Chapter 10: Machinations

Deep underground, hidden away from prying eyes, a cloaked figure was stooped over a table. On the table was a mutilated corpse, its arms were cut cleanly off at the elbows, the legs were hung up by the ankles a little further away. The cloaked figure was probing the body with strange instruments, taking measurements with others.

"This body is useless, the blood even worse than a pig's. You wouldn't think, but there is a large difference between a vagrant and a commoner. I wonder what difference noble blood would make?" The figure asked himself, tapping his chin with a scalpel.

A notebook was laying open on a small desk, a candle burning, producing yellow light. Sketches of the human body were visible in the notebook, along with drawings of never before seen magic arrays. The handwriting was barely legible, scribbled down quickly, almost as if the author's mind moved much faster than the pen.

"I need better test subjects, I can't keep going like this." The figure said, stabbing the scalpel deep into the mangled body.

"Haaaa, No risk, no reward right? I just have to be careful, I need to pick one that no one will miss too much."

He walked over to his other workbench, several glass vials were lined up in a holder. Different colored liquids were in the vials, small labels stuck into the corks. He pulled one out, it had a brownish substance swirling around inside.

"I just need to mark my target after some observation, then place this in their food or drink. They'll come to me willingly then, I won't have to lift a finger." The figure laughed, pocketing the vial of brown liquid.

.....

"Good evening Sarah." An old man lowered his head towards a beautiful woman seated at a table, reading a book.

"Hey Sol." She replied, just glancing at him before returning to her book.

Sarah Treffle was a witch, she taught mana control at the Amine Academy of Magic and the Mysteries. It was only her second year as a teacher here, but she was already entrenched as a pillar in the social hierarchy. It had a little to do with how intelligent she was, but was mostly because she was stunningly attractive, and most of the other professors were male.

She was twenty-six years old and an alumni of the Academy. After her graduation, she served in the military for two years. Serving your country was mandatory for every person, male or female, that came of age. It didn't matter if you were noble or not, you had to serve. Although, if you were noble you would be a much higher rank than you would be if you were a commoner.

Sarah, of course, was of noble birth, so her rank after leaving the mage corps was that of captain. She could have stayed over her mandatory two years, but did not like the 'old boy's club' that was in the military. After leaving, she spent a few years traveling, gaining real world experience. Although the military provided sufficient training, it was peacetime, so there was no real action to be seen.

Growing wary of the open road, she decided to return to the capital and reconnect with her family. Using her experience from the military and her travels, she applied for a professorship and was aptly accepted. She'd been teaching the younger generation ever since, although she did miss the freedom of her previous life, she was still quite content.

Sol pulled out the adjacent chair, sitting down, wincing a little due to his back pain. After adjusting his posture, he let out a sigh of relief as his joints settled. This whole time Sarah had not looked up at him, engrossed in whatever she was reading. Sol didn't want to be rude and interrupt her more than he already had, but also didn't have the patience to wait. He cleared his throat, a clear attempt to grab her attention.

"What can I help you with, Sol?" Sarah sighed before saying, placing her book down on the table.

Sol returned a wrinkled smile, apologizing to her with his eyes. "Have you met our new colleague?"

"New colleague? You mean the new alchemy professor?" Sarah clarified with him.

"Yes, exactly. My students told me a fantastical tale, I was just curious if you had met him, hoping you could tell me just what kind of man he is." Sol explained to her the reason for the interruption.

Solomon Auveco was one of Sarah's fellow professors at the Academy. He was an old man with grey hair, suffering from bouts of arthritis. He had been teaching at the Academy for the last thirty-five years, providing the students knowledge of constructing magic circles. He took pride in his vast knowledge of the arcane, passing all he could onto the students that cycled through these halls.

Having no children of his own, he treated each student as if they were his. He was mild mannered, quick to forgive and slow to anger. He got along well with all the other professors, talking to anyone that would give him the time. He was designated as the unofficial therapist for that reason.

For all these reasons, Sarah could never be mad at him for interrupting her reading time. Instead she answered him seriously. "Sadly, I haven't met him. I do hear that he is young, perhaps around my age." She leaned closer to him.

"What sort of tale did your students weave for you?" She asked.

Sol took in a deep breath, recalling what his beloved students had told him the other day before class. "They had said he was not to be seen while they were waiting for class to begin. As they were waiting, watching the minutes tick by, a swirling vortex appeared in the middle of the classroom." He paused, letting his words sink in.

Sarah furrowed her brows, instantly knowing what the vortex was, but she allowed Sol to finish the story.

"Then, out of the vortex, stepped the new alchemy professor, Kalcifer." Sol stopped speaking, pulling out a handkerchief, wiping some spittle from the corner of his mouth.

"Sounds like a warp gate, although it is an extremely high tier of magic, and takes a monumental amount of mana control, it is not impossible for anyone to master. Kalcifer must be a very proficient mage to know how to cast this level of magic at his age." Sarah said with a hint of envy in her voice.

Although her specialty was mana control, she wouldn't be able to make a warp gate. Maybe after a few more years she'd be able to, but right now it was impossible. Of course, if she had dedicated herself to practice everyday, she most likely could have mastered warp gate by now, but who would want to do that. This Kalcifer must have had loads of time on his hands to learn such a spell.

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"I agree, that's most likely what it was. Oh I envy the young, if I still had the time, I wouldn't mind learning such a convenient spell. It would save my joints some trouble, I know that much." Sol said with a raspy chuckle.

Sarah politely laughed along with him, beginning to pick her book back up. Although casting a warp gate was impressive for a young mage, it wasn't something to write home about. Sarah thought it would be a good idea to go out of her way and talk with Kalcifer, maybe he could give her some pointers in learning the warp gate spell.

"I'm not finished yet." Sol said, making Sarah pause picking her book up.

"The most interesting part is when Professor Kalcifer concocted a potion, making the students drink it." Sol added, his face scrunched up, making his wrinkles appear that much deeper.

"He made them drink it? That's a little out of line, isn't it? What kind of potion was it?" Sarah asked, slightly taken aback.

"Yes, he at least forced the first student, he threatened to fail the poor girl if she didn't drink it." Sol said, shaking his head.

"As far as the effects of the potion, well, that's the most amazing part of this long winded story. The students say Professor Kal called it an Elemental Potion, after the first student drank it, a light began to shine off of her. The light, they said, was brown, indicating her elemental affinity." Sol exclaimed, his eyes widening slightly.

"Impossible!" Sarah couldn't help but say harshly.

"There's no potion that can do that, if there was, why would they go through all the trouble of holding the Ceremony of the Elements. No, they must have been mistaken."

"I held the same thoughts, but when they said the remainder of the class also drank the potion, I couldn't help but feel that it may be possible. Each student had a similar effect happen to them, a light that radiated off their bodies. Although we can't be sure the potion actually disclosed their actual affinities without verifying with the element stone, we do know that something did happen, something that could potentially change everything." Sol said, lowering his voice, wary of any eavesdroppers.

"I wouldn't go that far, saying it could change everything." Sarah dismissed Sol's enthusiasm.

"Oh, but it could. If the potion he created is the real deal, just think what other secrets Professor Kal has under his sleeves, what other potions he's able to make." Sol said with a deadly serious expression on his face.

Sarah didn't respond, she was deep in thought. If Professor Kal had really made such an astonishing potion, there really was no telling what else he could do. She only had one question that was nagging at her, why would he do that? What good would it do him to show off such a potion to a bunch of students?

"So what do you want to do?" She asked, listening intently.

"Well, we should keep this between ourselves for the time being." Sol said, looking sheepish all of a sudden.

"Then why did you come to me about it if you wanted to keep it secret for now?"

"About that, I was hoping that…. hoping that you could go talk to him, get to know him better." Sol said, averting his eyes.

Sarah glared at Sol, her mood growing worse by the second. "And why do you think I could befriend him so easily?" She asked, the hostility oozing from her voice.

"Please forgive me!" Sol squeaked out, nearly slamming his forehead onto the table.

"I was just thinking that a young man such as himself would be more receptive to a pretty young lady. I know, I was out of line, I apologize."

"Haaaaaa." Sarah let out a long sigh after pausing for a moment, rubbing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.

"I'll do it." She said softly.

"You will?"

"But only because I'm interested in him myself ok. Not because of you, got it?"

"Of course, of course." Sol said, a smile on his face.

"Either way, you owe me one, remember that." Sarah added, quickly picking her book back up.

"Not a problem, not a problem at all. I won't bother you any further, I'll keep in touch." Sol said, standing slowly from his chair, using the table as support.

Sarah didn't bother saying anything back, just waved him off with her hand. Although she was trying to pick up where she left off, her mind wasn't paying any attention to the words she was reading.. She soon put the book down with a huff, frustrated with her wandering thoughts.

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