The Results Are In

With one last push, the final test was complete. The door in front of Aayla creaked open revealing a spacious outdoor plaza. The small room with the stone stele was nowhere to be found. Instead, a large white building loomed on the opposite end.

Tall hedges proudly walled the plaza underneath an azure sky. Verdant green trees rose out of the elegantly stoned ground. The familiar twin moons peered down from above. The same designer of the classic hedge maze must have designed the plaza as well.

As Aayla stepped into the plaza, the crystal door shut behind her then disappeared. Unsurprised at this event, she sat down on the ground to bask in the warm sunshine. Aayla wanted to relax a bit before she got warped back out.

Did she meet some hidden condition? Or did those lazy jerks outside actually do something useful for once? Aayla didn't know what had changed, but she was glad that it did.

After she regained some strength in her legs, Aayla pushed herself up off of the ground and walked towards the building in the distance. The multistory, pure white building had tall columns and marble steps out front. Somehow it looked strangely familiar from a distance.

As she approached, Aayla looked all around for an exit. A fountain in front of the white building was the only other structure that she found. She pushed herself up the steps to enter the white building. This place has to have some clues about an exit.

Before she tried the door, Aayla cautiously peeked into the large windows. Even with her face pressed up against the glass, the dark interior hid all of its secrets. The same was true for the rest of the windows. Without any new information, Aayla twirled the tips of her hair while she thought.

She would have to go inside eventually. Aayla might as well start now while she still had the strength. Full of confidence, she grasped the handles of the double doors and pulled. They refused to budge.

"Huh. I'm turning the handle, right?"

Aayla focused on the right door. She made sure to turn the handle as far as it would go. Even then, it wouldn't move when she pulled on it. Aayla scratched her head.

"Maybe I'm supposed to push instead?"

She tried pushing both doors but that didn't work either. Ramona's unlocking spell didn't work either. A frown worked its way across Aayla's face. Darn it. The doors must be locked. Did she not actually pass the test? What the heck was this? Aayla was beyond finished with this trial.

Desperate for a way inside, she tried the windows. All of the locks were inside, and she didn't dare try to break the windows with her fists. Remembering her trusty magic shield, Aayla tried slamming it into the windows. Unfortunately for her, Aayla was bounced back and nearly fell down the steps.

Since she couldn't use force, then she would look for a spare key. People hid spare keys under their floor mats all the time on Terra. Hopefully wizards would have a similar habit. Sadly, her hopes were shattered once again.

Her search along the porch failed, so Aayla decided to search around the entire building. There were several more windows and hundreds of bricks, but no keys or other entrances. Frustrated, Aayla sat down on the fountain's edge. She dipped her hand into the cool water.

"So, the water is real! This place doesn't really look like much so far. Whoever built this place has an interesting concept of what a proper reward is. This plaza is a nice place for a picnic and all, but I don't want to have to carry around my own picnic while I'm running around.

"Hopefully I don't need a DLC pack for the exit or the inside of that building."

Aayla played with the water while she thought about what to do. Her limited magic didn't help, neither did the Full Moon Bracelet. The researchers should have done something by now if they could. A low growl interrupted her thoughts. Aayla lightly blushed then dug around in her bag for some food.

A small piece of cold metal brushed past her fingertips. Much to Aayla's surprise, she found her keys in the bag. Normally, they would stay in her room. She forgot all about them after unlocking the secret library.

There was still one key that she hadn't figured out what it unlocked yet. She eyed the large brass key in her hand then looked up at the double doors. Trying out the key was worth a shot. At the very least, it shouldn't make the situation worse.

To her relief, the key easily turned and the locked doors softly opened with a click. She cautiously pulled open the doors and stepped inside. The entire floor appeared to be one giant room divided up into several sections. Light streamed in from the windows so she could see the front sections.

"How strange."

There was so much light, yet she couldn't see anything from the windows. The depths of the building were still covered in shadows as well. Aayla quietly summoned a ball of light as she walked through the building. Strangely, there was no dust inside the building. It could have been abandoned yesterday for all that she knew.

Her shoes squeaked on the floor as she walked through the sections. She steadily made her way around edge bathed in the windows' light. Various displays hung on the walls or stood in the center of the sections. Everything reminded her of a museum.

Aayla jumped back as she began to round a corner. A shadow moved deeper in the building. With her heart pounding in her chest, a silver shield appeared on her right arm. Aayla listened for several minutes before she poked her head around the corner.

The shadows remained still. She threw her light ball into the darkness then retreated. Nothing seemed to react to the light so Aayla carefully peaked around the corner. The light just floated in the dark like a lonely star. Under her commands it zoomed around in the darkness.

She sucked in her breath as the ball of light illuminated fur, scales and fangs in the darkness. Something was lurking in the shadows. Aayla returned to her hiding spot and planned her escape route. Just as she was about to retreat, she noticed that something was off.

Why didn't they attack her or flee already? The silence in the room was deafening. Yet, Aayla couldn't hear even the faintest of breaths or the softest of footsteps on the tile floor. She pushed herself against the wall and froze in place.

As the minutes ticked by, silence continued to reign. There was no more movement in the shadows. The light ball simply continued to hang in the center of the room. Aayla focused her mana to increase the output. She took a deep breath then peaked around the corner again.

When Aayla finally got a good look at the 'things' inside, she jumped in surprise and nearly fell flat on her back.

**********

With only a couple days left until school started, Daren carefully packed his bags. He and Chris would be leaving that afternoon for Nafriton. They were traveling a full day earlier than the rest of their Halcyon peers. A knock resounded on his door.

"Hey, Daren. Whoa, what's with the bags? Wait, you were serious about leaving early?"

"Yes. I'd rather avoid any unplanned surprises. I also have some work to do at school."

"Seriously? There might not be any direct tickets left."

"There should be in first class."

"Even then last-minute tickets are expensive, my dear young master."

"I have money."

"Our friends don't. Look, it's such a short amount of time to get ready and the tickets aren't exactly cheap either. Let's just move our original departure up by a few hours. Why are you so anxious to get back? You've been acting really weird all break."

A sour look appeared on Daren's face. Truth be told, he didn't know exactly why either. Maybe the people at Nafriton were just less annoying than the people here in Halcyon. Even that excuse still didn't feel right. He just felt uneasy. Daren carried his bags out of the room.

"We're leaving this afternoon. Just use my allowance to help pay for the others if they want to come with."

"Fine, fine. I'll contact Jacki and the rest."

Chris rubbed his temples then went to send some messages. Along the way, he stopped by the City Lord's office. Innello was out working, but Rebecca Forolan was still in.

"Good morning, Lady Rebecca. Do you know where my father or Lord Innello are?"

"Your father and my husband both have meetings at city hall. They should return this evening. What's this all about?"

"Young Master Daren insists on leaving early for Nafriton. Early this afternoon and no later."

Rebecca nearly dropped her book.