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

[SeekerofDreams]

"...My friend Raspberry says you're a pretty good artist," You comment, quietly, wondering what she's gotten off to. Maybe the group has started research without you. "Why did you decide to become a librarian?" It just doesn't seem like a logical career change.

"The principal owed me a favor." This isn't exactly how you expected this sort of explanation to start. "I did something to help him, oh, centuries ago, and he offered to give me help if I ever needed it. Something happened, I figured I should stay out of the public eye for a bit... no one pays attention to academy staff."

Given that Biscotti is the only one you'd heard a great deal about before coming here, you can't help but agree.

"...But the library?"

"There was an open position." Which still explains nothing, and reminds you that you haven't even heard Caramel's theory about what happened to the last person to have this man's job.

Cider Rainbow is a mystery, and you still don't have that many pieces of the puzzle.

---

You get a very basic sticker code translation paper about fifteen minutes later, after twenty sheets of unrelated paper, a computer crash, and three printer errors.

"What operating system even is this?" Mister Rainbow complains under his breath as you walk away. "Ketchup, what did you do!?"

You think you'll leave him to it.

You find the others already gathered around a table, though only Raspberry's book appears to be entirely on topic. Maybe Caramel's, you've never claimed to understand music.

Why Paprika feels the need to look through The Unabridged Bestiary of Baklava, however, is very much beyond you.

"You actually found something?" Caramel sounds begrudgingly impressed.

"No, I... had to get another one printed out, and I think something is wrong with the school computers." Not that it really matters to you when the only ones with access to the school computers are staff members and students of Machinery magic, but it could still probably have some sort of impact. Such as how long it took for you to get something that you think everyone should have access to, if only so they can find the resources they need. That's the whole reason this school is here, isn't it? "...That or the librarian's just really bad with them."

"You actually talked to him?" Despite successfully keeping her voice down, Raspberry is at the edge of her seat.

You nod, though you're not sure how much it matters, really.


[ ] Describe your conversation in more detail.

[ ] Actually, you'd like to get something productive done today.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

"I mean, mostly it was just about library stuff..." Really, if Raspberry wants to know more about him, she can just ask him himself. It's not like he's going to any great length to keep a major secret, or anything.

At least, not that she probably wouldn't be able to figure out for herself.

"I guess..." Her enthusiasm has notably dampened, though it's hard to notice compared to Paprika's sudden scrambling for her fallen bookmark. "So, do you at least know where to start looking for books, now?" That would be stuff with water stickers on them, wouldn't it?

You nod. "I should, as long as I can read this right." It's far from a whole, comprehensive, list, but you think you might need an actual dictionary for one of those. And at that point, you'd be better off searching the library's computer files for whatever book you need, total lack of experience with machinery or not.

You search the shelves for a book, and then you get to work.

---

For completely understandable reasons, Paprika refuses to volunteer Zulian for testing or demonstrations. She says she'll just find a ricebird or something to bring in on the day of presentations, never mind that you have no idea where she'd find one. Back before the school was built, you've heard ricebirds used to gather on the nearby hill, but they've all moved to places that are less populated by now.

And you're not sure anyone has ever tried introducing a regular animal to Pizza's services. Not that you have any idea what his rules are about that sort of thing. You've never dealt with the being everyone refers to as the Warphat.

Still, other than that, you've been making progress over the past few days. You've confirmed that Raspberry's preferred paints are water-soluble and seen Paprika and Caramel engage in a debate over the rights of gummy worms and worm charmers.

Personally, you're more interested in the fact that Caramel can make his lyre sound like a flute in the first place, but he's more interested in worm charming than in answering your questions.

There's also whispers in the hallway that Miss Madeleine was late to class today, but you don't think that matters when you don't attend her class to begin with.

...Speaking of classes, however, people are already discussing what afternoon classes, if any, they're going to sign up for. There's a lot of general interest in Professor Maplewood's classes, if only because he's new to teaching at the school, though you haven't seen the list of subjects yet. The complete list, and ability to sign up for these classes, won't be available for another four days.

Still, you've all decided to take a break from working on your project for the afternoon, so what are you going to do now?


[ ] Visit the meditation room.
-[ ] To talk with the pond spirit.
-[ ] To battle a magic doll.
-[ ] To see if Raspberry's eavesdropping spot yields any useful information.

[ ] Visit the library.
-[ ] Read about Kovomaka's Elite Mage Force.
-[ ] Read about the different types of magic.
-[ ] Read about monster varieties on Kovomaka.
-[ ] Read about art history.

[ ] Maybe go outside for a bit?
-[ ] Some of Miss Madeleine's class is playing together on the grounds... you recognize Sorbet and Cocoa, at least.
-[ ] Professor Maplewood appears to be doing something at the moment...

 

[SeekerofDreams]

Today, you feel like going outside. You haven't really gotten any fresh air since classes started, and it would be nice to spend some time in the sunlight. Plenty of other students seem to have the same idea, boarders and commuters alike playing out on the grass.

There's four groups that you can see. One of them is playing a ball game you don't know, another is sitting around with books. You can't tell what the people in the distance are doing, but it's probably either some form of game or ritual. You don't recognize any of these students.

You do, however, recognize a group near the gate as containing Sorbet and Cocoa, as well as a human you don't recognize.

"You know, my Dad and Uncle Kirche went to this school, too," The stranger says as he leans against the wall encircling the school. "Uncle doesn't say a lot about when he was a student, but apparently he was some kind of hero? That's what Dad says, at least."

"We didn't exactly ask for your life story..." Sorbet sighs. She glances up as she notices your approach. "..Oh, Rye. Have you seen Sugar anywhere?"

"I think she and Merlot were talking at lunch." You haven't really spoken to anyone from other classes in a while. "Did you need her for something?"

"I was just wondering... anyway, Pico, this is Rye Seabreeze, from Sir Mustard's class. Rye, this is Pico Pintail. He said he'd show us around, but..."

"I think we learned more from the rocket thing," Cocoa opines. What rocket thing? "Which is strange, since he's apparently been here basically forever... I guess nobody ever said he was learning anything."

"I'm right here." The air gets subtly warmer as he makes this assertion, though it wasn't exactly cold out to begin with. "Do you want to know the best places to hide around the school or not?"

"...I'm not sure I need to know that..." Cocoa mutters. "I mean, with how big this place is, hide and seek sounds like a pretty terrible idea... and I'm not sure how well it'd work for me, anyway. My friends at home like to drag me into caves so they don't need to bring lanterns."

You blink. "...What happens if you're exploring at night?"

"We warp back after one of us gets a twisted or broken ankle." The response is immediate, as though it's happened several times before. "That's probably why they don't want me taking afternoon classes, thinking about it..."

"Your friends sound like they suck," Pico says. "Everyone knows you can't explore very well if you can barely see!"

"They might also have been concerned about waking up the cave monsters."

Sorbet glances at her. "Didn't you say your friends are all pretty good at fighting?"

"Yes. That's because we once made the mistake of waking up the cave monsters." Cocoa shudders. "I don't want to talk about it." Yeah, that seems fair.

...How did you get on this subject again?



[ ] ...Where do Pico and Cocoa come from, anyway?

[ ] You heard something about exploring the school?

[ ] So, what's Miss Madeleine's class like?

 

[SeekerofDreams]

"Didn't you say something about exploring the school?" You ask. You'd hate for them to get distracted from the topic that they were meaning to cover just because you happened to wander over.

"Oh, yeah!" Pico straightens up, as if he's making an effort to try and look impressive. "Okay, so, you see this wall?" He taps the wall that surrounds the school, before wincing and massaging his knuckles. "There's no holes in it."

"One... would assume so, yes." Sorbet doesn't appear to be very impressed. "Was this supposed to be going anywhere?"

"Right. Anyway, this wall is high enough that it blocks the view from the second story of the building. And you only really get a good view of the outside from the fourth floor or higher."

Cocoa blinks. "...Have you been climbing roofs, or something?"

"...Not recently!" This isn't particularly reassuring. "Still, the main gate is the only way to leave the school grounds unless you're all set up with Pizza, so if anything happens, it's gonna be pretty crowded around here. Watch out for that. If you want to be able to hide from trouble, you're better off somewhere inside the school."

"Is that why the lockdown at the beginning of the year happened the way it did?" You find yourself asking.

"What lockdown?"

"...Right. Soon after Biscotti brought us to the school, the faculty twins said something happened that was beyond their control, and the students' movements were restricted," Sorbet explains, leaning against the supposedly perfect wall herself. "They never did tell us why it happened..."

"I could see if Uncle Kirche knows anything about it. He's real tight with a lot of the people who work here."

"You can?" Cocoa brightens up- literally, the faint glow provided by her Starsign suddenly intensifying, before fading back to the usual dull shimmer. "Good. If there's something dangerous at this school, it'll be important to know about it."

"Can't have been that dangerous, if the place stayed open." Pico shrugs off the implications of danger completely. "Uncle Kirche will be coming by to visit in seventeen rotations. I'll see if I can remember to ask about it." You still aren't sure how the planet's rotations correspond to the way the Starsigns of Night and Day trade off, though you're sure there'll be at least one day when you have to do class while facing away from the sun, but you suppose you can look it up later.

"If you do, we should meet here in twenty rotations," Sorbet decides. Pico and Cocoa nod.

You should probably look up how long a rotation is if you want to make it to the second meeting.

---

Today, it becomes possible to sign up for afternoon classes, though it will be several more days before they begin. There are several of them, in many different time-slots, but it's recommended that new students take one afternoon class, in order to get properly adjusted to more strenuous magical studies.

Most afternoon classes have some number of prerequisites, though said prerequisites can apparently be tested out of. Sadly, you don't have the magical background required to understand the material on the tests, so you're stuck with the most basic of classes.

Of these, the class that appeals to you the most is...



[ ] Magical History: Historians tend to be wizards, as it is wizards who live through history. The solar system's past could reveal important information about the present... (Known Classmates: Sugar, Raspberry.)

[ ] Spiritual Studies: Dealing with spirits is how most wizards on Kovomaka increase their power. If you know more about them, you can probably figure out how to entice some of them into making Offers. (Known Classmates: Paprika, Merlot, Pico.)

[ ] Magical Healing: There are many different kinds of magic that can be used to restore the health of others, from injury or other conditions. It's something that could be helpful to learn. (Known Classmates: Chai, Cocoa.)

[ ] Water Studies: Your particular talent is for water magic, and no matter what, you will be slowly learning more of it. But this could help you pick up the pace a little. (Known Classmates: Sorbet.)

[ ] ...Actually, you don't see much need to take an afternoon class.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

"So, you signed up for Spiritual Studies?" You and Caramel are walking back to the student living areas now after some late-afternoon experimentation. The way sound travels through water is well-documented enough that you probably didn't need to take as long as you did, but the results were varied enough that you let time get away from you while messing about with your magic.

Honestly, the only one you'll have to worry much about getting results from is Paprika, and the magic granted by the Beast Spirits is esoteric enough to give her trouble working with just about anybody, so it's not your problem alone.

You nod. "I know Sir Mustard's probably going to get around to it eventually, but it's good to have multiple sources." If you get any conflicting information... well, you'll deal with that when the time comes. "Paprika's going to be there, too."

"Huh." He slips a hand in his pocket, the other still carrying his lyre. "I took Spiritual Studies last year. It went well up until the practicals." You glance at him quizzically. "There were a lot of users of fire and light magic there, and my skin burns really easily. Thankfully, the school covers all of my health expenses..."

You pause. "Is that... normally a problem for you?"

"Look, nobody ever told me that, in order to safely learn this stuff, I'd need to wear sunscreen. And you can't say it came implied, because the only other person who had the same problem had the Starsign of Night and was basically nocturnal." Caramel sounds surprisingly bitter about this. "You'll probably get more out of the class than I did, if only because you have one of the major elements."

"I think it'll ever really be a big deal if I ever go to Cassia..." And why would you need to leave Kovomaka? "...But I guess it could help me get cheaper Offers than four aqua coins." You still only have one of them. Crescent silver isn't exactly easy to come by.

Caramel blinks. "That's... expensive. Did you do anything to offend that one?"

"No, I think he just didn't account for inflation." That's the charitable interpretation, anyway. "I've got one aqua coin already, but..." Your classmate looks as if he's thinking about something. "...What is it?"

"I... think I might know a way for you to get more Crescent silver. It's harder to come by than Harmonic gold, but... I think we could find it. I'd just need you to help me with something first. See, Bel and I agreed to go on an expedition in the basement tomorrow night, but I'm not sure if he'll actually show, and backup's sort of important, so..."


[ ] Accept Caramel's request.

[ ] Decline Caramel's request.
-[ ] Tell a faculty member about it.
-[ ] Leave it alone.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

You pause to think about it. Being out of bed at night is something that could easily get you into trouble, yes, but nothing bad happened the last time you were out at night, and that was accompanying Nutmeg with an active Starsign. "...Sure. I'll go with you." You probably shouldn't be doing this just so you can accept an Offer from a spirit, but the more power you have, the better, right?

"All right. We'll be meeting in front of the music room. You remember where it is, right? It's right next to the library."

Yes. Of course you know that. You pass by it every day on your way to look things up so you can try and talk about the intersection of your powers and Paprika's without simply saying 'frogs swim.' Which is true, but not a particularly interesting thing to report.

"I know. Don't worry, I won't forget." You'd write it down, if all your spare pieces of paper weren't relegated to research. Or trying to figure out what to write back home, because you should probably write to your family at some point.

Caramel nods, satisfied with your answer. "Then I'll be waiting."

You're about fifty-percent certain he didn't actually mean to be that ominous. Though... you've got a day to go until it even matters.

...Well, aside from the fact that you'll be worrying the whole time. Maybe you should do something to relax...


[ ] Write to your family.
-[ ] Any particular subjects?

[ ] Battle a magic doll.

[ ] Ask Raspberry how her project's going.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

For the sake of killing time, you decide to pay a visit to the meditation room. While you could have a conversation with the spirit in the pond, you'd think now would be the time to see if your powers have any sort of combat applications as they are now... or, alternatively, how many times you have to hit a doll before it falls over, although you seriously hope it doesn't come to that. Physical strength is really not your forte.

While piled up to the side, the six magic dolls are all labeled with their name and the element they are set to use. You take the time to separate them, read the labels, and sort through what you know about them.

Calamari is a basic, well-rounded doll that channels the power of the Starsign of Razen. The power of the Fire Planet burns brightly, creating blazing infernos that can swallow entire forests, but can be easily doused by water. For some reason, machinery magic also has an advantage over fire, although nobody can explain why.

Sardine is a swift, fragile doll that channels the power of the Machinery Spirits. Machinery, even that made of Alti silver, shorts out easily when exposed to electricity, and loses strength in darkness, but is rarely touched by fire, and those bearing the Starsign of Erd pose little threat to it, which why explain why it is the most common Double Talent.

Flounder is a physically powerful, if magically inefficient doll that channels the power of the Blade Spirits. The Blade Spirits gain their power from Camti gold, and can use it to cut through nearly anything, especially sound. However, it cannot cut through spirit-inflicted darkness, and those who follow the path of the blade tend to be easily tricked by those assisted by Beauty Spirits.

Mackerel is an immobile, sturdy doll that channels the power of the Poison Spirits. Poison can fell even the most beautiful of creatures, not discriminating between how things look as long as it can slowly drain their strength away. Particularly strong poisons can even corrode away the metal of blades and machinery, though it takes a wizard of incredible power. Despite this, it can be easily dissipated by any form of wind, or by a particularly strong force of water.

Skipjack is a physically frail doll filled to the brim with spiritual power that channels the power of the Light Spirits. The Light Spirits can deal immense damage to the powers of the Dark Spirits, with their only major weakness being to the Starsign of Night. They are by far the rarest type of spirit, though they make up for it with their blinding power.

Tang is an efficient, low-power doll that channels the power of the Beast Spirits. Beast Spirits fear Wood Spirits and the darkness of night, but can deal great amounts of damage to those who draw on the power of water, either from spirits or the Starsign of Cassia. Beast magic is a kind of magic that little is known about, as the practitioners of this type of magic value their secrecy in this power.

Seeing these dolls and what they can do, you decide that your opponent will be...


[ ] Calamari

[ ] Sardine

[ ] Flounder

[ ] Mackerel

[ ] Skipjack

[ ] Tang

 

[SeekerofDreams]

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.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

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?

 

[SeekerofDreams]

"...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.