Research Notes

A series of research notes about the college of Nowak Kuznetzov, and possible tomes hidden within.

Research Note #05 – Sealed Wing, South Corridor

An entire wing behind rusted gates, sealed since before the war with the Golden Sword. No official records of its purpose. The floor plan deliberately skips this section. Bricks are newer than the rest of the College—someone rebuilt the wall in haste. We’ll begin excavation next week. If Nowak wanted the tomes to be forgotten, this would be the place.

Research Note #19 – Faculty Records Office

Nowak’s name has been removed from faculty rosters. Not crossed out— removed, scraped clean. But in the oldest hardbound index, his name remains faintly etched beneath the page’s surface. Whoever tried to erase him wasn’t thorough. Suggests someone after him tried to cover his trail. Possible clue buried in administrative files.

Research Note #44 – Forgotten Archives Ledger

Found an unlabeled cabinet in the back of the Archives. Inside: half-burned memos, unsigned letters, fragments of a larger report. A single repeated phrase: “the traitor never left.” I don’t know what it means. But I do know someone tried to destroy the trail. They failed. The pieces remain.

Research Note #56 – Theory: The Vault Is Structural

What if the tomes are not locked behind spells or mechanisms—but behind structure? The Kuznetzov college building was partly rebuilt after the Siege. Nowak could have buried the tomes inside the College’s reconstruction— sealed into walls, beneath stairs, beneath them. No illusion. Just architecture and intent. A secret made permanent through stone and time.

Research Note #60 – Private Reflection

Some are saying the tomes never existed. I don’t believe that. I can’t believe that. The gaps are too precise. The silence too deliberate. No one hides nothing this well. Nowak buried it somewhere. And I will find it. Even if I must tear the College down stone by stone.

Type

Record, Research Notes

Location

The Golden Tower Painting