"Think about it. Why would the golem guard that door?"
Liam dropped another hint, helping his friends to solve the puzzle.
"To not let anyone in?"
"Sure. But why?"
"Well, someone doesn't want to be disturbed. Perhaps they are experimenting."
"The old man we first met said the academy has stopped experimenting with the void, but our compass clearly points towards the basement."
"So, someone didn't get the message…"
Suddenly Balm smiled brightly, saying:
"I got it! If someone is doing forbidden experiments, we can report them to the other professors, and they will open the way for us! Or wait… professors might not be enough. Let's go to the highest authority! We will report to the headmaster!"
"Nice, that's it! If someone can order the golem to move it will be the headmaster!"
The friends got excited, confident that they had figured it out. Cyclone threw one last quick glance at Liam, noticing him smiling lightly. She felt assured that Balm's conjecture was correct.
Thinking that they could finally make progress the friends searched the third floor but didn't find the headmaster's study. They went back to the first floor, asking the old mage for directions. Learning from him that the headmaster lived on the fifth floor they didn't hesitate and rushed up the stairs.
The fifth floor could only be reached through the spiralling staircase. Finally, they arrived in front of a heavy wooden door. The friends knocked but didn't receive an answer. As they were already impatient, they choose to be impolite, rudely barging into the room.
To everyone's surprise the door turned out to be solid, not like the others. They pushed the heavy obstacle aside and entered an extremely spacious room.
This was clearly a living room with seats, a furnace, and all kinds of magical trinkets for decoration. It was surprisingly messy with documents loosely covering a table and some boxes standing around, looking as if someone was just moving in.
And the party learned from Liam that this was indeed the case as a new headmaster had just taken over shortly before the arrival of the players in Crunaboul.
The friends looked around the room, not spotting the headmaster. Thus, they carefully began to shout. Quickly, a door to the right opened and a head peeked out. It was a shockingly young, human woman. She had flowing white hair and a smooth face which made her look like she wasn't older than 20 years.
"Eh? Who are you? Do you need something from me?"
The headmaster was surprisingly kind for someone who just discovered strangers in her living room. Feeling awkward, the friends first apologized before Silver Blade took over the conversation:
"Again, sorry for intruding, miss headmaster."
"No worries, no worries. You can call me Ynahvla by the way."
"Thank you, Ynahvla. So, the issue is, we are adventurers on a quest to test this compass here. It is able to point towards locations with void energy. And now it clearly led us here to the academy. After some tests we are pretty sure that there is void energy in your basement, but a golem is blocking the path.
We would be extremely thankful if you could perhaps order that golem to move."
Ynahvla blinked her eyes. Although she appeared sceptical, she didn't immediately dismiss the party.
"Can I ask who gave you this mission?"
"It's Her Highness Lewriova."
"Ohh! It's Lewi? Haha, ok then, I will help you. But let me tell you that bringing void energy into the academy is something I have recently prohibited. So, I guess that compass of yours is not quite accurate. But that's the purpose of a test, right?"
As soon as she heard Lewriova's name, the headmaster smiled brightly like the sun. She came out of the room, clapping her hands. Obviously, her and Lewriova shared a deep connection.
The young headmaster didn't let the players wait, quickly leading them away. Together they walked down the stairs, coming before the guardian golem. With a simple sentence from Ynahvla the golem immediately moved away. The friends sighed, thinking that everything could have been so easy. Following Ynahvla they passed through the door and went down another set of stairs.
But with every step Ynahvla's joyfulness was gradually replaced by a frown. Finally, the group arrived at the bottom, standing in a large laboratory. On multiple tables were void crystals or parts of void dwellers. In the middle of it all stood a middle-aged man in a black mage robe, who was currently using pliers to carry a void crystal.
"High Professor Pirka of Trest! What do you think you are doing?!"
Ynahvla shouted with a voice full of anger. But the man, Pirka, remained perfectly calm. He didn't answer, instead carefully putting the void crystal into a large cauldron.
"I didn't expect you to come here so quickly, headmaster. But as you can see, I am advancing our understanding of magic!"
"You are experimenting with void energy! Which I have prohibited!"
"Huh… I don't know what the old headmaster was thinking putting you in charge. Are you really willing to halt our progress for some measly ideals?"
"Ideals?! No one should know better than you how dangerous the void is to our world! What are you trying to create?! Your magic will be purely destructive!"
"Yes. And that is exactly what we need if we want to fight against the void. Fight fire with fire!"
"Hmpf. And if something goes wrong, we will unleash a catastrophe upon Crunaboul. We will destroy our own world even before the void can do so!"
Liam and his friends were suddenly sidelined, watching as the two mages were arguing. Cyclone quickly brought out some snacks, handing them to her friends. They watched the show until Ynahvla finally had enough.
"That's it, Trest! There is no need to discuss. You will immediately stop your experiments! Those void crystals will be taken care of. And your fate will be judged by the elder's council!"
"Ha! Do you think I would fear a little girl like you? Just because the old headmaster favoured you, you think you can do whatever you want? I won't let you destroy my experiments!"
"Have you gone crazy? This is an order, Trest! There is no room for discussion. Leave this room and await your judgement!"
"Never!"
"Ironbound! Apprehend him!"
Suddenly two shadows flickered and two people appeared in the room. They wore light armor with the academy's symbol and had conspicuous iron collars around their necks, distinctively reminding the players of slave collars.
The two strange people bowed to the headmaster before approaching Trest with wooden expressions.
"I won't let you destroy all my work, Ynahvla!"
Suddenly Trest growled in a low voice, his face a heavy frown. With a flick of his wrist, he suddenly revealed a wand and pointed it at the two Ironbound. Two cubes consisting of solid rock formed at the tip of his wand and shot straight at the chests of the two Ironbound.
Unprepared, the two warriors were too slow to react. The cubes suddenly grew, opened a door and devoured the two Ironbound. The door closed and the jailers were jailed.
"TREST! Have you lost your mind?! You dare to attack the Ironbound?! Do you know the consequences?!"
"Ha! Consequences are for the weak!"
"You…"
Just as Ynahvla tried to somehow talk some sense into her colleague, Trest pointed his wand at her. Ynahvla's eyes opened wide in shock. Another cube shot towards her. Without resistance the headmaster was trapped as well. Now only three cubes remained.
Trest let out a mocking snort:
"Only a young girl after all. Couldn't even defend against such a simple spell. Daring to play headmaster..."
Cyclone froze just as she wanted to put some crispy fruit into her mouth. She turned towards Liam, asking carefully:
"Expert, should we help her?"
"No no. Just enjoy the show."
"Alright…"
Just then a chill ran down Cyclone's spine as Trest turned towards the players with a meaningful smile.
"So. Was it you who brought Ynahvla down here? What gave you the courage to interfere with my experiments? Hmm, just as well. I was in need of some subjects anyways."
Trest's smile gradually turned twisted as he took a step forward. But suddenly he stopped. A large magic circle covered the entire ground. Trest could stop its activation but realising that it was a teleportation magic he didn't do so in an effort to keep his experiments safe.
Suddenly a light flashed, and the scenery changed. The players found themselves standing on top of a massive rock. Their surroundings were nothing but sand. The two Ironbound had been freed from their traps, standing next to the players with embarrassed expressions.
Trest stood on the sandy ground with a frown, staring towards the sky. There, Ynahvla was floating. Her wide, white robe and gorgeous hair billowed in the wind. Vast amounts of mana gathered towards her, giving her a powerful aura. There was nothing left of the joyful young woman. Instead, a valiant heroine had appeared, with a gaze intimidating all those beneath her!