Vol. III Chapter IX: The Arcaneum

The first weeks at the Academy of Valdrath passed faster than Lucius had expected.

The schedule was packed: theoretical essence studies in the morning, practical exercises in the afternoon, and lectures on the history of magic every Tuesday and Thursday evening.

Then there was the weekly training session, where students could test their essences in supervised sparring matches.

Lucius mostly kept to the background. 

He didn’t want to attract attention, didn’t want to show too much skill, and certainly didn’t want to be noticed.

“I don’t understand why you pretend to be merely average,” Tairaku had said once while they stood together on the training grounds.

Lucius had dodged the question. “I have my reasons.”

But Tairaku wouldn’t let it go.

“Then why even attend this academy if you’re not willing to show your full potential?”

Lucius had already told Tairaku on that first night that his high magical potential was the reason he hadn’t drunk the entire essence during the final entrance exam.

But the full truth, on that, he remained silent.

Despite his reserve, bonds slowly formed between him and some of his classmates. 

A small, strange quartet that came together more often than any of them might have realized.

Glizzy was like a living storm of questions, enthusiasm, and a total lack of self-control. Rarely an hour passed without her blowing something up, even if it was just an ink cartridge.

Meiruna, her roommate, reacted with an ever-present groan. She complained about Glizzy’s chaos at every opportunity, and yet she rarely left her side and always helped her when she got into trouble.

Lucius quickly realized that this was just her way of caring.

Tairaku, on the other hand, was the group’s calm center. Intelligent, polite, and always one step ahead. When a problem arose, he was usually the one to find a solution. And his smile always seemed to know what would happen next.

Whatever was growing between them, it felt real.

And for the first time in a long while, Lucius wasn’t alone, even if he wouldn’t admit it to himself.

But his thoughts still circled constantly around his true mission.

In the rare free hours he had, he continued searching for any clues as to where the book Hecate had sent him to find might be hidden.

He often wandered the halls, looking for secret passages or hidden switches that might lead to a concealed part of the academy, but to no avail.

Then, one day during an ordinary essence studies class, he finally got a hint.

“Today,” the instructor began, “we’ll be working with rarer reagents. Some are not only sensitive but also damned expensive. So handle them with care!”

His gaze clearly lingered on Glizzy, who blinked innocently.

Then the reagents were handed out, along with vials and textbooks.

Lucius’s eyes landed on a flat dish containing a dark purple paste. Its surface shimmered like oil, but the substance was thick and resinous.

“And this?” he asked casually, inspecting his ingredients.

The teacher stepped closer, glanced at it, and nodded.

“Fermented Nightleaf Tincture. Very rare. But very effective for invisibility spells.”

Lucius hesitated briefly. Then, feigning idle curiosity, he said,

“And where does the Academy get such rare ingredients?”

The teacher raised an eyebrow.

“You think we go picking through the Mistwood with baskets? These come from outside, and once they arrive, they’re kept in the Arcaneum, deep below, in the Academy’s cellars,along with other magical artifacts.”

The Arcaneum.

The word seared itself into Lucius’s mind, and he had to fight not to show his excitement.

That must be where the book is kept. Now I just need to find a way in...

“I see... interesting. And how does one gain access?” he asked, sounding innocently intrigued.

The teacher crossed his arms.

“You don’t. Unless you’re an Archmage, part of the school’s council, or specifically authorized. And even then, only in exceptional cases.”

Then he turned to address the whole class.

“So appreciate the fact that you get to work with such valuable materials today. It’s a privilege!”

Tairaku gave Lucius a curious look, but Lucius turned away and avoided eye contact. Still, he could feel the weight of his friend’s gaze.

After that, Lucius tried to find out more about the Arcaneum, but it was a delicate balance, asking the right questions without raising suspicion.

So one evening, he went to the library for further research.

Between towering shelves of dark oak that reached all the way to the vaulted ceiling, Lucius sat at a small table near a window. Only the glow of a flickering light orb illuminated the yellowed pages in front of him.

He had already worked through three thick tomes and now held the fourth in his hand:

“The Hidden Chambers of Valdrath: Architecture and Secrets of the First Era.”

It was dry, pictureless, and full of historical details, but packed with information.

Eventually, he stumbled across a passage about the academy’s subterranean expansions in the third century after its founding. One sentence caught his eye:

The western catacomb wing was sealed in the year 312 A.F.F. and converted into what is now known as the Arcaneum. The entrance lies within the southern scriptorium and can only be activated using the Headmasters seal ring...

Lucius blinked. Read the sentence again. Whispered it softly:

“Southern scriptorium... seal ring...”

A smile flickered across his face. Finally, a tangible lead.

“Ugh, what a boring book. Are you reading that voluntarily?”

Lucius jumped.

Glizzy was standing right next to him, leaning on the table, her face just inches from his own.

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked, startled, and quickly closed the book.

“No idea! A while!” she grinned, then tried to peek over his shoulder.

“Did you find something about secret underground tunnels? I heard there are living books down in the Arcaneum!”

“I... was just looking something up,” Lucius mumbled, scooting his chair forward. Then he frowned. “Living books?”

“Yeah! Or... maybe they were magic books? Or biting books? Anyway, our shaman once said he saw them there!”

Lucius stifled a laugh. Then he asked casually, “Your shaman studied at the academy?”

Glizzy nodded excitedly.

“Yup! The first goblin to ever do so. Well, until I made it in!”

Pride beamed from her face.

“And how did he get into the Arcaneum?” Lucius asked.

“The Arcaneum?” She tilted her head like a confused puppy.

“I think he mentioned a hidden tunnel... somewhere in the pantry next to the kitchen. But he didn’t get far. After they caught him, he was kicked out immediately!”

Pantry... Got it.

Lucius went quiet, deep in thought. For a moment, they stood there in silence, surrounded by ancient tomes and the scent of old parchment.

“Haha, really fascinating. Thanks for the story, Glizzy. Ugh, it’s late. I think I’ll head to bed. See you in class tomorrow. Goodnight!”

He blurted it out and hurried off, leaving the surprised goblin girl behind.

“…Good night!” she managed to call after him as he disappeared down the corridor.

Later that night, when the Academy lay cloaked in darkness and only a cool breeze crept through the open window, Lucius had already slipped into his cloak and closed the door silently behind him.

He had waited until Tairaku was asleep, then muffled his footsteps with a simple silencing spell.

Down the stairs, down the eastern corridor, and another, until he stood in front of the large, dark kitchen. He crossed it through a side door, past pots and utensils, into the pantry.

Lucius let his eyes scan the shelves: pickled cabbage, jars of honeycomb, bundles of herbs, dried meats.

Nothing that looked like a hidden passage, but it had to be there somewhere.

He ran his fingers along the backs of the shelves, tapped the floor for hollow spots, felt for any cracks in the stonework.

Behind a shelf of flour sacks, he found a section of wall that was more finely worked than the rest: polished, bordered by a thin slit, barely wide enough for a blade.

Lucius tugged at the edge. Nothing.

They must have sealed it off after Glizzy’s shaman broke in...

He drew a small vial from his belt, essence he had swiped from class.

He took a deep breath, traced the essence along the seam with his fingertip, and whispered:

“Teine clathri combur.”

The gap began to glow, crackling faintly. Then he pressed against the brittle masonry, and the stones crumbled inward.

Behind it lay a narrow passage, barely shoulder-wide. Dark, damp, and sloping downward.

Lucius’s heart beat faster. But just before he could slip inside, he heard a voice behind him:

“Oooh... a secret tunnel! So Zakram was telling the truth!”

He turned. And a small green figure stood in the storage room, eyes wide with excitement.

Glizzy.

“What the heck are you doing here?!” Lucius hissed.

“Well, I saw you sneaking through the halls. Then I got curious. Then you went into the kitchen. Then there was this door...” She pointed at the tunnel. “And now I’m here!”

Lucius ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

“You’re not supposed to be here. Go back to your room.”

But Glizzy crossed her arms.

“No chance. I’m the one who told you about this in the first place!”

“This isn’t a field trip. If we get caught, we won’t just get expelled, we could be arrested. Or worse.”

“Then why are you going in?” she asked curiously.

Lucius opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"I have to find... something"

Glizzy tilted her head, looking at him with her big yellow eyes.

"Fine," Lucius grunted. "But you stay behind and don’t touch anything."

Glizzy saluted dramatically.

"Sir, yes Sir!"

Then they crawled inside.

The stones beneath their knees were cold, the tunnel damp and moldy. They pushed through thick webs until they reached the end. 

The exit was blocked by a wooden panel, which gave way only after several strong kicks. As they jumped outside, they landed inside the massive wooden frame of an oil painting, that they had just kicked to the ground.

The room was circular, magic light flickered on the walls, ancient runes glowing faintly.

And among some other doors, one stood out: a large wooden door engraved with the Academy’s emblem.

"This must be the entrance to the Arcaneum" Lucius concluded.

He took a deep breath while Glizzy looked around in awe.

And now, there was no turning back for them anymore.