The Academy Arcane, the most prestigious magic school of the continent, has opened its doors to you. It's famously built on top of a logic-defying, mind-boggling, ever-growing dungeon filled with books: some common, some rare, some nonsensical, most referencing creatures unknown to our world or history that never happened.
The Academy was built on top of the Library with the double intent of allowing researchers to investigate the structure and students to take advantage of the unique atmosphere and facilities.
You have been shown the main campus areas, assigned a spot in the dormitories and painstakingly registered into the Academy's books. Now you find yourself, together with little more than a dozen new freshmen, in a classroom: your welcome speech will soon be delivered by the Dean during the first lesson of the term, marked on your timetable simply as "Research".
Hireath nervously enters the room, taking a seat on the opposite side of the classroom. 'Research?' That's a bit vague. She unfolds her well-worn (and already memorized) timetable for the hundredth time. Then again, so is 'Lore.' Oh, I hope there's not a pop quiz on the first day!
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Lindaer looked around the classroom nervously. There were so many humans. He shivered, despite himself. He had never seen so many of the creatures before. Granted, there were only twelve people in the room so far, but outside of it? They swarmed everywhere. And without any slave masters in sight to keep him safe from their barbarity. And why must everything be so disgustingly bright? he thought to himself unhappily.
Seeing Hireath he took a seat next to her. She was quite obviously a tiefling. That made her an outsider. From what he had heard, the surface world took a dim view on the lower planes. Probably because they weren't smart enough to make the right deals, he reasoned. What mattered, at that moment, was finding someone who could help keep him safe. Who knew what humans were capable of? He certainly didn't! But he knew what his own people were capable of, and he didn't have his family here to protect him.
But he was nobility! That meant that he had to keep a stiff upper lip and make the most of things. He turned to her, and with the friendliest face he could manage said "Hello. My name is Lindaer. What is your name?" He said this with an obvious accent and far too formally. To him, common was a foreign language that up until now, was purely theoretical. He hoped that he had said everything correctly.
Vernon drops off his non-classroom equipment in his assigned dormitory. He hoped he wouldn't need a crossbow in class, even though his parents both told him that he'd get a lot of use from it before he ever became powerful with his art. Feeling lighter in spirit as well as having the load off of his shoulders he reports to his first class. 'Research? Well, he'd sat through plenty of classes with a less descriptive name!'
Looking around as he entered he was glad to see a couple of students ahead of him. One, a drow?, was already greeting a tiefling. "Hello both of you! My folks named me Vernon, but I prefer Vern from my friends." He allows a broad smile on his very human face....
Hireath jumps a bit when someone sits next to her and...introduces themselves? That's new. Usually people see the horns and find other places to be. It makes a little more sense when she looks up and sees the distinctive coloration of a drow.
Hesitantly she responds, "Hi, I'm Hireath. Nice to meet you." That's an appropriate response, right? Then the accent and the careful way he introduced himself registers.
"Wait, are you not comfortable speaking in Common? I don't actually know Undercommon, my library had books in Aquan but not Undercommon if you can believe it, but I know Elven? If that's better? Or is it rude to assume you'd know Elven, I don't mean to be rude."
She flushes deeply as she realizes she's babbling, (and to someone who may not have been able to follow the rapid-fire speech, no less). A bit slower, she says, "Sorry. I'm good with languages but not very good with people."
She jumps again as another student introduces themselves. This time it's a perfectly ordinary human, as far as she can tell. Wow, people are friendly here.
"Um, Hi Vernon. I'm Hireath." She ignores the 'Vern' part for now; surely that had been a theoretical addition to his statement. He couldn't have possibly been suggesting that we're friends already. Could he?
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Lindaer let out a sigh of relief that he didn't know he had been holding inside. "You speak elven? Thank the powers. My tongue feels like it is made out of lead when speaking in the common tongue. Where did you learn it?" He didn't want to admit how happy it made him to speak a more elegant tongue. He had decided that he had made an excellent choice in approaching the tiefling.
Seeing an all together normal human approach, he tensed up, glad to have his dagger so close at hand. What did it want? Ah, it is being friendly. That is good. He let his hand slide away. He had to remind himself that humans were a much more simple folk, and he shouldn't keep expecting the worst. Well, until he had to. But they'd probably be much more obvious about that.
"And I am Lindaer, Vern. The honor is mine." He responded, hoping to keep things appropriate. He wasn't sure what "folks" meant, but he assumed it was some sort of honorific title. Perhaps this man was nobility, or was the retainer to a noble house? Regardless, he couldn't afford to make enemies.
Anita arrives a little late, having dropped off most of her supplies in her dormitory. "Greetings class! Let us have a wonderful year together!" Anita enters with a smile and curtsey, finding an empty seat in front of the drow. The students behind her elicit a look of curiosity before it washes back into a smile. I wonder how those two managed to get into this academy, certainly the first time I've seen a drow or teifling.
As she sets up her books and inks, she overhears the conversation the others are having and can't help but join in. "You may call me Anita, It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Her face lights up with a smile as she talks, as if she enjoys nothing more. Let's see what I can dig up.
"My dear, I am also versed in the Elven tongue, so please, be at ease amongst us." She looks conspiratorially from the tiefling to the drow student, "I'm confident I can translate for our friend, Mister...Vernon was it?" Anita turns in her chair to look at the human, "Unless you too, are gifted with the Elven tongue?"
"Hireath? That's a pretty name. Not boring like mine. And Lindaer. Thank you for that. I'm honored! I'm glad to see some people other than humans here. My family traveled a lot while I was young but I always felt... sheltered. If you feel that I'm being rude please tell me and I'll try to correct myself in the future. It will likely just be my ignorance."
Hearing the strange, almost melodic language (Elven) he listens intently. "That's a beautiful language. I doubt we'll have time now, but maybe in the future I'd like to try and learn it. So far I only know a couple that my folks, sorry, my parents taught me, Draconic, Ignan, and Celestial." Hearing Anita's greeting and question he grins at her, "Just Vern please, and not 'Mister'. I'm hoping to be friends with all of the students here and I ask that my friends call me Vern. So that language is Elven? Sorry, but no I don't speak it. Maybe I can learn it over some time though."
Hireath feels a bit overwhelmed by all the social interaction. Fortunately for her, the topic of conversation is languages. She loves languages. Maybe we can help each other learn? There is a Linguistics class, we could be a...what did the other children call it. A study group?
"Oh, Elven was actually the first language I learned, if you don't count Common. One of the librarians taught me. She's an elf, and she has a habit of muttering to herself. I was curious what she was saying, so I asked her to teach me. Pretty simple, really. Maybe you could teach me Undercommon? I'd love to learn."
Turning to Vernon, "Wait, did you say you know Ignan? That was the next language on my list now that I've finally got a decent grasp on Auran. I'd be happy to teach you Elven if you don't mind returning the favor with Ignan."
Undercommon should have enough commonality with Elven to make it easy to pick up, while the linguistic roots should be distinct enough from Ignan that I can learn both simultaneously without too much trouble. If they're willing to teach me, of course. But even if they're not, the center of this place is the library, right? I'm sure to find the books I need there.
Almost as an afterthought, her mind swimming with linguistic possibilities, she says, "Hi Anita. I'm Hireath. It's nice to meet you too."
People were actually talking to her, and they knew languages she didn't. This is the best day ever, and class hasn't even started yet!
"Well, Vern, given the time I would be happy to teach you." Her gaze shifts to Lindaer; "Unless our resident expert would prefer?"Anita's attention returns to Vernon, "I too, have studied the language of dragons, I think any student of the arcane would do well pick it up. So many of them have their claws dipped into the magical world after all!" With a soft laugh, the girl leans in as if to tell a secret. "In fact, I've heard a rumor that the Dean is one of them! Wouldn't that be something?"
On Hireath's excited outburst, Anita turns to speak better to the teifling. "A pleasure, dear, and you said you picked up Auran? My, it is rare to meet another fluent! I'm sure we'll be fast friends soon enough."
The human pauses a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing."On the subject of languages, I'm fluent in Common, Elven, Gnomish and Auran. I admit I've only recently studied Draconic, but I feel quite confident. If you wish to study over tea, I'd be more than happy to oblige." The girl looks like she's barely containing her excitement behind a veil of politeness.
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Lindaer watched all of this with confusion. Why were they so excited about languages? He learned common because his house raided/traded with the surface enough that it was useful. These scholars seemed to be actually happy to learn languages that nobody around them spoke. He really hoped that he wouldn’t have to...except maybe draconic. That seemed very practical. Then the thought hit him. Humans really were something else! How was it possible for them to learn so much so quickly? Maybe he had been underestimating them, to his own detriment.
”The dean is a dragon? What color?” He asked with interest.
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Anita looks at Lindaer like a cat that just caught her prey. "That's the thing! Nobody knows! I heard from a friend, who told me that she knew one of the Dean's former partners. Reportedly, he was so frightened at the Dean's sudden reveal that he took off running! Can you imagine if one of your most trusted friends suddenly revealed themselves to be a dragon? I'm not certain what I'd even think!' Anita's really getting excited, to the point of getting loud and standing out of her seat.
When she realizes what she's doing, the human girl stammers out an apology and sits back into her seat. She's not done yet though, and leans in to whisper, "I heard the two of them never spoke again, isn't that so sad?" Anita's positively beaming right now, like someone who just let her friends in on a juicy secret.
Vern shrugs at Anita's words, "I wonder why. I mean if it was revealed to a friend? There's gotta be a good number of dragons around, likely hiding in plain site. Just look at the number of draconic sorcerers. My mother is one, but they don't talk much about that line of her ancestors. Come to think of it I wonder why.... I never asked her what line that dragon was. She favors acid attacks and red hair runs in the family, mostly. Hmm...."
"I think that was unfair of the Dean's friend. Maybe he should have stayed and listened instead of running off. But then again, I guess it would hurt to be lied to..."
Hireath, who has been focusing on the school of illusion for the sole purpose of one day concealing her race, looks a bit downcast. I didn't think of it like that. Maybe it's not such a good idea.
She brightens up at Vern's words. "Exactly! There's probably lots of people around hiding what race they are, don't you think? It shouldn't be such a big deal."
"Well, I can't rightly say! Perhaps there was some kind of personal conflict, or he was so embarrassed at having run away he can't bear to meet his old friend. You know how pridefully foolish some people can be." Anita crosses her arms in a disapproving gesture."I wonder if Mother would know more..." The look on her face is not entirely pleased at the thought. She sits silent for a moment.
Suddenly, Anita claps her hands together as if clearing the air. "Anyhoo, perhaps it's best we focus on our studies. I'm planning to host a little study session during free period, and I would be delighted if you could join me! Meet me in my dorm room and we can talk over a nice cup of tea. It's going to be a busy day with so much to talk about, like our classes or the clubs. It's already open enrollment! Personally, I might join the school newsletter, but I'm not altogether certain it's the best choice for me."
Vern smiles at the tiefling's words and he realizes that he likes her already. "Very true Hireath. But at least at this school race shouldn't matter. This should be all about magic and learning, and no race has any overwhelming advantage there." He watches her reaction hoping she can see the sincerity in his eyes.
When Anita brings up study sessions after classes, and then clubs he goes from smiling to cringing. "I like the study sessions. Small groups can help each other to better understand the material. My sibs, well, we prepared casters anyway, worked together to better get the nuances of our spells figured out after our father taught us the basics of a spell. It was helpful to me because it always seemed like each of us did things just ever-so-slightly different. I found that interesting too but none of my sibs was interested in that facet of the magic. For example, in the phrasing of the endure elements spell, I tended to accent the second syllable of the first word of the command. But all of my siblings accented the first syllable. The spell still worked for all of us, but when I tried their way it failed. Isn't that interesting?" He glances around realizing that he had rattled off subject. "Sorry. Oh, but the newsletter? Well I guess it could be fun. And if you're working on it you can't become a target for it. I mean you shouldn't have a nosy reporter asking you embarrassing questions about your family or anything.... Not if you're the nosy reporter!" He grins at Anita hoping she gets the humor that he intended.
Hireath's breath catches a bit. He actually means that, I think. So far none of them has given my appearance a second look, or in any way acted differently because of my race. Or Lindaer's for that matter. It's...nice. Strange, but nice.
Blinking rapidly, she forces herself to focus on the subject at hand. "I think a newsletter would be a perfect fit for you, Anita. I hadn't really considered joining a club myself; I figured I'd be focused on my studies. Do you have any idea what types of clubs they have?"
"Quite right Vern, this is a place of learning, and there's as much to learn about other cultures as there is about magic!" At Vern's joke however, Anita wrinkles her nose, "Well, it runs in the family I suppose." She's quick to lighten up though, and lets out a small laugh. "Yes, I think it certainly does."
Thinking about Hireath's question, Anita is replies slowly, as if though she's trying to remember something. "Well, I admit I haven't been here long, but I know that most schools have a newsletter, several sports clubs and at least one or two devoted to arts and music." The inquisitive girl's eyes suddenly light up! "Oh! That's right, I heard a rumor that the dueling club might make a return! Supposedly, it was closed after some students were injured and one went missing. Magic duels are important events in our world, and it is important skill to learn for anyone thinking of becoming a warmage."
Anita idling taps a finger to her chin. "Thinking about it, there might be an exploration club, especially considering the grand library beneath us. I expect it'd mostly be upperclassmen though. Horticulture and magical plants are a very important, if unappreciated, corner of magic. There might be a garden somewhere as well"
Lindaer's question is silently answered when an outright ancient elven woman strides into the classroom. Her hair, constricted into an iron-tight braid, is silvery white, and the topology of age lines on her face would give most spiders a run for their money. She is wearing simple, elegant gray robes and carries herself with the confidence of one who doesn't need to flaunt her power and ability.
"Welcome to your first year in the Academy Arcane." she speaks in an icy voice. There is nothing resembling a smile on her face as she looks over you. "Congratulations on getting together enough money for the tuition, which may translate as "the stroke of luck that is being born in a rich enough family". But worry not, those who are not here on their own merit will soon find their way out. I am Professor Caladrel, Dean of Admissions and Chairwoman of Research. As such, it is my responsibility to verify your preparation. The-"
Caladrel is interrupted as an halfling girl, out of breath, rushes into the room. Despite it being a sunny day, she is drenched in water, and trailing puddles. "Sorry... sorry..." she whimpers, as Caladrel's glare follows her until she sits behind Anita. "Hi. I'm Barsine." the newcomer introduces herself. "Could you lend me some paper? Mine is ruined..."
"Therefore," the Dean continues glacially "I am giving you your first assignment, and the most important of the term. You will be divided into four groups, who will head into the Library below, and retrieve one, or more, of these three books."
A piece of chalk flows to the blackboard and writes three lines:
- The Crucible of Nations
- The Spiral of Life
- Astral Fires and the Endless Sea
Someone in the rows back chuckles, and is promptly ignored by the teacher. "You can look them up in the catalog at the Library's main entrance, where the Librarians will also explain you the rules of the place. Any group that will not retrieve at least one of these volumes will be expelled, and the tuition already paid shall not be refunded. Now, the assignment's rules." The chalk starts writing her next words in a separate column.
"Professors, librarians, and other academy staff are forbidden from aiding the students in their assignments beyond their usual lectures and duties."
"Injury, illness, and death are not excuses for failing the assignment."
"The book must remain in a recognizable, readable state and be brought to the next Research class on Friday."
"Violence between students is strictly disallowed; whoever attacked first will be expelled. If it is unclear who attacked first, all participants will be expelled. We are not barbarians."
"All of the books you are sent to find are on the first floor of the library. Entering the second floor is extremely dangerous and pointless; students who do so and survive will be expelled."
By this point, the class is silent, the specter of expulsion looming over everyone's head. For the first time, Caladrel breaks out in a small smile. "The Library will force you to be quick of wit and action, and to think on your feet. Those who can't adapt to that have no hope of mastering the arcane arts. Any questions?"
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Lindaer scowled when he heard the rule against violence. How were these people supposed to get ahead if they weren't allowed a bit of murder here and there? Well, murder that was caught, he supposed. Not that he was anywhere good enough at it to even try. He wished that he had his father's influence here.
"Can we choose our own groups?" Lindaer ventured. The people he had met thus far seemed to be shockingly...nice. He couldn't imagine them backstabbing him, and they were scholarly enough to seem to enjoy challenges like this. He couldn't think of anyone better to carry him through the day.
Hireath sits up straight as the Dean walks in. Wow. She looks so...professional. It's going to be amazing having professors like her! She concentrates intently on the professor's words, determined not to miss a thing.
Only a moment later her focus is disrupted as a halfling girl bursts into the room. How did she get drenched? Did someone play a prank on her? I know there are spells to create water out of nothing... Feeling sympathetic, she passes over a couple sheets of parchment while Professor Caladrel writes on the board. Retrieve a book from the library, seems simple enough. Guess they really want to emphasize learning research skills early by turning it into a competition.
"Any group that will not retrieve at least one of these volumes will be expelled...
Wait, what? Expelled?! But... she takes another look at the board. Still three books. Still the distinct memory of the professor saying four groups. Would they really expel a quarter of the class?!
Surely not. Surely there was some mistake. So when Professor Caladrel asks for questions, she tentatively raises her hand.
"Um. Professor. Shouldn't there be a fourth book, if we're being divided into four groups? Otherwise...otherwise you'd be arbitrarily expelling a quarter of the class. An extremely talented person might get stuck with a bad group, or vice versa. That doesn't seem..." Don't say fair, this is not someone who's going to care about fair "...well-designed."
"Can we choose our own groups?"
"No. Next question."
"Um. Professor. Shouldn't there be a fourth book, if we're being divided into four groups? Otherwise...otherwise you'd be arbitrarily expelling a quarter of the class. An extremely talented person might get stuck with a bad group, or vice versa. That doesn't seem... well-designed."
"Predictable question, but one deserving an explanation. Having four books wouldn't keep you on edge enough to get out your best. Only in an environment with rivals that are as motivated as you and bent on winning you can reasonably simulate the circumstances you will find yourselves sufficiently challenged. It will prepare you for the toil that is arcane learning, and weed out most of those who are ill-fitted. Of course, any who believe that luck played against them might apply for the next term, although in my experience there is no such thing as luck. In case you still are not convinced, I will simply say that the rate of serious and fatal accidents in later terms dropped by more than half after this test was introduced. Next question."
Alright, they really will expel a quarter of the class. At least they allow people to reapply, I suppose. Not that it mattered. They'd never offer her another scholarship if she was expelled during the first week. This was her one and only chance at being a student here.
Hireath still thought it was an unfair test, but she was used to things being unfair. It just meant she had to work harder to even the odds. Which led to her next question.
"Thank you, I understand." Mostly. "If you don't mind I have a follow-up question. You said we were to retrieve 'one or more' of these books. Is there any reason we would need to retrieve multiple books?"
I can't have been the only one who heard that part. Better to get it out in the open now, if for no other reason than to get a sense of who might be considering grabbing extras.
"Thank you, I understand. If you don't mind I have a follow-up question. You said we were to retrieve 'one or more' of these books. Is there any reason we would need to retrieve multiple books?"
"Need? No. But you may want to. Perhaps you dislike other groups and wish them expelled, perhaps you want to show what you are capable of. And of course, your classmates may trade handsomely for one of your spares. Last year, a group managed to get all three of the books, which was quite a feat."
"That was my brother!" says a student three rows behind you, handsome boy with dark hair and a flute sticking out of his bag. "I mean, the group he was in, he hasn't stopped boasting yet!""Which is pertinent and yet utterly pointless information. Unless there is something meaningful you'd like to share with the class" Caladrel pauses for a second, a fiery gaze fixed on the student who interrupted her, "I will reiterate that the number of books you collect, provided it is more than zero, will have no impact on your academic life, except for your classrooms getting emptier. Next question."
Vernon listens intently as the elderly, elven(?) woman speaks. He cringes inwardly when she mentions "the stroke of luck" of being born wealthy. Technically his family wasn't wealthy, but their adventuring income could likely be seen as such by those that didn't understand the risks involved. He was fairly certain that he could prove his merits in any fair contest though....
When she started answering questions and the obvious was pointed out that one group, regardless of qualification, would be eliminated.... he just nodded. After her reply he stated his agreement. "Expelled is better than crippled or dead. No question except, can we get started now?"
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Lindaer nodded at this. Perhaps the surface really wasn't so different from his home afterall. He also noted that violence between students was prohibited. Not against anyone else. A minor detail, but perhaps an important one. Also thievery wasn't disallowed, which went along with the books being turned in after a week. Meaning that if someone else found them all, there would be time to attain them. Just without being caught with a violent act. This place was beginning to make more sense to him. Not that he wanted clarification, as asking might well create a new rule that would go against him. Or put the idea in more naive heads.
Cold and draconian, just as I heard. Anita listens quietly to the Dean's speech, copying it down onto the paper in front of her. The beginnings of a plan begin to form in Anita's mind, small scraps of information tumbling together. More interested in writing down what is being said, Anita has no questions at this time.
Recognizable, readable state... maybe something can be done there. I need to look more into the books themselves. The human girl was lost in thought and barely noticed the drenched Halfling until she squelched into her seat. "Hello dear." Soaked, in this weather... I fear she might be the target of bullying. Barsine, was it? I need to keep an eye on her later.
Last year's winners had all three books, hmm? The Dean only said academy staff were unable to help us. Perhaps our upper classmen would be the best place to start. I know that boy will certainly be asking his brother for help. Anita watches the loudmouthed boy intently, trying to memorize his appearance.
"You can begin as soon as there are no more questions. Anyone? Perfect. I hope for your sake that you can figure out the sorting."
Caladrel raises one hand and summons sixteen pastel-colored orbs of light, which fly around the classroom until they find a student to latch on. Each one of you four is found by cerulean dancing lights; Barsine, behind you, holds a yellow one in her hand, as three more students in the classroom do, and the remaining ones have been tagged as either pink or green. The boy who spoke about his brother is in this last group.
Your day is divided into five slots: Morning, Afternoon, Early Evening, Late Evening and Night. In any of those slots, each one of you can choose one of these activities:
- The relevant activity: For lessons, attendance is not mandatory, except for Research, but you may gain some benefits by going to class. In the Early Evening of Tuesday and Wednesday there are Club activities as well.
- An expedition into the Library: Delve into the dungeon in search of your books. Every expedition takes a full slot even if you get out soon (unless you are just popping in and then out, which may happen, for example, if you find a hidden access).
- During Late Afternoon, you can Visit the Pub for drinks, gossip and social activities.
- Sleep, so that you can regain your spells. If you are truly desperate, you can go to the Library in that time, but you will be fatigued the next day or until you sleep.
- Something Else: If you have a different idea, need to scribe down a scroll, or to go looking for an NPC, then you can do so.
I want to remark that although you are a team, it's not necessary to be together at all times: one of you may attend the classes while the other three delve into the Dungeon, for example, and you can go to different club sessions if they clash.
Sure enough, as soon as she asks about multiple books one boy starts bragging about his brother getting all three. Found the one most likely to try and grab them all. Don't know if there's anything I can do with that information, but at least I know. It was always better to know.
As the orbs start flying around Hireath holds her breath, then releases a sigh of relief as she's grouped with the people she'd been talking to earlier. Good, they all seemed nice. She does cast another sympathetic look at Barsine. I hope her group is okay, it seems like she's already having a tough time of it.
Unfolding her schedule again, she huddles together with the rest of the group. "We've got another class right after this, then club enrollment, but looks like we have some free time after that. Do we want to head to the Library then? I'd also be fine with skipping the clubs and leaving a bit earlier, but I know Anita wanted to check out the newsletter."
The idea of possibly skipping class never occurs to her. Mandatory or not, the classes are the whole reason for her presence here.
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”Well then, it seems like this is our group.”
As everyone was sorting themselves, an idea came to his head.
Unfortunately a lone drow is quite conspicuous. But he had already began to walk and couldn’t stop now. Reaching the boy, he put on his best smile.
”I couldn’t help but hear you in class.” He began with a friendly tone. ”My name is Lindaer, I would know yours.” Once he had the name he continued ”You see, your family sounds quite capable. It is too bad we aren’t in the same group. I like capable families. My father, for example, had a rival’s son abducted and eaten alive to the spiders. It was really hard to sleep with the screaming. It’s a good story, if you want to hear it some time. The abduction, that is. It’s never easy to break into a warded wizard’s tower, it took over eight years of planning. I wouldn’t bore you with something as mundane as spiders. I’m sure we will be good friends. I’ll stop by your room sometime now that we know each other.”
Through it all he remained perfectly civil in his tone and attitude. But it was best to let the boy know that the drow had long memories and more than enough time for petty revenge. At least then he’d think twice before taking all the books.
Once the Dean has turned the class loose, Anita walks over to the Hafling girl. "My dear, you look absolutely drenched! Here, let me take care of that for you."
"Please be careful out there, and if you need anything, come seek me out. My name is Anita, by the way."
...
Turning back to her group, she tells a little of her plans. "I am certainly planning to look into the clubs, it's probably the best way to get into contact with our upperclassmen. The Dean never said we couldn't ask for their aid and I'm certain one of us has a head start." Anita offhandedly motions towards the flute boy, as she watches Lindaer work.
"I'm sad to postpone our tea time, but I suppose the free period is our best bet. Let's all show that dragon what we can do!" Anita's looking confident!
Vernon glances at the schedule and nods. "Scrivening? Probably best to not skip a class. Others might get into the library before us but that just means they can feed themselves to whatever guardians are waiting. After that? True. The clubs might have upperclassmen in them, and they might at least give some advice. Not likely they'd give any real help though unless any of you have leverage there?"
Anita shakes her head. "Not yet. I'll see what I can find out though."
She reaches into her bag and pulls out a fresh sheet of paper.
One, what do these books look like? I'd hate to just walk past them on the shelves, there's bound to be thousands of books down there. I might be working on a plan with this information, but nothing solid yet.
Two, what can our fellow classmates do? If we know who our opponents are, it'll be easier to protect our books once we have them. Familiars, spells, languages, anything that might give us the upper hand.
Afterwards, we head into the library and see what we're dealing with. Free Period today is our first expedition so eat a healthy lunch. Let's see how far we make it and what we're dealing with. Finally, we should come up with a plan to steal a book or two should we get there too late. It's a nasty business, but I'm not going back home empty-handed."
Hireath blinks in surprise as Anita switches to Draconic, but quickly catches on. Right. Best to make plans in a language other people don't know. Although given that we all know Draconic, I suppose others might as well..." She looks around to see if anyone is paying attention, or seems to understand what Anita is saying.
"Ah, thank you, thank you! I'm Barsine, so nice to meetcha." Barsine beams with joy as Anita dries her clothing. "I should've kept that spell handy, but I wasn't sure what would be useful, prepared other things- anyway thanks, thanks again, I owe you one! See ya!"
As Caladrel exits the room, the halfling moves to her teammates, introducing herself to them out of earshot. What is in earshot, instead, is a blond human girl with a shrill voice, smugness dripping from her voice. "Challenging, sure, it may be challenging for people without neither means nor a brain. I, which means you lot too, since you had the good luck to be paired with me, have the victory in our hand. The birthday present my parents got me guarantees that we'll find our books, no sweat!"
The volume of her voice drops to normal after this shameless bragging.
Meanwhile, Lindaer moves to the dark-haired boy, who extends his hand with a smile. "Hi, I'm Sven!" he introduces himself, with a smile that only falters slightly as he recognizes the features of the drow.
What happens next is a marvel of dialectics. The friendly expression on Sven's face drops to dubious, to perplexed, finally stabilizing itself into a look of horror. He just stammers a few syllables as Lindaer walks away, but it's quite clear that you left an impression. Whether that was for good or not remains to be seen.
Hireath had been too focused on the task at hand to notice Lindaer leaving, although she does register when he returns. Huh. Maybe he had to use the bathroom?
"Yes, according to the schedule. I wonder what kind of scrolls we'll be working on?" In a lower tone, (and in Elven as an added precaution), she adds "Anita has some ideas about how best to complete our assignment. We'll check out the Library during our free period this afternoon, and come up with a concrete plan once we know more about what we're dealing with. In the meantime, we're going to see what we can figure out about our classmates."
I've never been involved in any kind of subterfuge before. This is kind of exciting! Although I do feel bad for whoever gets expelled.
Unless it's that blonde bragging about her "birthday present."
Vernon pauses for a moment when Hireath mentions scrolls. He hadn't even considered what scrivening meant.... Writing scrolls? He had thought it might have had something to do with writing spells into books. Scrolls could be, useful!
When she switches to elven he looks confused. He answers in draconic. "Sorry. I don't speak that language. I think when we get to the club sign ups we should split up to cover as many of the clubs as we can. Never know what rumors there might be, and what useful information might get slipped."
Realizing the potential for disaster if she responds in Draconic (possibly confusing Lindaer, leading herself to have to explain in Elven, which would confuse Vernon again, and so on), Hireath decides it's best to stick to Common as long as they're not actively making secret plans. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to exclude you. I was just letting Lindaer know what we decided while he was gone."
"The Dean was adamant about us not being able to buy our way out of this test. I think that girl is in for a surprise." Anita leans in a little closer and switches to Elven. "Maybe we should plan one for her, just in case."
The girl straightens her own blonde hair, shaking a couple small feathers free. "I'm looking forward to Scrivening, it wouldn't do to miss our first proper class."
"That's a good idea Vern. As for plans, hopefully we can find some private place to meet up in the future."
Hireath looks alarmed at the suggested plan. "I don't think we should steal anything. I mean..." She struggles for a second to put her thoughts into words. "Stealing a book from one of the other groups would be one thing; that's technically within the parameters of the assignment. But stealing someone's birthday present? I'm not okay with that."
Even if she is a spoiled brat.
"As Lindaer mentioned, stealing wasn't mentioned in the rules, but an attack was listed as a direct route to expulsion. Maybe breaking and entering could be an option if we haven't found any books near the end of the week? Also, we need to keep that in mind if we do find any and not leave them unattended, like in our rooms...."
Anita looks surprised, but she quickly changes to a more apologetic expression. I wouldn't have taken a teifling to object to thievery, but I suppose Hireath is the first one I've met. "It's just a possibility, dear, I would rather avoid such unpleasantries. If it does come to that though, I feel it best we returned the present once our book is secure." The girl gives Lindaer a sideways look.
Professor Nikola, who teaches Scrivening, is a middle-aged human with parting hair. His hands are stained with ink, and he moves with the gait of someone who'd need some sleep.
He addresses the class in a mumbling voice, trailing off towards the ends of the phrases. "Welcome to Scrivening, which relates to the many uses of calligraphy in the arcane arts. The first year's program will be centered on scrollwriting and graphical cyphers, proceeding towards glyphwork and diagrammatics, that's..."
The last part of his phrases are lost in an indistinct mumbling. After a while, he appears to realize that he's mostly silent and speaks out again.
"I'll write a series of symbols that codify a spell to comprehend languages, and I'll explain their meaning. If you copy them precisely and with meaning, you should manage to have a functional scroll in the end, but only if you keep its meaning clear in your mind. The first part is khres, identifying the School of Divination, and..."
The lesson goes on for more than an hour, until four spidery runes are traced on the blackboard. Hard to understand as he may be, the professor's handwriting is a marvel to see.
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Lindaer followed along, dutifully. The prospect of owning a potentially useful scroll enough to keep him working. But still, his mind was on other matters. Such as the theft of presents.
He was finally starting to understand the idea of this school, and he liked it. Throwing students against each other with high stakes, but no violence allowed? It was a great way to learn how horrible and cut-throat the world was, without dying while learning that. Which, he realized, is what school was for! Once again his father’s foresight astounded him.
While Vernon has a little trouble focusing on the tasks, he knows the spell and had already worked out the permutations of language and such with his siblings. He completes the scroll quickly and adds another inline below it....