Chapter 7: The Mage from the Ivory Tower (Part 1)
Location: The Servant's Quarters, Arken Estate.
Time: 6:30 AM.
Condition: Starving (Curse Active).
Hunger.
It wasn't the dull ache of malnutrition that Ren was used to. This was a sharp, clawing emptiness that felt like a wild animal was trying to chew its way out of his stomach.
Ren sat on the edge of his bunk in the loft, clutching his midsection. The [Gauntlets of the Starving Wolf] were invisible under his sleeves, but their curse was very real.
"Calories," Ren gasped. "It burns calories to fuel the enchantment."
He grabbed the remaining half of the dried lamb leg he had stolen two nights ago. It was rock hard and cold. He tore into it, chewing with a manic speed that scared him slightly. He swallowed the meat in chunks.
[ Satiety: 15% -> 40% ]
[ Hunger Debuff: Reduced to 'Moderate'. ]
He needed more. But there was no time.
Outside, the estate bell was ringing. It wasn't the slow, rhythmic toll for wake-up. It was the rapid, high-pitched clanging of an Emergency Assembly.
"All servants to the Main Courtyard!" Gable's voice bellowed from below. "Move! If you're late, you get the lash!"
Ren wiped the grease from his mouth. He pulled his servant's tunic straight. He checked his Inventory. The Shiv was there. The loot was there.
He checked his hand. The [Ring of the False Null] was active.
He checked his aura. [Shadow Veil] was off.
"I am just a stable boy," Ren recited the mantra. "I am a Null. I am invisible."
He climbed down the ladder and joined the stream of terrified servants rushing toward the courtyard.
Location: The Main Courtyard.
Weather: Overcast, threatening snow.
The courtyard was packed. Scullery maids, gardeners, grooms, and cooks stood in rigid lines. The atmosphere was thick with tension.
Standing on the steps of the manor was Duke Valerius Arken. He looked displeased. His arms were crossed, and his expression was one of barely contained irritation.
But the servants weren't looking at the Duke. They were looking at the man standing next to him.
He was tall and gaunt, wearing the deep violet robes of the Royal Academy of Magic. His head was shaved smooth, and his skin was pale as parchment. He held a staff made of white bone, topped with a floating orb that looked like a bloodshot eye.
[ Analytical Eye ]
[ Name: Inquisitor Voss ]
[ Class: High Mage (Divination Specialist) ]
[ Level: 35 ]
[ Affiliation: The Ivory Tower (Disciplinary Committee) ]
[ Danger Level: Fatal ]
Ren lowered his head instantly. Level 35. He could vaporize this entire crowd with a thought.
"Three days ago," Voss spoke. His voice was nasally and high, like a reed instrument played badly. "An anomaly occurred during the Awakening Ceremony here. A stone was destroyed. Energy was stolen."
He walked down the steps, the bone staff clicking on the stone.
"The Academy believes this was not an accident," Voss continued. "We believe a Leech is hiding among you. Someone who uses forbidden arts to drain mana."
The servants whispered. A Leech? That was a term for dark wizards who stole power from others. It was punishable by death by burning.
"I will scan every single one of you," Voss smiled thin, bloodless lips. "If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear. If you are hiding power..."
The eye on his staff spun wildly.
"Line up."
Ren stood in the back row, sandwiched between Gable and a trembling laundry maid. His mind raced.
The Ring of the False Null hides my core. But does it hide the residue?
He had been in a dungeon last night. He had killed monsters. He was wearing a Cursed Artifact. He was radiating magical traces like a lighthouse.
He needed to dampen it.
Think. The Archive.
Ren closed his eyes for a split second. He searched the Index.
[ Search Query: Masking magical residue. ]
[ Result: 'The Beggar's Cloak' technique. ]
[ Method: Roll in the earth. Physical filth masks ethereal scents. ]
It was crude. But he was in a stable.
Ren pretended to stumble. He fell to his knees, directly into a pile of mud and horse droppings that hadn't been swept yet.
"Watch it, clumsy!" Gable hissed, kicking him.
Ren scrambled up, coating his hands and his tunic in the muck. He rubbed his hands on his pants, grinding the dirt into the leather of the invisible Gauntlets.
"Disgusting," Voss sneered, stopping in front of the first row.
The scanning began.
Voss held the eye-staff in front of a maid. The eye glowed green. "Clean."
Next. A gardener. Green. "Clean."
Next. A guard. Green. "Clean."
He moved efficiently. He was getting closer to the back row.
Ren regulated his heartbeat. Thump... thump... thump.
Voss reached the back row.
He stopped in front of Gable. The eye spun.
"You reek of ale," Voss muttered. "But your mana is negligible. Clean."
Gable let out a sob of relief.
Voss took a step. He was now standing in front of Ren.
The Inquisitor looked down. He saw a small, dirty boy smelling of manure and rot. He saw the grey eyes staring at the ground.
Voss raised the staff. The bloodshot eye stared at Ren.
Ren held his breath. He pushed mana into the Ring, overcharging its stealth function.
Hummmmm.
The eye on the staff spun. It didn't glow green.
It glowed Yellow.
Voss froze.
"Yellow?" Voss murmured. "Interference?"
The crowd went silent. The Duke stepped forward. "What is it, Inquisitor?"
"There is... static," Voss said, narrowing his eyes. He leaned closer to Ren. "Boy. Look at me."
Ren slowly raised his head. He made his eyes wide and watery, forcing tears to gather in the corners.
"P-please, sir," Ren stammered. "I didn't steal anything."
Voss ignored the plea. He reached out with a bony hand. "You have a strange aura. It smells of... emptiness. Yet the staff detects a disturbance."
He was reaching for Ren's chest. If he touched him, he might bypass the Ring.
Ren's muscles tensed. I have the Shiv. I can take his eye out. But the Duke will kill me instantly.
Just as Voss's fingers were inches from Ren's tunic...
"Inquisitor!"
A voice boomed from the manor entrance.
Voss stopped. He turned.
Walking down the steps was Caelum. But he wasn't alone. He was holding a jagged, black rock.
"I found it!" Caelum shouted, holding the rock up triumphantly. "I found the source of the interference!"
Voss straightened up, losing interest in the dirty stable boy. "Show me."
Caelum ran down the stairs. He presented the rock. It was a chunk of Mana-Coal, raw and unrefined, leaking unstable energy.
"I found this hidden in the servant's latrine!" Caelum announced loudly. "Someone was trying to smuggle it!"
Voss took the coal. The eye on his staff turned a bright, angry Red.
"Raw Mana-Coal," Voss said. "highly unstable. This would disrupt any sensory spell within fifty feet."
He glared at the servants. "Who hid this?"
Silence.
"It was likely a thief," the Duke said, bored. "Trying to steal fuel. Inquisitor, does this satisfy your curiosity?"
Voss looked at the coal, then back at Ren. The static was explained by the coal. The boy was just a dirty distraction.
"It seems so," Voss scoffed. He wiped his hand on a handkerchief, disgusted that he had almost touched Ren. "Very well. The investigation is inconclusive. But I will leave the Eye-Wards active. If anyone uses unauthorized magic, I will know."
Voss turned and walked back up the stairs.
Ren let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
He looked at Caelum.
Caelum was basking in the praise of his father. But for a split second, Caelum looked past the Duke and locked eyes with Ren.
He winked.
Ren froze.
He didn't find that coal, Ren realized. He planted it.
Caelum had just saved him.
But why?
Location: Behind the Stables.
Time: 10:00 AM.
Ren was shoveling hay when Caelum appeared. The young noble was alone this time. No guards.
Ren stopped shoveling. He leaned on the handle.
"Why?" Ren asked.
Caelum leaned against the wooden post, crossing his arms. The arrogance was still there, but the childish cruelty was gone, replaced by something sharper.
"You embarrassed me yesterday," Caelum said. "You put my face in shit."
"Accidentally," Ren said.
"Don't lie to me," Caelum snapped. "I replayed it in my head a thousand times. You moved before I swung. You hooked my leg with precision."
Caelum took a step closer.
"You aren't a Null, are you?"
Ren gripped the shovel. "I broke the stone, Caelum. You saw it."
"I saw the stone die," Caelum corrected. "Voss thinks it was a malfunction. I think... you ate it."
Ren said nothing. The air between them was heavy.
"If I told Voss that," Caelum whispered, "He would dissect you. He would peel your skin off to see what makes you tick."
"So why didn't you?" Ren asked quietly.
Caelum looked away, toward the manor where his father sat on the throne.
"Because Father hates you," Caelum said. "He treats you like garbage. And for years, I tried to be like him. I thought if I kicked the dog, he would pat my head."
Caelum spat on the ground.
"But yesterday... when he heard I lost to a stable boy... he didn't get angry. He laughed. He said I was weak."
Caelum looked back at Ren, his blue eyes burning with a desperate ambition.
"I hate him, Ren. I hate him more than I hate you."
Ren relaxed his grip on the shovel slightly. The enemy of my enemy...
"What do you want?" Ren asked.
"I'm going to the Academy next year," Caelum said. "I need to be strong. Stronger than Lyra. Stronger than Father."
He pointed at Ren.
"You know how to fight. You know how to hurt people. Teach me."
Ren stared at him. "You want the stable boy to train the Noble?"
"I want the person who killed a Goblin Warrior to train me," Caelum dropped the bomb.
Ren stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I saw the mud on your boots this morning," Caelum smirked. "It's red clay. Only found in the deep forest. You went out last night. You came back alive. And you walk like a predator."
Caelum extended his hand.
"Train me. Help me become the heir he fears. And in exchange... I keep your secret. I keep Voss away from you."
[ Quest Triggered: The Unlikely Alliance ]
[ Objective: Accept Caelum as a disciple. ]
[ Reward: Access to the Arken Family Library (Physical). ]
[ Reward: Safe Cover within the Estate. ]
[ Failure Consequence: Caelum reveals your secret to the Inquisition. ]
Ren looked at the hand. It was soft, manicured. But the grip was steady.
Ren sighed. He needed cover. He needed access to the main house. And having the Duke's son as a shield was better than living in the shadows.
Ren reached out. He shook Caelum's hand.
"Training starts at midnight," Ren said. "Bring a wooden sword. And Caelum?"
"What?"
"If you complain, I will hit you."
Caelum grinned. It was the first genuine smile Ren had seen on him.
"Deal."
End of Chapter 7 - Part 1
Summary of Events:
The Crisis: Ren is nearly caught by Inquisitor Voss during a mana scan.
The Save: Caelum interrupts the scan by producing a chunk of Mana-Coal, distracting the Inquisitor and saving Ren.
The Confrontation: Caelum confronts Ren. He reveals he knows Ren isn't a normal Null and suspects Ren is strong.
The Motive: Caelum hates his father (The Duke) for mocking him. He wants to get stronger to spite him.
The Deal: Caelum blackmails/asks Ren to train him in secret. In exchange, Caelum provides cover.
Quest Accepted: Ren agrees to train Caelum, gaining a powerful (albeit volatile) ally.