The Quarantine Quarters of Silver Star Academy felt like an ornate cage—stone walls embedded with Aetheric Suppression Runes, three-story cast-iron railings outside the window. The tables held timed deliveries of cold water and black bread, but even the most basic Aetheric Sensing Crystal had been confiscated. Elara Thorne sat on the frigid wooden chair, her fingers tracing the star-shaped scar on her palm—the residual, strange energy from the slime still faintly burned, a constant reminder that the Frostborne House's conspiracy was far from over. The boots of the Investigation Corps Guards echoed in the corridor; each passing step accompanied by the click-click of the Aetheric Recorders, intensifying the oppressive isolation.
On the first night, Elara Thorne used the shadows of the exterior piping. She still had a small packet of leftover Sulfur Powder, hidden before she was escorted away. As she poured the powder into her palm, she heard a faint metallic clang from the end of the corridor, followed by Lionel Evans's agreed-upon signal—three light Conduit Taps. Elara Thorne peered out the window, spotting Lionel Evans huddled in the shadows outside the railings, clutching something wrapped tightly in oilcloth. His face was smeared with coal slag; he had clearly crawled through the Serfdom's ventilation system.
"Old John said the processing plant blueprints are in two parts," Lionel Evans's voice was quieter than the hissing steam. He carefully slipped the oilcloth packet through the railing gap. "He only dared give me the Abandoned Conduit Layer fragment. He said the Core Structure Layer is archived deep in the Cryo-Vault—the Frostborne House connected the plant's pipes to the Cryo-Vault three years ago!" The fragment was covered in dense, charcoal-marked pipe schematics. A thick black line extended from the processing station toward the South Sector of Silver Star City, ending in a small Cryo-Vault symbol, which faintly matched the "Ancient Industrial Aether Node" marker in The Rotting Earth Codex.
Before Lionel Evans could explain further, the shouted voice of a Frostborne House guard echoed in the distance—one of Cecilia's men, patrolling with an Aetheric Detector. Lionel Evans immediately shrank back into the shadows, scattering the Sulfur Powder on his clothes. His Aetheric Fluctuation instantly blurred; the Detector's red beam swept past without pause. "I'll find another way to ask Old John about the Cryo-Vault tomorrow!" he whispered, vanishing like a shadow behind the pipes.
The second day's Academy Council interrogation was more hostile than anticipated. Three long tables in the Council Chamber hosted the Mentor Representatives, the Arcanum Association Specialist, and the Noble Representative—Lord Victor Frostborne of the Frostborne House sat at the head of the latter, toying with a Cryo-Rune Ring, his gaze stabbing Elara Thorne like an ice pick. "You claim Letti followed you willingly?" Victor's voice was laced with calculated contempt. "A cadet of the Frostborne extended kin would follow three commoners without cause?"
Elara Thorne kept her eyes down, using the practiced phrasing. "Letti said, 'Miss Frostborne ordered me to watch you.' I assumed Cecilia had a misunderstanding after our previous practical drill." She intentionally focused on the 'drill conflict' excuse, avoiding any mention of the Shadowmoon Rune, while discreetly watching the Association Specialist, who was frowning at Instructor Glynn's report, clearly still skeptical about the 'Frostborne Cryo-Aetheric Residue'.
Suddenly, Gideon Valerius spoke, his voice firm: "I can prove the Frostborne House has a motive!" He pulled a crumpled paper—an internal Iron Wolf Clan resource ledger—from his coat. "Last year's Western Marches Mines allocation: the Frostborne House stole three mining points from our Iron Wolf branch. They have always tried to undermine the Iron Wolf power. They might be using Letti's death to frame us in a corruption case!" Gideon's words struck the chamber like a stone, instantly raising the tension. The Noble Representatives muttered among themselves, and the Association Specialist looked up at Victor, acknowledging that familial rivalry might taint the investigation.
On the third morning, Lionel Evans brought the crucial information. Under the guise of delivering breakfast, he slipped a smaller blueprint fragment to Elara Thorne. It detailed the processing station's Hidden Compartment, marked with 'Aetheric Residue Test Point.' "Old John said the Frostborne House stored Cryogenic Canisters there three years ago, before moving them to the Cryo-Vault," Lionel Evans whispered, dark circles under his eyes. "And the audit is ending soon. Instructor Glynn just said the Council decided to temporarily lift the quarantine due to 'insufficient evidence and no direct link to corruption,' but they are banning us from the South Sector—the direction of the Cryo-Vault."
Sure enough, when Instructor Glynn announced the results that afternoon, he stressed: "Your responsibility is temporarily cleared, but you are forbidden from unauthorized entry into Silver Star City's South Sector, including the processing station and surrounding areas." Elara Thorne noted that Glynn's gaze briefly flickered to her pocket—he knew Lionel Evans had delivered the blueprint but chose not to act, likely due to Kaelan Blackwood's quiet influence.
Stepping out of the Quarantine Quarters, the sunset streamed through the gaps in the Steam Conduits, stretching their shadows long on the floor. Gideon Valerius clenched the blueprint fragment. "The Frostborne House is definitely hiding something in the Cryo-Vault, and now they're blocking us!" Elara Thorne calmly folded the fragment, tucking it into her disguised copy of The Rotting Earth Codex—she had enough clues: the processing station was just a 'temporary experimental site,' the Cryo-Vault was the true core, and the Cryogenic Canisters were the sealed metallic drums she needed to investigate.
At that moment, Kaelan Blackwood's attendant appeared with a familiar small leather pouch. "Miss Thorne, Senior Kaelan sent this for you." It contained three Aetheric Stabilization Tinctures. Elara Thorne opened one and immediately smelled that the Tracking Powder concentration was much higher than before. The attendant added: "Senior Kaelan said the South Sector is unsafe after the sewer incident. He advises you to stay in the Academy. If you need anything, he can arrange a guard."
Elara Thorne took the pouch, her fingers icy—Kaelan Blackwood's 'protection' had intensified. Clearing the audit was not the end; it was the start of a more covert form of control. In the distance, Cecilia Frostborne stood by the training ground, flashing a cold smile and mouthing the words, "Just you wait."
"Let's go," Elara Thorne said to Gideon and Lionel, her voice steady. "They banned us from the South Sector, so we'll start with the Serfdom's equipment archives. The key to the Cryo-Vault has to be hidden in there." The roar of the Steam Conduits rose behind them, no longer a sound of dread, but a reminder of the task ahead. The three-day gambit had solidified their team, the blueprints pointed to the Cryo-Vault, and the secrets of the Shadowmoon Rune were safely stored in her Codex.