Magical (A Quest of Vacations, or Starsigns, or Something Else)

Okay, we've got a tie, I'm just going to leave it for a while... mostly so I can go into how the dolls work. It'll be fun!

---

Doll Magic- Despite the name, Magic Dolls actually have no innate power on their own, but instead borrow their magical powers from wizards in a ritual that connects the doll to the wizard's soul. The amount of dolls a wizard can support depends on their talents- a normal wizard can grant power to one doll, a Double-Talented wizard can support two, and so on.

The exact ritual that binds together doll and wizard is, as far as most are aware, only known by the dwarves of Kido Monga and the legendary wizard Gran Degree. However, with the large number of dolls in use at Will-O-Wisp Academy, and as occasional companions to a certain class of graduates who spend little, if any, time on that plane of existence, it can be deduced that at least one of them has figured out the ritual, or perhaps learned it in past dealings with dwarves.

Being connected to a doll provides few disadvantages, with the only one of note being that, if the doll is currently in the process of using magic, the wizard cannot use any spells of that talent. Even then, the ritual to transfer a soul connection is much more prevalent than the one to create said connection in the first place, so there is a decently-large marked for pre-owned Magic Dolls.

Double-Talented Magic Dolls do not exist. No matter how many kinds of magic a wizard can use, a doll will only be capable of tapping into one.

When a wizard dies, any dolls they were connected to become inert until another wizard can connect to them with the ritual. With the extreme rarity of said ritual, most magic dolls eventually lay abandoned in the wild.

---

Magical Doll Construction- The parts for Magic Dolls are all created at the dwarven tower of Kido Monga. These parts are easily adjustable to fit to any model of doll, dwarven-constructed or homemade, though homemade dolls are incredibly rare due to how they'd need to be taken to Kido Monga in order to be connected either way.

The functionality of a doll is mainly dependent on the model, which is what the ritual to give them power connects to, though the dolls capabilities are dependent on other parts. If any parts are not present on the doll, it will be unable to do anything but emit magical power- all of the additional parts are required in order to focus it.

The efficacy of said parts depends mainly on how well they synergize. Parts are generally developed in sets, and while their price and quality varies, parts of the same set are built specifically to fit together. Ensuring the parts are a proper fit is the most important part of outfitting a doll, as a fully-covered model will suffer no unnecessary loss of power.

---

Powering Magic Dolls- Dolls have their own pool of magical energy separate from that of the person they are connected to. However, unlike wizards, dolls do not recover magical energy on their own. Instead, it must be provided to them. The easiest way to provide this energy is with gummy worms, although sugarstars imported from the wider solar system will work in a pinch.

There is one exception to this. The doll Tang, constructed nearly four-thousand years ago by an adventurous wizard who wanted a companion, can slowly generate its own magical power by processing light. Though both wizard and doll disappeared twenty-eight hundred years ago, Tang has more recently reappeared in the role of a study aid used by Will-O-Wisp Academy, though it has yet to be officially revealed where the doll was found.

Seeing the dolls lined up one by one, you decide to try and fight Mackerel, the toxic doll with low mobility. Sure, you also won't be able to physically push it away, but that's not exactly your specialty, and besides, you never want to touch someone who deals with the Poison Spirits unless you know someone with a particular capability for healing magic.

You're aware, of course, that the school probably wouldn't use a doll as a study aid without some way of stopping it from being lethal, but that still doesn't mean you want to touch it. At least, not once things go into combat mode.

You're within close range of the pond, so you've got a source of water if you need it. You don't think the pond spirit will mind too much, as long as there's a fight to watch.

...Of course, that leaves the question of how to get Mackerel to a proper place for battle instead of just lined up alongside all the other dolls. You've never instructed magic dolls before, and this one's heavy.

In your fumbling about, you somehow manage to activate the doll. Getting it to follow you onto the sort-of stage is surprisingly simple- you suppose it is programmed to obey orders from students- which leaves the question of fighting.

"Um, so..." There's water in the area, and that's all you need to fight, but you still need to start the fight somehow. "I guess now we start fighting?"

You immediately have to dodge a ball of sludge thrown your way. You aren't sure there'd be any permanent consequences, but you're sure you'd have at least temporary issues if it hit you. But, hey, at least it's not releasing any sort of miasma.

A more experienced user of water magic could probably make the poison dissipate, but you've only started learning about your power. Still, you can avoid the doll's attacks, and the doll is too slow to avoid yours so... you guess this is what you're doing for the day.

---

It turns out that you should never attempt a war of attrition with a doll who was built to be able to outlast opponents. You realize this a bit too late to avoid having to take a shower in order to make sure your fur is at least somewhat presentable, but even if the doll and the wizard have different capabilities... you'd hate to meet the person Mackerel gets power from in combat.

Still, if you ever have need of just throwing water at people, you've got plenty of practice for that. You'll just... have to hope there's nothing in that last attack that could make you sick.

You still haven't fully dried off by the time you meet Caramel and Bel in front of the music room, but that's mostly your fault for leaving the shower running as long as you did. You'd honestly expected someone to show up and tell you to knock it off after a while.

"I told you he'd show up," Caramel says, quietly. "I'm not sure any of the teachers will be out, but the special classes for those with Starsigns of Night haven't started yet for the year, so we should probably be careful. At least it's not break anymore. That's when the faculty has far too much free time."

"Do a lot of faculty stay here over breaks?" Bel asks. "At least, when it's only the permanent residents around?"

"Well... Miss Madeleine and the twins stay, as does Principal Biscotti, Mokka, and a number of cleaning staff. The library's supposed to stay open, too... And there's some other people... Basically, if someone was a permanent resident as a student, they probably live here year-round." That makes sense. Those people wouldn't really have anywhere else to go. "Hobby rooms open up when other students start arriving... and everyone else shows up when classes start."

This is good to know, even if it won't be entirely relevant to you. Still... it comes to mind that you're not sure what you're doing here.


[ ] ...If you're going to be exploring the basement, why meet on this floor?

[ ] So, which teachers have Starsigns of Night?

[ ] Does Caramel have any particular goal in mind?

"...So, what's the plan?" Probably best to get back on topic. The sooner you get to the main portion of this, the sooner you can finish. You can't see Caramel's expression, but you think he's grinning.

"I thought you'd never ask. Okay, so the basement, supposedly, is mostly storage, and also has a few rooms for stuff that's sensitive to light and temperature. There's also classes for darkness specialists, but we don't have to worry about them right now."

Bel sighs. "Which is why he's dragging us here at the start of the year. There's always rumors about stuff that happens in the basement, but you're only technically supposed to be there under the supervision of an adult. Even people who are taking classes there need to wait for their teacher to show up. I'm pretty sure it's just so nobody blows anything up, but..."

"There's a lot of rumors. And, sure, all the students who have classes there use dark magic, but the whole mischievous and mysterious thing is just a stereotype. I mean, look at Miss Madeleine."

You blink. "I'm not sure you can say she's not mysterious... does anyone know how she keeps getting around?"

"No, and the betting pool gets larger every year. I'm pretty sure the principal knows, of course, and probably some of the other teachers, but she never says a word about it to anyone. Speaking of which..."

"Can we not do this right now?" Bel asks, leaning over the staircase. "I thought we had someplace to be." The hallway below you is just as silent as the one you're standing in.

"Right. So, anyway, do you remember the song I played for everyone at the start of the year? First day of classes?" It's sort of impossible not to. It's the sort of song that blends with the world around you, that feels like it's a tangible piece of reality, even after the final notes have faded away. "Well... that's not the entire piece. I'm not even sure that what I currently have is entirely correct... but if I can look through the basement, I think I can find what I need in order to finish it."

You suppose that, in terms of Caramel's past ideas, this is better than removing a load-bearing wall between two rooms for the sake of gathering an instrument. You aren't entirely sure of the logic he's putting behind this, but then, it's not like you know enough about sound magic to really dispute it.

"And we're here as backup in case those rumors about monsters are actually true," Bel finishes. "I'm pretty sure they're not, but it's better not to take the risk. If we're too loud, someone might find us. Just like if we stick around here for too long."

"Right." Caramel approaches the stairs, taking the first step without looking at you. "Come on. We should get going. Raspberry made me a paint key, so we should be able to get in without a problem, but if either of you think we might need something we actually stand a chance of getting..." Of course Raspberry's involved in this.

Still... is there anything you both think you might need, and could get your paws on? Keep in mind that visiting different locations increases your chances of discovery by different amounts.


[ ] A light source would be nice. You can acquire candles from the meditation room.

[ ] Gummy creatures are altogether useful in case any fights happen, and the frogs can be used to appease Dark Spirits without battling. You can acquire packs of gummies from the cafeteria.

[ ] You've been learning how to draw water out of the air around you, but it's slow going, and you don't know what conditions in the basement are like. You can acquire containers full of water from almost any classroom, though some may currently be occupied.
-[ ] Try Sir Mustard's room.
-[ ] Try Miss Ketchup's room.
-[ ] Try Miss Madeleine's room.

[ ] ...It's too risky. You're going to have to go without.

It doesn't take much thinking to realize that, if the rumors about monsters in the basement are true, having a method of healing on hand would probably be useful. And if the rumors aren't true... Well, you'll have a snack for later.

"Do you think we could get some gummy frogs from the cafeteria?" You suggest. "They don't come in very large packages, so maybe they won't notice a few of them going missing."

"...It'd be safer than getting them from the infirmary," Bel admits. "You have to jump through a lot of hoops to get so much as a bandage without already being injured yourself. And with five healers working there, they can probably afford to have someone on watch at all times. I'm not sure why. Medical supplies aren't that expensive... maybe it's to keep students from doing anything reckless."

"Maybe," Caramel agrees. "But gummies would be nice to have, just in case, unless one of you has started learning healing magic." You both shake your heads, following him down the staircase. "Besides, they taste good, even if we probably won't be able to identify the flavors beforehand."

Right. To properly identify a gummy flavor requires both sight and scent. Blue frogs could be blueberry or raspberry flavor, green ones could be lime, apple, or watermelon, and red ones can be raspberry, apple, or cherry-flavored. Apple frogs smell the same whether they're red or green, but taste different, and you assume raspberry ones are similar. Blindly picking up packages of gummies is like if someone removed the color from a frog and marketed it as a mystery flavor.

Not that anyone would do that. Messing around with the composition of gummies meant for eating has been illegal for millennia.

"I'll trade for any limes you get," You offer. "One of you has to like red apples, right?"

Bel pauses. "You don't?"

Caramel just sighs. "Come on, let's just... get to the cafeteria before someone else comes along."

---

Breaking in to the cafeteria is easier than it strictly should be. The place is completely deserted, and the packs of gummy frogs are just sitting there out in the open.

"We shouldn't take too many of them," Bel advises. "Even if no one catches us, they'll notice if we take too many, and there'll be more of a guard at night."

Caramel grins, slightly. "You know, for someone who doesn't like getting in trouble, you sure know a lot about it."

"You've clearly never met my cousins." He doesn't say anything more than that.

Caramel and Bel are going to be following their own judgement when it comes to how much food to grab. You, however, will be taking...


[ ] One pack.

[ ] Two packs.

[ ] Three packs.

[ ] Four packs.

[ ] Five packs.

You aren't sure how many frogs you'll need- you're thinking you'll turn back if any particularly dangerous monsters show up, but you aren't sure how much common sense Caramel has. You remember how his reaction to being locked out of the music room was to ask Nutmeg to break down a wall in the library.

So, while you shouldn't need more than a couple frogs, you grab three packs just to be safe. Also, there's probably Dark Spirits down there, if they haven't taken to roaming the halls of the academy at night, and you want to have a buffer in case you offend them. You don't think you're powerful enough to face them in battle just yet.

"Going a bit far, aren't you?" Bel asks, taking a singular pack for himself. "...Cara."

Caramel looks up from where he's grabbed as many frogs as he possibly can. "Look, I promised Rasp I'd pay her back for giving me that key somehow, may as well get it out of the way."

You blink. "Can you even carry that many frogs? You've already got your lyre..."

"Look, Rye, don't worry about it. I've got pockets, see?" He stuffs a pack of frogs out of sight. "They haven't got unlimited space, but they're expanded enough I could probably fit a textbook in here, if I needed to."

Somehow, you don't think space-expansion enchantments are meant for things like smuggling stolen frogs, but you're just going to go along with it for now. "If you say so..."

On the bright side, if you've ended up with any red apple-flavored frogs, there's probably going to be something a bit less sweet to swap them for. So there's that, at least.

---

With how many gummies Caramel took, Bel doesn't think it's safe to stick around the first floor for too much longer. After all, if you get caught out of bed, you're carrying far too many frogs not to be the first suspects if your theft is discovered.

All you need to do to reach the basement is to cross the first floor and hope you're fortunate enough not to run across anyone. That sounds fairly simple, though Bel's worried enough to give you concerns about that.

Caramel just says that Bel worries about everything, and that you shouldn't bother with it, because he stresses out enough for all three of you. And that he knows a pathway through the school that doesn't take you back by the front entrance, so you have options, sort of.

Honestly, the fact that you have yet to see anyone is a bit unnerving...


[ ] Take Caramel's path. It'll be darker, so you'll have more opportunities to hide if someone comes along, but it'll take longer, so there's more chances of running across someone.

[ ] Go by the front entrance. You aren't sure how often people pass by there, but at least you'll be able to see where you're going.
-[ ] Stop by the meditation room for candles.
-[ ] Go straight to the basement.