The days following their encounter with the cloaked figure were tense. Lyra, Nara, and Jhaeros couldn't shake the feeling that Kalem was hiding something. While they tried to maintain a sense of normalcy in their day-to-day routines, they also began to quietly watch him more closely, each with their own approach.
Nara's patience, or lack thereof, was not suited for subtlety. She made no effort to hide her suspicions, her piercing gaze often landing on Kalem in the dining hall or during their shared classes.
"So, what's your next big project, Kalem?" she asked one evening at dinner, her tone deceptively casual.
Kalem barely looked up from his plate. "Something for the end-of-term showcase," he replied nonchalantly.
"Oh, is that so? You've been working awfully hard lately," Nara pressed. "What's got you so motivated?"
Kalem's fork paused mid-air for the briefest moment before he continued eating. "Isn't that the point of being here? To work hard?"
Nara huffed, leaning back in her chair. "Sure. Just don't burn yourself out."
Jhaeros shot her a warning look, silently urging her to back off, but Nara simply shrugged and went back to her meal.
Lyra took a different approach, opting for quiet observation. She'd always been good at noticing patterns, and Kalem's habits were no exception. She made mental notes of his comings and goings, the times he left the workshop, and the materials he seemed to be stockpiling.
One evening, she spotted him leaving the library with a stack of books. Curious, she waited until he was out of sight before sneaking a look at the titles. Most were on metallurgy and enchanting, but one caught her attention: Runic Mechanisms: The Art of Secret Machines.
"Interesting choice," she murmured to herself.
Later, she shared her findings with Jhaeros and Nara.
"He's working on something big," Lyra said, her voice low as they gathered in Jhaeros' dorm room. "Something that requires precision, secrecy, and, judging by that book, some pretty advanced rune work."
"That doesn't prove anything," Jhaeros pointed out. "Kalem's always been ambitious. This could just be another project."
"Or it could be why he's sneaking around the market," Lyra countered.
Jhaeros, ever the observer, decided to take matters into his own hands. Using his Ilvaar reflexes and stealth, he began tailing Kalem when the opportunity arose.
One night, he followed Kalem as he left the workshop and made his way across campus. Kalem seemed cautious, glancing over his shoulder occasionally, but Jhaeros was careful to keep his distance, blending into the shadows.
Kalem eventually entered a storage building near the back of the academy grounds. Jhaeros crept closer, peering through a crack in the wooden door. Inside, Kalem was carefully inspecting a large crate filled with what appeared to be enchanted metal fragments.
"What are you up to?" Jhaeros whispered to himself.
Before he could gather more information, a creak behind him made him whirl around. A stray cat darted past, its sudden appearance breaking his focus. By the time he turned back to the door, Kalem had finished and was locking the crate.
The next morning, the trio convened to share their findings.
"He's definitely hiding something," Jhaeros said, recounting his late-night surveillance. "That crate he was looking at—there was something off about it. Those metal pieces weren't ordinary materials."
"See? I knew it," Nara said, her tone triumphant.
Lyra frowned. "But what's his angle? If he's working on something illegal, why would he risk doing it on academy grounds? He's smarter than that."
"Unless he thinks no one will suspect him here," Nara argued.
"Or," Jhaeros interjected, "he's not working alone. That underground market was too organized to just be a coincidence. What if Kalem's tied to them in some way?"
The idea hung in the air, heavy with implications.
"We need to confront him," Nara said firmly.
"No," Lyra countered. "Not yet. If we push too hard, he'll just shut us out completely."
"So what do we do?" Jhaeros asked.
"We keep watching," Lyra said. "And if we find anything concrete, then we'll confront him."
Unaware of his friends' suspicions, Kalem continued his work with quiet determination. The project he was working on—the gauntlets he had mentioned at the festival—was more than just a showcase piece. It was a test, a way to prove to himself that he could push the boundaries of what was possible.
But the materials he needed weren't easy to come by, and his usual suppliers couldn't provide what he required. That was why he'd turned to the underground market, despite the risks.
As he etched another rune into the gauntlet's surface, his thoughts drifted back to the cloaked figure the others had seen. He knew they suspected him, and while he hadn't been the one in the market that day, he couldn't shake the feeling that whoever it was, they were watching him too.
Kalem set his tools down and leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. If his friends found out what he was really doing, would they understand? Or would they see him as a threat?
He sighed, rubbing his temples. "I don't have time for this," he muttered, picking up his tools again.
As the days went on, the trio's surveillance grew more intense, and Kalem's secrecy became harder to ignore. Both sides were moving closer to a confrontation, but neither could predict the larger forces at play—forces that would soon bring their hidden fears and doubts into the light.
For in the shadows of the academy and the streets of Eryndale, whispers of unrest were growing louder. And the secrets they each held would prove to be only the beginning of a far greater conflict.