The Scrolls of Crypto

Chapter 4

Today was an unusual day. Edin got ready and looked around for Simon, but he was nowhere to be seen. Other wizards were rushing from one place to another, and there was a lot of commotion coming from the crowd.

He gave up searching for Simon and went to get breakfast instead, but saw that the cafeteria was closed for the day. His stomach growled in hunger, and he was about to head back to his dorm when suddenly, he spotted Simon, ushering the crowd along with some others.

Simon also happened to notice him and went to appoint someone else. He then came back and dragged Edin along into the crowd. Edin was about to ask him some questions, but Simon hushed him by putting a finger over his lips. 

After a while, they entered a humongous building, which was almost as wide as a pyramid. It was crowded. Waiters were rushing about, getting confused wizards their breakfasts, and the room was full of chatter. The seats were all taken, and there was barely anywhere to sit except for a few empty spots on the floor. 

They moved onto the next room, which was about as occupied and just as noisy as the previous one. Simon scanned the room until he saw an empty spot. They sat down and ordered their food. 

"You may now speak," said Simon.

"What's going on today?"

"Well, there has been a few disruptions with our connection to the outer world."

"What do you mean by that?"

"A few wizards tried to go into the outer world, but were unsuccessful."

"And you think that it is this serious?"

"Edin, this is very serious. It can't mean that our magic isn't functioning properly, because that only happens during the New Year, when magic starts to regain all of it's strength. But now is nowhere near the New Year."

"Then what do you think is happening?"

"We think that someone else is intentionally messing up the way magic functions on this island."

"Wait...how do you know that it's this island specifically?"

"Because if it were other places, than wizards would still be able to travel to the outer world. And plus, why would any rouge wizard disarray magic anywhere else when they could do it here?"

"Well, because they're doing bad things somewhere specific and they don't want us to know, but they're too lazy to come here."

"Edin, no wizard is ever that lazy, and wizards have been trying to travel to different places; there can't one rouge wizard in each of those places."

"Ok fine, whatever."

Their food finally arrived, and they ate in silence. It wasn't as good as the food from the cafeteria, but food was food. Simon got up and left after a while, and some other guy took his seat. 

They both sat in silence until the other guy spoke up.

"You new here?" He asked.

"Me? Uh...yeah, I am."

"Oh, ok. I'm Riley."

"Edin." They shook hands. 

"Would you like me to show you around?"

"Right now?"

"Not now, of course, maybe sometime later."

"Ok. I-" Edin was cut short when he heard a distant explosion. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I think we're under attack."

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They bolted towards the exit and headed to the source of the explosion. When they got there, tons of people were crowded there, but not too close to the border. Edin and Riley slipped through the crowd to see what was happening.

They couldn't see through the thick smoke, so something was definitely going on. They stood there for a while and waited for the smoke to clear. They waited and waited until finally, the smoke cleared.

What they saw was shocking. It wasn't just anyone or anything. It was nothing. Most of the wizards were confused at first, but later sighed in relief and started to chatter about what had just happened.

Edin looked around and found Simon. Simon wasn't chatting with anyone, in fact, he looked tense, as if something bad was about to happen. Riley was at his side, also scanning the crowd, and then ran off to greet someone.

He went to Simon and tapped him on the shoulder, but Simon ignored him. He kept staring beyond the barrier, as if something invisible was there, and suddenly took out his wand. 

Edin jumped in front of him and tried to block his view. He tried snapping his fingers, hoping to snap him back to reality, but Simon kept staring as if Edin weren't there. Edin wanted to punch him and see if that would work, but instead sighed and gave up.

He turned around and started searching for Riley when suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his back. He toppled over onto another wizard, who cried out and accidentally set Edin's shirt on fire. Edin shrieked and took it off.

They both got back up, and the other guy said: "Next time, watch where you're going."

"It's not my fault!" Edin protested. "I felt something on my back and lost balance, that's all!"

"Are you sure that it wasn't an insect?" Asked the other wizards, and everyone started to laugh.

"Yes. It stung," said Edin bitterly.

"Ok then. Just don't blame me for your shirt."

"I won't, if you tell me what happened."

"I don't know what happened! One second, I had my back turned and then the next second, you're on my back and we're both on the ground."

"Well-," said Edin, but stopped when he saw Simon with his wand pointed at someone else, preparing to summon another bolt of electricity.

"Hey!" shouted Edin to Simon. "Stop that!"

He leaped over to Simon and punched him on the face before he could hurt anyone else. Simon crumpled, but Edin caught him before he could hit the ground and gently set him on the grass. He scanned the area for threats, but saw none.

Others had gathered around to see what the commotion was all about. Edin was about to explain when suddenly, the ground beneath him opened up and he was sucked in.