"Very well, we will take these to Koride."
"I think they're chewing a, hmm, an astrological conjunction," Chimwemwe ponders. "Maybe someone has set them in motion to summon a celestial body like, hmm, like a comet. Or a summons that can only happen during a certain conjunction."
He looks around at the marred woodwork. "I'm happy to squash as many as we can, but, hmm, from personal experience, bark beetles are fiendishly sneaky and hard to find. Once you think you've killed them, you find a pile of sawdust under the pulley and gear system you were repairing the very next morning!"
The top blows off Shade's gourd head.
What!? Smash up our hard work!? These took MOTHS TO grow!
"No. The beetles," Chimwemwe clarifies with what he intends to be a reassuring smile.
Shade-in-Autumn looks relieved. Oh. okay.
He leaves to you work. But before he leaves her turns: Thank you. And no spying on our sturdy tournament preparations!
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"If only we had a few birds or spiders ready for a meal," Chimwemwe laments. He moves to a position where a he is facing a wall and beetle infested wood. "Let me try something. Stay back for a moment, but be ready to stomp on them if this works."
He begins drawing invisible shapes in the air and then speaks imperatively, "πx^2 (x = ∑i)" Upon completing the arcane sounds, wind erupts from Chimwemwe in all directions.
Whoah! Shade is impressed.
☀☀☀
The west end of the island upon which the Magaambya was built extends into the canal on an artificial island. Several large stone basins form a ring around a grand stage on top of this artificial island, magically illuminating it. The Speaker’s Stage was designed as a place where representatives of the school could make pronouncements to Nantambu, but just as often Magaambya students use it to put on concerts, plays, or other performances. By tradition, these performances must always be free of charge, and they’re quite popular in Nantambu, even the more amateurish ones.
Luckily today you are alone on the stage. Delicate water striders crowd around the island, skating back and forth on the water. The insects are plainly agitated but difficult to catch because they dart about so quickly. Fetching a specimen requires a quick hand or a good sense of the creatures’ movements.
As you watch the insects, some boats drift near. Give us a show!
What kind of show are you performing for us?
Let's get on with it!
The friendly calls echo across the water, and more boats drift in, exited to see a show…
Alrinkiri looks to their compatriots, looks to the gathering crowd, then ignores them as they go on about the process of catching a bug.
While his allies work on completing their actual mission Akoril hops to it and keeps the crowd entertained with a series of acrobatic leaps each time nearly jumping into the water but always pulling himself back up, twisint gna turning and contorting, yet never actually touching the water.
While Akoril entertains the growing crowd of citizens, Chimwemwe moves to what he believes to be an auspicious location and sits with a jar in one hand and a scoop in the other, waiting patiently for a water strider to approach him.
Once a water strider approaches, he tries to be a bit flamboyant in his capture technique while providing an educational spiel on the insects. "...and some types of water striders live on the ocean. These insects are harmless to us, but these timid, fragile creatures are actually predators, attacking other insects that have fallen into the water..."
Though, he might have done better if he had stuck to engineering and explained how they walk on water. Hopefully, he can speak--however dryly--and catch water bugs at the same time.
The crowd whoops and cheers Akoril's efforts; Chimwemwe is less successful, however.
A finely dressed member stands up on one of the boats at the edge of the canal and introduces himself in a clear voice as Asanda. He deftly folds a paper boat, places a feather inside, and pushes it across the water to you.
When you pick up the boat, you find a Chest Feather Token inside! Those of you trained in Society remember that Asanda is one of the 11 magistrate‑mayors who govern Nantambu. What a generous man.
Koride is back in her office, and anxious for the samples. Good. You came back with all of them instead of worrying me with instant updates. She places the jars on her desk.
What did you learn?
|
"Of course," Soomdevi says all cool like, as though he didn't stop by when Koride was out of office.
He looks over the various specimens.
"I'm not sure if they all had anything in common, but the beetles are definitely trying to perform a summoning ritual. For what, I don't know. Could be demons, could be they're working with the cultists. But didn't you mention the shadow plane the other day? Maybe it's something to do with that."
"The mites in the kitchen that drew the centipedes were a surprise to Lumusi, and not something that had been an issue in the past. Apparently they came in on a basket of cassava recently."
"The spiders report that they have never seen so many centipedes before!"
Akoril places the feather in his jaunty hat.
---
Akoril tries to explain in an overly wordy fashion.
"While an absence of evidence of connection does not itself exclude a connection, our conclusion is limited by the evidence and we did not find a connection."
"There are far more insects around the Magaambya than makes sense," Chimwemwe says. "The bark beetles were behaving strangely and chewing in a supernatural pattern. We were attacked by a swarm of centipedes in the, hmm, the kitchen. That seems, hmm, particularly unusual behavior and numbers. Water skimmers are all over the channel, too."
Koride's habitual sneer drops; for once, she looks genuinely concerned. These findings may indicate a larger problem. One that I will look into. She turns and begins to jot down notes, totally engrossed in her work. It seems you are dismissed.
☀☀☀
That evening, the students gather for game night. They play "Old Mage," "Go Aboleth," "Moonlight Bridge," and more. However as the evening wears on it becomes more of a party than anything else.
Chizire and Ignaci have teamed up to create new drink called "Meteor Swarm" — a spicy cinnamon whiskey brewed by Chizire and chilled with the "spirit stones" Ignaci invented. These magically chilled, hygienic, non-porous soapstones keep the powerful liquor cold without diluting it like ice would.
The "Meteor Swarm" must have no effect on Haibram, because the dwarf is drinking more than anyone else and loudly proclaiming how he's not drunk yet while he loses at cards. Okoro is cajoling him on and cleaning up — Haibram will have to do his laundry for the next week straight!
Esi and Ignaci are having an impromptu fashion runway contest. They like Akoril's jaunty hat! While they strut, Noxolo and the spiderlings dance to a throbbing beat played by Anchor Root, who has a collection of Rhythm Bones spread out on a table in the darkest corner of the room. The tiny gnoll mixes and matches the bones' individual beats to create unique new harmonies. She bobs her head up and down as she mixes the beats, her typical shyness gone as she is lost her world of music. Her chicken familiar flaps around, dancing on the table.
Mariama lounges on a chair giggling at the chicken and eating all the cookies that Tzeniwe baked.
Tzeniwe herself tried the runway a few times, but now she's anxiously watching her children dance, constantly running here and there to catch the lamps and books and glasses that Zachva and Zanvi knock over.
Akoril does his best to learn these various new games before drinking and dancing, both a nit too much before collapsing in a chair and watching the chicken flap round and round.
Haibram throws cards across the room. Deciding it's time for a break, Okoro approaches Akoril. Apologies, but I have a confession. I have peeked into your dorm room — it looks like it has been arranged with careful and intentional orderliness. He gets a new board game off his shelf, one with incredibly dense and complex rules. Would you care to help me decipher these rules, and then play a round after we suss it out? It is a two-player game.
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Akoril responds "I'll try, but I don't think I've ever played something like that before," picking up the rules and trying to focus despite his head swimming slightly.
"Alright, lets start at the setup and work systematic..." Akoril interrupts himself staring at the reference page before shaking his head and continuing
"... systematically, first setup and then we'll sort it out as we go along."
Though tipsy Akoril finds a hidden meaning in the instructions: it's a scroll of Lucky Number. He is able to capitalize Using this knowledge and pull off a win at the decisive moment when his number comes up!
Fascinating. Here, please take the scroll. We should play more games sometime — you are a worthy opponent!
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Akoril responds "I got lucky, if you hadn't drawn three Mosquito Dolls in a row when investigating to the well of Omens, there's no way I could have pulled that out."
"Mixing drinks is like alchemy, isn't it?" Chimwemwe asks Chirize--assuming he is not napping--and Ignaci. "May I try for the next party? These spirit stones are ingenious."
He collects a cup of "Meteor Swarm" and turns to the party. With Okoro busy playing a game with Akoril, he watches for a while and then takes a seat awkwardly beside Mariama to observe the fashion show. He glances at Mariama a few times then finally starts to ask, "Are there, hmm, any, hmm, cookies left..."
There's lots left. As Mariama reaches over she spills the pan, and the dozen remaining cookies all land in a perfect stack on the floor, like a tower of pastries. She curses in Shadowtongue. The universe is always messing with me. She launches into a story about the time her heirloom magical staff was disintegrated by a bolt of lightning, in a clear blue sky. It becomes a tangent about dread, existentialism, and the transcendent powers of the universe.
--
Ignaci and Esi whistle at Soomdevi and egg him on. Is shadow the new black!?
Alrinkiri, somewhat more comfortable socializing after the last few months, joins in with some of the games early in the evening. They pick up on rules quickly and do well on the tactical aspects, but are hopeless on the bluffing and social engineering aspects of play and eventually bow out before accruing any substantial debt.
Haibram throws his cards down in disgust. Oi! We're gonna lose our shirts wit all these cheaters here!
Eeew, no one wants your shirt! Esi rolls her eyes.
He ignores her. C'mon, Alrinkiri. Ya look fast. Are ya? Are ya faster than ME? I'll race ya. Up the spire into the clouds, then across the rooftops! Last one back here cleans the common room tomorrow! Haibram jumps to his feet and dashes out without waiting for a reply!
Alrinkiri reacts quickly, and is hot on Haibram's heels dashing out the dorm. With practiced grace they leap up against the spire and onto the rooftop, bounding across through the cool night air.
"Hmm. Fate and fortune can be, hmm, tricky," Chimwemwe says in consolation to Mariama's tale. He reaches down and takes the cookie from the top of the tower. "Chance or serendipity can be, hmm, be difficult to understand. Reality is like a, hmm, a vastly complex clockwork machine. We're, hmm, we might be surprised by the effects of the machine. What we can see. Hmm. But those effects are governed by gears--radius and speed, defined by mathematics. So too do, hmm, do the mathematics of reality govern our fortune."
He flips the cookie over and begins to explain how the constellation he sees within the darker bits would influence a person born under that sign given certain planetary alignments.
Soomdevi's cloak is impressive, but he has a hard time keeping his eyes straight ahead like a catwalk model! Ignaci gives him some friendly advice on "working his attitude" and they practice a few more times. If you get practice, I'll let you model some of my experimental designs around campus.
Alrinkiri wins the race handily; Haibram Sits down at the finish line and takes a nap. But he's totally not drunk.
Chimwemwe explains some theorems, which Mariama proceeds to combine with disparate elements she's learned up in class. If reality is a clockwork machine, who built it? Who's running it? What if it's some evil demon whose only purpose is to trick you was in charge? What if all your thoughts, experiences, and perceptions could be manipulated by this demon?
Wisps decides to get down on the dance floor!
Unfortunately, she keeps tripping over the items on the floor.
"It's true," Chimwemwe nods. "There's nothing that says, hmm, that says that I and everything I experience isn't a programmed illusion constructed by a powerful wizard. But I choose to believe that I am me."
Mariama rolls her eyes. I think, therefore I am? Sounds like the insane ramblings of Zuma.
--
Wisps trips, is caught by Tzeniwe, and it quickly turns into a game of "pass the ball while you dance" with Zachva, and Zanvi! Noxolo moves her arms around like she is holding, throwing, and catching an invisible ball. The spiderlings bound about in their natural form, on the walls and ceiling!
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You party late into the night. Friendships are blossoming among your group.
--
A Week later, you are asked invited to visit Teacher Ot in his office, whenever it's convenient for you. His office, like Koride’s, in the Heron Archives.
“I have a favor to ask of you.” Teacher Ot looks up from the many books arranged around him with a furrow in his brow. “Some research materials I need are missing from the usual reference libraries. I’ve had initiates look for them with no success, and I’ve spoken with the other professors to see if perhaps what I need has landed in their more private collections. Again, no success. I now know where they aren’t, which tells me where they must be.” He pulls out a detailed map of the Magaambya’s grounds. “This building here—” he places a lens from his desk over what appears to be a round dormitory, magnifying it, “—hasn’t seen use in…” He trails off and shrugs before continuing.
“It was carved from an enormous stump as a dormitory but was being converted into a library before the project was abandoned. Please see if these five books are there.” Teacher Ot provides a short list. “Return them to me regardless of their condition. I would appreciate anything else you feel would be relevant or worth salvaging.”
Please find the following books — and any others you think are interesting.
• Studies on the Habits and Migration Patterns of Birds and Drakes of the Continent of Garund
• An Expanded History of the Lesser-Known Peoples of the Mwangi Expanse
• The Worlds Between Worlds: Exploring the Planes and Demi-Planes, Volume 4
• Treatise on the Various Communicative Methods of Non-Vocally-Projecting Entities
• Collected Field Notes of the Druid Mata Digemari
|
|
"Leave it to us."
Soomdevi looks over the list and takes special note of The Worlds Between Worlds: Exploring the Planes and Demi-Planes, Volume 4.
I'm sure Ot enjoyed volumes one through three with his cultist friends.
"What an interesting list."
I better find out who this Druid Mata Digemari was too.
"Might we ask what kind of project you're working on, so we can determine what might be relevant?"
Oh? You think it's an interesting list? Most students would fall asleep merely reading it.
Ot waves a hand. Just some personal research, Soomdevi. It's not anything to worry about.
"I should prepare for battle," Chimwemwe says, pursing his lips. "There are bound to be either gremlins or giant bark beetles or, hmm, both in the building, if the past few months have taught me anything. Hmm. Other than how to summon wind and lightning, that is." He chuckles nervously.
"The Collected Field Notes should be interesting. Did Mata Digemari have an area of specialization?"
Biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems, I believe.
Wrapped in overgrowth, the stump of an enormous tree squats on the Magaambya grounds. Its upper surface features several lightning scars, though it’s unclear whether these strikes killed the tree or occurred later. Windows, just visible beneath the concealing vines, are covered with thick films of dust on the inside. The vegetation around the door has recently been hacked away, providing an easy entry. A chain of silver bells lies discarded on the front step.
Chimwemwe frowns at the bells lying on the ground. "It looks like gremlins might be around," he conjectures. He raises his shield and collects the bells, looping them on him belt.
Chimwemwe raises his shield, defending and no longer scouting. Soomdevi detects magic in here.
A quick glance around shows that the circular room has been packed with shelves in every space that could viably fit one, and a few where it can’t. Books are wedged in sideways or simply thrown on the floor, their pages smeared into illegibility. Seven closed doors lead to other rooms. Surprisingly, little dust sits on the floor or shelves.
The bookshelves are 8 feet tall; the ceiling is 10 feet tall.
Wisps speaks quietly to her friends.
"We should be cautious. I hear something crawling around up there."
Alrinkiri slinks into the room, sticking to the shadows as best they can.
Akoril nods and draws his bow, keeping his eyes out for danger.
"We'll need to deal with the gremlins first," Chimwemwe says quietly as Curling-Wisps-of-Smoke warns them of the sound she hears. Keeping a defensive posture, he moves around the bookcase.