2171 Bottom of the Barrel (Part 1)

The group resumed moving, following the arrows on the map until they reached a door leading inside. Kalla studied it for a few seconds with the Eyes, making sure that opening it wouldn't trigger a silent alarm.

'Good gods!' Lith said at the sight of the empty Main Hall of the Golden Griffon.

'For someone with high standards, you are easily impressed.' Vladion looked around, finding the room as wide as it was underwhelming.

There were but a single desk and a chair as furniture. The carpets and drapes bore Thrud's banner and so did the flags hung to every column.

It portrayed a prancing Griffon like the one of the Royal family, but Thrud's was golden. It had two sets of feathered wings instead of one and one of the scepters in the Griffon's forelegs was replaced by Arthan's Sword.

'This is tacky at best.' The Firstborn had no idea that the banner depicted Thud's appearance as a Golden Griffon nor that she had achieved the white core.

'It's not that.' Lith replied. 'This place is identical to the White Griffon. If the layout of the rooms is the same, I know exactly where we have to go and how to reach it.'

'It's nice seeing you being optimistic for once, Scourge, but hold your Dragons.' Kalla put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. 'Even if the rooms' placement is the same, it doesn't mean that the same stands for their content.

'On top of that, in every academy you need a ring to move from one floor to another and we have none nor can we use the internal Gate system without giving out our position.'

'True.' Lith nodded. 'I wonder what's on the first three floors of the Golden Griffon. In my old academy, the ground floor held the administration office, the kitchens, and the living quarters for the non-magical personnel.

'From first to third students would be taught the corresponding tiers of magic, but Thrud's soldiers are either members of the Forgotten Corps or powerful Emperor Beasts. Neither of them needs to learn the basics.'

'But they still need a place where to live.' Vladion said.

'True, but you have no idea how big each floor is and the Golden Griffon didn't have that many students to start with.' Lith replied. 

'In Thrud's shoes, I would put newly Awakened on the fourth floor to teach them the basics of Spirit and true magic. On the fifth, I would put elite units to train them to perform coordinated spells and arrays like Silverwing's Bastion.

'Her Divine Beasts are likely to be in the Professors' quarters and so should be Thrud. Which means that the Forgotten are likely to be on the third floor since they have lost their minds due to the prolonged imprisonment and can't be trained in elaborate tactics.'

'Why are you worrying so much about who lives where?' Kalla asked.

'As an assistant-Professor, I was taught about the secret passages that allow people to move from one floor to another in case the power core is down or the academy is under attack.' Lith said.

'The problem is that while most of the people from the third floor and up are likely to be away to deal with the Kingdom's attack, the first two floors are likely to be crowded.

'Even if the passages I know are located in the same place as the White Griffon, they only allow you to move up one floor. I've no clue what we'll encounter on the first two floors and there's nothing scarier than the unknown.'

Kalla and Vladion nodded, taking a few seconds to study the new outlay shown by the map and ponder Lith's words.

'Thank the gods you are with us, Scourge. Without you, we would have roamed aimlessly for a long time before solving this riddle.' Kalla walked briskly, raising her gaze from the map from time to time to make sure with the Eyes that no one was coming in their direction.

'What riddle?' Kalla answered by pointing at the map.

It depicted the end of the corridor they were following and what looked like a black door with rays of light coming out of it right behind a sealed wall.

'Are those stairs?' Lith asked.

'It's the logical assumption.' The Wight replied.

'Yeah, the problem is if they go up or down. The academy has a dungeon as well.' Lith said.

'Interesting.' Vladion stopped them, pondering their next move.

'What's interesting?' Kalla failed to follow his reasoning. 'The Golden Griffon has no need to keep prisoners. After the Unwavering Loyalty array takes hold, they become students.'

'Unless it fails!' Lith said. 'I've often met undead while raiding the academy and they won't obey Thrud. She can't send them outside nor keep them around without them attacking her soldiers.'

'Why not just kill them?' Kalla shrugged.

'Because they are still immortal undead with hundreds of years of battle experience.' Vladion replied. 'They are the perfect sparring partners for her recruits and also teaching tools to learn how to dispose of different kinds of undead.

'If we find one who has retained their sanity, we would gain an ally and priceless information about what's going on.'

'That would be great, but I see many flaws in your plan.' Lith replied. 'First, we don't have the means for feeding them and Thrud is likely to keep them starved. Second, there's no telling if they won't just run away at the first opportunity they get.

'Third, whatever knowledge they hold is outdated since they can't move freely for months now. Last, but not least, we lack an extra cloaking ring. The moment we get them out of their cells, Hystar will know.'

'I'm with Scourge of this.' Kalla said. 'Revealing our presence is a liability. Also, even if we had an extra ring, Hystar is likely to notice the sudden disappearance of one of his prisoners.'

'True, but you are underestimating the will and pride of the undead.' Vladion replied. 'The Red Mother made us strong in the mind and body. I'm certain that if introduce myself, offer them food, and promise them freedom, they'll tell us everything they know.

'Like who lives on the first two floors, where the power core is, and maybe even where Meln is kept. If you don't trust my judgment, let me talk with them alone. If shit hits the ceiling, I can Spirit Warp outside and act as a diversion for you.'

Orpal's name echoed multiple times in Lith's mind, making his mouth twist in anticipation of what he would do to his brother once the main mission was over.

'Based on what I know, in order to become a student, one had to reach the Headmaster's office.' Kalla pondered.

'That's what happened to me.' Lith said.

'It's unlikely for the undead to have actually seen the power core, but they must have been to the resurrection chamber multiple times. Were they to provide us with any detail about its workings, even a temporary sabotage would greatly affect the tides of the war. I say we give Vladion a chance.'

'Agreed.' Lith didn't care about that, he was just glad to bring Kalla over and find Orpal.