Chapter 31 - Searching

"Wake up, it's time to go."

Ryan was roused from his blissful sleep by a swift kick from Professor Kal's black boot. Ryan tried to rub his eyes, but found that the devil worm had coiled itself around him while he was asleep. How it managed to do so without waking him was a mystery.

Ryan started to squirm, trying to break free from the worm's slimy embrace. Getting the hint, the devil worm uncoiled, freeing him. Ryan stood, then looked down at his robe. It was still covered in slime, most of it dried. It reminded him of a used snot rag. He decided to not even try and salvage the robe, he would just toss it.

"What time is it?" Ryan asked, stretching his sore muscles.

"Pretty early, or late, kinda depends on how you look at it." Professor Kal answered as he gathered up their things.

"That should be it. Ready to go?"

"I think so. What about him?" Ryan said, then pointed over to the devil worm.

"Just tell him to stay here. When you summon him he'll come no matter where he's at." Professor Kal explained.

"Uh..ok. Stay!" Ryan ordered, pointing towards the ground and staring at the worm.

If a worm could look depressed, this would be it. It hung its head low, letting out a strange guttural sound. It sounded like a diesel engine being run under a pool of molasses. To Ryan, it was the most unsettling sound he had ever heard. Luckily the worm didn't make it for too long. It dove underground, digging itself out a lair where it would wait for Ryan's call.

Professor Kal nodded his head, then reached out his hand and snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. A frown came across his face. His Warp Gate didn't manifest, that had never happened before. Ryan looked over at him expectantly, wondering what he was doing.

"Don't stare at me, you're giving me performance anxiety." Professor Kal chided him.

Ryan rolled his eyes then turned around, giving him what he wanted.

Clearing his throat, slightly embarrassed, Professor Kal tried once more. This time he chanted the spell in his mind, providing it his full attention. Slowly, a small purple vortex came into existence, flickering like a candle in the wind. He poured even more mana into it, increasing its size and stability.

His brows furrowed and his frown deepened. Finally, after a full minute and many times more mana than should have been necessary, the warp gate opened. Letting out a sigh of relief, Professor Kal silently patted himself on the back.

"I thought we were going to have to walk back. Must be the dungeon interfering with dimensional magic."

"Is it safe to use?" Ryan asked, concerned about what he had just said.

"Uh.. Sure?" Professor Kal said, grabbing Ryan's arm and dragging him along before he could refuse.

A now familiar weightlessness washed over their bodies, their vision turning black. It lasted only a moment before they found themselves back in front of the Academy's common building, surrounded by knights with their weapons drawn. Professor Kal held his hands up in surrender, sidestepping to reveal Ryan who was standing behind him. The Warp Gate closed behind them, popping out of existence.

"Whatever it is, he did it." Professor Kal said unashamedly, pointing to Ryan.

…..

The city was in an uproar. The newly crowned King had declared martial law. Waves of soldiers and knights flooded the city, turning it upside down. They were searching for something or someone, but didn't release what it was. Citizens were dragged from their houses, still in their pajamas, as their houses were violently searched.

Of course there were those that didn't, or wouldn't, allow their homes to be violated. They were dealt with harshly. Blood ran through the streets as any form of resistance was squashed. The only ones spared from this violence and humiliation were, of course, the nobles. This caused even more animosity between the two castes than there already was.

The capital wasn't the only city being subjected to this treatment, it was only the first. Messengers had been sent out of Lenova, riding the fastest horses, bringing instructions and the declaration of martial law to all of the governing bodies. Soldiers poured out of the city gates, their destination unknown. Rumors spread like cancerous growths, fueling conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Dean Petticoat was abruptly roused by fervent knocking on his door. He threw on his night robe, fastening the cloth belt, cursing under his breath as he answered. His curses caught in his throat as he saw who was standing in his doorway.

A knight captain, standing tall and showcasing his polished armor, was looking down his nose at the Dean. With not even a word, the knight captain handed him a scroll, the Royal seal adorning it. Dean Petticoat broke the seal and opened it with shaking hands.

He had no idea what was happening, nothing like this had ever happened before. It must be quite serious to send a knight captain to his door. For some reason, Professor Kal's face flashed before his eyes. Did it have something to do with him? He would have to read the scroll to find out.

Dean Petticoat scanned the parchment, his eyes narrowing as he went. They wanted to search the school, for what, he didn't know. The knight captain had come to the Academy with the full authority of the crown itself, there was nothing he could do to stop it. With a heavy heart, Dean Petticoat nodded toward the knight captain.

"Go ahead. Here is the keystone to unlock all of the formations." He said, handing the knight captain a magic gem that was hanging around his neck. There weren't many formations preventing anyone from coming or going from the Academy, but there were a few set up to protect the more valuable items from going missing. He was hesitant to give some muscled up knights the key to the castle, but had no choice in the matter.

"We'll start here." Was all the knight captain said before pushing past Dean Petticoat and into his room.

The Dean could see the smirk on his face as he did so. He huffed and puffed, but ultimately didn't do anything to stop his belongings from being searched. Once the knights were satisfied, they filed out of his room, moving on to the next one. They didn't even have the decency to put things back the way they were, adding on to Dean Petticoat's consternation.

Dean Petticoat wasted no time in getting dressed. He would have many fires to put out in the coming hours. If he was subjected to such a search, that would mean everyone would be. He could only imagine the number of complaints he would have to go through today, it was already giving him a headache.

The person he was most worried about was of course Professor Kal. He knew he valued his privacy above all else. He would want to be there to calm him down before the knights picked a fight with the wrong person.

He rushed down the halls, passing many Professors who were angrily standing outside their rooms. Wrathful gazes and profane curses were aimed in his direction as he ran by. All he could do was give an apologetic smile to each one that he passed. He turned the corner leading to Professor Kal's residence, seeing that the knight's had beaten him there.

They were currently attempting to break the door down, but not having very much luck. One particularly muscular knight was swinging a large hammer, aiming for the hinges on the door. Each impact would generate golden sparks that leapt from the door as if it were electrified. Dean Petticoat came closer, seeing that the hammer had many stress fractures along its wide head and sweat was dripping from the nose of the knight wielding it.

The captain of this particular group of knights noticed the Dean. He sauntered over to him, taking off his helmet and holding it under his arm. "What have you got hidden behind this door? Open it immediately."

"It's just the residence of our newest Professor. He must not be in at the moment, I'm sure that if you wait…"

"The Crown waits for NO ONE!" The knight shouted, interrupting the Dean.

"Either you take down these arrays, or I'll find someone to replace you that can."

Dean Petticoat contorted his face in anger, how dare this lowly knight speak to him in such a way. He was THE DEAN of the Academy of Magic and the Mysteries, appointed to the position by the late King himself. He was about to let the knight know exactly who he was speaking to, then remembered the parchment that he was given.

The parchment gave the knights the authority of the crown itself. Meaning that the new King had authorized them to do as they pleased to accomplish their mission. His contorted face relaxed into one of defeat, there was nothing he could do. He knew how to pick his battles, and this was one he couldn't win.

"I'll see what I can do." He said, much to the delight of the knight who looked much more smug.

Replacing the heavily breathing knight, Dean Petticoat examined the door. One couldn't see the magical arrays put into place with the naked eye, you would need to use a mana detection stone in order to. Pulling one out of his storage ring, making all of the knights present jealous, he started to examine the array.

The stone revealed complex layers of geometric shapes along with unknown runes, all weaving in and out of each other slowly. Just when he thought he started to understand the layout of the array, the sequence of the runes changed. He had never seen anything like it before in his life.

From what he could understand, which wasn't much, the array was set up much like a coded lock. Only that the code would change randomly every thirty seconds, making it impossible to crack. He would need a special key to open the door, that was the only way. He could try to brute force his way in, but didn't believe his luck would be any better than the knights' had been.

Looking down in defeat, slightly ashamed of his own lack of knowledge, he spoke to the knight. "I can't open it, not without the key."

"Can't, or won't." The knight reiterated.

Letting out a sigh, the Dean admitted his failure. "Can't. It's much too complex for me to bypass."

The knight, seemingly finished with the conversation, started to give orders to the knights surrounding them.

"Go through the walls, don't worry about the door."

With his words, axes were used to hack away at the walls on either side of Professor Kal's room using the adjacent rooms to gain access. Chips of wood and plaster dust filled the air, making a mess out of the two rooms. Their inhabitants looked on in disbelief, anger swelling up within their hearts.

"I'm truly very sorry." Dean Petticoat tried to console them, to little effect.

The knights made quick work of the first layer of wood and plaster, only taking a few minutes to make a hole large enough for a man to walk through. That is as far as they went. With a swing of his axe, a knight struck a barrier that was as hard as steel. Golden sparks filled the room as he was rebounded across it, slamming into the far wall. Rushing over to his aid, the other knights helped him up.

"I've had enough of this." The knight captain yelled out, tossing his helmet across the hall.

"Summon the Court Mage, we'll crack this egg wide open!"