Deep within the Chorus Mountains lies a great center of knowledge, a school of sorts that teaches those who make the perilous trek in whatever it is they wish to know. Some come seeking greater magical power while others come to learn the ways of technology, while still yet others research the secrets of existance. Whatever one seeks, the Chorus University promises answers.
Built into the mountains of stone and ice, the university is largely self-sufficient. Fields deep in the ground and warmed by magical sunlight provide crops, trees, and other plant life, ice-fishing was considered a normal hobby, and the University grounds were well-saturated with magical energy for those beings that require such things.
There was plenty for an aspiring student, whatever flavor of knowledge he, she, or it sought. Alchemy labs, machine shops, crafting studios for spells, wands, machines, and even artificial intelligence research, vast arenas built to train shapers, benders, and large-scale machines, and of course, a vast library filled with tomes on every subject one might imagine.
It was the library that attracted Asriel the most; he spent hours every day seated in a cushy armchair near the warm hearth (fire was out of the question in the library, but a massive glowing crystal set in the hearth put off just as much light and heat without worry of setting any ancient volumes alight), reading book after book. Fiction or non-fiction, Science or science fiction, horror or Horticulture, no subject was off-limits to him.
He knew the librarians thought he had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, but the truth was that sitting in a cushy chair by the fire reminded him of nights spent with his mother and Chara, watching the magical flames in the fireplace as Queen Toriel told them tale after tale. He felt safer in that chair than he'd felt anywhere in a very long time.
Shye, on the other hand …
The cat-girl's face popped into Asriel's view from above. "Hey, Azzie! Whatcha doin'?"
"Gah!" Asriel jerked back, causing the already unbalanced chair to fall backward. Shye deftly leapt onto the tabletop and peered down at her fallen friend.
"Whatchu doin' down there?" she asked, a grin on her face.
"I like it here," Asriel replied with a glare. Ignoring the disapproving looks of nearby library patrons, he pushed the chair back up and grabbed the book he'd been reading.
"What's that?" She asked, still on the table.
"Do you really care, or are you just bored?" Asriel asked.
Pouting, Shye said, "Oh, come on! Don't be like that. You've been spending all your time here lately, and I just thought you might want to, y'know, actually DO something. We could hit the casting range, or go check out some of the stuff they got goin' on over in the experimental magicks. Yesterday, there was this lady with wings on her head that made a bunch of chairs and couches into an invisible roller coaster that went all over the University! It was awesome!"
"That does sound cool," Asriel admitted, as he set the book on a trolley.
Shye hopped off the table and grabbed Asriel by the arm. "You can't just sit in the library all day again. C'mon! We're gonna find some fun!"
The two little monsters ran through the halls of the University, bumping past students and faculty as they made their way across the campus. Most were adults; Asriel had seen a few other children, but those young of appearance often carried more than their weight in years, a concept Shye had difficulty with but Asriel understood all too well.
They eventually made their way to the courtyard. While technically underground, an enchantment made the ceiling appear as the sky of a warm summer day. It wasn't just visual; Asriel could feel the warmth of the illusionary sun on his face as he and Shye ran laughing over the grass-covered courtyard. There were many students there, mostly in groups of two to four, many either studying or playing Snapclaw, a game where two mages pit illusionary dragons against each other. Shye and Asriel dashed under dozens of the dueling pigeon-sized illusions as they made their way forward toward the large misshapen building that housed the Experimental Magic Labs and the University Medical facilities (a wise placement conceived of by the original University builders).
Their race was cut short by a large, familiar figure sitting beside the large fountain in the center of the courtyard. Scooping the two off the ground, Golemite looked at her two friends with a grin and said, "And where do ya think yer goin, runnin' like that?"
"Experimental Magicks," Shye said.
"Tell me dis ain't about dose bouncin' boots you was askin' about yesterday."
"Ricochet Boots," Shye said instantly, only to blush and said, "and I don't know. We were just gonna go look around."
Golemite crossed her stone arms. "Uh-huh. Where's Mina?"
Shye instantly became very nervous. "Uh, I dunno. Around. What's it matter? She does her thing, I do my thing."
Golemite narrowed her glowing eyes at the cat-girl before looking to Asriel with a smile. "Well, I'm glad ta see ya out of dat musty old library. Let's meet up later and grab some grub, yeah?"
Leaning closer to Asriel, Golemite whispered, "And keep an eye on Shye, yeah?"
"Can do," Asriel said, giving his friend a mock salute.
"Can you believe she still doesn't know she's a she?" Shye said with a giggle.
Asriel opened his mouth to respond, only for Shye to drag him forward once again.
The Experimental Magic Labs (and University Medical) was probably the most notable building on campus, in part from its appearance. Oh, it looked like an ordinary brick-and-mortar college building, but beyond that, nothing about the building remained constant. Sometimes it was three stories tall; sometimes it was ten. Sometimes it was only one. Sometimes the building was so large that there was only a few feet between the outlying doors and their neighboring buildings, and sometimes the building is so small, it looks like little more than a shack. The color changed all the time, sometimes as quick as a blink, though it seemed to favor a shade of teal.
Regardless of how the outside appeared, the inside was always the same. The medical facilities are typical of their kind; white tile and walls, inoffensive artwork, a lingering smell of soup. Past the medical facilities, however, the corridors turn into a maze-like network of chaos. Remnants of old spells left the once normal carpeting a mismatch of styles, thickness, color … those patches that weren't overgrown with plant life, covered with blue sand, or partially converted into swamps. The elevator occasionally brings people to other buildings on campus, the stairwell often leads those who use it up and down several flights before returning them to where they started. Teleportation is the only reliable way around … unless one knows the secrets.
Shye knew the secrets. She tapped on the stairwell door three times, after which the door opened, revealing a simple hallway. Instead of heading to the door on the other side, however, she simply closed the door they'd entered, waited a moment, then opened it again. A sign posted by the stairwell door now indicated they were on the fifth floor, though a regular traveler of the building would know that from the fish swimming through the air as though it were water.
Shye was moving slower now, making an obvious effort to make as little noise as possible. Asriel tried to follow suit, but he never was much of a sneaker; Chara and he often tried to sneak cookies from the kitchen, but Chara was the only one who ever pulled it off. Still, they passage drew no undue attention.
Eventually, Shye stopped in front of a door marked only with a metal five that hung crooked from its single remaining screw. She glanced at Asriel, a finger pressed to her lips to keep him from speaking, before turning back to the door, extending a single claw, and tapping it against the door-handle with a barely audible 'ting'.
Before Asriel could even open his mouth to ask what was going on, a soft click sounded from the lock. Grinning, Shye turned the handle freely and opened the door. Mina quickly slipped out of the doorway and wove around Shye's ankles until picked up.
"Good job, Mina," Shye cooed, rubbing the three-eyed cat creature's fur. Mina purred loudly at the praise before climbing onto Shye's shoulder. Shye entered the room, Asriel following while still wondering how Mina reached the lock.
The room looked to be used for storage of, quite frankly, a bunch of junk: among the more notable objects were an old gramophone player, a bucket filled with old silverware, an enormous stuffed sloth, and a skeleton seated in a reclining position in a dusty velvet chair. Asriel poked the skeleton, only to find it was plastic.
"Uh, what are we looking for?" Asriel whispered.
"Give me a sec … and don't touch anything," Shye said, rummaging through an old cabinet. "Most of the stuff here is enchanted in some way."
"No kidding," said Asriel, staring at a deck of cards that was shuffling itself.
Shye rummaged around a few more minutes before letting out a quiet, "Aha!"
Asriel turned to see her holding up a pair of old sneakers. They looked to have had more than a few owners in their time, and seemed normal save for a few barely visible runes lining the sides of the rubberized soles.
"Uh, nice," Asriel said uncertainly.
"Here!" Shye shoved the shoes against his chest before retrieving another pair. "Put 'em on!"
Mystified, Asriel did so. They were a little big, but comfortable enough, he supposed.
"All right," Shye said, wearing her other pair. "let's go!"
She led him out of the room. He expected them to leave the building, and was surprised when they ended up on the roof. He didn't know how high the building was at that moment, but one look over the side told him it was higher than he was comfortable with. Mina hopped from Shye's shoulder as the cat girl stepped onto the roof's edge.
"Tag!" she said, slapping Asriel on the arm. "You're it!"
Before Asriel could respond, Mina leapt off the side of the building.
"Mina!" Asriel shouted, rushing to the edge only to stumble back as Shye suddenly rose back into view.
"C'mon!" She said before falling down again. Asriel watched as she hit the ground to seemingly no effect, only to leap away, a trail of light following her feet as she shot across the main courtyard.
He had no intention of leaping over the building in any footwear, but unbeknownst to him, Mina had come to stand right behind him. As he stepped back, his foot came down on her tail, prompting her to let out a shrill cry that made him stumble forward. He made a grab for the edge, but it was too late.
A strange feeling came over him in mid-air, spinning him so that his feet were pointed to the ground. He landed beside a startled bear, but there was no impact; the shoes seemed to absorb it all, leaving him with a strange tingling feeling all over.
Seeing Shye in the distance, now leaping up the side of a building, he moved to follow her. The moment his foot hit the ground, the tingling feeling intensified as he hurtled forward so fast that everything was a blur. His body again spun, this time twisting so that he hit the side of the building ahead of him with is feet. Again, the shoes absorbed all the impact, and the tingling feeling returned, yet he didn't fall from the side of the wall.
Realization hit him. He touched a foot on the ground and instantly shot upward, up the side of the building. Shye was waiting for him on the roof, the wide grin still on her face. She shot away before Asriel could say anything, prompting him to follow. The two raced across the campus, leaping from roof to roof. A single touch of a shoe was enough to hurl them in the opposite direction, and the campus was large enough to give them plenty of room to romp about.
The sense of speed was intoxicating, and soon Asriel found himself not chasing Shye but racing her. There were more than a few shouts from startled passersby, but Asriel found himself not caring … at least, until he and Shye shot through the narrow space between the canopy and the rail of a covered walkway leading to the Large spire in the center of the campus when both of them froze abruptly in mid-jump. They hung there from a floating pair of translucent skeletal hands,confused until they slowly spun to face Headmaster Gaster.
"Ah, Asriel … Shye." He said as calmly as he would if simply running into them in a hallway. "What a nice surprise. I was hoping to have a word with you."
"I can explain," Shye said, "It was Azzie's idea to-"
"What? I don't even-" Asriel suddenly found his lips frozen mid-speech. Gaster gestured at them, blue energy flowing from his fingers and pulling them behind him as he walked back into the spire.
Headmaster Gaster's Office was a large round room at the very top of the spire. It was an elegant room, with finely made furniture and lots of expensive looking tools he presumably used for his own research. At a mere gesture, he made two chairs pull up behind the floating forms of Asriel and Shye. The blue glow around them faded, leaving them to fall into the chairs as the Headmaster sat down at his desk.
"Look, I'm sorry if I-"
"I didn't bring you here to talk about footwear," he said, not unkindly. "I'm afraid that your stay may be a little longer than I suspected. The other parties I spoke of have become … sidetracked.
Asriel and Shye exchanged glances that made it clear neither of them was particularly bothered by this news. Still, a sense of duty prompted Asriel to ask, "Is Nowhere still okay? I mean, with the ichor from the Floating Fields so close?"
"Nowhere is fine," Gaster promised. "I contacted Mayor Mayor this morning, and he assured me that the haven't found the ichor within the bounds of the city."
As Asriel breathed a sigh of relief, Shye asked, "Who are we waitin' for?"
"I … am not entirely sure, to be honest," Gaster confessed. "I know they are tied to the matter at hand, but why? I don't know. Do not worry; their seekers are quite enthusiastic."
"And the last piece of the Everstar?" Asriel asked, a hand clutching at his chest. "I can feel more every day, somewhere south of here."
"I understand your desire to reunite the shards, Prince Asriel, but believe me when I say that traveling the mountains, even with your current footwear, would be a fool's journey. There's a reason what lays beyond is unknown; even magic hasn't helped people pass the Chorus Mountain range."
Before anyone could say anything more, the doors to the room shot open, revealing a mole-man complete with mining hat and pick.
"Headmaster! He said, stumbling forward. "We gotta situation! We were diggin' tunnel eighty-seven, and you ain't gonna believe what' we found!"
Gaster held up a hand to stay his words. Smiling at Asriel and Shye, he said, "Well, that was all I needed to relay to you. By all means, continue your play."
"Er, right," Shye said, slipping out of the chair. "C'mon, Asriel."
"What? But …" Asriel stopped talking, both from the look Shye gave him and from the sight of Mina sitting under Gaster's desk.
They hurried out of the room and moved a few floors down before Shye stopped and seemed to wait.
"Shye?" Asriel asked, only for her to shush him.
It was a good ten minutes before she said, "Oh, we gotta check this out!"
"Check what …" Asriel stopped as Shye took off running. Sighing, he hurried after her. The boots needed the force of impact to work, so they had to go on foot until they were again outside the spire. From there, Shye made a beeline to the courtyard. It was only when they were under the shade of the cluster of trees near the entrance that she finally came to a halt.
"You bugged Mina, didn't you?" Asriel asked.
She snorted. "Of course not. I made her my familiar. It's easy enough to set up, and now I can talk to her, see through her eyes, and even hear through her ears … and her ears just heard something really cool. You wanna hear?"
Asriel was torn, but curiosity won out over his respect of Headmaster Gaster's privacy. "All right; what is it?"
"That mole guy was the leader of a team that looks for ways to expand the campus. They dig into the mountains for materials and space, but apparently their furthest team found some kinda huge cavern on the other side. Mole-guy didn't give any details, so I figured we could go take a look, yeah?"
"What, just us?" Asriel asked, "Shouldn't we get Golemite?"
"Ah, she's gone all security guard. She'll report us so we stay nice and safe and bored. Well, if she wants to stay here, that's her business, but this is our adventure!" Shye said, her hand on Asriel's arm. "Let's check this one out ourselves!"
"But what if it's dangerous?" Asriel persisted.
Shye opened her pack and pulled out one of Asriel's crystal swords. He stared at it for a moment before glaring at her. "You've been in my room?"
"I was looking for something," She explained, waving this off as though it were unimportant. "Besides, we both got magic. What's the worst that could happen?"
"We could get lost, captured, killed-"
"Well, yeah, if you put it like that, anything sounds bad. There could be lots a cool stuff there too, like … like giant floating mushrooms and six-legged mice."
Asriel raised an eyebrow at her. "You're weird."
"All right, I guess I don't have your imagination, but seriously, Azzie: anything could be over there. Besides, I'm bored of this place; I left home to see things, not just get stuck at some big school waiting for who-knows-who. We've been here three months already! Aren't you just a teensy bit bored?"
"Well," Asriel admitted, "Maybe just a little, but-"
"See?" She said, bopping him on the shoulder, "Meet me in front of the cafeteria after supper, and we'll head out, all right? All right."
"All right … no, wait a-" Asriel stopped talking; Shye was already out of ear-shot.
She was right; as comforting as his time had been at the University, there was an ever-growing urgency inside him about the ichor. Whatever was causing it was out there somewhere, and he was just sitting here, reading. Then there was the Everstar; he'd told Gaster the truth when he said he could feel the shards pulling him toward the south. Perhaps the cavern held a clue … or perhaps it was just another cave beneath the Chorus Mountains, home to nothing more but more rocks.
"Still," he reasoned to himself, perking up considerably as he headed toward the dormitory where he'd been staying. "At least we'll be doing something … and maybe she's right. Maybe there will be something cool hidden there."
ns 15.158.61.20da2
