Chapter 94: The Hidden Message

Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Chalice Theocracy

The air in the library was still, dust motes drifting like ghosts between the shelves. Afternoon light filtered through stained glass windows, painting the floor in patches of red and gold.

Lyra stood at her usual desk, head bent over a ledger, moving with mechanical grace. Each movement precise, measured, perfect.

Too perfect. Too silent.

Aris watched her from behind a bookshelf, heart pounding. Fox crouched at his feet, tail flicking uneasily.

"She doesn't remember anything," Fox whispered. "Her voice, her habits... it's all changed. But the spark in her eyes is gone. Like someone copied her and forgot to add the soul."

Aris nodded grimly. "Wiped clean. A living blank slate."

He wanted to walk up to her, to shout her name until something cracked in her eyes. Until recognition sparked. But Lyra only smiled politely when passing students, the kind of smile given to strangers in a market. Pleasant, empty, safe.

And when she asked, "Can I help you, student?" her tone was neither cruel nor kind. Just neutral.

They left soon after, heading down the dim side corridor that led toward the archives. Aris's thoughts churned like storm clouds.

Who could do this? A Crusader? The High Priestess herself?

They were returning to the dorm when something gnawed at Aris's mind. "There must be something she left behind."

Fox's ears twitched. "It's not like we can ask her."

"I wonder where her relic is. If Kurgodan or any other official saw it, they wouldn't have let her go, right?"

"I don't think so."

"So she must have hidden it. But how can you hide something after you clean your memory?"

As they walked toward the dorm, their brains were working overtime, pieces trying to fit together.

When they were about to enter their room, Orric called out. "Back so soon? No making potions until night?"

Aris startled. "So sorry, Orric. Didn't notice you there. Yeah, I'm not in the mood now."

Orric leaned against the doorframe, concern in his wolfish features. "What's the deal with that librarian woman? Her attire completely changed. That snarky know-it-all woman is all gone ever since she came back."

"Right. That's what we're wondering."

Orric shuddered, his whole body rippling. "I mean, I'm not saying Chalice is bad, but that interrogation technique must be awful. Cutting hair, making them lose their personality. Imagine being a criminal against Chalice. Ughh." He shook his wolf furry body. "I'm just glad we are on the right side."

"Yeah. Right side," Aris said hollowly.

---

Date: 33,480 Second Quarter - Safe Hollow, Iron Confederacy Border

The air in the council hall was thick with tension. Only a handful of torches burned, their light catching on the rough wooden beams above. Shadows danced across worried faces.

That night, under the wooden palisade lights, Roderic gathered the council.

Demir, Thalia, Marven, and Matthis stood around a rough table. A map of the region lay spread before them, marked with charcoal notes. X's where scouts had been spotted. Circles where tracks had been found.

"One scout escaped," Roderic said, voice heavy. His bandages were fresher now, wrapped tight around his chest. "That means they know. They'll report, regroup, and return. And not just three this time."

Thalia looked grim. "How long do we have?"

"A week, maybe two," Marven said. "Depending on where their camp is. How far they have to travel."

Demir clenched his fists on the table. "Then we use those days well. Reinforce the walls. Arm everyone who can stand. Train the rest to fight or flee."

Roderic nodded slowly. "Flee where? We can't pass through high level zones. Not now, with kids. With elderly."

Matthis frowned. "Is this for revenge? Because of our expeditions?"

Demir shook his head. "Not revenge. They'll come for slaves. Bodies to work their mines."

A long silence fell over the room. Even the forge's distant crackle seemed to fade. The weight of coming violence pressed down on them all.

Finally, Roderic pushed himself up from his chair, pain etched in his expression but resolve in his eyes.

"Then they'll find out Safe Hollow isn't a mine to plunder," he said. "It's a fortress."

By midday, the council had summoned the entire settlement. Over two hundred survivors gathered in the open square. Farmers, hunters, crafters, and wanderers from the goblin mines. All looking up at their leaders with fear and hope mixed in equal measure.

Thalia's voice carried over the noise. "You've all heard the rumors. They're true. Goblins are coming. Not scouts, not raiders, but an army. Maybe a week, maybe two."

Gasps and curses rippled through the crowd like wind through wheat.

Roderic stepped forward, leaning on his cane. "We can't run. We can't hide. But we can fight. Every hand matters. Whether you swing a sword or cook for those who do."

Demir stepped beside them, holding his shield high so the people could see the gleam of wyvern scales across its surface. The metal caught sunlight, scattering it in rainbow patterns. "I'll be reforging weapons and armor for anyone willing to stand. Bring me scrap, bring me metal, even rusted tools. I'll make something that'll hold the line."

He looked across the faces. People he'd fought for, bled for, crafted for. People he'd come to call friends. "We may not have titles like generals or kings, but we have one thing the goblins never will. Each other. If we hold together, they won't break us."

A cheer rose. Hesitant at first, then louder. People began moving with purpose, voices overlapping with renewed determination.

As the meeting dissolved into organized chaos, Demir returned to the forge. The coals were cold, the air still. He sat on the stool, staring at the anvil. His anvil. Until the sounds of the settlement faded to a hum.

The forge would have to wait for improvements. He needed armor now.

He began gathering whatever he could. Shattered blades, broken hinges, bent tools. Every scrap of iron and steel went into the crucible. The molten metal hissed and smoked, sparks bursting like tiny stars in the dim light. Each spark carried a prayer.

Demir's shirt clung to his skin with sweat. His arms burned, muscles screaming. Each hammer strike echoed against the stone walls like heartbeats.

Piece by piece, he shaped the plates for himself. A new set. Greaves, cuirass, gauntlets, pauldrons, helm. Five full pieces, hammered and fitted for his frame. He'd made hundreds of armors before, but never like this. Each strike carried something deeper. Fear. Hope. Determination.

Outside, the night wind carried the distant echo of a howl. Asena's voice, wild and fierce, cutting through the darkness.

Demir smiled faintly. "I hear you. I'll be ready."

---

**Back at Chalice Theocracy**

Night had fallen completely when Aris and Fox finally returned to their investigation. The conversation with Orric had given Aris time to think, to piece together possibilities.

"There must be something," Aris muttered, lying on his bed. "She wouldn't just erase everything without leaving a backup. That's not like her."

Fox yawned. "Even if she did, how would we find it? The library? Her chambers?"

"Maybe..." Aris sat up suddenly. "She knew they'd search her room, her desk. So where would she hide something they wouldn't think to look?"

"Somewhere they'd never suspect," Fox said slowly. "Somewhere... ordinary."

Aris's eyes widened. "The library itself. Not the forbidden section. Not the hidden chambers. Somewhere in plain sight."

"But where?"

Aris thought back to all the times he'd seen Lyra working. Where she went. What she touched. Then it hit him. "The ladder. She installed it herself, remember? She was always complaining about how the academy wouldn't fix things properly."

Fox's tail straightened. "You think she hid something in the ladder?"

"Only one way to find out."

They would have to wait until midnight. Until the library was truly empty. Until they could search without eyes watching.

But for now, they had a lead. And that was more than they'd had in days.