Isaac picked up a book from one of the shelves. From the great number of books in the small alcove, Isaac didn’t bother to read through the entire collection as he briefly skimmed through the book’s contents. On the front of it was the title, “Research Notes of the Summer of the Ninth Year under King Vernus’ Reign”. Even the length of the title bored Isaac.
From what he briefly skimmed through, Isaac learned a lot. First, Isaac learned that the professor’s name was Grevialus Banalaum, which sounded familiar to him from his training days. Second, in between the thick pages of the book was a terribly drawn map drawn by Grevialus himself. The crude, charcoal drawings on his notes proved he was the crappy cartographer, though at least it was understandable. Third, Grevialus was working on a transportation spell to hasten interregional trades, though the research notes abruptly ended at the experimental stage.
“Odd…” Isaac said. The book was the latest of them all, so Isaac didn’t read the other ones as he walked out of the alcove with the mage’s staff and the map. He then followed a small pathway into an atrium, much larger than the alcove he just came from.
Magic torches lit the room as smashed, wooden tables and chairs were strewn about. What was left of crates and boxes were crushed into splinters, the rotten fruits and food attracting a few bugs. The place stank of rot and decay, becoming worse the longer Isaac stayed.
“Eugh!” he grimaced and tried not to breath. On the ground was some rusted armor, made from iron and some leather. Soggy and crusty, it looked like it wouldn’t last even in a mock battle, but Isaac sighed and put it on, fitting his body and shielding it.
The atrium had four pathways, all somewhat similar in appearance. They all went at different directions as more torches lit them up. The only distinctions of each path were the turns they took: the first one went down a slope, the second turned to the left, the third went upwards, and the fourth turned to the right.