About an hour later Alica wakes up and after a quick explanation of our encounter with Eclaise we head out to the library to find out everything we possibly can about Geltoech. I know he had a symbolical role in the Sorcerer war 30 years ago, but if this Viper guy intends to use it as the face of his attempted uprising I need to find out every little thing I can.
"Oh, hi," says Percy once we walk in. Alica gives him a little wave as she walks past us and the main counter, probably to set up shop in the table behind it.
"Hey," I say. "You really seem to be here all the time, I thought you said you only worked occasionally?" He fiddles with the silver ring on his left middle finger, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Yeah, well, I volunteered for more shifts," he says and laughs awkwardly. "We don't really have lessons anymore, since we're working on our final projects for most classes and with everything that's been going on I just, well, I needed something to take my mind off things."
"Ah, yes," I say with a smile. "I, too, know the necessity of a sanctuary." I can feel Gil's hand on my shoulder squeeze lightly, only for a second before it falls off, drifting along my back for a moment. Percy smiles, a little tired, or perhaps... sad.
"Well then, is there anything I can help you with today?" he asks, brushing off the feelings and plunging straight into customer service mode.
"I was planning on doing some more research on this whole Geltoech thing, just to make sure," I say.
"Sure, I'll show you some books to start with."
~x~
Some time later the library doors open. I look up from the book, as do Alica and Gil, who have been writing an essay and sketching, respectively. I can see Percy, who has returned to the front desk after giving me the books, perk up as well. The person who walks in isn't a student like we all anticipated. It's the headmaster.
"Good afternoon, Mr Maters," he says politely. Percy looks baffled.
"Good afternoon, principal," he says. "What, uh, what brings you here?"
"You, actually," says the principal and Percy seems to choke on air. The principal ignores it, or just doesn't notice. "I have a somewhat peculiar favour to ask of you." He looks around for a bit, as if to make sure there's no one around. He doesn't seem to notice us though, as there's a shelf and the front desk and Percy standing between us. "I have understood that you are academically interested in magic and its applications. Is this correct?"
"Uhhh," says Percy, rubbing his hands together, or perhaps he's playing with that ring again. "Well, I do enjoy reading about all kinds of things, magic included. But it's not really illegal, maybe just frowned upon, and it is a fascinating topic, so I never thought..."
"That's quite alright Masters, I'm not here to chastise you," the principal intervenes. The tension in Percy's shoulders goes nowhere. "In fact quite the opposite. There has been certain events that have made me realize that it's vital for us to understand magic better in the school. I'm sure you if anyone knows the percentage of people with potential for magic in the general populace and hence the student body. And we, as a school, must make sure that all and every student feels safe and comfortable in these halls, regardless of their natural capabilities."
"Oh," says Percy. "Okay? What exactly do you need me to do?"
"I want you to teach me, and two other teachers, the basics of magic and how it manifests in people. How having magic affects someone and how to, well, how to control it. For the safety of the students, of course."
"Well, um... I'm not sure, I, uh..."
"Of course I'm not going to force you to do anything you'd be uncomfortable with," the principal hurries to add. "But it would be great help in making sure nothing bad happens at the Academia."
I can only see the side of Percy's face, but I know he's uncomfortable already. It's written in the line of his shoulders. He fidgets for a while more and then sighs.
"I guess I can try to help," he relents. The principal smiles.
"Thank you, Masters," he says. "You are doing a great service to the school, and perhaps even the kingdom. We will come by later, if that's alright with you?"
Percy nods and then the principal is off, with a loud bang as the door slams closed. Percy stands there helplessly for a while before deflating and dropping onto the counter face first. I get up and walk around the shelf to him.
"You okay?" I ask. He looks up at me with one eye. He's frowning.
"I don't know what I'm doing," he admits quietly. He look well and truly lost, poor thing.
"Don't worry, you'll figure it out," I say and pat him on the back. "You're one of the smartest and most resourceful guys I know. With a great sense of morals, too. You'll find the right thing to do, eventually."
"I wish," he mumbles into his elbow. Then he stretches up and rolls his head on his shoulders. "I just hope the principal finds it too."
"He seems like a reasonable fellow, don't you think?" I say. "I'm sure he's not planning anything stupid. I mean, he asked you to coach them! That's a smart move if I ever saw one." I pause for a moment. "I do wonder though... How much do the teachers really know? They clearly think something magical is going on, and they were probably the ones that took down all the posters yesterday... Do they know about Viper and the meeting? Did they decode the poster?"
"Probably, since they have Eclaise," says Percy. I raise my eyebrows at him. He looks like he just said something he shouldn't have. "W-well, you know," he hurries to say. "Eclaise is, is really into foreign languages, isn't he? Since he used to travel so much in the search for exotic animals and... stuff.."
That's true, although I get the feeling Percy meant more with his comment. I let it slide for now, because there is a bigger concern:
"Do you think a teacher attended the meeting?" I ask. Percy's eyes widen.
"Well, they wouldn't have gotten inside, surely? Weren't you supposed to prove your magic?" Percy says. I consider it. "How did you get in by the way? You don't have magic."
"You seem awfully sure about that," I say with a grin. Percy's mouth works like a fish trying to breathe on land. "I used my usual repertoire of observation and bullshitting. Alica essentially bullied her way in and eventually the doorman forgot Gil was even there."
"That's... neat," says Percy. "But, I find it unlikely a teacher managed to sneak their way inside. Although I suppose someone could've been posted outside.... To observe?"
"So someone could've been watching from the outside without hearing what happened inside? That's just great," I say, sarcastically.
"What do you mean?"
"Well think about it! You find out there's some kind of magical gathering happening and you see nearly 15 people with identical masks gathering inside a remote barn for a while and then see them leave without knowing that inside they all protested against the actual psychopath murderer guy. How many wrong conclusions do you think you can pull from that, huh? At worst the teachers think there's a dozen full fledged sorcerers running around, who all belong in a crazy cult trying to take over the world, when it's all actually one scrawny guy with grandiose illusions about his own power and a screwed up world view."
For most of my little speech Percy has been fiddling with the ring again, spinning it around and around in his finger. He looks conflicted, like he wants to protest, but has nothing to say. Sometimes I feel really sorry for the guy. I sigh.
"Let's just hope that they don't do anything stupid or irreversible before we can figure out a way to stop this madness," I say. Percy nods but doesn't look me in the eye. I suppose I should let him be for a while. I clap him on the shoulder. "I'm gonna get back to my book. If you want to talk about something, I'll be right there."
Back at the table I exchange a look with Gil. Of course they heard everything. He seems concerned, but determined. I take his hand in mine for a moment and squeeze it, but then let him get back to his drawing. Alica looks determined too and she nods at me when I look at her. I nod back and get back to the book.
There's a lot of lore to catch up on.
________________________________________________________________
Dear god. I don't know why this was so hard to get done. It's kinda bleh but it gets the job done and I guess it wasn't a particularly cheery chapter to begin with.
Our timetable is kinda fucked now though, but I'll try to be faster with the next one. Two more posts for you dad! Your topic issssss "Seed".
Pie out.
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