Chapter 247: The Fugitive Scholar

Chapter 247: The Fugitive Scholar

Noah focused on the goblin he had noticed near the public square. The man was shorter than most of the pedestrians around him, with an old leather satchel hanging from one shoulder and two wrapped parcels tucked under his arm. He stopped beside a street vendor to adjust his grip. When his sleeve slid toward his elbow, Noah saw several dark lines running across the inside of his wrist.

They resembled the rune patterns Noah had seen on Eldrath’s industrial machines. Those patterns were normally engraved into manufactured components and connected to crystal assemblies. The marks on this goblin followed the contours of his arm, disappearing beneath his sleeve.

The goblin noticed a patrol entering the square. He pulled his sleeve down, picked up his parcels, and turned into a side street before the officers came close. He did not run, but he glanced behind him twice as he crossed an intersection. Noah followed his movements through his planetary connection.

The goblin took a long route through the residential district, stopping briefly at a food stall. He bought a container of rice and vegetables, tucked it beside the parcels, and continued toward an older row of buildings. Several windows were boarded over, and a repair notice hung outside one of the entrances. He entered through a narrow side door, using a key and then a code on a second lock.

Inside, the ground floor looked like a storage room. Shelves held cleaning supplies, damaged furniture, and boxes covered with dust. The goblin walked past them to a reinforced door at the back. After checking a small display beside the frame, he entered another code and stepped into a laboratory.

Noah looked around the room. An instrument occupied most of the central workbench, with cables running from its control unit to an enclosed crystal chamber. Smaller devices and containers of components filled the adjoining benches. The walls were covered with diagrams of rune arrangements alongside drawings of goblin anatomy. A narrow bed stood beside a sink, and several changes of clothing had been folded onto a chair. The room contained no windows.

The goblin placed his parcels on the bench, took off his coat, and sat down to eat. He finished quickly, washed the container, and pulled a packet of medical dressings from a drawer. Then he rolled up his left sleeve.

The marks Noah had seen in the square extended much farther than he had realized. Thin rune patterns crossed the goblin’s forearm, interrupted by small scars and patches of discolored skin. At two points, metallic fittings were embedded beneath healed incisions. The goblin pressed carefully around one fitting, winced, and replaced a strip of dressing that had come loose.

A message appeared on the nearest terminal. The goblin read it before opening a file labeled Vrizzik — Biological Rune Integration. The document contained photographs of his arm, instrument readings, and several dated entries recording failed trials. Noah finally had a name for him.

Vrizzik scrolled through the latest results and compared them with a diagram on the wall. The diagram showed a rune arrangement fitted to a curved support, with arrows indicating how the assembly was intended to connect to a living body. He checked two measurements, crossed out a value on the display, and adjusted the design.

An older file was open beneath the work area. Its heading bore the name of a public research institute, followed by Vrizzik’s former title: senior scholar of industrial rune applications. Another document, partly concealed by the others, carried an official seal and the words Research Authorization Revoked. Noah enlarged it enough to read the attached notice. The institute had prohibited further experiments involving living subjects following a laboratory incident. A later warrant sought Vrizzik for unauthorized experimentation and the removal of restricted equipment.

Vrizzik closed the notice without reading it again. He pulled an old laboratory photograph from under a stack of papers and set it against the wall. It showed him standing with several colleagues beside a much larger machine. One corner of the photograph had been bent so often that the surface was beginning to split.

He returned to the technical files. The early diagrams had been drawn for industrial equipment, with runes inscribed on rigid materials and supported by external power regulation. The newer designs placed the same types of patterns against biological structures. Several had been rejected in his own records after causing damage to the surrounding tissue. One trial had ended with a warning that the subject’s pulse had become irregular. Another showed a burned section of a fitted support.

Vrizzik reviewed the failures without hurrying. He compared the readings, opened a manufacturing diagram from the Arcane-Industrial Integration archive, and altered the arrangement of one of the rune segments. Then he sent a short request for another batch of treated crystal fragments.

The reply came almost immediately: Delivery approved. Your sponsor is coming tonight.

Vrizzik stared at the message, then checked the time. He pushed back his chair, carried the dirty dressings to a disposal unit, and began clearing one end of the central bench. He moved most of the loose papers into a locked cabinet. The original institute photograph went inside as well.

Noah remained focused on the room. He had watched goblin engineers engrave runes into industrial machinery many times, but he had never seen a researcher attempt to put them into a living body. Vrizzik’s files showed years of work, first at a public institution and later in this concealed laboratory. Whatever he hoped to accomplish, he had already injured himself repeatedly in the attempt.

A signal sounded at the outer door. Vrizzik checked the security display, waited until the visitor entered the second code, and released the laboratory lock. A broad-shouldered goblin wearing a dark coat stepped inside with a small equipment case. He examined the room before setting the case on the bench.

"You missed the last call," the visitor said.

"I was working. The results are in the file I sent yesterday."

"I saw the file. They asked me why there’s another list of components and still no demonstration."

Vrizzik opened the equipment case. Inside were crystal fragments sealed in individual containers and a set of precision fittings. He inspected the labels while he answered.

"The previous array overheated. I’ve changed the layout and replaced the sections that were causing trouble. I’m testing it tonight."

"You told me that last week."

"Last week I found out what was wrong with it. Do you expect me to put the same thing back in my arm?"

The visitor took a chair without being invited. "They expect progress, Vrizzik. We’ve paid for this place, the instruments, and the materials. And we’ve kept the authorities from finding you."

"I’ve made progress. Those measurements wouldn’t exist without the equipment you brought."

"Then show me what they mean."

Vrizzik turned the terminal toward him. "The rune holds for a few seconds when it’s mounted outside the body. When I connect it to tissue, the readings become unstable. I’ve changed the contact arrangement and reduced the load. If tonight’s test works, I can keep the structure active without damaging the surrounding area."

The visitor studied the display for several moments. "And if it doesn’t work?"

"I’ll know which part failed. Then I’ll change it."

"That’s what you keep telling us." He leaned forward. "The Black Coil didn’t take you in so you could spend the rest of your life making drawings. They need something they can use."

Vrizzik placed one of the crystal containers on the table. "You knew what stage the research was at when you offered to fund it. I showed your people the damaged samples and the medical records. None of that was hidden."

"That was months ago."

"And I’ve done months of work since then. I can’t make living tissue behave like a metal plate."

The visitor looked at the rune markings on Vrizzik’s exposed arm. "You’ve been testing on yourself again."

"There isn’t anyone else."

"You could use the volunteers we discussed."

"Not until I can keep the rune stable on my own arm. The last volunteer trial at the institute put two people in the hospital. I’m not repeating that here."

"You didn’t seem so cautious when you took the research files and ran."

Vrizzik’s expression hardened. "They revoked my authorization after the accident. I asked for time to finish the safety work, and they ordered every experiment stopped. I took the files because they were going to lock up the entire project."

"You also took equipment that belonged to the institute. That’s why the warrant is still active." The visitor tapped the case. "This shipment wasn’t easy to obtain. Our suppliers are starting to ask questions."

Vrizzik closed the lid and pushed it aside. "Then tell them I need a few days to test the new array. There’s nothing useful to demonstrate until I’ve done that."

The visitor remained seated. "The people financing you are losing patience. They need someone who can use a rune without carrying a machine around. If you get that working, they can find uses for it. But they’re not going to keep buying crystals for another year without seeing a result."

"I understand."

"I don’t think you do. They asked me to look at the apparatus tonight. I’ll stay until you’ve run the test."

Vrizzik glanced at the equipment beside the central bench. "You can watch from behind the partition. Don’t touch the controls, and don’t interrupt once I start."

"Fine. I wasn’t planning to help you with the wiring."

The visitor rose and walked toward a small adjoining room separated from the laboratory by reinforced glass. Vrizzik waited until he had stepped inside before unlocking the crystal chamber. He removed the old assembly and placed it on a tray beside two damaged versions. Then he cleaned the chamber and began installing the new fittings.

Noah watched as Vrizzik worked through the preparation. The scholar attached the crystal fragments one by one, checking their positions against the diagram on his terminal. He measured the connections, adjusted the mounting supports, and repeated the checks after replacing the cover. When one reading fell outside the range he had marked, he stopped and inspected the corresponding component rather than continuing.

His sponsor spoke through the intercom. "How much longer?"

"I’m checking the contacts. One of them isn’t sitting properly."

"You’ve already checked them twice."

"And I found a problem on the third check. Give me a minute."

The visitor muttered something Noah couldn’t make out and stepped away from the glass. Vrizzik removed the fitting, cleaned it, and installed it again. This time he accepted the reading and moved on to the next connection.

While the apparatus ran its preliminary checks, he opened an older research recording. Noah saw a younger Vrizzik speaking to a group of colleagues in a bright laboratory. The sound was low, but the scholar’s voice was clear enough to hear when he enlarged a diagram of a rune assembly attached to a flexible support.

"We can regulate mana through manufactured components," the younger Vrizzik told the group. "If we can develop a safe connection to living tissue, the rune could operate without a separate external unit. The first step is finding a structure the body can tolerate."

A colleague in the recording asked whether any such structure had been tested. Vrizzik answered that work was still being done with prepared tissue and that live trials would require additional approval. He looked confident in the recording, standing beside a full team with equipment far more advanced than what occupied his present laboratory.

Vrizzik stopped the recording before it reached the end. He sat for a moment, rubbing the scar above his wrist, then returned to the current design. He checked the fastening on a narrow support intended to fit around his forearm. Dark runes ran along its inner surface, matching the patterns already marked on his skin.

Noah studied the markings on Vrizzik’s arm. He had seen similar runes engraved into factory equipment, where a faulty assembly could be removed and replaced. The scars along Vrizzik’s forearm showed where earlier attempts had gone wrong. He continued adjusting the apparatus despite the tenderness around the fittings.

Vrizzik connected the support to the testing apparatus. He lowered his sleeve, exposing the full set of markings on his forearm, and examined the skin around the older fittings. Several patches were still inflamed. He cleaned the area, replaced a protective layer over one scar, and fitted the support into place.

"Are you ready?" the visitor asked over the intercom.

"Almost. I need the preliminary readings."

Vrizzik activated the measuring instruments. Values appeared on the display, and he compared them with the acceptable ranges recorded beside the current design. He repeated the check with the support disconnected, then restored the connection and watched the numbers settle. His movements were steady, although he paused twice to flex his fingers and test the feeling in his hand.

"You should have someone else doing this," the visitor said.

"You heard what I said about volunteers."

"I heard you. If you damage that arm, you’ll have trouble finishing the work."

Vrizzik glanced toward the glass. "Then stop talking while I’m checking the instrument."

The visitor folded his arms and said nothing more. Vrizzik returned to the control panel and brought up a final list of readings. After checking the values, he placed his forearm inside the apparatus and tightened the support until it was secure. The rune markings on his skin lined up with those on the fitted assembly.

Noah shifted his attention closer. The runes he had seen operating machines in Eldrath’s factories were now aligned along Vrizzik’s forearm. He watched the scholar’s hand resting inside the apparatus, wondering whether those patterns could function within a living body.

Vrizzik drew a slow breath and reached for the activation control. The display showed that the crystal chamber was charged. He glanced once at the readings, checked the support around his forearm, and pressed the control.

The apparatus began operating. A faint light appeared along the runes, and Vrizzik kept his arm still as the first measurements appeared on the screen.