March Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

March Event and Intro Log Golem On The Loose The rain never stops. Water and mud track all over campus. Diligent cleaning golems stomp about, mopping and scrubbing and polishing and then going back to do it all over again, and again, and again... One of them seems to have had it. The renegade golem bursts into Kedrigan Hall -- interrupting classes and disrupting labwork to furiously seize students and scrub every last scrap of mud and dirt off of them. All the halls have been locked off with "Under Cleaning" signs, and anyone who enters them meets with the golem's wrath, as it violently plays a pre-recorded message about not interfering with groundskeeping and deploys a giant claw-like tool to grab the interloper and put them back on unforbidden ground. The professors, who are after all completely immune to the golem's attention by its very design, seem to think this is a good learning opportunity for students. Is it? Horrible Spell Doom? "Are you sure you're ready for the test on Advanced Gaseous Discovery?" one upperclassman asks the other. "Of course I'm sure," the second says confidently. Whipping out a wand from a holster on her belt, she sweeps her wand through the air gracefully, pronouncing several Osmarian sigils as she draws them. Probably. "See, that's a blue cloud--" Said blue cloud, which puffs into being as the last syllable left her lips, abruptly doubls in size. Then it doubles in size again. And again. The upperclassmen, who have been in Diatu for several years and know exactly what this sort of thing means, don't hesitate. Not even stopping to share a glance between them, they run like crazy, leaving the growing cloud behind just as classes let out and students begin to enter the halls. But... surely it doesn't have any weird and wacky side effects, right? The Bala-inlota Parade (aka The Non-Horrible Prompt) To celebrate the start of the Bala-inlota season, Anastara spares no expense. The great parade and associated festival stretches the whole weekend, and the whole city puts on their colors and turns out for the fun. Enterprising vendors sell food, drinks, and souvenirs ranging from small and crude figurines to magical constructs that shine field displays onto flat surfaces so you can watch the action up-close! (Good luck affording that, students.) Practically any sort of entertainment you could want appears on the streets and canals of Anastara, and food and drink flow freely. Research On the Sundered With the arrival of the Sundered come those wizards engaged in research on their presence here, now set to investigate what brought them here and how to get them home. All newly-arrived Sundered students are asked to meet with representatives of the research team, to introduce themselves and relate what they will of their homes. In addition, the team requests samples of blood, hair, and skin -- carefully magically collected, and the researchers will sign in the presence of the Sundered a Glyphed contract that forbids them from using the samples for a purpose they know will be harmful. (They quite understand your reasons to be suspicious of this collection! And they will not compel anyone who refuses even given these conditions.) This month, the team has developed a Sundering spell that they warn is crude and unpolished, because the Curriculum is so unpracticed. They hope it will connect to your home worlds and establish a magical link they can build off of to open further passages. No promises! And to those who do undergo this spellwork... it has a certain side effect of confusion, as brief images from your home world flicker across your vision for a few hours afterwards. Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Have fun!

A Special Note

If you thread out one or more scenes based on the confusion from "Research on the Sundered", respond to the comment on this post with a link to that thread. The results of this will be revealed next month! (It is, we're afraid, not a regain, lest your participation be based solely on that hope!)

Comments

[talkyourwayout]

Louie gave a start, with an audible yelp, before whirling around. He wasn't sure who he was now looking up at, and if he was more annoyed with this stranger for risking his scam, or for nearly giving him a heart attack. So, ultimately, he settled for a question that could apply to either situation.

"Why would you do that?"

[scattered_rose]

"Boredom?" He braced his elbows on his thighs and put his hands together under his chin. "And wondering just what the heck you've got going on here so, curiosity too I guess."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie rolled his eyes. Oh man, this was going to be fun. "What I've got going on here is a business. Which you are going to interrupt."

Never mind the fact that things had already quieted down when Daniel had snuck up on him...

[scattered_rose]

"Selling 'wand polish.'" He raised an eyebrow, grinning a bit again. Even in the shadows of his hood, his red eyes and fangs were perfectly visible, giving him an altogether mischievous air.

"So how is business, then? 'Sides lulling a bit right now."

[talkyourwayout]

"Yes. Selling wand polish," Louie stated defiantly, as if daring Daniel to disagree with that... Though he really helped he wouldn't. He hesitated before answering the actual question, however. Now that his business was seemingly safe, and his heart wasn't racing anymore, he couldn't just ignore how... Unusual, even unnerving, the older boy looked. He took a step backwards, away.

"Okay, so what's the deal here?"

[scattered_rose]

"If you're worried I'm going to bust you, I'm not. I'm just having some fun."

His eyes flicked down when Louie stepped back, and something in his smile changed a bit, though he kept it on his face.

"And if you're worried I'm going to bite you, I'm not gonna do that either."

[talkyourwayout]

What would normally be a relief goes ignored, but for some stupid reason, he believes the promise that he won't be bitten. It's got to be Webby. She's rubbing off on him, or something.

It's also a very specific promise, one that leaves little room for guesswork. "So you're a vampire, then? This is what's happening?"

[scattered_rose]

God he's bad at hiding this. Then again, it's probably better if people know a vampire is among them...

"Yes."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie spreads his arms wide, shaking his head. "Just when I'm starting to get the hang of this place, things get stranger. Of course."

He shakes his head once more, but all in all, this could be worse. He's safe. So is his con.

[scattered_rose]

"If it helps you feel any better about this place, I'm not from here." Hands went to his knees and he stood up, shifting from one foot to the other to give each a little 'wake-up' shake.

"Anyway look, I'm sorry about spooking you, I just felt like having a little fun and took my chance. Jumping around being stealthy's kinda what I do, even before I became a vampire. Anyway, I'll be seein' you around, kiddo."

[talkyourwayout]

Being stealthy, huh? There was definitely potential there... He had Orisa for protection so far, sure, but she was a bit of a wildcard, with the way she sometimes went too far to protect. Besides, stealth wouldn't be a protection thing. It would be great, though, for gathering information, which could be good both for business and getting home.

"Hey, wait!" Louie strides up into Daniel's path. "Louie. My name's Louie, and there's no hard feelings. Everyone's got to have their fun, right?"

[scattered_rose]

Daniel stopped short, the edges of his cloak waving a little on either side of him before settling back. "Daniel. And uh, yeah I guess so?"

[talkyourwayout]

"Daniel, okay." Louie nodded. "So, listen, you have fun doing all this sneaking around, and that's great! Fun is good. But I'm thinking... We could put that to actual use."

[scattered_rose]

...Ah-hah. Here comes the sales pitch. Considering this kid was selling plain ol' water and doing it hand over fist, so he must be good at the "honeyed words" thing.

Daniel kept his face carefully neutral, but only because he could bite his own tongue pretty hard to keep from laughing.

"What'd you have in mind?"

[talkyourwayout]

Louie smiled, feeling he had Daniel's attention, but only a bit. Two could play at the game of poker face.

"Well, do you really think the staff and the researchers are telling us everything about this place? About why we're here? Any of that? If you're as stealthy as you say, I'm sure you could pick up all sorts of information on that. I have some ins and could point you in the right directions, too." He nodded. "All I'd ask in return is that you gather some information for my... Personal use."

Okay, that sounded a little sketchy. He tried to reframe it. "Well, personal isn't quite right. But as you can see, I'm a businessman. I'm sure there's ways you can help me with that. Consider it a job in market research."