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Remedial Survival: A Scholomance Quest

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[X] Keep it: You hate to say it, but finders keepers seems like the kind of principle that would hold sway in a place like this, and you need all the help you can get.
 
[x] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.

You do not know it's effects if passively present and unpleasant, nor do you know how to activate it if it's even situationally beneficial. Further, you have much to do and lack the resources to invest in making use of this resource. And returning it may gain you a friend, ally or even simply a favor of some use in the future. Even if all it does is make your name known as someone who is naïve, that too can be to your advantage when you begin forming contracts with folk as you are already a functional (if new) practicioner at that skill.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.

The real magic is the friends we met along the way.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
 
[X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
Friendship is magic, and magic is overpowered.
 
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    • Ready to get started on the next update now, overwhelming majority in favor of returning the coin.
    Scheduled vote count started by Alchemist767676 on Jul 10, 2023 at 4:54 PM, finished with 20 posts and 19 votes.
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    • Question. If during the eating periods there were other harmful things in the food like those razor blades from some time ago. Is there some sort of punishment if we take them? Like with those razor blades for example, they could be usefull for something, like to make a tool or weapon out of classes. Or at the barely least material to practice enchanment spells with if anything goes wrong.
     
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    Ferb_Ancos said:
    Question. If during the eating periods there were other harmful things in the food like those razor blades from some time ago. Is there some sort of punishment if we take them? Like with those razor blades for example, they could be usefull for something, like to make a tool or weapon out of classes. Or at the barely least material to practice enchanment spells with if anything goes wrong.
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    There's not technically anything stopping you, but the school's going to make it a major pain. To use the razor blades as an example, there would be basically no way to handle them without cutting yourself unless you had some kind of protective equipment and you'd only have the limited window between the food line for your year opening and everyone from your year having had a chance to get their food to actually fish them out.
     
    Well, even a rock may be useful so I think it could be worth to try. Hell, it could be something to ask Leah in-character and then leave it to a vote to see if Áine does try or not depending on what there is.
     
    Ferb_Ancos said:
    Well, even a rock may be useful so I think it could be worth to try. Hell, it could be something to ask Leah in-character and then leave it to a vote to see if Áine does try or not depending on what there is.
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    If we want materials, We are better off searching storage room or Shop and hoping we find what we are looking for. Based on last time, we are guaranteed to end up with something usefull, unlike this lunch scheme, which requires something usefull to show up as a hazard within the available food options, and for Aine to have the skills to harvest said mystery item/material, and a suitable container to carry it in with her.

    Scholomance has built in options for collecting scholastic supplies, materials hazardous and not, be it for crafting or some manner of direct use. No sense wasting any of Anne's breakfast, Lunch and Dinner periods risking injury to collect materials of dubious use.
     
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    Finnish
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    • [X] Return it: Not now, obviously, but you know that the Scholomance is kind of a meat grinder for the students here. The idea of the boy who lost this coin getting killed because you took it sits uneasily with you.
    You try your best to settle into the booth and focus on the work packet in front of you but, for some reason, you just can't seem to focus. Part of it is probably down to there not being any friendly, or even just familiar faces nearby, but you don't think that that's the sole reason. You never really had friends before arriving here and, for all you know, you still don't really. You're used to being alone in a crowd, it's uncomfortable, but it shouldn't be this uncomfortable.

    After a few more minutes of squirming and shifting, you eventually come to the conclusion that the real problem here is that you simply picked a bad booth. Not in the sense of it being dangerous, you're fairly certain that it's perfectly average as far as safety concerns go, but just in the sense that nearly everything else about it is actively unpleasant. The bench you're sitting on is worn and splinters of wood prickle you every time you move even slightly, the desk itself is uneven and bumpy in a way that makes writing difficult, and you can smell that the wood the whole thing is made out of is rotting.

    It certainly doesn't help that, just like in Italian, you have off-putting voices whispering in your ear the entire time. Though, "whispering" seems like a bit of a misnomer in this case, it's more like they're shouting just quietly enough to be irritating rather than painful.

    It's rather difficult to focus on stuff like basic vocabulary and sentence structure when you have shouts of "Sinä tulet kuolemaan täällä!" and "Vedät ne mukanasi!" ringing in your ear every thirty seconds in between the voices' very insistent attempts to make sure that you know how to pronounce every word you learn exactly right.

    By the time that the first ninety minutes of class have gone by, you don't think that you're any closer to actually understanding Finnish, but you certainly know how to say, "Mun nimi on Áine" with flawless accuracy.

    You do manage to handle things a bit better in the second half of class. You think it's just a sort of resignation. You know that you're going to be stuck here for a full three hours, so at a certain point you just become used to the constant discomfort and power through it. You can at least comfort yourself with the knowledge that this certainly isn't the worst class you've had today; it would be tough to outdo your experiences in both History class and your free period today.

    It helps that you discover that at least part of the reason that these voices seem to be so much more insistent and aggressive than the ones in Italian is that they apparently really don't like it when you think of the language that you're trying to learn as "Finnish." Once you start mentally referring to it as "Suomi" instead, they calm down. Slightly. They're quieter, but they're still very insistent that you can pronounce every word you learn perfectly.

    By the time the bell rings, you think you've made a decent dent in your work packet. You still find many aspects of Finnish grammar confusing, but you think that you're at least starting to get it.

    You scan the crowd of other, unfamiliar, students as they all shuffle out of the room. You feel like it's slightly odd that you don't recognize any of the students here, you'd think that you'd at least vaguely recall seeing them at lunch or something along those lines, but you discard that thought and head off, joining the crowd flooding the hallways.

    You hurry as best you can considering how densely packed the halls are. You're hoping that you can arrive at the cafeteria before Leah does. You're hoping she can give you some advice on how to handle this whole coin situation. You know you want to give it back to its owner, but you also know that you know little enough about wizard social norms that you're likely to make a mess of it if you try to do so without knowing what you're doing.

    It's not really something that you knew about yourself before arriving here, but you're finding that you really don't like crowds. Not in a claustrophobic way, or even in a way where you find yourself particularly unnerved, you just find the whole experience of pressing up against hundreds of strangers every single day uncomfortable and annoying; you feel like you have to actively stop yourself from running straight into your classmates. Some of the students here don't even put in that much effort, as you experience firsthand when someone physically pushes you out of the way to get ahead of you in the crush of people.

    You scowl and barely catch sight of a head of black hair before they disappear into the sea of people. You take a deep, steadying breath before continuing onward. You console yourself by thinking that whoever pushed was either Aiden or Izumi, it would be nice if you can just assume that whoever was rude enough to do that was someone you already dislike.

    Once you arrive at the cafeteria, rather than immediately getting in line like you usually do, you wait off to the side of the entrance and scan the crowd for any sign of Leah. Once you're satisfied that she isn't in the line or already sitting down, you lean against the wall and watch the door for her arrival.

    Fortunately, it isn't a long wait, and she comes through the doors with a sour expression on her face a mere minute or so later. You walk up to her with a wave and her expression softens. She still looks irritated, bordering on angry, but still, she's clearly at least a little pleased to see you.

    "Áine," She says with a faint smile. "You really shouldn't wait for me. Or anybody else for that matter. You know how bad the food is here, imagine what's going to be left after everyone else has had their fill." Her tone has a slight levity to it that tells you she's only mostly serious. The advice she's giving you is real of course, but it's not the kind of thing that she's that concerned about.

    "Yes, well… I was hoping to ask you a few questions, and I figured this was the best way to catch you. Besides, I don't know anybody in my Finnish class, so it's not like I'm keeping anybody waiting," You say with a shrug.

    Leah responds, in a more serious tone than before, "That's something you'll want to change. It's more or less safe to go it alone when there's still over a thousand of us going through the halls every time the bell rings, but that's going to change and it's going to change fast. You really don't want to be alone when you're making your way here if you can help it." She goes quiet for a moment before continuing, "Not like my position is much better, though."

    "What do you mean?"

    Leah looks around and, once she seems satisfied that nobody's listening in, whispers, "I mean that every single other student in my language lab is an enclaver, and I'll be damned if I trust one of them to watch my back for even a minute."

    You raise your eyebrow, but a small part of you can't help but be happy. Leah's distaste for enclavers has been pretty obvious, but you think this is the first time she's just come out and said it to you. You decide to take it as a show of trust, considering how almost everybody else seems to think of enclavers.

    "You know, I also had a language class last period. Is your's also on the third floor?"

    "It is, yes," Leah says before asking, "Are you offering to group up on Wednesdays from now on?"

    You smile and say, "Sure, why not? Like I told you earlier, I want to be friends and this would be a good thing for both of us.

    "I guess it would be," Leah says, returning your smile with one of her own. She gets in line for whatever today's culinary abomination will turn out to be and continues, "For future reference though, you probably could have stood to exploit me a bit there. You know that my options are limited, even if there's no good reason for them to be."

    You hum to yourself before replying, "I'm sure that you do have your reasons, whether or not I'd think they were good. But like I said, I want to be friends and, even if being in this place means I'm still supposed to bargain with you despite that, I certainly don't want to exploit you."

    Leah gives another smile and says, "Bad instinct, but a nice sentiment… Still, I'll try to return the favor as best I can." She grabs a tray and scoops a few aggressively runny eggs and a piece of toast that's burnt to the point of nearly being charred. "Speaking of favors, what did you want to ask me about?"

    "Oh, I found something at lunch," You fish the defaced coin out of your pocket. "I think it belonged to that boy that got attacked at breakfast. Any idea what it does?"

    Leah only gives it a cursory glance before replying, "No clue. I'm not an artificer and I don't know any spells for identifying what artifacts do. You could experiment with it if you really wanted, or break it and put the mana towards something else, maybe shop it around to some upperclassmen and see if they're interested."

    "Well, I was hoping I'd be able to give it back. I don't think I want to have that boy's death on my conscience if he got killed because he needed this to get out of a bad situation. But people keep telling me that being kind for no reason is bad, so I figured I should try and get something out of it… I was hoping you could tell me what would be the appropriate way to do that."

    Leah hums to herself, grabs a heavily bruised apple, and says, "Well… I suppose that depends on what you want to do. Though, I think it's probably best to discuss this when we're alone."

    You nod and collect your food before following Leah to the table she picks out. It takes you a few moments to realize that it's the same table you sat at during lunch, completely free of the massive blood stain that rested there the last time you were here. You recall Oliver saying that the school was supposed to clean stuff like that up and wonder why it took so long.

    You don't give the topic too much thought before arriving at the table. Once you do, Leah looks you in the eyes and says, "One thing I want to make very clear upfront. Even if he feeds you some sob story or tries to guilt trip you, do not give that coin back for free. Doing so won't establish you as a nice and friendly person, it will establish you as someone that's easy to exploit… And, as much as I hate to say it, they probably wouldn't be too far off the mark."

    "Well, I don't think that's completely fair," You say pensively.

    "It kind of is," Leah replies, apologetically. "You really are too trusting. By all rights, you really shouldn't trust me. Were I an even slightly worse person, I could blackmail or manipulate you into doing all sorts of stupid and dangerous things for me."

    "Well, you aren't and you haven't, so I think things have worked out well," You say in return.

    Leah shrugs and says, "That you're so certain of that kind of proves the point… Though, I do appreciate it and would like to keep our relationship as it is for as long as we can manage. And, in the spirit of that, are we clear? You're not going to give in if the boy refuses to play ball?"

    You frown, the idea of being responsible for another person's death, even if only indirectly, still weighs heavily on you, but Leah seems pretty firmly convinced of what she's saying. After a brief pause, you nod your head and say, "Alright, I can do that."

    Leah gives a relieved smile before continuing, "As for what you can get… I wouldn't expect too much. We all just got here and none of us have had a chance to build up anything really valuable. If you're lucky, you might be able to negotiate for a mana sink or two he brought from home, but most likely, you're going to be haggling for favors."

    You nod thoughtfully before asking, "Should I use my contracting spell?"

    Leah shrugs and responds, "If you want. It could be good for getting the word out that that's a niche you're capable of filling, but you're also spending mana you could use on something else. For something as small as this, the social consequences of earning a reputation as someone who goes back on their deals should carry you through just fine."

    "Alright then…" You say. You think for a moment before continuing, "Any chance you want to come with me? You do seem to have a better idea of how all this works."

    Leah stops for a moment. She hesitates, seemingly trying to choose her words carefully before responding, "I feel comfortable offering advice at no cost, but what I said earlier holds true. Doing favors for free marks you as somebody to be taken advantage of, even if it is among friends." She pauses and an uncomfortable look edges onto her face before she manages to school her features. She then takes a deep breath and offers, "If you still want my help, even knowing that, I'll do it, but I will have to get something out of it. If we're negotiating for favors, let's say my cost is that I get one of them, regardless of how many we can squeeze out of him… If we negotiate for something else, or we can only manage to get one out of him, we'll decide on a different form of payment."

    Leah frowns and even seems a little bit nervous as she waits for your answer:

    [] Decline Leah's offer. Regardless of how you feel about Leah's prices, you should probably learn how to handle these things on your own.

    [] Accept Leah's offer. Regardless of how you feel about Leah's prices, you know that this is new ground for you and that you are, perhaps, a bit overly trusting.

    After you give Leah your answer, she nods and says, "The boy you're looking for is Thomas Wilson and he's in room D4912. He's alive, but he's still nursing his wound and hasn't come out since breakfast."

    "How do you know that?"

    Leah shrugs and replies, "One of the kids in my Arabic class is apparently his friend. He jumped at the chance to be the center of attention by filling everybody in on how he was doing." She pauses before adding, "If I'm ever in that position, please don't do that."

    You shake your head and say, "I won't."

    She gives you a weak smile and replies, "Good. No need for the worst among us to know exactly where to find me when I'm weak and injured."

    "Is that something I should worry about?" You ask, more than a little concerned.

    "Probably not yet, but…" Leah hesitates before adding, "Some people say that entire years have gone by in the Scholomance without any maleficers popping up in the student body. Those people are liars. There's always going to be somebody desperate enough to decide that their fellow students would be better put to use as fuel for their magic."

    "Well, that's pessimistic," You reply.

    "But almost certainly accurate," Leah shoots back.

    You don't know enough to dispute that claim, so you don't say anything more on the matter.

    You take a bite of your bruised apple and manage to hold back a sigh. It has the texture of sand, tastes bitter enough that you almost cringe as soon as the juices hit your tongue, and there's an odd smell that you can only hope is nothing harmful, but you can't say for sure. It's still head and shoulders above most of what you've eaten here, so you do your best to eat the entire thing in silence.

    Once you're finished with the apple, a thought occurs to you. "Do… Do I owe you anything for telling me where to find Thomas?"

    Leah looks up at you in surprise and takes a moment to collect herself before answering, "Consider that more free advice." She pauses before adding, "Also free advice, never let anyone pressure you into thinking you owe them for something you didn't ask for. Feel free to express gratitude, but never feel like you have to." There's a mix of complicated emotions on Leah's face as she says this and you get the impression that she's speaking from personal experience there.

    You also get the impression that she wouldn't appreciate it if you tried to dig into what that personal experience is, so you let it pass and go back to your food and think about how you're going to handle your upcoming meeting with Thomas Wilson. You also think about what you're going to do after that meeting, it shouldn't take too long and you still have a lot you could be doing right now. (PICK TWO; the second action must be something that can be done entirely within your room):

    [] Request a new spell
    -[] Write In Request

    [] Try to find somebody to talk to:
    -[] Leah
    -[] Carmen
    -[] Jingfei
    -[] Sofia
    -[] Kamalu
    -[] Oliver
    -[] Liam
    -[] Cynthia

    [] Build Mana
    -[] Exercising
    -[] Climbing Stairs Alone

    [] Visit the Library
    -[] Ask [WRITE IN] to accompany you

    [] Visit the stockroom
    -[] Ask [WRITE IN] to accompany you]

    [] Study
    -[] History of the Scholomance (Requires Study Material)
    -[] Modern History (Requires Study Material)
    -[] Algebra 1
    -[] Italian
    -[] Finnish
    Study: Finnish 1
    Progress: 0/400
    Bonuses: +5 (Bilingual) - 10 (Unrelated Language)
    Roll: 1d100(29) - 5 = 24/400!

    Study: Finnish 2
    Progress: 24/400
    Bonuses: +5 (Bilingual) -10 (Unrelated Language)
    Roll: 1d100(85) -5 = 104/400!

    Student Makeup:
    DC: 40/60/80
    Bonuses:
    Roll: 1d100(22) = 22!Failure!

    Advice: Leah
    DC: 60/80/100
    Bonuses: +10 (Pretty) +10 (Child Star) +5 (Well-Mannered) +10 (Friends)
    Roll: 1d100(87) + 35 = 122!Full Success!
     
  • Threadmarks
    • -[] Algebra 1

    And either Social or Mana-Building, I think? Algebra 1, because we made *very* good progress our first session, I wanna see if we can get further faster.
     
    Alchemist767676 said:
    Study: Finnish Suomi 2
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    Alchemist767676 said:
    you start mentally referring to it as "Suomi" instead,
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    I'm sorry QM, but you should consider this a typo, or else the Scholomance is going to drop some hot dice across the 4th wall. :V

    Edit: I don't want to double post, so here:
    [X] Decline Leah's offer. Regardless of how you feel about Leah's prices, you should probably learn how to handle these things on your own.

    Build some experience, and this will be Aine's first task.

    [X] Try to find somebody to talk to:
    -[X] Sofia

    [X] Study
    -[X] Italian

    It's between this or exercise, and I went social. I ask so picked Sofia at mostly random. I think key part of being friends in this School is being able to be equals. This means meet people other than Leah or Carmen who's been in Leah's orbit for awhile. Jingfei is also an option, but it feels early in the day.
     
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    [X] Decline Leah's offer. Regardless of how you feel about Leah's prices, you should probably learn how to handle these things on your own.
    The Laurent said:
    -[] Algebra 1

    And either Social or Mana-Building, I think? Algebra 1, because we made *very* good progress our first session, I wanna see if we can get further faster.
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    Hmm. Once we finish we can use the remaining time slots to do other things right? Still, I'm going to pass in favor of heading to the Library and trying to find a book on "encyclopedia of Common and Uncommon Artifices of America" though I suppose I'll have to word it differently.

    [X] Visit the Library
    -[X] Ask Sofia to accompany you
    --[X] Look for a book that will hopefully help you identify what sort of artifice you'll be trading tomorrow.
    [X] Study
    -[X] Algebra 1
     
    [X] Decline Leah's offer. Regardless of how you feel about Leah's prices, you should probably learn how to handle these things on your own.
    Even if she finds a book about it, she still doesn't have a spell that allows her to identify it, like Leah, and with one day... I don't know if it is worth it. So I'm going with another option.
    [X] Visit the Library
    -[X] Ask Sofia to accompany you
    --[X] Look for "Book of Excluded Persons" or some other book related to your magic affinity.
    [X] Study
    -[X] Italian
     
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    [X] Decline Leah's offer. Regardless of how you feel about Leah's prices, you should probably learn how to handle these things on your own.
    [X] Visit the Library
    -[X] Ask Sofia to accompany you
    --[X] Look for "Book of Excluded Persons" or some other book related to your magic affinity.
    [X] Study
    -[X] Algebra 1
     
    [X] Decline Leah's offer. Regardless of how you feel about Leah's prices, you should probably learn how to handle these things on your own.
    [X] Try to find somebody to talk to:
    -[X] Sofia
    [X] Study
    -[X] Algebra 1
     
    When are we planning to request a new spell?

    We probably should be ready with a "defend ourself from Maleficaria" spell before the end of this month. At worst our speciality should allow us to change the natural conditions they use to decide what target they should attack. At best we can ward ourself from the Maleficaria (at least from the "weak" ones) until we fail a condition, like losing our cool.

    Are we waiting to get slightly better with Italian and Finnish?
     
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