Chapter 37: Beyond the University
Usually going to Professor Huen's class was nothing but a distraction, but that day Suria was anxious about what would happen. She had given her best effort on the essay she'd turned in and she thought that, even if it wasn't perfect, it showed real command of the material. Between two loops, she had read all the books that had been thrown at them and she thought she had a decent understanding.
Her greatest fear was that this had never been intended as a true challenge, but instead merely a method to capture loopers, if Professor Huen suspected there might be a time loop in play. Suria had taken great pains to focus only on subjects raised in this iteration of the course, as if she was an earnest student instead of a looper attempting to "solve" the course. She thought she had been cautious enough, but she had no idea if it would convince the professor.
She arrived at the Cerulean Sanctum, still grateful that there were no members of the Water Society to get in her way, and headed down to the classroom. Not many others were on time, so Suria simply sat down and continued reading one of the newest books they'd been assigned.
Eventually the others arrived, culminating in Professor Huen. She held up the stack of their papers and then dropped them onto the desk at the front of the classroom.
"I can see that I've overestimated your foundation once again," she said sternly. "The fault is partially mine, because you clearly need a different sort of remedial education. Read these books before the next class."
With a wave of her hand, the professor vanished, replaced by another golden list of books. Others groaned or cursed while Suria just went up to copy the list, though as she wrote them down, she started to feel like joining the others.
These books were almost entirely different from the second wave that Professor Huen had assigned them in the previous loop. All her previous reading had been completely useless and she was again facing an impossible stack of books.
As she left the room, still stewing over the list, Suria calmed down somewhat. She had read one of the titles, and two others were ones that she remembered being referenced in previous reading assignments. Even if the class was still a difficult obstacle, she was making a little progress. If all that it had taken was repeated attempts, one of the other loopers would have already gotten through via brute force and figured out how to make a soul talisman.
On her way out, Suria reflected that she'd seen little sign of Maut-mai during this loop. On one hand, that wasn't so strange given the number of students on campus, but she had expected to run into the other woman at some point. Perhaps it was simply that none of Suria's classes took her to the Earth Society Building.
Since this class was still one of her main goals, Suria walked directly to the Sequential Library to begin finding the necessary books. The library was always quieter at this time of day, now that the initial rush was over and students became less interested in studying. She found one of the librarians and made her requests, which was about all she could do for unusual books like these.
While she waited, Suria looked around to the four walls and the doors she could just see, leading into other copies of the Sequential Library. Based on what the other loopers had said, getting into the forbidden sections could be a significant challenge. Was that really because of the Sequential Guard and their surly expressions, guarding the doors as if keeping the students away from books was the most important assignment in the world?
Abruptly Suria realized that she recognized one of the students at the library: Qanti was seated in one of the nooks. Suria went over to speak with her and the other woman glanced up with a slight smile.
"Let me guess," Qanti said, "you're looking for more books Lia Huen Rei assigned?"
"She changed them after the last loop." Suria dropped down into the nearest chair and sighed. "I suppose that's why you didn't give me a list ahead of time?"
"The first set of books is always the same, but allegedly she chooses the subsequent books based on the deficiencies of the class."
"But shouldn't most students be the same? My essay changed, but most wouldn't."
"I don't know, on the loops I tried, different students dropped out at different times." Qanti threw up her hands. "Or maybe she just decides on the day. I thought there might be a hidden message, but the usual cipher methods only work in Qinese. I tried to jump ahead of the reading and she clearly thought I was missing the point. Eventually I gave up on figuring out what she's trying to teach."
"So what are you trying now?" Suria asked.
"I'm still researching soul armor. It's beyond our current ability, but it would be so valuable to any of us that I can get some help without spending any favors. The problem is that we probably need to go deeper into the library to get the right books without drawing suspicion, and Wynchard doesn't want to."
They talked about strategies and other loopers for a while, shifting to guarded language just in case. Soon enough the librarian returned and handed Suria her books... not enough books. Suria frowned at the stack and went to check her list.
"We don't have a few of those," the librarian told her. "Not in the cataloged sections you can access, anyway. Sorry."
"I've been assigned books the university doesn't even have?" Suria asked in disbelief.
"That's Rei for you," Qanti said with a roll of her eyes. "Like I said, good luck with the class."
Since she wasn't going to get any more help there, Suria took her books and headed back to her room. Despite all the justifications she gave herself, Suria had to admit that she was frustrated. She was working twice as hard in Magical Analysis as any other class, yet she got so little out of it. Every single time she went to Combat Perception she learned some useful new trick, and even Eortrax's combat class was improving her practical spellcraft.
Deciding that she was too frustrated to read, Suria instead redirected herself to the cafeteria for an early lunch. One advantage of her satchel, even though it looked shabby compared to the average clothing on campus, was that it could hold a lot of books comfortably.
When she arrived, Suria was surprised to see Kiznua and Xuhriha sitting together, chatting over salads. They waved at her, Kiznua shyly and Xuhriha exuberantly, so Suria went to collect her own food, and on the way she observed one of the supply tunnels.
One minor bit of progress she'd made during this term was that she'd found the entrance to the supply tunnels, hidden within what looked like a supply closet. Apparently the xenarths moved food around campus, where it was picked up by a few human chefs as well as magical processes. Unfortunately she hadn't built any relationships with the xenarths this cycle, so they were all strangers to her.
"Are you two friends?" Suria asked as she approached the table with her food.
"We are now!" Xuhriha said cheerfully.
"We just met," Kiznua explained. "I was having trouble with a spirit inscription and Xuhriha helped set me straight."
'They aren't so hard, you just have to start at the right angle."
"Are you an expert in spirit magic?" Suria asked Xuhriha.
"I wouldn't say an expert," Xuhriha said, "I've just studied the basics. I know some of your friends are interested in soul magic, but I don't know nearly enough to do those sorts of serious glyphs."
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"Friends?" Kiznua asked, misinterpreting the reference to other loopers. "How many other people does Suria know?"
"Oh, she's a regular social butterfly! Every time your back is turned, she's drinking and dancing on a table."
Suria chuckled and relaxed into the group, staying mostly silent as the two spoke to one another. As the conversation continued on lighter subjects, she couldn't help but notice the difference in how they ate. Xuhriha was precise and proper with her utensils, a perfect lady except for the fact that she seemed enthusiastic about her food - in Suria's experience, noblewomen were supposed to eat as a begrudging necessity. Kiznua was more hesitant, wielding a fork as if she was afraid her salad might attack her.
By contrast, Suria felt as though she just shoveled food into her mouth. There wasn't a lot of need for table manners back in the Westlakes; it was just refueling before work continued. Elsewhere she might have been self-conscious, but here Suria found that she didn't care.
"Just what are you moping about?" Xuhriha asked abruptly. "This is a gloomy Suria silence, not a good silence."
"Is something wrong?" Kiznua asked in alarm. "Have we been babbling on and ignoring you?"
"It's nothing that serious," Suria reassured her. Seeing that she wasn't going to be able to get out of this, she set down her fork. "I'm just frustrated by one of my classes. I thought I understood what she wanted, then she hands us a list that includes books we can't even get in the library..."
Pulling out her list, Suria took the opportunity to complain a little. To her surprise, both other women didn't seem put off. When she was done, Xuhriha pulled the list closer and pondered it for a while before she smiled.
"I think we can get these in Darmkael," she said. "This is a Glyphic Imperium book, right? They always have old copies in antique shops."
"But isn't the Sequential Library the best in the world?" Suria protested.
"If you have complete access to it, yes, but you're still so restricted. For books like these, the bookstores might be better, because you don't need half-seals or professor's notes or anything. Just money."
"Well, I don't have much of that either..."
"Oh, I can pay," Xuhriha told her. "Don't worry about it at all, my parents are very generous. I'm sure they'll be sending me a bunch more money before the month is out."
That was just a joke between loopers, but it made Kiznua's eyes bulge. She seemed a little put off and Suria recognized the social dynamic since she had so often been the one on the outside.
"Why don't you come with us?" Suria asked her. "You probably know every bookstore in Darmkael, right?"
"I... I suppose." Kiznua dropped her gaze and blushed. "I can't really do a tour out there, but I can at least show you around..."
So it was decided that the three of them would be leaving the university grounds to explore the city. It had been a long time since Suria had left, after her initial experiences had been so unpleasant, but she could endure it with the two of them. She might actually find it fun, since Xuhriha balanced out Kiznua.
They met by the gates an hour later because Kiznua had wanted time to freshen up. All Suria had done was wash her face and drop off her books, but it seemed like Kiznua had changed into dress robes that had fine embroidered edges and a higher collar. Xuhriha had changed into a completely different dress that was still pink and somehow had even more ruffles.
"To Darmkael we go!" Xuhriha announced. "We don't return until we're completely drunk!"
"What?" Kiznua gasped, but then laughed as she recovered from shock and realized it was a joke. "No, no, I can't drink a drop..."
Jokes aside, the other two women seemed sincere in their desire to help Suria find the books she needed. Along the way, they first stopped at the bookstore Suria remembered from her very first visit, the one that had so astonished her.
Even though it had only been a few months in the loop, Suria was surprised how much her standards had changed. The bookstore was still impressive compared to any other she'd seen, but the Sequential Library was far larger. Beyond that, books were no longer something she was desperate for; she was given more than she could handle in her classes. She wasn't hungry for just any inscription now, so she needed to pick and choose those best suited to her goals.
Once they moved deeper into the city, Kiznua gave a tour despite what she'd said. At first she advised them away from dangerous districts like the leyferry docks, but as they got deeper she provided lots of specific suggestions about which cafes were nicest and which stores were worth the trip.
"You want to avoid this entire street," Kiznua told them in a low voice. "Some of these guild-owned places don't really like students running through the city, so they'll overcharge you if they see your robes."
"Then they'll take one look at me," Xuhriha said, "and offer me the lowest possible prices."
"If they see that dress, I'm sure they'll assume you can afford anything."
Instead of the apparently prejudiced street, Kiznua guided them toward the mercantile district lower in the city. There Suria found so many bookstores that they had to be highly specialized, from those that catered to mages to collections of ancient tomes to some that even carried nothing but fiction. With all three of them working together, they managed to find one of Suria's missing books rather quickly.
It was over three hundred oss, which made Suria wince even thought Xuhriha paid for it. That was her entire monthly allotment from her scholarship.
"If the other books weren't here," Kiznua said, "we could try the Darmkael Mage Emporium. They're expensive, but they have some of everything."
They went to the store, which was a towering building with multiple curved roofs that shadowed all its neighbors. Inside, however, a snobbish clerk treated them as more of inconveniences than customers. Kiznua was upset, but Suria had seen the man's eyes fall on her satchel and knew that they were being judged as too poor for the wares.
And, to be honest, he wasn't wrong. In the glimpse she got before they left, Suria saw runebooks with elegant crystal pages that cost tens of thousands of oss. The front desk had styluses that cost thousands on their own, which was incomprehensible to her. She didn't even want to know what the tapestries, pottery, and other luxuries cost.
"We should also visit the lower stores." Kiznua looked a little dejected, but for once seemed determined to be positive instead of moping. "Now, you don't ever want to buy paper or stone there, because the university stores will always be cheaper, but there are a lot of things that are cheaper in town..."
The next street reminded Suria much more of home, with all the simple but well-tended shops. None of them had the books she needed, but her group explored them anyway. There were a number that sold odd crystal knickknacks that Xuhriha seemed to find fascinating.
Despite the humble environment, Suria didn't think that the magic here was any less advanced. She was downright impressed with how efficiently the mana lanterns glowed on the street corners and wished she had taken more artificing classes to properly appreciate them.
Suria was particularly fascinated by a store called "Bub's Bobs" that carried a bizarre mix of different items. Nothing of astonishing value or power, yet the longer she looked, the stranger it seemed. There was a pair of boots sitting beside an ornate golden stylus. A cauldron of pure marble with dozens of local herbs hanging over it. A simple enchanted wheelbarrow with some kind of flame-resisting shield lying against the side.
The last one puzzled Suria as she looked over the glyph, which was clearly visible on the front. She had a far better general education in orthomancy now, so she could puzzle out unfamiliar inscriptions at times - these clearly had something to do with fire, force, and defense. What impressed her more was that the glyph had four squares bunched together and no fewer than eight augments around it, just like the one she'd seen Professor Gwaslos using.
"Oh, those are terribly difficult," Kiznua said as she came up behind her. "It seems easy to put squares together, but when the middle parts use the same runes, they're always collapsing."
"Wait." Suria stared at the other woman. "You can make glyphs like these?"
"Well, I can try. Like I said, I'm terrible at it, just terrible. I'm lucky to get half-way through the augments before I have to stop."
That hadn't been what Suria meant at all: by her count, the whole structure used a grand total of twenty-eight runes. Combining all of those with four core inscriptions and eight augments was far beyond anything she had attempted up to that point... no wonder the shield was so expensive.
"Wow, that's really impressive!" Xuhriha appeared beside them, carrying roughly three dozen crystals in her arms. "Your runic capacity is that high?"
"But I can barely use it!" Kiznua protested. "Just building up your capacity is easy - you just have to keep at it. I can't actually use that many runes to make proper glyphs. Suria is better than me at reliably inscribing runic pentagons and she's just starting."
"No, no, that's great!"
It was clear that Kiznua didn't want to be encouraged, so Suria didn't press her too hard. Instead she looked over the store as well as its owner, an old man who looked like a nail that had been bent in half. He bent over his counter, frowning at them through a pair of thin glasses.
"I'm sorry," Suria said, "are we too loud?"
"It isn't you," the old man said sourly. "We've had a problem with thieves lately and it's cost us. But you don't want to hear about my troubles."
"Are you Bub?" Xuhriha asked as she popped up behind Suria.
"Short for Zebub, yes. Now, I don't mind students having a little fun, but I'm going to have to ask if you intend to buy anything."
They didn't test his patience, so they cleared out, though on her way Suria noticed a runebook made of heavy stone plates. It wasn't as fancy as the ones in bigger stores, but it looked solidly bound of good quality stone, and it only cost 250 oss. That was within her budget, if she planned carefully.
As they headed out, Suria was glad to return to the university, yet she had a feeling she would be back.