmares after your scary experience yesterday, but you don't want to read too much into it. Just... ah, just let me handle it, all right? You'll be safe provided you stay in this room."

Eren isn't getting a sense of danger from him - he seems frightened, rather than malevolent - but he's obviously hiding something. That doesn't make him an enemy, she reasons, but it also doesn't mean that he's trustworthy. Another puzzle.

"But what is this place," Eren asks, seizing her chance to probe for more information. "And how long will we have to stay here? Can you maybe let my master know that I'm, oh I don't know, busy with something? I don't want to get a black mark for truancy. Can we practice out magic down here?" she asks, aware that she's starting to babble, but unable to stop herself.

"No!" exclaims Jayron, alarmed. "That is, I really don't think that would be a good idea." He takes a deep breath and continues in a calmer voice. "This room was originally a special... um, meeting place for a clandestine society. It's no longer used, but there may be wards and glyphs placed on it that would make it unwise to use magic here. That's why I told you to stay in this room: I can't vouch for the safety of the other chambers down here. As for your master... I think it's better if we keep everyone in the dark for now. I just don't know who to trust..."

He moves over to the door again.

"Just stay down here today and I'll come back and tell you what I've discovered this evening," he tells them. "I know it's asking a lot, but you really have to trust me. Carrick sent you to me for a reason, and not just as a last resort. You're bound to be scared, but you have to understand that this is all more than a little terrifying for me too. It's enough to worry about thinking how I'm going to deal with this threat, without having to protect you as well..."

Eren moves over to the door and watches him leaving, but he doesn't do anything revealing.

Once he is well and truly gone, Eren turns to Pavel and asks: 'so, do you think we have time for breakfast before we get out of here? I'd like to eat something, but I could shove in my pockets for later if I have to. Kiki and I never got to see where else this corridor leads, so I don't know if there is a second exit. Should we go explore that way, or go back out through the college?'

Despite his rumbling stomach, Pavel nods at the unexplored corridor. "Let's go!" he says.

Eren takes a minute to guzzle some water and take a few big bites of cheese. Talking around the cheese she agrees "Le's go" and she follows Pavel out the door, carrying a round loaf of bread.

~oOo~

As Kiki walks up the garden path, the scent of the flowers and medicinal herbs is an instant and intoxicating confirmation: she's home.

She and the unicorn had parted ways a short distance outside Nortark. Her new friend had been reluctant to come even that close, but he knew that Kiki was too weak to walk far. Fortunately they hadn't seen anyone about, but even so, the unicorn hadn't lingered over his goodbyes. Even the short walk to her mother's cottage on the outskirts of the village had left Kiki breathless and wobbly, but now at last she has reached her destination. She instinctively begins to open the door, then hesitates for a moment and pulls back her hand. When she raises it again, it is to knock.

Her mother opens the door a few moments later, the look of astonishment on her face rapidly turning to concern, and then worry.

"Kiki!" she exclaims. "By the names of all the saints, child, what has happened to you?"

"Mum I know you told me not to but a collage master wanted me to ride the Unicorn again! So I was doing what they told me to do like you asked me to. But it turned out he was from the dark side and wanted the unicorns horn. Sorry !" and with that her legs give out from under her.

Making soft reassuring noises her mum picks Kiki up and takes her back inside.

Later after she has received her mums tender care Kiki feels strong enough to tell her the whole story. And the two just spend the whole night just talking about all of Kiki's adventures in the big city. After all if a girl can't trust her mother, who can she trust?

After a days rest at her mother's insistence Kiki takes up the paint brush again as a way of recording her experiences. She starts with a picture of the demons that had attacked her.

When her mother sees the painting, she seems both fascinated and horrified. When Kiki explains her theory that these creatures were demons, her mother suggests a visit to the village liturgist.

"Oh, I wouldn't normally want you have anything to do with the man," she tells her daughter, seeing Kiki's look of surprise. "But I've heard that Father Pedone was an acknowledged expert on demonology at the seminary, before he 'retired' here. He may be an objectionable old goat, but there's a small chance he might be able to help. And I warrant you'll you need all the help you can get..."

Kiki knows of this liturgist only by reputation - her family attend masses at the tiny local chapel of the Church of Inspiration, whereas Pedone leads the much larger congregation of the Stygian Church. He has acquired a reputation for misogyny, but might be better labelled a misanthrope, as he seems equally disdainful of the male inhabitants of the village.

Leaving the painting to dry Kiki gathers up her sketches and heads off to see the liturgist. Entering the small chapel she is struck by how dull and plain it is compared to the Church of Inspiration.

"Service is at four bells," growls a deep voice behind her, startling out of her comparisons. Kiki calms herself and sticks to formula she had been taught for such occasions.

"Help me Father for I have sinned.
Tainted by prided I have reached too far
Brushed by the Demon I fall.
In humility I come to seek Solace."

And as required she kneels before him head bowed.

"Demons now, is it? Likely story," the old Liturgist grumbles down at her resentful of her interruption.

Kiki offers up her sketches "Yes, Father - like these".

Pedone snatches the pieces of paper from her and flicks through them, scowling.

"Arkat's blood!" he exclaims. "These are hornet demons! Where in the Hells did you get these sketches?"

His eyes widen when Kiki holds up her charcoal stick.

"You drew them yourself? From life?" he says, still sounding incredulous. He re-examines the sketches with renewed interest. "Hmmm... yes, obviously from life. The detail here is impressive. Very well, child, you have my attention... Where did you encounter these fiends? And more to the point, how did you live to tell the tale?"

"Well I had some unusual help there." Kiki smiles briefly then continues "It all started when I won a small field survey contest run by one of the Imperial College masters: Stockfish. Master Stockfish then wanted to use my affinity for animals to help with his research."

Kiki then goes not relate the whole story as best as she can tell it, pointing where the sketches depict scenes in the story.

"Once I felt better my mum suggested you would be the best person to tell. I am just a student and there may be an innocent explanation but to me this just felt wrong. Can you help?"

"Innocent explanation?" Pedone laughs out loud and then shakes his head. "There's no possible innocent explanation for what you claim to have witnessed. But... Master Stockfish, you say? I knew a Stockfish when he was a young journeyman adept. I taught him and some of his peers, to ward them against the perils that they might encounter as their careers progressed. If it's the same man, then I find it hard to believe that he's fallen so far as to dabble with demons. He seemed such a pleasant fellow, always smiling."

"Yes he is pleasant and he did not do anything directly against me. It was only when he was reaching for what he called his 'Great Reward' that he started bringing demons out of that incredible bag of his."

Pedone grunts. "It would be hard to overlook something like that, I'll grant you," he acknowledges. "But I only have your word that this is what happened. Why should I give any credence to the frankly incredible tale of a mere slip of a lass, who has the temerity to accuse an Imperial College master of the most heinous of crimes? Well?" he demands, glaring at her. "Come on then, girl - why should I believe you?"

Kiki says nothing, thinking that Pedone's curmudgeonly reputation is well-deserved. The liturgist snorts loudly and stomps over to a side table, where he pours himself a drink and tosses it back. As he re-examines her sketches he throws the occasional glance her way, eyes narrowed, tugging thoughtfully on his unruly beard and chewing his moustache. As Kiki watches, however, his scowls gradually fade, until at last his face settles in a world-weary expression.

"Very well, child - I suppose I must believe you," he says eventually, with a deep sigh. "Either you have the most vivid and twisted imagination that I've ever come across, or you're telling the truth. But the question remains: what exactly can I do to help you? Oh, I understand why your mother thought that I might be the best person to tell, but I'm afraid she over-estimates my capabilities. It's true that I was once a scholar of demonology, but what use is my esoteric knowledge when you're confronted with a black-hearted sorcerer? You need to seek more powerful allies, I think..."

Kiki's heart sinks. After managing to convince the man, was he really going to tell her that he could do nothing to help her? Her disappointment must have been obvious, because Pedone smiles kindly at her - an expression that his face seems wholly unaccustomed to forming.

"Don't despair, young lady," he reassures her. "I didn't say that I couldn't help you. I just think that you need more than a retired demonologist can provide by himself. Now, I may have been exiled to this miserable rural parish for my sins, but my superiors don't begrudge me the occasional visit to the city and some of my old friends still remember me. If I were to introduce you to them, then I'm sure that they would be only too keen to hear your tale."

He pauses for a moment, frowning as he takes in the numerous lacerations on Kiki's exposed flesh and her pale and drawn face.

"That is, if you're ready," he adds. "If you're still ailing, maybe you should rest for a few days in your mothers tender care. I've no stomach for becoming a nursemaid..."

"Nor I for being nursed. Don't worry my mothers cures are quite effective." The old priest frowns at the reminder of her mums occupation. "I should be able to travel in the morning"

Once Kiki leaves the priest she heads back to her house to tell her mum and to pack her few possessions and a small stock of her mums preparations.

Once that it done all that she has left to do is to go and tell her unicorn friend what she plans to do.

Kiki's mother and the unicorn both had essentially the same advice to offer.

"It grieves my heart to think of you heading back into the city," her mother tells her. "It seems like turning around and walking back into a lion's den. But I fear that you must confront this peril, lest it seek you out. But heed this, my child: trust only the message of your true heart. Father Pedone is right - you will doubtless need allies if you are to face this evil sorceror, but if any do agree to help you they will do so because it suits their purposes, not your. So do not give your trust lightly, no matter how fair and good a potential ally may seem, and always ask yourself - and them, if you are able - what they have to gain from helping you."

She gives her daughter a new leather pack with a wide assortment of medicinal preparations and ingredients, some of them so rare and precious that Kiki starts to protest. Her mother insists that she take them, however, with the words: "I can always gather more herbs, but I have but one daughter."

The unicorn expreses his advice in simpler terms: "Trust no-one unless true friends."

He comes closer and bows his great head, nuzzling affectionately agains her. "Here - have gift," he tells her and she notices something that has been tied into his mane. Untangling it she sees that is is an intricately braided bracelet, apparently woven using fine hairs from the unicorn's long mane. "Asked tree-maiden make for you," he explains. "Not strong magic, but..."

When she meets Pedone, early the next morning, she is surprised to see that the liturgist has a horse, and a rather splendid one at that. She'd assumed that they would be walking - village priests do not normally have the resources required to stable a riding horse.

"A loan from an old friend," the liturgist comments, gruffly, noticing her curious glance at the animal. "I'm a little out of practice and you'll have to hold on tight, but it beats walking. Besides, there's somewhere we need to go on our way to the city..."

The journey is not as exhilarating as her ride with Stockfish, and her still-smarting wounds make it an uncomfortable experience, but they make good progress. It's only when they turn off the river road and head off along a well-worn track that Kiki realises where they are heading: the Nunnery of St Errolan the Obscure.

~oOo~

Exalian had emerged from his room on Freezeday morning feeling exhausted, but excited. Late the previous night, he'd finally completed the arduous enterprise that had occupied every minute of his spare time (and quite a lot of his studying and sleeping time too) for a week or more: the painstaking process of decrypting the spellbook that he now knew as the Homework Club Manual.

He couldn't wait to share his discoveries with the small group of other apprentices who'd helped him find the book and unlock its secrets. For this reason he'd actually been looking forward to the first lesson of the day, as it was part of the joint teaching experiment and hence several of his co-conspirators would be there. He'd been disappointed to find that three of these students were absent and downright annoyed when the only ones that had turned up - Welspun and Filmore - seemed to be more interested in the lesson than hearing about his triumphs.

Now, trying hard to stay awake while the master drones on about some particularly dull historical event and its significance for the modern adept, he idly wonders what could have happened to make Kiki, Eren and Pavel miss the lesson, and what kind of trouble they are going to catch when they return. Then his mind strays back to the subject that's been occupying it for days...

His master, Jayron, had told him of this book's existence and encouraged him to find it. The adept's motivations for this are still difficult to fathom. Exalian knows that Jayron is working on a secret project involving forbidden magic; apparently, so does one of Jayron's associates - a Naval College adept called Carrick. After meeting Exalian at the Disputation, however, Carrick also seems to suspect that the apprentice is involved in Jayron's secret project. In truth, Jayron does want Exalian to help him with this mysterious project, but he doesn't want Carrick to know that.

Jayron's proposed solution to this problem is to arrange for Carrick to 'discover' Exalian using the illicit - but relatively 'safe' - magic of the Homework Club, which will reassure him that the apprentice is not involved in his master's enterprise. If this ruse is successful, Jayron may actually consider involving Exalian in his project. Why this elaborate deceit is necessary, and the nature of the relationship between the two adepts, is not clear, but Exalian thinks it likely that they were both former members of the Homework Club.

Just as Jayron had promised, the book contains all sorts of interesting spells, some of which Exalian has already decyphered and experimented with. It also details various unpublicised snippets of information about Syran and its four schools that a canny apprentice might exploit to their advantage - especially if they want to acquire the more exotic ingredients that some of the spells require. The fact that the spells are all alchemical in nature - and hence forbidden not only to apprentices but to adepts too - makes them all the more fascinating for Exalian.

In general, the spells are either intended to make a student's life easier - or to make other students' lives more difficult. From the introduction to the book, Exalian has formed the impressions that the people who put this book together didn't need to cheat in order to succeed in their studies, but enjoyed doing so immensely. The overall impression is of a group of intellectually precocious, but perhaps not terribly 'cool' students, who wanted to excel in their studies without having to do all the hard, dull work, while at the same time having a way to score points over their more socially successful peers...

A loud knock on the classroom door, which is very close to where he's sitting, startles Exalian out of his reverie. The master barks "Enter!" and another adept pokes his head into the room. "Could I have a quick word?" he asks.

As the two men talk quietly in the corridor, Exalian catches a few snatches of their conversation, and starts to pay attention when he realises that they are talking about his missing classmates. Kiki, it seems, is away on some kind of expedition with Stockfish, the master who'd taken the joint class on a field trip to the Graveen Marshes last week. Eren and Pavel, however, are both missing, having last been seen together at the Naval College late last night.

The masters mention another missing student that Exalian doesn't know, who'd failed to turn up for an important examination this morning, but it's clear from their tone that they expect him to turn up eventually. They're more surprised that Eren, one of Imperial's star pupils - the winner of the Disputation, no less! - seems to be playing truant.

"Nurse saw her yesterday around lunchtime," Exalian hears. "And patched her up - she'd had a fall, Nurse said. Then the girl left with another apprentice - the new boy, Vey - but he says that he took her back to her room and hasn't seen her since."

Exalian glances over at Vey, an Imperial apprentice who's also taking part in the joint teaching experiment. He doesn't know much about the boy, but has heard that Vey claims to have been born in Syran and that his father is an 'old boy' of the College. There's also a persistent rumour that he started his studies in wizardry elsewhere.

Exalian considers where to find what seems to be a bevy of lost friends, and, of the ones the adept spoke of, the above comment seems to be the easiest to follow up on. Perhaps if he can find Eren, she might have some clues as to where the others have gotten off to.

At his next break, Exalian runs up to Eren's room and pounds on the door.

There's no response. He's just about to try the door when he hears a raised voices coming from the room two doors down. One voice he immediately recognises as Vey's; the other sounds like a girl's or a younger boy's, but he can't place the speaker. When he hears what they are saying he moves a little nearer.

"The night before last! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Vey is demanding angrily.

"I didn't know it was important!" the second voice. "And we had exams..."

"Curse your stupid exams!" Vey exclaims. "You should have told me straight away! And you say that the splasher boy was with them too?"

"No, but he turned up just after I went down - I think he might have followed me. And he left with them. He fell down the stairs," the younger voice adds, with a note of amusement.

"And what was down there? What did you find?"

"There was this weird room with a glowing ceiling and a big inscription thingy on the floor. You know, like a portal. Gave me the creeps, it did. And there was another room that I didn't see - that's were they were..."

"Hells! You need to show me this place right now!" Vey insists.

"But I have a tutorial!"

"It can wait... this can't. Come on, let's go..."

Exalian hears a door opening...

Exalian tries to process what he's heard, and simply can't, muttering to himself, "A portal."

He stands there waiting for Vey to come out, unable to think of anything else in time. When he appears, Exalian says, "Hello Vey, have you seen Eren?"

Vey seems a little startled to see him and doesn't answer immediately. Exalian watches with interest as the the other boy's expression goes through a range of emotions - fear, anger, suspicion - before, with a visible effort, he composes himself and attempts a winning smile.

"Ah, no, I'm afraid I haven't," Vey says. "Haven't seen her since yesterday, in fact. She had a nasty fall in the corridor and I took her to nurse, then brought her back here to her room."

The young girl that is with Vey is presumably a neophyte. She glares at Exalian, but says nothing.

"Um, I can give her a message if I see her," Vey adds, then turns to the girl. "Come on Imogen - I'll help you with your revision in the library." He favours Exalian with another smile and shrugs. "My cousin," he says by way of explanation. "She has an exam tomorrow and I said I'd help her to prepare."

Based on what Exalian overheard before, it's obvious that Vey is lying, but he can't fathom his motivations. There's also something else that's bothering him about the boy, something not quite right about his demeanour...

Exalian shakes his head, "No thanks, no message. I'll track her down myself. Thanks."

He then turns down to head down the hall. As soon as Vey starts down, Exalian turns about and follows them carefully; peering around corners to see which way they go, before coming down the corridors behind them. Trying not to look too conspicuous to any onlookers.

As he goes, Exalian mumbles to himself, "I am definitely going to church this week - I could use a bit of Stygian aid right now." He makes a small sign of obeisance to the powers below.

Following Vey and Imogen proves straightforward enough, thanks to his intimate familiarity with the College grounds, and his targets don't seem to have noticed that they are being followed. His rather clumsy efforts at stealth do elicit a frown from one passing master, but fortunately he doesn't stop to ask Exalian what he thinks he's doing.

The trail leads out of the main college buildings and ends at an out-building against the interior of the College's external wall. Exalian recalls that this contains a changing room, used by apprentices on Claydaydank afternoons, when they are expected to take part in some sort of organised physical exercise, and a storeroom, which is filled with chairs, benches and old sports equipment. It is into the latter that Imogen leads Vey. Exalian, listening outside the door, hears them apparently moving through the jumble of furniture and other junk to the far side of the storeroom, their murmuring voices gradually receding and then falling completely silent.

Perplexed at their seeming disappearance, Exalian determines that now would be an excellent time to try the potion for which he'd managed to scrape together the ingredients: the Draught to Blend With Shadows. He takes it and then enters the building as quietly as possible, and begins to see if he can determine where they've gone.

The room is a veritable maze of stacked furniture and boxes, through which Exalian cautiously creeps, trusting the potion to conceal him from observers. After wandering around the narrow gaps between the stacks, he begins to despair of finding his way out again, let alone working out where Vey and Imogen went. Then, however, he comes across a stack of chairs that has been rather obviously moved, creating a gap that leads through to a part of the room that he hadn't been able to reach until now. At first sight this doesn't look any more promising than the rest of the room, but then Exalian notices a ramshackle cupboard against the wall, its door standing ajar. A narrow stone staircase, leading down into the darkness, is visible at the rear of the cupboard.

Making his way carefully down the steps, Exalian realises that he can hear the distant sound of voices up ahead. Straining to hear what they are saying, he is soon forced to concentrate on where he is putting his feet, as he feels his way down the staircase in almost complete darkness. Only when he has negotiated a sharp turn in the staircase and reached a level surface at the bottom of the steps does he return his attention to the voices. It sounds like Vey and Imogen.

"...said you went in here when you came before?" Vey is saying, in an exasperated tone.

"I did!" Imogen insists. "Someone must have locked the door."

"Great. And you say Eren and the scribbler were in the other room?"

"Yes, but that door seems to be locked too."

"What about down here?"

"Dunno. This is as far as I got..."

"Come on then..."

Hearing footsteps moving away, Exalian creeps carefully forward, trying hard not to make any noise as he follows the sound. In spite of his efforts, he's painfully aware of the echoing sound of his own footsteps. It seems that Vey has heard it too.

"What was that?" he hears Vey remark.

"Not sure," Imogen responds. "But it sounded close!"

Exalian steps out of the shadows, and where Vey and Imogen can see him, hoping that, perhaps, the effect of appearing out of nowhere might be spooky.

"I thought you said that you didn't know where Eren had been?" he says in a conversationally accusatory tone.

Before Vey can answer, he follows up, "What's going on here, Vey. You'd better come clean. I have a feeling that some of my friends might be involved in something, and I intend to help them if I can find them."

Both Vey and Imogen seem suitably startled by Exalian's sudden appearance, but Vey does his best to look nonchalant as he responds, kicking Imogen in the shin when she opens her mouth.

"Come clean?" the boy says. "Why, whatever do you mean? Imogen was merely showing me this place that she recently discovered, as she thought it might be a quiet place to do some revision..."

Exalian's expression clearly tells Vey that this obvious lie isn't going to wash, so he changes tack. Heaving a deep sigh, he lets his customary smile fall from his face.

"Listen, Exalian," he says. "I'm not going to lie to you any more. It's true that we came down here looking for Eren - Imogen says that she saw her coming down here a couple of days ago and wondered if she might be hiding down here for some reason. But I was only trying to protect Eren - what kind of trouble would she get in if the masters found out where she'd been?"

This explanation has a plausible ring to it, but Exalian is still not convinced. He's certain that Vey isn't telling him the whole story, but he can't figure out the boy's motives.

"Tell you what," says Vey, who has been watching Exalian closely. "Why don't you come with us to look for her. Then you can be sure that I'm telling the truth."

Exalian notices Imogen giving the boy a sharp look, but she says nothing.

"And the first thing you can do," Vey suggests. "Is to see if you can open that door. It seems to be stuck..."

Vey indicates the heavy wooden door that he and Imogen had apparently been trying earlier.

Exalian approaches the door, and looks it over. What is it the master's say when one faces something like this? Try to look at the problem from a new angle? He considers running to get his stone-working tools, but that's a ways... perhaps as a last ditch means, they could be used to break the lock. He tries to focus and come up with something to move onward.

"How did Eren get through here?" he mutters to himself.

After examining it for a few minutes he shares his conclusions with Vey and Imogen. There's no lock to break and no possibility of even using a crowbar to prise it open - there's not even a hairsbreadth of space between the door and the frame, and the frame is made of stone. They might just be able to batter it down, given time and a sledgehammer, but he doesn't fancy trying.

When Imogen asks him why it won't open the obvious answer hits him: magic. Vey immediately comes to the same conclusion and says as much. When he mentions wards, Exalian finds himself nodding in agreement. A sigil of warding is an obvious explanation, implying that an Imperial master has gone to some trouble to discourage intruders. But that doesn't explain how Imogen was able to enter the room previously - nor, for that matter, how Eren and Kiki were able to do the same. Unless the wards have been set more recently...

Pondering the implications of this, Exalian notices that Vey is leaning towards Imogen and whispering in her ear. What are they plotting now?

~oOo~

The two apprentices creep carefully along the corridor, moving into deeper gloom. Jayron had taken his lantern away with him and the eerie glow that illuminates the mural room and the area around the doors rapidly drops off as they move away.

The wall that Eren had glimpsed on her first visit proves to be a T-junction. A short distance to the left, Pavel and Eren find a door, very similar to the other two and dimly illuminated by the now-familiar bluey-green luminescence from the ceiling. Resisting the temptation to enter immediately, they check in the opposite direction and find another door, this one very obviously different to the others.

They now have a choice: try one of these two door or explore in the opposite direction along the passageway.

Eren whispers: "I might be turned around, but this door that is different, I think it might lead beyond the college grounds, should we check that way? Oh, before we open anything we should look for magic, I keep forgetting about symbolic sight."

Both apprentices examine the two doors using the arcane perception techniques taught by their respective schools. Pavel notices nothing remarkable in either case, but Eren can clearly see that the first door is inscribed with one sigil and the second door (the one that looks physically different) with two different sigils. She knows that the creation of these magical inscriptions is an Imperial College speciality - it's part of Helmat's Essential Treatise - but she's unable to identify the purpose of the sigils in this case. She's familiar with the principle of warding sigils and alarm sigils, but knows that other, more exotic applications of the magical technique also exist.

Eren sticks her tongue out at the doors, hoping that the darkness hides her childish reaction from Pavel, then explains what she knows, and more importantly what she doesn't.

"So, do we take a chance? Or do we go explore the other end of the corridor first?"

"Let's just look a bit more," the boy replies, curiosity overtaking him as he stoops to try and work out how the seals work.

Although he's not familiar with this sort of magic, Pavel's magical instincts tell him that the sigils on both doors are connected with the Imperial College, but he senses something with a different origin on the larger door, the one that Eren speculates might lead out of the College grounds. It's not completely alien, but it somehow tastes subtly different to the signature that he normally associates with Imperials.

"Please describe it again. How does it feel? What is the scent of it? Does it remind you of an animal? Where do you perceive it to be on the door?"

Eren is frustrated that Pavel saw the wards when she didn't, but isn't going to let that stop her. She barely made it into Salazari's the first time, and now it is easy, so surely with help from Pavel she can sort this out too!

Once she's run out of ways to ask Pavel to describe it, she makes herself calm down and really focus, going through all the steps to get her symbolic sight to work.

Sadly, all this effort seems to be for nothing, as she can see nothing new. However, after pressing Pavel to describe his impressions of the wards she realises that he can't see the sigils in the way that she can. At first, she thinks this might be a difference between the way symbolic sight is taught by their respective schools, but it soon becomes apparent that Pavel's insights come from somewhere else: an instinctive and apparently intuitive appreciation of magic that makes her wonder if she should completely reappraise the Naval College boy.

This also makes her wonder about her own intuitions and apparently significant dreams. All of the schools teach their apprentices that such "non-rational" mental processes have no place in wizardry. At best they serve as a distraction, a distraction that - like emotions - the apprentice must discipline themselves to avoid if they are ever to become adepts; at worst, they can lead the unwary apprentice into dangerous territory, even heresy.

Eren had been increasingly dubious about this official line, as it seemed to be at odds with the example set by the Imperial College founder. The masters were fond of quoting one of Helmat's remarks on the subject of intuition: "The serious student of wizardry must never rely upon intuitive reasoning," he had said. "For that way lies mortal peril." But when Eren looked up the origin of this quote, she found that the masters had left out Helmat's further comment: "For this reason, it is essential that all of your insights, no matter how they are arrived at and how self-evident they may appear, be subjected to rigorous empirical verification." To her mind, this suggested that the founder did not actually rule out a role for intuitive insights in the study of magic - he merely demanded that they be independently verified by rational investigation.

Her curiosity engaged, she re-examines the sigils to see if her symbolic sight can confirm Pavel's 'hunch' about the origin of the associated magic. As she had hoped, the sigil on the door that 'tasted different' to Pavel also looks different to her symbolic sight. Its form and delineation are consistent with what she's been taught about Imperial sigils, but remembering something from a recent lesson she looks for the etheric signature of the spell. Merely distinguishing these subtle nuances in the magical energies of a spell is hard enough for a beginner, but experienced adepts can use it to identify the caster of a spell, if they are sufficiently familiar with the other adept's work.

Eren has practised the technique enough to distinguish different signatures, but not enough to reliably identify a particular signature. Examining this sigil, however, she is bemused to find it completely devoid of signature. The other sigil on this door, as well as the one on the other door, both seem to have the same clear signature, but on this one... nothing.

Once she is done with that, she shrugs and suggests "Why don't we go down the open corridor for now. I want to think about this one a bit more before we try anything."

Following the corridor in the other direction. Pavel and Eren almost immediately come to a dead end. It's hard to be sure in the darkness, but the masonry on the wall at the end feels different to the rest of the passage, suggesting that it had been sealed off at some point. This triggers a memory for Eren. Backtracking to the narrower passage leading to the stairs where they'd entered, she again finds differences in the masonry: the walls of the main passage are made of large blocks of well-finished stone, while the side passage has rough brick walls.

Curious, she returns to the mural room, to look at the construction of the walls there, which prove to be the same as the main passage. Only then does it occur to her to examine the door to this room with her symbolic sight. Finding the same sigil that she'd seen on both of the other doors, she checks the door to the portal room as well: it too has the sigil!

While Eren is back in the mosaic room she grabs some more food for thought. After chewing things over for a couple of minutes she suggests: "Kiki and I opened both the mosaic room and the portal room before, and it doesn't seem to have triggered anything, and we have been in and out of this one last night and today and I didn't notice Master Jayron doing anything special, so it wouldn't make any sense for these sigils to be dangerous now. They have the same sigil as does the door up the hall and to the left, so I think that it should be safe too. The other door has an extra sigil, and is different, so we just don't know about it one way or another. So the safest option would be the door on the left, and who knows what we might discover?"

"Now, the change in construction of different spots is interesting. I'm tempted to say that obviously this is an older complex, to which recent additions have been made, but I don't think it is logical to claim that. It feels right, but I don't really have enough proof to back it up. So acting like it was true might get us into deeper trouble. Still, if we ever have to make an assumption for some reason, that might be a reasonable one to make. I wonder if Master Salazari's model will provide more evidence one way or another, once we tell him all of this? Anyway, if we open that door up and to the left, it will be interesting to see if we find another room that seems very old, but with this same good stonework? What is it that the Masters call it, a 'hypothesis' I think, yes my hypothesis is that it will be, and I'd like to go and find out. After that we can check the different door, and if that doesn't work out we can always take a shot at getting through that blocked corridor, I wonder how strong that wall really is?"

Eren and Pavel return to the door on the left; Eren takes a deep breath and then opens it.

The first thing she does is congratulate herself on the accuracy of her hypothesis: the masonry in this room is identical to that in the other rooms - large stone blocks - and there is the same bluey-green luminescence emanating from the walls and ceiling. Unlike the others, however, this room is square rather than rectangular and there is a large stone structure in the centre: a broad circular dais with a roughly cubic block standing on it.

The block is rectilinear and fairly tall, standing about a metre and a half in height; if anything, it is slightly wider and deeper than it is tall. It seems to have been cut from a single piece of unfamiliar stone, which is charcoal grey with grey-green mottling. At first sight the texture of the stone looks unusually rough, but as the two apprentices draw nearer they realise why: the surfaces are completely covered with tiny incised symbols. Both can now sense a palpable aura of power emanating from it...

~oOo~

The farmland that surrounds the convent is extensive and obviously well-tended; Kiki sees several nuns and a many more tenants working in the fields; several of them wave as they see the riders passing. The convent itself is surrounded by a tall and sturdy wall, which at first makes it look more like a fort than a religious community. Within the walls, however, the buildings are more refined, if a little austere, and Kiki is impressed by the simple, unpretentious elegance of the architecture.

As she waits and looks around while Pedone entrusts his horse to a novice, Kiki frowns, aware of a nagging sensation that something is missing. It takes her a few minutes to realise what. Although she sees numerous nuns moving purposefully about their business, there's no murmur of conversation and any words that are uttered are spoken in a whisper. Belatedly, she recalls that many Obscurists take vows of silence in addition their compulsory vows of chastity an poverty. Evidently this is an order that values peace and quiet.

After a exchanging few hushed words with a stern-looking nun, Pedone beckons Kiki and leads her into the main part of the convent. "It may be a while before the Mother Superior sees us," he whispers. "But the sisters are going to make us comfortable while we wait."

A slender, silent woman leads them to a small room and gestures at a table in one corner, before leaving them. She returns a few minutes later with a simple meal and a jug of water, then bows and exits. Gratefully devouring the food, Kiki looks around the room with interest, noting the tall book cases that line one of the walls and the neatly-stacked papers on a writing desk by the window, which she is itching to investigate.

"Now," says Pedone, speaking with his mouth full. "Sister Clareta is a funny old bird, so you'd better mind your manners. We have a long history, the Mother Superior and me, so I'm sure she'll give you a fair hearing if I'm vouching for you. Course, that doesn't mean she'll help you, but...

Before he can say any more, however, a delicately-built - almost bird-like - nun enters the room. At first, Kiki thinks that she has come to collect their empty plates, but then she notices the appraising look that the woman is giving her and the way that Pedone is hastening to his feet to greet her.

"Mother Superior!" he begins. "It is always an..."

"Always an honour, yes," the nun interrupts, her rich voice ringing with authority. "Let us dispense with pleasantries, Father Pedone. I only agreed to see you because I was curious about your travelling companion. Don't flatter yourself that you can ride into my convent whenever you please and demand an audience."

As Pedone splutters with indignation, his face turning red, the Mother Superior turns to Kiki. Her piercing eyes are set in a face that is all wrinkles, with a sharp nose and vanishingly thin lips.

"I am Sister Clareta, child," she says, her voice now softer, but still firm. "As you are the right age to become a novice, I had assumed that was your purpose in coming here. But now that I look at you more closely... I think perhaps you already have a calling, yes? So what is it that brings you here?"

"Allow me to expl..." begins Pedone, but he breaks off when the formidable old nun holds up her hand in a firm gesture.

"That's enough, Pedone," she cautions. "I want to hear what this young lady has to say for herself."

"Yes, Sister," Kiki curtseys.

"I had thought my calling would have been healing like my mother. But fate and my own foolishness sent me down the path of the wizard..." Kiki takes a breath to calm herself.

"To cut a long story short, I have a talent with animals and one of the masters wish to use that ability to further his research as he called it. So, as asked, I sought out and persuaded the unicorn to let me mount it. But when I refused to lead the unicorn to a hunter's trap, the wizard unleashed creatures to chase us." Kiki hands over her sketches of the demons. "They looked this this."

"We were pursued and attacked but we survived. The wizard did manage to cut off the unicorn's horn, but it survived, maimed"

Kiki sits down. Bouncing back up, remembering where she is, and wincing, Kiki shows her wounds to the sister.

"Sorry sister, but I am still weak from these wounds."

She looks at her feet telling them to stop fidgeting, but finds her eyes drawn back to meet the nun's steady gaze.

"I am only a young girl, but this seems to be sorcery to me. Charges like these should not be brought lightly. And if they are true the consequences reach far beyond what I can grasp. So seeking aid, I came to Father Pedone and he brought me here."

"If you wish the long version then I need a rest first... Sorry." Kiki looks down at her feet again.

"That won't be necessary," the nun tells her, then falls silent.

Sister Clareta regards the young apprentice intently, still saying nothing. As the moments stretch to minutes, Kiki starts to fidget and Pedone looks increasingly uncomfortable. When the liturgist opens his mouth to say something, the mother superior holds up her hand. Pedone, scowls but says nothing. When at last the nun does speak again, she addresses Pedone.

"What do you intend to do with the child now?" she asks shortly.

"Why... err... escort back to the city, in the first instance," the liturgist replies. "But I must confess, I was rather hoping that you might be able to..."

"Yes, yes," Clareta interjects. "It is perfectly obvious that you were hoping to hand this little problem over to me. But let us assume for the moment that I am not going to help. What then, Father?"

"I still have a few friends there, who may be interested to hear her tale..."

"Friends?" The nun sounds incredulous. "I thought that all of your so-called friends had turned their backs on you, Pedone. Are you sure that any of them will even receive you, let alone agree to help you? Is your memory really so short, Father?"

The liturgist flushes. "Not to help me, perhaps," he mutters. "But they may be inclined to help the girl after they hear what she has to say. Or..."

"...Or at least to use the information that she can give them for their own purposes," Sister Clareta interjects. "So what you are really saying is that you hope to use the fruits of this child's peril as a bargaining chip to try to win back some of your lost credibility?"

"No!" Pedone insists, angrily. "The girl needs someone to help her, someone with the power and influence that I lack. Of course they'll only agree to help her if it serves them in some way too, but the net effect is the same. But what else can I do? Do you really expect me to confront this sorcerer myself? I am no hero..."

"No, Pedone," the nun says wearily. "You are not. And I'm sure your motivations for helping her are not entirely selfish. But I want this young lady to understand the implications of the choice that she must now make, and that necessitates understanding the nature of the allies that you might find for her in Syran."

The Mother Superior's piercing gaze now alights on Kiki, whose ears had pricked up at the mention of a choice.

"Now, Kiki," she says, speaking coolly, but not unkindly. "Father Pedone has brought you to me and asked for my help on your behalf. You have told me your story and I believe that you speak the truth. If you wish, you may remain here under my protection, while I send word to my brothers and sisters - and to your masters, if yiou wish - of the loathsome acts that you witnessed and their equally loathsome perpetrator. This would, of course, mean suspending your studies until it is safe for your to return to Syran."

"Your alternative, it seems, is to trust yourself once more to Father Pedone's protection, and to hope that his friends - former friends, I think we should say - in the city can offer more immediate aid."

"Well, child?" she prompts. "What do you think of the choices that lay before you?"

It is Kiki's turn to fall silent...

The thought of some time to recover followed by tranquillity and quite has a certain appeal. But on the other hand she does know herself all to well.

"Thank you sister, for your offer - it is most kind. " Kiki taps her feet and fidgets as she feels the gaze of the nun.

"Unfortunately I am a restless sprit and not suited to the quite life. Also I have left friends in the city who are also in peril and I would be reluctant to turn my back on them. The prophets say those who turn their back are the soil evil grows in. Perhaps heroes should be taller, older and wiser but that is the path I find myself facing. I surprise my self by not hesitating more before choosing it."

Kiki starts pacing round the room swing her arms, an unlikely sight in the quite and solace the room otherwise seems to radiate.

"I need to unpack my battle hymns though I can't fight.
I need to be strong though my arms are weak.
I have to find wisdom though my years are short.
I need to tread quietly though the city while speaking strongly.
I need to find true men in a city of shadows"

"I must be mad" she whispers to no one in particular.

With that she plonks herself down on the floor in a cross-legged position, controlling her breathing to calm herself.

After a moment she goes on.

"Father I will be leaving with you to seek help in the city. Sister if things go badly may I approach you again for refuge?"

"Of course, my child," the nun tells her, her expression unreadable. "Your courage and your loyalty to your friends both do you credit." She turns to Pedone. "And as for you, Father: if I hear that you have mistreated or abandoned or otherwise failed in your duty towards this child, then there will be no hole dark enough or deep enough for you to hide in. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Pedone growls. "Come on Kiki - we should get back on the road if we want to reach the city before dusk."

~oOo~

"Hoooooo...." Pavel exhales, surprising himself a little. He had not realised he'd been holding his breath.

He pauses and looks at the inscriptions on the block, keeping a wary distance. Squinting and turning his head sideways, he tries to figure out what this thing is and what it might be for. There's something vaguely familiar about it, a half-memory of an image that seems determined to lurk on the periphery of his minds-eye, stubbornly refusing to come into focus.

Eren is surprised to find she's already near the dais, drawn by her curiousity before she'd even thought about what she was doing. She gives her head a shake, then thinks out loud.

"We said we'd do this door first, as it looked safer. I don't the other door could be any less safe than, than, than whatever this thing is. So it would be illogical to start poking at this now."

After a pause, in which she finds herself staring at it, she modifies her stance "Well, I suppose giving it a good look over first can't hurt. Well, probably not. Its clearly magical, so we might be able to observe the magical associations. Helmat said that... " her voice trails off as she focusses on her symbolic sight and start ransacking her memory for any clues.

Nothing is forthcoming. Helmat has a lot to say about the fundamental principles of essences and the enchantment of objects, but none of it seems relevant to... this. She's heard stories of various magical objects around the College - most notably something called the Smartstone or the Hard Bargain, which is supposed to give students brave enough to touch it and clever enough to pass its test some kind of magical gift - but she's never heard of anything like this.

"Pavel, I've been trying to think of what sort of thing this could be, but I'm drawing a blank, they really haven't taught us much about power objects. I hate that! How are we supposed to become wizards, or survive to have a chance to become wizards, when they skip over so much?"

"What about at naval college, do they teach you about power objects? I'd think with ships being so big and all maybe they'd use them there, but I don't know really."

Then Eren realizes that Pavel isn't really listening to her, he's still staring at the inscriptions with a pained expression. Eren gives herself a mental kick--the inscriptions! Some of it is bound to use elemental symbolism or characters that are also in written script, even if they are twisted around.

She peers more closely, trying to put together the various symbols as best she can. She can almost feel the mental 'click' when the pieces finally come together!

"It's a cypher!" she breathes. "Like the one in that book - the one Exalian found in the Library. You remember? No? Oh, yeah - you weren't helping with that, were you? Well, anyway, there was this book which Exalian had been looking for, because it was a secret spellbook or something, but it was disguised as a book about statistics. Then Kiki thought she saw pictures hidden in the tables of numbers and Filmore realised that they were the key to the code!" When Pavel looks blank, she points to a particular section of the block. "Look, can you see these symbols here? Some of them are more deeply cut than the others. If you ignore the symbols and kind of screw your eyes up a bit, the deeper ones stand out and run together to make a symbol themselves. And there are a whole series of symbols..."

Eren frowns. "Trouble is, I can't remember how Filmore went from figuring out that it the hidden symbols were a key to decrypting the code. If only we had him here now! Or Exalian, I suppose - he's been squirreled away with that book for days now. But the first thing that Filmore did was get us to write down all the hidden symbols in order..."

She pulls out a scrap of paper and a pencil and steps onto the dais to peer more closely at the inscriptions, but as soon as she does so the block starts to glow and the ghostly apparition of a huge face appears floating above it.

"Welcome, brother and sister," it booms, in a voice that makes the hairs on the back of their necks stand up. "Your induction is confirmed, but you should not have been permitted ingress to this chamber without a senior associate. Kindly explain how you have been able to compromise the security counter-measures, so that I may effect an improvement."

Eren freezes, images of this transgression being reported to her sponsor, her expulsion from the school, the fury of her family all flashing through her head.

"We have not compromised any security measures or counter-measures," Pavel says boldly, "but have merely followed the signs, as we read them, to come to the place to which we were meant to come.

"And who are you?"

Her knees almost buckle in relief--thank goodness for friends with more glib tongues! And of course Pavel has the right of it, they'd broken no security measures that she saw. She decides to hold her tongue for now, and wait unless and until Pavel seems stumped or digging them too deep of a tale.

The huge disembodied face returns his gaze impassively.

"I am designated 'Praxis', if that is your meaning, young sir," it tells him. "But the scenario implied by your assertion does not correlate with my normative operating parameters. Both of your auras carry the etheric signature that confirms induction, but not that which grants unaccompanied ingress. No unauthorised adept may penetrate the secure perimeter without invoking the contingent counter-measures, unless they have first compromised said perimiter or said counter-measures. If you have not been authorised and have not compromised either the perimiter or the counter-measures, then how have you been able to gain ingress?"

Eren blinks, then blurts out: "That doesn't make sense!" When the strange face turns to look at her, she recalls why she was going to let Pavel do the talking. But having started, she feels she has to defend her statement. Thinking quickly she tallies what she knows about security here; while Master Jayron might have done something with this perimeter last night, there had been no master present when they'd come down here the night before, so she's pretty sure they've not actually done anything to compromise whatever perimeter this thing is talking about. She's not quite sure what they have been inducted into, and she's pretty sure it is not a good idea to mention that they are not adepts.

Then the real flaw in the argument comes to her, and she's how to explain what she means. "That assumes that your `secure perimeter' is truly secure and functioning and nobody else has compromised it. But first case, the perimeter is beyond this room, then how do you monitor it, stuck away in here? With the spells on the doors I'm betting you can't project beyond here, right? Second case, your perimeter is this room or is in this room, and maybe you can observe it somehow, in which case you must've just seen us and we didn't do anything hinky to `compromise' your precious perimeter!" As she speaks her voice has risen and she finishes with her eyes flashing and her hands forming fists against her hips.

She really does NOT like to be accused of breaking rules, especially when she knows that she has been breaking rules just not the one she is being accused of!

The face is silent for a few moments, its features frozen. When it eventually speaks, Eren swears that she can hear the merest hint of contrition in its tone, but she might be imaging it.

"After reappraising the scenario and verifying the integrity of my wards, I must conclude that an unknown factor is responsible for the apparent compromise of the secure perimiter. Consequently, your assertion is accepted, pending further evidence to the contrary," it tells Pavel.

"Regarding your analysis," it continues, now addressing Eren. "If you had been vested with the appropriate authority to gain ingress, you would also have been appraised of the nature of my security protocols and would already understand the extent of the perimiter. In the absence of a senor associate to advise the correct course of action, I have concluded that I am obliged to inform you of these protocols. As previously advised, I am Praxis. It is my duty and privilege to monitor and protect the Fraternity's physical assets; currently, these consist solely of the corridor and the four rooms that make up this subterranean complex. To this end, my perception extends throughout the complex and my defensive capabilities empower me to exclude non-members from the complex and to prevent junior members from accessing restricted areas. I can also provide arcane assistance to full members when they are within the confines of the complex."

The face falls silent.

After spending a moment thinking and waiting for Pavel to talk them out of this one, Eren suggests: "Well if we were not part of this group, your security should have found us. We do both belong to various magical associations. Senior members of these associations continually aggravate us by telling us the minimum that we need to know, if that. A Master brought us down here last night."

She takes a breath and takes stock of the facts, then sums up "I think the simplest explanation by far is that one of these associations we are involved with is the same as the fraternity of which you form an integral part, but that we don't know about this aspect of it yet. The question now is do we wish to compare associations, and so give information away to each other, to try and determine which association joins us? Or by doing so would you risk sharing information with us that the senior members don't want us to have yet?"

On a sudden inspiration she throws in at the end "Of _course_ we know about the portal and the history murals, although I'm sure we still lack their deeper secrets."

Content to tale a back seat for now, Pavel occupies himself with reciting the words of a minor cantrip. The big girl Erentona seems to be getting ever more confident and all Pavel does is make her even braver. He snickers behind his hand as he does this.

The expression on the face remains impassive, but when it speaks Eren can't shake off the impression that it is frowning.

"The portal?" it says. "That is no concern of mine, nor should it be any concern of yours. I am charged with the security of that chamber, but the work that members of the Fraternity undertake within its walls is their own business. The fact that you were able to gain ingress to this chamber is, however, of concern." Then, after a pause: "I assumed that you had been shown the murals, as these are a part of the induction."

"But I infer that there is some remaining confusion as to the nature of our relationship, which is understandable as junior members are not normally aware of my existence. I shall therefore clarify my earlier observations. Your etheric signatures indicate that you have been inducted into the Tripartite Fraternity by swearing an oath to a sanctioned full member of this organisation. I am Praxis, guardian of the legacy that the Fraternity's former members have bequeathed to those that follow in their footsteps. One of my responsibilities involves excluding outsiders and junior members from the rooms to which you have evidently gained ingress. In accordance with the oath that you have sworn, I ask for your assistance in dealing with this security breach."

"Of course!" Eren is relieved to be able to offer some help to the face. That is much more comfortable than arguing with it.

Unfortunately her relief manifests itself in a rather babbling continuation of her response. "So, ummm--sorry I'm trying not to 'ummmm' so much but it is difficult not to do so, don't you find? Of course you don't, never mind. Ummmm--oh there I go again! Or maybe you do have to work at not doing that, or is it part of your nature to speak properly?"

She gives herself a shake, and tries again. "Never mind all of that. What I meant to ask is, when did a master last check your security measures? It would be surprising if they lapsed by accident in two days, but perhaps not so surprising if it has been a year since anyone checked. Ummm, I mean, errrr... do you have a sense of time, as it is measured outside that is? Days, weeks, years, that sort of thing?"

"I lack the diurnal cues provided by the rising and the setting of the sun, but I am aware of the periodicity of the chronological unit that you know as a 'minute'. Master Jayron last verified my security protocols four thousand one hundred and seventy seven minutes ago."

As soon as Praxis mentions the master's name, the memories come flooding back to Eren: Jayron had made them both swear an oath before bringing them down here! Why had this slipped her mind until now? In fact, now that she thinks about it, she realises that she can't actually remember what the oath entailed. She does remember something else, though: Jayron had produced a talisman of some sort and muttered an incantation over it before getting them to repeat the words of the oath. Perhaps that was the induction that Praxis is talking about!

"That's a little more than two days ago," Pavel says suddenly.

"What?" Eren asks, confused by this statement.

"Four thousand one hundred and seventy seven minutes," he explains. "That's sixty five hours and seventeen minutes. So Jayron was here the day before yesterday."

"The day before yesterday..." Eren repeats. So that's the morning before Kiki and I came down here, she thinks. Which means that whatever these 'protocols' are, they should theroretically have been active at the time. Unless something broke them? Or they didn't work for some reason? Come to think of it, they presumably hadn't worked on that girl who followed them down here either - they'd heard her go into the room with the portal in it.

"Does this information provide an explanation?" Praxis asks. "Effecting an immediate repair to my security protocols is imperative."

"Pavel, how did you....oh, never mind." How _anyone_ could figure out the days from that vast number of minutes, so quickly and in their head? She realizes that there are even more facets to Pavel than she'd realized. It was like Gayron's "Sainted Sisters" where the sister's nurse seems like just a convenient sounding board at first, and ends up being the key to the piece.

In fact, she suddenly realizes, Pavel could well end up being a very important person in the future of Syran, and nobody would see it coming. Eren isn't sure if this realization is reassuring or worrying, but time to think about that later.

She pulls her mind back to topics at hand. She thinks as quickly as she can: Praxis seems to deal in bare facts, and she worries about lying to it, but she doubts that it has much ability to shade facts or read between lines.

"Oh, then THAT narrows it down. It was Master Jayron himself who had us swear an oath yesterday. But it was late, he didn't explain much then. He did say he'd have more to tell us later on, hopefully. He is dreadfully busy, so I don't know how much later he'll be. And you are right, he showed us the mural room."

"I wonder if he didn't re-set security properly, or made a mistake, with how busy he was? And busy as he is, he may not be back for a while. So I suppose we should do our best to help you fix things until then. We don't know the details, but if you can provide that, well we are good students."

She pauses to make it clear she is thinking, then realizes such dramatics are probably wasted on Praxis. "Do you even know what the extent of the failure of your whatchamacallem--protocols-- is? We were in the mural room and here this morning. But what about the fourth door, should we test that too?"

She doesn't want the guardian to get too suspicious, but she'd sure like to know what is behind that last door!

"The door that you refer to is protected by additional protocols," Praxis tells her. "But the protocols that I am responsible for on this and the other doors are identical. If one fails, all fail."

Praxis pauses, then says: "I shall review the data. Item: Master Jayron administered your induction; this is verified by your etheric signature. Item: your etheric signature does not conform with that of a full member; this implies that you should not be able to gain ingress to this room, or the other rooms. Item: Master Jayron last verified the security protocols four th... 'two days' ago, in your chronological measurement. Item: Since the protocols were last verified, I have twice detected their activation by a full member entering the History Room; this occured nine hundred and seventy-three minutes ago and two hundred and sixty four minutes ago. Item: you stated that Master Jayron brought you to the mural room 'last night'; this implies that he was responsible for at least one of the recent activations. Item: I did not detect the activation of the protocols when you gained ingress to this room. Provisional conclusion: the protocols have not been compromised, but an unknown factor is interfering with their normal operation with specific regard to you."

Eren pays attention to the face with only half her mind, as something is scratching at her memory.

Finally she has it, it was a line from Simeon the Lesser's version of the life of Saint Gerlaint. It wasn't very popular, probably due to its caustic descriptions of towns folk. The company had only performed it once in Eren's memory, but the thumping she'd received for repeating the lines had helped set it in her mind. "Letter two academics lecture at each other is about as productive as letting two fish-wives scream at each other; one is more dignified than the other but neither is productive. The one will slander their reputations right back to Malkion and the other will build castles upon clouds, both are a waste of time." This line had irked Eren when she herself became a student, but she had to admit she'd seen examples of it. Was her discussion with the face building castles upon clouds?

The face falls still and silent again, then asks: "You stated that you 'know about the portal'. How was this knowledge obtained? Have you also gained ingress to the Work Room?"

When Eren realizes the face is asking about the portal, the two strands of her thoughts twist around each other to form one rope of thought: it was time to end this discussion.

"Look, I know you have to figure everything from within this room, but we don't. Why don't we go open and shut some doors and let you see if you can detect anything at all? Some more real evidence might help you out." With that she heads for the door.

Just before opening the door to exit, she hesitates, and adds: "Master Jayron was also down here this morning, so that was your second authorized entry. You haven't felt anything else at all?"

"Praxis does not 'feel'," the face corrects her. "But I have not detected any other acti..." it stops mid-sentence, pauses, then resumes. "Correction: I had not detected any other activation of the protocols until now. A prohibited individual has just attempted to gain ingress to the Work Room. They were excluded by the first rule: no member of an alien school may enter. A second individual also made an attempt, but the continuing presence of the first individual countermands evaluation of the second."

Eren suppresses a spurt of panic, remembering that she is not alone, even if she is trapped. As she hurries to pick up her staff she asks her companion "Pavel, what do you reckon we should do?"

Then with a grin she turns to face the face of Praxis--chiding herself for being silly as it is not likely to care which way she is looking--and addresses a question to it: "I don't suppose you have any....defensive functions? Something to stop the intruders somehow?"

"I assume that you mean in addition to the security protocols?" the face asks. "Yes, I do have autonomous defensive capabilities, but they are normally restricted to the immediate vicinity of this room. Their reach can be extended to include full members who are assisting me in the defense of the Fraternity's physical assets, but you are only inductees, so this does not apply."

Eren says to Pavel in a low voice "If whoever out there isn't Master Jayron, how would you feel about about hitting them? We can sort out the details later..."

Pavel grins an pulls his club out. He winks at Praxis then gets ready.

"Exercise caution," Praxis advises them. "If you cannot deal with these intruders, retreat back to this room and I'll do my best to protect you."

~oOo~

Kiki is sad to leave the tranquillity of the nunnery behind and anxious about what fate awaits her in the city, but she is certain that she has made the right decision. Pedone is silent for the first part of the journey, but as the walls of Syran come into view he heaves a sigh.

"Right then," he says gruffly. "I suppose it's just possible that someone will be looking out for you, but I'd be surprised if they were watching the gates. So we'll enter the city via Eastgate, but avoid going through Northside, just in case anyone is watching your college. Anyway, I'm taking you to Hightown first, to meet one of my friends... sorry, my former friends," he amended bitterly.

By the time they have passed through the imposing north entrance to Hightown and started to climb up Park Street, it is growing dark. Kiki has only rarely been to this part of the city - it is strictly the preserve of the upper classes and hence rarely welcomes grubby little apprentices. Their destination turns out to be a large and imposing house, looking down on the city from the steep western slopes of the district. It's not as ostentatious as some of the surrounding mansions, but it still makes Kiki feel nervous. The discreet spreading tree emblem over the door tells her that this is the domain of House Heligan, but other than the fact that Heligan is one of Syran's so-called Old Houses, she knows very little about this noble family.

The servant who answers Pedone's knock at the front door seems to recognise the priest and appears slightly taken aback, but he nods a hesitant greeting. He summons another servant and instructs him to take the priest's horse to the stables, then leads Kiki and Pedone to a modestly-furnished room.

"Please wait here while I fetch my mistress," he tells them.

Feeling a strong sense of deja vu, Kiki scans the room with interest. The furnishings look old, but expensive, and there are heavy velvet curtains draping the window. The first things that catch her eye are some rather dour portraits hanging on the wood-panelled walls. They are competently done, but Kiki doesn't think much of them, and doesn't recognise any of the artists. A tall bookcase looks more promising, but she resists the temptation to inspect the large tomes more closely.

After pacing around the room for a few moments, Pedone strides over to a tray of glasses and crystal decanters on a table by the window and helps himself to a drink.

"I'm afraid you'll find our host no less intimidating than Sister Clareta," he warns Kiki. "In fact, if anything, the Lady Amelyn is likely to make the Mother Superior seem warm and cuddly by comparison. Oh, and it's probably worth mentioning that she is a Tenebrous Wisdom adept..."

Noting Kiki's expression of horror at this piece of information, he hastily adds. "Don't worry, though, I know where her loyalties lie. She's no friend to your Master Stockfish - I'd stake my life on it!"

"Are you quite sure about that, Father?" says a voice from the door. "If I were you, I'd not be so hasty in making such a perilous wager."

The lady standing in the doorway seems every bit as imposing as Pedone had warned. Tall, fine-featured and garbed in rich black robes, the Lady Amelyn sweeps into the room and gestures imperiously at a pair of chairs.

"Sit," she instructs. "And tell me why you are here, Pedone. I had not expected to see you again, let alone in such... unusual company," she adds, giving Kiki a disapproving glance.

Pedone and Kiki obediently seat themselves, but Amelyn makes no move to sit down herself, which makes Pedone frown. "Aren't you going to...?" he begins, glancing at an empty chair.

"No, I prefer to stand," she says shortly. "I've already spent too much time sitting down today - having my portrait painted," she adds by way of explanation. "Well, Pedone? I am all ears..."

The old priest relates the tale as Kiki had told it to him, occasionally glancing at the young apprentice for confirmation when he is unsure of a detail. The adept listens attentively, occasionally fixing Kiki with her piercing gaze. As the tale progresses, however, she grows visibly more interested. Taking the opportunity to examine their hostess while her attention is focused on Pedone, Kiki realises that Lady Amelyn is neither as old nor as cold as she had initially thought, for all her imperious airs. Her pale, smooth complexion still hints of youth and her expression occasionally betrays a passionate intensity that seems quite at odds with the serious mask that she wears the rest of the time.

When Pedone has finished, Lady Amelyn thanks him and then turns to Kiki.

"You're obviously a very resourceful young lady," she comments approvingly. "I must admit that I've been rather dismissive of the Iconographers in the past, but this is the second time in less than a week that I've been forced to reconsider my opinion of your school. And the information that you have brought to me is certainly very troubling. I have heard rumours of sorcery at the Imperial College, but I've never been given first-hand evidence before..."

She pauses before speaking again.

"The question is... what am I to do with this information?" she concludes. "Clearly some urgent action needs to be taken: I can't, in all conscience, stand idly by while this Stockfish perpetrates whatever evil sorcery he intends to accomplish with this unicorn's horn, nor can I allow him to prey on other young people in his charge - which may include apprentices from my own school, if what I have been told about this joint teaching experiment is true. But I can hardly bring this matter before the Headmaster or the consistory court without a more - and I hope you'll pardon me for saying this - a more credible witness. No, it seems that we must either take direct action or else find some way to obtain more palpable proof of this vile sorcerer's misdeeds."

Kiki nods taking her comments as a simple fact rather than a reflection on her character. She remains silent but concentrates on as how the lady says things, how her face moves and above all what her heart tells her.

Pedone frowns. "We?" he queries. "Are you including me in this? And the child too?"

Amelyn feigns surprise. "Why of course, Pedone. Kiki came to you for aid and you promised to find her allies. Did you really think that you could discharge your responsibilities simply by bringing her to me? Or that I could wave a magic wand and make everything better?"

She turns to Kiki. "But I'm interested to know what you think, young apprentice," she says. "If I agree to help you, then I shall need your help in return and that will almost certainly put you in danger, perhaps mortal danger. Are you willing to face that peril? And has Father Pedone left anything out in his telling of your tale?"

"My Lady, I think that I am in over my head and I need help." Kiki rubs at one of the scars on the back of her neck "But it is definitely my head that things hang over. Mortal danger I have faced and I have the scars to prove it. But apart from disappearing into the wilderness or a nunnery I will continue to face danger, so I would rather it was a danger of my choosing for once. Also my friends in college are still exposed to danger and I would not abandon them."

"As for the father - he has recounted the tale as I told him. Having said that, there has not been time to tell the full tale. I am young and inexperienced in the ways of the big city and its politics. What I consider a minor fact may tell some one with a greater understanding much."

Kiki stills her thoughts and leaves her mind open and tries not to prejudge anyone as she talks and soaks up the emotions in the room.

"I can not offer you much to gain your help but I am an Iconographer if you would allow I would like to paint your picture." As Amelyn's recent memories of discomfort surface Kiki goes on. "No, my Lady, don't worry. I don't paint that way. I mainly do animals and regardless of how nicely you ask, they won't sit still for you. So mainly I paint from memory - which is how I did these sketches," she says, handing over the sketches of the demons that attacked her. "These are what Stockfish pulled out of that bag of his."

Amelyn takes the sketches and examines them with evident interest.

"I think perhaps you misunderstand me, Kiki," she comments as she leafs through the drawings. "You do not need to 'offer' me anything in order to secure my help. Besides, I have already commissioned one portrait from an Iconographer - commissioning two might seem a little vain," she adds with a cool smile.

"No miss, my painting sare not for the vain. I paint to show what I think is real, not to make things pretty." This draws another look from Amelyn. "Not that I think that would worry you." Kiki adds.

Amelyn's expression becomes serious again as she looks at the demon pictures. "I have no intention of taking on a master of Stockfish's calibre single-handed, especially when he has allies like this. That's why I need your help, Kiki: if we can reveal Stockfish as a sorcerer, then I'm confident that I can secure the assistance of my peers. And I think you are the key to accomplishing that..."

While Kiki struggles to absorb the implications of this, Pedone wastes no time in speaking his mind.

"Hells teeth, woman!" he blusters. "Are you saying what I think you're saying? You want to use Kiki as bait?"

Amelyn frowns. "I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but... yes. Essentially, yes. I'm not entirely sure how yet, but if anyone can get Stockfish to reveal his hand, it's Kiki."

"But why would he say or do anything to to incriminate himself!" Pedone insisted. "This man's obviously managed to conceal his sorcerous activities from his brethren for years - what in Arkat's name makes you think that he'll let his guard down now?"

"I can't be certain, of course," Amelyn admits. "But I think we can engineer an encounter that might make him believe that he has nothing to fear. After all, Kiki is only an apprentice. If she arranged to meet him where no-one else was likely to see or hear anything..."

"Madness!" Pedone exclaims. "He'd see through the ruse in a second and suspect a trap. He'd know that Kiki would never agree to meet him alone."

"Ah, but what if she had a plausible ally?" Amelyn asked. "One that he didn't feel threatened by. That no-one would miss if he were to mysteriously disappear..."

Pedone blanches. "S'Blood!" he breathes. "You want me to be bait too..."

"Think of it as fulfilling your pastoral reponsibilities, Father," Amelyn comments. She turns to the young apprentice. "But what do you think, Kiki?" she asks. "If your tale is true, then you've already show bravery in the face of danger. Do you have the courage to face this sorcerer again?"

Kiki isn't sure what to make of this. Amelyn seems to be sincere in making this proposal, but it's hard to read her emotions and hard to fathom her motives for helping. Perhaps she is genuinely concerned about the perils of letting a sorcerer pursue his evil ends unchecked, or perhaps she has another agenda.

Kiki sighs "Truth be told, my lady, I already expected that my fate would be to play the hunters lamb. Though hopefully I would not be bound to a post metaphorically speaking. I am young and it would not be the first time I have been it trouble so it would not be too hard to make it look like I had ran away. Especially if I had got into more trouble. You are right I would not be a threat to him though I have partly thwarted him once and I suspect that stung a bit which might help spur him into action.

Kiki shakes her head trying to clear her thoughts "Any way I ramble. Yes my lady I would be ready to face this danger. What would you have me do."

"For the moment, I want you to eat and get some rest," replies Amelyn, inspecting her with a frown. "You look like you need it. I'll have one of my maidservants attend you. In the mean time, I shall make some arrangements. You will stay here too, Father," she adds, in a tone that brooks no argument. "If we are to convince Stockfish that you are Kiki's only ally, then you need to keep a low profile until the time is right. Do you think that your arrival in the city was noticed?"

Pedone shrugs. "I doubt it, but you never can tell. We came straight here - I figured that Stockfish might possibly have set a watch on Kiki's school, so we avoided going anywhere near. But if he had some.. ah, professionals looking out for her, then we'd probably never know about it until we felt their blades at our throats," he adds gloomily.

"Courage, Father," Amelyn tells him. "I doubt that Stockfish is really expecting Kiki to return - from the sounds of it, he left her for dead in the forest. Now... "

She walks over to the door through which they'd entered and opens it. "Ah, Alaisdair," she says to the servant waiting there. "Please arrange dinner for our guests and ask Prudence to take care of the young lady. I am going out; Patience will attend me."

"Very good my lady," the servant says, with a perfunctory bow. He turns to Kiki and Pedone. "If you would like to follow me..."

The priest waits until Lady Amelyn is out of earshot before speaking to the servant.

"We'll eat in the kitchens, Alaisdair," he murmurs. "There's no sense in the staff putting on a performance for the likes of us."

Alasdair raises an eyebrow at this, but nods. He leads them down a narrow filght of stairs, along a corridor and into the kitchens. A burly, red-faced woman wearing a dirty apron frowns when she first sees them, then her eyes go wide with surprise.

"What d'you t'ink you're doin', Alaisdair?" she booms. "Bringin' the father down here! Shame on you! And who's this poor wee lass? She looks like she's been in the wars, so she does..."

"My fault, Martha," Pedone says quickly. "I asked him to bring us down here. Wouldn't feel comfortable being waited on hand and foot - I'm only a parish priest, after all is said and done. This is Kiki," he adds. "And you're right - she has had a rough time of it lately. Your mistress left instructions for her to be fed and then attended by Prudence..."

The cook's eyebrows shoot up again. "Did she now? The lady's own maidservant, is it? You must be proper important, lass," she chuckles. "Right, then. Let me see what I can find to feed ye, while Alaisdair fetches Prudence. So how have ye been, father? We haven't seen you here for years..."

Pedone and Martha chat amiably while the latter prepares a hearty meal. Kiki feels much better with some hot food inside her, but is soon struggling to keep her eyes open. She's vaguely aware of someone else coming in and talking to Pedone, but then fatigue completely overwhelms her and she drifts off to sleep.

~oOo~

Opening the door cautiously and proceeding into the corridor, Eren and Pavel can hear voices nearby. With a chill, Eren immediately recognises one of them: Vey. She glances at Pavel and he nods, his eyes flashing.

"What do you mean it's not stuck and it's not locked?" they hear Vey say.

"Just that," says another male voice. This voice is also familiar, but they can't place it at first. "There's no locking mechanism, so it can't be locked. If it was stuck, then I'd expect to see some movement of the door away from the part that was jammed. But if this one is stuck, then it's jammed all the way round. There's no movement at all."

"Well, if it's not stuck and it's not locked," says a third voice, which sounds young and female."Then why can't we open it? I didn't have any trouble before..."

"Magic, of course," says Vey. "Let me have a look... Yes, I can see some wards on it. I wonder why they didn't work when you came here before?"

Peeking around the corner, Eren and Pavel can see the three intruders standing by the doors to the room with the murals and the one that Praxis had called the Work Room. Vey is nearest to them, with the small female standing next to him - an Imperial neophyte to judge from her robes.

The third figure also looks like an Imperial apprentice, but they don't recognise him immediately, because he's standing beyond Vey, examining the door. Then Vey leans towards the girl, apparently whispering something in her ear, and Pavel and Eren both get a good look at the third apprentice.

It's Exalian.

~~

Eren quickly decides that the issue of Exalian can be solved later. Fortunately Vey is closest. Eren is confident that Pavel will be able to deal with the traitor, if they can just keep him from running away before Pavel gets to him.

Eren murmurs to Pavel "Get Vey, he's the key" then gives him a push to get him moving. She steps out herself, pulling herself up to full height and full voice.

She does her best to provide ringing oratory, like the better preachers, or her father when he plays them on stage. Fortunately the narrow stone corridor seems to help blast her words straight at the other group.

"Don't Move! You are violating the territory of the the Praxis! It has spared your fumbling intrusion so far, but your next step could unleash the full power of its defenses upon you. I repeat, DO NOT MOVE!"

The immediate effect of her words on Vey, Imogen and Exalian is satisfying to see, as they all freeze and look towards her with anxious expressions on their faces. Imogen, at least, seems genuinely daunted by her words, but her look of fear soon melts away when she hears Vey addressing the mysterious voice.

"Eren?" the older boy calls, his shaken confidence visibly returning as he peers down the corridor. "Is that you? So this is where you've been hiding. What's this nonsense about violating the..."

He breaks off hastily as Pavel charges down the corridor towards him.

Exalian, stunned by Eren's sudden appearance does, in fact, lock in place. His mind quickly considers that this might be some sort of ploy, and that he might look foolish for having fallen for it. But then he also just as quickly notes that he's on Eren's side (yes, he is, isn't he), and that going along with the plan will look clever. So he counts himself fortunate for his instinctive reaction being explicable as instantly discerning and going along with the plan. Even if it was really nothing of the sort.

Exalian marvels for a moment at how adult Eren sounds.

Pavel is quite confused until he sees Vey. Eren asked him to sort out the intruders, so...

He springs at the other lad as fast as he can, only remembering the club in his hand at the last moment.

Unfortunately for Pavel, Vey was ready for him, hastily side-stepping and grappling with his attacker to avoid the boy's attempts to hit him with the club. Struggling and cursing, Vey tries to pin Pavel against a wall, but can't quite manage to hold him there, even when he applies a cruel twist to the wrist that he's holding. Pavel yelps, but grits his teeth against the pain and quickly glances at the others to see what they are doing.

Exalian's eyes get very wide to see Pavel leaping at Vey, and, for just another moment his inaction is completely unintentional, as he takes a step back to avoid being caught up in the ensuing brawl.

Imogen, however, doesn't hesitate to join the affray, grabbing hold of Pavel's arm and trying to bite him. This tactic proves ill-advised, however - she ends up getting a cuff in the face for her troubles as Pavel and Vey continue to struggle.

Eren realizes that she's just standing there, watching, while Pavel is dealing with two opponents. She knows that she is not a great fighter, but surely she can have more impact than the scrawny Imogen! She'd wanted Pavel to keep Vey from escaping, and he is doing that, after a fashion, so it is her turn to make a contribution.

However as she starts to trot forward, Eren realizes that she's as apt to flatten Pavel as Vey if she just charges in blindly, or may even send Vey closer to the stairs and escape. And anyway, Pavel may very well handle this himself, perhaps she shouldn't charge in until she knows he needs help?

So she changes her route, aiming to blast past them, then position herself between the struggle and the stairs, to prevent any sort of easy escape. With luck she can then use her staff to herd everyone further from escape.

Pavel looks only briefly at Imogen as the girl tries to bite him, then yanks at his right hand to pull Vey towards him. With the other boy's face in his, he grins, then shoves the heel of his stronger left hand into Vey's nose as hard as he can.

His opponent lets out a cry of pain and fury, releasing Pavel and staggering backwards. His hand goes automatically to his injured nose and comes back bloody. For a moment, he stares in disbelief at the red colour on his hand, then his eyes narrow and he returns his gaze to Pavel.

"Bastard!" he snarls.

Something about Imogen trying to bite Pavel wakes Exalian up, and he realizes whose side he's on. He grabs at Imogen, ineffectively, trying to help.

The girl screeches at him and tries wriggle free of his grasp, but Exalian manages to hang on. Then she twists round and tries to bite him! Exalian is just recoiling, not understanding what's up for the most part, but he manages to keep hold of her and out of reach of her teeth. After struggling futilely for a few seconds, Imogen falls limp.

Eren chooses this moment to try shouldering her way past, but Vey reacts to this just as he would to an attack, instinctively blocking her and shoving her off-balance. Then she watches in horror as Vey draws a knife, only briefly hesitating to dart a furious glance at Pavel before lunging towards her, brandishing the blade with apparent expertise.

Her training with the staff kicks in faster than any actual thought, and she swings it up into the guard position to fend him off.

Having never before faced a determined opponent with a knife, however, Eren is not prepared for what happens next. Feinting to her right, Vey nimbly changes direction and then steps almost casually inside her guard. Before she knows what is happening, he has stepped round behind her, pressing his blade up hard under her chin.

"Don't come any closer," he snarls at Pavel. "Or I swear, I'll open up her throat!"

"Like that makes any sense" sneers Eren, her tongue running ahead of her thoughts, fuelled by her irritation at being pushed around for the past day. "So far you've been a turd, but I know would be my word against yours and I couldn't prove anything. But if you kill me, then what? You think you can kill Pavel too? And that Exalian and Imogen would then hold their tongues about that? Or would you kill them then too? Even if you could, that sort of slaughter you know the masters would spare no effort to find out what happened and punish the person who assaulted the College so - or do you think you could haul all of us up the stairs and hide the bodies?"

At Vey's growl she softens her tones, or maybe she's just trying not to vibrate her throat against his knife so much. "Look, I don't know what you are mixed up in, but I'd like to help you get out of it. Master... let's just say the master who brought us down here is supposed to be back in a while, and I'd rather not you be caught by surprise right now - I'm sure you can understand. These rooms here are sealed right now, but there is another room we could go into and sort this out. I don't want to fight you, just understand what is going on."

She feels him tense, pressing the blade against her flesh, and for an awful moment she is afraid that he is going to carry out his threat, that he is too far gone for mere words to reach him. But the logic of what she says is inescapable and Vey obviously knows it, because he relaxes his grip and then pushes her away from him, stepping back and sheathing his knife.

"Er... so... just what IS going on?" asks Exalian. Then, looking at the faces that turn to him, "Um... sorry... I've been quite busy of late. Haven't kept up..."

"Well, Vey," Pavel snarls. "Are you going to tell him? Tell him about the people you're working for, and how they tried to kidnap Eren from her own college?"

Vey blanches, but says nothing.

"What's the matter," Pavel sneers. "Aren't you going to start boasting again about how your 'dark master' is going to torture us if we stand in your way?"

"Fine," Vey hisses. "Let's talk. Why don't you lead the way to this room of yours," he adds to Eren.

Pavel starts to protest, but Eren cuts him off with a sharp look and walks over to the door of the Mural Room. Opening it, she steps back and waves the other inside, keeping her eyes on Vey. Exalian releases Imogen and steps hesitantly into the room, closely followed by a scowling Imogen. The two remaining boys stand their ground, glaring at each other.

"You too, Pavel," Eren insists. "Vey's not going to try anything stupid now. Isn't that right, Vey?"

Reluctantly, Pavel edges towards the open door, unwilling to turn his back on Vey. The other boy follows slowly at first, but as soon as Pavel moves into the room he makes a break for it and tries to lunge past Eren.

"You weasel!" snaps Eren as Vey turns to run. She'd been hoping he wouldn't, but half expecting that he would. It might be less trouble to let him go, but she wants an explanation!

As he tries to rush past her she throws herself towards him to smash him against the wall.

Vey had obviously been anticipating this, however, because he effortlessly sidesteps her with a move that positively reeks of magic and then delivers a vicious jab with his elbow as he slips past, sending her crashing into the wall. Dazed, Eren starts to pursue him, trying to ignore the screams of protests from her battered body, but it's no good: he's already sprinting off down the corridor and she just hasn't got the energy any more.

"Oh rats, Borists, and taxmen!" Eren covers her mouth when she realizes she's lapsed into one of her father's favorite curses, one that she always disliked (it seemed unfair to rats). She slumps, realizing that if she is saying things like that she is truly not functioning well.

She turns back to the others and says "I'm sure he'll be bringing more mischief to bear soon enough. Imogen, you've already seen this room a bit, but Exalian let me tell you about it quickly." She quickly explains the murals and how they seem to represent an old story of inter-school cooperation of Syran wizards.

"We don't have time for the room across the way right now, but you should come with Pavel and I to another room, I think you'll want to see this, Exalian." She pauses, looking at Imogen, then growls "You too, you are staying with us right now. Who knows who you'd bring down here next time!"

Thinking out loud, she adds to Pavel "I guess this puts to rest any idea of waiting for Master J....the master to come back for us. Who knows when he'll be back, and what trouble Vey will have brought down on us by then."

Herding Imogen along in front of her, she leaves the mural room and heads down the hall towards Praxis, muttering to herself "When this is done I've got to learn how to fight, or figure out a way to get rich enough to hire someone to do it for me. No more getting pushed around by Weasels!"

Imogen seems rather shaken by recent events.

"Is it true?" she asks Eren. "What he said," she clarifies, nodding at Pavel. "About Vey and kidnapping and t... torture?"

"To be fair, the torture was only implied... Vey did bring a couple of... outsiders" Eren practically spits out that word "into the college yesterday, and they tried to take me away. One was a wizard, or a sorceror for all I know. They would have succeeded too, if Pavel hadn't come along and helped me. The strangest part is that I still don't know WHY they were trying to take me!"

She stops in surprise when she realizes that they are already at the Praxis door. She pauses before trying to open it, and announces: "It is Pavel and Erentona returning, with a friend and with another student. I hope that is OK." And then she tries to open the door.

The door opens and the other apprentices follow Eren in.

Exalian and Imogen both stare in amazement at the contents of the room. It is large, square and dimly lit by the same bluey-green luminescence that they had seen in the Mural Room. Unlike that room, which was empty, this one has a cubic block of stone standing on a circular dias at its centre. Exalian just barely registers the inscriptions that cover the surface of the dark grey block of stone: it is the huge ghostly face floating above it that arrests his attention.

"What is the meaning of this?" Praxis booms, obvoiusly registering the presence of the two new intruders. "You have brought non-members into the inner sanctum of the Fraternity! As junior members you should not have access to this room yourselves, but to bring outsiders in here is intolerable! I am compelled to invoke the emergency protocols and await further instructions!"

And with that, the door slams shut behind the startled apprentices.

~oOo~

When she wakes, Kiki find herself wrapped up in clean white sheets, her head resting on a pillow that is softer than anything she has felt before. Sitting up, she rubs her eyes and looks around the room, which is dimly lit.

"Ah, you're awake," says a soft voice from the other side of the room. "The mistress asked me to stay with you, in case there's anything you need." The speaker comes over to the bed, bringing the lamp that is the room's only source of illumination with her. She is an attractive young woman wearing the simple attire of a servant.

"I'm Prudence," she explains, with a shy smile. "The Lady Amelyn's maidservant." She hesitates before continuing. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what brings you here? My mistress doesn't usually... err, that is, you're not the sort of guest we usually have here. And did you really come here with Father Pedone?"

The note of incredulity in the woman's voice suggests that she has prior knowledge of the old priest. When Kiki doesn't respond immediately, the maid blushes and looks down at the floor.

"S... sorry," she stammers, nervously fiddling with a string of carved beads that is attached to her waist. "I didn't mean to pry..."

"Oh don't worry about that its just that those demon stings have left me a bit out of it. Father Pedone works in my home village now so he when I found myself in this predicament he was the natural one to go to. So far he has been very kind and so has your Lady. Where do you know Father Pedone from?"

"Oh, he used to be a regular visitor here," Prudence tells her. "But I don't really know him, and we haven't seen him since he was... um, since he left the city."

She then goes on "I don't know how much you overheard in your official role." She assumes that includes sitting within earshot in case of trouble or need. "But things have been a bit too exciting of late."

Kiki then gives her an 'edited highlights' version of her story.

The maid's eyes open wider and wider as Kiki relates her tale.

"Merciful saints!" Prudence breathes when the young apprentice has finished. "That must have been one scary adventure! It's a wonder you're here at all! And I understand now why the mistress asked me to look after you." She looks thoughtful and pauses for a few moments before speaking again. "But tell me something, Kiki: why do you think the Father brought you here? I wouldn't say a word against my mistress, of course, but she's not an... obvious choice. And I do wonder why she agreed to help you. It's not like she owes Father Pedone any favours. Quite the opposite, I'd have said..."

Kiki is suddenly very suspicious of this maid. The woman's obviously doing her best to appear friendly, but Kiki can't tell whether she's sincere or not. Why is she asking so many questions? And why would she question her own mistress' motivations?

"I don't really know the good father's motivation. At the moment I feel like a leaf in the wind blown hither with little or no control." Kiki just shrugs her shoulders and sags a bit. "As for your mistress, she will have her own motivations and is not likely to explain them to the likes of me. Ours is not to reason why, as they say". Then she perks up again "Any chance of some of that lovely tea I had last night?"

Prudence smiles. "Of course!"

Carrying the lamp, the maidservant leads her downstairs and through the silent house to the kitchens, where she makes a pot of tea and persuades Kiki to eat a little, before returning her to bed. It takes the young apprentice a little while to fall asleep again, but when at last she does drift off, it is into a deep and dreamless sleep.

~oOo~

Imogen, a panicked expression on her face, rushes over to the door and tries to open it, but no matter how hard she yanks on the handle, it won't budge.

"Let me out, let me out!" she shrieks. "You can't keep us prisoner here! It's not fair!"

The huge face, still floating above the block in the centre of the room, is impassive.

"That is immaterial," Praxis declares. "This room is now sealed. I have alerted Master Jayron of the invocation of the emergency protocols. You must await his arrival."

"I have had about enough of being told what to do, where to do, who I can be with, and all of that!" snaps Eren. She stalks as close to Praxis as she can and pulls herself up to her full height--no doubt futile in the face of the essence but instincts are strong.

"I TOLD you that I had others with me, before I tried the door. If you didn't want them in all you had to do was seal the door THEN, when we were all on the other side. Are you sure you are functioning quite correctly? If you were a person I'd wonder if you'd been hit on the side of the head or something."

She forces herself to turn away, then gives in to desire and lambastes the face some more "Of course we didn't know the details of who could come in or not. We are, after all, the most junior of members, who know very little. We've told you of our very limited exposure. That was WHY I let you know. If we aren't provided adequate information then it is VERY aggravating to then be chastised for doing something which we were not informed we should not do!"

At this point Eren realizes that her words are getting garbled, she is yelling at an essence, and she is crying -- all of which are illogical responses to the situation.

"Your assertions and accusations are illogical," Praxis tells her patiently. "As junior members you should be prevented from entering this room by the security protocols that I am responsible for enforcing. For some unknown reason, however, they are not functioning with respect to you and your present companions. Hence I was unable to prevent you from bringing these intruders into this room. I am, however, empowered to invoke a different protocol when faced with a serious threat to the integrity of this room. This protocol, I am happy to observe, seems to be working."

She mutters at the face "Oh fine, just don't let anyone other than Jayron in, because that rat Vey is probably off fetching more people to try and abduct me or murder me again, and it would be a right laugh if you not only trapped me in here but let my attackers in."

"If 'Vey' is the individual who attempted to enter the Work Room earlier," Praxis comments. "Then he will be unable to enter this room also. His etheric signature indicates that he is the member of an alien school. But I cannot guarantee that others will be excluded until I understand how you have been able to bypass the protocol."

Eren retreats to the last defense of the adolescent, sarcastic mumblings. "Great, just great, keep us penned up like pigs for the slaughter, WHATEVER!"

With that she goes and slumps against a wall, dejected.

Eren takes a moment to partially compose herself, although she is still flushed and tear-stained as she turns back to her fellow students. "I'd better explain what is happening." Pacing back and forth she narrates what has happened to her for the last day or so. She tries to keep it dry, like academic writing, although she can't quite deny herself some editorializing - she has to stop and clarify for Imogen at one point that she did not mean a literal ferret in a hooded cloak).

The gist of it is that after a mysterious attack around lunch time the day before she was confronted by Vey and two men, one appearing a local tough, the other hidden by his hooded cloak turned out to be a wizard or sorceror or something of the like. They tried to get her to go with them, using threats and magic to enforce their demand.

Encountering Pavel was a fortunate break, and in the ensuing struggle she managed to summon the guardian spirit of the school to help her. After which Pavel and her fled the school, and after various failures to find allies finally went to Master Jayron, who brought them here. After which she has to explain that previously she and Kiki had stumbled into the hallway while exploring, and had seen the mural and demonic-looking summoning circle.

She finishes up with their previous conversation with Praxis, although she realizes that her audience has drifted from her by then. Still, no sense in being incomplete she thinks.

Pavel was heading for one of the corners and was halfway into slumping into it so as to rest some more, when Eren began her tirade. He stares blankly at her at first, then stands erect, looking occasionally at Praxis to see if it is reacting any. By the time she has finished, he is quite definitely grinning.

Imogen, however, is most definitely not.

"I can't believe Vey would ever be involved in something like that," she tells Eren. "You must be mistaken." She pauses. "I mean, he did ask me to follow you and that other girl. And to do some... other stuff," she adds, looking uncomfortable. "But he said it was just to play a trick on you."

Imogen is reluctant to say any more, but the other apprentices eventually manage to extract a full account of the misdeeds that she'd undertaken at Vey's request. Eren grows steadily more angrily as the younger apprentice describes many - but not all - of the pranks that had been played on her over the past few weeks.

Vey had justified his campaign of malicious pranks by insisting Eren had been consistently mean to him, teasing him for not being as quick as the other apprentices. But Imogen had been happy to do anything he asked and admits that she enjoyed playing the tricks. She only started to have doubts when he asked her to steal the orb that Eren had won in the Disputation.

"Vey asked me to fetch it from your room," Imogen confesses, tearfully. "But when I touched it there was this big flash and... and then I can't remember anything. Not until I woke up in the Nurse's room, that is. She said I'd been found in my own room, though, so I guess Vey must have moved me there. I... I didn't really want to steal it," she tells Eren. "But I though that Vey would... that is... I didn't want him to stop being my... my friend," she sniffs.

It's hard to tell whether Imogen is being entirely honest about this, but it's quite clear that she has a crush on Vey and that the older boy has been exploting this to his own ends. However, his motives for doing this are unclear. Eren asks Imogen if she knows anything about the men that had tried to abduct her yesterday, but the younger girl insists that she doesn't.

"I didn't know anything about that!" she says. "The first I heard of it was when he talked about it earlier on," she adds, nodding at Pavel. "At first I thought he was making it up, but... I still can't believe that Vey would do something like that," she concludes, sounding miserable. "He's always been so nice to me..."

Eren bursts out "But he was always nice to ME! He was the only one who was nice, he even sympathized about the tricks that were pulled on me! He couldn't have told you to play those tricks on me and been so nice... Except he was with the men who tried to take me... Oh, I'm such a dizzy fool!"

Eren turns her back and fishes in her voluminous pockets for a handkerchief. After an interval of face wiping and nose blowing she turns back around, eyes still shining from tears but also flashing with emotion.

"That little CREEP! I wonder what he was doing behind your back, eh? I tried to tell myself that those men must have some sort of hold on him, that he's not really that bad, but he is, I see it now. I should have known that he'd not want to really be friends with someone like me."

She pulls herself up to her full height and glares at the others "Right then, why are we sitting around? Exalian, any chance you can make sense out of the Praxis, or how it controls the door? I'm going to get what spells ready that I can. Imogen, who else, if anyone, did you see Vey talking to or hanging around with? If someone comes through that door and it is not Master Jayron, what do we do--Pavel you are the only one who probably knows anything about fighting, what is the plan?"

Exalian isn't sure what Eren is talking about at first. She'd described the conversation that she and Pavel had had with the obviously magical entity that she called Praxis, but hadn't said much else. When she gestures towards the stone cube, however, his eye is drawn to the carved inscriptions that he'd spotted earlier. There is something very familar about them, or rather, the way that they are arranged...

Imogen had only seen Vey talking to one person she didn't recognise.

"But he was a master, I'm sure," she insists. "A gloomer master. I figured it must be something to do with that special class you lot are... What?" she says, noticing the look that Eren is giving her. She suddenly turns white. "No! You don't think... Was that one of them what tried to snatch you?"

When asked for a description of this Tenebrous Wisdom 'master', Imogen is rather vague. She does remember that he had unusual eyes, but can't be more specific.

"I just know that when he looked at me it gave me the shudders," she concludes.

"Who are we talking about now? Not Jayron?" Exalian's face looks desperate to figure out what's going on to gain some control of the situation.

"No, of course not!" Imogen snaps, giving him a withering look. "Weren't you listening at all? There was this dark master and this other bloke and Vey was trying to help them to kidnap Eren or something. And then Pavel turned up and had a fight with Vey, and then Eren summoned the spectral guardians!" she finishes, wide-eyed. "And she was askin' me if I'd seen Vey with anyone odd and I said I'd seen him talkin' with this gloomer master and she thinks maybe its the same one what tried to kidnap her, and..."

Exalian can't keep up with this stream of consciousness ramble, and his attention is slowly drawn off by the pattern of the symbols on the stone. Why were they familiar?

Then it hits him: the book. The inscriptions remind him of the patterns in the book of statistical tables that he'd spent the past week or more decrypting. Could these inscriptions be using the same sort of cypher? The book had included the key to the cypher in the tables themselves, hidden as an image formed by the rows and columns of figures. What if there was something similar here?

Pavel ignores Erentona's comment about fighting off attackers entirely; He has only just had to practice avoiding the girls as the pair of them started squawking and blubbering about Vey, so he does not find this so difficult.

Seeing the object of Exalian's interest piques his own, however, and he leans forwards to catch a glimpse.

Despite her desire to sulk, when Eren sees Exalian looking at the symbols on the dais she ambles over "What do you think of them? Look like some sort of code to me, but I'm not great with codes. I've thought of a few things that don't make sense, but none that does."

All three apprentices are soon absorbed in the task of puzzling over the presumed code, while Imogen looks on in bewilderment.

~oOo~

Exalian quickly confirms the similarities that he'd noticed between this and the Homework Club book and deduces that the author(s) of that book must have been inspired by the inscriptions on the block, or possibly vice versa. As with the book, the keys to the cypher are 'hidden in plain sight': visual patterns in the main body of text can be rsolved into symbols, which in turn make up the text and numerals of the key.

Picking out the keys - it that is indeed what they are - is only the first step, however, and Exalian is conscious that he had a lot of help with the decyphering last time, most notably from cryptography-enthusiast Filmore. While he can remember most of what the other apprentice had said about this sort of cypher, having come to understand the principles quite thoroughly during the painstaking decryption of the spells, he's not sure that he can remember how Filmore had performed the first steps in the process: decyphering the key itself and working out how to apply it. Perhaps Eren can remember...

It turns out that Eren had already come to the same conclusions about the keys, but she hadn't grasped Filmore's initial technique any more than he had. Where she does make a big contribution, however, is in helping Exalian to go through the various options - dredged up from their memories of Applied Logic lessons - and ruling out the ones that can't apply in this case. This still leaves them with a number of possibilities and some hideously complex calculations to perform in order to establish which of these might be the correct approach.

At this point Pavel unexpectedly provides the answer, making an observation that is so brilliant - and so blindingly obvious in retrospect - that Eren and Exalian both stare at him open-mouthed. It takes them a while to confirm his confident assertion, chalking out the calculations on the floor and double-checking them against one of the other faces of the block to be sure, but once they have done so it is clear that they are on to something.

"But how did you work that out so quickly?" Exalian asks the Naval College apprentice. "It would have taken us hours to test all of the other methods..."

Pavel shrugs. "I just did a few of the calculations in my head and that one felt right," he says dismissively. "Can we work out what it all says now?"

Even with the keys and the correct cryptographic algorithm, the apprentices are aware that it is going to take them a long time to decypher all of the text on the block. They've been trapped in this room for a number of hours already and don't know how long it will be until Jayron responds to the 'alert' that Praxis claims to have sent him.

"Saints above, how long does it take that man to respond to an alert?" Eren flinches as she catches herself sounding like her mother, then mutters "I hope he'll at least think to bring food and water, I'm parched and starving."

She stretches her back and swings her arms, but that does nothing to calm the grumbling in her stomach. With some reluctance she says "I guess we might as well keep on with the cipher, at least it makes for a good distraction from everything else."

The others agree and apply themselves once more to the task. Before they have a chance to complete it, however, the door opens with a crash and Jayron, red-faced and panting, bursts into the room.

"Did I not tell you, most specifically," he begins, breathing heavily. "That you were not to leave the other room? And what.." he breaks off, only now registering the presence of the other two apprentices in the room. "Exalian? What in Arkat's name are you doing here? And who is this?" he adds, gesturing at Imogen. Finally the master's eyes narrow as they alight on the notes and calculations that the apprentices have been chalking on the floor. "And what exactly have you all been doing in here?

Exalian decides that, for once, the truth is probably the best option here, and replies, "I was just trying to find Eren, to talk to her about something, and ended up following her..."

Exalian points to Imogen, "And Vey here. She's Imogen. I'm really not sure what is all going on here."

"Vey was here too?" Jayron exclaims. "This gets worse by the moment!" He turns to Eren. "Whatever possessed you, Eren? Didn't you tell me that Vey was helping the enemy?"

Before Eren can respond, Praxis begins speaking.

"Master Jayron," the ghostly face begins. "If 'Vey' is the individual that attempted to gain entry to the Work Room, then I can reassure that he was not here. His etheric signature indicated that he is the member of an alien school, so my security protocols automatically excluded him. However, I cannot guarantee that he and others will be excluded in future until I understand how the inductees have been able to bypass the protocol. They should not have been able to gain ingress to this room, let alone bring outsiders in with them. Hence I invoked the emergency protocols and alerted you."

"Inductees?" Jayron asks, frowning. "Oh, I see - you mean Eren and Pavel. Yes, I suppose that I did effectively induct them, didn't I? I don't see how that let them to get through your blasted protocols, though. Maybe the fact that they are only apprentices has confused the warding parameters?"

"Apprentices?" Praxis echoes. "Interesting. Yes, I believe that might account for the protocol failure. It was assumed that all inductees would be adepts, so the exclusion parameters relating to level of membership would not be invoked for an apprentice. We must effect an amendment immediately!"

Jayron shakes his head. "There's no time for that now," he says. "I'll come and fix it later. I need..."

"But Master Jayron!" Praxis protests. "My primary directive is to..."

"That's enough," the master snaps. "These are extraordinary times, Praxis, otherwise I would never have inducted them in the first place. We'll just have to trust Eren and Pavel for the time being. I have no concerns about Exalian, as he is my own apprentice. As for Imogen... well, she can't enter any of the rooms without one of the inductees, can she?"

"Your logic appears to be sound," Praxis acknowledges.

Jayron turns to the apprentices, who had all been keeping very quiet during this exchange. Eren is thinking that the master's logic is far from sound - she and Kiki had been able to enter the Work and Mural rooms before Jayron inducted them. But Imogen had also been able to enter the Work Room on that occasion - why had she been unable to do so with Vey?

"We will have words about this later," Jayron says, glaring at the apprentices. "But right now you all need to come with me. There have been, um... developments that make it unwise to keep you hidden down here any longer. A number of other apprentices are missing and one of them has turned up dead - murdered, in fact."

Eren makes a wordless exclamation at this, then covers her mouth, embarrassed at her outbreak. In turn that does not last long, and she blurts out a question " Who? Who is missing? Who is dead?"

Jayron frowns. "Why? Do you know something about this?" he asks suspiciously. Then understanding dawns on his face. "Oh, I see - you're worried about your scribbler friend. No, there's no word of her, or Stockfish.

He goes on to tell them that the dead apprentice is a neophyte called Fabian. He was found in Newmarket Park a couple of hours ago; his throat had been slit. Under other circumstances, this might not have caused such a stir, but two other factors compelled the College to take immediate action. Firstly, the dead boy is a noble, the youngest son of Lord Adamarl; secondly, a number of other apprentices are missing.

"These include our 'friend' Vey, another neophyte called Tomas... and you lot, of course," Jayron adds. "Hence the need for you to make a sudden reappearance. The question is, how do we explain your absence without prompting further investigation?"

Greeted with an uncomfortable silence from the apprentices, who aren't sure whether his question is rhetorical or not, Jayron sighs.

"Fine," he says wearily. "We'll just have to hope that no-one thinks to question you too closely."

He turns to the neophyte. "Imogen, you were supposed to have an examination today, is that correct? Right, then I suggest that you go and find your master and blame your absence on nerves. If you're lucky, you'll be able to take the test tomorrow. If not, you may have to wait until next term."

When Imogen starts sniffling at this, the master adds "Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for you, but only if you promise never to set foot in this place again and to tell no-one about what you've seen and heard here today. Is that clear? Good. Go on now, child," he says firmly, gesturing towards the door. "I still have more to say to these three..."

When Imogen has left the room, Jayron goes over to the door and checks that she has really gone before turning back to the others. He addresses his own apprentice first.

"I don't know how much your friends have told you, Exalian," he begins. "But I think you need to hear this too. Eren and Pavel have fallen foul of a shadowy conspiracy that seems to have extended its tentacles further than anyone suspected. As you have may guessed, I - along with Pavel's sponsor, Carrick - am a member of another shadowy group, but one with a very different agenda. I cannot tell you any more at this stage, but suffice it to say that our organisation exists solely to protect Syran from the malign influences of the numerous other groups that seek to dominate it."

He draws a deep breath. "So... we know that one of our other associates, Bastian, has been forcibly abducted and now Carrick has disappeared too. Two men, apparently assisted by Vey, have also attempted to abduct Eren - from within the walls of the College itself! And now another Imperial apprentice has been found dead - murdered! - in circumstances that reek of foul sorcery."

"Needless to say, if this information were to become public, it would lead to panic in the other schools and a heavy-handed inquisition by the Consistory Court, which would achieve nothing. Hence it is imperative that you keep this knowledge to yourselves for the time being and maintain a semblance of normality, while I try to learn what has happened to Carrick, and what our enemies are up to."

He takes another deep breath and looks intently at each of them in turn, as if trying to peer into their very essence. For the first time, they notice how strange the master's eyes look - his irises are so dark, that it seems as if the pupils have expanded to swallow them up.

"Right, then - let's go," he announces suddenly. "Pavel, you come and wait in my office, then I'll take you back to your College. Exalian and Eren, I'm going to take you to the headmaster to explain your absence. We'll say that Eren has been hiding after the attempted abduction and that Exalian has been trying to persuade her that it's safe to return. I'm not sure what we're going to tell your Principal, Pavel, but it's a long walk to Savaran, so I'm sure we'll think of something..."

As the master continues to expound his strategy, the three apprentices are lost in their own thoughts

Eren is thinking about Salazari's map of connections and his instructions to return as soon as they had discovered more. Perhaps the cartographer can help them to make sense of how events are unfolding. She's also struck by how much more calm and assured Jayron seems when compared to last night, or even this morning. His initial reaction to their story had been panicked, whereas now he seems to be telling them that he has it all in hand. And she can't shake off the image from her dream, of Jayron standing in the middle of the Hell portal...

Exalian is disappointed that he didn't get to finish decrypting the stone block. He's also thinking about the conversation that he'd overheard between Jayron and Carrick, and the various other hints he's had that his master is dabbling with forbidden magic. Perhaps Jayron has his own reasons for wanting to avoid a visit by the inquisitorial arm of the Consistory Court...

Pavel is wondering if he'll be able to get something to eat when he gets back to the Naval College. Perhaps he should ask Jayron to get something for him before he sets off...

When they emerge from the basement and walk out into the cool night air, all three apprentices are struck with a sudden sense of foreboding.

~oOo~