And What We Found There

[mrblah]

The College of Lacuna... it's the first educational facility with a focus of the Arcane in its curriculum. Its foreboding and dark building could be found past a misty forest in which the uninitiated would be turned around within, and far on the outskirts would be located a cliff hanging over a roaring, yet calm, sea. A graveyard lies far in the east, kept by a weird old man the students never dare go near, and the four houses of the College itself are all spread out with connecting halls and bridges to the main building. In some ways, the College looks like some castle split apart from the real world.

Of course, that couldn't be any further from the truth.

Now within this College, a surprise test is taking place in the strictest teacher's classroom, and it is here in this unlikely scene... that we begin our tale.

---

Chapter I: College of Delusions

It's the first day of the week, and a month after exams. The world seems to be doing quite well.

Within a classroom of 40 students, a test is taking place. It was an unscheduled test that none of the students had been prepared for, and came about after a series of annoying the professor teaching. Yet, in defense of the students, this professor was an arrogant man with a short temper and a power complex. To him, you are either obedient knowledge seekers who he'd magnanimously nurture with his teaching, or you're a dimwitted fool who knows neither his greatness nor the importance of knowledge. Of course, this professor had a terrible reputation among the student body for this behavior. His name was James Gray, or better known as Professor Gray. His subject, general science, was unfortunately mandatory and ridiculously complicated due to his unforgiving teaching style, and what's worse was that professors in Lacuna didn't have an active authority over them, so they typically worked unsupervised and unchecked. It was well within Professor Gray's powers to be a dick.

Professor Gray's test took far too long for any of the students' comfort, but by the time the last pencil had been laid to rest, he was already taking papers and grading them. His work was swift and quick, with either a nod of approval or a snort of derision accompanying the graded paper he'd hand back to the student. They were made to come up to his desk to present their test for him, of course. Please remember that he's too great to go about the classroom taking papers to grade. No, he's above that.

It was easy to tell who did well and who didn't. The professor's expressiveness easily clued you in as it always did, and a minority of the class received a nod. Among them were the usual top students, Penelope Bezzenberger, William Booker, and Anastasia. The final few students were being scored now, and class seemed to be wrapping up. Many of the students had breathed a sigh of relief. Professor Gray's class was the last before a brief free period where they can recollect, study, or do whatever else they wish.

devilbird

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Knowledge check; variable. Josephine = 18.]

Josephine approached the annoyed professor not at all relaxed in his chair, and placed her paper down for him to survey. His eyes quickly scanned the paper, before he then rolled them with a sigh as he wrote her grade in the top corner... 60, in black ink. "Brush up on your academic knowledge in the library sometime instead of talking to your imaginary friend, Mesmer." Professor Gray slid the paper back over to Josephine, chuckling at his joke. Still, a 60 wasn't bad. It was over this class's average, and would practically be a passing grade in other classes. Josephine collected her paper and was on her way, having better things to do than loiter in front of a rude professor's desk. She passed out of the classroom and walked into the halls —

A shadow of black ichor clung to the ceiling of the hallway, dripping its viscous fluids to the ground below. A being of darkness was sinking through the floor, and dropped right in front of Josephine... yet it appeared to be naked to the eyes of passersby. Batlath'sel has graced her with his presence. His head turned upwards, with his beady white eyes staring at her... and then he hovered to the side and continued his usual vacant whispering. Words and images invaded Josephine's mind as he lurked near her, but she couldn't make out any of it to see if he needed something.

In any case, she had a free period. There's a few things she can do and places she can go to. The library is probably open if she wanted to take that rude professor's advice, the dining hall should still be serving around this time of day, and—

Outside. Forest. Tall tree. Colorless images wired directly into her mind, directing to her a specific location... she turned to look at the creature of unknowable darkness next to her, who merely continued his silent staring at her form. It was Batlath'sel, of course. Who else would so cryptically command her to do something?

[Josephine suffers 5 Sanity damage.]

MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Knowledge check; variable. Sasha = 20.]

Next up was Sasha. She approached Professor Gray's desk with her paper in hand and handed it to him. The arrogant professor took it and glanced it over. "... This is adequate. But surely you could do better?" He dipped his quill into the ink he kept on his desk and wrote out a '76' in the corner, before handing it back to her. "Work harder, Rogue. Knowledge is the most important resource man has access to, and science is the most important of the most important resource."

Immediately after that, Sasha was heading out of the classroom. No point in staying and wasting precious free period time. This was a good time to continue her independent research of the Arcane, or do several other things, such as get food at the dining hall or even read at the library. There were other options, of course. Free periods had no restrictions.

lilbooth

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Knowledge check; variable. Teresa = 22.]

Teresa was next on the list to be mildly or majorly offended by the professor. She approached him at his desk and handed him her finished paperwork, and he took it to peer down at the answers she provided. "... I see. I see..." Surprisingly, a nod came from him, and he glanced back up to the noblewoman with a smile. It somehow still looked arrogant and snide. "You've been listening well, Sobieska. Very good work. I suppose little else is to be expected of a Blackburn student?" He dipped his quill into his ink, and wrote a high '92' in the upper corner of her paper, before handing it back to her. "Do keep up the good work."

[Relationship with James Gray improved by +12%! Currently: 22%.]

That's that done, then. Next is a free period, where she'll have her time to do whatever she wants until the next hour... this may be a good time to head to the library and read up a bit. The librarian had alerted her on her Pigeon, which was a magical device that allowed brief vocal and visual messaging over long distances. Her specially ordered books arrived just this morning.

Blue56

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Knowledge check; variable. Bridgette = 10.]

Bridgette walked up to the professor's desk, and placed her papers down in front of him. He glanced up at her, and she spotted another look at her red hair. Professor Gray was one of those at the academy who had a low opinion of her due to her Irish heritage, and despite the hard work she'd always put into everything she could, she always felt that he was harsher on her than anyone else. He leaned forward with a heavy sigh to check her work, gave it a few glances, then quickly wrote a '24' on the corner. "I understand that my class may be mandatory, but I'd prefer a little more effort from you, Clarke." As if willing her away, he glanced to the side and waved.

[Relationship with James Gray worsened by -6%! Currently: -19%.]

Yet another expected end to their interaction. The professor would always seem to tire of her presence and wave her off, but at the very least his derision made for some other form of improvement elsewhere. As she was leaving the classroom to enjoy her free period, a hand slapped down onto her shoulder, with the owner of it poking her head out of Bridgette's peripheral vision to her forefront. "Boo!" Said the woman, though she wasn't exactly shouting and barely raised her voice. She then stepped a little ahead, presenting herself to Bridgette fully and waving her hand throw her flowing red hair as was a habit of hers. This was Madeline Brooks, a friend.

"James pulled another one on ya, didn't he? Shameful man. I'd wonder why he's the professor of a mandatory class, but I'm sure no one would bother going if they weren't!" Said Madeline with a chuckle. Madeline, like Bridgette, was an Irishwoman who often had to suffer Professor Gray's discrimination, so she always related to Bridgette for putting up with the man. In fact, that was part of the reason behind their friendship. Soon after the House placements were made, Madeline had showed up at Bridgette's dorm and basically anywhere else Bridgette would be. "Us Irish ought to stick together around here," she'd cheerfully say when asked. Though from what Bridgette knows, Madeline is a foreign student who came from outside the country to study and didn't grow up in England. "So, we've some free time, it seems. What were you planning on doing?"

RandomRoninKitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Knowledge check; variable. Ninette = 21.]

Ninette was advised by Avenging Destruction God of Soul-Reaving and Eternal Torment Within the 9th Circle to go up next, and so she did along with him. She walked up to the professor's desk and handed him the papers for his immediate grading. He glanced over her answers, up to her, then at the stuffed bear, then back down to the papers. "Good work, Nirendranath. I would appreciate if you stopped bringing your... toy into my class, however." A dip into the ink and a drag of the quill marked her paper on the corner. '88.' That was good!

"AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU STOPPED BREATHING." Murmured a voice seemingly from nowhere. It was loud and gravely, with a rasp that sounded like it hurt, but despite all of this it seemed no one had heard it. This would be weird to anyone not Ninette Nirendranath, who knew that was just Mister Doggo Borkinson. The stuffed teddy bear in her hands was a friend only she could hear and know. To others, it merely appeared to be a toy... just as Professor Gray called it. "HE WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE WHEN WE ASCEND." That's a common saying of his. According to the bear, a majority of the people Ninette has met will, in fact, "be the first to die." It'll be impressive to have so many firsts.

Ninette was on her way out the classroom. It was a free period, and Mister Doggo Borkinson demanded food to have his energy stores be replenished. The dining hall should be open right now. Of course, Ninette could do other things as well. Her friend would understand if she had more important tasks to complete first, like studying in the library or going on a calming walk outside. She had full reign.

Mark3000

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Knowledge check; variable. Margaret = 12. Charisma check; easy. Margaret = 11.]

Margaret approached Professor Gray's desk and simply handed him her completed test. He hummed as he quickly scanned over the papers, before he wrote out her grade and handed it back to her. '32,' it read. "Science is a difficult subject. I understand if a holy woman like you were to struggle with it, Fairbrooks. Please do try to study it more, if you would?" It's notable that the professor seemed somewhat kinder to Margaret than the others, and an outsider looking in would've easily guessed his intentions from the not so subtle glance to her sizable chest. Maybe she herself didn't though.

Margaret moved to exit the classroom. She had a free period now, and had time to spend in whichever way she wished. She could head to the library to read, or go to the dining hall to eat, or whichever else she'd wish to do. Truly, the world was her oyster!

Just as she was considering her options however, she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and turned back around to see Professor Gray. He had his usual stern look on his face, though it looked a bit... nervous, maybe? "Fairbrooks. I see you haven't left yet... this is ah, good timing. I had a proposition for you if you were interested? You seem to be struggling in my class, and as a professor, it's my job to help with that. So... if you wanted some tutoring, perhaps this lunch break would be a good chance."

exalted

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Knowledge check; variable. Adelaide = 18.]

As Adelaide approached the Professor, she spotted him blatantly staring at the last student's rear as she left. He looked back up to her. "Ah, Fortune. You've finished, then." She handed him her test papers, and he took them for his grading. It didn't take long before he was writing down a '75' on the corner of her paper and handing it back to her. "Ah, good work, good work... you're free to leave." It also didn't take long for him to shoo her out. Suspicious, but it wasn't exactly hard to guess what he was up to.

It suited her just fine. Penelope had left ahead of her, and she knew her mistress would expect a nice cup of tea in the Blackburn's study by now. She'd have to hurry out to get there in time, where Penelope would no doubt be waiting. She left the room right after receiving her papers.

Adelaide didn't walk so much as jog down the hall. Her destination thankfully wasn't as far as it could have been, and she was soon marching into the Blackburn building and up into the study room, where Penelope Bezzenberger waited in all her glory, though the black cowl she usually wore as an addition to her uniform had been dressed over her chair. She was sitting in a large chair that practically looked to be a throne close to the center of the room, and by the side of her chair was a small table with an empty plate and teacup. In her hands was a black book and she made no mention of Adelaide's entrance as she read, but the silent glance up at her and then her side glance to the teacup marked her silent command.

The Blackburn's study room was unlike all the others on campus. It had a plethora of books rivaling that of the College of Lacuna's official library, and a small kitchen to the left of the study that was used by their servants to make snacks. This was Penelope's favorite room, and she'd often be found inside during her free time whenever she could, reading, relaxing, drinking tea or whatever else.

[exalted]

Adelaide looked on blankly, as she was often want to do, at the Professor's lechery towards the nun, forgetting about it almost at the same time as seeing it. It was probably against the school and professional ethics and morals, but that was not for Adelaide to care herself with. If the Professor was doing it, it was because his rank and status allowed him to, as it wasn't happening to her it wasn't her problem. A part of her thought about what she would do if had been her but she stamped it out quickly. It would be up to Mr Bezzenberger or Penelope to decide when of if she should be intimate in such a way.

Taking her paper, and taking a moment to double check her grade would be satisfactory, she left promptly without having said a word at all, her mask clicking slightly by the speed of the turn. She strode fast with long strides from her legs, to be seen running or flustered would be unladylike and cause shame to her lady.... she still remembered what Penelope had done last time that happened. She tried to ignore the way the skirt flowed around her as she moved, unused to the garment and wishing the properly fitting trousers she usually wore would have been allowed by the schools dress code... but that wasn't her decision either, female students wore skirts and she was student now.

She was glad to be back inside the walls of the Blackburn house, the dull heavy thud of the thick hardwood doors behind her blocking out the stresses of the world. Here, inside the house, this is what she knew after the years of service. Heading to the study, she stood shocked for the moment as saw Penelope had beaten her to the room, her mask clicking metallicaly again as the sudden change of pace. Stomach beginning to churn, she caught herself mid bow, remembering the skirt, and curtsied instead, keeping her eyes down as she strode over silently to collect the tea cup.

Padding to the kitchen, she immediately began the process and brewing the tea, tying a small apron on to stop her uniform from getting dirty as she restocked the morning's fire to heat the kettle. Her hands worked smooth and fast as they repeated the task she had done countless times, exactly the way Penelope liked it until... OH NO!

The honey jar was empty... no it couldn't be.... Penelope had honey with her tea, all the servants knew that, how had they forgotten to refill the honey jar? Her breath was steamy inside her mask as she started to panic, wringing her hands on the apron as she tried to think her way through it. Hands shaking, she added sugar to the tea instead before reaching under the counter for the secret tin none of the students or servants knew about. She had hidden it at the back long ago for the times like this, filling it with Penelope's favourite treats. Placing several on a separate saucer, she wiped the sweat from her brow before trying to look confident as she delivered the tea.

Her eyes never left Penelope as she neatly placed the two saucers on the side table before walking around to grab a book from the shelves. She sat in the plain wooden chair that lay behind and slightly to the left of Penelope's chair, a new edition to the study hall that Penelope had put in place to keep her semi-servant in place. Opening the book, her eyes darted constantly from the book and paper, correcting the mistakes she had made in the test, to the saucer and cup of tea and Penelope. Her breath caught as she stared wide eyes as Penelope reaching for the cup.

[MiscChaos]

While it's not really in her nature to become annoyed over minor things, having a test (a rather difficult test at that) sprung on her because her teacher is very easily irritated is a rather trying occurrence to Sasha. Especially since some of these annoyances can be things like "being Irish" or "questioning a lesson" or "not sleeping with the professor". Things his students either can't help or do in order to maintain their moral or educational standards. But alas, Gray is yet another of the imperfect beings called human and clearly has not been guided to a more moral state of mind. He will be judged like the rest when she finally ushers in her shining, beautiful new world. He'll probably be found wanting too given the way he lusts for those he has power over. But for now, he is her professor and thus she has to appear to bow to him. Besides... "Yes, sir. Completely agree, knowledge is the most important thing we have." She may not agree with the rest of what he said, but knowledge really is all powerful. With the right knowledge, she'll be able to bring a golden age to this world that will last until the end of time. Knowledge will trump evil men and make them face punishment for their crimes.

The test done with with a passing grade, she makes her way out of the classroom. Having motivation is good and all, but without learning of a plan to obtain her goal she's just another of the many people out there who promise utopia and are full of so much hot air. That means continuing to pursue the Arcane. She's learned enough to figure out a spell, but that lone spell is the barest tip of the iceberg of what her ambition requires. She doesn't have very many leads at this time however, so she figures her fallback plan will have to be going to the library. Among the many tomes within that archive of knowledge must be something to guide her hunt. It's just a matter of finding it. And she will, no matter how long it takes.

[Mark3000]

Margaret was extremely nervous handing her test in to Professor Gray. At the church, the aspiring nun had learned how to read, write and do basic arithmetic. But of course most of her time was devoted to bible studies. General science was never a topic of study. Most of what she know about the subject she learned from the odd book she found in the bishop's library. Most of the mysteries in the world Margaret attributed to God's grace. Her face blushed when she realized that she might of actually put that for some of her answers.

When the professor gave her back her paper, she gave him a wholesome smile. "Yes Professor Gray. I'll try to do better next time." She said taking her test and reading over her mistakes. As she read, the professor was able to get a better look at the religious student. Margaret continued to wear a habit with her uniform, along with a cross that hung from a necklace that rested above her bosom. Despite being the right size, Margaret's proportions strained against the uniform's fabric.

When her free period, Margaret took her textbooks and her bible. She had planned to head to the dining hall to see if she could find other students like herself with a connection to God. But then she was approached by Professor Gray. When offered the chance to a private tutoring session, her face lit up. Putting her books down, she took the professor's hand and lifted them up. At first it looked like she was pulling them to her chest. But she merely brought his clasped hand to her head and prayed. "I would be honored Professor. Bless the Lord". She had heard of Professor Gray's reputation as a strict teacher and poor tempered man. But he had been nothing if not understanding of her situation. Plus he seemed far removed from the more heretical practices here at the college. Accepting his offer, Margaret remained in the classroom with Professor Gray.

[lilbooth]

Teressa did her best to hide a smile as she was handed back her test. She didn't particularly care much for the general science course. She much preferred history and literature. and was very excitedly looking forward to the study of the arcane. This was her first exposure to most of the sciences, having not touched on them in her prior schooling. She may even like them, yet Professor Gray had the ability to make his disciples dislike almost any subject it seemed. Despite this, Teressa still felt a tinge of pride when she saw her high grade. It was a few points from perfection, but such a small number may be open to negotiation. She decided to wait and see what some other of the students had gotten for grades, she spotted a few ahead of her but she didn't feel it was ok to wait in the front of room and spy on the other grades. Some recon was needed before she could make a decision. She briefly studied the mistakes she had made and slipped the test away into her leather book bag. "Thank you, sir." She said with a nod. She stepped out of the classroom relieved to be done with the subject, at least for the day. She was excited to see how many of her books had arrived, and she was a bit hungry. So off to the library and then the dining hall for a quick bite.

[RandomRoninKitten]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The College of Lacuna... it's the first educational facility with a focus of the Arcane in its curriculum. Its foreboding and dark building could be found past a misty forest in which the uninitiated would be turned around within, and far on the outskirts would be located a cliff hanging over a roaring, yet calm, sea. A graveyard lies far in the east, kept by a weird old man the students never dare go near, and the four houses of the College itself are all spread out with connecting halls and bridges to the main building. In some ways, the College looks like some castle split apart from the real world.

Of course, that couldn't be any further from the truth.

Now within this College, a surprise test is taking place in the strictest teacher's classroom, and it is here in this unlikely scene... that we begin our tale.

---

Chapter I: College of Delusions

It's the first day of the week, and a month after exams. The world seems to be doing quite well.

Within a classroom of 40 students, a test is taking place. It was an unscheduled test that none of the students had been prepared for, and came about after a series of annoying the professor teaching. Yet, in defense of the students, this professor was an arrogant man with a short temper and a power complex. To him, you are either obedient knowledge seekers who he'd magnanimously nurture with his teaching, or you're a dimwitted fool who knows neither his greatness nor the importance of knowledge. Of course, this professor had a terrible reputation among the student body for this behavior. His name was James Gray, or better known as Professor Gray. His subject, general science, was unfortunately mandatory and ridiculously complicated due to his unforgiving teaching style, and what's worse was that professors in Lacuna didn't have an active authority over them, so they typically worked unsupervised and unchecked. It was well within Professor Gray's powers to be a dick.

Professor Gray's test took far too long for any of the students' comfort, but by the time the last pencil had been laid to rest, he was already taking papers and grading them. His work was swift and quick, with either a nod of approval or a snort of derision accompanying the graded paper he'd hand back to the student. They were made to come up to his desk to present their test for him, of course. Please remember that he's too great to go about the classroom taking papers to grade. No, he's above that.

It was easy to tell who did well and who didn't. The professor's expressiveness easily clued you in as it always did, and a minority of the class received a nod. Among them were the usual top students, Penelope Bezzenberger, William Booker, and Anastasia. The final few students were being scored now, and class seemed to be wrapping up. Many of the students had breathed a sigh of relief. Professor Gray's class was the last before a brief free period where they can recollect, study, or do whatever else they wish.

RandomRoninKitten
[Knowledge check; variable. Ninette = 21.]

Ninette was advised by Avenging Destruction God of Soul-Reaving and Eternal Torment Within the 9th Circle to go up next, and so she did along with him. She walked up to the professor's desk and handed him the papers for his immediate grading. He glanced over her answers, up to her, then at the stuffed bear, then back down to the papers. "Good work, Nirendranath. I would appreciate if you stopped bringing your... toy into my class, however." A dip into the ink and a drag of the quill marked her paper on the corner. '88.' That was good!

"AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IF YOU STOPPED BREATHING." Murmured a voice seemingly from nowhere. It was loud and gravely, with a rasp that sounded like it hurt, but despite all of this it seemed no one had heard it. This would be weird to anyone not Ninette Nirendranath, who knew that was just Mister Doggo Borkinson. The stuffed teddy bear in her hands was a friend only she could hear and know. To others, it merely appeared to be a toy... just as Professor Gray called it. "HE WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE WHEN WE ASCEND." That's a common saying of his. According to the bear, a majority of the people Ninette has met will, in fact, "be the first to die." It'll be impressive to have so many firsts.

Ninette was on her way out the classroom. It was a free period, and Mister Doggo Borkinson demanded food to have his energy stores be replenished. The dining hall should be open right now. Of course, Ninette could do other things as well. Her friend would understand if she had more important tasks to complete first, like studying in the library or going on a calming walk outside. She had full reign.

Ninette just continued smiling, expertly hiding the inner rage she feels when her lifelong friend, companion, and the Avenging Destruction God of Soul-Reaving and Eternal Torment Within the 9th Circle is called a toy, simply thanking Professor Gray for his praise, and clutching Mister Doggo Borkinson to her chest when he suggested leaving him behind when she goes to class. As soon as she was outside the classroom, she spoke to him quietly "You probably have a better idea, but my suggestion is to wrap the man's testicles with a rubber band, then let them fall off naturally, after which we cook them and feed them to him OR simply feed them to him raw. Do you know if it would be more painful to him if we cut it off with a rusty cleaver, or went with the rubber band?" she whispered to Mister Doggo Borkinson, giving him her sadistic smile that he had said he loves so much.

"As you wish, Avenging Destruction God of Soul-Reaving and Eternal Torment Within the 9th Circle" she whispered to him, when he demanded food, "We'll see what the Dining Hall has for us, and then when we're done, would you like to go for a walk?" she asked, while rubbing his fluffy head and hugging him into her chest. When she reaches the dining hall, she'll take a look around to see who is in there as well, and what food is available. If there are multiple options, she'll let Mister Doggo Borkinson take his pick.

[Blue56]

Things at Lacuna had not been going according to Bridgette's plan thus far. Getting admitted had been simple enough, even though her methods of doing so would likely be frowned upon should they be discovered. But all that money she had saved up for some nice clothing to give her the look of an upper class Englishwoman had gone to waste once she learned the school required students to wear a uniform. Her plan to lie about her heritage was ill thought out as well, it turned out that nobody really bothered to ask whether she was Irish or if she just had an Irish granduncle or whatever she had decided on, they just looked at her hair and thought 'oh, that gal is Irish'. All this had led to her current predicament where a prejudiced professor had sprung a surprise exam on the class. With no time to coax some answers out of folks or even so much as crack a book, Bridgette had no hope of passing. Professor Gray's usual dismissive attitude told her her score was abysmal before she even looked at what he wrote. "As you wish, Professor." Is Bridgette's simple reply, delivered with a respectful nod before she takes her papers back and departs the classroom.

Bridgette is so busy pondering just what she can do to improve the Professor's attitude that she's caught completely unaware by the hand clapping down on her shoulder. She jumps slightly, but quickly relaxes when she sees who was responsible. "Ah! Hi Madeline. You got me. Hehe." Bridgette giggles lightly and puts on a cheery smile despite her poor mood as she greets her friend. That's right, things aren't all bad. She had managed to make a friend, a kindred spirit of sorts in that they were discriminated against together. She had never had many female friends as she had mostly worked with men during her days at the shop, and it was surprisingly nice to have a little girl talk every now and then. When asked about what happened, Bridgette simply sighs and holds up her paper, the poor score would speak for itself. "Hopefully you fared better than I did."

"It's a shame, because I suspect I would rather like this course if not for him. Men with an inflated ego because they have a handsome face and a clever mind are nothing new, they just don't usually hold such uncontested power." Bridgette continues, turning to look back into the classroom briefly where their professor's attention is split between one of their classmate's papers and her bosom. "Do you suppose it's the habit, or the large bust that does it for him?" She muses aloud before shaking her head as if to dismiss the idea outright. Even she couldn't deny that she had deserved a low score, even if Gray was harder on her than the other students. In the long run, she would be better off applying herself to her studies and if that didn't work... Well, there were a few ways she could think of to get the professor to ease up on her. "Hmmm... I think I'll grab a bite to eat in the dining hall. Care to join me?" Bridgette replies as she turns back to Madeline and smiles. "Perhaps we could compare notes and put our heads together to get through this. Professor Gray may be a right git, but surely even he would have to recognize our hard work if we earn our good grades."

[devilbird]

Josephine let out an aloof sigh as she finished her exam. Normally she found the sciences to be particularly fascinating. However, Professor Grey's class was rather dull compared to what she had personally experienced while working with her father. Since all the experiments had to be legal, that meant one could do little to push the limits of human understanding. And not one of her class mates had the courage to martyr themselves in the name of science. Honestly, the classes dealing with the arcane were far more interesting, thanks to it being a completely new field of study, with lots of room to explore. With the professor's rigid adherence to the rules, it was no wonder that Josephine's mind often wandered during class. She half halfheartedly acknowledged the pompous buffoon's belittling comment before wandering out to study on her own.

Once out in the hall, Josephine noticed something out of the corner of her dead left eye before she could make her way to the library. It bubbled and rolled across the ceiling, before dripping to the floor in front of her. This horrible mass was actually familiar to her, as it had followed her since childhood. While she knew, or at least was confident, that the alien creature did not seem to care for her beyond what she could do for it, Batlath'sel was probably as close as Josephine could possibly distinguish as a life long friend. It also drew her interest to the occult, as she was sure that not many were even aware such creatures walked by their sides. Still, her curiosity aside, she was not always happy to talk to the strange being. He always wanted something, and would likely interrupt her personal studies for his menial tasks. And true to form, this was the case. The young woman knew from experience that if she turned it down to go and study, it would just complain and harass her until it got it's way. So she decided to take the detour to the tree that had flashed in her mind. Hopefully it would be a quick trip, then she could figure out her next move.

[mrblah]

devilbird

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Josephine went for the college's exit, and walked through the large double doors that were strangely unguarded... she knew that there would usually be two guardsmen at their post, but it seemed both of them were missing. It was probably the doing of Batlath'sel to make this quicker, or something. It wouldn't be the first time things that would usually be more difficult were made suspiciously easier.

She continued her walk to the Gloomy Woods, which was the unofficial name of the forest to the right of the college. It was an uncomfortable and complicated place that generally no one would ever go, as the many twisting turns and identical trees made it hard to navigate. Several students had already gone missing for many days in the forest, and one specific one had never returned. This meant that the forest was the proud recipient of countless ghost tales and horror stories from the student body, and there's also those rumors of Blackburn students heading into the forest in groups with weird masks and torches. Of course, Josephine had never seen nor been apart of such events, so who's to say there's more to those rumors than just bored and jealous commoners being suspicious of the gifted students?

Left. Right. Down. Right. Batlath'sel had been guiding her through the confusing maze, leading her to whatever destination she was meant to be. It'd be somewhat difficult to translate the images she saw into words, but Josephine had years of experience reading through his cryptic instructions. She soon found herself before a tall gray tree, bigger than any she'd ever seen. Its roots were numerous and protruding from the ground, some of them stabbing into the harsh earth in a disturbing way that reminded her of veins. It was easy to tell that most people would find the borderline abomination creepy. Why was she led there? Batlath'sel had stopped communicating with her, but she could see him in the distance watching. There was something she had to do with this tree...

Suddenly, she saw it. A thin blade without a hilt the same color as the tree was stabbed into one of the roots. It was chipped and partially broken, but still looked sharp enough to easily cut through flesh, and looked like it was once the tip of something much more dangerous and larger. It seemed curious to her... did this have something to do with what she needed to do?

Mark3000

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The Professor had froze with a wider eyed look at where she'd moved his hand. He swallowed, and recomposed himself. "Ah. Yes. Er, bless the Lord." He cleared his throat, turned, and led Margaret back into the classroom, making sure to close the door behind her.

Professor Gray had moved a few desks around to give them a decent platform to work on, and he'd brought one of the chairs directly next to Margaret's as he gestured to a few places on the papers she'd had. Several books were next to him, and he seemed to be seriously intent on tutoring her. Though a few times he'd said something arrogant and accidentally insulting to Margaret (he apologized awkwardly each time), she actually did learn a few things from the man. [Knowledge increased! +2 to Knowledge. Relationship with James Gray improved by +6%! Currently: 16%.]

The more the tutoring extended for, the bolder Professor Gray seemed to be getting. Their chairs were directly next to each other, and at some point in his teaching, he'd wrapped an arm around her back with his hand resting on her thigh, occasionally stroking it now and again, but he pretended not to notice this as if it were a natural thing to do. "There's a theory about this as well, stating that this formula is obsolete based on a previous finding about plant life, but to me, there's still too many mysteries to accurately say. Still, what's important to note about this is that—" The Professor paused in his reading.

... He frowned, and 'tsk'd under his breath. "Even when I'm in the middle of important business doing the job they're paying me to do, these fools will interrupt me and still have the nerve to complain... I apologize, Fairbrooks, but it seems I have some duties to attend to." He stood up from his seat, turning to grab the coat that he'd place elsewhere. "If you'd like, you can continue to study and use those books I pulled. When you're done, feel free to leave without cleaning up. I'll have someone take care of it later."

MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Her destination wasn't particularly far, so the inquisitive Sasha was able to arrive at the library with time to spare. The room was as large and filled with books as it ever was, and just as was usual, many were perusing the property within. Most of the college's students were eager scholars who loved to learn, so more often than not you'd see a few people studying here. Sasha had been to the library several times before and she'd explored it enough to know where the aisle dedicated to the more magical phenomena was, so she headed straight for the aisle without delay.

A few people were already occupying it and reading from some books, but they were of no bother or interest to Sasha. She scanned the books on the shelves, reading off the names and the authors and occasionally peeking into a book here and there. Much of it was history. Much of it said the same old thing, and in fact, the aisle itself was rather small. It was half dedicated to science—or rather, 90% of it was. Again, it wasn't entirely unexpected. The study of the Arcane is still relatively new and very few breakthroughs have been made.

But she knew that didn't mean there was nothing, and eventually her persistence paid off. She came across a black, leather bound book... no, journal, with a clasp on the side. It was small and thin, stored between two thick books in a way that made it almost invisible. She took it out, unclasped it, and flipped open to the first page out of curiosity. [Knowledge check; moderate. Sasha = 16.]

The text would've seemed sophisticated to those who didn't know magic theory too well, but Sasha had studied all she could on the subject. This small journal seemed to have several observations that expanded on basic theory, taken from the perspective of a scholar who traveled the lands studying Mysteries extensively. Each page had been titled in the journal, apparently naming the Mystery investigated. Sasha was reading one named the 'Wandering Deadwood.' It had sounded familiar... [Knowledge increased! +1 to Knowledge.]

"The anomaly took the form of a darkened tree with disgusting roots. Its gray wood was harsh to the touch and consistently cold even when I attempted to burn it, and its form radiated a sense of wrongness that told me it didn't belong in this forest. The locals nearby had said they'd discovered it during harvest, when the farmers encountered it in their garden and failed to tap it. The tree had no sap supposedly, and just as strangely, they'd never seen it before. Upon extensive research, I found the type of Mystery this tree is. This phenomena seems to fall in line under the Kinetic category. The wood is totally authentic and real, yet it's entirely out of place in the location it was found, and it only recently appeared, fully matured. Furthermore, it was [SCRIBBLED OUT]. My own attempts to tap the tree proved fruitless, and no matter how much I cut it otherwise, there was no sap.

Edit; further inspection of the tree led me to believe that my previous assertion was incorrect. To correct myself; the tree is not subtly eroding the nearby plant life. My scales detected no trace of Corruption, and there was no reaction from spraying my precious silver powder over the roots. My previous assertion that it's Kinetic may be incorrect."

RandomRoninKitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"PAIN OF SUCH MAGNITUDE WILL NOT BE ENOUGH FOR THE FOOL. HE HAS OTHER SENSITIVE PARTS, YES? ALONG WITH BOTH THE RUBBER BAND AND THE CLEAVER, WE WILL TARGET HIS WEAKNESSES AND SEND HIM INTO AN ENDLESS EXISTENCE OF PAIN AND TORTURE UNTIL HE BEGS FOR MERCY." Replied the probably evil bear as Ninette walked to the dining hall. He continued to rant about the many applications of the godlike power they'll soon supposedly gain on some night of a blood red moon or something. Honestly, this wasn't the first time and Mister Doggo Borkinson's rants sometimes mix up into one thing.

They arrived into the familiar room of the dining hall. It was a spacious room as it had to have been in order to accommodate the entire college, and it was outfitted with several nondescript paid servants dancing around and about, delivering meals to this person or that who'd ordered such food. Mister Doggo Borkinson always requested a table closest to the servants' kitchen. He said he liked the smell of cooked meat, but Ninette could hear him giggling evilly as he watched the maids walk out.

One was approaching her now, actually. The clicking of her high heels approached from the right, and Ninette turned to spot the woman. Essentially, she was a maid like all the others, with long gray hair, pale skin, and wearing the typical uniform for the female servants working in the college. "Bonjour, Ms. Nirendranath." This particular maid was someone Ninette knew better than the other servants. She never caught her name, but she was the one who most frequently served her. She had a monotonous French accent that matched her impassive face, and she held herself with a decorum that was proper of a lady in these modern times. "I suppose you and Mister Doggo Borkinson are hungry? What is your craving today?"

lilbooth

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

It was a quick trek from the General Science classroom to the library, as both rooms were kept relatively close to one another. Teresa entered into the expansive room of knowledge, filled with a countless number of books she knows one specific young woman has, and quite populated with people. If there was one thing that all the students of the college had in common, it was that they were inquisitive knowledge seekers who knew the importance of reading, so the library was one of the more popular places on campus.

Of course, it wasn't just the books that made this place so valuable. As filled with encyclopedic knowledge as it was, its omnipresent denizen was rather important too. Teresa had made her way over to the librarian's desk where she sat, and peered over at the quietly reading white-haired girl. She was wearing the standard Lacuna women's uniform with the addition of her Secondary Staff cape, and she accessorized her uniform with a strap around her torso that connected to a bag. Currently, she was splayed out on her wooden chair in a manner that was both weird and seemingly uncomfortable, with her back on the armrest and her legs over the other armrest.

"Your books came in." The unnamed librarian looked over to Teresa as she spoke in her always quiet tone of voice. Of course, what she'd said was hardly surprising. Teresa's stack of books had already been on the desk. Delightes for Ladies, De Motu Cordis, Lesser Key of Solomon... and others. Some of those others were also banned in this part of England by the Church, but this librarian always had a way of getting the books people requested. "As always, I suggest you do away with them after you finish reading or otherwise hide them. If you're caught, you never heard of me... and, just out of curiosity, how exactly do you plan on carrying 14 books all the way to your dorm?"

Littlemankitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Victoria Aggymare's story had started elsewhere from the others. She was in a different class schedule from them, and thus, Professor Gray's class would actually be her next class, and the class that she'd been in was Mathematics with Professor Blake. The woman was far more agreeable than Professor Gray, and of course, this meant that Victoria wasn't the subject of a random test. Once class was over, Victoria had waited for everyone to leave the room before she left herself, with Professor Blake watching her go. Not that Victoria would have noticed.

Her first stop was the dining hall. Evidently she was hungry, and with free period before the awful Professor Gray's class, it'd be nice to not go in cranky from hunger or anything. Victoria had taken her seat far away from the bustling room's commotion. It was a large room as it had to have been in order to accommodate the entire college, and it was outfitted with several nondescript paid servants dancing around and about, delivering meals to this person or that who'd ordered such food. Victoria raised her hand to call one such servant over, who made audible clicking noises on her heels as she approached, just to make sure Victoria knew she was coming.

"Bonjour." Victoria heard the sound come from her upper right, a mere few feet away. The woman's voice was silky and smooth, yet monotonous in a way that sounded disinterested. She was an odd maid who seemed to service Victoria more often than any other, and by now the sound of her sharp heels and french accent was familiar. "The usual I'd assume, Ms. Aggymare? It'll be ready shortly." The sound of heels walking off announced her departure. They were just as audible as ever, even in the hustle and bustle of the room. From there, Victoria simply waited. And waited.

And she heard the sounds of someone else approaching... two someones. The footsteps stopped at her table, and promptly, three knocks sounded on the wood. "Good day, Victoria! Wonderful to see you. I suppose you have free period as well?" Said a cheerful voice with an Irish accent. That was Madeline, she remembered. Madeline was a cheerful young woman who entered Victoria's life randomly when she saw her sitting alone, much as she was now. She had approached her, sat down, and ate with her because "she looked lonely."

The gentle sound of clothes shuffling and wood creaking indicated that she'd decided to do so again... that second person was also likely Bridgette, a friend of Madeline's. They've spoken a few times.

exalted

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Charisma check; moderate. Adelaide = 16.]

Her mistress seemed none the wiser as Adelaide entered with her snacks. She kept her best poker face maintained on her features that hopefully masked her nervousness, and as she was placing the saucers down, Penelope continued to ignore her. As normal. She flipped page after page on her book, reading the text with seemingly no interest displayed on her pale, beautiful face. Finally, it seemed the moment of truth had come. Adelaide watched as Penelope reached over to the tea cup filled with piping hot liquid. She pinched the handle between two fingers, lifted it to her lips, and...

"..." She took a sip and returned it to its position. The momentary tension seemed to pass after this action, with Penelope continuing to read from her book, occasionally flipping the pages without a care for anything around her. Peace settled into the room, and minutes passed... how silly it seemed for Adelaide to have gotten worked up, now. All along there had been no problem—

She first heard the voices. Frantic, and high-pitched, like women hurrying to speak. Then there were the stomps. Harsh thudding noises that somehow seemed more audible than the girls, coming closer and closer to the door of the study. Then, a mountain of a man crashed through the doors. "PENELOPE BEZZENBERGER!" His voice was loud and booming, demanding all who listen to it to look towards him... all except for Penelope, who merely turned a page in her book.

Adelaide knew this man. Alcott Armstrong, the patriarch of House Cromwell and the leader of the unofficial Lacuna Police. He was a strong and demanding man who looked every bit as he was, standing at a height of 7'0" exactly and with muscles threatening to ruin his uniform. He had a reputation for being intense, with strong moral convictions that he wouldn't hesitate to force on others, even if his methods are supposedly peaceful. Adelaide had met the man personally before... or rather, Penelope had and she was there. Penelope had always rubbed Alcott the wrong way with her dismissive attitude, but that surely wasn't enough to explain his purpose barging into the study.

"PENELOPE BEZZENBERGER! YOU HAVE BEEN EVADING MY MESSAGES AND DENYING ME A MEETING FOR TOO LONG! THE MOST RECENT RUMORS OF YOUR STUDENTS HEADING INTO THE GLOOMY WOODS IS CONCERNING TO THE LACUNA POLICE! YOUR CONTINUED RESISTANCE TO OUR WORK IS ALARMING, SO I AM HEREBY PULLING MY AUTHORITY TO FORCE A CHECK OF ALL OF YOUR DORMS! AS IS CUSTOMARY, I AM WARNING YOU BEFOREHAND, BUT I'VE ALREADY BROUGHT MY MEN AND WE WILL BEGIN THE SEARCH SHORTLY!" ... Oh, so that's what this was about.

For anyone else in the college short of a teacher, this was a massive abuse of power and a breach in privacy and security. But Alcott Armstrong had always seen himself as his own authority, and the teachers generally don't enforce the rules when he's involved because he's technically working in their favor. He could actually do just as he said... yet, even so, Penelope seemed totally unconcerned. Adelaide shouldn't expect anything less. The rumors about Blackburn students venturing into the woods with strange masks and torches was totally unfounded. As the closest person to Penelope, she knew that her sister had nothing to do with anything of the sort, thus they were unfounded rumors.

Penelope finally closed the book she'd been reading after bending the corner of her page, and she placed it on top of the side table next to her snacks. She turned to glance at Alcott who stood in the center of the room, then turned to the shaking Blackburn students who failed to stop him... then to Adelaide, all with her usual impassive expression. "Leave us." Was her simple command as she waved to the door. "Tell the servants to fetch some honey from the market while you're out, then take a break. I'll call for you when I need you."

Blue56

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"Fared better?" Madeline's question was rhetorical, and she reached to show the paper she had in her hand. '29.' "Science has never agreed with me much, 'fraid to say, and like you said, men like Professor Gray aren't exactly impressing it on me already. I vastly prefer Mathematics with Professor Blake. At least then you get some eye candy along with the lecture." She shrugged nonchalantly and went to pocket her paper. For a Cromwell student, Madeline had never been the most devoted to learning or the brightest student when it came to the usual Cromwell subjects. Rather, she preferred politicking and the Arcane... still, she had the attitude of a Cromwell student, so everyone is just grateful she's never cracked the formula to making Spells.

The redhead laughed at Bridgette's words, looking to the clearly distracted Professor Gray and the well-endowed nun. "Both, maybe..? James always seemed like the type who wanted what he couldn't get!" The subsequent offer Bridgette gave afterwards was, predictably, met with a word of affirmation, and the two were off to the dining hall.

It was a spacious room as it had to have been in order to accommodate the entire college, and it was outfitted with several nondescript paid servants dancing around and about, delivering meals to this person or that who'd ordered such food. Bridgette could spot a few familiar faces as well, all of acquaintances and such people. None of them will be named and none of them will be given much appearance description because they are not NPCs. "Hm... oh, there she is!" Both Madeline and Bridgette spotted someone on the outskirts of the room, at a table by her lonesome. This person was a friend of Madeline's, and someone Bridgette had spoken to briefly every now and again.

Madeline approached her friend cheerfully, and knocked three times on the table her friend had been stationed at. "Good day, Victoria! Wonderful to see you. I suppose you have free period as well?"

This particular friend of Madeline's was Victoria Aggymare, a rather quiet girl who was apart of House Varnham. She was blind but sensitive to sound, so whenever she'd have to enter the dining hall to get food, she'd seclude herself in the furthest table away from everyone else, which coincidentally had her sticking out of the corner of the room like a sore thumb. Madeline was already moving to sit at the table with her, and raised a hand up to call a nearby servant.

[lilbooth]

Teresa's eye lite up as she entered the library. It was one of her favorite places on campus. She wished it wasn't so crowded though, it led to her doing most of her reading in her room, but if she couldn't check something out, she would spend hours reading and taking notes in the library. "Merci mademoiselle, they are parfait. She said as she inspected the books. She quickly slipped a few of them into her book bag, but there was still a signifigant amount of books on the counter. "I suppose I will need to enlist some help." She said as she looked around the library. She took a moment to unbutton her top slightly and spruce up her hair before picking out some possible candidates. Her preferred targets were males students and those younger than herself. Her charms could still work on the ladies as well, but men are far easier, and young men are like putty. With so many students in the library she was sure to find one or two people she could get to do her bidding. "Excusez-moi messieurs, would you be able to help to carry some of these books to my dortoir? I would be very grateful for your assistance." She said, laying it on pretty heavy.

[MiscChaos]

Sasha lets out a small sigh of frustration as she reads through the journal. Yes, it's nice to get a refresher on one of the different categories of the Arcane, but it doesn't get her any closer to her ideal world! The researcher doesn't even seem to be sure of his findings! Unless... How quickly the man (or so she assumes) changed his tune seems a touch suspicious. Possibly there was something mind-altering about that tree? Something about it that made the man see things the way it wanted him to see? Could she bend that to her own machinations? If she can use that and convince the world to abandon evil in that manner, then it would be perfect! It has a lot of drawbacks and things to work out however: Is there a time limit on the effects? The journal just has the edit, not when said edit was made or if the author thought to go back and re-edit it when the effects wore off. If she has to reapply the effects, then that opens the possibility of people going back to their evil ways before she notices and that is unacceptable. And then there's the issue of applying it the world over.

Well, it can't hurt anything to look into it. She scours the book for any information on where this Mystery took place before her attention is taken by another student asking for help with carrying books. If no one else is able to, Sasha wouldn't mind assisting the woman. It's the nice thing to do after all. And beyond that the pursuit of knowledge should be helped along as much as possible so long as such knowledge isn't used for evil.

[Blue56]

"Ooh..." Bridgette winces as Madeline reveals her own poor test score. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you did technically fare better than me by a little." She says, placing a sympathetic hand on her friends shoulder, not that Madeline seemed to need such reassurances. Bridgette had suspected as much, but it seemed that if she wanted to help with science, she would have to look elsewhere. But if her fellow Cromwell student wasn't worried about it, then perhaps she shouldn't be as well. Knowledge of the sciences would certainly be useful for her interest in machinery, but maybe impressing their bigoted professor was a fool's errand.

"Oh, really? Professor Blake... Eye candy... I see, see." As the two head off towards the dining hall, Bridgette can't help but perk a curious brow as her friend mentions her unusual reason for preferring mathematics, eventually smiling and nodding at the interesting tidbit. "You may have me beat in science, but perhaps my math scores will be higher if that's what you're focusing on." She playfully teases as they reach their destination.

Making their way through the hall, Bridgette. smiles and waves to the familiar faces she sees. As usual, her friendly nature had won her a number of acquaintances throughout the school, though no one she spent as much time with as Madeline. Unsurprisingly, Madeline already seems to have a table in mind as they head over to a more secluded area where a lone woman sits. "Hello Victoria." Bridgette greets her simply, following her friends lead in knocking on the table to announce her presence to the blind girl, though she suspected Victoria knew she was there regardless, it just seemed the polite thing to do. "How are you doing today? Ah, a fair warning if you have class with Professor Gray today. He's in a foul mood. Sprung a surprise test on us, he did. Although maybe ogling nuns will put him in a better mood for you." She says, giggling and exchanging a knowing look with Madeline. Bridgette had come to expect little conversation from Victoria, whether the other girl didn't like her or was just shy or something else entirely, but she still endeavored nonetheless.

[exalted]

Adelaide's whole body was frozen as she watched in slow motion the tea cup rise to her Mistress's lips and then be placed carefully but effortlessly back on the saucer.... it was coming, the look that always told Adelaide she had failed miserably... any minute... it was coming... no? H-had she gotten away with it?

Sighing in relief she returned to her studies, eyes flicking through the text when suddenly the commotion outside. She was out of her seat before the doors had fully slammed open, by her Mistress's side to shield her from any danger if needed, the tea spoon from the saucer in her hand in case her Mistress ordered her to carve out the intruders spleen with the dull instrument because it would hurt more. Her nostrils flared inside the mask and her lungs heaved with the air she sucked down, oxygenating her blood in case of action. Her eyes stared bloody murder at Armstrong for daring to barge in her like this and interrupt Penelope, the upstart disrespect unforgivable. If he wanted a meeting with her Mistress he should have sent word in writing and informed her politely, not storming in and making demands. She knew she had little chance in a fight with the beast of man, but she would go down fighting with pride for her Mistress who any moment would... tell her to leave?

Her head snapped the side, mask rattling, to stare wide eyed at her Mistress for a moment before snapping back to the man. Her Mistress was just taking this insult sitting down? No, foolish foolish Adelaide, she thought, there was other strategies at play her simple mind couldn't fathom, how dare she question Lady Penelope.

Shoulders slumped and eyes downcast, she hurried out the room, pushing the few other Blackburn students who had been in the hall in front of her. She started to close the large doors to the study behind her, eyes constantly on her Lady, hoping she would change her mind and bid her to stay as usual when she saw her mouth start to move.... the honey?

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Was that why? Was that why she was excluded, shunned, barred from her Lady's side? Stupid! Stupid Adel, how could she have failed her Mistress so? She controlled the honey, not the school or gods above, her, it was her failing and and she had been cast out from her Lady's heart.

Turning on the assembled student, her eyes afire with penitent rage she bored into the souls of the students huddled around the doors.

"Return to your rooms, and do not dishonour your Lady Penelope," she snarled, storming through the shocked mass students.

She headed straight for the kitchens and servants quarters, she knew the way well.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhfuuKiTcYQ

[RandomRoninKitten]

RandomRoninKitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"PAIN OF SUCH MAGNITUDE WILL NOT BE ENOUGH FOR THE FOOL. HE HAS OTHER SENSITIVE PARTS, YES? ALONG WITH BOTH THE RUBBER BAND AND THE CLEAVER, WE WILL TARGET HIS WEAKNESSES AND SEND HIM INTO AN ENDLESS EXISTENCE OF PAIN AND TORTURE UNTIL HE BEGS FOR MERCY." Replied the probably evil bear as Ninette walked to the dining hall. He continued to rant about the many applications of the godlike power they'll soon supposedly gain on some night of a blood red moon or something. Honestly, this wasn't the first time and Mister Doggo Borkinson's rants sometimes mix up into one thing.

They arrived into the familiar room of the dining hall. It was a spacious room as it had to have been in order to accommodate the entire college, and it was outfitted with several nondescript paid servants dancing around and about, delivering meals to this person or that who'd ordered such food. Mister Doggo Borkinson always requested a table closest to the servants' kitchen. He said he liked the smell of cooked meat, but Ninette could hear him giggling evilly as he watched the maids walk out.

One was approaching her now, actually. The clicking of her high heels approached from the right, and Ninette turned to spot the woman. Essentially, she was a maid like all the others, with long gray hair, pale skin, and wearing the typical uniform for the female servants working in the college. "Bonjour, Ms. Nirendranath." This particular maid was someone Ninette knew better than the other servants. She never caught her name, but she was the one who most frequently served her. She had a monotonous French accent that matched her impassive face, and she held herself with a decorum that was proper of a lady in these modern times. "I suppose you and Mister Doggo Borkinson are hungry? What is your craving today?"

Ninette let out a laugh as Mister Doggo Borkinson one-upped her, as usual "Oh, Avenging Destruction God of Soul-Reaving and Eternal Torment Within the 9th Circle, you've once again one-upped me. Truly, nobody can match your unending wisdom and talent." she whispered to him as they made their way to the dining hall.

Ninette liked to be seated near the servant's kitchen as well, regardless of Mister Doggo Borkinson's reasons, which she suspected mirrored her own, so she was always more than happy to follow those instructions, not that she would disobey her best friend anyway. One of these times, she should ask Mister Doggo Borkinson to rate the maids, it would be quite the experience.

She couldn't help but smile when she saw the Maid she recognized best, she was quite cute, and Ninette had gotten the impression that Mister Doggo Borkinson liked her, too. One of these days, she should drug her and do stuff to her in her sleep, it would be oh so very satisfying. "Heeey~! Goodie to see you again~!" When the maid asked her what she wanted to eat, she asked Mister Doggo Borkinson directly and would repeat back to the maid what he had said. "Oh, oh~! What's your name? May I have your name before you serve us?" she would ask after giving her order.

[Littlemankitten]

Victora bowed to the professor politely before she left into the hallway, not saying anything though. No doubt one of the things people would learn about Victoria is she was polite to a fault. Which most of the professors seemed to enjoy at least. Especially Blake who seemed just like a nice person all around. Grey on the other hand seemed to have quite the love hate relationship with Victoria that she could tell. He seemed to treat her better based on the fact she was blind. But also seemed to treat her worse based on the fact she was blind. Really, he seemed indecisive in how he wanted to treat her. Well, he probably enjoyed the fact she could check her out as much as he wanted without her ever knowing.

As she sat down on the table in the corner of the dining hall, she wondered briefly what next class period might have in store for her. She could hear the other students talk on about the surprise test in his class, with some saying it was hard and other's saying it was easy. Well, chances were the people saying it was easy were those privileged Blackburn students who Victoria was convinced get easier tests than the other students just to artificially up their reputation further. Regardless, chances were Victoria would have a rough time even if she could see. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind when she heard the familiar sound and voice of her frequent maid. "Ah yes, the usual. Thank you." She said almost in a whisper, the maid probably didn't even hear her, not that it mattered. The usual for her being a dish pretty heavy on the meat. Victoria's favorite food group being meat, as back in her mothers house she was often fed moldy bread and rotten vegetables, without a piece of fresh cooked meat ever touching her lips for a few years. As Victoria waited, she mentally recaped everything she remembered being taught in Gray's class, even things she didn't think would be on the test, just in case. That was until she hear more footsteps approach, and the knocking on her table.

She looked towards Madeline and Bridgett, well, towards as in looking slightly above them. At least she got their direction on point. "Yes, this is my free period before Gray's class." She nodded and smiled sweetly at the two. "I am well, thank you, and you? ... So I hear, many of the people here are talking about the test, I take it you two have already taken it? How did you do?" Victoria choose to ignore the comment about the nun. She spoke in a quiet tone that often had breaks between words, as if she was thinking carefully about what she was going to say. Or conversely, as if she was forcing herself to speak. Her voice could be considered quite pleasant to listen to however.

[Mark3000]

As Professor Grey tutored her, Margaret could feel the love he had of science and his affinity for teaching. Though he could be a bit rude at times. But he was quick to apologize so Margaret simply smiled and took things in stride. So engrossed was she in the lesson that she didn't notice his hand against her thigh. Once he started to stroke, the nun froze for a moment. Perhaps she had sent the wrong signal to the professor. They were rather close.

Before she could respond, Professor Gray was off to attend to business. Giving him wave goodbye, Margaret decided to study a bit longer. Then as a gesture of goodwill, she decided to tidy up their study space before leaving.

A little tired after the tutoring session, Margaret heads to the dining hall to eat. Hopefully, she still had time in her free period to mingle with a few of the other students.

[devilbird]

Josephine whistled a dark little tune as she waltzed through the doors and out into the woods. The Gloomy Woods caused her to scoff at the tales the other students had told about it. None of them had proof that anything had happened to the missing students, if indeed they did exist. Instead, they had simply gotten lost and were too stupid to find their way out. Batlath'sel might prove that such creatures existed, but didn't necessarily prove that anything like that lurked in these woods. Josephine would need evidence of such a being before deciding on how to act upon it. If anything was involved in making those students disappear, it was more likely to be the Blackburn students that wandered out here at night. They were clearly some sort of secret society. Perhaps they were performing some sort of ritual sacrifice? That last thought got Josephine to pause and indulge in it. It might be in her best interests to investigate that as well. If there is a threat, she should know. And should she obtain proper evidence, maybe she could blackmail a few to be in her pocket.

Josephine continued to skip through the woods, jovially humming her morbid dirge. Even with Batlath'sel guiding her, she made sure that she marked trees and broke branches as she went. He wouldn't necessarily guide her back, and she refused to get lost as easily as those other morons. Finally she was lead to the unnatural tree that violated and disturbed the ground around it. She approached the grotesque vegetation and analyzed it. She grinned to herself as she looked it over, as this was far more interesting than the usual menial tasks that her 'friend' often set her up with. The glinting of the blade caught her eye, and she moved to investigate. Without the hilt, she would most assuredly cut herself trying to retrieve the blade with her hands. Instead, she reached into her book bag and retrieved the first book that she could grab. General sciences, how fitting. She closed the book around the blade, and twisted while lifting, trying to wrench the metal shard free.

[mrblah]

WORLD DELUSION
A sudden earthquake takes the College of Lacuna by surprise. Everywhere in its buildings, the effects of this event are felt by the students of the college. The sheer destruction is awe-inspiring and terrible, with some parts of its buildings being irreparably damaged, and some being harmed in its wake. The very ground cracks and fissures with a pressure unlike any other, and pure darkness bled out from these cracks, unseen by the human eye. The darkness took root in the skies above, changing day to night in the span of a mere few seconds. And as the sun was consumed by this treacherous night, its essence was poured to the earth below to flit and flutter as nothing but dust.

Yet none of this happened. In truth, the college had no such issues and the students there were milling about in their daily activities. However, in an event so unprecedented as to have never happened before, it had a record-breaking number of people both faculty and students drop unconscious mysteriously. It's a wonder of what these people may be dreaming of..? To them, are they dreaming of something so real as to be harmful? Or perhaps, it's simply all an elaborate delusion?

Whether real or fake, there exists an undeniable lurker deep within the dreams of these unfortunate few.

devilbird

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Effort roll; 15. Success! -3% to Energy.]

The blade extraction was successful, with little damage done to her book as well. Josephine was able to closely examine the shard in its entirety, and discovered that it seemed to be changing colors, from the same gray of the tree to a whiter silver. How curious... she didn't have time to dwell on it for much longer.

Josephine's first sign that something was wrong, was the rumbling. It was like the growling of a hungry beast's stomach, and it seemed to come straight from the tree itself. Then, following the sound, the ground began to shake and she was almost forced to the ground. The wind picked up around her, and the trees all seemed to elongate upwards into the sky in the forms of twisted shadows. She felt small. Smaller than anything in the world, like an ant gazing upon a mighty giant. Faces lighted in the dark. Voices began to whisper, growing louder, and louder, and louder... then it was dark. She felt cold, and couldn't feel the subtle weight of her clothes... but her eyes were closed. And when Josephine realized that her eyes were closed, she remembered to open them.

The first thing Josephine saw was Batlath'sel. He'd been hovering in front of her, appearing from the ground as if he were a shadow in the third dimension. Looking past him, she could see the gray tree he'd directed her to. Its wood seemed darker, and little lights like fireflies danced over its visage... no, wait, those were everywhere. Every which way Josephine turned, she spotted the lights dancing in the air, and everything looking darker and less colorful in comparison. Wait... it was darker because it was night. How did time pass by so quickly?

[Task complete! Reward; +3 to Logic, +3 to Craftiness, +2 to Charisma.]

Mark3000

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Evidently, she did. The halls were still occupied with passerby students, some she knew to have a similar schedule as she did and some who didn't. Few of them waved as she passed by, but many of them didn't bother even if they had shared many classes with her. It wasn't new behavior to Margaret. With her status as an openly faithful and very devout nun, some were intimidated by her as if she'd bring the wrath of God himself down upon their heads. Others who weren't so were instead simply wary.

It happened while Margaret was still passing through the hall. A sudden rumble and violent shaking rocked the ground beneath her mid step, causing the nun to stumble and fall forward into a man in the same position as herself. The two toppled to the floor with Margaret on top, and the man's surprised responding yelp combined with the panicked screaming of those around who realized what was happening; obviously, it was an earthquake. The windows of the hallway were blown open by a vicious wind that put out the torches in the hall, plunging the panicking students into darkness. Margaret had trouble seeing, but she could still hear the screaming. She could feel the shaking through her human cushion's body. The chaos persisted, worsening and worsening until...

Nothing. Nothing but a cold darkness, and the feeling of nothingness. Margaret couldn't even feel her clothes. She couldn't even think thoughts properly, until one seemed to drift into her mind as an answer to her predicament. She needed to open her eyes, as they were closed. And once Margaret realized she could so easily escape the dark which she found herself in, she did.

The first oddity was the missing warm beneath her, and the cold and hard ground that replaced it. The second were the firefly-like lights she spotted once she sat up. The third was the fact that she was the only one in the hallway, with no one else around. Not the man she accidentally tackled, nor any of the passerby students who waved or ignored her. It was just her in the empty halls... and, strangely enough, it was night now when it had just been a bright afternoon. What happened?

MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

At first, it seemed like her fellow student would have no problems transporting her books with the amount of volunteers she had, but then they'd all somehow gotten into a fight over who got to help her. They hadn't yet come to blows, but a few of them had been arguing loudly and pushing one another. The librarian seemed to be getting involved as she walked over to the idiots, and a few severe yet quiet sentences cut through the tension like a knife. She easily disarmed them... but the conflict had served to discourage those who weren't involved. Typical men. Sasha would have to help the student after all.

Sasha had taken but a few steps towards the librarian's desk, when it happened. A sudden rumble, and a violent shaking had thrown her off balance. She had to grab hold of the bookshelf to her side to keep herself from falling to the floor, but she'd dropped the mystery journal to the floor. "EARTHQUAKE!!" Someone had shouted out in panic, and some other shouts followed the example. Panic was sweeping the library was it rocked back and forth, with books and other items falling to the ground to break, and the chandeliers above shaking. It seemed like the whole library would collapse in on itself at any minute, and Sasha couldn't steady herself enough to get on her feet and run. The windows leading into the library blew open and violent winds rushed in to add to the crisis. The lights were blown out and the room fell dark. Sasha heard a terrible creaking noise to her left and felt the bookcase tilting in her direction, then... darkness.

And coldness, like she'd been thrown blindfolded into a lake. She couldn't feel any subtle weight of clothing on her body, nor could she hear, smell, or sense anything. Even as she moved her body, it felt like she'd just been drifting in the dark and couldn't tell if her body was actually moving. Then, a sudden realization came to Sasha. If she couldn't see, it must have been because her eyes were closed. She tried to open them, and the world returned to her.

Everything... seemed to be fine, oddly enough. The library had fallen rather dark, with the only thing lighting the large room being the out-of-place moonlight from outside. Sasha could see small balls of light that reminded her of fireflies in every direction she looked, simply floating about as if they had every business being there. But, the strangest thing wasn't the firefly-like lights. The library which had been well-occupied with many students was almost entirely empty, with only two other occupants in the room. The librarian, who had gone pale as a ghost and was leaning against a bookcase, and the student Sasha intended to help, who remained at her same place. This situation was entirely too strange.

"... God, not again." The quiet voice of the librarian broke the silence. Not again?

RandomRoninKitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Mister Doggo Borkinson had wanted the souls of the damned children stuck on the pathway between life and hell, and when this was repeated to the maid, she merely impassively nodded with an 'understood' as if this were a common and totally normal request. She had seemed a little taken off guard by the ask for her name. "Name, you say? You wish to know the name of this simple maid? I'm no one special, really." She seemed to pause for a moment, a hand to her chin as she adopted a blank expression... or, well, she already had one from the beginning. "Très bien. I see no issue with telling you my name. Once, I was called—"

Before the maid could even get the first syllable of her name out, the room shook with all the force of a crumbling tower. She had to steady herself on Ninette's table with a wide-eyed look. "This is... Ms. Nirendranath!" Suddenly, the maid lunged towards Ninette with her arms outstretched, tackling her to the floor as a piece of the ceiling came crashing down on where she had been. The force of the tackle had almost knocked Mister Doggo Borkinson away, who laughed maniacally. "IT BEGINS. IT BEGINS. THE HOUR OF DOOM."

All around them, the dining hall seemed to devolve into chaos. Panicking students screamed in terror as the room seemed to crack and break apart. Students at their tables would fall from their benches to the harsh floor as would servants, and the chandeliers above would shake and break off from the ceiling to crush any unfortunate soul beneath them. All the while, the maid clung onto Ninette as the world seemed to come crashing down, and soon... at some point, there was nothing but darkness and coldness.

It felt like she was drifting in nothingness. Ninette couldn't feel her legs. Or her feet, or her arms, or anything, not even her clothes. She couldn't feel Mister Doggo Borkinson. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her. Just a cold feeling, like she'd been thrown out into the wind nude. Then, she heard a familiar chuckling, and remembered... right, she closed her eyes. Ninette opened them to see the world. Mister Doggo Borkinson was laughing in her arms. The maid was by her side with a hand to her head. The dining hall was... completely fine. No chandeliers were broken, no tables had been smashed, no blood had been spilled. The only difference between then and now were the firefly-like balls of light floating in the room just about everywhere and the moonlight coming in from the shattered windows. Wasn't it midday last she checked outside?

Everyone seemed to be gone, except for Ninette herself, Mister Doggo Borkinson, the maid, and three woman at a table.

lilbooth

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

More than a few fidgety hands raised to meet with Teresa's request, but a few bolder figures had instead tried to approach her directly. They clashed into one another in their rush to get to her, and inevitably fell into a brief conflict that seemed to take up everyone's attention. "Oh, brother..." The librarian snapped her book closed with a glare and got up to march over to the idiots. Disappointingly, this seemed to curb the enthusiasm of her other possible helpers. Just as she decided to try and take the whole stack herself, Teresa saw a woman standing up and looking over to—

A sudden rumble came before it, but not quick enough to warn those in the library of what seemed to be an earthquake. Teresa's books tumbled to the ground as she almost did, but she managed to grab hold of the librarian's desk to steady herself. Surprised wails and shouts sounded through the usually silent library. "Everyone, stay calm! This is just an earthquake! It'll pass!" She heard someone shouting out over everyone else's voice, but Teresa had no time to focus on that. The windows leading into the library had blown open, and a cold wind has cruelly rushed in. Many books and papers were blown away, and the candles on the overhead chandelier were blown out as the chandelier itself began to swing back and forth hectically. It looked like it could fall at any moment... but wait, wasn't there a second one above her?

It happened faster than she could blink. The chain holding the chandelier above her head had snapped, and the iron likely weighing more than half her weight came dropping down at a speed that promised her death if she remained under it, but she didn't even have the time to dodge it. Instead, Teresa could only watch in as it came down, closer, and closer, and closer... then it was dark.

And cold. It was very cold. She'd checked to see if she were still wearing her clothes considering how cold she felt, but all that met her touch was air where her body should be. Shocked, she opened her eyes to see what had happened, and discovered that... everything was fine. Ish.

The library had fallen rather dark, with the only thing lighting the large room being the out-of-place moonlight from outside. Teresa could also see small balls of light that reminded her of fireflies in every direction she looked, simply floating about as if they had every business being there. But that wasn't the oddest thing. The library which had been well-occupied with many students was all but empty, and she could see only two other people in the room with her. The librarian, who had gone pale as a ghost and was leaning against a bookcase, and the woman from before, who was on the ground.

"... God, not again." The quiet voice of the librarian broke the silence.

Littlemankitten and Blue56

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The inside joke was equally as amusing to Madeline who laughed alongside her friend, up until their grades were mentioned. "Well..." The red-haired woman pulled out the test papers she'd kept on her, then remembered that Victoria was blind and couldn't see them. Victoria heard the papers being taken out and unfolded. "Er, just about as terrible as expected. You know how Professor Gray feels about ladies with beautiful red hair." Madeline shrugged. "Wonder what he'd do if he ever met an Irish nun... do you think the nun part would—"

A sudden rumbling cut off Madeline's joke. The rumbling was followed by the violent shaking of the ground beneath them, and screams of surprise and terror rang out through the hall as it began. "EARTHQUAKE!!" Someone shouted loudly, and as if triggering the panic and the end of the world, destruction followed.

Students at their tables would fall off their benches, the servants would topple to the floor, the ground beneath them would crack and break, and the chandeliers high above would swing and break, crashing down to the ground below to crush tables and likely the bodies of those beneath it. The screams of fear grew louder as the shaking and destruction persisted, and a terrible cracking noise was heard high above in the ceiling. Was... was the room going to collapse? Victoria and Bridgette heard Madeline shout something out about getting under the table, but it was too late. The ceiling above the dining hall cracked one final time, and then... darkness. And coldness.

They felt like they were floating. Both Victoria and Bridgette enjoyed a brief period of total sensory deprivation, until the light came to them as they remembered... they only had to open their eyes to see. Yet, what they saw was even more questionable than the period of nothingness and the earthquake, mostly because it seemed like nothing happened. The dining hall was completely fine. No chandeliers were broken, no tables had been smashed, no blood had been spilled. The only difference between then and now were the firefly-like balls of light floating in the room just about everywhere and the moonlight coming in from the shattered windows. When did the sun set?

No one was inside, except for themselves, Madeline, a shorter girl with a teddy bear and one of the female servants. They all seemed to be in the exact same spots they had been when the panic started. "... You two okay?" Madeline asked the question that had a very obvious answer.

exalted

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

The students who'd accompanied Alcott had jumped as Adelaide addressed them, and they quickly curtsied with a 'right away, ma'am' as they hurried to leave, all too eager to escape from the woman seen as the right hand servant of Penelope Bezzenberger. Not that such skittish behavior was so unexpected. Adelaide had a bit of a reputation in both the Blackburn House and the student body itself, both for her close association to Penelope and her somewhat intimidating and mysterious mask. Though, the extent of her reputation was moreso used to add onto Penelope's magnificence. Some had seen her as some mystery creature that she tamed, though, in some ways that wasn't too far from the truth.

Adelaide was passing through the halls in the Blackburn building on her way to their private kitchen when it happened. A sudden shaking of the building caught her off guard, and she had felt like she'd been thrown to the wall in order to steady herself. It was a strong rumble that seemed to almost be breaking the very hall she was walking through. Cracks appeared in the floor she'd been near, and she could hear the sounds of shrieking further down the hall in the kitchen. There was no doubt in her mind that this was an earthquake. But more importantly, she was away from her mistress in a time of crisis!

If there was ever an attempt made to get back to the study, it was defeated by more shaking and chaos. It felt like the whole building was about to collapse as Adelaide dropped to the ground after a mistimed step. The world seemed to flip on itself, and after an extended amount of shaking and cracking, it seemed like the situation would only end in a terrible, lethal tragedy... but just before then, Adelaide was greeted by darkness. A cold, yet almost comforting darkness that took her away from the world. From all her worries and feelings... and indeed, she couldn't feel anything. Not her clothes, not the mask that had always been fixated to her face... nothing.

Until she opened her eyes, and saw everything. The hall looked completely intact as if it hadn't just suffered an earthquake, with nothing seeming amiss, except for the fact that it seemed to be night instead of day, and the presence of strange balls of light fluttering around everywhere she could see. What happened? What was going on?

NOTICE

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

For the duration of this encounter, the situation will be played out as if it were in a "soft" combat mode. That means that player movement will be limited to room-to-room and mapped. Actions that wouldn't be free in a Delusion but would be outside of one, will not be free. Furthermore, there will be no Sanity or Energy regen, and most importantly, an Entity will be spawned every few posts or so. Things will happen if the monster catches you.

[Mark3000]

Margaret felt a little lonely walking down the hallway. Most of the other students tended to avoid even making eye contact with her. She had been quite open about her faith to the student body hoping they might join her in worship. But instead of seeking out God's love, the students here feared his wrath. It didn't matter though, it just meant the determined nun would have to do a better job of presenting the lord's message.

But before she could get something to eat, the ground began to shake. It took everything for Margaret to keep her footing. But even then she couldn't keep herself from stumbling over on top of a stranger. Just as she was starting to panic, the world went dark. I wasn't long until the feeling of nothingness enveloped her. It was as if she was falling through a bottomless abyss. Even her mind was freezing up. It wasn't until the stray thought of opening her eyes occurred to her.

Once they were open, Margaret frantically searched for anyone, but the hallway was empty. Even the man she had fallen on was missing. Not to mention it was night out. Confused and frightened, Margaret continued to follow the Hallway to the Dining Hall. It was the most likely place to fight other students. Though she had to admit the lights fluttering through the air were beautiful.

[MiscChaos]

Sasha sighs at the silliness of the men before her. While she supposes lust is a necessary vice for the continuation of the human race, the fellows before her that have gone from potentially assisting the young woman to majorly inconveniencing take that vice just a bit too far. While she's happy the librarian takes care of the riff raff, that does mean the young woman is now unaided. She should fix that.

As she stands up to assist, the world seems to be trying to shake itself apart! There are earthquakes and then there's whatever ungodly horror this is! She can't even get a grip on anything to assist her in moving away from anything too dangerous! And she fully expects to pay for that when she sees a bookcase begins falling on her and she has just enough time to regret it happening. She hasn't brought forth the new world yet! She can't die here! But there's nothing for it. When the world goes dark, she simply thinks that's how death works. There's that mess that she's supposed to be greeted by a heavenly being who is supposed to judge her life, but she can't say she's surprised there isn't. If said being existed, then she wouldn't need to be the one to bring in a glorious world. Said being would have already done it. At the very least she finds herself disappointed that her daughter isn't waiting for her. Maybe her pure soul has gone into another life? Is that what Sasha herself is waiting for? But she can't leave yet! What if her dear Anna is born back into this utterly disgusting world!? No, she won't allow it! The force of her refusal causes her to open her eyes and see that no, she's not quite done with the mortal realm just yet. And she sighs a breath of relief for it.

Then she takes in her surroundings and becomes worried again. Where did the fireflies come from? After a moment to think, she remembered the lights blowing out so she expected to be in total darkness so while the floating lights are appreciated, the mystery of how they arrived needs questioning. And then there's also the question of where did her follow students go. If she was unable to stand, then she doubts they all ran away. And given what the boys almost fought over, she doubts they would have run away without either taking the young woman with them to endear her to them or the librarian for petty vengeance. Yet here they are, the only people she can see besides herself. She takes a moment to inspect them because she can't feel her clothes so looking them over will tell them if she has her clothes without the embarrassment of looking over herself. "Again, you say? Madame Librarian, do you have any further ideas on just what in the world is going on?" She says, needing the information badly. Then she takes a moment and looks over the both of them again. "For that matter, are the both of you OK? The events that happened before this were... worrying."