8 Chapter 8: The Augur
When I woke up, I felt great. Not the greatest I've ever felt, but considering the current state of my body, it was pretty acceptable.
While sitting on the bed, I remember everything that happened the past few days. Am I really getting my body back after such a short amount of time? I hear a knock on the wooden door that is the entrance to my room.
["Yeah, who's this?"]
[Auru: "It's me, Auru. I just wanted to tell you, we'll be having breakfast."]
["Coming!"]
I got up and got dressed. Afterward, I left the room, thinking about what I might get for breakfast.
["EHHHH?! What demonic arts did you use to craft this abomination?"]
Reiner prepared a special "northern-style" breakfast for us. Apparently, the northerners eat calf liver with potato bread in the morning. This abomination is then topped by mint sauce??? What is wrong with those people? Can't they eat bread or something like normal humans?
[Auru: "Come on, Mr. Igni, it's rude to say such things!"]
["B- But..."]
Grinla, who had already stuffed the whole liver in her mouth, wanted to say something but choked on it and began to cough.
[Grinla: "Guh huhu! I think it's very delicious!"]
She nodded with a satisfied expression.
Reiner stood next to her and grinned happily.
["Ughh, fine, I'll try it..."]
I cut off a piece of the cooked liver on my plate, poked it with my fork, and put it in my mouth.
Its taste was hearty and full. It wasn't that bad, but the stench... The stench made the consumption of the liver almost impossible!
After I gulped down the rest of it, the others looked at me with surprise.
["WHAT?!"]
[Grinla: "Nothing, I just didn't expect you to finish it."]
["Hmpf!"]
After the others finished their breakfast, Reiner showed us around the city and the magical academy. The magical academy was a massive structure forged into the side of a nearby mountain.
It was like a sore thumb between the snow-covered mountaintops because the golden dome-like roof of the entrance reflected the light like a watchtower. This golden dome was held up by large marble pillars, which seemed to overflow with magical energy.
Behind the main entrance was a large white bridge. It had light blue-colored tiles, which decorated the walkway to the main building of the magical academy. The main building was also in prestige white, but the roof wasn't golden. It was a greyish blue and had a large hole in the middle, which let the sunlight enter the central yard.
The central yard held a variety of different herbs used to brew potions and alchemical substances.
On our way to Reiner's office, we met some of Reiner's students, who greeted him happily. Some of the students were Beastfolk and Elves, but the thing which surprised me the most was the single orc amongst his humanoid peers.
The door to Reiner Xentilon's office was old oak wood, which seemed to have aged for centuries. The door handle was made of a brass-like metal through which magic flowed. On the rear end of the office was a large window, which took in the entire wall. Just before the window was his desk located. On it was a globe, some vials filled with strange colored liquids and some paperwork, presumably magical scriptures. The room was lit by a silver chandelier in the center of the room and some candles.
The wooden walls were decorated with large heads of stuffed beasts, such as bears and direwolves. There was even a griffin among them.
Reiner sat down on a big luxurious chair.
[Reiner: "Take a seat."]
We sat down on the previously prepared chairs.
[Reiner: "Let's get straight to business. What is the item you want me to locate for you?"]
["Well, it's not really one object. Nore so the fragments of one broken item. We are in search of the fragments of the Mirror of Quentin."]
[Reiner: "The *Mirror of Quentin* you say... You do realize that this is no easy task. But even that isn't the biggest problem. It's the fact that the *Church of the Twelve* has declared it a forbidden artifact.
For what reason, I do not know. But keeping this in mind, I will help you to find ONE of the fragments. I am only doing so because you are acquaintances of one of my dear students."]
[Unonamously: "Thank you very much, we appreciate it!"]
[Reiner: "So then, to locate something of this caliber, we'll need a medium I can reed into. Such as the corpse of a goat... No, a goat wouldn't have enough magical power for an artifact of Quentin.
We'll need at least some kind of draconic creature. A lizardman should suffice."]
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Reiner POV:
Reiner had never thought that he would do something like locating a forbidden item. Ever since he became a mage, he wanted but one thing. All Reiner wanted was a peaceful life. But oh, well, since it was to the benefit of one of his most promising student's siblings, he would make an exception. An on top of all of this, the item was part of one of Quentin's relics.
How interesting.
What would that little imp do with a relic from ancient times?
The mirror of the Magician God himself. Could that imp possibly try to achieve the truth behind the creation of magic?
All this Reiner did not know, but he did know, that no one should possess an entire forbidden item, for something terrible ought to happen.
This led to his decision to guide them to only one piece.
Reiner told his guests to wait while he gets the ingredients needed for the augurs ritual.
For an hour, he had been searching the marketplace for any suitable specimen, and finally, he found one!
It was a large lizardman with white scaled and red eyes. It's a rare breed amongst them. The rare coloration was a sign of its high magic, so he bought it and brought it back to his office.
Reiner POV End
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After Reiner told us that he needed a life lizardman, he went away for about an hour. We waited in his office patiently.
[Reiner: "I've found our not-so-lucky sacrifice! A rare lizardman!"]
He grinned excitedly and made his desk clean. Then he covered it with a large white blanket to keep his desk clean.
Then he laid the shackled lizardman down on the desk.
[Reiner: "Alright then. This is going to be messy, so the faint of heart should cover their eyes."]
Auru covered her eyes as Reiner pulled a large butcher's knife out of his pocket. He laid the edge of the blade down right on the lizardman's spine and struck deep into its flesh. The lizardman screamed in pain as Reiner proceeded to cut along its spinal cord, right from his neck to its tail. It was a bloody and unsightly procedure that took 30 minutes. After that, he laid the meat flaps to the side. Then he ran his fingers over the meat which he had so carefully separated. He clöosed his eyes and began to mumble:
[Reiner: " ... a Jungle? No. A forest! Not far from the royal capital. A gigantic tree, luscious fruits, hanging from it! *Nirva Forest*!
Yes, that's it!"]
He opened his eyes and looked at us.
[Reiner: "The first shard is at *Nirva Forest*!]
After saying our goodbyes to Reiner, Auru wanted to meet her sister.
