Guinevere was beginning to doze off with the patterned rocking of the carriage when it suddenly halted.
Granger hastily looked out the window and got to his feet, crouching to keep his head from hitting the ceiling of the carriage that was obviously too low for his height.
"We're here."
He pushed the carriage door open and jumped out, followed by Gusion.
She peered outside and saw the City's towering wide black gate, embedded on both sides were twin symbols of what looked like the head of an owl with a long beak inside a laurel wreath; the City of Scholar's symbol.
At one side of the opened gate was an elven lady.
She was this little blonde with spiky hair and red goggles over her forehead who was strangely holding a mechanical hammer over her right shoulder. The weapon was as tall as her, the head of the hammer bigger than her own that Guinevere would have wondered how she could carry it around if she hadn't felt some strong energy coming from her.
Granger was already heading towards her.
"Come on." Gusion said. He offered a hand for her to hold as she stepped out of the carriage which was awfully high for her.
She could not quite help but notice that no matter how mean the boy's language was, he did possess a gentleman's nature, which made her even more suspicious of his lineage.
They followed Granger towards the elven girl.
"Welcome to Eruditio." she said. "I'm Lolita, the City's Head Guard."
Guinevere pushed the hood of her cloak back, revealing her face to the elf. "I am Guinevere. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."
"Pleasure's all mine." Lolita answered and then turned to Gusion.
"Gusion." He simply said.
Lokita nodded and turned to face the city. "Now let's get you to Diggie before that crazy owl runs off again somewhere else."
The three of them followed her into the City, where they saw things they did not quite recognize but found useful in its place.
Different devices functioned by clockworks were at every humble house they passed, which felt new for Guinevere who grew up in such a traditional household.
"Does he run off often?" Guinevere asked.
"Mostly. There's just a lot that comes into his mind. Sometimes too much for his own good."
They walked in silence across Eruditio, one part of the City and into Antoinerei, where Diggie lived.
It was where the observatory that Gusion pointed earlier stood towering over them a hundred meters from the ground.
They entered the particular place, getting uncomfortable by the eerie silence that echoed through the building the moment they entered.
They came passing through lines of doors and some of them were slightly opened. Through it, they could see white walls and different laboratory equipments.
They also saw different creatures wearing white laboratory coats and weird goggles in some, and a couple of loud explosions rang the corridor.
Lolita was the only one who did not appear surprised by the explosions, and even chuckled at their flinches.
"Not to worry." Lolita said as she glanced at the three of them who exchanged cautious looks. "Explosions are normal at a place where crazy minds are making crazy things."
"Like your Hammer?" Guinevere asked.
"Yes. Like my Hammer." Lolita said and faced ahead again, the head of her hammer hovering in front of them.
"And your energy..." Guinevere added hesitantly.
"You can feel it?" Granger asked. It sounded like it wasn't the first time he heard of it.
Lolita glanced at her over her shoulders. "Of course she can. Such a powerful mage she is."
"What is it? I'd never felt such energy before."
"It's Antoinerei's most advanced tech crystal, the Noumenon Energy Core." Granger answered. "Ever wondered how she manages to carry that giant hammer with that tiny frame of hers? Though I never understood how some of you say they could feel something so strong from her. All I can feel is the feisty energy she got."
"Maybe you're just insensitive." Gusion said, making Lolita glance at him and smirk.
"You got it right."
"Now you're all ganging up on me?"
"Granger." A blond male with hair cleanly cut at the sides came descending down the staircase in front of them. He had this wide friendly smile as his gaze traveled all over them.
"Bruno." Granger greeted back. "I see you have some free time."
"Have you seen where Diggie have gone this time?" Lolita asked as they ascended the stairs.
The guy's brows furrowed. "No. No one could ever know where that kid goes."
"Do you have a minute?" Granger asked, meeting Bruno's eyes.
Guinevere stared at Bruno as they came closer. She realized he was wearing an armor from the waist down that looked the same as those clockwork devices that the Scholars invented to do households and trivial tasks.
"Miss Violet, you know it's rude to stare at a man's legs, don't you? Even though they're synthetic ones." Bruno said, making Guinevere lift her gaze up at Bruno's eyes before looking away, embarrassed.
But she held her head high and passed by him.
Bruno and Granger then remained in the landing as Guinevere and Gusion followed Lolita to the upper floor.
Guinevere risked turning her head to glance at the two guys at the corner of her eyes, wondering what could Granger have to say to Bruno for it to be discussed in low voices.
She caught Gusion's gaze in the process and found out he was just as curious as she was.
Then they continued following Lolita in silence, until they came into another staircase.
That was when Gusion looked up the flights of staircases up ahead. "Particularly at what floor are we trying to get at?"
"Four floors more." Lolita answered.
Just before they could take the next staircase, they heard explosion coming from the floor they were in.
"DIGGIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!" A man's voice then yelled so loud it could have reached the whole observatory.
They halted in their tracks and looked at the hallway where it came from.
"Well, I guess we found him." Lolita said and went to the direction of the scream, Guinevere and Gusion at her tail.
Smoke in the shade of magenta was filling the hallways that they had to stop in their tracks.
A few seconds later, a man wearing red goggles around his eyes came walking out of the smoke-concealed room.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to touch anything that isn't in your laboratory!?" He was yelling at someone. "How much longer do I have to do the yelling? Ugh! I'm getting migraines."
"I just wanted to try borrowing that magical stone of yours and see if it could work on my invention." Someone answered, a voice that seemed to be from a child's. "Come on, Mr. Flash. You said I was almost there last time."
As the smoke cleared, they saw that the man was looking down and they followed his gaze.
In front of him, about 3-feet tall was an owl with an earmuffed hat over his head and black glasses bigger than his eyes. His cream-colored feathers were all ruffled and a part of it burnt by whatever exploded in the room, but he seemed to have no care about it at all.
"I swear, Mr. Flash, this invention will hit it off and it will be the start of Antoinerei's skyrocketing progress!"
"I have no time for this, Diggie."
"Then let us talk to him, Mr. Flash." Lolita interrupted.
The said Mr. Flash and Diggie then turned to them. The man looked relieved.
"Go on, Lolita. I've had enough of this kid's explosions for a day." Mr. Flash said and left them.
"Hey, Lolita. I see you brought some friends." Diggie greeted and started walking with a leap towards the staircases as if he had not been yelled at a second ago.
"Diggie. This is Lady Guinevere and Gusion. They've come to ask you for help."
"And how exactly?"
"My brother has disappeared and I was told you could help me find him." Guinevere answered.
Diggie stopped at the top of the stairs they had taken to look at her over his shoulder. "You mean the Lord Lancelot has disappeared?"
"You know him?"
"Sure do." He said and continued taking the stairs to the upper floor. "He's one of the few people who believes in my inventions, despite how many times I've blown his hair up."
Guinevere suddenly missed her brother. He really was an annoying blonde with a little bit narcissistic issues, but she had always known how pure his heart was.
"So can you help me?" Guinevere asked desperately.
"I'll see what I can do."
They reached Diggie's laboratory, and saw evidences of current explosions in every corner of the room.
"I see you're working really hard." Lolita said, her tone unconvincing as she tried to keep a straight face in front of Diggie.
The kid just smiled at them shyly but let them inside anyway. He immediately grabbed the staff standing against the only chair in the room.
It was a weird one though. The top of it looked like a bird's house, but with a clock right in front of it instead of a door.
"Now tell me, where did you last see your brother and when?"
Guinevere paused as she tried to think about it.
"It was..a week ago. I was at my study when he came in to tell me he was off for some battle."
"About what time?"
"Around nine?"
Diggie nodded and turned his back on them. "Okay. Just give me a few minutes."
"That's it? You can find him easily with that?" Guinevere asked, but Diggie seemed to be already off into it.
"He's already gone to that time you said, trying to follow your brother."
"He can do that?"
Lolita shrugged. "I don't know how, but yes."
"How long is it gonna take?" Gusion asked.
"Sometimes a few minutes, sometimes it takes hours."
Gusion started walking towards the door. "I'll be back then."
Diggie looked like he was in a trance, his round eyes blank as he aimlessly walked around the room, bumping into things before turning to another direction. He seemed to be following something only he can see, and Lolita told Guinevere he usually does that whenever he goes through time to spectate at past events.
So Guinevere just distracted herself with the things she saw in Diggie's laboratory.
Most of the inventions involved a clock, and most of them laid shattered and not ticking at the tables.
One of them though was still running. It was placed at the worktable next to a paper that had drawings and scribbles only Diggie could understand.
The kid must be so obsessed about time.
After about twenty minutes of staring at objects she could not even recognize, Lolita called her.
Diggie was back to himself, and he was looking at her knowingly.
"Did you find him?" She asked anxiously.
"Azure Lake. That's where your brother is." He answered, but there was an odd smile on his face.
Guinevere frowned. "Okay" she muttered suspectingly. "Then why are you smiling like that?"
Diggie looked anywhere but her, trying but failing to suppress the suspicious smile. "I am not."
"Yes, you are." She insisted. If there was anything she hated much in the world, it was being kept in the dark. And at the moment, her temper was rising dangerously.
"I'm not. Now you must go." Diggie hopped away from them and towards the worktable where the only working clock was lying.
"You must have seen something. You must tell me."
"I can't. I can only reveal one thing at a time. And I already told you about Lord Lancelot's location."
"You must not press the matter, Lady Guinevere." Lolita said.
Guinevere sighed to calm herself down. Lolita was right. She should just find out herself.
She drew near Diggie and placed a hand over his shoulder. "Thank you. What can I do to repay you?"
"You don't have to." The kid said lightly. "Consider it a thanks to your brother who always believed in me."
Guinevere smiled, growing fond of how simple-minded the little inventor was. She looked at the ticking clock that he was working on. "Is this your latest invention?"
"Yes."
"What does it do?"
"I'm trying to hardwire it with a magic stone to make it intuitive enough to read the holder's destination and make its dimensions between places closer." Diggie said excitedly that it came out too fast for Guinevere to catch up.
"Very well then." She said to make him stop. "Once I find Lancelot, we will come back and fund any of your researches."
Diggie looked up at her with bright eyes. "Really?"
She nodded.
"Great! Then I will wait for your return, Lady Guinevere."
"We must go." Lolita interrupted.
Guinevere straightened up, smiled one last time to Diggie and left with Lolita.
"Do you have any idea where my companions are?" She asked, annoyed. "Those boys came here with hidden agendas."
"I'll look for them at the top floors. You proceed to the lobby we came through earlier."
Guinevere nodded and began taking the corridors opposite of Lolita's way.
She came walking along the third floor when she saw someone ahead, furtively getting inside one of the labs.
She hastily but silently headed towards the room he disappeared into.
She went inside quickly, determined to catch Gusion of what he was doing.
The moment she opened the door, Gusion spun around to her direction, his eyes wide like a cat getting caught stealing food.
Guinevere held his gaze suspectingly as she stepped inside and closed the doors.
"What did you come here for?"
"I was just looking at the inventions."
Guinevere might not have known the boy long enough, but she had gotten used to hearing his voice sounding always cold or calm or certain. This time around, it didn't sound any among the three. Hesitation rang in them, letting Guinevere know he was lying.
Guinevere rolled her eyes. "Your shameless lying amazes me."
"I'm telling the truth " he said firmly.
"You think I never wondered why you came with us despite of not having the need to?" She asked, drawing to where Gusion was. "I am not stupid."
"I came with you because I thought we were gonna meet more demons and it'll be a great chance to practice my skills."
"Tell me, before I tell Lolita and Bruno you were wandering around trying to steal something."
Gusion's brows furrowed. "Groundless accusations. Something a lady of royalty shouldn't practice."
"You know I am fond of breaking stereotypes."
There was a pause from Gusion, who merely stared at her for quite a while.
He was apparently deciding about what to do with the girl; she was sharp enough not to believe his lies, considering how he was also bad at it. He considered threatening her, or telling the truth.
But he had to be very cautious from anyone around him. So he decided to leave it all to fate.
"Then I'll leave you with your guesses." He said.
"Very well then. You leave me no choice." She spun around and headed towards the door.
Guinevere left the laboratory and descended down the stairs. She came at the lobby of the building and was about to exit when she was suddenly grabbed and pushed against the wall next to the door.
She pushed Gusion by the chest but failed because of his strength. She was about to let out an energy wave to blast him away when he suddenly looked at her in the eyes and pressed his index finger against his lips, sushing her.
She calmed down, confused, the faint light coming out of her hands fading as she studied Gusion. He was peering at the side of the entrance, his eyes wide and cautious.
So he wasn't trying to threaten her.
She pushed him away from her and this time, he budged.
Guinevere had never had any physical contact from the opposite gender before except for his brother and gentlemen from other houses kissing her hand as a greeting.
So having Gusion just a couple of inches away from her and the feel of his hand against her shoulders as he pinned her against the wall earlier felt utterly discomforting.
"What are you trying to do?!" She snapped.
"Ssshhh! Guards. The guards are here." He pressed his stomach against the wall and peered at the side of the door.
Guinevere leaned behind him and peered over his shoulder to get a look outside. He was right.
Paxley guards were outside, talking to another one who was wearing a different armor which she recognized as the City of Scholar's guards.
"Damn it." She cursed the moment she recognized the others. Some guards were from Castle Gorge in their golden brown armors.
She turned her gaze at Gusion who was now staring at her over his shoulder.
"What?"
"Do you usually curse openly?"
She caught herself too late and let out a sigh of irritation. "Just forget you heard that." She looked back at the guards loitering outside.
"What are you two doing?"
Both of them straightened up and turned around the moment they heard Granger's voice. He was descending the stairs with Lolita and Bruno.
"Where have you been? There are guards, everywhere!"
The ease in Granger's eyes immediately looked on guard as he hurried towards the entry way.
"Do you know where to go now?" Granger asked.
"Azure Lake."
"Then go. I'll have to distract them so you can go the other way." Granger then turned to Gusion. "You'll go with her, right?"
The latter nodded without hesitation.
"Wait a minute! Lolita and Bruno can distract the guards!"
"It is much difficult to keep those guards away while trying not to kill them. I need to help. Now go!"
"I'll guide you to your carriage!" Lolita ran to the other direction and Guinevere followed, again covering her head with her hood.
They took a few turns in the hallways before they came to a door leading them at the back of the building.
They came running at the back of the houses when they suddenly came across a couple of guards. They halted in place as the guards also froze.
A few yards behind them were more guards who did not notice the scene yet.
Guinevere prepared to send some energy waves and was about to cast them off when a sword suddenly went flying past her and hit the couple of guards in the heads before flitting back to their direction.
"Go, go!" Gusion ordered, and the three of them resumed to running as he caught his sword in one hand.
"What did you do?!" Guinevere snapped.
"I hit them with the hilt. All they will get is a bump." Gusion assured her.
The butler saw them running and immediately drove the horses to their direction.
Gusion hopped into the carriage with ease and then pulled her up by the arms. Then both of them leaned out to look at Lolita.
"Thank you." She said to him.
Elves always had this mischievous curve in their lips, and was present in Lolita's face as she smiled, but her brown eyes looked like melted caramel as she stared at them.
"Go find your brother, and take care of yourselves."
Then the carriage rolled away and out of the City of Scholars.