Noble paced back and forth in her room.
'Maybe the note didn't make it.'
No, even with her having to leave it at his office, she was sure the communication had made it.
'Could someone from Song have intercepted him?'
Noble dismissed that idea as well. Her business was legitimate. Stopping him would be alerting yet another person about their clandestine visitors, and Song would want to avoid that at all costs.
'Maybe he was busy.'
Noble knew this was the most likely reason for the delay. Even if her expected guest got to his office on time, he likely had work to do. Just because she was in a rush didn't mean her companion was.
About the time the professor was ready to give up on her plan, the man's emotional signature came into range.
Noble heaved a sigh of relief. He wouldn't have been able to fly over the NQSC like she did and would have needed to travel by mundane means.
'I shouldn't be so impatient.'
Noble stopped pacing and picked up a page to peruse while she waited for the man to make his way across the academy grounds.
Finally, a soft knock at the back of the classroom drew her to look up from the page.
"Professor Noble?"
The lady in question smiled. "Oh! Awakened Virt. How pleasant to see you!" Noble arranged her papers and stood to shake his hand.
"I hope I am not interrupting…" Virt's brown eyes searched for any sign that he might be intruding.
"As I said in my note, I had an opening this morning to help you with the problem that you mentioned the other day. I am delighted that you could make it on such short notice. Do come in!" Noble ushered her guest into the room before he could think the better of it.
"Thank you for thinking of me." Shrugging off his dark green coat, Virt draped the vestment over his arm. "So, how exactly does this work?"
"It's very simple. Call on the Memory, and I'll have it examined with our Spelltech." Noble nodded.
"And by Spelltech, do you mean a certain sassy assistant that I've heard about?" Virt took another furtive glance around.
Now Noble knew what he was looking for. She smiled at him.
"Bee Two, your reputation precedes you. Come on out. We have a guest."
The professor pressed a button on her desk. In one corner of the room, an alcove whirred as it opened. An alloy android made its presence known.
"Is this the guest you were expecting and sent me away because you didn't want me to watch you pace?" Bee Two strode forward and examined the stranger a little too closely.
"Please excuse Bee Two. I am not sure what my assistant means." Noble pushed her android back while laughing uncomfortably.
"Yes, you do. You said you were frustrated that I was checking your vitals and—"
"Thank you, Bee Two," Noble wanted to rub her forehead. Sometimes her assistant reminded her of a toddler. And what was the best way to get a toddler to move on? Distract them! "Virt has a shiny new Memory for you to peruse!"'
"Oh?" Bee Two's eyes glowed.
Virt took another step back. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. No, he had come this far and needed help.
"I have run into an issue with a Memory of mine. I was hoping to get some assistance."
The brown-eyed Awakened held out his hand, and sparks formed in it. A few moments later, they faded and left behind a leatherbound object tied with a cord.
Noble squinted as she gave the Memory a once-over.
"A book?"
Virt smiled. "More of a journal."
He untied the strap of the oversized cover, and the book turned to the last page without him having to direct it.
The paper was blank.
Bee Two's eyes glowed brighter as the analysis began. A light examined the journal before the android went completely still.
A book was a very handy thing to have in any realm. One that could travel between realms and be stored in a soul sea in the meantime? That was practically priceless.
But there was nothing on the page.
Or so Noble thought.
Suddenly, lines appeared on the page, connecting to form a beautiful woman. Text was scrawled around the image describing a legend which Noble had never heard.
"She's from my first Nightmare," Virt told her with a hint of melancholy. "The journal can sketch what I visualize."
"That's very impressive!" Noble could see all of the uses for this Memory.
For Virt, it would mean he could easily visualize and keep track of the movements of the road crews that he oversaw and coordinate them accordingly.
"What the mind remembers and the heartstrings will always contain." Virt recited. "Those are the runes that I see."
"What seems to be the problem?"
The man seemed to have a good grasp on the Memory, so why did he need her?
"I'm out of pages." Virt looked down, and the ink disappeared as a new image appeared. "I can erase the pages, but I have run out of things that I am willing to part with. Even this final page was a sacrifice…"
"I see. Let's see how we can help. Bee Two?"
"It's a third-tier memory with three enchantments." Bee Two began. "All three enchantments are utility-based. Based on your description and my analysis, the first enchantment is related to the method of recording the images and words on pages. The second is also predictive and has a mental component. After watching how you opened it. I believe that it connects the owner to the page they desire."
Virt nodded. "I can think of a page, and it will turn there. And the last enchantment?"
"The third enchantment is a limiter of sorts. Or rather, it seems to remove the normal limits that would be put on an object." Bee Two tapped the page. "The book is rather large, but if you desire it to be bigger or smaller, then it should comply."
Virt glanced down at the tome and focused. Nothing happened.
"I don't understand. Shouldn't it just…work?"
Noble tapped her chin. "The description of your Memory said 'heartstrings,' not simply heart. If I had to guess, the key lies in the strap of your journal. Try shutting it and focusing again."
Virt listened, closing the book and tying it securely. The man stared at the book intently.
Suddenly, it shrank to a more manageable size. He smiled.
"My desk at the office in Ravenheart will thank you," he chuckled.
"If it takes off normal limits, then it should also…" Noble didn't have to finish her sentence.
The spine grew thicker, and Virt's arms adjusted under the new weight. He opened the cover, and the pages fanned as they turned to the new, pristine sheets.
Noble noted the maps he had drawn with roads she was pretty sure the government didn't know about. She would tell Fort later.
"Oh my, this is amazing! Thank you! That was so much simpler than I thought." Virt ran his fingers over the new pages with awe.
"Think nothing of it." Noble was just doing her job.
But Virt's enthusiasm did not wane. "Really, this saves me the time of copying it onto normal parchment. I am rescued from hours of work. If there is anything I can do, please let me know!"
Noble glanced at him, a hint of color swirling in her beautiful eyes.
"Well, if you insist, there is one thing…"