The rolled-up paper led the three of them to a set of four equally sized houses—their base made of cobblestone, their walls painted in white, the bright color starkly contrasting the dark brown of the painted wooden beams that hold the houses together. As they made their way through the path that led through the set of buildings, they eventually stopped in front of a wooden door - a dated metal number was nailed onto its outside.
All of them had the same number as their first of the three numbers printed onto their scroll. Upon getting a closer look, their numbers followed up to each other—Midas's number was first, as the third number on his paper came before Javelin's, which then was followed by the number that was written on the blue-eyed boy's paper.
„Would be nice if we knew whatever they wrote on this paper…"
Javelin's remark made Midas look down onto his paper, its clear color suggesting the sheet was only pressed recently. Beneath the set of three numbers stood a short text; Midas was only able to recognize the word ‚room' that appeared in the midst of the foreign words—which was ultimately the reason they now stood on the somewhat narrow pathway that led through these houses.
Grabbing the dated metal handle of the door, its color almost black—most likely weathered by the frequent downpour Avalon had told him about—Midas opened the entrance. The first of the four floors of the building functioned as an entrance hall—equipped with a tiny bar counter, round wooden tables guided by four stools each, as well as a tiny collection of books shelved behind the counter that was unmanned at the time.
Not many waited around to sit here; most of the students had already headed to the staircase that most likely led to their dorms as promised on their paper. Judging by the fact the people they were able to see were only male, Midas quickly realized that these dorms were sorted by gender. Following Javelin's finger that already pointed to the set of stairs as he blankly stared down onto his paper, he barely avoided bumping into one of the students as he made his way through the room.
The wooden stairs squeaked slightly as the three of them stepped on them one by one; red carpet was laid down onto them, cascading down every set of stairs they crawled up. Eventually arriving at the third floor, Midas was able to find the exact same number that was printed onto his scroll - the bronze colour of the letter easily destinguishable from the dark brown planks of the door.
Letting the two of them arrive on the two rooms next to his on their own, Midas shoved open the door that lead into a fully kitted room. Two long empty shelves met him on the right of the door, and on the left side of the room, a bed—clean white sheets rested on a comfortable-looking mattress that was slotted into the wooden frame that stabilized it.
Besides it, a stool and a table, on its top a unlit candle that neatly sat on a metal platter. Midas was awed at the barren room, only able to see such luxury in hotels he had visited during his travels to this university. His finger pressed into the soft mattress of the bed, the hay he slept on much harder than the bed he saw in front of him.
Right next to the spot, he poked a slim stack of clothes. The blue-colored silk shone in the dim light of the sun that radiated through his windows. Folded neatly to sit on top of the white shirt and the fitting pants that came with it. Seeing all the parts of his brand-new uniform laid out in front of him on his bed made Midas step back—quietly observing them for a short while.
Even though coming to this place was only a step that led him to his initial goal of reaching Ajan, the youth couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved, finally having made it to his destination. Striding to his shelf as his fingers ran through his trousers pockets. Holding the tiny flask close to his face, Midas lost himself briefly in the shimmer of the gold that was held inside of it, placing it into one of the shelves.
His other hand held onto the circular piece of metal that belonged to the girl he and Avalon had found dead in the forest, her pink-shaded hair reminding him of the girl that clutched around his arm. The leather band the dark orange metal held onto hung to the ground as Midas's fingers brushed against the dark ridges of it—dried remains of blood remaining in the narrow spaces.
The mauled child resembled the foreign girl in her hair color—possibly really having a sibling Midas could give this emblem to. His tired eyes eventually lightened up as Javelin stood in his door frame, leaning against it with his arm as his stern eyes briefly scanned through Midas's room. His aching right hand almost dropped the medal as his already loose grip he had formed with his fingers became weaker—Midas fingers twitching due to his sudden appearance.
Looking at Midas in silence as he picked up the round metal from the floor with his left again, Javelin sighed as Midas hid his hand in his pocket to stash it in his pants again.
„Let's find the man that brought Jevaila to their nurse… Might be beneficial to get an idea of how this giant building looks inside."
Stepping down the stairs, barely able to squeeze through the amount of students that roam the halls in search of the right room, Midas and Javelin make their way out of the house—walking the path they initially took to look for their own dorms. As Midas passed by the fountain, he noticed the blue-eyed boy was missing.
„Where did that mute guy go…?"
„Just left once he dropped his stuff; I tried to enter his room once I was done sorting my things—but his door was locked…"
Entering through the double doors that led into the main building, Midas's eyes were able to spot a map of the building's layout. Stopping in front of the paper that was hung out in the midst of two sets of stairs, Javelin laid his finger on a cross painted in red.
„This might be what we're looking for." The map depicted many different icons, set inside the drawn walls of the rooms that were depicted on the map—in the top left corner, a listing with the used icons, sets of characters following them—most likely giving a short description of what they depicted.
„We'll have to go to the second floor then… It's just down the hall."
Midas described a rough path, his finger following the depicted halls that were mapped on the paper. Shortly after the two of them climbed yet another set of stairs, the sun's light illuminated the halls of the broad building—shining through the long panels of glass that were built on the wall to their right as the two of them searched for the medical room.
Eventually finding the same red cross nailed onto the door in front of them, Javelin spared no time to step into the room. His eyes met Avalon standing beside his sleeping sister, turning to the hooded boy as he looked down at Jevaila. Midas followed him inside, surprised Avalon remained inside ever since he had brought her here during the physical exam.
„Does your sister often suffer from headaches…?"
Coming closer to the bed she laid in, Avalon looked at the concerned eyes of her brother - unsure if he should riddle him with questions in such a moment. Turning to Midas as he joined them, standing in between the two of them, his brows furrowing softly at the sight.
„It's not frequent or anything, but it does happen from time to time… It's some sort of virus—a curable one… But the cure is quite costly, which is the reason we made our way here."
„Yeah, I can see that you're from Vidraha… That's quite the journey to reach the water kingdom. Did you walk through the entire extent of both desert halves to reach the border…?"
„There's no other way around; the continent's to the east speak languages we aren't able to understand… Even though we speak different dialects, traveling through the Earth Kingdom and the northern half of the desert was the only option we had. We already burnt up all of our money for rations and sledge riders… It was a mess, a costly one… Now she fell ill."
„I'm sure she's fine; the nurse was only able to detect a mild migraine—an overstimulation of mana caused the body to react by shutting down, the stress she felt and the blood that ran out of her nose possibly a side effect of the mana suddenly surging into her brain."
Midas was only able to watch as the two of them exchanged words; having woken up in the northern desert seemed much less of a disadvantage now, even though his travels to the university seemed to last an eternity—yet, much shorter than the distance Javelin managed to travel.
Looking down at Jevaila as her brother held his palm onto her forehead, Midas realized having Graf beside him was much more of a blessing than he initially had realized. Someone capable of driving a sledge really came in handy, especially for someone like him who lacked the valuables to pay for a ride.
„As soon as I am able to speak their language well enough, I'm going to head to the Grass Kingdom. I have no real place to go off, but I've heard rumors about a certain plant that eases the mind… It's costly and hard to get, but I'll do my best to get my hands on it."
Avalon nodded slowly, going through his hair with his fingers as he sighed to himself, unable to feel like the adult in the room with the two of them standing beside him.
„The university offers a library—it's on the highest floor on the roof; it basically spans the entire room of it and is filled with books… some even from the surrounding regions south of here. I'm sure there might be more information regarding the plant or medicine you're trying to find there…"
Nodding silently, Javelin retrieved his hand from her face, glancing down at her with a stern expression as she lay in bed in front of him.
„Should we leave...?"
„Might be better."
Midas mumbled back to Avalon, as the two of them stepped out of the room, the youth deciding to stay at the door to wait for Javelin to exit as he said his goodbyes to Avalon, being informed to have freetime until tomorrow - information regarding his classroom would be brought to his dorm in the morning as Avalon informed him.