Christ Church College

Christ Church College is uniquely a joint foundation of the university and the cathedral of the Oxford diocese, Christ Church Cathedral. The cathedral both serves as the college chapel and its dean is ex officio the college head. The college is amongst the largest and wealthiest of colleges at the University of Oxford. Its grounds contain a number of significant buildings, such as Tom Tower, Tom Quad (the largest quadrangle in Oxford), and the Great Dining Hall, which was the seat of the parliament assembled by King Charles I during the English Civil War. Christ Church sits in approximately 175 acres of land, including Christ Church Meadow, Merton Field and Boathouse Island. In addition Christ Church owns Aston's Eyot (purchased from All Souls College in 1891), Christ Church recreation ground (including the site of Liddell buildings), and School Field which has been leased to Magdalen College School since 1893.

Professor Cragg drums her fingers on the top of her desk, paying careful attention to the young man sitting opposite her. The professor's office is modern, sleek and full of light, in sharp contrast to Merric who oozes a foreboding aura of old world authenticity and the inevitable end of all things. "What do you know about vampires, Merric?" She asks.

The young well-dressed man across the table stops passively fiddling with a coin-sized skull hanging from his bracelet of onyx beads as his ears perk up at the question. He gives Professor Cragg an intense stare as his face lights up and a smile begins to show, he leans forward in his chair. "Vampires? They're an interesting bunch. They have a rich history and fascinating biology from their undead nature, the way they "feed", their form of "reproduction", their weaknesses to sunlight, to the seemingly magical abilities they can manifest." He composes himself before he starts to go on a lecture about them. He finishes his thought,  "There is a lot to talk about with them without getting into specifics." A question forms in his head, "Why do you want to talk about vampires?"  He leans back in his chair waiting to hear what she has to say.

"They control more than half of Oxford's colleges," the professor explains, her tone remarkably nonchalant for such a significant revelation. "However, they also don't want to draw attention to themselves, so they're generally very good at avoiding that. That's what makes Thursday night so unusual. Do you follow the news, Merric?"

Merric'c eyes widen in revelation as the professor nonchalantly reveals the supernatural state of the university. "I tend not to listen to the news. It's usually so depressing. I much rather stay focused on my studies." His eyes point to the corner as he recalls a memory, "I do remember there being a commotion outside my dorm , mostly gossip and rumors,  but I don't know what it was all about." He quickly follows up, "Wait, did it have something to do with the vampires ?!"

"Possibly," Cragg admits thoughtfully. "Last night, a fresher was found dead on the quad of Brasenose College, the body mangled and mutilated almost beyond recognition. It's caused quite a stir. We don't usually concern ourselves with vampire matters, but this was unusually overt. I thought that given your... ahem ... 'special' background, you might be interested in looking into it?"

Merric quickly shifts from a brief moment of shock to excitement. He leans forward eagerly, "Actual fieldwork! That sounds like an amazing opportunity!" He pulls out a small notebook and pen from his jacket pocket and prepares to write, "What other information about the situation can you tell me? Also, what should I be on the lookout for given how rampant they are here apparently?" He thinks to himself How exciting, maybe I'll get to meet one? Maybe, they'll be friendly and they can teach me more? They say, never let a good tragedy go to waste.

"I would avoid allowing yourself to end up in a situation where one feeds upon you," the professor remarks drily. "That could result in you being compromised. Step inside Brasenose College and you will struggle to avoid running into one of the 'kindred', as they call themselves. The boy's name was Matthew Wiggins. The sleeper police are investigating the case, which is not at all in the interest of the covenant that runs Brasenose. This could even end up having been an act of sabotage between rival vampire factions."

Feeling a little deflated by the response he writes down the name of victim and posible causes from the professor response. He then gives a puzzled look and responds, **"If it's a bad idea for me to be poking my nose around Brasenose, how do you suggest I proceed? Manipulating people especially police isn't really my specialty, magically or otherwise. "**

"Any Oxford student is welcome to visit other colleges," Cragg explains. "Few vampires can recognise a mage on sight and, of those who can, fewer still would cause trouble for one without reason. Otherwise, perhaps you can gain access to the boy's remains, if you can learn where they are being kept. Understand, Merric, that this wouldn't be much of a test if I gave you all the answers now, would it? Improvise."

Merric gives an understanding nod as his response rolls out of his mouth, "Riiight." He pauses to think for a moment about his next course of action, "I suppose a dead body in an investigation would need to be held at a morgue under security. From what I know the hospital nearby is the only place it would be unless something or someone happened to it on the way there. I could start my search there, locating it with magic should be easy enough, but I'm only a first-year med student I'd be pretty out of place at a hospital already." He turns to Professor Cragg for his next inquiry, "You wouldn't be able to grant access to the morgue, would you? Maybe an access code or a note? Or even know somebody who could?" 

Professor Cragg gives Merric an appraising stare before answering his question. "Talk to Daxon Caudill. He's an addiction counsellor at the City Community Hospital. He probably won't have access himself, but he should know how to go about getting it. Will there be anything else?"

Merric scribbles into his notes Daxon Caudill - counselor -CC Hosp as he finishes writing he taps his pen against his pad and looks back to the professor,  "Don't think I'll have much luck over the weekend, so I just hope nothing changes much until Monday.  To be safe, I'll probably visit the murder site tomorrow morning and see if there are remnants of magic or anything else out of the ordinary. Other than the murder site, of course. " He continues to tap as he thinks about further questions. "Do you think it was a solo act or do you think others were involved, especially other supernaturals, fae, wolves, even mages?   He takes a brief pause to think of anything else, "Other than that, I don't think I have any more questions, I'll just be making preparations over the weekend for my Monday investigation."

"A werewolf inside a vampire college?" Cragg replies, obviously amused by the notion. "Now, that I would like to see. I don't know what exactly happened that night, Merric, but it's out of the ordinary and that's why we want you to find out. Good hunting."

Merric reads the mood and joins in the professor's scoff at the idea of werewolves on campus, "It is a farfetched idea but in our weird world it never hurts to expect the unexpected." Merric caps off his pen and closes his pad as he places them both back into his jacket pocket. "Thank you for your time, Professor Cragg, as always have a good evening." He picks up his things and leaves back towards his dorm pondering ideas of what to do until Monday. 'What could make a vampire, a subtle species, savagely murder someone, it's so abnormal'  Merric thinks to himself as he begins to enter his dorm. He rummages through his tomes and notes on the topic of vampires. He quickly finds that what he has isn't enough, 'I'm sure this college will have more information on them' . He packs up his notes into a bag and goes off to the College Library. There he spends hours searching through old tomes and records to learn more about a vampire's nature. After extensive research, he learns that vampires can enter into a rare state of frenzy that makes them turn bestial and lash out until they can quell their primal urge. Many strong deep urges can cause a frenzy amongst vampires and depending on the cause can determine how powerful or difficult the frenzy can be. One of these frenzies, called wassail is a frenzy induced by extreme hunger and can be very dangerous. Vampires also risk frenzying when getting harmed which is important to note if you ever need to hunt one of them . ' Maybe this vampire entered into wassail from extreme hunger and lashed out at the nearest student which so happened to be Matthew. This makes more sense than a personal grudge or connection between the Matthew and vampire. ' He continues to look at his notes, 'If this vampire was in wassail and quenched their thirst on poor Matthew, it's probably best to assume that it's not rampaging anymore and any more dangerous than the average vampire. But, that just means it's harder to point out this one from the rest.' Merric finishes his research for the night and returns to his dorm to continue the investigation the following morning.

Some time midday on Tuesday, Mehdi Alvarez strolls across the expansive grounds of  Christ Church towards the cathedral as indicted by Khalid. He wears his standard outfit: hoodie, jeans, boots, and he carries that damned ring still in his pocket. Were he not a Changeling who has already once been severely punished for putting his fingers where he shouldn't, he surely would have already put the ring on. Hopefully the mage Khalid will be able to discern why it is that the ring so desperately wants to be worn.

Khalid found it nice to meet somewhere more familiar and safe.  Christ Church was guaranteed to be protected grounds for his kind, which was a nice change of pace for the mage.  The gardens around the church were well preserved, albeit too tailored for his taste, and it was good to see the church still had the discipline to maintain the flora.  He had found too often that mages defaulted to magic for their solutions when more practical and efficient (non-magical) solutions were available.  The grounds were perhaps maintained with a hint of life magic though, not that Khalid bothered to check as he did not want to ruin the illusion. Catching sight of Mehdi near the Cathedral, Khalid stands from his shaded bench slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he approached the Changeling.  He offered a wave as he closes the distance,   "First time at Christ Church?"

Mehdi stares blankly at the garden as he approaches. At one time he appreciated all manner of green spaces, but now the similarity between this exquisitely manicured garden and the painstakingly groomed gardens and orchards of his durance results in dissociation for the Lost. The sight of Khalid brings him back to attention. "It is actually. It's impressive! How've you been?" 

"I've been good.  Although it feels like events are picking their pace back up,"  he chooses his next words carefully unsure if the rumors of binding promises were true with the Fae.  "And as much as I'd enjoy small talk I think we both have more important things to discuss,"  Khalid begins to walk, circling towards a more isolated section of the garden, "I have some questions pertaining to the Fae that I hope you can answer.  After, of course, I help you out."

Mehdi's eyes widen at Khalid's curiosity about the Fae, not expecting to be answering any questions himself, but of course this is a mage after all. "Sure, I'm happy to help if I can, seems fair." As they round a corner onto a small path mostly obscured by large hedges, Mehdi pulls the ring from his pocket. "This is what I have questions about. I found it in Silas' house," he meets Khalid's eyes and continues, hoping to quell any suspicion. "We were just cleaning up the loose ends. Don't want the neighbors filing a missing persons report for a torpored vampire. Anyway, this thing is just dying for someone to put it on, it's been urging me to since I found it, but every bone in my body tells me that's a bad idea. Maybe I'm just paranoid on account of past experiences but..." he offers a shrug and holds the ring in his palm for Khalid to inspect.

A memory flashes in Khalid's mind of his last memory of Silas.  A unnatural beast gnashing at the elder vampire, his escape granted by Khalid's debilitating magic (the fact that it worked a surprise even to himself).  Then at the cusp of escape, a rabid clash between the Kindred only stayed by Eve and his own intervention.  He looks to the Changeling wondering of Silas's fate and Liam's intentions, "Silas huh.  What's your plan for his body.  From what I've been told he wont wake for a bit."   As Medhi extends his hand revealing the ring Khalid raises his eyebrows.  Remaining silent he pierces the veil attempting to identify the supernal elements of the produced artifact.

"Liam is deferring to his superior. I'm not sure what'll happen." Mehdi responds, not lying but certainly not giving any potentially incriminating information.

Khalid smirks as he focuses his mage sight, magnifying the auras surrounding the ring, "Liam has superiors?  By his attitude I'd assume he'd be the top dog."   He quickly loses his mirth as opens his veil to three Arcana he was perhaps least familiar with: Mind, Spirit, and Death.  With the mystery partially unraveled he takes an instinctive half step back before righting himself.  "Oh.  That doesn't seem right,"  he inspects the ring again seeing the fetid consciousness squirming among the ring.  "Yeah that's not good.  That ring has got something dead inside of it and its conscious.  Might be a zombie, Kindred, or worst case scenario a lich.  I'd either get rid of that as soon as possible or hand it over to some more experienced mages.  I don't know what it'll do but I wouldn't hang around it."  

"A lich?!" Mehdi hisses back, immediately realizing the mistake of speaking so loud and furtively glancing around to see if anyone has heard him. "Here, take it, please," he says, attempting to push the ring into Khalid's hands. "You're the most experienced mage I know, keep it or give it to whoever I don't care, I sure as hell don't want it."

Khalid feels the pull of the ring as it is proffered.  The temptation, although not great, was disconcerting, "I'll take it, but I'm sure as hell not keeping it.  I know someone more practiced than me, I'll see if they can figure out anything else."   He pulls out some spare napkins and a used Ziplock bag with traces of peanut butter still lining the plastic.  He takes the ring, wrapping it tightly in the napkins, then throwing the bundle in the bag scowling all the while.  "In case you're wondering this is a very advanced mage technique,"  his demeanor softened once the ring was out of sight.  "Do you want to know if I find anything more about this?  I can update you when I check in with my betters."

Mehdi remains on edge until the ring is safely secured in Khalid’s bag. “ Ah right, very esoteric.” he jokes back, then lets out a sigh as he finally relaxes fully. “Honestly I could die happy never hearing about that thing again, but I guess it’d be interesting to know what sort of nasty is in there.” he shrugs. “So uhm, what was it you wanted to ask about the Fae folk?” His lilac eyes fix the mage with curiosity.

Khalid takes a quick glance at their surroundings, checking for prying ears.  "I had another conversation with those cats following the Kindred.  Maybe cats isn't the right term anymore, but that doesn't matter.  What does matter is that it knew I was a mage and when it referred to me as such it did so in the manner of the Fae.  Their method of remaining hidden among Oxford also reminds me of your companion, Jetty I think was their name."  Mehdi seemed, if among any of his companions on that night, the most trustworthy but the news of the purpose of the cats was still a troubling thought.  A mage threat to the kindred was dire, even if they were not of the Pentacle.  Regardless Mehdi at least deserved to know, "I also gathered more information, that I would be willing to share if you promise me that you'll keep it to yourself."

"Huh," one of Mehdi's ears twitches as he mulls over what Khalid has just said. "You're talking about a Mask; that's the illusion that conceals beings of faerie and makes them look mundane to anyone without magical senses. But if they do have a Mask then I can see through it and they definitely look like cats to me. But I mean... that doesn't rule out them being fae. Could be fae cats. If that's the case I wouldn't necessarily know. Obviously they're supernatural but I was assuming it was some sort of Kindred thing, I haven't looked much closer." He scratches his chin as he remains in deep thought for a moment before his eyes return to Khalid's. "By 'keep it to yourself' do you mean just myself, or can Liam be privy too? I am generally inclined to tell him pretty much everything. Of course unless it directly pertains to him he probably won't give a fuck."

Khalid sighs, he had almost forgotten about Liam, "I'm not sure how any Kindred will take this news by the way, I'd rather you keep it to yourself.  You could tell him a partial truth, I've heard true Fae are good at that."   He pulls up his backpack, throwing over his shoulder, "I spoke to a creature called Amun, the Egyptian theme runs deep I know.  They mentioned that there purpose here in Oxford was to protect the Kindred.  So if you want to give Liam some info that'll actually help him feel free to tell him that."   The knowledge he had should have concerned him, but it only left him with more biting questions, his brows furrowed as he continued,  "  The info I'm more worried about spreading is what the cats are protecting the Kindred from.  Amun told me it was from mages.  And I believe them to have told me the truth, do you recall that night to enter the catacombs there existed a barrier, magically crafted?  I think those may have been the mages in question, certainly no member of Christ Church, but I'm not sure the Kindred will see it the same way."

"I'm no True Fae," Mehdi corrects, his tone sharpening. "The True Fae are the puppeteers and Changelings, like me, are their Lost puppets. Many of my kind would've taken that the wrong way." His point made, Mehdi takes a moment to consider Khalid's revelation. "Look, I don't think Liam is going to go and start biting mages just because there are some hooded fucks targeting Kindred. And unless we have more information there isn't anything worth telling his superior. Plus, if this stuff does get back to higher ups on either side then we are the first hand witnesses, so we could explain what actually happened. But like I said, Liam hates getting mixed up in this kind of stuff anyway." he says with a shrug and a nod, hoping his assurance calms the mage because he doesn't have any intention of keeping the information from Liam. If there are mages targeting Kindred, he should definitely know. "So... this Amun and the other cats are Fae creatures sent to protect the Kindred from bad mages. Who sent them though? And what are these bad mages trying to accomplish by going after vampires?"

It was more than he expected, Khalid did not know the relationship between Mehdi and Liam but they seemed tight-knit at the very least, one unlikely not to war the other of potential danger.  "Just try to get Liam to keep his mouth shut for at least a week, we might be able to get ahead of this whole problem with enough time,"  Khalid sighs, he was no master of Fate but he could feel her strings tightening.  "As for the cats and the hostile mages, I don't know.  I'm expecting to learn at least marginally more when I make my rounds at Christ Church," he gestures broadly to the large cathedral looming behind Mehdi. "I am sure my superiors have already figured out what I have, and maybe more. It's just a matter of bargaining to get them to share their knowledge,"  he frowned already dreading his coming interactions with the Pentacle's hierarchy. 

"Gotcha." he responds, easily imagining how tight lipped mages could probably be. "I'm not too plugged in on my side of things, but there's a few places I could poke around to find more info on the cats. Agree to keep each other updated on what we find?" Mehdi asks, offering his hand to shake on it.

Khalid extends his hand shaking Mehdi's, "Yeah, that works for me.  You'll be the first to know when I figure anything about that ring, but think we both should keep most of this information between us.  As much as possible at least."  He covered his eyes looking towards the church looming just near the pair, "Well I should probably go, get that info we're itching for.  Text isn't the most secure so if you got something critical let's just meet here again, it's a solid spot."   He reorganizes his bag, a distraction as he mentally prepares for a conversation with his betters.

As Khalid grasps Mehdi’s hand, he finds the Changeling’s palm is somehow sticky, as if it was wet with some sugary substance that has since dried. Just as soon as Khalid has noticed it, the sensation is gone and there is a faint tingly numbness in its absence as he removes his hand from the shake. “Sounds good. Thanks again for your help.” Mehdi says as he begins to make his way out of the garden, waving goodbye.

Saturday Merric returns to his dorm to finish his studies before moving on to what's been scratching at the back of his mind. He places the bottle containing Matthew's soul on his desk and stares at it; how can I get this to tell me where my suspect is? He goes to his library to look for any hints that could help. He discovers a relationship between the dead and what anchors them to this world. The ties that bind the deceased to their killers. Through his formulations, he concocts what looks to be a spell that might work. He grabs a bowl large enough for the bottle to stand in. He mixes some bone dust and iron sand into the bowl. He holds his hands over the bowl and begins to chant; as he chants, the pressure of his nimbus around him gets stronger as the spell reaches its conclusion. As the chant finishes, the skull on his bracelet drips an inky black liquid into the bowl. He mixes it all into a fine paste. He places the bottle into the bowl and begins to smear the black paste unto the bottle into the shapes of magical symbols. It's done. Hopefully, I can get closer to my answer with this . The next day, Merric takes his newly enchanted friend in a bottle and a map of the campus and begins to walk through all the walking paths on campus, hoping to see his new spell in action. After a couple of hours of walking, he was disappointed not to have received any signs from his bottle friend that his spell worked. As the night looms he returns to his dorm the prepare for his classes the next day.

Khalid looks at his palm, feeling the residual energies of whatever magic Mehdi had imparted on him.  He only hoped that final addition was included in the pact.  Shrugging his backpack more securely over his shoulder he heads inside to Christ Church proper heading towards the office of Professor Malcom McCulloch.  The ring Mehdi gave him was tucked safely inside his bag, layered with tissues and a plastic bag once used for midday snack.  While he had never met the professor, he was well aware of the eccentric attitude that older mages tended to have.  Khalid mentally braces himself as he arrives at the professor's door giving it three quick knocks and waiting for a response.

"Come in," a firm, male voice calls from the other side of the panelled wooden door.

He steps in, slinging his backpack off his shoulder and into one hand as he does.  "Hello professor, I am Khalid of the Adamantine Arrow.  Am I safe to speak plainly in this office?"

Professor McCulloch is a middle-aged man with short, greying hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He wears glasses and  a button-up shirt and tweed jacket, making for an unassuming, yet distinguished appearance. As Khalid introduces himself, the professor looks up from his desk and studies the young man for a moment. He can see the determination in the student's eyes, the set of his jaw, the slight bulge of muscle beneath his clothing. This is a man who is not to be trifled with. "Of course, Khalid," McCulloch says, rising from his chair and extending his hand in greeting. "As a member of the Mysterium, I understand the importance of discretion."

Khalid accepts his greeting, offering a firm handshake in response.  "Excellent, that's good to hear professor.  I have a few things to discuss, some more important than others.  The first being a potentially dangerous artifact with influence in the Mind, Spirit, and Death Arcana.  It also tempted me to wear it, but I was unaffected.  I am of course still a student so I thought bringing it to the most experienced person I know would be the best idea.  I didn't have much to carry it in so you'll have to excuse me for using my lunch bag."   Khalid pulls out the small plastic baggie containing the ring given to him by Mehdi and holds it at arms length away from him and the professor, although still wrapped in tissue paper he could almost taste the fetid aura it emanated.  He waits for the professors signal before removing it from its primitive container.

Professor McCulloch takes a step back as Khalid produces the bag containing the ring. He leans sideways, narrowing his eyes as he inspects the item. "You were wise to be cautious, Khalid," the professor remarks, nodding in approval. "The last thing that we need is for anyone to be affected by such an artefact's influence. Please, place the bag on my desk and I will prepare a proper vessel for the ring."

He does as instructed, placing the bag carefully on the desk.  " Do you know what this is professor?  Because I felt something alive inside that ring, a dead consciousness i think."

The professor carefully picks up the bag, holding it at arm's length and taking care not to touch it directly. He examines the ring, studying it closely. "I'm not sure, Khalid," he says slowly, his voice tinged with concern. "I sense something powerful within, something that could have a profound effect on those who come into contact with it." McCulloch pauses for a moment, lost in thought. "Based on what you've told me, it's possible that the artifact contains the consciousness of someone who has passed on. This is not unheard of, but it is extremely rare. If that's the case, then we must be very careful in how we handle it. The consciousness could be fragile and any attempt to forcibly remove it could cause irreparable damage." He turns to Khalid, his expression serious. "For now, we must focus on containing the item and preventing it from causing harm. Once we have a better understanding of its properties, then we can explore other options. However, until then, we must proceed with caution."

Khalid nods, taking a moment to think of the circumstances in which Mehdi acquired and gave him the ring.  It certainly was not fey influenced at least as far as he could tell and Mehdi had only recently come upon it since he did not bear such an artifact during their time together that night.  It then dawned upon him, "Professor I have reason to believe that the consciousness in the ring may belong to a once powerful Kindred.  Which would bring me to my next point of discussion.  Have you observed anything strange among the Kindred of Oxford?"

McCulloch's eyes widen slightly. "Kindred, you say?" The professor seems clearly perturbed by the implications as he repeats the word.  "I haven't personally observed anything out of the ordinary, but I have heard rumours that some of the Kindred in Oxford have been behaving in unusual ways." The man stops to think for a second, pacing up and down his office. "If what you're saying is true, then it's possible that the Kindred in Oxford are somehow involved with this artifact. It wouldn't be the first time that vampires have been drawn to powerful magical objects. If that's the case, then we must proceed with even greater caution." Professor McCulloch takes a seat behind his desk and temples his fingers in contemplation. "We must investigate this matter further, Khalid. I will reach out to my contacts within the Mysterium and see what information we can uncover. In the meantime, I suggest that you keep a low profile and stay out of harm's way. The Kindred can be dangerous, and we don't want to give them any reason to consider you a threat."

"I'm afraid it might be too late for that professor.  I have already been in contact with some of the Kindred here.  The Kindred that I have interacted with have claimed that cats have been following each of their kind here at Oxford.  I used my talents to speak with the cats and discovered that they appeared to have some fey influence and were sent to protect the Kindred.  They were also taking Egyptian monikers, the cat I spoke to went by Amun and another Kindred mentioned having a vision of Sekhmet related to the cats."  Khalid speaks until his breath runs dry, pausing to take a drink from a bottle next to him.  "And the ring I found.  I think it belongs to a high ranking Kindred, Silas Mallock. When I last saw him he was near death and in something called torpor.  He was..,"   Khalid trails off, he had already said too much.  He waits for McCulloch's reaction before continuing.

Professor McCulloch listens carefully to Khalid's words, his brow furrowing as he takes it all in. When Khalid mentions the name Silas Mallock, the Professor leans back in his chair, considering this new information. "Silas Mallock," he repeats, his voice thoughtful. "I've heard that name before. He was an influential vampire here in Oxford before his disappearance. If he truly is in torpor, then we may have a bigger problem on our hands than we initially thought. I'll have to do some digging and see what I can find out." McCulloch leans forward, his expression serious. "As for the cats, it seems that the fae are involved once again... this complicates things greatly. I implore you to take my advice and keep from drawing further attention to yourself, Khalid. The fae can be unpredictable and dangerous.  In the meantime, I suggest that you take a look at this." The professor reaches for a worn leather-bound book on his desk and hands it to Khalid. The pages are yellowed with age. "This is a grimoire on the Mind Arcana. It may prove useful in your endeavours.  Khalid, be careful..." McCulloch tells the younger mage with a wry smile. " The world of the Kindred and the fae can be treacherous. Trust no one and keep your wits about you."

Khalid, for a moment, looks stunned.  He had expected a wholly different response, but the professor had offered nothing but respect and useful advice (albeit things he already knew).  "I'm not sure what else to say besides thank you,"  he takes the offered book and responds to McCulloch's smile with his own.   "I think I have had my fair share of Kindred and Fae for this semester.  I will take your advice to heart,"  he stood and gathered his things, holding the grimoire carefully under one arm.  "Is it possible that I could be updated on what information you discover about the ring.  I am curious to its properties."

"Of course, Khalid," Professor McCulloch nods. "I will reach out if I learn any more about the ring and I'll make sure to keep an eye out for any unusual activity among the Kindred and the fae." He stands from his chair and walks around the desk to see Khalid off, extending his hand in a parting handshake. "Stay safe and keep in mind that knowledge is power. The more that we learn about these mysterious forces, the better equipped we will be to face them."

"Thank you professor, once again,"  he returns the McCulloch's handshake and leaves his office walking only a short distance away to find a place to sit.  His obsessive curiosity had gotten the better of him and as soon as he stops walking he opens the grimoire of the Mind Arcana and begins to read.

The first spell described in the grimoire is for divining the the nature of others. It grants the spellcaster an understanding of the subject's motivations and their strength of mind and personality.