August Event Log

[magicademymods]

August Event Log Speed of Lightning, Roar of Thunder The latest rage in Diatu: portable lightning generators! These little spheres, compact enough to be held in the hand, can launch a miniature bolt of electricity out with flair and pizzazz and surprisingly nonlethal effects. Getting zapped is like getting bit by a horsefly, not much worse. Naturally, all sorts of sports and pastimes have grown up overnight. The new sports of Lightning Tag, Lightningball, and Zap Each Other With Lightning Till Someone Collapses Because We're Tough Guys Dammit routinely break out on campus, while people who think they're funny can't go ten seconds without bolting someone's posterior. So what's your role in this? Eager participant? Sportsman? Buttzapper? Or is your idea totally new and wild? And Break the Laws That They Should Fear A rash of thefts plagues Anastara and the Magicademy both. Nothing huge, nothing heavy -- little things, like food, jewelry, trinkets and knickknacks... because the perpetrators are rats. Large and obviously clever rats, who have somehow wormed their way through defensive enchantments and mundane security both with the fearsome tenacity of their species. Look around at just the right time, and you might spot a rat scrambling for the safety of the caverns, something clutched in its jaws. Maybe something of yours? The Cry Goes Up Both Far and Near Finals draw ever-closer, and right about now students start realizing that maybe they don't understand this or that; maybe they could do with some outside material; maybe a second viewpoint would come in handy. Thus this week brings the Diatu Book Exchange! Outside of the Great Hall, students of all sorts brings books they no longer need and exchange them for books they do. The Book Exchange goes past merely scholarly works, though; time has grown it to encompass books of all sorts, from genre fiction and unlikely stories about seemingly ordinary kids attending an engineering boarding school to comics to philosophical works and more. Come to trade, browse, or lust -- there's something here for everyone! Research on the SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) The research team has learned one important thing: Conflict is the key. The Codification of Sundering is the door. Somehow, of late, something has changed the nature of Sundering magic. They do not know why or how, but the very existence of the concept of Sundering magic now causes summoning anomalies that focus on other worlds, resulting in the transport of the Sundered here. This is, well, bad. The Codifications should not be slipping, not unless something has the power to completely overwhelm the entirety of human thought and will... To test theory more deeply, this month's Research has the Sundered locked in a room with another Sundered, a pair of chairs, and nothing else. The goal is to observe the warp and weft of magic around them with minimal interference from any other source save perhaps each other. So who did you get shut in with, and how long can you just sit and talk without going crazy?

Comments

[talkyourwayout]

[He chuckled as he caught it.]

Always got an answer, huh?

[He takes a bite.]

I like that about you.

[outofyourshadow]

[She snickers, reaching into her shirt pocket again to pull out another one.]

Well, since I don't trust these guys at all, I figured they weren't going to feed us.

So I brought some snacks just in case.

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, I haven't been feeling great about this place at all - not lately.

[outofyourshadow]

Yeah? What's been going on?

[talkyourwayout]

Well, I went home for a while, only it was just one night here. And while I was home, I didn't remember being here, and it just kind of got me thinking about...

I don't know. What kind of place are we in, right now?

[outofyourshadow]

[She nods.]

Yeah, I know. I've been wondering that ever since we got here.

[It's nice not being the only one who was suspicious though.]

There's a lot more going on with this place than we think there is, and I dunno if it's all good.

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah...

[He sighs.]

I don't think it's all good. I'm pretty sure of that, actually. But it's not like we could do anything about it.

[And would he even? Maybe not.]

[outofyourshadow]

At the very least, we can try to protect ourselves, in case something goes wrong. Even if it does mean having to learn the magic that they're forcing us to use in the first place.

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, that's probably what we have to do. Not that we don't have to do the magic anyway...

[He sighs. This conversation is definitely a downer - time to change tracks.]

Hey, I've been wanting to ask you something.

[outofyourshadow]

[She definitely didn't mind the change of subject, as she glanced up at him.]

What's that?

[talkyourwayout]

I was wondering if you'd want to come on and help with Louie, Inc. - you know, help organize the delivery schedule and all that. Orisa takes care of all the actual footwork, but...

[He shrugged.]

It would be a help, and I'd give you a 7% cut.

[Orisa gets 4%.]

[outofyourshadow]

[...Really, dude?]

Man, that is...tempting. But I've got this other job lined up, and they're paying pretty well.

[At least better than 7%.

How much do you actually want her services, Louie?]

[talkyourwayout]

You do?

[He's not sure he believes her. Could be a way of playing hardball - and Lena's so hard to read.]

What job?

[outofyourshadow]

"I'd be working part-time at the cafeteria. It's not the greatest, but it pays, plus I get to snack on leftovers."

[talkyourwayout]

That may check out, actually, and it's not like he has the time to verify it now. They're stuck in here, anyway. So, with clear reluctance...

"Okay. 11% and you don't have to actually talk to people to set up the deliveries. Just co-ordinate Orisa's schedule for them."

[outofyourshadow]

She seemed to consider this for a moment, putting a lot of thought into it.

"Well..." she said after a bit of time, drawing out the word as much as she could. "I guess. But it should be noted that I'm taking such a pay cut for you."

Said, in the hopes that the guilt might get her a raise sometime.

[talkyourwayout]

Guilt? Louie? That was a rarity.

"Hey, at least this'll be something actually cool," was all Lena got in response, along with a smirk.

[outofyourshadow]

She snorted. "I dunno, man. Free food is kinda hard to beat."

[talkyourwayout]

"Oh, please, cafeteria food is universally bad," Louie dismissed with a wave of his hand.

[outofyourshadow]

"Yes, but it's free. I figured you could appreciate that."

[talkyourwayout]

"Oh, sweet, sweet Lena. I'm surprised to hear you be so naive! Of course free stuff is the best, but if you're going to get free stuff, you want to go for the very best free stuff."

[outofyourshadow]

She snorted. "I'm pretty sure if it's being given for free, it's not going to be that great in the first place."

At least that's been her experience.

[talkyourwayout]

"Not necessarily. Not if you know how to work the system."

[outofyourshadow]

"I suppose that's something I should learn, then."

In all fairness, she was pretty good at it already. But perhaps not as good as her present company.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie smirked with a nod. "Well, luckily, you've got the best teacher for that kind of thing. And you're probably going to be better at picking this up than Webby was," he added with a little chuckle.