Winds of Magic Chapter 10

 

Chapter 10

“Forthier’s Club is an organization that somehow managed to get onto the campus registry without going through the student council,” said Illya. “Most likely because it was commissioned by a big donor. They are a club who are dedicated towards researching ancient eldritch god-abominations. We were told that their research is purely look-see, not actual ceremonies. However, that does not seem to be the case.”

“So they have Tally?” I said.

“Tally?” said Illya.

“She’s Jade’s friend,” said Rei. “She was captured in a sepulcheria to be the maiden sacrifice to awaken a god named Almog.”

“Right,” said Illya. “That helps. But in any case, the moment we began an investigation into the club, they disappeared. All mention of them in our records was scrubbed.”

“A deletion?” said Rei. “Did they get everything?”

“All of it,” said Illya. “It’s as if they neve existed. I’m worried that this means their plans are advancing.”

“What do you suspect they plan to do?” I asked.

“I do not know,” said Illya. “But I have a hunch. I believe they may be trying to awaken the god you just mentioned. Almog.”

“Malcom and Galmor were trying the same thing,” said Rei.

“You remember their names?” said Illya.

“Of course,” said Rei. “They tried to kill us.”

“In any case,” said Illya, “We have to stop them. They should still be somewhere on campus. Rei, since you’re the sheriff, you need to coordinate a search for their hideout.”

“What if they’re not still on campus?” said Rei.

“Rockwell is built on a powerful ley line,” said Illya. “If they were to awaken an eldritch god then this would be the best place to do it.”

“Okay,” said Rei, standing up. “I’m going to go do some work.” She nodded at Jade. “Please, don’t hurry to finish.”

She smiled at me and then turned around, leaving the cafeteria.

Jade finished her meal and stood up as well. “I’m going to class,” she said.

It was just me and Illya. Illya tapped her fingers on the table with an annoyed look on her face. “You became captain of the curling auxiliary team,” she said. “How are you going to balance that with your work on the student council?”

“I have no problems with a heavy workload,” I said. “I’m used to doing a lot of things at once.”

“Well, I’ll believe your assessment of your own ability,” said Illya. “But I have to ask. How did you win a Kamigeki against a First-rated third year?”

“He was doing stims,” I said. “My cancellation spell just happened to resonate and cause brain knock.”

“No, I’m not asking about what happened to him,” said Illya. “I’m asking about the spell you used. What do you mean, cancellation spell? I’ve never seen a casting device capable of shooting one off so fast. Usually you’re required to cast an analysis spell first. That’s why no one ever uses them, especially not those who scored so low on the casting speed portion of the practical exam.”

I sighed. There was nothing I could do except explain my methods. “I developed a passive analysis enchantment attached to my casting device,” I said.

“You?” said Illya. “Developed a game-changing enchantment on your own?”

“I had a bit of help, but yes.”

“Do you know how much people will pay for something like that?” said Illya.

“I did sell it to Mephistus,” I said.

“The military contractor?” said Illya. “Hum. You’re more connected than I gave you credit for. I knew you had some cards up your sleeve, but this? Wow.”

I shrugged. “It’s just something I do. I’m a Siege programmer on the side.”

“And I knew that,” said Illya. “But what you’ve done is special.” She pursed her lips. “I should have known that something was off about your evaluation.”

“The practical exam takes measurements of output, casting speed, and durability. On all of those counts, I do not do well.”

“Then they should change it,” said Illya. “I sense something about you that can’t be described.”

I turned away. “Don’t. I have some things that need to be kept secret.”

Illya put her hand on my arm. “I’m not looking to pry.”

We were silent for a while. Then Illya spoke again. “In any case, we have to work out how to track Fortheir’s Club. Rei is on the beat but we have to back her up.” She stood up. “We’re going to do some snooping.”

I stood up as well, offering to take away Illya’s plate. She hadn’t eaten much and I ended up throwing away almost an entire meal.

“About this Tally,” said Illya, walking beside me as we left the cafeteria. “What do you know about her?”

“I don’t know anthing,” I said. “She’s Jade’s friend. I just agreed to help look for her.”

“We’ll look into her first,” said Illya. We took a turn towards the student council room.

Roy approached from a different direction. “Ah, the triumphant returns,” he said, joining us. “Congratulations on winning your first Kamigeki.”

“You heard?” I said.

“It’s all over social media,” said Roy. He turned to Illya. “What’s on the agenda?”

“We’re going to look into the kidnapping of someone who we believe to be a maiden sacrifice for the resurrection of Almog,” said Illya.

“Almog?” said Roy. “I don’t recognize the name.”

“I’ve researched him a bit,” said Illya, “And I know he’s a minor eldritch deity that caused an A-class magic disaster twenty years ago.”

“Ah, during the war?” said Roy.

“Exactly,” said Illya. She paused. “I think the library contains newspapers and articles from that time. We’ll have to look into those as well.”

We entered the student council building and settled in the office. Illya opened up her console and began doing general searches.

I sat down across from her and started my own research. Tally Sea was a high school junior who had gone missing two weeks ago. She was reported to have been involved with the cultist incident on the Pearlash estate, but had not been recovered. Police were holding out a reward for anyone who could lead to her recovery. What we knew would probably help the police.

“I think we should come with this to the proper authorities,” I said.

“I agree,” said Illya. She typed something into her console. “My uncle is a detective with the magic investigations bureau. I’ll arrange a meeting at the school police office.” She continued typing. “He wants to meet us in an hour,” she said.

“Then we’ll be there,” I said. I did a search on a website that indexed eldritch deities. It was more of a wiki, but at the very least it was a start. The article was a stub.  

“Almog. Minor blood god of diluvian ancestry. Power level is rank five. In 2054 caused a class A disaster in the Portman City area. Noted for being the first of its genus to be sealed with the Hybrid Protocol.”

I clicked the cross link for “hybrid protocol.”

“Hybrid Protocol. A method for the sealing of lesser deities and greater devils and demons that was introduced by Harriot Singh in 2047. Has been used hundreds of times. Harriot has been awarded the Christianson Prize for his work on the subject.”

The article continued on about the history and technicalities of the protocol. There was nothing on how to break a being from the seal.

“It’s obvious that Forthier’s Club has discovered a way to break the seal of a god trapped by Hybrid Protocol,” I said.

“Ah, you’re on the same track I am,” said Illya. “I believe the Hybrid Protocol has been broken once before.”

“I wasn’t able to find that,” I said.

“I have some clearance as the student council president,” said Illya. She sent me a link.

The news article was dated January 5^th, 2054.

“Almog awakened! Half the city has been iced!”

The article continued to detail the rampage of the god, as well as how he was finally captured by brave magic warriors. At the end, there was a tiny but consequential addition. “He may be safe for now under the Hybrid Protocol, but it has been broken before. We may just have to wait and see.”

There was nothing else. No sources. Nothing to indicate it was more than just vapid hot air spouted by a reporter.

“That’s it?” I said.

“Yep,” said Illya.

We spent the next hour on a fruitless search for information. When it was time, we stood up and left the student council room to head to the police building. Roy stayed behind to work on other student council business.

We entered the police building and were greeted by a familiar face. Detective Laymon.

“Hello, uncle,” said Illya.

“You again,” said Detective Laymon, a curt smile on his face.

“You’ve met?” said Illya.

“At the Pearlash estate. When we arrested those two cultists.”

“Ah, I see,” said Illya. “Well then, that saves the need for an introduction. We’ve found some evidence that you didn’t arrest all the people involved.”

“Do tell,” said Detective Laymon.

“We discovered a hidden club here on campus known as Forthier’s Club,” said Illya.

“And we think they may be trying to awaken Almog,” I said.

Detective Laymon took off his hat and wiped his forehead. “Good heavens,” he said. “I’ve had work for days regarding those Almog cultists.” He paused. “I’d appreciate any new information.”

“About Tally Sea,” I said. “What do you know?”

“We’ve had an offer for information to the tip line for a week now and haven’t gotten any closer to finding her or the sepulcheria,” said Detective Laymon. He sat down. “But that’s not the big development. The big development is that our interrogations of the multiple suspects has revealed that this is probably an organization. Probably what you just referred to as Forthier’s Club.”

“Can we work together?” said Illya. “This is a matter that also concerns the student council.”

“Of course,” said Detective Laymon. “At the very least, we can share information.” He paused. “However, if you do find out that they have an evil secret lair, please leave the storming of the castle to the professionals.” He looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Please.”

I sighed. “Yeah. It wasn’t my idea to get involved like that in the fist place.” I paused for a minute. “Hey,” I said. I took off my backpack and rummaged through it. The flash drive. It was still there. I showed it to Detective Laymon. “I found this under a lake. It had a resonating frequency that was very close to what I felt when I was near the cultists.”

Detective Laymon gingerly took hold of the flash drive. “Thanks,” he said, turning it over. “I’ll have my team analyze it.” He slid it into his pocket and turned to look at Illya. “Anything else I need to know?” he said.

Illya shook her head. “I already sent you all the information in a debrief email. I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”

“Then we’ll be in contact,” said Detective Laymon.

Illya nodded and then turned around. “Come with me,” she said.

Detective Laymon tipped his hat as we left the building.

Illya led me to hidden-away place on campus that was hemmed in by a building, a small garden of placid shrubbery where no one could see.

“I need to ask you something,” she said. “What is your relation to Jade?”

“Why do you ask?” I said.

“Because it’s through her that you got involved with all this cult nonsense,” said Illya. “I feel she holds you in a different regard than you hold her.”

“I’m not very good at telling people’s emotions,” I said. “If you want to know, ask Jade herself.”

Illya sighed, turning away. “I hired you for a reason. Now that reason is showing itself. Rockwell is corrupt, York. Things beyond this stupid Forthier’s Club are happening and I want to be the person to stop it, or at least unmask the horrors hidden within this academy.”

I stepped forward. “I’ll help,” I said. “I promise I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks, York,” said Illya. She turned around and kissed me on the cheek, pulling away shyly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”