The friends thanked the golem guardian and went back the way they came from. Knowing that the visitor pass was handed out by an old acquaintance they felt greatly reassured. Now they only needed to find the high professor.
Fortunately, Cyclone had at least partial knowledge of the academy. Back then, when she was still level ten, she once came here to learn a class from another high professor. Thus, she knew that there were multiple studies used by the higher-ups on the third floor.
The friends followed the confident Cyclone. They didn't take the spiralling staircase further up, instead coming back to the crossing on the first floor, using the stairs there. The on hallway the second floor split up, with the main branches running parallel to the hallway on the first floor, creating a big open space.
Going up the stairs the friends did a U-turn as the stairs towards the third floor were behind their backs. There was nothing blocking them here and soon they stood on the third floor, scanning the various doors which had paintings of the academy's powerful mages on them. It didn't take the party long to find High Professor Atrol's old face.
Cyclone walked up, knocking strongly on the door.
"Yes? Come in!"
A familiar voice sounded out and the door blurred, granting the friends entry. They found themselves in a surprisingly sparsely furnished study. Obviously, this was not a place suitable to train magic and was only used by the professor for his administrative responsibilities.
Atrol didn't appear to be busy as he raised his head and showed some surprise.
"Adventurers? You came at the perfect time. I have something to do for you!"
Silver Blade stepped forward, greeting the professor with a smile.
"High Professor, it is our honour to help you. However, we came here seeking a rank three visitor pass from you. Perhaps you could give us one as reward for your quest?"
"Hmm…"
Immediately the professor showed a struggling expression. To everyone's surprise he slowly shook his head.
"My apologies, but I'm afraid I can't do that. If it was only a rank one pass, with our familiarity, I could bend the rules somewhat. But a rank three pass… that's a matter of security. I can't let you take shortcuts."
"Even if we accomplish a quest of yours?"
"Yes."
Silver Blade was stunned. She looked at her friends, searching for ideas. As no one came up with something, Silver Blade could only ask Atrol:
"Alright. Can you at least tell us what we need in order to get the pass?"
"To get a rank three visitor pass you naturally need a rank two visitor pass. You should talk with High Professor Fultherg."
As soon as this name fell, Cyclone flinched. Balm looked at her strangely, prompting Cyclone to explain that Fultherg was the professor she got the class quest from back then. But she never finished the quest after stumbling upon the Lightning Hawk Alliance.
Silver Blade didn't know this, thanking Atrol and turning around. But the high professor quickly stopped her:
"Wait, adventurer. Aren't you interested in my quest?"
"Oh… sure."
Atrol ignored the fact that Silver Blade sounded anything but enthusiastic. The young woman only agreed because there was no harm in accepting quests even if she didn't plan on completing it.
"Good. So, this has to do with the situation in Deep Bell City. Only after you took care of the traitors, did we understand that there was actually a devil pulling the strings.
Now, the surviving traitors together with Prince Endal have taken up base somewhere in the south of the empire. We know this because they have been seen hunting down infernals.
The king has personally expressed willingness to hear Prince Endal's case again and perhaps even pardon him. However, the prince refuses all our attempts to contact him, staying somewhere in a secret base.
But Prince Endal knows you. You have fought side by side. Perhaps he would be willing to meet you. If you could meet him and hand over this letter, you would do me a big favour."
"Well, we can try."
Silver Blade accepted the quest and took a letter from the high professor's hand, storing it in her inventory.
[
[Step one: Reach Trisenn and ask around for clues on Prince Endal.]
Silver Blade read briefly, committing the quest to memory. As it was a follow-up quest to a dungeon, Silver Blade guessed that it might not be entirely irrelevant. Perhaps they could take some time later to complete it. But now, they were still stuck getting their hands on a visitor pass. Thus, they said goodbye to Atrol for now and left the study. Cyclone reluctantly showed her friends the way to Fultherg's study.
As soon as the friends entered the room, their eyes fell on a surprisingly young-looking, burly man with a bald head. If he wasn't wearing the robe of a mage, no one would have ever thought that he could be a high professor of the prestigious academy. Everything about him screamed 'warrior'.
Fultherg leant back in his big chair, placing his boots on the table. When he studied the people coming into his study, his eyes instantly stopped on Cyclone.
"Ha! Adventurer! Have you found my ring?"
Cyclone flinched, smiling awkwardly.
"Sorry, high professor, but I haven't found it yet. You know how twisty the canalisation is. It could take a while."
"Hmm, sure, sure."
"Well, professor, we are here for something else. We need a rank two visitor pass, please."
"A pass? Well, you're not making it easy for me. If you could bring me my ring, I could pledge for your trustworthiness. But now I can't bend the rules that easily. If you don't have a rank one visitor pass, I can't help you."
Cyclone's brows twitched. She gradually realized where the problem with their current quest laid. She put on a strained smile, asking the professor:
"So where do we get a rank one pass?"
"Oh, that's something High Professor Voilolh can give you."
"Thanks…"
The friends left the study, feeling quite annoyed. They discussed for a moment, considering completing Cyclone's quest. Although it was a class quest, they could still complete it whereupon the reward would be switched to something else.
However, the quest would take up to half an hour according to Liam. Thus, the friends decided to first ask for the rank one pass. If the pattern continued and they still couldn't get it, only then would they go for the quest.
Coming to a decision the friends searched for the next study. They were allowed entry and faced a stern-faced female elf in flowing green robes.
"Adventurers? What did you come here for?"
"High professor! Could you please, please give us a rank one visitor pass?"
"Your name?"
"Cyclone!"
The elf nodded. She stood up and browsed through the many books on a shelf behind her, finally pulling one of them out.
"Ahh, here it is. Cyclone. You helped our academy in Deep Bell City. While this is commendable, it is unfortunately not enough. Perhaps if you could get High Professor Atrol to pledge for you…"
Suddenly Cyclone gritted her teeth angrily. Without waiting for the NPC to say more she stormed out of the study. Some of her friends chuckled, others were similarly annoyed. They followed after her, leaving the confused elf behind.
"I'm so done with it!"
Outside, Cyclone stomped her foot glaring angrily at the closed door.
"It's not that bad, right? We just need to finish your quest…"
Cyclone took a deep breath. She looked at Balm who tried to calm her down.
"And who says that this will really be the case? They are clearly trying to annoy us on purpose. Perhaps it's some joke implemented by C. I bet if we complete the quest, Fultherg will be unavailable. Or some other stupid problem will come up."
"Well, sounds plausible…", said Silver Blade with a frown.
"I don't know. This sounds like it would be too much to me…"
"Should we try it?"
"Or see if Atrol is willing to pledge for us?"
While the others discussed Cyclone kept intently staring at Liam, not allowing him to get away from her eyes. Eventually the veteran couldn't help himself and let out a chuckle. Instantly Cyclone's eyes narrowed as she started interrogating him like a detective in a movie:
"You! What do you know?"
"Nothing. I swear!"
"Tsk. As if I'd ever believe that! Spit it out!"
Looking at the faces of his friends Liam realized that it might be time to give them a hint. He put on a meaningful expression, saying:
"Ok, ok. I'll talk. There is indeed a shortcut to all of this. And we could have done it from the beginning."
"From the beginning? Perhaps there is actually a second way to reach the lab?"
"No."
"Hmm, can we distract the golem?"
"Getting closer."
"Is there a way to get the golem to move without the visitor pass?"
Finally Liam nodded, causing everyone's eyes to light up.