A/N: So, I guess I'm doing this. Because I just can't get the idea out of my head, and it makes for a nice break from my other stories. But it's still definitely back burner to my other projects- so please don't hate if I take a long time to update.

Also, I should make a note of the time frame of this story for clarity's sake, especially since the summary makes it sound like this is pre-Xibalba. So far I've only made it like part way through Azteca in the game, so this story is set sort of ambiguously after the second arc. I know (basically) how the second arc ends, but not much about the later game because I don't want spoilers, lol, so while I'll try to keep this story as vague and canon-friendly as possible, if I make some mistakes please understand that I don't know the whole Wizard story yet, haha. Also, I'm going to play a little fast and loose with the ages of the wizards and when they would be at which level, since obviously this story is meant to portray a bit older characters than we see in the game for the sake of exploring (slightly) more adult themes.

Last but not least, this will not be a Spiral-trotting adventure. As a matter of fact, this will be almost entirely confined to Wizard City and Marleybone. While I know a lot of people really don't like MB, for whatever reason, it's pretty central to the plot, and also happens to be one of my favorite worlds. Plus, what locale is better for a mystery than an expy of Victorian London? Whether that makes, breaks, or doesn't change anything about this for you I can't say, but just wanted to let you know what your in for if you choose to subject yourself to this twisted tale. XD

"Dude-"

"Erm, actually it's Mr Lincoln…"

"Right, sorry…" amended the young diviner standing just inside the gate to Ravenwood, shrugging his shoulders dismissively. "Mr Lincoln- there's got to be some sort of a way we can make this work. It's really important."

Ravenwood's resident registrar shifted his ungainly form from one spindly bird leg to the other, frowned, and ruffled his feathers a bit. "That may be so, Mr Mistcaller," he said in his distinctly nasally tone, "but I'm afraid we're just not offering the transfer service right now. And the Death school simply has no available seats in their Magus class. It's become quite the popular school as of late."

The boy- probably no older than eighteen- petulantly tossed his head to flip his dyed-platinum bangs back out of his face, only for them to immediately fall back over his eye. "But it would completely change everything! I know I'd do so much better at storm magic if I could just-"

"Luca!" The girl standing behind him jabbed her elbow into his ribs and glared. She appeared several years younger than the boy, wore the tell-tale white and blue robes of a thaumaturge, and was the only reason Elias was standing and patiently waiting out the boy's attempts to negotiate with the anthropomorphic bird in front of them. The girl- Erin Mistcaller by name- was one of the last students of the Novice level ice school class he had yet to talk to, but when Elias had managed to track her down he found her in the tow of her older brother who had been striding across campus with what was beginning to look more and more like entirely misplaced confidence. On her part, Erin looked like she would rather be almost anywhere else, if the fierce blush on her cheeks was any indication. "You're making a scene!" she hissed.

Luca didn't even spare her a glance as he forged ahead. "You've got to understand- I took on balance as a secondary because I hoped it would, like, balance storm's infamously defense-weak, attack-heavy approach; so far it hasn't helped at all!" He blew a puff of air out of the corner of his mouth in another vain attempt to push his unruly hair from his face. "Not to mention the classroom is all the way in freakin'-"

"LUCA!" Erin whisper-shouted, looking positively mortified.

"Uhhh," the diviner looked over his shoulder at her and grimaced. "I mean flippin' Krokotopia."

Mr Lincoln cleared his throat and looked at the young man through the tiny spectacles perched ridiculously on the end of his beak. "But you must have known that when you signed up for it, Mr Mistcaller" the registrar said with a frown, his brows furrowing as his patience began to wear thin. "The balance school being all the way in Krokotopia is not a new thing."

"But du-" Luca caught himself mid dude, "Mr Lincoln, I think that the heal-back of death would be exactly what I need to balance out storm's weak defense!" The young diviner was almost whining now as he watched his argument crumble under the skeptical gaze of the registrar. "Pleeeeaaase- just ask for me?"

Mr Lincoln scratched his head with a wing and squinted as he looked past Luca to Elias, having apparently just noticed he was there. Seemingly grateful for the escape route, he called, "Mr Searunner! What a pleasant surprise!" Turning back to Luca he added, "I'll see what I can do. Sorry, but this is probably important. Run along now, and you'll hear from Ravenwood staff soon enough!"

Luca huffed in irritation and turned to go, with Erin starting to follow before Elias put a hand out to stop her. "Actually, Mr Lincoln," he said to the registrar, "I was hoping I could talk to Miss Mistcaller here before her next class is in session." Erin looked at him startled, while Ravenwood's feathered official still just looked grateful to be getting away from Luca.

"Well, of course!" Mr Lincoln said as he adjusted his glasses and looked at the girl in question. "I'm sure you can spare a few minutes, right?"

Erin swallowed hard. "Am… I in trouble?" she asked meekly.

Elias chuckled and held up his hands. "No, no reason to worry," he said in what he hoped was a disarming way. "I just need to ask a few questions about your classmates, if you don't mind."

While he may have been older than he was when he first set out to save the Spiral some eight or nine years ago, Elias still found that trying to interact with Ravenwood students from a place of seniority was not a comfortable thing for him, and especially not when it involved talking to brand new students. As much as he wanted to be seen as one of them, there was something about his reputation of being the twice-over savior of their universe that had a way of distancing him from most of the younger wizards. Elias tried to put on a winning smile for the novice thaumaturge, but found her still looking nervously at him. "Are… they in trouble?" Erin asked, still clearly not convinced.

Elias's smile wavered and he looked at the students milling around and wandering between the dorms and their respective classrooms. As his gaze came to rest on Erin's older brother who was practically hovering over her and impatiently tapping his foot, Elias suggested, "Maybe we could talk on the other side of Bartleby, where it's a bit more private?"

Erin nodded, and Luca heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Alright, sis, but I can't hang around any longer. Meet up in Firecat for Mystic Pizza when afternoon classes are over?" She nodded again, then followed Elias to the bench on the far side of the World Tree, between the fire school and the gaping chasm left behind where the death school had been.

"I'm Elias, by the way," he introduced himself as he sat down and motioned for her to follow suit.

"I know," Erin said nervously. "E-everyone knows who you are."

"Oh," Elias shrugged. "Well, let me reassure you that you are definitely not in trouble. It's just, well-" Once again he found himself struggling to find the right words to convey the horror of what had happened and falling miserably short. "Something bad happened to one of your classmates- Eric SteelBane." He glanced over at Erin and saw her looking at him with curiosity. "I think Professor Greyrose, or at least one of the teachers, will fill in everybody on the details. I just wanted to know if you knew of anyone who might want to hurt Eric. You know: class feuds, rivalries, arguments, gossip- anything at all."

Erin considered for several moments. "Actually," she began slowly, "there was one thing." Looking over at Elias somewhat uncertainly, the young girl continued, "Not like I know somebody had something against him, but I think he had something against somebody." Suddenly Erin seemed like she thought she said something wrong and stammered out, "But- but I don't know who!"

One eyebrow quirked up with interest but Elias did his best to keep a neutral expression, afraid of making the nervous young wizard feel like he thought she was suspicious in some way. "That's ok- literally anything would be extremely helpful, I'm sure."

"Ok!" Erin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yesterday afternoon as class was letting out, I heard Eric telling one of his friends that he saw one of the students from another class snooping around the Commons the night before. Eric said that he was out late running an errand for his parents, and he spotted someone lurking in the shadows as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He seemed to think someone was up to something, and he was saying he was going to stay up last night to try to catch them." Erin grimaced and looked timidly at Elias. "He didn't seem to know who the student was, or even what school they were from, but he seemed pretty sure it wasn't one of the ice wizards. Tha- that's all I know, I swear!"

"I believe you," Elias said quickly, holding his hands up again in a conciliatory way. "Seriously- I promise you're not in any trouble. You seem like a great student- I'm sure Professor Greyrose is happy to have you." He reached up and pushed his flat cap back on his head, then glanced over at Erin. She was actually looking up now and looked slightly less like a frightened deer, which Elias took as a good sign. "How is your first year going?" he asked. "Your parents must be proud of you."

Erin's face instantly fell. "Uhh, actually my parents are dead," she said flatly, her chin dropping to her chest. "They, uh- they were wizards, years ago, and I guess they died on a special mission of some sort. That's why my brother Luca looks after me now." Erin's eyes were sad and glassy as she looked up again.

"Oh, uh," Elias cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly on the bench. "I'm so sorry- I had no idea!"

"It's okay." The young thaumaturge put on a weak smile and lifted her head a bit. "We do fine. Luca and I live in their old house on Triton Ave, and the Academy takes good care of us." She sniffled a bit and looked out at the floating chunks of land that marked the remains of the old death school. "Hey, could I ask you something?" she added suddenly, her tone brightening. "You're a myth main, right?"

Elias nodded in reply.

"How is it?" Erin asked. "I mean, specifically- how's Cyrus as a teacher? I- I mean no disrespect, I'm sure he's wonderful- it's just I've been thinking about taking up myth as a secondary, but Professor Drake just seems so scary!"

As if to back up the young ice wizard's point, two first-year conjurers picked that moment to come tumbling out of the door of the school of myth, scurrying away as Cyrus Drake appeared behind them a moment later looking very much unamused. The austere professor glowered at the retreating student's backs as he slapped his wand against the palm of his hand a few times, then turned and disappeared back inside the building. "He's really not as bad as he seems," Elias said honestly as he watched the door to his old classroom swing shut. "You just have to not take what he says personally, and once he's warmed up to you a bit he's actually one of the best people to have on your side." He grinned at Erin and added, "And- if it helps- I'll put in a good word for you."

For the first time since their conversation started, the young thaumaturge beamed at him. "Really? That would be so awesome! I- I mean, thank you so much!"

Elias opened his mouth to reply, but right at that moment he noticed a pixie swoop down from the sky and circle in front of them, lugging a brown paper envelope in her tiny hands. The diminutive creature uttered a few indistinct sounds while motioning emphatically, and Elias pointed questioningly at himself. When the creature nodded back, straining theatrically to keep the document afloat, Elias reached out and took the letter from it, and upon flipping it over noticed headmaster Ambrose's seal pressed onto the flap. Nodding his thanks to the tiny pixie, Elias reached into his bag and offered it a gummy humongofrog for its troubles; the pixie grladly accepted and then buzzed away, and Elias turned back to the girl beside him. "Well, thanks for all your help, Miss Mistcaller," he said. "Just one more thing before you go- do you know who it was that you saw Eric talking to?"

"Hmmm," Erin hummed thoughtfully and raked her fingers through her hair. "It was… Alyssa. Alyssa Frostgarden."

Nodding and thanking the young student again before she stood and hurried off to her next class, Elias turned his attention back to the pixie post in his hand. Turning it over, Elias pulled his athame from its sheath, carefully slit along the top crease, and slid the folded letter out into his hand. The paper crackled as he opened it up and scanned over the headmaster's distinctive scrawl:

Mister Searunner,

Shortly after our meeting this morning I received a message from Lady Oriel- it seems she may have information pertinent to the terrible happenings on Unicorn Way last night. I intended to talk to her myself, but my duties have kept me quite busy and now I am afraid my presence has been requested for an emergency meeting in Marleybone. Please go visit her at your earliest convenience- I have a feeling whatever she has to say may be key to our investigation. As always, young wizard, may Bartleby protect you.

Headmaster Ambrose

"Huh," Elias muttered to himself before putting the letter back in its envelope and then stashing it inside his jacket pocket. "Well, I suppose I should talk to Alyssa Frostgarden at some point- since she not only may know something about what Eric was doing that night, but also is one of the last students on my list to talk to from the ice school." Looking around, Elias noticed that the school grounds were nearly deserted as lunch break finished and afternoon classes were beginning. "But, maybe I should go check out what's going on with Lady Oriel first, and then try to catch Alyssa at the end of the school day."

The sudden feeling of eyes on him made the hairs on the back of Elias's neck stand, and he turned quickly to look over his shoulder. Nothing. The only visible living things were Bernie and Kelvin placidly surveying the vacant inner sanctum of Wizard City from beneath their flaming or frosty boughs, respectively. Still, a cold shiver ran down Elias's spine as he stood from the bench, and his hand went instinctively to the wand he kept in the inside pocket of his jacket. "Weird," he murmured, his eyes narrowing as they moved along the classrooms of elemental magic, past the dorms and Bartleby's massive trunk, and finally over to the spirit schools. With a shrug, he started walking toward the gate to the Commons. "This can't be a good sign if I'm already getting paranoid," Elias said to himself, but couldn't shake the feeling that someone- or something- was watching him as he left Ravenwood and headed across the Commons toward the Rainbow Bridge and Unicorn Way.

I'm not into putting exhausting descriptions of clothing items that don't really mean much to the plot, but for those of you who enjoy being able to look up and see what the characters are wearing, I'll leave notes at the end of the relevant chapters. For this one, and just kind of as a default for him, I picture Elias's outfit as being essentially the Chimney Sweep Cap and the Boxplane Captain Jacket, except the jacket is dark brown and the pants are blue jeans and full length. And minus the scarf.