Calling on an Expert

Moving back to her desk chair, Noble glanced at the analysis on the [Portcullis Key] one more time.

"Bee Two, can you make any sense of this?"

The android raised one eyebrow at the professor. "I have given you all I can. Would you like me to divert my computing power from my other directive to this one?"

"No!—I mean no I do not want anything taken away from your other directive. Have you made any progress on that front?" The professor stared hopefully at her robotic companion.

"There is no new information on the gate which opened in the city center. I actually find the lack of information to be an anomaly." Bee Two paused. "Would you like me to dig into the government records? I still have access to some of the databases."

Noble bit her lip. She had been trying to obtain the information about the gate for weeks with no progress. Something was not right. She rubbed her head.

"Don't do anything illegal, but I would appreciate it if you would poke around." 

Since the android still had permission to use the databases, accessing them wasn't inherently wrong, but checking in too many of the wrong places might have that privilege revoked. It was a delicate balance. 

"Try to spread your inquiries over the next twelve hours or more," the professor added, "Doing it all at once will raise a flag or two." 

"Of course." Bee Two began to back away. With a dip of the head, the android returned to the hidden alcove in the classroom and shut the door.

Left alone, Noble closed her eyes and dove into her Soul Sea. 'Time to get a closer look at this Memory.' 

The professor stood on a tranquil shore. The water shimmered with the same polychromatic sheen as her mysterious eyes.

 Overhead, her bright soul core was surrounded by many lesser lights all swirling around the nexus of her very being. The entire sea and all around it were suffused with a warm light. If Earth were bathed in such overwhelming brilliance, it would bake until burnt, but Noble found the light comforting, welcoming even. 

Squinting slightly, the woman looked for the newest addition to her Soul Sea, and without having to say a word, it floated down toward her and materialized before her eyes. 

Although Noble had experienced discomfort when Cat displayed it before, the professor now sensed intense foreboding coming off of the otherwise unassuming ball. 

'Hmm.' She tried to intuitively find a way to make the ball do something. Anything. But it lay still and lifeless. No strings pulled at her consciousness to give her any instruction. 'Very strange. I'll have to mess with it more later.'

With barely a thought, runes shimmered in front of Noble's perception. 

'Huh?'

[Name: Portcullis Key}

[Rank: ???]

[Type: ???]

[Description: ??? entrance.] 

It was just as Catphine had described, though Noble had one additional word to work with than her student had provided. Maybe it was because the professor had a better knowledge of the runic language or maybe Cat hadn't found the single word worth mentioning. 

"Entrance?"

 It made some sense. What was a key supposed to do but provide entrance? 

Noble looked past the Spell's translation to what was behind it. Her confusion only deepened. The runes were warped, not the clean shapes she was used to seeing. 

Some of them mimicked the readout that Bee Two had given her. Others were unlike anything Noble could adequately describe.

It was as if the original runes were overwritten but not fully erased. Like someone had changed the original purpose of the Memory.

The result was an overlay of symbols that was both messy and confusing. Only the three words which the spell had translated had remained untouched. If someone had done this, then they had left those words the same for an important reason. 

'Why would anyone do this? And how? Cat only just got this Memory, and she said it came like this…'

In her research, there were a few isolated instances where a Memory was obtained in the Dream Realm without killing a creature. Some scholars dismissed this anomaly as boasting or confusion on the part of the Awakened, but Noble was not so sure. 

'Few things about the Spell follow human rules, why should this be an exception?'

Perhaps…What if Cat had stepped on the Memory, crushed it, and absorbed it as a result? It was a strange thought, but stranger things had happened. If this were the case, then the previous owner might have done something to it to modify it. 

'Can one modify Memories in such a way?' Each possible answer brought new questions to the professor's mind. 

Clan Valor had people who could forge memories. Wasn't it very likely that someone among their ranks could alter existing ones? As the mighty Clan held the secrets of their trade tightly, it was hard to know for sure.

But it was certainly within the realm of possibilities. 

'Enough speculation. If I cannot find the answers here, I'll look in the next logical place.'

The tenebrous orb in front of her sparkled and dissipated. Above her, another star appeared in the bright sky. 

Leaving her Soul Sea, Noble opened her eyes. Back in her classroom, nothing had changed.

She didn't really need to shut her eyes while in her Soul Sea, but for her, it was safer to do that than to let the color of her eyes go haywire while she was distracted. Being constantly paranoid had kept her safe this long, and the professor planned to continue that trend.

Collecting the report on the mysterious key and placing it neatly in her bag, Noble headed into the hall in search of her long-time mentor. She left a note on her door with her information for any individual who might need her while she was away. 

'You never know when another Elle will stumble on a piece of fruit…'

The corridors were relatively empty. Most students and faculty were either at lunch or heading there.

Noble wondered if she would have better luck searching in the cafeteria first, but her gut said the gentleman would still be in his classroom studying feverishly behind his desk. 

After knowing him for more than fifteen years, Noble had developed sort of a sixth sense of where the enthusiastic teacher would be. It seldom failed her. 

Sure enough, when she drew near, voices could be heard behind the closed door. Rather than knock or barge in, Noble decided to wait and let the conversation conclude naturally. 

She did not have to wait long. The door opened, and a young man came barreling out of the room. Noble prepared to move aside when the Awakened, without even glancing her way, easily avoided her and continued down the hall. 

'Show off,' Noble thought, but part of her felt a bizarre sense of kinship with the stranger. Regrettably, she had been so focused on not slamming into him that she hadn't gotten a look at the man's face. 

Glancing over her shoulder, Noble could see his dark hair and the pale skin of his hands, but nothing else to tell her of his identity as he rushed down the corridor. 

"Professor Noble!" The happy cheer came from inside the cozy classroom. 

The woman smiled genuinely at hearing the grandfatherly teacher call her name. No matter his mood, he always greeted her with warmth. 

The lively old man ran his fingers through his messy grey hair. "Come in, come in!" 

His normally absentminded eyes were focused on his guest as he ushered her in the door and offered a friendly hug. 

Pulling away after the embrace, the lady dipped her head to her senior. "It's always a pleasure to see you, Teacher Julius…"