CHAPTER 94: MORNING OBSERVATIONS

The sound of a bell echoing through the stone corridors woke Renard from his light sleep. The crystal lights in the ceiling brightened automatically, shifting from the dim glow they maintained during night hours to full daylight intensity.

Renard sat up on his narrow bed, instantly alert.

Around him, he could hear other students stirring in their rooms. Footsteps moved through the corridors, doors opened and closed, and quiet conversations drifted through the stone walls. The monastery was coming to life for another day.

Inside his shirt, Boa lifted her small head and looked at him with bright golden eyes. She’d remained perfectly still throughout the night, understanding somehow that stealth was essential to their mission.

"Morning, little one," Renard whispered softly. "Ready to start exploring?"

Boa flicked her tongue out and made a barely audible hissing sound that he took as agreement.

Renard dressed quickly in the simple brown robes that had been left in his room’s wooden chest. The fabric was rough but sturdy, designed for practical use rather than comfort. As he pulled the robes over his head, he made sure Boa was securely hidden against his ribs where her small form wouldn’t be noticed.

The washing facilities Elder Thomas had mentioned were located at the end of his corridor - a communal room with stone basins fed by pipes that brought water from somewhere higher in the mountain. The water was cold, as expected, but clean and clear.

Several other students were already washing when Renard arrived. Most looked tired and uncertain, still adjusting to their new surroundings. A few nodded politely at him, but no one seemed interested in conversation so early in the morning.

Renard washed quickly and efficiently, then made his way toward the common hall where breakfast would be served. But instead of heading directly there, he took a detour through the corridors to get a better sense of the Outer Hall’s layout.

The monastery was larger than it had appeared during his brief tour with Elder Thomas. Corridors branched off in multiple directions, leading to areas that hadn’t been mentioned in yesterday’s orientation. Some passages were well-lit and clearly meant for regular use. Others were dimmer, with fewer crystal lights, suggesting they led to less frequently visited areas.

Renard made careful mental notes of everything he observed. The location of storage rooms, the pattern of foot traffic through different corridors, the positioning of what appeared to be instructor quarters based on the higher quality doors and better lighting.

He also paid attention to the security measures. Some passages had additional inscriptions carved into their walls - not the decorative symbols he’d seen elsewhere, but practical magical defenses. Warning spells, detection enchantments, barriers that would alert someone if unauthorized people tried to pass through.

’Definitely places worth investigating later,’ he thought.

As he explored, Renard encountered more students moving through the corridors. Most were heading toward the common hall for breakfast, but a few seemed to be running errands or attending to other duties. He noticed that some students wore different colored trim on their robes - thin strips of blue, green, or red fabric sewn along the sleeves or collar.

When he spotted another student with plain brown robes like his own, Renard decided to ask about the color coding.

"Excuse me," he said, approaching a girl about his own age with short dark hair. "I’m new here. What do the different colored trims mean?"

The girl looked at him with curious brown eyes. "You really are new. Those show how long someone’s been here and what level of training they’ve reached. Plain brown means you just arrived. Blue trim is for students who’ve been here a few months and passed basic evaluations. Green is for advanced students who might be considered for Inner Hall advancement."

"What about red?"

"Red trim means you’re already being considered for special programs or have been selected for advanced study tracks." She paused and looked him up and down. "You won’t see many red trim students in the common areas. They usually eat with the instructors or have separate schedules."

Renard thanked her and continued toward the common hall, filing away this new information. The color coding system would help him identify which students might have access to restricted areas or information about the monastery’s deeper operations.

The common hall turned out to be a large circular chamber similar to the Archive of Flowing Knowledge he’d seen yesterday, but without the moving text on the walls. Long wooden tables filled the space, arranged in concentric circles around a central serving area where monastery staff distributed food from large pots and cauldrons.

The meal was simple but filling - porridge with dried fruit, fresh bread, and weak tea that tasted like it had been brewed from mountain herbs. Renard found a seat at one of the outer tables and ate while observing the other students.

Most seemed to be between twelve and sixteen years old, though a few looked older. The majority appeared to be from common backgrounds based on their behavior and table manners, but there were clearly some noble-born students scattered throughout the group. Those from wealthy families sat straighter, spoke more confidently, and seemed less intimidated by their surroundings.

As he ate, Renard listened to conversations happening around him. Much of the talk centered on yesterday’s staircase trial and speculation about what training would involve.

"I heard someone died on the stairs," a boy with freckles was saying to his table companions. "Stepped too far and just collapsed. They had to carry him down."

"That’s not true," another student replied. "I saw him this morning in the washing room. He’s fine, just exhausted."

"Well, something happened to that crazy boy who was hitting his head against the stones. I haven’t seen him since yesterday."

Renard’s attention sharpened. They were talking about Ian.

"Maybe they took him to see a healer," a girl suggested. "All that blood couldn’t have been good for him."

"Or maybe they decided he was too unstable for training," the freckled boy said. "I heard the instructors don’t want students who might go berserk during lessons."

Renard continued eating while filing away this information. If Ian hadn’t appeared for breakfast, it could mean several things. He might be recovering from his injuries, undergoing special evaluation, or possibly being held somewhere for observation.

After finishing his meal, Renard decided to continue his exploration of the Outer Hall before classes began. He had maybe an hour before the first lessons started, according to the schedule Elder Thomas had given him.

He made his way to the middle level where the training rooms and classrooms were located. This area was busier than the living quarters, with instructors moving between rooms and preparing for the day’s lessons. Renard walked casually through the corridors, appearing to simply familiarize himself with the layout while actually conducting reconnaissance.

The training rooms were impressive. Some contained arrays of practice weapons mounted on the walls. Others had been cleared completely to provide open space for magical exercises. A few had specialized equipment that Renard didn’t recognize - crystalline formations, metal frameworks with inscribed symbols, pools of water that seemed to glow with internal light.

The classrooms were simpler but well-equipped with wooden desks, writing materials, and what appeared to be magical demonstration equipment. Charts and diagrams covered the walls, showing everything from anatomical drawings to complex magical formulas.

As he explored, Renard noticed that several corridors led deeper into the mountain, toward areas that were clearly off-limits to students. Heavy doors marked with warning symbols blocked these passages, and he could sense magical defenses protecting them.

’Inner Hall access points,’ he concluded. Those would be his eventual targets once he figured out how to get past the security measures.

Renard made his way toward the upper level where instructor quarters and administrative offices were located. This area was clearly restricted - he’d noted several warning symbols near the staircases leading up - but he wanted to get a sense of its layout before attempting any unauthorized exploration.

The upper level passages were different from the student areas. Better lighting, higher quality stonework, and what appeared to be more sophisticated magical defenses. The air itself felt different here, charged with protective enchantments that made his skin tingle slightly.

Renard didn’t try to go far into the restricted area - that would be too risky during daylight hours when instructors were moving around. But he made mental notes of what he could observe from the boundary areas.

Door positions, corridor layouts, the location of what appeared to be guard posts or monitoring stations. Information that would be crucial when he eventually needed to penetrate these defenses.

As he made his way back toward the student areas, Renard reflected on what he’d learned during his morning exploration. The monastery was indeed a complex operation with multiple layers of security and access control. Getting to the Inner Hall would require either advancement through official channels or finding ways to bypass the magical defenses.

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