School of Sorcery

Chandagnac said:

Meanwhile, you turn to 'glance at Phil and ask him, 'So, what did you think?'

'It wasn't as boring as I thought it was going to be,' he grudgingly admits. 'I might even have learned something useful." After a moment's pause, he continues, "Hey, when the empire finally falls, what do you say we start our own country? I'll be the king, of course. And you can be…"

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

'If you're going to be the king, I want to be the royal diviner,' you say, 'In charge of all matters mystical: predicting the future and making sense of the past.'

'Sounds boring,' says Phil with a theatrical yawn. 'But I'll let you do whatever you want. I'm generous like that.'

'Oh yeah? Well, maybe I'll be your first minister, in charge of the government,' you say, mildly annoyed. 'Or… actually, I'll be the power behind the throne, the real brains of the whole operation.'

'I'm sure you will,' he says with a nod. 'Keep telling yourself that.'

The two of you keep up this good-natured bickering until it's time for you to go back to your dormitory and to bed for the night.

---

In Professor Kunrath's Alchemy lesson the next day, he gets you to start work on making your own patchwork cloak. You've seen some of the older students wearing them, but thought they were part of an unusual fashion trend. Perhaps that is part of it, but there is more to it than that, as Kunrath explains: patches of fabric can be imbued with different magical properties and then sewn together, to create an item of clothing which is much more than the sum of its parts.

On the table at the front of the classroom, there are swatches of different types of fabric, as well as scraps of leather and hanks of fur. Apparently, some materials are easier to enchant with different properties than others. Pulling back a curtain which had hidden the blackboard from view, the portly professor shows you a table of some of the most common enchantments, a brief description of what they are supposed to do, and what materials they are most easily applied to:


Kunrath explains that you won't get as far as actually making a cloak in today's lesson. Instead, you will experiment with and familiarize yourself with the various different enchantments, ready to put them into practice in next week's lesson. He points out that there is a lot of overlap between the art of the enchanter and that of an alchemist, especially when crafting magical items such as these: an enchanter can make much more powerful artefacts, but they need to keep them constantly topped up with supplies of magical energy; an alchemist's works tend to be less impressively powerful, but by appealing to a god or spirit to be allowed to borrow just tiniest fraction of their divine essence, they can make their enchantments permanent.

'You won't have the chance to take an Enchanting class at this school until you're a few years older,' he says, but I think this lesson is a good introduction to it.'

He puts a stack of paper next to the piles of fabric, leather, and other materials. Apparently, there are several copies of each sheet, upon which are written instructions for how to perform a different type of enchantment, as well as helpful suggestions for which gods or spirits you should appeal to for help with the alchemical process.

'You're not going to show us how to do it properly?' asks Vyron Mattaus, sounding rather intimidated.

'I will if I can see that you're having trouble with it, but for now I want to see how well you can follow a set of written instructions,' says the professor.

'Some of us still can't read very well,' Isolia points out.

'For today, I will allow you to work together with your team – or anyone else you would like to work with – while you practice these enchantments. Next week, I think I would prefer to see what you can do on your own, so make the most of it.'

It seems like everyone in the class sets about the task with some enthusiasm. You join up with your team and work with them, for the time being, making sure that you all understand what you're doing and how to go about it.

Which enchantments do you want to add to your patchwork cloak next week? (Choose three)
[] Colour-Changing
[] Coolth
[] Edible
[] Insulated
[] Self-Cleaning
[] Sparkling
[] Stealth
[] Toughness
[] Warmth
[] Waterproof



That evening, after quite an intensive study session with your team, practising various alchemical enchantments, you are somewhat surprised when both Isolia and Venta agree to come with you to the 'Apathy Society'.

'I just want to know what it's really about,' says Isolia. 'I mean, they can't just lie around talking about how bored they are, can they?'

'It might be useful to know what they get up to,' says Venta with a nod.

Apparently, the Apathy Society doesn't have a regular meeting place. Instead, it sets up in a different classroom each week, seemingly at random. The details of where exactly you need to go this week are posted on the notice board in the school's entrance hall.

'This seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to for people who apparently don't care,' says Phil, examining the notice.

'Or it's an elaborate deception,' Venta suggests.

'Well, yeah.' Phil nods. 'It's a bit obvious, though, isn't it?'

Following the directions on the notice, you head to a seemingly empty classroom. The door is closed. Affixed to it, there is a square of paper upon which are written the words, "Apathy Society. Gone out. Maybe we won't come back at all."

Isolia reads the message out loud, putting her hard-won reading skills to good use, then asks, somewhat anxiously, 'Do you suppose that's true?'

'I can't hear anything from inside the room,' says Venta, frowning a little. 'Maybe they're not in.'

'Or maybe they're using magic to muffle the noise,' says Phil, trying the door. It opens easily.

Inside, the ordinary, unexciting classroom has been transformed into an ornately decorated gambling hall: the walls have been painted gold and purple; there are rich tapestries depicting hunting scenes (except, you notice with distaste, their quarry appears be a human being); there is a roulette wheel, several tables at which students sit playing card games, and a number of other games you don't recognize, except that the participants appear to be playing for gambling chips; finally, in the corner, you see a small shrine dedicated to a golden demon statue.

'This has to be an illusion,' you say shakily. 'None of this can be real.'

If you work on your mental defences as Green Flame showed you, trying hard to resist what you know must be fake, you can almost see it: the opulent gambling hall is an illusion superimposed on top of then fairly boring classroom which it really is. The gamblers are real, the games are real, and the shrine in the corner is real. Everything else is false.


'It's real enough,' says the ferret-faced young man sitting by the door. 'Newcomers, eh? Welcome to the Apathy Society. Here, we distract ourselves from our feelings of boredom and ennui by wagering on games of chance.' He hands each of you a wooden gambling chip. 'First one's free.'

'Who are you?' you ask.

'Name's Icharium Deidalon,' he says, baring yellowed teeth in what is probably intended to be a smile. 'My game is… I know plenty of games.'

'Are you the president of the Apathy Society?' asks Venta.

'Hah, no! We don't have a president. I s'pose Simony would come closest, but he's not here all the time. He's not here tonight, certainly. Got his sticky fingers in a lot of different pies, that lad.'

'How much is this worth?' asks Isolia, gazing at the gambling chip.

'One silver shard. If you need more, I'll trade you, one for one.'

'I… don't have any money,' she says, almost fearfully.

'Maybe today is your lucky day,' says Icharium, his grin growing even wider.

'What if we've had enough and we decide we don't want to play anymore?' Phil asks suspiciously. 'Can we cash in our chips and get money back?'

'Sure. I wouldn't cheat you. This is a respectable business, you know.'

'No, it isn't,' Venta tells him flatly. 'If it was, you wouldn't be doing it under a mask of secrecy.'

'It's all part of the excitement,' says Icharium with a shrug.

What do you want to do?
[] Talk to Icharium.
-[] "Who started the Apathy Society?"
-[] "How long has it been going on?"
-[] "How do you actually play these games?"
-[] "Can I play a practice game of something before placing a bet?"
-[] "What happens if someone loses all their money and can't pay up?"
-[] "What would the headmaster say if he found out that you were running an illegal gambling den?"
-[] "Why are there illusory tapestries depicting hunters on horseback chasing a human being?"
-[] "What's that golden demon statue in the corner?"
--[] "That's Achamat, isn't it?"
-[] "We'd like to cash in our chips right now, actually. One silver shard for each of us, please."
--[] "Great. Free money! Well, that was worth it."
---[] "Goodbye!"
-[] Say something else (write in).

OR

[] Gamble!
-[] Go for a spin on the roulette wheel.
-[] Play a game of 'Fate' cards.
-[] Play one of the dice games.