In the suit of the Spire of Sages, Ray sat alone at the dining hall. On his plate, a perfectly seared cut of steak sat untouched.

  Ray sat there holding a knife and fork but it was idle, he was in deep thought.

  It has been more than a week now since the audit concluded. The majority of the people in the academy had no idea that it had survived an audit from a high inquisitor and that Ray had something to do about it. Life continued its organized chaotic rhythm for everyone else, but for Ray, the silence was deafening.

  He had not heard from Kaelen yet.

  This third understudy of his has not visited him even if he had already sent word that she can visit him in his suit after she sent him a letter with the intent to visit him to talk about something. But Kaelen was still a no show.

  Veteran: “Radio silence is never an accident. In the field, silence isn't golden. It’s a target designator.”

  The Grizzled Veteran growled, the voice sounding like boots crunching on gravel in Ray’s mind

  Courtier: “It is unlike her, for someone as capable as her that managed to break in the Spire’s wards before and visit you, but now she says she will visit formally but fail to show up? Something is not right here.”

  The Scheming Courtier added, his tone silky but edged with paranoia.

  Ray put down his knife and fork. The metal clattered against the plate.

  "Captain Svane."

  In the corner of the room shifted. Sergeant Svane stepped forward.

  "Yes, Lord Croft."

  "We’re going for a walk,"

  Ray said, standing up and grabbing his coat.

  "I want to visit a friend of ours."

  The hallways of the Senior Wing were quieter than the rest of the school, filled with students who were too busy stressing over their classes to gossip.

  Ray and Svane stopped in front of a room on the fourth floor of the senior dorms.

  Ray knocked. The sound echoed flatly.

  No answer.

  "Captain?"

  Ray asked quietly.

  Svane closed his eyes, tilting his head slightly. His cheek twitched as he extended his senses.

  "No movement inside, I do not detect any presence."

  Ray placed his hand on the door. He wanted to confirm Svane’s findings. He used the Serene Cultivator’s ‘Aetheric Perception’ skill.

  The world turned into a greyscale wireframe. Ray looked through the wood of the door. The room beyond was a void. He could not detect any life force in the room.

  "There is no one inside indeed,"

  Ray said, taking his hand off the door.

  "Could she maybe still be in class?"

  Svane suggested, though his hand rested near the hilt of his sword.

  "No, I know her schedule for this year, her class is scheduled for this afternoon.”

  Ray muttered.

  "Let's ask the neighbors."

  They spent the next twenty minutes canvassing the hallway. It was a study in contrasts: Svane, with his huge figure in his attendant attire, would terrify the students into opening their doors, and Ray, wearing the gentle mask of the concerned junior looking for her sister, would ask the questions.

  "I haven't seen her since Tuesday,"

  a terrified Alchemy student squeaked, eyeing Svane’s sword.

  "She... she was carrying a bag,"

  another said.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "It looked like she was in a hurry."

  Finally, three doors down, they found a third-year boy who looked shifty even before Ray spoke. When Svane glared at him, the boy nearly swallowed his own tongue.

  "I…I didn't steal anything!"

  the boy yelped.

  "We aren't here for theft,"

  Ray said smoothly.

  "We're here looking for a friend of mine, Senior Kaelen Thorne."

  The boy froze. His eyes narrowed then a realization showed on his face.

  "Ahh, so she meant you, she said that if a boy with golden hair comes looking for her, I should give the package to that person.”

  The boy scrambled back into his room and returned a moment later with a parcel wrapped in plain brown paper. He shoved it into Ray’s hands as if it were burning.

  "She gave me fifty academy marks to hold on to it! I didn't open it, I swear!"

  "Thank you Senior!"

  Ray said, receiving the parcel.

  Back in Ray’s suit in the Spire of Sages, Ray placed the parcel on his desk in the study. Rina brought him a cup of tea, sensing the tension in the room, and retreated back to the kitchen.

  Ray tore the paper.

  Inside was a book: ‘The History of Solhaven’s Trade Routes.’ It was a dry, boring text that Kaelen had recommended to him before in one of their many short encounters to help him understand logistics and supply lines.

  Ray opened it. Tucked inside the front cover was a single sheet of parchment.

  It was blank.

  Veteran: "A blank piece of paper? Is this a joke?"

  The Grizzled Veteran reacted in his mind.

  No,

  Ray said, his eyes narrowing.

  It's tradecraft.

  Ray responded internally.

  He activated the Arcane Scribe’s ‘Runic Sight’ skill, to try and see if there were any hidden runes in the paper. The result was negative. No hidden runes.

  He then activated the Gritty Detective’s ‘Forensic Acuity’ skill, Ray lifted the paper to his nose. He smelled the faint, acidic tang of lemon juice and weak alchemical solvent. He held it up to the light; the texture was stiff where liquid had dried.

  Detective: “‘Sympathetic Ink, Classic. Low-tech, un-hackable by mana sensors. Needs heat.”

  The Gritty Detective grunted.

  Ray snapped his fingers, producing a small flame in his finger. He held the parchment carefully over the flame, moving it back and forth to avoid scorching the paper.

  Slowly, brown letters began to burn into existence.

  Ray read the message, his voice growing colder with every word.

  "Ray,

  My father found out about the recent events that happened to me. He found out and confirmed that it was caused by the top Argent Hand operative 'K', he even found that the K used a Thorne merchant vessel to smuggle himself into the Academy. He is furious. He went to the Argent Hand’s local chapter to demand answers on why his daughter was targeted.

  That was four days ago. He hasn't sent a word since.

  I am going home to Iron-Wake Domain. I have to see if he is safe. I am sorry I couldn't visit you and say goodbye properly.

  Burn this.”

  Ray lowered the paper. The flame from his finger flickered in the silence.

  Courtier: "Her father...Demanding answers from the Argent Hand? Does the man have a death wish?"

  The Scheming Courtier exhaled sharply, shaking its head.

  “Lord Titus Thorne is a merchant lord of a Tier 3 house,"

  Ray said quietly.

  "He thinks money buys safety. He doesn't realize he's trying to negotiate with a shark while bleeding in the water."

  Ray burned the paper with the flame in his finger. He watched it turn to ash.

  "She might be walking into a bad situation,"

  Ray said.

  "If the Argent Hand silenced her father, they’re waiting for the daughter to come looking."

  Ray pulled out a small, silver object from his pocket. The Custodian Crest.

  System, Interface with the Custodian Crest.

  Ray commanded mentally.

  [INTERFACING: CUSTODIAN CREST…]

  [INTERFACE SUCCESSFUL.]

  [AUTHORIZATION LEVEL: DEPARTMENT HEAD LEVEL.]

  Ray’s mind flooded with data, streams of mana usage, warding logs, and gate transitions. It was like looking at the matrix of the Academy itself.

  System, pull up information on Kaelen Thorne.

  Ray followed up another command

  [SEARCH QUERY: THORNE, KAELEN…]

  [ACCESSING ACADEMY DATABASE...]

  Lines of text scrolled across his vision, filtering out thousands of students until only one remained.

  [RESULT FOUND]

  [Subject: Thorne, Kaelen (3rd Circle Adept, College of Arcanum).]

  [...]

  [Status: DEPARTED]

  [Time: 74 Hours Ago]

  Ray clenched his fist. Seventy-four hours. That was a three-day head start.

  He pulled up the file on House Thorne.

  Tier 3: Landed Gentry. New Money. Specialized in maritime trade and rare material imports.

  They were the Argent Hand’s many accessories. Enough wealth to infiltrate the high society of Eldoria, but politically isolated enough that no one would miss them if they disappeared.

  Ray thought of the overall situation.

  She's my Understudy, I invested in her. I cannot let the Argent Hand liquidate my insider asset.

  Ray thought, the decision solidifying in his chest.

  Veteran: “And, we don't leave our people behind.”

  We're going after her.

  Ray internally declared, standing up.

  Later on in the main hall of the suit, Ray is discussing the situation with Svane and Rina and the action he plans on doing.

  "Absolutely not,"

  Svane said.

  "Sir, my orders are to protect you here. The Iron-Wake Domain is outside the Academy's jurisdiction. It’s a dockside industrial zone. It might be the Argent Hand territory secretly"

  "Kaelen is my friend,"

  Ray countered, his voice sharp.

  "She has suffered in the hands of K because of me. She knows I’m looking into the Argent Hand. If they capture her they will definitely forcibly extract information from her, once that happens they get everything. They get me."

  Svane’s jaw tightened. He knew Ray was right. Intelligence containment was a valid military objective.

  "Then I’ll go,"

  Svane offered.

  "I can extract her. You stay here where it’s safe."

  "You're a hammer, Captain,"

  Ray said, shaking his head.

  "This requires a scalpel. If a Gold-Aegis soldier shows up kicking down doors, who knows what the Argent Hand would do. They might take hostages, worse they might execute them and vanish. I need to see their operation up close."

  "It’s too dangerous,"

  Svane insisted.

  "I'm not asking for permission, Captain,"

  Ray said, his voice dropping an octave, channeling the Grizzled Veteran’s ‘Command Aura’ skill, emitting absolute authority.

  "I'm informing you as a courtesy. I am going."