“Oh gods, I’m so sick…” Unona crumpled out of the automobile, vomiting into the bushes. The Martins would have thought about returning her jeers from the start of the car ride, if not for the fact they too were depositing the contents of their stomach in the brush alongside the road.

Marten stumbled about as well, only Marton seemed immune to the speeds at which they traveled. A distance that might have taken several days otherwise instead only took part of the night. Moving at a vicious velocity, the passengers felt like their bodies were about to be shaken to pieces as they traveled faster than man was meant to go.

“Let’s...let’s take a break. At least until dawn.” Martin cradled his head in his hands supporting himself against a tree. “We’d end up in way more trouble if they found us slinking around at night.”

“Nessy will surely be moving about during the day, we must press on! Our stomachs can calm as we head towards the Jegel campus.” Marten straightened himself out. “Move out!”

Marton parked the car a ways from the actual campus grounds. The academy of Jegel was built in the countryside, and owned a large plot of countryside. Small knolls peppered the landscape, along with vibrant groves, and idyllic lakes. Famed as a peaceful place suited for meditation, it was one of the premier schools for magicians; though their courses on runes didn’t lag far behind Lockheed either. Marten never considered attending Jegel for the obvious reason; it was an all-girls school.

They still parked on the grounds, but far back from the main buildings. It wasn't their first excursion across the forbidden territory, so they had a path planned out. Swathed in black, they moved forward with Morton and Marten in the lead, with the rest following, hunched down. Thin clouds resulted in a dimly lit night, but that would be enough to reveal their silhouettes, so the group needed to move carefully.

Getting caught could lead to a variety of sentences; legally speaking they would probably be hit with a hefty fine, maybe some Community Production and reparations as well. For a group with wealthy runemasters, this wasn’t much of a problem. The real trouble came from being exposed and being in the eyes of the public. Several factions within Jegel were headed by women who loved hunting down male trespassers, even after they fulfilled the legal obligations.

To Marten, such a risk was nothing, and his brothers would stand by him all the way. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were about to get caught.

Holding up a hand for the group to halt as the outline of the academy buildings came into view, Marten and Marton mirrored each other, both sensing something at the same time.

“I got this.” Marten kneeled to the ground, removing various tools and laying them out on the lush grass. Four different runes were laid out, each incredibly detailed and the size of a palm. Some glowing, the patterns changed as they were moved closer and farther to the seemingly empty space in front of them. “Looks like they’ve got the essence recorder and they’ve improved their dick detector.” Unona snickered, to which he responded with a shrug. “Hey, it’s not like we know what it’s actually called. Marton, can you whip up a mask for Unona and the rest? I need a few more moments to check out what they did.”

“Easily done.” Marton nodded, and turned to Unona. “Push your hair back and lend me your pulse.”

“Uh, sure. What’s going on?” Since they were still quite a distance from the grounds proper, they spoke with each other freely. Unona, a simple barista, caught bits and pieces of how magic worked but was not trained. Even if she was, the theories being applied were difficult for even the Martins to grasp.

“One of the arrays detects the essence of any living being that passes through, recording the time. To fool it, one’s essence must be overlayed with one that does not register. This act is similar to holding one’s breath, I need to get a better sense of you before creating a mask.” Grabbing her wrist and placing his other hand on her forehead, his eyes closed in thought.

In the meanwhile, Marten knelt on the ground, shuffling around the four runes, bringing out several more coated under a glassy film. Pouring a mysterious liquid from one of his many vials, he used his hands to thoroughly rub it around, dissolving the transparent coating. As he did so, they began to glow as well.

Bringing out a flat board marked with even gridlines and concentric circles, Marten placed each on a specific point, before moving them along the lines, watching how the color changed shades and intensity. After four minutes, he brought out a larger stone tablet about a square foot in size. He began etching, and after observing the changes in the colored runic array, he nodded to himself.

“They mixed a bunch of crap up with it this time, but we’re good. Say when ready.”

“I volunteer myself as the first to pass through. Should it fail then it shall be I alone who bears the results!” Martin stepped forward, slightly curbing his volume. Marton nodded and his hands dashed through the air in an indiscernible pattern, at a speed too fast for their eyes to catch.

The only First Floor runemaster among them, Marton Primus-Tayro KeDolas. First in line to the head of the mysterious underworld organization led by the KeDolas family, his prodigal talent far surpassed Marten’s own. While the First Floor of Lockheed Academy was the largest, that was only by virtue of the fact that upon reaching that level, there was no longer any compulsion to leave the academy.

Runeless Masters as they were sometimes referred to, were the elites even in the rune-focused academy. Capable of drawing runes midair was the threshold to join, a level of achievement which remained a dream for most. It either required an immense understanding of runes, or a very high ability in controlling one’s mana externally. Marton was capable of both.

Upon completion of the invisible runic seal, Martin lightly jolted. Marten placed placed his hands on the new tablet and gestures for him to go ahead. He stepped forward, bracing himself.

“You are still two meters from the threshold.” Marton informed him without any emotion, eliciting snickers. Unfazed, he strode forward past the invisible barrier. Only those with high sensitivity and analytical skills could detect the location of a runic barrier; unfortunately for the Martins, they were not quite so advanced. Of course even Runeless Masters were not guaranteed to have such capabilities, so it was no great shame.

The process repeated, the step with Marten’s tablet omitted for Unona, as she was a woman. Successfully breaching the first barrier was no cause for celebration, it was the equivalent of leaping a waist high fence. The real challenge lay in finding Vanessa without being discovered.

“Alright Unona, you said this gal paid for all of Nessa’s tuition costs, right? Then I bet she's loaded, she probably lives on the suite levels.” Martin gestured to one of the corner buildings with an excessive amount of glass windows; the Jegel dorms. “If we get the side the building has roof access, but there are two different dorm buildings, and I don't think we really have any other clues to go off of.”

“Sounds like you've snuck in here before; you're such bad boys. Well, I should make myself useful during this escapade. How about I just knock on some doors and ask where Ness is staying?”

“Yeah, sounds good. That means it’s your go next Martin.” Heartily chortling, Martin flexed his muscles.

“I’ll get you all to the top in one piece! Just count on me!”

Slinking up to the corner of the building, Marten took out a pair of gauntlets and sollerets with runes inscribed on the front with wires running along the back and into the metal casing. Martin put it on and held his hand against the wall. Marten and Marton looked at the point of contact and gave him a thumbs up.

Throwing a coil of rope around his shoulder, Martin gave a salute and began to practically sprint up the wall. Upon reaching the top, four stories up, he disappeared over the edge for a few moments before the rope came down, followed by Martin repelling himself back down. Marten let out a sigh and hung his head.

“I'll leave it to you two dashing princes.” Unona looked confused for a second before she was scooped up by Martin, and Marten by Marton. The physically adept of the group then quickly hauled themselves and their passenger up the rope, both of them somehow managing to do so with grace.

Martin, the odd man out, was in middling shape, slowly bringing up the rear by himself. He was the only one panting by the time he fell onto the roof.

“Gah...at least I...didn't have to be carried up...like some doll.” He directed the jab at Marten, but Unona gave him a good kick to the shins, frowning. Rolling over in pain, he decided to just lay facedown on the stone for a while.

A mere physical lock, the door down was quickly opened, Unona disappearing down the stairwell. The Marts patiently waited,sitting and watching the skies as they did so.

“So have you even thought of anything to say yet?”

“I'm unsure if the words I have could possibly express what I wish them to.” Marten looked at his feet. He could put things eloquently at times, but he wasn't any good at knowing what to say in the first place.

He and Vanessa hadn't spent much time alone with each other, but they did meet almost daily at the Poet’s Ruin as well as other places around town. He enjoyed her sense of humor, a mix between Unona’s lewd jokes and Myra’s subtle references. The way they could go back and forth about the conspiratorial theories about the far off portions of the world, how they both had far off dreams…

Perhaps that was just friendship, the same things could be said for the rest of the Marts. But Marten felt so shiny when he was with her. He needed to at least try, even if it may have been too late.

“Hah, this is our Ten. His mouth is the nest of a thousand songbirds; it matters not what he says, for his emotions shall carry his intent to Vanessa’s ears. Our brother is pure hearted unlike us vagabonds. There is no way under the skies that she will not listen to him.” Martin’s voice began to get away with him, but he did not reach the point where he would be heard through the walls.

“Yeah, that’s not how people work. You, maybe, but not people.”

“Marten, as long as you speak what you feel, then no matter the result it will be as it is meant to be.”

“Yeah. Well, thanks for the vote of confidence guys.”

“Hey, I think you're boned.”

“I did not mean to indicate success, merely closure.”

“Right….” Marten groaned. As vehement as Martin’s support was, it wasn't the best gauge of success.

After some time spent chatting, the tastefully simple door to the roof swung open. Unona returned successfully, an eager smile on her face.

“Okay Romeo, I found your girl. Now come give me a show.”

The halls of Jegel surpassed Lockheed Academy in terms of aesthetics by miles; surprisingly of them, it was the younger Martin who praised the design. The building had a very soft scent to it, and even the tiled floors seemed more comfortable than mere stone. Unona wasn't one to enjoy such sights, and quickly dragged the quartet past the white wooden doors until they came to a seemingly random position near the center.

“You ready to try and sweep her off her feet?” She elbowed the blue-haired rune master who tried breathing deeply to calm himself. “But if you're going to take her right there, remember we’re still in the room. Make sure I get a good view~”

“You’re incorrigible, you know that? Well, don't keep us waiting. If things looks favorable for you, we can just drag her out of there.” Martin gave a glare to Unona, the bickering between the two never stopped.

Marten knocked on the door. Waiting, he knocked again. There was the faint sound of feet patting against tile on the other side of the door. And then the door opened.