Y2 WIP Adventures (come and proof-read!)

[Metis]

Heart Matters, stage 9:

Spoiler

Back at the Infirmary the nurse there is thoroughly unamused at the idea of Monika having "an entire circus" showing up to see her again, but Becker is able to convince the nurse that critically important family matters came up that cannot be postponed. The nurse is either unable or unwilling to argue against that, so with a shrug she lets the four of you go. After she leaves Ralf quietly mumbles something about it being a good thing that Becker was able to take point there, since that made it easy for him to hide Mizuchi. Right, Familiars are not allowed in the Infirmary. Kinda forgot about that detail.

As for Monika, she seems to be sleeping in her room. Ralf has a noticeable reaction to seeing Monika, but of course he doesn't say anything. In part because he seems to be choking on his own words, admittedly. "You four stand back, please," Mizuchi suddenly says. "I'll take it from here...and I suspect Monika will be more at ease without an entire crowd looming over her."

You've no objection to that, and if anyone else does they're biting their tongue, so the four humans slowly shuffle into a corner while the small snake jumps from Ralf's hand onto Monika's bed and slithers up to her sleeping face.

This would be such a concerning sight in just about any other context, but fortunately you know Ralf's Familiar isn't out to hurt Monika.

"Awaken," Mizuchi commands using her "dramatic" Glamour voice. You're not sure if that's the most effective way to wake her up, but if Ralf isn't objecting you're not either. Regardless it doesn't seem to work the first time, but a few attempts later and Monika is starting to stir.

"Hmm...Mizuchi?" Monika mumbles, but given the otherwise dead silence in the room you're still able to hear it pretty clearly. "R-ralf? Wh-where is Ralf?"

"He will visit you again, don't worry. But we need to discuss something equally important, first," Mizuchi answers, but you're guessing from Monika's sad whimpers that she doesn't agree. "I speak the truth, as I always do. Your family wishes to speak with you."

Again, can't exactly make out what noise Monika is making, but the disagreement is undeniable.

"Enough," Mizuchi calmly commands. Surprisingly it works perfectly, the noise Monika was making falls silent. "Monika, your caretaker has been running around, panicked, over your feelings. I cannot claim to read her mind, so I cannot speak to how she feels, but all the same I'm sure she wants to hear what you have to say to her." No response this time, at least that you can hear. "Speak, Monika. I also need to hear your voice."

You think Monika does actually respond to that, but it's too quiet for you to hear. At least you sincerely hope she did. If Monika refuses to talk to Mizuchi, than you will run out of idea very quickly...

Mizuchi, for her part, shakes her head. You're not sure if Monika can see her, though. "Monika, forget about Ralf for a moment. There are others who-" Mizuchi starts, but even you can see that Monika refuses to hear any of it. "Why?" Mizuchi eventually asks. Unfortunately you could not hear what prompted the question, and cannot hear Monika's answer to it any better. "Alright. Monika, open your eyes and look at me."

Monika does open her eyes, but based on some subtle movements of Mizuchi's tail you're guessing that she won't be able to see everyone else here. Not that she seems particularly aware of her surroundings, to be fair. She's focussed on Mizuchi, and her fever can't be helping her any. "Your fever is making your body feel weak. No energy to think, no strength to hold it all back. Is that right?" Mizuchi asks. Monika nods. "I understand, but Ralf is not the only one who can offer you a shoulder. Your caretaker is around as well. She will not see those tears if you don't show them to her, and she cannot comfort you if she doesn't know you're crying. Do you understand that?"

This time Monika shakes her head, and she seems to clam up a bit. Even Mizuchi isn't sure how to respond to that at first, merely asking Monika why she feels that way. "They don't want me," Monika quietly answers. But since she's speaking (relatively) clearly the otherwise dead silence makes it possible to hear her. Mizuchi asks Monika how she knows that. "People like me often make the same mistake our parents did. Becker told me what mistake I'll likely make, made me swear up and down I wouldn't, but she knows I will. She's trying to arrange for the help I'd need to make sure I wouldn't, but...she'll be too late. That's why. It'd be easier for her if everyone just forgot about me..."

Becker can't help but look away at this point. You also let your gaze drop. Awkward as it is to be the third or even fourth wheel, there's worse positions you could be right now...

Mizuchi, speaking of, briefly stares perplexed at Monika's answer before shaking herself out of it as best she can. "Alright. Monika, can you hold out a little longer?" she asks. Monika nods, but you're not sure if you believe it. She's shaking. "Good. Now, listen carefully to me: It seems you cannot extend a hand out to your family, talk to them about how you feel and ask them for the care, and attention, you truly need. They, in turn, cannot take or push away that hand, since they do not know how you feel and what you need. That silent stalemate between you and your family, moreso than anything your parents did, I'm sure is what is putting you at risk of doing something you'd later regret. Is that something you can believe as well?"

Monika has to think about it, but after a tense moment, she nods.

"Then let me explain what I think you should do: Once this fever has passed, think about how you feel. About your family, about yourself, about what you feel will lead you down the wrong path. Ask someone to help you figure it out, if you need it. Once you are ready, talk to your family, face to face. Explain to them the situation you're in, show them how you really feel. I don't know if your family will accept or push you away, but this stalemate needs to end. Does this sound like a good plan?"

Monika is hesitant to admit it, but after Mizuchi points out to her that she doesn't want to continue to feel the way she does, she does slowly nod.

"I understand this is a life changing decision for you. I will not deny that. However, I also genuinely believe that this is the best way forward for you, and I wish to see you as Ralf wishes to see you - happy." That last part earns Mizuchi a stifled sob from Monika, though Mizuchi doesn't let that stop her. "Monika, dry your tears, and hear these words: On my family's honor, I vow and promise to assist you with this as best as I am able. If you need a listening ear, or someone to push you forward, or if confronting your family alone proves too much and you need someone like me to act as an intermediary, or support, simply ask. Ralf will not object, and if my form proves any issue, my Glamours will provide an answer." It's hard to tell, but you think Monika looks relieved. "Now, I can find Ralf and bring him here, but I also know your caretaker is around, and in need of seeing the condition you are in. If you are not ready, or don't feel well enough to face her right now, I won't force you to. However, I also refuse to lie to her. Can you promise me that you will seek to end the stalemate between your parents and try to avoid not just the mistake your family fears, but the mistake you fear that, without proper and informed guidance, you might commit? Swear you will, convince me of your sincerity, and I can tell your caretaker that I have done the best I can with a clear conscious. Than I will feel comfortable with bringing Ralf here, instead."

It takes Monika a moment to find the words, and the courage, but clearer than she's said anything so far she is able to get out, "I vow and promise, on my love for Ralf, that I will do just that."

Ralf, for his part, looks like he has a minor heart attack hearing that. Poor kid.

"That will certainly be enough to convince me," Mizuchi says. And indeed, her voice has all the confidence she could wish for. "I will bring him, he is not far. And Monika? I know he is not your family, but regardless, once he is here, hold nothing back. He will not know how you feel unless you show him, or tell him, either."

Monika nods, one last time, as she stifles another sob and crawls beneath her bed's sheets. Meanwhile the peanut gallery is standing around like convicts at their own execution, awaiting Mizuchi jumping off the bed, slithering over, and addressing the rest of the room after getting back to Ralf's shoulder.

"My Glamour can dull Monika's already weakened senses, but I'm no professor," Mizuchi says to probably three of you. Ralf...well, he's got his work cut out for him. Not that he isn't anxious to get to Monika and start comforting her, mind, the poor boy is just thoroughly lost and out of his element. Thankfully Mizuchi is also here, and you know she's good at whispering good advice into people's ears. "You three, I deeply regret this turn of events, I truly did not expect to end up in this position, but regardless...try to make a stealthy exit if you can. Monika, I believe, would benefit from some space right now."

"Of course," Tulia says with a smile on her face. Sadly it's fake. "Just, eh...I'm not very good at, you know, sneaking. And I get the feeling miss Becker hasn't taken any classes in cat burglary either, so...[PC FIRST NAME], any ideas?"

To end your journey into helping one very wayward caretaker and her even more lonely ward like this...how embarrassing...

-Creativity. Escape through the window.
--These private Infirmary rooms tend to be Glamoured to look like a student's dorm room, and this one is no exception. Of course that means the image of a several story drop you see outside the window is, in fact, not real. In fact when you actually look down you can see the quality of the Glamour noticeably degrade. Which makes sense - creating a realistic view outside a window isn't trivial, and someone sick in bed isn't able to look at the illusion from this angle.

"Mostly just disappointed in your lack of creativity, Tulia," you say, jokingly, as you open the window and casually step through the Glamour illusion it shows of the world outside. Of course looking around you're not entire sure where you are in terms of the Academagia's Grounds, you don't often go to the Infirmary from outside, but worst case you can just wander around until you see a landmark you recognize. The building itself you cannot possibly miss, so there's no risk of accidentally stumbling into Elumia Proper.

"W-what? Where is-that window is not real?" a confused Becker says as she first pokes her head through the window, than awkwardly climbs through it. She might be a regular in the Forum of Naxum, but she is not the athletic sort. "[PC FIRST NAME], what is going on here?"

You quickly explain the situation with the student dorm Glamour, while Tulia - much more easily, though no more gracefully - exits through the window as well. "I'll admit I didn't think of that one, but you realize the nurses are going to get confused and start asking questions when the people they saw walking into Monika's room mysteriously never left, right?"

"You're assuming the same nurse won't step out or go off-shift for any length of time soon. Remember that Becker mentioned 'critical family matters', or something along those lines? I'm sure that could be expected to take a while."

"Fair," Tulia admits. "So, what now? I guess we just wait for Monika to recover and do as Mizuchi made her promise, but...we kind of already know? It's, eh, going to be a touch awkward when Monika works up the courage to break the silence with her family, only to find out they already know, don't you think?"

You cast a quick glance through the window, and see the exact scene you were expecting - Ralf, secretly being advised on what to do by Mizuchi, holding a crying Monika in his arms as she lets out a waterfall of tears. You're not sure why Ralf is so hesitant to admit it, but you're sure he cares for Monika the same way she cares for him, on some level. "I suspect she'll have plenty of new stuff to say by that point too. So, shall we try and find out way back to civilization? I'd rather try and navigate the Grounds than try to break back into the Infirmary again."

"Yeah, let's do that," Tulia says. Becker, for her part, is still eerily quiet, but not much you can do about that. You'll just have to give those two their space, as Mizuchi suggested, and hear about what happened from Tulia sometime later...

--The door is uncomfortably close to Monika's bed, and unless Ralf walks around to the other side Monika is likely to end up staring right at it. Not the most stealthy of exits, but than what self respecting burglar walks in through the front door like that anyhow? They'd climb in through a window. Like the window right there. It's...admittedly a bit of a drop, but you're sure Becker can manage. Tulia can probably cook up some kind of slowfall spell.

You're just going to pointedly ignore your lack of confidence in your own spellcasting there. It's fine, your old fashioned climbing skills will get this job done!

"Mostly just disappointed in your lack of creativity, Tulia," you jokingly say, regretting it a second later as that sounds like an opening for Tulia to question your spellcasting in a minute. Oh, no matter. A bit of climbing will surely impress her enough that it's her turn to show her stuff. You walk over to the window, nod appreciably at how rough the wall below it looks - not sure why it's in such a sad state to be perfectly honest, but hey, you're not going to give the maintenance crew any flack when their laziness helps you out - and casually step through the window, ready to grab hold of some footholds.

Your first foot only finds a perfectly smooth wall, and the resulting fumbling you're not able to recover from, leading you falling out of the window and landing - painfully - on your back on the ground below. Just as you're worried you've broken something from that fall, however, you look up and see the window is, in fact, on the ground floor. What?

Quickly a perplexed Tulia pokes her head out of the window, and you can't help but notice the rest of her body looks a bit...fuzzy. Magically so, in fact. "Is it seriously that hard to step through-wait, don't tell me you forgot private Infirmary rooms are Glamoured to look like student's dorm rooms..."

"Alright," you say with all the dignity your aching spine can muster right now. "I won't tell you. Probably didn't need to, though."

Tulia sighs and climbs out the window. Really, really easily. "W-what? Where is-that window is not real?" a confused Becker says as she pokes her head through the window next, than awkwardly climbs through it. She might be a regular in the Forum of Naxum, but she is not the athletic sort. "[PC FIRST NAME], what is going on here? And are you alright?"

Becker didn't hear what Tulia just said? That Glamour must be sound proof, or at least sound resistant. Good news, you may or may not have let out a panicked yelp when you fell.

"Fine, fine. Just-aargh!" you say, only to try and get up. "Try", key word. "Heh, landed on a bad spot. Tulia, a hand please?" Instead of giving you a hand Tulia lets out a defeated sigh, draws her wand and cast a Revision to mend your injury. At least the worst of it. Good enough, in fact probably better. Afterwards you pick yourself back up. "Thanks. Okay, so..." You look around and realize you actually don't know where you are right now. Somewhere on the Academagia's Grounds right next to the Infirmary, obviously, but you're not familiar with where this is on the outside. "Tulia, do you know where we are? Or-how to get back to civilization, I mean. I don't want to find out whether I can actually break something trying to sneak into the Infirmary, and I trust you don't either."

"I don't know, it could be entertaining," Tulia jokes. Your blank stare apparently only amuses her further, too. "I don't know where this is, but it's not like we'd wander into the Imperial Reserve before we realized we left the Academagia behind us. We can just wander around, we'll find our way back eventually." Wandering around for a while is exactly the thing you don't want to do right now, your back still aches, but you suppose you don't have much choice. "My concern is actually the nurses. Sooner or later they're going to realize the people they saw walking into Monika's room mysteriously never left, and start asking questions, right?"

"You're assuming the same nurse won't step out or go off-shift for any length of time soon. Remember that Becker mentioned critical family matters or something along those lines? I'm sure that could be expected to take a while."

"Fair," Tulia admits. "So, what now? I guess we just wait for Monika to recover and do as Mizuchi made her promise, but...we kind of already know? It's, eh, going to be a touch awkward when Monika works up the courage to break the silence with her family, only to find out they already know, don't you think?"

You cast a quick glance through the window, and happen to look at just the right time to see Ralf lock lips with Monika. Tears are streaming down the poor girl's face, pouring after Ralf's lips touch hers, but she's holding Ralf tightly in her arms while he seems to gently keep her head close to his. Meanwhile, here you are, keenly aware of the potentially long walk you're about to go on while you feel a sharp pain in your back. Sometimes it's just not your day, you suppose. "I, eh...I get the feeling she'll have plenty of new stuff to say by that point too. So, shall we try and find our way back to civilization? Back pain or not I'd rather try and navigate the Grounds than try to break back into the Infirmary again."

"If you're going to want to visit the Infirmary about that it'd be faster to..." Tulia begins, before falling silent. "You know what, never mind that. Let's get going." Becker, for her part, is eerily quiet, but not much you can do about that. You'll just have to give those two their space, as Mizuchi suggested, and hear about what happened from Tulia sometime later...

-Move Silently. Don't make a noise.
--"Not scuffing your feet is not that hard. Watch," you say as you carefully, slowly, and deliberately move closer to the door. Tulia and Becker are paying rapt attention, while Ralf is told to start making his way over to Monika. He's shaking, but he's shaking his way over, so good on him. "Alright, now you two," you quietly say to Tulia and Becker. The latter has markedly less confidence, so you look at Tulia and silently ask her to go first.

She is even slower at repeating the motions you showed, but she does mimic them properly, and she's able to control her breathing at the same time. Satisfied that she'll make it through you sneak back over to Becker, as she seems like she could use a more direct hand.

Ralf, meanwhile, has sat down on Monika's bed and is very carefully trying to get her attention, shaking her ever so gently. It's downright adorable, but you kinda have that girl's caretaker to smuggle out the door still.

Speaking of which, you quickly check to make sure the woman isn't wearing high heels - she isn't, thank the heavens - and show her again both how to lift and and how to plant her foot so that she won't make undue noise. She nervously nods and repeats the motions as best she can, indeed not making much sound in the process (no more than Mizuchi can't cover for, at least). You nod at her with a confident smile, and encourage her to take another step. She does, carefully taking one step after the other, until she reaches the door and awkwardly slips through.

That leaves you, but of course you're confident in your ability not to make a noise, so that's not a problem. The problem instead turns out to be Monika - Ralf has managed to wake her up, and she's sitting upright in her bed. Staring at Ralf with tears slowly streaming down her face as undoubtedly many more are being held back. This room is not what you'd call brightly lit, but it's not dark either. And Monika hearing you isn't a problem if she ends up able to see you.

The good news is that you noticed it in time for you to duck onto the ground, which is the best hiding spot you're going to get in this room. The bad news is that this kinda limits your movements, as you don't think Mizuchi could make you invisible.

...Actually, speaking of Mizuchi...no, trying to slither would not work out for you. Regular crawling is the better bet, though how to do that quietly you'll have to improvise on the spot.

"E-eh, uhm...eh," you hear Ralf nervously sputter out. Why did he have to sit down between Monika and the door? This would have been so much easier for you if he just sat down on the other side of the bed and directed Monika's gaze away from the door instead of towards it...

Monika, for her part, chokes and stumbles over her words as she tries to tell Ralf how she feels. It puts you in an awkward position because if she's looking down she's got a good view of the floor - and you, in turn - whereas if she's staring at Ralf's face she'll have a good view of the door.

As you start to seriously ponder whether you're going to have to hide underneath the bed until she falls asleep again, gods know what Tulia and Becker will end up doing before that happens, Monika (eventually) manages to get her feelings for Ralf out. Afterwards she quietly asks Ralf how he feels about her. Maybe he could distract her? Mizuchi can whisper into his ear, could you possibly signal her to help you? "Ah, e-eh, I, uh," Ralf continues to awkwardly sputter out in the meantime. He's not going to be of any use, you need to figure out a way to signal Mizuchi. "I-I, eh, I don't know. I really don't know how I feel about you."

Your entire thought process, indeed your entire body, comes to an abrupt halt upon hearing that. What, in the name of every god out there, is that idiot kid thinking!? Yes, awkward new feelings you don't know what to do with, been there done that. You don't say that right to the face of someone who just confessed her love to you in a situation like this! Gods, you swear you're going to get up and smack that kid upside the head at this rate.

Monika falls eerily silent bar her occasional sobbing. You don't even want to imagine what her face looks like right now. "Monika, please, close your eyes," Ralf suddenly asks. That's good news for you and all, right now you're more worried about what Ralf is going to do for his sake. Especially because you can't exactly hear whether Monika closes her eyes or not, so it's hard to gauge whether you've got an opportunity to slip out or not.

Suddenly one of Monika's sobs is interrupted. Shortly after the sound returns, different this time, and faster. You nervously eye the door and wonder if this is your chance, but you can't be sure whether whatever is going on up there will last long enough to give you that chance. Frustrating, but what else are you supposed to do? You really don't fancy interrupting those two and having to explain yourself afterwards, so you'll just have to be patient. Like any good sneak needs to be. Wait for your opportunity and all of that.

Less than half a minute later Monika's sobbing returns to what it sounded like before. You made the right call, that was not long enough to make sure you slip out quietly. Seconds after that and Monika starts crying her eyes out, though shortly after it sounds muffled. Ralf pulled her into his arms? Must be, right? Than surely you will get your opportunity soon. Surely. You have to...

"That's how I feel about you," Ralf quietly says to the girl crying out in his arms. You eye the door again, but you're just not sure. Actually, what about Mizuchi? Maybe those two are distracted enough to give her a signal? You'd really like some help right about now.

While Ralf awkwardly starts to explain his feelings, and Monika helpfully points out to the slightly dense kid that what he's feeling is love, you dare to exit your hiding spot enough to get a better look. Mizuchi is on Ralf's shoulder, and thankfully notices you pretty quickly. "Why are you still here?", she whispers into your ear, using her dramatic voice. You frantically gesture between Ralf's back and the door, trying to point out the mistake in position that Ralf made and the fact that Monika might see you. Fortunately Mizuchi understands your complete mess of mime motions. "Curse me for forgetting. That was my mistake," Mizuchi whispers. Thank the heavens she believes you, that makes this so much easier. "I'll tell Ralf to hold Monika, and prepare a Glamour. Get ready."

Oh you are so ready. You can see Ralf move his head towards Mizuchi slightly when she whispers her "suggestion". Ralf nods, and moves one of his arms. That's your cue. You carefully stand up, and while the two are distracted with each other and under Mizuchi's Glamour, finally slip through the door and get out. Sweet freedom at least!

"What took you so long!?" Tulia immediately shouts the moment you close the door behind you. That thing isn't soundproof, so you're glad Mizuchi prepared a Glamour. You're just not sure how strong that Glamour is.

"Right after Becker left Monika got up and sat down to face Ralf. Not easy sneaking out when she's staring right at the door in front of her," you explain. Really, you're just relieved you managed to get yourself out of there. That would have been too awkward otherwise.

Tulia stares curiously at you for a moment, but after staring you down decides to believe you. "Alright. So, what now? I guess we just wait for Monika to recover and do as Mizuchi made her promise? I'm just saying, it's going to be a touch awkward when Monika works up the courage to break the silence with her family only to find out someone already wrote that down in her memoirs."

You stare at Tulia, not hiding how tired you are of your little misadventure. She lets out a sigh and backs off, thankfully, leaving you to address Becker. "She'll have plenty of new stuff to say by that point, worst case," you drily remark. Seriously, what a story of how they first confessed their feelings for each other. You don't even want to imagine what they first kiss is going to be like...actually, thinking about it, Ralf probably did kiss her there. Good. He really needed a saving grace after that spectacular blunder. "In any case, shall we get out of here before the lack of soundproof door becomes our final undoing?"

"Uh..." Tulia says, nervously staring at the door she just shouted right outside a minute ago. You choose not to tell her about Mizuchi's Glamour. It just seems...not necessary, somehow. "Y-yeah. Let's do that," Tulia quietly confirms. Becker, for her part, is silently staring off into space, but not much you can do about that. You'll just have to give those two their space, as Mizuchi suggested, and hear about what happened from Tulia sometime later.

You are, as a matter a fact, more than willing to do that right about now...

--"Walking quietly isn't that that hard. Watch," you say as you do your best to sneak closer to the door. It's not perfect, there's some footstep noises, but they're quiet enough that a sick and Glamoured first year is not going to notice them. It gets the job done. Tulia and Becker don't seem as confident, while Ralf is told to start making his way over to Monika. He's shaking, but he's shaking his way over, so good on him. "You two next," you quietly say to Tulia and Becker. The latter has markedly less confidence, so you look at Tulia and silently ask her to go first.

She is much slower when sneaking towards the door than you were, but you can't help but notice her footsteps don't seem to make any noise. And she's able to control her breathing, too. Was she lying about not being a good sneak? She seems better at it than you are. In any case Tulia manages, but Becker is still hesitating, so you sneak back over to her.

Ralf, meanwhile, has sat down on Monika's bed and is very carefully trying to get her attention, shaking her ever so gently. It's downright adorable, but you kinda have that girl's caretaker to smuggle out the door still. Does the Thieves Guild ever have to deal with stuff like this? Questions you probably don't want to know the answer to.

You quickly check to make sure Becker isn't wearing high heels - she isn't, thank the heavens - and show her again how to walk without making too much noise. She nervously nods and repeats the motions as best she can, making more noise in the process than you did, but no more than Mizuchi can't cover for. One tap at a time she eventually reaches the door and awkwardly slips through, only giving you a mild heart attack every time her foot touches the floor and you worry she either slips or something else goes wrong. Nothing did, though. You're last.

Of course you've demonstrated your ability not to make too much noise twice now, so that's not a problem. The problem instead turns out to be Monika - Ralf has managed to wake her up, and she's sitting upright in her bed. Staring at Ralf with tears slowly streaming down her face as undoubtedly many more are being held back. This room is not what you'd call brightly lit, but it's not dark either. And Monika hearing you isn't a problem if she ends up able to see you.

The good news is that you noticed it in time for you to duck onto the ground to hide, even if you feel you scraped something in the process. No matter, you'll live, it's just a scratch. The really bad news is that you're kinda stuck here, as you don't think Mizuchi could make you invisible.

...Actually, speaking of Mizuchi...could that work? It works for snakes, why wouldn't it work for you? Should be quieter than crawling, if your footsteps were loud before surely sneaking with zero limbs will make less noise than using twice as many as before. That makes sense, so sure. Time to get your sneake-ing on!

"E-eh, uhm...eh," you hear Ralf nervously sputter out as you are left to ponder whether your pun is more painful than your stupid idea. You're committed, though, it seems to work so you're sticking with it. Just why, oh why, did Ralf have to sit down between Monika and the door? This would have been so much easier if he sat down on the other side of the bed and directed Monika's gaze away from the door instead of towards it...

Monika, for her part, chokes and stumbles over her words as she tries to tell Ralf how she feels. It puts you in an awkward position because if she's looking down she's got a good view of the floor - and you, in turn - whereas if she's staring at Ralf's face she'll have a good view of the door.

As you start to seriously ponder whether you're going to have to hide underneath the bed until she falls asleep again, gods know what Tulia and Becker will end up doing before that happens, Monika (eventually) manages to get her feelings for Ralf out. Afterwards she quietly asks Ralf how he feels about her. Maybe he could distract her? Mizuchi can whisper into his ear, could you possibly signal her to help you? "Ah, e-eh, I, uh," Ralf continues to awkwardly sputter out in the meantime. He's not going to be of any use, you need to figure out a way to signal Mizuchi. "I-I, eh, I don't know. I really don't know how I feel about you."

Your entire thought process, indeed your entire body up to and including that now probably worse than it started out as scrape, comes to an abrupt halt upon hearing that. What, in the name of every god out there, is that idiot kid thinking!? Yes, awkward new feelings you don't know what to do with, been there done that. You don't say that right to the face of someone who just confessed her love to you in a situation like this! You're here on the floor making an absolute buffoon of yourself and you're still being defeated at every possible turn! How is this happening!?

Monika falls eerily silent bar her occasional sobbing. You don't even want to imagine what her face looks like right now. "Monika, please, close your eyes," Ralf suddenly asks. That's good news for you and all, right now you're more worried about what Ralf is going to do for his sake. Especially because you can't exactly hear whether Monika closes her eyes or not, so it's hard to gauge whether you've got an opportunity to slip out or not.

Suddenly one of Monika's sobs is interrupted. Shortly after the sound returns, different this time, and faster. You nervously eye the door and wonder if this is your chance, but with that scrape you feel you're going to need an extra second to get up if you don't want to tear it open even more, and you'd really rather not. Frustrating, but what else are you supposed to do? Of course you really don't fancy interrupting those two and having to explain yourself afterwards either. You need to figure out how to signal Mizuchi, that or hide and wait for Monika to fall asleep. Needless to say one of those options sounds much better.

Less than half a minute later Monika's sobbing returns to what it sounded like before. You definitely made the right call, that was not long enough to make sure you slip out quietly even if you hadn't injured yourself. Seconds after that and Monika starts crying her eyes out, though shortly after it sounds muffled. Ralf pulled her into his arms? Must be, right? Than surely you will get your opportunity soon. Surely. You have to...

"That's how I feel about you," Ralf quietly says to the girl crying out in his arms. You eye the door again, but you're just not sure. Actually, what about Mizuchi? Maybe those two are distracted enough to give her a signal? You'd really like some help right about now.

While Ralf awkwardly starts to explain his feelings, and Monika helpfully points out to the slightly dense kid that what he's feeling is love, you dare to exit your hiding spot enough to get a better look. Mizuchi is on Ralf's shoulder, and thankfully notices you pretty quickly. "Why are you still here?", she whispers into your ear, using her dramatic voice. You frantically gesture between Ralf's back and the door, the fact that Monika might see you, as well as where you injured yourself a moment ago. Fortunately Mizuchi understands the important points at least. "The other side of the bed...curses. That was my mistake," Mizuchi whispers. Thank the heavens she believes you, you've had enough nonsense for one day. "I'll tell Ralf to hold Monika, and prepare a Glamour. Get ready."

Oh great, you might have to just bite your tongue. Fine, anything if it gets you out of this room unnoticed. You can see Ralf move his head towards Mizuchi slightly when she whispers her "suggestion". Ralf nods, and moves one of his arms. That's your cue. You forcefully stand up, indeed feeling like you're tearing something, and biting back the pain while the two love birds are distracted with each other and under Mizuchi's Glamour - gods would it be nice to be one of those two right about now, but you suppose everyone has their off days - finally you manage to slip through the door and get out. Sweet freedom at least!

"What took you so long!?" Tulia immediately shouts the moment you close the door behind you. That thing isn't soundproof, so you're glad Mizuchi prepared a Glamour. You're just not sure how strong that Glamour is.

"Right after Becker left Monika got up and sat down to face Ralf. Not easy sneaking out when she's staring right at the door in front of her," you explain. Really, you're just relieved you managed to get yourself out of there. That would have been too awkward otherwise.

Tulia stares curiously at you for a moment, than finally notices the fact you're injured - probably because you're forced to the ground by it. "H-hey, are you alright?" she asks, and you explain you managed to scrape yourself ducking to the ground too quickly. At least you didn't make a racket doing so, but you feel your skin is not happy right now. "Probably best to have one of the nurses look at it if it's that bad. I did study Revision, but..." Tulia examines your robe near the injury, and finds a non-zero amount of blood having seeped into the fabric. "Yeah, this should get cleaned out before I try to fix the torn skin at least. Come on, grab my shoulder. You can hop around on one leg for a bit."

What was it you said about it not being your day, or something? Oh, never mind. So long as the nurse doesn't ask how you injured yourself within the Infirmary you'll just count what blessings you got and move on.

"Alright, keep steady. So, about Monika, what do we do? I guess we just wait for Monika to recover and do as Mizuchi made her promise? I'm just saying, it's going to be a touch awkward when Monika works up the courage to break the silence with her family only to find out someone already wrote that down in her memoirs."

You stare at Tulia, not hiding how tired you are of your little misadventure. She lets out a sigh and looks around for the nearest nurse, while you to address Becker. "She'll have plenty of new stuff to say by that point, worst case," you drily remark. Seriously, what a story of how they first confessed their feelings for each other - and they don't even know the surprise plot twist! You don't even want to imagine what they first kiss is going to be like...actually, thinking about it, Ralf probably did kiss her there. Good. He really needed a saving grace after that spectacular blunder. Now if only you could do the same...

"Oh, there's a nurse," Tulia says, and immediately what little confidence you had seems like it escapes through the floor. Becker, for her part, is quietly staring off into space, but not much you can do about that. You'll just have to give those two their space, as Mizuchi suggested, and hear about what happened from Tulia sometime later.

But first, washing a recent scrape you tore further open once of not twice. Joy...

-Glamour. You can mask your own steps, thanks.
--"I'm no professor either, but I know my Glamour," you quietly say as you take out your wand. A bit of spellcasting later and the peanut gallery of cosplaying convicts are ready to make a stealthy exit. You even tap a foot against the floor to prove your point - no sound that you can hear.

"Think you can silence the door as well?" Tulia asks. Good thinking on her part, you nod and careful cast a silencing charm on the hinges and handle. The rest of the door you leave alone, knowing it already has a Glamour cast on it that makes it look like the door in Monika's dorm room, and you know full well that if push came to shove it's your spell that's going to get pushed. And shoved out the nearest window.

"Uh...c-could one of you two go first?" Becker asks, understandably uncomfortable in this situation. Mizuchi, for her part, tells Ralf not to keep his "princess" waiting. Surprisingly no objection to that term this time, Ralf is just plain shaking. Shaking towards Monika, admittedly, but shaking all the same.

"I'll go first," Tulia offers, and indeed she casually tip-toes to the door, silently opens it, and slips out. You nod at Becker, and while not trying to copy Tulia's tip-toe movement she does nervously shuffle over to the door and, as best she can, slips through. You just walk out normally, knowing full well your spell is silencing whatever noise your feet are making regardless.

"So, what now?" Tulia asks the moment you close the door behind you. "I guess we just wait for Monika to recover and do as Mizuchi made her promise, but...we kind of already know? It's, eh, going to be a touch awkward when Monika works up the courage to break the silence with her family, only to find out they already know, don't you think?"

You cast a quick glance at the door, and mentally point out to yourself that you only silenced the hinges and handle, not made it soundproof. Consequently you can briefly hear the sound of Monika's sobbing, before the sound suddenly gets muffled, and falls silent again. "I suspect she'll have plenty of new stuff to say by that point too," you drily remark. "So, shall we get out of here before the lack of soundproof door becomes our undoing?"

"Uh...yeah. Let's do that," Tulia quietly confirms. Becker, for her part, is still eerily quiet, but not much you can do about that. You'll just have to give those two their space, as Mizuchi suggested, and hear about what happened from Tulia sometime later...

--"I know how to cast some magic," you quietly say as you take out your wand. A bit of spellcasting later and the peanut gallery of cosplaying convicts are ready to make a stealthy exit. You even tap a foot against the floor to prove your point - delightful silence to your ears.

"Is that...intended?" Tulia curiously asks, and you raise an eyebrow. Yes, your footsteps are not making audible sounds, that is intended. What's so weird about that? "Guess we'll make due. Alright, who wants to go first?"

"Uh...c-could one of you two go first?" Becker asks, understandably uncomfortable in this situation. Mizuchi, for her part, tells Ralf not to keep his "princess" waiting. Surprisingly no objection to that term this time, Ralf is just plain shaking. Shaking towards Monika, admittedly, but shaking all the same.

"I'll go first," Tulia offers, and indeed she slowly sneaks up to the door, very carefully opens it, and slips out. Zero trust in your spellcasting, huh? Alright, fine. You see how it is. Ask for help and this is thanks you get. Great. You stare at Becker, and while not trying to copy Tulia's tip-toe movement she does nervously shuffle over to the door and, as best she can, slips through. You just walk out normally, knowing full well your spell is silencing whatever noise your feet are making regardless. Rank amateurs unable to cast their own spells, seriously...

"So, what now?" Tulia asks the moment you close the door behind you. It sounds a bit louder than you wanted it to in your ears, hopefully Monika didn't notice it. "Are you going to need help with a Negation, or do you want to just ask one of the nurses? Given we're already in the Infirmary and all," she asks, pointing somewhere towards your lower body.

Genuinely confused as to what Tulia is talking about you look down, and are surprised to see that your legs are no longer there. They just kind of...fade out above your knees. Ah...hah. You may have gotten a bit mixed up, but your spell worked, so there's nothing to complain about now is there?

You take out your wand again and insist that you'll have this fixed up on no time, asking Tulia what else she clearly wants to say. "Right, so: Do we just wait for Monika to recover and do as Mizuchi made her promise? We kind of already know, don't we? It's, eh, going to be a touch awkward when Monika works up the courage to break the silence with her family, only to find out they already know, don't you think?"

"I suspect she'll have plenty of new stuff to say by that point too," you drily remark as you continue to fail to fix your missing legs. Seriously, this should not be this hard. "Anyway, shall we get out of here before the lack of soundproof door becomes our undoing?"

"Uh...yeah. Let's do that," Tulia quietly confirms. Becker, for her part, is still eerily quiet, but not much you can do about that. You'll just have to give those two their space, as Mizuchi suggested, and hear about what happened from Tulia sometime later. "Seriously, do you need a hand? You know the private Infirmary rooms are Glamoured to look like student dorm rooms, right? It looks like your spell ended up getting mixed up by it, turning your legs invisible, and now you can't dispel it."

Your kingdom to be living in a reality where Tulia would have used that brilliant knowledge of hers to cast those Glamours herself. Truly, her genius is matched only by her lack of flawless timing. "Just...lead Becker back to the entrance while I see if I can dispel this before one of the nurses here does it for me, please. I swear this should work."

Tulia nods, and after trying to cheat at your own self imposed challenge by trying to hide from the nurses before one spots you - hey, if you're going to be partially invisible might as well get your money's worth out of it - you do end up getting spotted and questioned before you're able to dispel the weird magic gone wrong yourself.

You are, to say the least, not feeling very happy with your life right now. Especially after seeing (and hiding from) Ralf leaving Monika's private room, one finger checking his lips for whatever he thought he'd find on them and a hand held against his heart as if it was going to escape his body, as he walked off like he was floating on clouds. That kid definitely did more than just lend Monika an ear and a shoulder. Looks like he poured out some of his own feelings as well, and evidently Monika reciprocated. Sometimes it just is not your day, you suppose...

Could not even imagine how a "proper" failure would play out, so just went with the PC injuring themselves as a penalty instead. Should work just fine, especially because - as you might be able to tell - someone was having a bit too much fun with the options again .

Edited June 7 by Metis

[Metis]

And since it's done (albeit in a separate post, because editing these can feel dicey when there's too many stages in one post) Heart Matters, stage 10:

Spoiler

Another day you're walking through the Durand Common Room, only this time Tulia Faspalla ends up calling you over the moment she sees you walk in. No points for guessing what this is about, you suspect.

"Let me guess: Monika?" you say as you sit down. Tulia actually frowns.

"Good day to you too, [PC FIRST NAME]. That said, yes, this is about Monika. She's recovered from her fever, mostly. The Infirmary nurses are still refusing to let her leave for a few days, but all the same she's gotten into contact with Becker and started talking to her family. Becker...honesty she was a bit of low hanging fruit in that regard, she already knew about Monika's tangled feelings and even we know why she wants to help her with that, but still. It's a step in the right direction for her. For both of them, really."

"Yeah. I heard rumors that Becker suddenly changed a few tunes over at the Forum of Naxum, and I actually sat in on another debate of hers to check it out for myself. I can confirm, she's taken the lesson of kids needing to feel loved to heart. She is still arguing for her profession and all of that, pushing her field into formal academia and open up the idea of public study and scrutiny. But now more as a way to establish a platform for people to share and record ideas, establish and expand our knowledge base. Not as a way for old academia to establish a kind of parent watch so people won't make the same mistake Becker did, or at least won't get away with it cleanly if they do."

"Did opinions of Becker's ideas change as well?" Tulia asks. You shrug and explain you don't really have a clear idea about that. Based on your second visit to the Forum people do seem more receptive to the idea of having a formal platform to meet up and share knowledge, rather than academics from an obscure field of study (of, potentially, dubious reputation and respect) dictating answers only few philosophers know the origin of. Nevertheless Becker is still arguing for establishing a formal curriculum, and for said curriculum to be publicly taught where possible, but that idea doesn't seem likely to get off the ground. Really, the only relevant question for you is whether any of that is going to end up showing results within a period of your life it'll be relevant to you. And given that that's still quite a few years of magic study away you're none too worried about it now. "Impressive. You've been doing your homework, I see."

"Y-yeah, well, I was curious. And it gave me a chance to see Becker again, to give her a chance to talk to me about Monika. How she asked me to help figure her out, and all of that."

"Well, you definitely succeeded there. I heard Professor Briardi awarded Durand some Merit for that, in fact," Tulia says with a hint of pride. And yeah, the regent did, but it's hard to really feel too happy knowing that for Becker and Monika both this mess is far from over. "True, and it's good that you bring it up, because that's actually what I wanted to ask you about. Monika told Becker how she feels, but Becker still can't get through to her. Apparently Monika feels like it hurts when Becker tries, which just ends up pushing her into Ralf's arms again. Ralf couldn't bring himself to tell her to keep trying, despite agreeing nothing good will come from Monika ignoring the problem, so Mizuchi suggested asking if anyone knows of a way to better help Monika. 'Something needs to be done, but it needn't be a first resort' I believe is how she put it. She asked me about it, and now..." Tulia shrugs. "Now, seeing as how I don't have any confidence in my ideas, I'm asking you about it."

Someone who could help Monika with her emotions, huh? Well. Who could you talk to that about?

[PC has Master's Mark]-"Do you know anyone" she asks the Synchronicity student...
--You pointedly stare at Tulia for a second, and she quickly explains that obviously she did think of you, but she doesn't know who your teachers are and she has a feeling you won't be able to help out Monika yourself. If not for a lack of skill than for a lack of time, because to her it seems like Monika will require careful attention for a while.

You can't deny Tulia is right. You're no expert yourself yet, but even you can tell Monika will require months if not years of attention to fully recover from her...actually, wait, that's assuming a condition that doesn't otherwise change. The rest of Monika's family still haven't gotten a chance to see and respond to how she feels, did they? Only Becker did, though did she inform her relatives? Even if she did Monika certainly hasn't talked to them in person yet...either way, it sounds like this could still get complicated. In that case you can't even guess. Monika might genuinely graduate before her emotions fully stabilize, and even than, who knows what kind of normal she ends up settling into.

Regardless, you do know who your teachers are - obviously - and you can definitely ask them about what they'd be able to do for Monika, or ask Monika about how she feels about seeing them. Either is fine with you, so you ask Tulia what she thinks. "So, forgive me if this sounds silly, but I actually think the best course would be you talking to your teachers with Mizuchi tagging along. Monika really trusts that Familiar, she's your best bet to convince Monika - if you can convince her at least - and I'm sure Ralf won't mind his Familiar tagging along with you if it's to help Monika."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you want to tag along as well, or was one Infirmary incident enough?" you ask with a coy smile. Tulia, looking less amused than you do, assures you that she'll just request a pamphlet if she's ever in need of more information.

For your part you make your way to the Hedi Common Room to find Ralf. He indeed doesn't take any convincing to let you borrow Mizuchi for a bit, although Mizuchi herself seems more hesitant. Nevertheless she agrees to go with you, as she promised to do all she could to help Monika.

Out in Mineta, on the way to Gressel's Medications, Mizuchi finds the chance to air her concerns. "The magic you wield...worries me," she admits. "I've no doubt that you use it to good ends, and I've no doubt that for Monika it is the best hope she has at recovering well enough to live a normal life. Half measures will not help her, I can see that. But as the family physician likes to say, I am concerned about wielding a scalpel that is too sharp." You actually nod at that. You know how impactful it can be, on those who experience it as much as on those who use it. "You are not afraid of the dangers?"

"Of course I am. I'm just even more afraid of the alternative," you answer. "I'd rather risk cutting myself with a scalpel that is too sharp than knowing I'm not able to do anything."

"A dangerous sentiment. Noble too, of course, but take care it doesn't consume you. A broken hand can lift no weight, after all. That is another thing the physician likes to say."

True. You're not too worried about yourself, though. You're worried about Monika. Obviously there's nothing more you can do to help her, but still. Monika's emotions, her family, Ralf getting tangled up in it all....it's a lot for one girl to face. Fortunately she's not alone. You just hope she won't...actually...

"Hey, Mizuchi? Do you happen to know what 'mistake' Monika's parents made, by chance?" Rather than answering your question Mizuchi instead asks why you ask. Fair enough. "I just realized, I don't actually know what that is all about. I figured out it was a big family drama of some description, but I never learned the details."

"Do you-or, rather, do your teachers need to know?" Mizuchi asks.

"If they do they can just ask Monika about it-or Becker, even. I don't need to be the one to tell them. I'm just curious. Though I'm guessing that even if you know you're not comfortable gossiping about it?"

"Correct. Though, for the record, I don't know the full answer myself either. I can imagine more than one possible answer, but especially with the state that Monika is in I am not inclined to guess or pry needlessly. Or gossip, for that matter."

Fair enough. Maybe you can ask Tulia about it later, though you're kinda doubtful she knows either. Well, it doesn't really matter. So long as Monika is able to enjoy a normal life after all is said and done, with or without the mistakes people tend to make along the way, everything will be alright.

[PC does not have Master's Mark, is informed of Gressel's Medications]-There's the apothecary near the Admiratio Monika could try.
--You ask Tulia if she's heard about the apothecary near the Admiratio. She shakes her head, so you explain roughly where it is and how some students use it as an alternative to the official Infirmary. Very useful if you end up injured or with an illness catching up to you far from the Academagia, but that's not the only thing the staff there does. They also practice a kind of mental magic, legally distinct from Mastery. They're mainly known (or infamous, depending on who asks) for using it to help people against phobias and other deeply held fears, but you know that's not the full extent of it. Perhaps they'll be able to help Monika as well.

"Okay, so pardon my Merilien, but l'excuse me?" is Tulia's response. Honestly? About what you expected. That apothecary is many things, but it sure isn't a conversational ice breaker. "I mean, alright, if you think they're worth checking out I can...actually, better idea: Since you know the place, could you take Mizuchi there and talk to the staff about whether they can help Monika? And if not, whether they know someone who can?" You ask Tulia if she really doesn't want to come along, and she answers that she doesn't want another Infirmary incident where she feels like an awkward third wheel. Honestly? Fair enough. More seriously, than, you ask why she's suggesting bringing Mizuchi along. "Like I said, Monika is still really cagey. Ralf can comfort her, but Mizuchi can actually get through to her. She really trusts that Familiar. If anyone I'm sure she'll convince Monika, assuming you can convince her of course."

True, that is a good point. You'll have to ask Ralf to borrow his Familiar for a bit, but you're sure he won't mind doing so for Monika's sake. You tell Tulia you'll try that, and head off to the Hedi Common Room. Ralf, as expected, doesn't take any convincing to let you borrow Mizuchi for a bit. Mizuchi herself seems more hesitant, but she nevertheless agrees to go with you, as she did promise to do all she could to help Monika.

The journey through Mineta is short and oddly quiet. You expected Mizuchi to be more of an outgoing talker on this sort of trip, but instead she stays silently in place on your arm and shoulder. It does make your life easier, but honestly, it also makes you feel a touch nervous. You have no idea what that Familiar is thinking. At least you're confident she won't turn aggressive or anything.

You step into Gressel's Medications, Mizuchi actually lifting herself up as you step in, and see Nhordum standing behind the counter. Perfect, just the one you want to talk to. "Hello Nhordum, do you have a moment? I-we, rather, would like to ask a few questions about your job. Uh, not the apothecary job, the-you know what I mean. Your other job."

The conversation already getting started on a great note aside, Nhordum calmly nods. "I can ask Lotus to watch the shop, yes. That said, 'we' meaning you and the Familiar, I'm assuming?"

"Yes," Mizuchi answers. Nhordum briefly seems confused by the Glamour voice, but only briefly. "I am Mizuchi, Familiar of Ralf von Freibeuter, here on behalf of...a friend of Ralf. A friend who needs help with her emotions. Badly."

Nhordum nods, but you actually frown. Freibeuter? Somewhere in the back of your head that name rings a bell. "Alright. I'll ask Lotus to watch the shop for a moment, we can talk further in the living room."

Mizuchi mentions to you that she'd like to take point in the conversation, which you're more than happy to let her do. You're just stuck trying to remember where you heard that name before. Freibeuter, Freibeuter...perhaps a cup of tea will help.

In the living room Mizuchi indeed takes point, and ends up having a fairly lengthy discussion with Nhordum about Monika. Unfortunately you get no closer to remembering that name in the meantime. The cup of tea is nice and refreshing, though. "I can't say for sure without examining her, let me make that clear. But it sounds to me like Monika could be in far worse shape than even she might realize," Nhordum eventually concludes. That does not sound like good news is coming. "It sounds like she is correctly interpreting and expressing her emotions to her caretaker - the pain she feels from her growing up feeling emotionally neglected, followed by confirmation that she truly is someone her family never wanted. That, considering the circumstances, seems perfectly natural."

You know Becker, politely, "tried her best" when it comes to raising Monika, but still. Hearing people say it out loud like that is something you don't think you'll get used to. "I cannot deny it does. Yet something seems amiss with the emotions she feels," Mizuchi insists. "Monika herself says as much. I have not gotten the impression that she is ignorant of how her heart works, merely that she can find it difficult to express her feelings to others."

Nhordum actually nods. "My theory is that she buried her emotions. How she feels about her family, herself, everything locked and sealed away. When those emotions get dug up Monika experiences feelings she's not felt in many years, possibly remembers things she's not thought about for a very long time. That in and of itself can be distressing enough, and is probably the reason why she cannot talk to her caretaker for long. And needs a friend's arms to calm herself down afterwards. But there's an even bigger worry in play. When all is said and done, how will Monika feel about her family? Do you think she can forgive them, for everything she feels they've done and put her through?"

That is an uncomfortable question neither Mizuchi or you have an answer to. "What if she cannot?" Mizuchi asks. She clearly doesn't want to, but she knows she needs to ask that question.

"Than we must assume Monika is sitting on close to a decade of buried negative emotions and associated painful memories. Depending on how bad her condition is there is a chance even I could not hope to guess how Monika truly feels about her parents right now," Nhordum admits. "I trust I don't have to explain how that could end up creating a bad scene, if those emotions end up slipping their leash and Monika has no ability to control that part of herself. That is something she can be taught, thankfully, and it is something I - or perhaps Leene - can try to teach her. Regardless, if her condition is as bas as I theorize...the good news is that you have come to the right place to find her help. The bad news is that she will need it. And a lot of it."

"You say you can help her. What, exactly, would that entail?" Mizuchi asks. Nhordum explains that, once per week, he (or Leene, depending on who Monika would prefer) can dive into Monika's mind and help her slowly unearth her emotions in a controlled environment, where either of them will be able to protect Monika against her own emotions should one go haywire. In the process they can also directly help Monika learn how to interpret, express, and hopefully control her own emotions. As well as making sure that she doesn't feel uncomfortable with herself, physically or emotionally. "Those are...very lofty promises. Even for a spellcaster," Mizuchi says at the end, not hiding her doubt. Nhordum doesn't seem to mind, either. "Further, I must ask: What is stopping this magic you wield from changing Monika's emotions, her memories, or even her personality to whatever arbitrary state you wish?"

"The simple fact that our magic doesn't work that way," Nhordum plainly answers. "We cannot do any more, or less, than what our patients want us to do. We do not Master, we Synchronize. We use our expertise to help our patients with what they want us to do, what they would do themselves if they were able to, and content ourselves with the knowledge that we cannot - should not - do more. I can't confirm Monika will take to our techniques, or whether and how it might cause her to change, if she does. All I can confirm is that if she does than it is because that is who she truly was, or who she wanted to become, from the start. She simply wasn't aware of it, refused to admit it, didn't understand it, or couldn't believe it...you'd be surprised how difficult it can be for people to understand who they, themselves, are. Let stand admit it."

"Hmm...if Monika were to take to your techniques, how long will it take for her to fully recover? Can you give a rough estimate?" Mizuchi slowly asks. She sounds conflicted. Nhordum, for his part, nods and explains that he can only say it'll likely take in the order of years, assuming that Monika is kept relatively isolated from any external factors that could trigger (and weak havoc with) her buried emotions early. At that Mizuchi's internal debate falls silent. "K-kept isolated? From external factors?" she repeats. Nhordum nods again. "I've honor bound the girl to discuss the matter with her family. Show them how she truly feels, so they could either embrace her or refuse her. The silent stalemate between her and her family, neither side communicating and Monika receiving no attention or affection from a family that didn't know she needed it, seemed to be killing her inside. Are you suggesting that was an error?"

"Premature, but not an error," Nhordum corrects. "Broadly speaking, what I would suggest is for Monika to be kept isolated until she's had enough sessions to figure out how she feels about her family. If her emotional state is such that she wants to cut all ties, continue on with her treatment. Recall that process will span years, so she will have time to change her mind. If she never does, than so be it. That is how she feels, and I cannot influence that. If she does wish to confront her family, make sure she has had practice with controlling her emotions first. Ideally, though this might sound strange to say, has experienced emotional outbursts before so she has genuine experience with them. There is every chance that something will be said or done during that meeting which could cause an emotional outburst - if Monika cannot notice and control herself that could turn into a very ugly scene, very quickly. How her family responds will determine what happens from there, what treatment she'll need going forward and how the rest of her memories and emotions need to be addressed. Obviously we will discuss that with her, though. And her caretaker as well, seeing as how her parents are unavailable."

Mizuchi, after a silent moment, slowly nods. "I told miss Becker-Monika's caretaker, excuse me, that Monika's condition was worse than she thought. That half measures would not be sufficient to aid her, and that claiming otherwise would be falling into the same denial that was her undoing so long ago. I was not expecting to encounter something like this," she explains. "Nhordum, you have my thanks and my pleasure for our discussion and your hospitality, but please understand that my word means everything to me. I cannot tell Monika that your assistance is something she should pursue until and unless I am convinced that it is. I will get in contact with Monika's caretaker and send her your way. She knows more about these things than I do. If she can be convinced that this is in Monika's best interest, I swear I will do my best to convince her to come here and discuss her situation in person, as best she can. I'm afraid I cannot promise more than that."

Nhordum accepts Mizuchi's ultimatum - or compromise? - pretty readily considering it's Ralf's snake Familiar saying all of that. Still, that is your part done, so you say goodbye to Nhordum yourself and thank him for the tea. Mizuchi heads off to inform Becker right away, promising that she will be alright on her own.

You're sure she will be. You're just hoping that, after all is said and done, Monika - as well as the people she cares about - also will be.

-The Legate is sure to know someone who can help.
--The Legate might be most famous (or infamous) among the student body for running out on his office work, but the man is nevertheless an accomplished spellcaster with a sizeable pool of contacts and even larger pool of potential contacts. You doubt he could find the time to help Monika personally, but if anyone is likely to know someone who could help her, you'd go with him. You ask Tulia what she thinks of the idea, and of course she nods. "I did consider asking the Legate, assuming I could actually find him. I'm just worried about...you know, what kind of magic do you think could help Monika? I'm sure if anyone the Legate will have heard about it, whatever it is, but what is it? Do we even want to know?"

"If we don't than I can't imagine Monika would dare to try it," you point out. Tulia nods, though slowly. She still seems hesitant. You ask, but she explains she really doesn't feel like tagging along - one infirmary incident where she felt like a third wheel was enough to fill her quota for the year, and preferably at least several more of them. Tulia does mention that, in terms of things Monika would dare to try, that'll likely depend on Mizuchi. Monika really trusts that Familiar, so despite the attention and affection Ralf has been giving her it's actually his Familiar that's best able to really get through to her. "Alright, sounds like I'll be hunting down the Legate. Actually, do you think I should ask Ralf to borrow Mizuchi for a bit? If she's the one that's going to convince Monika, ultimately, sounds like she should hear what the Legate has to say. And who knows how easy he'll be to find on any given day."

"Sounds like a good idea, and it couldn't hurt to ask. I can't imagine Ralf will object if it's to help Monika," Tulia notes, so sounds like you're off to the Hedi Common Room first.

It, ultimately, takes more effort to find Ralf than it takes to convince him to let you borrow Mizuchi for a bit. And considering both were reading a textbook in Hedi's Common Room that was not the most challenging search you have ever encountered. Mizuchi, for her part, is more hesitant to follow someone she doesn't know too well. But, as she promised to do what she can to help Monika, does agree to come along after you explain your plan to track down and ask the Legate about whether he could point you in the direction of anyone who can help Monika.

Finding the Legate proves to be a bit of an obstacle. Several of the places you know to check have mysteriously been replaced with broom closets, and the next one in line has Miya Hikari annoyedly pacing back and forth outside the door. That...might be a good sign? You're not sure.

"Oh, hi there [PC FIRST NAME]," she says with all the cheer of a frustrated butcher chasing after an escaped meal. "I guess you're also looking for the Legate? Because I've spend the last-hello there." Miya's tone suddenly changes completely, which confuses you until you follow her gaze and see Mizuchi staring wearily at her. "Did you get yourself new Familiar, [PC FIRST NAME]? I haven't seen this one before."

"No," Mizuchi answers for you. Her Glamour voice startles and surprises Miya...which of course only makes her that much more interested. "We both have something to discuss with the Legate, that is all. Also, my name is Mizuchi."

Ordinarily Mizuchi's tone would clue people in that she's not interested in further conversation, but of course Miya finds it too interesting to notice. Or care. "Well, I'd wish you good luck with finding him, but as is so happens I need it more than you two. That said, you say you name is Mizuchi? I wasn't aware someone else from my homeland was attending the Academagia."

You quirk an eyebrow. If Ralf is from Miya's homeland he's done a very good job of hiding that fact...where is he from, anyway? Come to think of it you don't recall ever catching the boy's last name either...

"You...don't look Alesfan," Mizuchi points out, staring curiously at Miya. She laughs in response.

"Alesfa? 'Mizuchi' is a name from my homeland. You've never heard the story of the guardian spirits that watch over it's lakes?"

You personally haven't, but this is Miya you're talking about - you wouldn't give her better than coinflip odds of telling the truth whenever she mentions her homeland, or her bogus journey away from it. Great storyteller, terrible history professor unfortunately.

Mizuchi, for her part, stares long and hard at Miya's question. "I have heard folk tale of that nature, yes. However, the stories I heard originated from Alesfa. Are you saying the same story exists where you hail from?"

Miya nods, but before she can elaborate the sound of something landing on the ground reaches your years. Sounds like it's coming from inside the Legate's office - or broom closet collection, either/or. Still, if something fell over that suggests that someone is in there. "I knew he was hiding in there!" Miya says, grinning from ear to ear. "Only problem is that the door is locked, and of course he's not responding to my knocking either. [PC FIRST NAME], do you think you can you get that door open?"

You're not sure if you're willing to believe Miya normally lets herself be stopped by locked doors, but than this door isn't your average broom closet door either, in fairness. All the same you shrug and step in front of the door to give it a try yourself. First things first, hand on the handle, press down, and...it just opens.

Miya looks perplexed. You give her a slightly sheepish shrug and move to step into the room, curious to see if the Legate is actually here or if it's yet another broom closet. Turns out the Legate is actually here, muttering some unflattering things you'll just pretend you can't hear as he is using his wand to clean up an ink spill next to his desk. "Hmm? Oh, good afternoon [PC FIRST NAME]. And Mizuchi as well, I see. I take it both of you are here about Monika?" the man plainly asks. You're not going to lie, you weren't expecting the Legate to know about that already.

"You are already informed?" Mizuchi curiously asks. The Legate nods.

"Miss Becker, separately, asked Professor Piaxenza for assistance with Monika's...condition, as it were. The regent in turn approached me to discuss the potential severity, and viable treatment options. In short, people are worrying over Monika and her condition, and I know people to send her to for treatment even in the worst case. Finus is simply waiting for Monika herself to be available to discuss it, as I hear the infirmary staff are still holding her there for a few days."

Mildly annoyed you ended up searching for the Legate for no reason, but maybe there is something useful you can still tell him. "Is Professor Piaxenza planning on including Mizuchi in that conversation?" you ask the Legate, afterwards casting a glance and seeing Mizuchi has...done whatever snakes do given their lack of eyebrows to raise. The Legate, in turn, asks what Mizuchi has to add to that conversation. "In short, if Monika will need...convincing, than Mizuchi has the best chance to reach through to her. Better than Becker, better than Ralf even. She really trust her."

"For good reason, yes," Mizuchi pointedly tells you. You're getting the impression she doesn't approve of your gossip, even if you're trying to help Monika out, ultimately. Afterwards the Familiar turns to face the Legate. "What is this worst case treatment plan you have in mind? I've told Monika's caretaker that half measures will not be enough, and that believing otherwise would be repeating the denial she calls her greatest shame. I meant that sincerely. If possible I would like to investigate this option. Hopefully convince myself so that, in turn, I might be able to convince Monika."

"For better or worse, Finus had the same opinion. That is probably why that option was the only one we discussed in any great detail," the Legate explains as he creates a quick Glamour of Mineta's Admiratio, looked at from above. One particular building, within walking distance of the Admiratio proper, he circles with his wand. "That building is home to an apothecary operated by three Academagia graduates. Of course, there's more to the story - one of them is heir to a family that practices a legally distinct offshoot of Mastery. Their techniques, worst case, is what I suspect Monika will need to recover from her family's long running series of parental blunders. I'm sure that you can simply go there and talk to them, a talking snake Familiar should be nowhere close to unusual by their life's standards, but I would recommend bringing miss Becker with you. She will be the one who ends up fronting the costs of their services, not to mention I'm sure she'll have her own role to play in Monika's recovery."

That, eh...you have to say definitely doesn't sound like half measures. That sounds like Tulia had a good point about not wanting to know if it isn't, in fact.

"Very well, than I shall go inform Ralf. He wishes to wait until Monika has recovered before going with her to see his regent together, and he certainly has good reasons for that, but I do not believe in standing still in this situation. I cannot whisper into people's ears what I do not know, and I'm sure Monika will want - and need - to hear my voice before arrangements can be made."

"I'd be surprised if Finus thought differently. That said, if you don't mind having me tag along as well, I'd like to get away from the compulsive silly goose currently stalking my door. And mediating a meeting between one very guilt-riddled woman who doesn't know as much of the world as she believes, and the practitioners of an offshoot of Mastery who may prove to be her niece's best hope of recovery and living a normal life? That, frankly, seems a more meaningful use of my time than these cursed inventories Polisena insisted had to be overlooked by me personally. I've left behind enough well stocked broom closets to keep the staff happy, frankly. These records can be filed away later."

Mizuchi - after recovering from her surprise - shakes herself out of it and turns towards you. "I trust you understand that, escaping the fatigues of office work aside, miss Becker will much more readily listen to the Legate than she would listen to my advice," she asks, and you nod. Honestly you don't imagine Mizuchi having too hard a time with Becker on her own, but the Legate? Yeah, there's no contest between the two there. "Than forgive me for asking, but that 'compulsive silly goose' facing a distraction first would make our escape easier. So if you are willing to play that role..."

"I was curious about her origin for your name anyhow, and don't worry. I won't take what she says at face value."

Mizuchi, with a smirk, nods and follows the Legate through a secret escape route while you slip back out the door. Miya of course realizes you didn't stand inside an empty broom closet practising your ventriloquism skills for several minutes, but you're able to get her to start taking about her children's folk tale story that Mizuchi apparently got her name from. In short, "Mizuchi" is the name of a magic guardian snake who watches over a lake of some sort. One of the snakes there isn't content with his lot, changes appearance, belatedly realizes swapping clothes doesn't swap the person wearing them, a pretty standard sort of story you can see parents tell their children as one of several valuable life lessons.

By the end Miya finally clues in that Mizuchi is no longer with you, and shortly afterwards she realizes she's been had. She's willing to call it a draw given you had to listen to her full story, and you're willing to let her believe that. After all, like Miya herself would certainly agree with, minor details like "truth" needn't always come between someone and a good story.

Speaking of stories, you just hope that Monika's will have a happy ending when all is said and done. Based on what the Legate says it sounds like she's got a long road ahead of her, but also people worrying over her condition and how she can be helped with it. So, all told, you feel like Monika - and Ralf, for that matter - will be able to overcome the obstacles Monika still has in front of her.

-Professor Piaxenza seems likely to have some good advice.
--The Hedi regent is famous for his ability to mediate issues brought to him by both students and parents alike, and any form of magical assistance that Monika could be given is likely to come in the form of Glamour. Which, again, directly points to Professor Piaxenza. You ask Tulia what she thinks, and she nods. "I was thinking about him, and I'm sure if anyone could bring Ralf on board with an idea - Mizuchi aside - it would probably be his regent. My only question is...what kind of magic could help Monika at all? And if not magic, than what? Do you think the regent has an answer to that?"

"One way to find out," you answer with a shrug. Tulia nods, tough she declines your offer to tag along - apparently one infirmary incident where she felt like a third wheel was enough, and you can't fault her for that. Instead Tulia mentions that you should point out to the regent he needs to include Mizuchi in any talks he has with Monika. She is still really cagey, and while Ralf can comfort her, he can't actually get through to her too well. Not as well as Mizuchi. Apparently Monika really trusts that Familiar. "Noted. Than, if there's nothing more, I'll be-actually, wait, hasn't Ralf already talked to Professor Piaxenza about Monika? Surely his regent is the first person he'd talk to if Mizuchi suggested finding people who could help Monika and all."

"He actually hasn't yet. Mizuchi told me Ralf is planning on waiting until Monika is out of the Infirmary, and seeing Professor Piaxenza together. It's honestly not a bad idea. The regent is going to have to talk to Monika directly, and after she recovers from her lingering fever seems like a good time. But I was thinking it might be good if someone informed the regent early. Give him time to prepare if he needs it. Also, not to go behind Ralf's back, but I do worry about Monika as well. So I'd like to know what the regent could do to help her." That all makes sense, but it begs one question you put before Tulia: Why not talk to the regent herself, in that case? Tulia's face drops in response. "Honestly? I'm scared. What if the regent can't help Monika? I don't want to imagine him breaking that news to Ralf, let stand Monika herself. And as her mentor, if that does end up being the case, I feel like I should be able to support her. Just...I don't know how."

Right. Well, you're not afraid of talking to the regent, so hopefully you can bring some good news to Tulia, as well as Ralf and Monika. You head off to the man's office, see what he has to say about this whole mess.

A few knocks on the regent's door, and you hear a voice inside telling you to come in. Professor Piaxenza is here, working his way through a pile of, you're guessing, student assignments. "Ah, good afternoon [PC FIRST NAME]. How can I be of assistance?"

You take a seat, knowing this could take a while. "In short, Mizuchi-ah, that would be the Familiar of Ralf...eh..." you start, only to trail off when you realize you don't actually know Ralf's last name. You don't think anyone mentioned it up to this point, and you didn't think to ask.

"Ralf von Freibeuter?" the regent fills in. You nod, although you also frown. Freibeuter? That name sounds vaguely familiar. "Yes, I am acquainted with his Familiar, and my own student as well of course. Did you have something you wanted to ask me about them?"

You shake your head and quickly summarize that Mizuchi saw the need for Monika to receive some kind of help in dealing with her emotions, and you've ended up asking him about it ahead of Ralf and Monika themselves. In part because Tulia is curious, but too scared to ask about it herself.

"Hmm...quite a complicated situation, but that is to be expected I suppose. Regardless, miss Becker has already approached me with the situation herself, and asked for help in getting through to Monika. I do know of a small group of Academagia graduates in Mineta who can offer her the guidance and emotional support she'll need, I am simply waiting for Monika to be released from the infirmary so I can speak to her about it in person. Or, rather, speak to Monika and miss Becker together about it." You inform the regent about what Tulia told you to mention, that Monika really trusts Mizuchi. You also, noticeably less comfortably, mention that Becker might not have mentioned it's genuinely painful for Monika to communicate with her, at least as far as you've heard. So discussing the matter together might not be the best idea. The regent slowly nods. "I'll talk to Monika before scheduling that joint meeting, and if that proves untenable I'll arrange for a separate meeting with miss Becker at a later date. I am also aware of Monika's trust in Ralf's Familiar. I'm not sure if you're heard, but Mizuchi watched over Monika for a time, after a bullying incident that ended remarkably poorly for the bullies. If Mizuchi's assistance proves necessary - which, truthfully, I am expecting seeing the state of Monika's condition - I will get in contact and ask for her assistance."

Seems like Tulia really had nothing to worry about. That's what makes Professor Piaxenza famous for his diplomacy, though. Time to head back and tell her the good news. You're sure she'd like to hear it more than she admitted to.

Back at the Durand Common Room Tulia quickly proves you right. She lets out a bigger sigh of relief than even she was probably expecting. "Thank goodness, no bearers of bad news needing to tell an already pitiable girl her situation isn't likely to get better. Though, what's with the frown on your face? Worried about the long road Monika has ahead of her?"

"No, I just can't remember that name for the life of me. Freibeuter. Ralf von Freibeuter...where have I heard that last name before? I don't suppose you know anything about it?"

Tulia blinks. "Wait, hold on. Ralf's last name is actually Freibeuter?" she asks with a deadpan voice. You shrug, even more confused than you were a moment ago, and explain that is the name Professor Piaxenza mentioned. And you're reasonably confident he knows his own students, at least the ones who's Familiar he can name. "You have got to be pulling my leg. I heard rumors that the heir of the Freibeuter family, the first son of navy captain Holger von Freibeuter, was attending the Academagia. You're telling me that scrawny, awkward bookworm kid is him?"

You don't actually answer Tulia's question, because "captain Holger von Freibeuter" is a name you do recognize. He's the current head of a famous - or infamous, depending on who you ask - family based in Staade who has has a very long naval service record with that country. They straddle the line between mercenaries and privateers, hunting pirates or being pirates to Staade's enemies depending on whether times are peaceful or not. The family in general (and the man himself is certainly no exception as far as you've heard) is known for their relentless pursuits, at times bombastic enthusiasm of captain and crew, as well as their extensive collection of sea shanties. One composed by captain Freibeuter himself you actually heard in Alice's Tavern, though sadly not sang - a traveller from Alesfa who rode on captain Freibeuter's ship talked about it. It stuck in his mind because it was about an attractive bar maid drawing the unwanted attention from three rowdy sailors, who she ultimately tricked into settling their debate with a drinking contest. The next day, while they were thoroughly hung over, she slammed the three of them with their collective bill. And the dishes they had to clean in order to pay it off.

...It suddenly sinks in why Tulia described Ralf as a scrawny bookworm. Compared to captain Freibeuter, based on what you've heard, that is an accurate description even if it is unflattering. You have heard people talk about his heir attending the Academagia, but Ralf? Yeah, no. Would not have guessed that, not even a little bit.

And yet that is what Professor Piaxenza called him. You're sure that isn't a coincidence.

You spend a while gossiping with Tulia about captain Freibeuter, his family, and the (un)likelihood that Ralf is actually that man's first son. You do notice (midway through) that Monika's bleak situation was quickly forgotten, but that's because you both know she has some very good people willing and able to reach out to her. Hers will be a long road, but with people supporting her, hopefully one she will able to reach the end of...

The usual suite of "which attribute (or some other nebulous benefit) would you like?" options with some scattered background information spread among some or all of them, standard fare for my Y2 adventure (even at least some of my Y1 ones I think).

Edited July 3 by Metis

[Metis]

So here's a short adventure/experiment type deal that - in perfectly expected fashion by probably everyone bar my own thick-headed self - ended up running away from me. Oh well. The Lady's Shield, Stage 0:

Spoiler

It's breakfast time in the Great Hall, and the underclassman are buzzing with rumors. Cliques are bunching up, nervous eyes are (conspicuously, in some cases) watching out for any professors wandering nearby, all while the myriad of hushed words manage to create more background noise than there usually is.

As for the source of all these rumors, it doesn't require more than keeping an ear open while you grab your food to get the gist of it - some recent visitor to the Academagia apparently managed to lose a piece of paper they brought with them. But not just any random piece of paper, oh no, that wouldn't be nearly this interesting. They managed to lose a piece of paper with magic on it, complete and detailed instructions on how to cast one (or more) spells. But not just any old spells, no sir, scandalous spells. The kind so impossible to mention in polite company that they're not even present in your textbooks, or hidden away somewhere in the Venalicium's Restricted Section. Or even kept secure under magic lock and key below a secret floor panel hidden underneath an otherwise seemingly ordinary bookshelf in the Forbidden Archives, that itself is hidden behind another bookshelf concealing a secret passage guarded by an animated stone gargoyle that will only yield to Orso's personal verbal command or a long sequence of signs and countersigns only known to the Legate and his (or her) most trusted members of the faculty.

(That last one you can rule out off-hand, since if it was anywhere close to true either the faculty would be a lot more concerned or they're not because they know the piece of paper has been found and/or destroyed already. It is an amusing thought, though.)

When you sit down with your food you end up sitting next to Grainne Inneith, who is being a surprisingly calm eye in the midst of this rumor storm. "Good morning, [PC FIRST NAME]. I'm guessing you're interested in the latest news?"

Truthfully you were just looking for a place to sit down after doing some pointed eavesdropping, but same difference. "Who isn't?" you ask, rhetorically. Grainne flashes a sly grin. She approves.

"Who indeed. So, will you be joining the hunt?" You take a bite out of your breakfast and show Grainne a curious eyebrow. "For the piece of paper. It's still out there somewhere, you know. No one's found it yet. And whoever finds it first...well, they'll have a real prize on their hands, I can tell you that."

"How's anyone supposed to find a random piece of paper 'somewhere' within the Academagia?" you curiously ask. Grainne shrugs. There's something she's not telling you, but you don't call her out on it.

"How indeed..." she muses, trailing off perfectly in a "I've got more to say" sort of way. Do you take that obvious bait, or do you ignore it? Grainne might be trying to pull a fast one over you, trying to get you to confess to wanting this scandalous magic for some reason or another (and given that description it's safe to assume Grainne wouldn't believe you want it to water a flower garden, needless to say). Alternatively, maybe she wants it herself. As bait, as blackmail, for her own secret and mysterious reasons she doesn't want anyone else to ever learn about, and in any case she's willing to leave the actual searching to someone else. Hard to tell with that girl sometimes.

So, how to respond...?

-You're not interested in a treasure hunt, regardless.
--"I'll be sure to read about it in the school paper if someone figures it out," you answer. Grainne, having hoped for a more receptive answer, frowns. "Have you heard about the big [RANDOM PC CLASS] test coming up?" you add, getting the sense that you might wish to excuse yourself a bit here. And indeed, Grainne's frown suddenly deforms as she raises a curious eyebrow. "Yeah. Someone - no points for guessing who - kinda missed the first memo. The second was, eh...well, it was a surprise. Let's leave it at that."

Grainne slowly nods, but before she can think of any small talk she spots someone else she'd like to try and rope into her scheme and excuses herself. Are you going to have to spend the day in the Venalicium to secure your "alibi?" Eh...probably not. You can just make another excuse about having misheard someone. Honest mistake, happens all the time.

...You're all too aware of how easily Rikildis could run you through the wringer and hang you out to dry if you gave her a story like that, but she'll likely be kept busy with other stuff for a while. You'll be fine.

-Take the bait.
--Grainne could be trying to lure you into a trap, but considering the sheer number of students talking about it that honestly seems unlikely. "Here's one more student who's interested!"? Not the biggest news you've ever heard.

"I'm guessing you've got an idea?" you ask. Grainne, of course, pretends to be surprised at your question. Her acting could use some work, truthfully.

"Oh, I wish. I merely know of one person who would have an idea, is all," Grainne corrects. She probably meant for it to sound cryptic, but it came across as a bad actor reciting lines during a rehearsal. "Do you know that one statue in the hallway, if you head from the entrance hall to Professor Badcrumble's office? The one of that old professor turned ranger? They'd know how to find the piece of paper, I'm sure. A pity no one pays their respects these days..."

That's actually a statue of a ranger turned professor, but fair enough. Time to "pay your respects", and see what that statue is apparently hiding.

[PC friend and/or high relationship with Grainne]-Ask Grainne what her deal is. If she needs a favor, help her out.
--Underneath the table you tap against Grainne's hand. She understands the gesture, and casts a Glamour to make sure you two aren't overheard talking openly. Given how quickly she does you assume she already had her wand in her hand. Maybe she was hoping you'd ask her directly.

"So, the truth?" Grainne asks. You nod. "I want that piece of paper. Seriously, I want that piece of paper. So badly..."

Coy smile, trailing off, zero details even when asking a friend for a favor? You understand the message - there's more to this story that Grainne doesn't dare to speak of even after having cast her Glamour. You're not going to bother asking. You know Grainne won't tell you right here and now, and you don't need to know.

"Hoping to learn some improper magic yourself, Grainne? Scandalous," you say with your own coy smile. Grainne does her best "innocent shy girl" impression, saying something (fake) about a girl needing to have a trick up her sleeve sometimes. You're not even going to ponder how that could possibly be interpreted or misinterpreted based on what text that piece of paper actually contains, given you know this is just a thinly veiled excuse anyway. Once you've gotten it and delivered it safely to Grainne she'll explain herself to you properly. You know she will. As such you ask her how one would go looking for this piece of paper.

"Oh, I don't know," Grainne lies. She honestly could work on her delivery a bit, but you're not going to give her grief over it. "Do you know that one statue in the hallway, if you head from the entrance hall to Professor Badcrumble's office? The one of that old professor turned ranger? Maybe pray for some good luck there. You'll have to scour around thoroughly to find a missing piece of paper after all."

That's actually a statue of a ranger turned professor, but fair enough. Time to see what that statue is hiding.

Per usual roughly zero forward planning went into this adventure, so where it ended up was as much as a surprise to me as it will be to the reader...barring greater capacity for pattern recognition, of course .

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 1:

Spoiler

Walking off to the relevant hallway (after finishing your breakfast first, of course) you can't help but notice it's not just the Great Hall that students are talking to each other in hushed whispers. You're not able to confirm everyone is talking about the missing piece of paper, but all the same, it feels almost uncanny. So many people are trying to keep secrets that the sheer number of them make it impossible to miss that secrets are being kept. And secrets that are noticed won't be secret for very long. Someone will talk. Especially when there's a lot of someone-s to fill that role, as there is right now.

Pushing those thoughts out of your mind once you see the statue in the distance, however, you notice one of the Academagia's staff sweeping the floor next to it. You'd like to examine the statue, but are doubtful the person who's job it will be to clean up any mess you make in the process will simply shrug his shoulders and let you. You'd also prefer not to hang around and wait, not in general and especially not when so many people are looking around nervously. Going to have to think of something...

-Architecture. Look around for something to distract the janitor.
--Nothing immediately around you stands out, but further down the hallway you can't help but notice a pair of signs indicating restrooms. Restrooms means running water, and running water means pipes. If there was a leak surely the janitor would at least investigate, right? You don't recall off-hand if it's his job to fix that stuff, but either way, this seems like a good opportunity.

You casually walk past the janitor, who is not paying attention to who is coming and going too much, and slip into the restroom. Fortunately no one is hiding in here discussing the rumors, that would be awkward on multiple levels. Instead you've got a moment to guess where within these blank, featureless walls the water pipes are hiding - most certainly high up near the ceiling, because that's how water pressure works, and closer to the hallway than the other side of the restroom, because having the pipes run along the internal walls makes them much less susceptible to outside temperatures causing foul smells during the summer or freezing damaging the pipes during the winter. From there you quickly use your wand to create a small crack in the wall, just enough to suggest the pipe behind it has cracked, and dampen it with some water. That should be convincing enough. If not you'll have to think of something else, because you'd rather not do stuff like this knowing just about anyone could randomly walk in here at any given moment...well, okay, you could reasonably guess the person's gender, you suppose. But that doesn't really help.

After washing your hands, in part because of habit and in part because of a nervous tick, you walk back to the janitor and get his attention. "Busy cleanin' here, student. Move along, please," the man mumbles as he continues scrubbing the floor. You'd call him dedicated to his job if it weren't for the fact he doesn't sound like he's enjoying himself. Weird.

Regardless, time to see if your ploy works. "There's a crack in the wall of the restroom over there," you say, pointing in the direction of the restroom. You're frankly not sure whether you should try to sound panicked or not, so you end up sounding half panicked and half confused. Hopefully it works.

"Really, hmm?" the janitor answers, actually turning to look in your direction. "Where's and how'd'd look like?"

"High up, near the door. Looked like water was slowly leaking out of it," you answer. The janitor lets out an annoyed sigh and walks off. Looks like your ruse passes muster at least up to this point.

You're not sure how long it'll take for the janitor to realize you only damaged some stone and plaster, but at least you've got an opportunity to look at the statue in peace.

--Nothing immediately around you stands out, but further down the hallway you can't help but notice a pair of signs indicating restrooms. That gives you some inspiration: If there was a leak of some sort surely the janitor would deal with that, right? Than again do janitors do repair work...he'd investigate it at least, surely. Right? You're not sure and that doesn't make you feel very confident in this idea, but either way this seems like a good opportunity.

You nervously walk past the janitor, who is (thankfully) paying no attention to who is coming and going, and slip into the restroom. Fortunately no one is hiding in here discussing the rumors, that would be awkward on multiple levels. Instead you've got a moment to briefly inspect the facilities for anything obvious that make them stand out as the better candidate, unfortunately you find none. Alright, you'll just pick one at random - say the one closest to the door. Yes, perfect, that should be the most visible. You use magic to quickly drop a trail of water rather than use the hand washers to draw enough actual water, given you'd rather not do stuff like this knowing just about anyone could randomly walk in here at any given moment...well, okay, you could reasonably guess the person's gender, you suppose. But that doesn't really help. Point is you want this done quickly.

Of course after your quick work you observe the results and realize you've kind of trapped yourself. There's simply not enough space between the pool and the door to stand and open it, so...well, guess you just have to walk through it. It's fine, it's just water. You know it's just water. So you were in a hurry - and just pretend like you actually looked like you were in a hurry earlier...huh. You were ashamed? Fine, whatever. Just insert excuse here as to why you didn't notice the pool and walked into it. Simple, easy, effective. As plans ought to be.

After giving your shoes and feet a quick bath, as people are want to do in restrooms of course, you walk back to the janitor and get his attention. "Busy cleanin' here, student. Move along, please," the man mumbles as he continues scrubbing the floor. You'd call him dedicated to his job if it weren't for the fact he doesn't sound like he's enjoying himself.

Regardless, time to see if your ploy works. "There's water on the floor in the restroom over there," you say with all the lack of dignity a student would feel in this situation. Because, not coincidentally, that is exactly how you feel right now. The janitor quirks an eyebrow and looks down at your shoes.

"Stepped in it?" he asks. You reluctantly nod. "With both feet?"

"I-I didn't..." you start to sputter out, realizing quickly enough that "I didn't notice it" doesn't really wash. Surely you noticed when your first foot touched water, let stand the second. "Well, a-anyway, could you check out where that water came from? Might be a leak somewhere, I'unno."

The janitor, either in general or more specifically at you, smiles. "Sounds like ye walked into someone's prank to me," he happily says, dismissing your concern entirely. "Pay more attention'n the future. If anyt'ing was leaking even you'd 'ave noticed it."

You hate to admit it, but he's right - you did, in fact, basically walk into your own prank. Defeated, by yourself and a janitor. Not your finest day.

You simply nod and slink away in defeat. Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Well, fine. You'll think of something else. Next time you'll be clever enough to chase him off! You'll pull some Astrology magic to make sure the man is still here next time if you have to, you will not let this shameful defeat go unanswered!

...But first, a quick trip to your dorm tower to take a very late morning shower. Your feet are not happy right now, and maybe you can wash off some of the embarrassment...

-Practical Jokes. Create a mess further away for the janitor to clean up.
--Eyeing a pair of restrooms further down the hall you know the perfect thing to use. The problem is that you'd rather not walk by the janitor to get to the restrooms, deploy experimental prank materials which may or may not explode a touch more violently than you planned for, than walk back to the janitor to basically inform him of the results of your experiment...if obviously not using those exact words. Obviously. Pretty suspicious if you did that, regardless. You're going to need a different approach here. Ideally you pretty much need someone else to pull the prank for you, and draw away the janitor in the bargain. Which seems like a tall order, but...can't be too hard, right?

Looking around for inspiration your eyes land on Rui da Casga, talking to Vuillaume Eparvier. If that's not a sign of divine favor you don't know what is. You walk over to them.

The conversation between the two students comes to an abrupt halt when Rui notices you approaching, but it's not too hard to get it back on track after inviting yourself to it. In short the two were gossiping about the missing piece of paper, debating what kind of magic it could possibly contain given the rumors flying around about it, yet the seeming absence of any professors taking flight scrambling to find it first. You agree it's bizarre, and quietly inform both you may or may not be on that trail yourself. Eyebrows raised you add the janitor up ahead is giving you a hard time, and your plan is to distract him with an experimental mixture of, basically, compressed slime that explodes outwards when exposed to a source of water it can absorb. You can't really deploy that stealthily, however, so you'd like their help.

Rui, naturally, doesn't need too much convincing. Vuillaume is more hesitant, but agrees to play along in return for your special mixture - something she could use to experiment with rapidly increasing pressure could prove interesting. It's worth it, so you agree.

And so, from a safe distance, you watch contently as Vuillaume and Rui coordinate to deploy your experimental prototype while trying to keep their respective hands clean, and drag the janitor well away from the statue you want to investigate. That man probably deserve a raise after being used and abused like this, but if he wants to make that case before the Legate he's welcome to try and do so himself.

You, right now, have a statue to examine...

--Eyeing a pair of restrooms further down the hall you start to formulate plans. All of them, however, encounter the same problem: You'd rather not walk by the janitor to get to the restrooms, deploy whatever brilliant solution you will surely come up with, than walk back to the janitor to basically inform him of the results of your (possibly explosive) nonsense you've volunteered him to clean up. Yeah...tough sell, that. Suspicious if you did that, even. You're going to need a different approach here.

The question is...what approach is that, exactly? Ideally someone else entirely pulls the prank for you, and draw away the janitor without them even knowing. Which seems like a really tall order. Too tall in fact. If there's a solution to this problem it'll be your own hands that work that miracle - getting others involved can be risky in their own right anyhow. So...how to pull it off?

You spend a, frankly, worrying amount of time running through a number of possible scenarios before you ultimately have to give up. What are you supposed to do? Practical jokes are an art form, and the inspiration just isn't there. An artist cannot simply be commanded to create art, that's not how that works. Or if it does it's not how you work, and you're the one that's important in this scenario, so there you go.

Rats. To have come so far...eh, actually, you just walked through a few hallways-anyway, what a tragic turn! To have reached your first obstacle, only to have been abandoned by your muse! No explosives, or forms of slime, or cloud of itching powder, or other tool can paint the canvas before you with the dream you so wish to see come true! Tragic, truly tragic...but that's how these things go sometimes.

Man, for something you came up with on the spot that actually felt pretty good! Maybe you should diversify your pranking portfolio into some poetry. You can't have a grand plan without a poignant speech to go with it right? That's against all kinds of rules. Yes, yes, clearly poetry requires more attention before this plan can come together in proper, full glory...

...You'll get to chasing off that janitor eventually. These things just take a touch more preparation, sometimes...

-Observation. Anything seem off or interesting?
--You can't help but notice the floor this janitor is cleaning seems pretty clean already. A thick smell of cleaning chemicals in the air confirms this place has been scrubbed thoroughly, and probably recently too. A nearby window is open, presumably to let the smell out, but it's still noticeably hanging around. Normally it doesn't get this bad, not that you can recall off-hand.

Why is the janitor still here? Their job seems done, after all...

--A nearby window is open. Of course there's also a pretty heavy smell of cleaning...stuff in the air around here. Kinda nasty, really. You figure one followed the other, in which case...nothing you can see that seems useful.

--Diplomacy. Point out the already clean floor.
---You consider putting the screws to this janitor, but that honestly seems like a bad idea. They're faculty, whereas you're a student - there's a dynamic there that would not be in your favor if you went that route. Furthermore you have to question why the man is cleaning an already clean floor. If he's here for the same reason you are, maybe you two could be on the same side, in a way. That would go a long way to convincing him to help you. Assuming you can convince him.

You walk up to the janitor, and politely say hello. He doesn't even turn to look at you. "Busy cleanin' here, student. Move along, please," the man mumbles as he continues scrubbing the already clean floor. Something definitely smells here...beyond the cleaning chemicals, you mean.

"Seems to me you've done an admirable job cleaning the floor already," you point out. This time the janitor does turn to look at you, glaring with a suspicious gaze. You're not intimidated. "Why are you cleaning an already clean floor?" you ask, pretty directly. "Surely you have a reason."

"Maybe I just enjoy it. S'my job 'n all," the janitor answers, insincerely. "What's it to you?"

"Simple: There's a reason I'm here, and I assume there's a reason you're here. If we're both here for the same reason, maybe we can help each other." The janitor's suspicious, almost world weary expression turns into surprise. Clearly he wasn't expecting that. "I'm looking for a piece of paper that went missing, I'm sure you've heard of it. Do you know anything about it?" you start. Can't expect the man to cooperate if you don't do the same after all.

The janitor, after recovering from his surprise, stares long and hard at you. "Heard a few rumors, yeah. More'n what your friends probably care to know 'bout it, though..." he answers, audibly taking his words more seriously this time. He stares at you, testing you, but you simply nod. You're willing to hear the man out. He actually shows a measure of a smile at that. "Students only talk 'bout what the paper 'as written on it, what they don't pay attention to is who lost it. Some philosopher lady from 'nother land, here to spout 'er words 'o dubious wisdom tellin' us 'uneducated' folk 'ow we should live our lives. Ain't right if you ask me." The man shakes his head. "Can't escape it, though. Even 'ere at the Academagia it's the same story. Rich kids born in high places, lookin' down on folk 'neath them...guess they learn it early. My own girl's a student here, you know? Brilliant lass, 'n beautiful too. But here I don't e'en dare to look at her. Don't want her friends to think she's from a poor household. Wish that philosopher lady would rain some wisdom down on 'er own folk. Maybe do some real good'n this world."

You sympathize with the janitor's circumstances, but also point out the man's hypocrisy - trying to (as far as you can tell) undermine this philosopher woman's goals of educating the lower classes, while wishing she would do to the exact same thing to the upper classes. He pauses to think it over, and lets out a sigh afterwards.

"Aye, you're right. And not the first to tell me that, either. The wife always says I'm a bad example for our girl, but 'ow am I supposed to change that? I got an honest job, try'n to take it seriously, be diligent. It just ain't enough. What more am I supposed to do?"

You carefully point out, as diplomatically as you can, that the man strikes you as having become the proverbial monster he tries to hunt. Showing no respect for an entire class based on (what you assume are) mainly a few bad examples, wishing they would target themselves rather than stop doing entirely what the man objects to...all in all he seems like the very type of person he despises, only from the other side. You also point out that prejudice and bad attitudes are not exclusive to any particular class, even if some might be more prone to it than others it's ultimately down to the individual whether to succumb to it or not. If he feels he can't acknowledge his own daughter because other will judge her for it he needs to stop judging others first.

The janitor, again, let's out a heavy sigh. "Yeah...good luck tellin' that to whats 'er name, miss Golden Council. 'Course, if a janitor can't set a proper example what reason does she 'ave to believe me? Hmm..." The man looks over the clean floor, nods, and puts away his mob. An apt metaphor for him acknowledging his faults, his own prejudices, and starting to clean himself up...if it wasn't the completely wrong way around. "That philosopher lady 'lost' 'er piece 'o paper somewhere 'round here," the janitor confirms. "Check out the statue more closely, should tell you all y'need to know. Didn't hear that from me, mind. I gots somewhere else to be right now."

The janitor indeed leaves, leaving you alone to examine this oh so mysterious statue...

---Staring at the janitor's already clean floor from afar you ponder how to approach the man. Putting the screws to him seems fitting, and effective, until you realize one problem - he's part of the faculty, albeit not a professor. Regardless, you're a student - there's a dynamic there that would not be in your favor if you went that route. You next consider whether you could play the fool, pretend you didn't notice the situation and try to string the man along, but that doesn't seem too likely to work. You don't know if you'd be a good jester, anyway.

You run through a number of scenarios in your head, from threats to bribery to you don't even know what, but each scenario you throw into the bright blue sky and shoot down moments later you become more convinced this man is impossible to talk to. A bold statement considering you've not heard him speak a word yes, sure, but as far as you're concerned there's no hiding the fact there's something deeper behind the man's cover. A janitor insisting on "cleaning" this already clean location, coincidentally the same location Grainne directed you to? There's no two ways about this, something shifty is afoot. So it behoves you to prepare and act accordingly.

Regrettably you cannot think of a good angle. Being a student talking to faculty limits your options, and having reason to suspect the man is crooked - while having nothing substantial to bring to someone with greater authority, if you would even want to considering the circumstances - doesn't help. You feel it's best to retreat for now and do more careful planning. You know that, push comes to shove, your word against that janitor's puts you at a disadvantage, and you also know that man could arrange for such a situation to occur. He seems the type for it, too.

All told, time to make a tactical retreat and rethink your strategy. Only a fool would underestimate the potential threat the janitor could pose. One bad statement in front of the wrong person, and you'd be put in a very awkward position...

This stage seemed so much smaller back when it was just the intro text and a single success text. Also, yes, no points for guessing which "philosopher lady" this adventure refers to .

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 2:

Spoiler

Now that you have some space you look over the statue more closely, but you're not seeing anything obviously off, strange or useful about it. It's a statue of an imperial ranger that eventually became an Academagia professor a couple centuries back - there's a story in there, probably, but you're not here to ponder that. You're here because you're on the trail of a missing piece of paper, and this statue is...useful in that search. Somehow.

...It only now hits you that you really have no solid leads to go on. Surely this statue is important given that Grainne directed you here, but...how? What about this statue are you not seeing?

-Art Appreciation. Take a closer look at the area around the statue.
--There's nothing in terms of fancy styles or artful decoration present around this statue, clearly this is not intended as a place students are expected to stop and ponder any great questions or parts of history. It strikes you as bizarre, than, that this statue is standing on a raised podium a size too large for the statue itself, albeit a minimalistic one. It really does look like there's supposed to be a plaque here, and perhaps a raised pedestal with words of wisdom engraved in stone for passers by to read. Did those things exist at some point, until time wore them away? Hmm...

Curious, you decide to take a look behind the statue. See if there's any funny business going on.

It's pretty hard to see anything given the dark stone (presumably, you can't exactly tell off-hand) the statue is made from and the lack of direct light back here. There is a window nearby, yes, but it's both at a bad angle and has blinds perfectly placed to make this area even more shaded. Bizarrely so, almost. Wouldn't you want light to shine on your statue? Very strange...

Fumbling around a bit your hands find a seam, running along the back of the statue. Than, an indent. And inside of it, a latch. You flip it, there's a click, and the back of the statue slides open, revealing a ladder leading down. A secret passage hidden within the statue, huh? Very interesting indeed. You don't know how the piece of paper ended up going through this - you don't know how Grainne apparently knows the piece of paper apparently went through this, for that matter - but either way, you're definitely found your lead.

--Truthfully the statue has a rather drab presentation, all told. The lighting isn't good, the statue itself doesn't show much polish and care, the podium doesn't match and it feels like something is missing. Some plate or other text with words of wisdom to impart to the next generation. To you the conclusion is obvious: This statue was not originally located here, and wherever it used to be must be important somehow. You're not sure how, but it makes sense. Find where the statue should be, and you'll find your clue to the piece of paper. Not sure how that works out, exactly, but it's not as if this statue itself pointing you in the right direction makes any more sense. For one, the statue isn't pointing anywhere, it's just standing there. Your interpretation makes much more sense - here's something clearly out of place, isn't it natural to look for where it should be?

That in mind you run from one end of the Academagia to the other, examining podiums, statues, storage locations, and more trying to find some clue as to where this statue was originally located. Every outdoor area you run through at least twice if not thrice given the obvious connection, yet no matter where you look the answer eludes you. Perhaps this statue was once part of the gardens of Professor Massioti's predecessor, before they got cleared out in favor of athletics field space.

Or perhaps you went about this all wrong? Perhaps the original statue is the important one? Hmm...tricky. That could be hard to find...well, not matter. You'll ponder that question another day you suppose.

-Incantation Spells. Shed some light on the situation.
--A quick cast of Aganathi’s Lamp helps shine some much needed light on the situation, especially as the back of the statue is positioned perfectly so as to literally make you not see anything. Probably not coincidentally the front of the statue yields no secrets after shining some light on it, but the back of the statue is decidedly strange. There's a dark, albeit thin line running along the back, almost like a seam. Following it from end to end doesn't reveal anything, but you take a closer look, and find an indent near the bottom. Poking a hand in your fingers find some kind of button or switch, and after some fumbling, there's a click. The back of the statue slides open, revealing a ladder leading down into a small, poorly lit - but not pitch black - chamber.

Very interesting indeed! How Grainne knew about this you can't even begin to guess at, let stand exactly how it relates to the missing piece of paper, but surely you're on the right track.

--You take out your wand to cast Aganathi’s Lamp from memory, but the spell doesn't work. Okay, unexpected. You were pretty sure you memorized this spell - Pheme, Pheme, wave wand, done. Why isn't this working?

You try again a few times, achieving the same result - or lack thereof - before you break down and decide to check if you've got a textbook in your knapsack. You don't. Alright, in that case...how about casting a blinding spell, but adding a Pheme or two to tone down the effect enough to use it as a light source instead? Surely that'll work, right?

The next thing you see, a couple minutes later (you think), is the perplexed face of an Infirmary nurse asking you how badly your eyes hurt. The answer: Pretty badly. "Don't even bother trying to explain what made you think blinding yourself was a good idea," the nurse says dismissively before walking off. You, eh...you're just going to sit here and try to remember how to cast Aganathi’s Lamp. You might not be able to really see if you actually succeed, but hey, something about practice and all of that, you suppose...

-Famous Speeches. Try to recall something useful about the ranger turned professor.
--Although this ranger turned professor doesn't have a great deal of fame (or infamy) these days, that wasn't the case back in the day. And speaking of, you do recall one famous speech from a relatively recent Legate making reference to this character. Most people don't remember it as most of it was an uninspired, bland statement about discipline and duty and whatnot, but there was always one part that didn't make sense to you - something about there being many pathways that are open but invisible, and the value of always knowing which way you can go. You had always written it off as some kind of half cooked metaphor about growing up or some such, but maybe the message was a touch more literal after all?

Not seeing anything on the front of the statue you try to examine the back, only to run into a face full of heavy shade obscuring an already dark statue. "Pathways that are open but invisible", huh? This seems to qualify. Curious you fumble around in the dark, until you hand finds a groove in the back of the statue. It's small, but it's definitely there.

You're on the right track, it seems. Time to give this a thorough once-over.

It doesn't take long. Somewhere near the floor there's an indent, inside of which your find a switch or a button of some sort. It clicks, and the back of the statue slides open, revealing a ladder leading down into a dimly lit area.

Did this exist during that ranger turned professor's lifetime, or was this build afterwards? An interesting question you'll have to leave for later. You've got some exploring of your own to do...

--Truthfully you don't know very much about this ranger turned professor. Not a figure many people talk about these days, really. Still, surely there must be some significance to this statue not depicting one of hundreds of others historical characters or former employees instead. Time to do some research.

At least, that is the idea. The theory. The practice, well, you really can't find much of anything about this character. Admittedly you did maybe, possibly, potentially misplace some critical information - say a name - which doesn't help, but even than finding good information is borderline impossible. Nothing that would point to a missing piece of paper in the here and now, at least.

Rats, you'll have to either think of something later or come up with a different plan. For now, though, time to start putting all these books back where they belong...

Bit of a filler stage TBH, but hey, it connects the previous and the next stage together better than me applying more words like duct tape .

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 3:

Spoiler

Descending down into the secret passage, thankfully lit (albeit a touch dimly) by enchanted lights lining the right side of the wall, you end up walking down a rough and small (but thankfully clean) corridor. Where you're going, you've no idea. All you can see is that this place looks like it was dug out and build quite a while ago. The mortar around here is worn, but it was build to last. Who build this place? Who used this secret passage, and what for? Where does it lead? Questions you don't have answers to, but will soon enough.

You suddenly come to a stop when you spot humanoid shapes in the distance. Three of them, they look like they're students wearing Academagia uniforms? You're not sure, but all things considered odds are good they're students. That said you don't know how they're going to respond to you. Even if they're first years, three against one is a bad matchup if push comes to shove. And if they're here, well, chances are they're here for the same reason that you are, huh? Doesn't seem likely that they're going to want to share.

That's just an assumption, though - a probable one, but an assumption all the same. So...how to deal with these three?

-Glamour. Walk right by them, invisible.
--You cast a series of Glamours to mask your visibility, your sounds, and your scent, and start slowly walking up to the three shapes. Excessive? Hardly. You're worried it's not enough. Hiding in a tiny, enclosed space like this is basically impossible without magic. And a lot of it.

That point is quickly proven when, approaching close to the three shapes, a dog suddenly jumps out from behind them and starts growling. The three shapes thankfully don't notice you, but the dog apparently picked up something. That said the dog - almost certainly a Familiar, albeit probably one not too well trained given the company of first years - doesn't seem too confident. You stand still, and after a moment the dog stops growling. Instead it starts sniffing the floor, trying to catch your scent again. You cast another spell to make sure you won't get caught again, and sneak past unnoticed.

Too close. It's not like you needed that year of your life anyway, though. In any case, you've passed the three first years. Time to see where this tunnel leads.

--You cast a Glamour to mask your visibility, and start slowly walking up to the three shapes. Ideal? Not really, admittedly, but you're only a student. It'll suffice for this circumstance. Hiding in a dimly lit, enclosed space like this doesn't take that much magic, surely.

That point is quickly proven wrong when, approaching close to the three shapes, a dog suddenly jumps out from behind them and starts growling. The three shapes thankfully don't notice you, but the dog apparently picked up something. You take a few cautious steps back, but the dog is not letting go of whatever it's caught. Is that dog a Familiar? Must be, right?

In any case you don't care to wait and see what happens, you walk back until you feel comfortable turning around and running. Going to have to think of a solution later, though. You need to know where this secret tunnel leads to if you are to figure out where the missing piece of paper went...

-Society. Talk your way through.
--Figuring that trying to hide in this narrow space is a dubious prospect, and scaring these figures off will only scare them either towards you or towards where you don't want them to go - suboptimal outcomes in both cases - you instead decide to walk up to them and see if you can talk it out. Three against one aren't favorable odds, but you do have a year of study on them beyond "just" magic study. Surely that will amount to something.

The first one to spot you actually turns out to be a dog, probably a Familiar, who sniffs you out and jumps in front of the group, growling at you. It lets out a single bark before realizing that's a bad idea inside a small tunnel, and sticks to growling afterwards.

"Down, boy. Sit," one of the first years commands. The dog, reluctantly, obeys. Afterwards all eyes - human, canine and whatever other Familiars you're not seeing - are on you. "Who are you?" another on the first years asks, after stepping in front of the other two, though still remaining behind the dog. Interesting group dynamic, but it is what it is.

"[PC FULL NAME]," you introduce yourself. Your audience seems reluctant to introduce themselves in turn, however. Rude, but you're not going to call them out on it. It's pretty clear these three are out of their element right now. Scared, even. You don't want to make them feel even more uncomfortable than they already are. "And in answer to your next question, yes, I am indeed here to chase down the piece of paper. Same as you three, I'm guessing."

"Y-you can read our minds?" one of the two first years standing behind their friend asks. Both the leader of the group and you roll your respective eyes at the question.

"How'd you know to look behind the statue?" the leader asks you, and you curtly answer that Grainne told you to check it out. Afterwards you throw the same question back in the leader's face, given their group knowing the secret - and what it is currently connected to - is no less out of left field. The leader responds with an awkward smile. "Heh, yeah...'bout that. First off, question: Do you know how that gossip queen learned about, well...this?" the leader asks, gesturing at the secret passage you're all in.

"How she learned about it, I don't know. But given the fact she is indeed a gossip queen I'd guess she heard about it from someone else," you theorize. "I'm still curious to hear about how you three learned about this secret passage yourself, and how it's related to the missing piece of paper, mind."

The leader turns towards the rest of the group, all three of them not wanting to admit that they seem to be at the end of their respective wits. "If the gossip queen knows about it, we...really don't have a reason to be here, right?" the leader asks, right as you start to wonder about what strong reason they must have to still be here. Not that strong of a reason after all, it seems. The leader's two friends, for their part, seem both reluctant to leave and reluctant to stay. The bag is, as they say, mixed. "Come on, if she already knows than the only thing we accomplish by staying here is making ourselves look suspicious. Is it really that hard to just, you know...go our separate ways here?" Turning back to you the leader asks, "Grainne won't care about us being here if you don't tell her...right?"

You don't know what leverage or room to negotiate these three think they have, but again, three first years and a dog Familiar is not favorable odds if push comes to shove. These three kids are scared, yes, but you remember what people say about a scared deer's unusual jumps. "Honestly, considering she knew about the statue I suspect she either already knows or doesn't care. Grainne is interested in the missing piece of paper, first and foremost. If she gets her hands on it - or I get my hands on it and give it to her, same difference - I'm sure she'll forget about the minor details pretty quickly."

"So, basically, point you in the right direction and you won't mention us?" the leader asks. You nod. "Fair. Not like we've got any hope of finding that cursed spell ourselves and buying an alibi off of the gossip queen that way. As for directions there's only one thing I can tell you, but I'm sure you'll find it interesting: The person we think ended up with that piece of paper has a mole Familiar, and definitely knows about this secret passage behind the statue. We've been carefully checking the walls and floor of this place for signs of digging or a secret loose stone of some sort, but haven't found anything yet. So unless it's further down the tunnel I don't think it's hidden anywhere in here."

...You did not even consider that possibility. Glancing around just exactly where you stand the walls have at least four dozen bricks within reach, and given the mechanism in the statue that hid this secret passage in the first place, it's easy to imagine a similar mechanism build into the floor somewhere. Looking down at the floor, again, two seams are within reach, and you must have passed by one to two dozen at least just coming this far. You weren't paying attention to it, really. Any one of these seeming slabs of rock could be a secret panel instead...you hate to admit it, but yes. That is, indeed, valuable information. "Right...noted. You three, go ahead and head back the way I came, the janitor there should still be preoccupied and not paying too close attention. If anyone asks you can tell them I didn't forget to check the walls and floor here. After that statue I really shouldn't have, after all."

The leader nods, and without further objection or comment starts running off, the other two and the dog Familiar following not far behind. If the piece of paper wasn't hidden within the walls or floor of this place by this point you honestly doubt it will have been hidden further in, but all the same you cast a few spells to check the area around you as you continue further down the secret passage.

That those three first years not only suspected a specific person ended up with this piece of paper, but knew said person has a mole Familiar and might try to hide the piece of paper within this tunnel, to the point of descending into said tunnel and searching for the piece of paper themselves, is not lost on you. There's a whole lot of information someone like Grainne could probably shake loose from the rumor tree given that knowledge. That said you're choosing to focus on finding the piece of paper first. Besides, you did agree not to rat the first years out. You'd like to not betray that word, if you can avoid it.

--Trying to hide in a space this narrow is a dubious prospect, and so is convincing these three figures to leave more indirectly. That said you also have to question how successful the talkative approach can be here. You have no idea who those three figures are, why they are here - looking for the piece of paper seems a reasonable guess, but than what are they doing hanging around this tunnel? Something Astrology related, perhaps? - and what you might be able to say to convince them to...actually, what do you even want to convince them of? Do you want space to examine the tunnel up close yourself? What for? Than again if they're examining it surely there's a reason - though whether that reason is related to the piece of paper is, of course, a separate question. Speaking of, do you want them to give up on trying to find the piece of paper, if that is what they're after in the first place? Could they potentially be helpful to your search, somehow? Trick or convince them to lend a hand?

In the end you don't feel like you've got enough information to come up with a plan, and trying to go in without one seems sketchy. You're outnumbered, you have no idea how much or how little you being a second year will matter here...you just have nothing to go on. It feels absurd, running away from what could be a group of first years more scared of you than you've got reasons to be afraid of them, but just...how many unknowns can a person walk into before it becomes wiser to just walk away? Maybe it's just you being unnerved by this secret tunnel you also don't know, it's certainly not helping in any case, but...you just feel like you've passed that point. Who knows, speaking of Astrology maybe you're getting a premonition or something. Who knows at this point. Let's just...go.

You'll admit it doesn't feel good, having to leave behind the only clue to the piece of paper you've got, but...man. This is just too much...

[Female PC]-Ambush. Send them packing.
--You don't have too many options given that you're standing inside a secret corridor with nowhere to go but backwards and forwards, the latter path being blocked off by the group. But one is all you need, and in terms of sending these three packing? You've got a brilliant idea.

You move to the middle of the corridor, make a few quick adjustments to your appearance (nothing major of course, but given the distance and the dim light it should be enough), and using your best angry Professor Briardi voice bellow out "ORSO!" It goes without saying the three figures heard that - if this tunnel ends up leading all the way to Meril someone at the end probably still heard that, your own ears are indeed ringing - and have turned to look at you. You're not the best for impersonating Professor Briardi on the fly, but between the distance, the dim light, and the convincing voice? You think it works. Completing the ruse you follow up your earlier shout with "I know you're in here somewhere! Come out here before I have to drag you out, the groundskeepers have several monthly reports for you to look over. As in, right NOW!"

What hesitation there was initially between the three figures quickly melts away, and they start booking it at top speed. Kind of unfortunate they're going the same way you're going, but oh well. You get the feeling they're not going to be getting in your way anymore, not after they got the scare of their life thinking Professor Briardi nearly spotted them.

--You don't have too many options given that you're standing inside a secret corridor with nowhere to go but backwards and forwards, the latter path being blocked off by the group. But one is all you need, and in terms of sending these three packing? You've got a brilliant idea.

You move to the middle of the corridor, make a few quick adjustments to your appearance (nothing major of course, but given the distance and the dim light it should be enough), and using your best angry Professor Briardi voice bellow out "VON RUPPRECHT!" It goes without saying the three figures heard that - if this tunnel ends up leading all the way to Meril someone at the end probably still heard that, your own ears are indeed ringing - and have turned to look at you. You're not the best for impersonating Professor Briardi on the fly, but between the distance, the dim light, and the convincing voice? You think it works. Completing the ruse you follow up your earlier shout with "I know you're in here somewhere! Come out here before I have to drag you out, you're not walking away from what you just did. As in, right NOW!"

You feel the act was absolutely impeccable, but one the figures doesn't fall for it, and convinces the others to stay. You can't read their faces from here, so you have no clue what they're thinking. What did you do wrong?

"Professor Briardi would never raise her voice addressing me like that," a familiar - and in your current situation very unwelcome - voice behind you suddenly says. You'd turn around to look, but you can recognize the voice well enough. "Beyond that your imitation also needs work, the inflections and emphasis on specific tones are incorrect. It's a solid foundation, all told, but it needs more polish if you want people paying attention to believe it."

You simply stand still, silently nodding your head. You can almost hear the regent's bemused smile on his face.

"Glad I could be of use. Now if you'll excuse me there's one Dexter Marchant running around the Academagia somewhere when he should be roasting in a fireplace in my office - I'll have one installed just for him, don't you worry - and this hidden passage seemed a likely escape route. If he is here I suggest you clear out. If he tries to escape by taking hostages than frankly I'm not going to be moved."

Dexter Marchant? As in Philippe Marchant's older brother? What did that guy to do draw the regent's ire that badly? In any case you should maybe possibly potentially clear out of here circa now, because this is very rapidly escalating to something beyond your pay grade!

Time to make a hasty retreat and come back to this later.

[Male PC]-Ambush. Send them packing.
--You don't have too many options given that you're standing inside a secret corridor with nowhere to go but backwards and forwards, the latter path being blocked off by the group. But one is all you need, and in terms of sending these three packing? You've got a brilliant idea.

You move to the middle of the corridor, make a few quick adjustments to your appearance (nothing major of course, but given the distance and the dim light it should be enough), and using your best angry Professor Storey voice bellow out "DEXTER!" It goes without saying the three figures heard that - if this tunnel ends up leading all the way to Meril someone at the end probably still heard that, your own ears are indeed ringing - and have turned to look at you. You're not the best for impersonating Professor Storey on the fly, but between the distance, the dim light, and the convincing voice? You think it works. Completing the ruse you follow up your earlier shout with "I know you're in here somewhere! Come out here before I have to drag you out, you're in enough trouble to get send to a special private hall session! As in, right NOW!"

What hesitation there was initially between the three figures quickly melts away, and they start booking it at top speed. Kind of unfortunate they're going the same way you're going, but oh well. You get the feeling they're not going to be getting in your way anymore, not after they got the scare of their life thinking Professor Storey nearly spotted them. Not to mention the thread of Dexter Marchant being in here. Gods, you don't even want to imagine running in that guy in these dim corridors.

--You don't have too many options given that you're standing inside a secret corridor with nowhere to go but backwards and forwards, the latter path being blocked off by the group. But one is all you need, and in terms of sending these three packing? You've got a brilliant idea.

You move to the middle of the corridor, make a few quick adjustments to your appearance (nothing major of course, but given the distance and the dim light it should be enough), and using your best angry Professor Storey voice bellow out "OLIVIER!" It goes without saying the three figures heard that - if this tunnel ends up leading all the way to Meril someone at the end probably still heard that, your own ears are indeed ringing - and have turned to look at you. You're not the best for impersonating Professor Storey on the fly, but between the distance, the dim light, and the convincing voice? You think it works. Completing the ruse you follow up your earlier shout with "I know you're in here somewhere! Come out here before I have to drag you out, you're in enough trouble to get send to a special private hall session! As in, right NOW!"

You feel the act was absolutely impeccable, but one the figures doesn't fall for it, and convinces the others to stay. You can't read their faces from here, so you have no clue what they're thinking. What did you do wrong?

"Olivier ain't attending the Academagia anymore," an unfamiliar voice behind you suddenly says, answering your question. You turn around, a deep frown on your indignant face, and prepare to defend your actions.

Than you see who walked up behind you, and those words get caught in your throat.

"I'll give you credit where it's due, mind: Using my brother's name as a threat like that? I like it. Shows how much respect his name still carries," Dexter Marchant, older brother of Philippe Marchant and younger brother of (the, as of this year, no longer attending the Academagia) Olivier Marchant, cheerfully tells you. That is, eh, not the guy you want to suddenly see behind you in a tiny, dimly lit corridor like this! "Your Professor Storey voice ain't half bad either, too. Nearly got me wondering whether the guy picked up Gates until I realized he's looking for me, not my bro. I know you'll give him a proper headache with it sooner or later, and you did me a solid showing me this escape route too. So, out of respect for your moxie, I'll let you go. Might want to clear out of this place, though. No points for guessing who's two steps behind me."

Dexter finishes saying his piece and keeps walking, the three figures taking very little time to decide to start fleeing in abject terror. You'd join them if you didn't have to run in the other direction.

You'll just...get out of here as quickly as you can and hope no one notices. You don't know if the Regent heard you impersonating him - you really don't want to try and explain yourself if he did - and chances are he'll be snooping around this area for a while looking for Dexter. You'll just try to avoid that encounter if at all possible.

Besides which, you, eh...may or may not need to go change out your underwear right now...

For el record, the NPC students in our year that have a Mole Familiar are Corradin d'Alfi (Paladin the Jade Ringed Mole), Kurt Henning (Old Diggerdoodle the Dragonbane Mole), Leopold Rassent (Murdock the Dragonbane Mole), Milena di Montors (Bella the Jade-Ringed Mole) and Noemia Falcon y Paredes (Oliver the Steambreather Mole). In case anyone is interested in speculating .

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 4:

Spoiler

Following the secret passage to the end you find another secret door. You open it, and after pushing through some overgrown bushes step outside into the Academagia's Grounds. The secret door closes behind you, and it looks like it can't be opened from this side. Unfortunate, maybe it was intended as some sort of secret escape route? You're not sure. As for where it spit you out, you don't recognize this part of the Grounds immediately. That said it's pretty easy to get a sense of where you are based on Vernin's towers in the distance, and you quickly realize where you are - a part of the Grounds that isn't as developed (or well maintained) as others, but a place you tend to pass through when going elsewhere. Usually into Elumia Proper. This place would probably see more attention if there was greater need for more athletics field space or the Garden Gallery needed to be expanded, but as is it simply isn't a priority. Not above other things at least.

You take a quick look around the overgrown bushes near the secret passage, but no, there's no missing piece of paper here that you can see. Figures. So where did it run off to? And how, for what matter.

...That's actually a very good point. You being a student at the Academagia notwithstanding, it seems slightly improbable that this piece of paper grew legs, jumped out of whatever pocket or hand it was kept in, ran to a statue concealing a secret passage (never mind how the piece of paper knew about said secret passage in the first place), operated a latch to open the secret door to said secret passage, climbed down the ladder, ran all the way through the tunnel, opened up the secret door on the other side, and finally ran out.

If it were just the piece of paper growing legs, that would be one thing. But all the rest on top? That would just be silly.

It seems far more likely that someone took the piece of paper and brought it with them through the secret doors and tunnel, to it's exit here, and from here...where would they have gone? Hmm...you suppose that also depends on why the paper was taken in the first place. If the point was merely to destroy it, well, setting it on fire in the secret tunnel certainly would have accomplished that easily enough. The same for creating a personal copy, after which the original could have been left behind the statue to pretend some gust of wind blowing through the nearby window pushed it there. At least to you that makes the most sense. What about the original piece of paper would make it worth bringing along? What value did it have that a copy of the text did not?

The simplest, and perhaps most likely answer you can come up with, is surprise. Whoever found the paper did so on accident, wasn't prepared to make a copy right then and there, and so used the secret passage they knew about to abscond with it unnoticed, to hide it somewhere they could discreetly come back to collect it later. Alternatively you're missing something about the original piece of paper having it's own special value beyond the (easily copied) text written on it, in which case the same scenario seems plausible - hide it somewhere until the rumor storm dies down, and it can be safely returned to to pick it up.

In that case the question is: Which direction did this person go from here, to hide the piece of paper? Which direction would they want to go, even? Hmm...

-Hunting. Look around more closely.
--You take one more look around the open field (relatively) in front of you, and can't help but feel exposed. Imagine coming out of a secret passage, and people just saw you step out of some overgrown bushes in plain view. There's more than one way to interpret that of course, but frankly, none of them are flattering. That feels like the kind of attention you wouldn't want. Not if you're using a secret passage to go anywhere in the first place, especially.

That in mind you return to the overgrown bushes, and sure enough. Footprints in the dirt and occasional patch of mud, hugging the wall. Seemingly leading towards Elumia Proper, definitely not towards the Academagia's main buildings at least. Hard to say for sure, but you'd guess a second or third year.

The trail is recent, too. Hard to follow once it breaks off from the bushes and muddy path they create, but not impossible. And yes, it heads into the direction Elumia Proper. Time to follow it to it's destination.

--You cast a curious glance at the relatively open field in front of you, and shrug your shoulder. Looking for tracks and such? Sure. You can do that.

The good news is, yes, you indeed can. The bad news is that there's a lot of tracks here. This isn't a well trafficked area by any stretch, but there's still more than a few trails to follow. Each one could be the one you want, so you end up just picking them at random and seeing if they end up somewhere meaningful.

It takes until you lose track of the fifth trail that you realize that you don't even know what "somewhere meaningful" means in this context. You have no idea where whoever took the piece of paper, and there's tracks leading to every possible direction one could plausible go with such a thing.

You're going to have to think of a better solution, or this is where the trail goes cold for you...

-Pure Luck. Flip a coin.
--You take out a Pim, and with practised ease flip and catch it. It lands heads.

It's at this point you realize you didn't actually decide which side of the coin would represent where to go, so you suppose this outcome is telling you to use your head. Or it's "head" in the sense of "head back". Either one is fair enough.

The latter isn't happening, so the former it is. Which means...well, if you wanted to hide something you'd prefer to hide it far away from people who'd take it from you. Meaning the Imperial Reserve, not the Academagia.

...Alright, case closed. Time to head into Elumia Proper and see if your luck holds out...

--You don't have any Pims on hand right now, but there's plenty of small pebbles around you can use as a substitute. Just cast some quick magic so you can tell one side from the other, and after some fumbling you finally manage to send it flying properly. It spins and spins until it lands...head!

Not heads, plural. Head, singular. As it in lands on your head.

The shock from the sudden hit is enough to cause you to stumble and lose your balance, thankfully only falling painfully on your backside rather than crashing against the nearby wall and damaging your neck. Could have really done without that. Lesson learned: Spend more time perfecting the art of throwing rocks before attempting to throw them directly up. It's an advanced technique that requires many hours of practice and perfecting of basic principles of the disciple of rock throwing. Today you learned.

As for the rock, it landed on tails. You think you'll take that as a sign of head to the Infirmary, tail tucked firmly between your legs. Feels like someone tried to spank you with a hammer. Might want to get that looked at...

[player has Marat Deck item?]-The Everard Equation. Draw a card to see which way to go.
--You absent-mindedly shuffle your deck and pull the first card. L'Imperatore Sonno, the Sleeping Emperor. Fascinating, you were fully expecting either the Prince or the Carriage. The Sleeping Emperor, though, hmm...

That certainly doesn't point towards the Academagia itself, does it? No, that would seem to point towards the Imperial Reserve. Lost authority, something missing that promises to return one day...yeah. Has to be.

Trusting your deck you decide to head off towards the Imperial Reserve. Either the piece of paper is there, or someone else significant worth the trip is there. All you have to do is find it.

--You absent-mindedly shuffle your deck and pull the first card. Il Trasporto, The Carriage. Taking a thin reference book out of your knapsack to remind you of what the various Court cards represent...hmm, yes...quite, quite. Indeed! Clearly this card is a warning against blinding going down roads untravelled, representing your own ineptitude of having to rely on a deck of cards to show you the right turn to take on the unexpected path - that would be the secret passage - you just reached the end of.

...Well that's just rude! Fine, if that's what your deck wants to tell you it can get it's own seat on one of the uncomfortable chairs in the Venalicium's study cubicles as you study up on going in different directions. Your own card deck daring to suggest you're a blindfolded buffoon randomly stumbling down paths you can't even see. The nerve of these things, you swear...

-Plot. What would be the best direction to go into?
--It might be the most suspicious in some ways, but you have to assume the best direction to go would be into Elumia Proper - or at least, not in the direction of the Academagia. At any moment the piece of paper's absence could have been noticed, and set off the rapid wildfire of rumors you noticed earlier in the Great Hall (and beyond). Being, say, in a Common Room when that wildfire reaches you, well, that could get awkward. Especially if you're none too skilled at maintaining your composure.

Compare this to the alternative scenario, where the paper absconder is in Elumia Proper when the wildfire starts, and returns later calm and collected "from a nice walk", able to effectively plead ignorance to what happened in the Academagia in the meantime. You have to say, if it were you? You'd prefer to be in the latter scenario. Especially if there were no witnesses to confirm you weren't off "on a walk" for longer than you really were. An alibi like that could only prove useful, after all.

--Quite frankly you're not sure why the best place to hide the piece of paper isn't the secret tunnel you just came out of. Admittedly there were other students in there, so it apparently isn't too closely guarded a secret. Perhaps whoever found the piece of paper already told their friends about the secret tunnel earlier, so they knew full well it wouldn't be a safe hideout anymore?

Rookie mistake, that. In any case the theory unfortunately puts you no closer to figuring out which direction to go from here. There's many to choose from, and none stand out to you as obvious better than any other...

Fun Fact, I actually had a dice rolling thing "draw" both Marat cards for me. That they both worked out pretty perfectly was pure coincidence .

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 5:

Spoiler

You follow the path all the way out into the Imperial Reserve, where it leads you to a single Academagia student. A first year, given you don't recognize her, wearing Avila's uniform. She's got her wand in one hand, and some kind of sheet of parchment in the other. Have you found the mysterious piece of paper? Truthfully you're doubtful. The difference between paper and parchment notwithstanding - rumors are only rumors, after all, you can't take every last word of them at face value - it's been too long for whoever found it to just be standing around like this. Unless the scandalous magic said to be printed on it is actually directions to a scandalously difficult to find buried treasure, but that seems rather unlikely. Rumors are rumors, but they're not that unreliable. Usually.

Of course that begs the question of who this Avila student is. Presumably another competitor, looking for the same piece of paper that you are. That certainly seems the most likely scenario. In which case you'll have to think of a way to...persuade her to back off, and let you claim the prize yourself. Preferably in some manner that won't get Professor Badcrumble on your case. This is going to require subtlety and grace, not Joana's fists.

...Speaking of, could you use Professor Badcrumble against this student in some way? Would she disapprove of this search for the piece of paper, enough so that this first year could be tricked or scared off? Probably...right? It's not a simple option, but surely the plan could work on an Avila student. And a girl, at that. If any combination of college and gender is kept under Professor Badcrumble's watchful eyes...

In any case, what approach to take?

-Deceit. Try to use Professor Badcrumble's name.
--You give it some more thought, and realize that while the idea of Professor Badcrumble disapproving just seems logical it's much harder to justify your own presence here. Why would the regent ask another student to spread the word? And a student barely older than the first year herself, at that. Nevertheless you can think of a decent excuse or two, ones you're willing to try out. Time to go break a leg. Or not break one, metaphorically and physically, preferably.

You walk up to the student, not sure if you should try and maintain a serious posture or not (the confusion probably works better, anyhow). She hears you approach and turns around quickly, wand in hand but not raised and pointed at you. "Who are you, what do you want?" the girl demands. You introduce yourself and plainly ask her if she's looking for the missing piece of paper. She narrows her eyes and asks why you want to know.

Time to see if your trick works. "To convince as many people as I can to stop looking for it," you admit. It's not a lie strictly speaking. Quite the contrary, it couldn't be closer to the truth. Your tone of voice, however? That is a lie. Plain and simple.

The first year curiously looks you up and down multiple times. It seems that whatever confrontation she was expecting, this wasn't it. "Huh...alright. A straightforward answer at least, I can respect that. That said why do you want me to stop looking for it? You want that magic spell for yourself, I'm guessing?" the girl asks. You, earnestly, shake your head in response. You don't want that spell for yourself, you want it to give it to Grainne. Different story the girl doesn't need to know about. For her part the girl continues to be perplexed. "Okay, you've got me a loss. Why do you want me to stop looking for that spell, if it's not to get your own hands on it?"

There's multiple potential answers here, and any one of them could be your undoing. Better stay composed. "Professor Badcrumble," you answer. You don't elaborate or anything, you just mention the regent's name. The first year, for her part, frowns deeply.

"Really," she slowly draws out with a measurable sneer. Seems like you've accidentally hit a nerve. "Do tell what makes her think I'll simply nod my head politely and fall in line at her command, as any good lady is apparently supposed to do," she spits out. There is definitely some history you're not aware of here. That might help you, it might just significantly increase the chance this first year is about to curse you into a frog. Not the best position you've ever been in, really. You'll just have to make it work.

"Do you know what the spell you're looking for really is?" you ask. The first year slowly nods, sadly refusing to let slip what she knows about the spell. Here goes nothing. "Than surely you realize it's not a spell that first years are supposed to have. Or underclassman in general, for that matter."

That one is just a guess, but all told it's probably the safest guess you'll make all year. Indeed, the first year slowly nods again. "I know, but I'm not going to be a first year forever now am I? This is an opportunity for me to study it early, that's the entire reason why I want it. You-just, please tell me you're not about to say it's 'inappropriate' or something."

You get the sense this girl has a short temper, but than you did just push her buttons on accident. Go figure she'd respond with hostility. Besides, you're actively lying to her. Calling yourself a saint in comparison seems suspect at best. "No, I'm not," you say, trying to reassure the first year. She's still clearly annoyed, but at least it doesn't look like you've made yourself her personal enemy. "The issue is that messing with such things early is potentially dangerous. I know it can be hard to believe sometimes, but professors do more than keep students in line in terms of their behaviour. They also have a tendency to stop them from doing things they shouldn't...Professor Briardi notwithstanding, but, you know what I mean. Let me put it this way: If you find this magic, do you think Professor Badcrumble would assume you'd never end up using it at any point? Trying it, testing it, telling your friends about it, any of that stuff?"

The girl frowns, and narrows her eyes again. She's thinking, which is a remarkable improvement over ten seconds ago to be fair. "Do you know what that magic is?" she asks. You're guessing you're close, but not entirely correct there. Time to see if you can salvage this.

"Not in detail," you admit. "All I know is that there's more to that spell than people think, you know how rumors are. And that in the wrong hands the spell could be really dangerous. Not in the 'use incantation to set the forest on fire' sense, all magic is like that. More in the 'student finds something new and exciting, can't resist the temptation to just see if and how it works, things escalate from there' sense. You know how sensitive the professors are about that sort of stuff."

After a tense moment it becomes clear the girl has fallen silent. Thinking over your words, deciding on whether to believe you, and hopefully whether to give up on her search. You're not holding out hope on that last one, though. "Let me just confirm one thing: You have no idea what that spell actually is, and what it's used for?"

Yep, this is going downhill already. "Of course not. Do you think the regent would have explained that in detail?" you throw back.

"If the point was to convince me to stop looking for it, than yes. She'd know I don't take advice from people who don't know what they're talking about. What hearsay you were told about that spell is no better than any given student's rumors, as far as I'm concerned," the girl spits out. You point out the girl isn't the only person looking for the spell, and that you're not on any sort of officially sanctioned mission the regent personally gave you anyway. Instead you spin a quick story about how you were tested last year, the Legate's forbidden pastries trials in the Great Hall, and couldn't help but wonder why the professors seemed so oddly calm while half the student body was bouncing off the walls around them. That (supposedly) lead you to Professor Badcrumble's office, where you weren't given any actual details. Of course the regent wouldn't go into details, given the nature of the missing spell, but it also did nothing to convince you there wasn't more to it. Just more to it in a way that most students wouldn't stop to consider, as you did. The girl, finally, goes from measurable scepticism to looking like she believes you. "Another test of willpower, huh? A good theory, but I've already used Astrology to-actually, than again...if Professor Badcrumble is part of the whole scheme..."

"As much as we'd love to think we've gotten somewhere with our studies, we're still just students. And underclassman, at that," you fill in. The girl slowly nods, although this time the look on her face is one of contemplation rather than doubtful contempt.

"Yeah...why this second test, though? Wasn't the one at the start of the year enough?" the girl asks. You shrug and (honestly) answer that you really have no idea. It might be something the professors do periodically to see if the lesson managed to stick - it's not like they were up front about it the first time either - or it could even be that this whole "lost piece of paper with scandalous magic" thing was just something that naturally set the stage, and the professors took advantage. They very well could have created the rumor about it themselves, in which case who knows what the actual truth is. The girl slowly nods, and stares curiously at her parchment. "When you put it like that...Professor Badcrumble-there were some parts that didn't...make sense. But if she was behind the whole thing all along, than...than it all just falls into place..."

You wisely stay silent, patiently waiting for the girl to draw your conclusions on her own.

Eventually she rolls up her parchment. A very good sign, hopefully. "What are you going to do?" she asks, looking right at you. You don't want to stumble over your own feet at the eleventh hour, so you ask if she has any ideas. She nods. "If this spell is indeed a trap, than just walking around and warning people isn't going to be enough. Someone is going to slip through, sooner or later. This is going to sound absurd, but if you want my advice, find that piece of paper yourself. Find it, bring it to Professor Badcrumble, and simply give it to her. If it is a trap you can step in it yourself, crush it, and hand the remains over to the regent without any fuzz. She'll just see a student trying to do the right thing. No one is going to blame you for that."

Were it not for the fact you've pulled the wool over this girl's eyes that would be a genuinely good suggestion. As such you nod, and say you'll consider that option. The girl nods in turn, gives you her roll of parchment to "help you figure things out", and stomps off, clearly angry that her time has been wasted. If only she knew.

...You have to stop and question whether she does, though. You didn't even realize it yourself before, but this theory about this spell being some kind of clever professor's trap, another test of willpower...it seems a lot more plausible than you're comfortable with. Nevertheless you're going to keep looking for it. You don't want it for yourself, you want to find it to give it to Grainne. Though you might want to take a look at it first. If the spell is just not what the rumors claimed at all...you might have to seriously question whether the source of those rumors needs to be called into question. In that case maybe you would be better off giving it to the regent...but than, if anyone could figure out the rumor mill, surely...

You shake your head, trying to get rid of these doubts. None of this matters until you've found the piece of paper, so let's just focus on that for now.

--You think about it, but the idea of Professor Badcrumble disapproving just seems too logical. Rumors are rumors, sure, but it still seems fitting the regent wouldn't want one of her students to chase after them. Time to see if the girl in front of you agrees.

You confidently walk up to the student, who hears you approach and turns around quickly. Wand in hand, but not raised and pointed at you. "Who are you, what do you want?" the girl demands. You introduce yourself and plainly ask her if she's looking for the missing piece of paper. She narrows her eyes and asks why you want to know.

Time to see if your trick works. "Professor Badcrumble's got me warning people to give up on finding it," you lie, trying to sound a touch annoyed. "So, eh...yeah. That's basically it, really."

The girl frowns deeply upon hearing the regent's name, so much so you have to wonder if you stepped on some toes. Suddenly, however, that desire to set you on fire through sheer force of will turns into confusion. "Wait a tick, hold on - queen ladymaker asked you to go around asking student to stop looking for the piece of paper?" she asks. You can't very well pretend you're doing this for fun, so you nod and "admit" you got roped into the job. "Really. Seem a bit too happy go lucky to be doing something you don't want to if you ask me," the girl says. This is off to a great start, let's see if it can only get better from here.

"Y-yeah, well...you know how it goes with professors. Don't want to say 'no' to them, just keep holding on to hope that saying 'yes' will lead to them doing the same down the line...it's worth a shot, don't you think?"

The decidedly sceptical look on the girl doesn't fade one bit. "I think Professor Badcrumble getting a young student involved with something she doesn't want young students involved with requires an explanation, honestly," the girl says. In answer to your previous question, no. It can, in fact, get even worse.

"Eh..." is all you can think of in response to that. Your mind races trying to find an excuse, but alas, none you could think of in time.

"Nice try," the girl eventually says. Well, it was a valiant effort you suppose. "Next time try thinking your bold-faced lies through a little more. So, you want to try and give this whole 'conversation' thing a try for real, or is this the part where you slink back in shame and ponder whatever life decisions lead you to try and lie your way through life as a first resort?"

You'll slink away in deference to your rising desire to challenge this girl to a duel and demand retribution for her attitude, if only because if you were to actually lose that duel Grainne would have no piece of paper to throw at the gossip grapevine and a second year who got defeated by a first year - twice - causing said aforementioned lack of piece of paper being delivered to her. As much as you want to shoot back, it's time for a tactical retreat.

The girl doesn't say anything as you shake your head and walk off. You don't even consider the possibility of going around her and trying to find the piece of paper before she does, this insult cannot stand! You'll get that piece of paper by going through her or you're not getting it at all!

-Awareness. Convince the student to give up her search.
--It's easy to forget, but it's not just Professor Badcrumble who might object to this student finding the piece of paper. Other students will be interested as well, and that is something that whoever is in front of you may or may not have stopped to think about. Of course the same could apply to you, but you've got an answer to that already - you're looking for this piece of paper to give to Grainne. Whatever she does with it is her business, and if people give her a hard time for it? One of the Academagia's most notorious gossips can probably handle herself, that's for sure.

You casually slide up to the student, though you don't attempt to sneak at all, so you get noticed pretty much immediately. The student turns around, wand in hand though not raised and pointed at you. "Who are you, what do you want?" the girl demands. All things considered you're not worried about giving this girl your name, so you introduce yourself and ask if she's here for the same reason you are - that being, of course, the missing piece of paper. The girl narrows her eyes and looks you up and down a few times, but you merely give her a bemused smile in return. "Alright, spit it out. What are you planning?" the girl asks. Apparently your grin is just a touch too bemused.

"How to convince you to give up on finding the piece of paper yourself. And yes, I do mean convincing you the proper civilized way. I'm not about to go 'surprise, it's fists' and get cursed into a frog or some such. I'm an Academagia student, I'd like to hold myself to at least a slightly higher standard than that, thanks."

You actually get a chuckle out of the girl. "Alright, appreciate the honesty. You stepping on the toes of my search, less so, but if it's a battle of wits you want I'm game. My name's Maelys Laroyenne, by the way, and I trust you can see which college's uniform I'm wearing. So, what's this idea you've got that'll change my mind?"

"Simply this: Have you thought about what will happen after you find the piece of paper?" you ask. With a confused look Maelys shrugs and says she doesn't have plans beyond studying the magic written on it. She clearly doesn't see anything wrong with that idea. "Thought so. Here's a question, than: What are you going to do when, not if, people figure out you were the one who found and studied that piece of paper? It's not going to be kept a secret forever, even if you and I never talk about it someone else will notice or cast a spell or some such sooner or later. When other students start approaching you about it, be it to satisfy their curiosity or learn the magic themselves or what have you...what than?"

Maelys frowns, but more in a "doesn't understand what you're talking about" sense than a "realises she doesn't have an answer to that question" sense. "Just out of curiosity, I'm assuming you've already thought of an answer to the same question?" she asks. Maybe to stall for time, you're not sure, but either way it's an easy enough question to answer. You're, again, not worried about Maelys knowing either. Chances are she'll figure it out sooner or later anyway.

"Hmm-hmm. Long story less long is that Grainne asked me to find this piece of paper for her, so if I find it I'll give it to her. What she does with it, and the attention it brings? Her problem. Frankly it's probably her goal, if we're being perfectly honest."

Maelys' frown deepens. "Grainne...as in the second year gossip fountain? You're sure she's trustworthy?" she asks. You, ultimately, don't feel like Grainne is likely to try and pull some kind of fast one over you, so, yes. You nod and confirm that you do, indeed, trust her. "I sure hope you're right about that. As for myself I'll admit you got me at a loss, I haven't thought that far ahead. But I'm also not going to let that stop me. This missing piece of paper is an opportunity for me to get a hold of something I know I'm going to want later, so worst case I'll just have to sit on it for a while. I'm not letting this opportunity slip through my fingers just because other people are also interested. If I have to memorize whatever is written on that piece of paper and set it on fire afterwards to keep it without getting run over by others, so be it."

A part of you points out Maelys doesn't sound too convinced, and that that's a good thing, but the better part of you realizes something far more important. "Wait, hold on - you're saying that you're willing to set the piece of paper on fire in order to keep what is written on it?" you ask just to confirm. Maelys, despite a few doubts still circling her head, confidently nods. "So...what stops the two of us working together to find the piece of paper, you making your own copy of it since what's written on it is all you care about, and me taking the original back to Grainne? You've got your spell, I've got a happy friend, Grainne draws everyone's attention as she wants to...everyone wins, right?"

"The simple fact that the original piece of paper is, potentially, more valuable than that," Maelys answers. "Only the original piece of paper can be used in Astrology, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't imagine Grainne wants that piece of paper just so she can tell others all about it. Sounds like something the professors would frown at, to me. So I suspect that Grainne has some ulterior motive, and I can't trust her as far as I could throw her, personally."

Huh. Indeed, that is a fair point. Seems the tables have turned a bit. "True, nevertheless she did ask for it and I don't believe it's to try and make a fool out of me at least. I don't suppose-you mentioned wanting to study the spell on the piece of paper, I don't suppose you know what's on it, exactly?"

"Oh, of course I do," Maelys says, grinning as she taps her wand against her parchment. "I don't know if Grainne knows this much, but I've got my sources. It's a...ah, an, eh...gods I cannot remember-it's a spell that prevents couples from having children, alright? I don't recall what the fancy term is, but you know what I mean."

The tables have indeed turned around fully, because now you're the one staring perplexed at a smug Maelys. She, in turn, reads the obvious question that's written just all over your face right now.

"Yes, yes, I know. You don't need to tell me. I don't intend to have Professor Badcrumble tell me how and why to act like a 'proper lady' on her terms, alright? I know I'm still a first year, I don't have a special friend yet and wouldn't be allowed to date her even if I did, academy rules and all. I'm aware. Like I said, this search is an investment. An opportunity to get something I know I'm going to want later. Forward planning, preparing for the future, and all of that. It's the kind of thing a respectable Academagia student should be well familiar with, surely you understand."

Planning ahead that far seems a bit much, but you suppose if you can't find answers in the Venalicium-actually, hold on a second, what did Maelys just say? "Wait, hold up, go back a tick. That special friend, you wouldn't be allowed to date her yet? As in...?"

You can't bring yourself to finish the thought, even though you have a hard time imagining Maelys being too bothered by it. Indeed she isn't, although her conversational blunder is a different story. "Blurted that out, did I?" she spits out, audibly annoyed at herself. You don't dare nod. "Fine. I guess you got me with that sudden curveball question of yours. Bravo. Is there a problem with that?"

As a matter of fact there is a problem with that, which you point out to Maelys - if she's not going to be dating any guys down the line she is not going to have any use for the spell she is after. It confuses Maelys initially, as she doesn't quite understand your point. But you convince her to admit that she hasn't told her parents about herself yet, and from there it quickly becomes clear the omission resulted in miscommunication and further confusion. You point out that situation and correct her misunderstandings, even if she's reluctant to hear it. After all, both of you already know what you stand to gain from Maelys giving up on her search after all.

"Alright...fine. Guess I'll...dammit, I was really hoping this would pay off...no matter. I guess you want to know where Grainne's precious spell is?" Maelys asks. You nod, though frown at the same time as well. The question implied there did not fly over your head. "Alright. Embarrassing as it is you gave me some good information, and I guess I don't need this parchment anymore. So, here. My Astrology tells me the spell is hidden inside a tree somewhere. But, well..." the girl gestures at the literal forest you two are standing in. The problem is, indeed, quite evident. As for her parchment, Astrology related notes and details. "Hopefully you'll have more luck. Just remember to be careful. Once you've got the piece of paper you can make as many copies as you want, but only the original can be used in Astrology. I don't know what angle that gossip has, but I can't imagine she's planning ahead as far as I did-tried to, rather. Still, all told? I can't trust it."

You promise you'll take that advise to heart, assuming you will be able to find the piece of paper yourself. And first, for that matter. Maelys nods and stomps off, clearly frustrated her search ended in, more or less, complete and total failure for her.

Still a lot of good information from that. And a solid lead. Time to finish this endless chase...

--You stop and try to think this through a bit more thoroughly. This girl isn't going to give up because you say "pretty please", that seems obvious. You could try to leverage Professor Badcrumble's name, but that has it's own issues. So, who or what else could convince this girl to turn around and leave? The easiest way to answer that question, usually, is applying it to yourself - what would convince you to turn around and leave?

The truth, though, is that...you don't know. You can't think of anything off-hand the girl could tell you that would convince you to turn around and leave. As such you're completely at a loss as to what you could try and use to convince her. Obviously the girl in front of you isn't your long lost twin sister (who is a year or so younger than you for some mysterious reason), she'll have different ideas and priorities you could potentially leverage, but what are they? How can you find that out without talking to her, which could lead to you revealing your hand before she reveals hers? You can't think of anything she could say to convince you to turn around and leave, but she might...

Ultimately you can do nothing but shake your head, turn around and leave. It's utterly ridiculous, losing without a single word being said between the two of you, but you just cannot imagine a pathway to victory here. You could, admittedly, try to go around the girl and try looking for the piece of paper yourself, or perhaps try something sneaky like try and follow the girl only to snatch the piece of paper right from under her. You are out of leads otherwise. Problem is, again, that idea goes both ways. And you'd really rather not go searching for a literal missing piece of paper in an entire forest only to have someone walk up to you and take it for herself. Diplomatically or otherwise.

You'll just have to rethink this strategy. Surely finding the missing piece of paper can't be that easy, so you should get a second chance...right?

-Negotiate. Strike a deal with the student.
--It's possible that both Grainne and the girl in front of you want the original piece of paper for some specific reason - probably some sort of Astrology magic in the latter case - but that's not a certainty. If either party merely wants the text that could be easily copied. Or if both parties do want the original it's still possible that an agreement could be reached. What if both girls want the original for the same reason? Could they end up working together? You'll never know what this first year's angle is if you don't ask. And while that might be dangerous, you're confident you can hold your own in a negotiation.

That in mind you walk up to the student, casually. She hears you approach and turns around quickly, wand in hand but not raised and pointed at you. "Who are you, what do you want?" the girl demands. You introduce yourself and don't hide the fact you're here for the same reason you suspect she is here - the missing piece of paper. As such you're interested in knowing what her angle is, see if perhaps the two of you can work together. The girl looks you over a few times, but of course you're not lying. "Huh. Alright, not what I expecting from someone looking to get that prize themselves. My name's Maelys Laroyenne, and I trust you can see which college's uniform I'm wearing. That said you'll have to forgive me for being sceptical and asking you to go first: Why do you want that magic?"

Interesting that Maelys asks why you want "that magic", and not "that piece of paper". That's potentially a good sign. "Honestly, someone asked me to find it for them as a favor. So here I am, looking for it." Maelys demands more details, and you tell her about the encounter in the Great Hall with Grainne. She flinches a bit hearing the name of one of the Academagia's most notorious gossips, but nothing more.

"Oh that is just rich. I wouldn't trust that gossip as far as I could throw her, be careful she isn't planning on pulling a fast one over you," Maelys warns. The warning is taken, but you simply don't believe Grainne is luring you into any sort of trap in this situation. "I'm guessing she didn't tell you what spell is on that piece of paper?" Maelys continues, to which you shrug and confirm if Grainne knows she didn't tell you. "Figures. I don't know if she knows either, but I've got my sources. It's a...ah, an, eh...gods I cannot remember-it's a spell that prevents couples from having children, alright? I don't recall what the fancy term is, but you know what I mean."

You do, you even remember the fancy term for it and would normally fill it in. Instead, in this instance, you slowly raise a very confused eyebrow. Maelys happily takes advantage of the silence to continue to lead the conversation.

"Don't know what the gossip wants with it, but frankly, I can't imagine it's anything good. Again, can't confirm whether she knows or not, but it sounds like she's the only reason you got this far in the first place. I had to rely on my wand for that, so I'm inclined to believe she does. Her not telling you...make of that what you will, really."

Whatever point Maelys was trying to make there, unfortunately for her, completely flew over your head as you were pre-occupied by a rather more pressing question you blurt out a second later. "Why do you want that magic, given you know what it's used for?"

The sudden question takes Maelys aback. One step forwards, two steps backwards for her. "W-Why? I want it because I don't intend to have Professor Badcrumble tell me how and why to act like a 'proper lady' on her terms." Two seconds and one pointed look is all Maelys needs to know how to continue. "Yes, you don't have to tell me, I know I'm still a first year. I don't have a special friend yet and wouldn't be allowed to date her even if I did, I know. This search is an investment. When an opportunity that might never appear again falls into your lap you take it, you don't wait until after it's immediately useful and long gone. Forward thinking, long term planning. You know how that goes, surely."

You've half a mind to ask this (evidently rebellious, strangely fitting given her college's namesake) first year whether she's tried the Venalicium, until suddenly a thought hits you. "Wait, hold up, go back a tick. That special friend, you wouldn't be allowed to date her yet? As in...?"

You can't bring yourself to finish the thought, even though it seems clear Maelys wouldn't be too bothered by it. And she isn't. Bothered by her conversational blunder, sure, but that's it. "Blurted that out, did I? Fine, I guess you got me with that sudden curveball question of yours. Bravo. Is there a problem with that?"

As a matter of fact there is a problem with that, which you point out to Maelys - if she's not going to be dating any guys down the line she is not going to have any use for the spell she is after. It confuses Maelys initially, as she doesn't quite understand your point. But you convince her to admit that she hasn't told her parents about herself yet, and from there it quickly becomes clear the omission resulted in miscommunication and further confusion. You point out that situation and correct her misunderstandings, even if she's reluctant to hear it. After all, she has some information she can tell you, in return.

"Alright...fine. Guess I'll...dammit, I was really hoping this would pay off...no matter. I guess you want to know where your precious spell is?" Maelys asks. You nod. "Figured. Well, embarrassing as it is, I can't deny you've given me some good information I needed to hear. And I guess I don't need this parchment anymore, so, here. My Astrology tells me the spell is hidden inside a tree somewhere. But, well..." the girl gestures at the literal forest you two are standing in. The problem is, indeed, quite evident. As for her parchment, Astrology related notes and details. "Hopefully you'll have more luck. Just, do me if not others a favor, and be careful about who you give the original spell to. Once you've got it you can make as many copies as you want, but only the original can be used in Astrology. I don't know what angle that gossip has, I do know that I don't trust it. Because I know what someone could do with the original paper. It's worth far more than the text that's on it. Don't forget that."

You promise you'll take that advise to heart, assuming you will be able to find the piece of paper yourself. And first, for that matter. Maelys nods and stomps off, clearly frustrated her search ended in, more or less, complete and total failure for her.

Still a lot of good information from that. And a solid lead. Time to finish this endless chase...

--You assume the girl in front of you wants the piece of paper as well, but despite that you don't really see a problem. Once someone finds it it's easy enough to copy the text that is written on it, and surely that's the only reason why someone would want the piece of paper...right? There's a nagging feeling that you're forgetting something, worse when you stare at the girl in front of you, but no matter. She's a first year, how hard could this really be?

Confident in your smooth talking skills you walk up to the student, casually. She hears you approach and turns around quickly, wand in hand but not raised and pointed at you. "Who are you, what do you want?" the girl demands. You point out it's polite to introduce oneself first, to which the girl replies that you're right - you walked up to her, so you ought to introduce yourself first. Fine. Gritting your teeth a bit you introduce yourself and ask the girl if she's here for the missing piece of paper. The girl narrows her eyes and looks you over a few times, but of course you're not lying. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. What's it to you?"

Guess you'd better speak up before being told to speak up. Again. "Honestly, someone asked me to find it for them as a favor. So here I am, looking for it." Maelys demands more details, but you're reluctant to tell her about the encounter in the Great Hall with Grainne. Working for one of the Academagia's most notorious gossips is, eh...well, not a compliment for most. This girl, you suspect, included. Of course you do have to say something, so you ultimately (reluctantly) mention Grainne's name anyway. The girl simply gives you a knowing nod in response.

"Figured. So why are you doing that gossip's busywork? I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her, personally. Be careful she isn't planning on pulling a fast one over you," the girl warns. You mention you don't believe Grainne is trying to trick you, but of course the girl doesn't believe it. "I'm guessing Grainne didn't tell you what spell is on that piece of paper?" the girl continues, to which you shrug and confirm Grainne...didn't tell you, actually. Again, another knowing nod. "Hmm-hmm. Honestly I don't know if she knows either, but I've got my sources. It's a...ah, an, eh...gods I cannot remember-it's a spell that prevents couples from having children, alright? I don't recall what the fancy term is, but you know what I mean."

You do, you even remember the fancy term for it and would normally fill it in. Instead, in this instance, you slowly raise a very confused eyebrow. The girl happily takes advantage of the silence to continue to lead the conversation.

"Don't know what the gossip wants with it, but frankly, I can't imagine it's anything good. Again, can't confirm whether she knows or not, but it sounds like she's the only reason you got this far in the first place. I had to rely on my wand for that, so I'm inclined to believe she does. Her not telling you...make of that what you will, really."

...Now you're actually starting to get doubtful. Does Grainne know about that? If she does-no, surely she does. If this girl found out surely Grainne did as well. But than again, this girl said she needed her wand, Grainne...could she do the same? Would she need to?

That moment of doubt is all the girl needs to give you one last knowing nod, alongside a wide grin. "Sounds like you ought to take a step back and rethink how you got here. Not to speak ill of someone behind her back and all, I'm just saying that if you were send on a wild goose chase without any explanation why...maybe you should ask yourself who your friends are."

You're tempted to ask the girl if she would call you her friend, but you bite your tongue. Instead you simply nod and walk off, content to call it a loss here and move on.

So much for your amazing smooth talking skills, you got rolled there. The truth, ultimately, is that you don't believe Grainne is trying to trick you. But how are you supposed to convince anyone of that? Grainne, the fact she's keeping secrets...this is going to be a tough sell...

I'd say this is the point the adventure started running away from me, but this was actually still pretty much within expected parameters.

Some of the later stages...less so .

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 6:

Spoiler

As the first year walks off into the distance you take another look around. Somewhere, within this forest, your hard earned prize awaits you. Assuming no one got to it first, all you have to do to claim it is find it.

...Yeah, easier said than done. Never mind hiding a tree inside a forest, at least that one you could easily see even if you couldn't easily tell one specific tree from the rest. Hiding a piece of paper inside a forest? Oh boy. You've got your work cut out for you this time.

Time to get to it. How are you going to find a random piece of paper hidden "somewhere" in this forest?

-Explore. Look around until you find it.
--Sure, the piece of paper is hidden somewhere within this forest, but you have to remember that it was (in all likelihood) a human that hid it here. Humans don't bury pieces of paper, for one, too high of a risk of damaging it. You just need to look for places where a piece of paper could be hidden, would be hidden, and sooner or later you should find it. The Imperial Reserve isn't small, but it's not infinite either. There's only so many hiding spots at the end of the day.

Looking around for inspiration you quickly rule out a number of potential hiding spots that could end up damaging the piece of paper, and eventually a revelation hits you - rainfall. That would completely destroy it if it wasn't covered by something, and something less prone to absorbing that moisture than fertile soil. Hmm...there's no caves immediately nearby that you know of, but there are holes in various trees here. Nests made by birds or other animals, and hard to reach given their tendency to be dug out close to the treetops. That seems an ideal location to hide this piece of paper, and you've got a decent knack for climbing, so...let's give that a try.

It takes a bit of effort to find these nests - nothing you can't handle, though, of course - and in one of them you find what can only be the prize you've been looking for. Not a bird's nest or a squirrel's stash of nuts, but a single, pristine piece of paper. Undamaged, unweathered, securely held in place by a few stones.

This simply must be it. You cannot imagine it being anything else. And after removing the pebbles holding it on place and retrieving the piece of paper, it is yours. The missing spell that caught the attention, and fascination, of so many students...is yours!

--Lacking much of any clue as to where to even begin you slowly walk off in some vague direction, keeping an eye on wherever the piece of paper might be hiding. Unfortunately there are many such places, and this is one path out of...what, how many are there? A lot. Like, a lot a lot.

You end up spending a while wandering around aimlessly before realizing that this isn't going to work. You are going to need a different solution. Fortunately the same applies to anyone else who might try to get the piece of paper, so you should still have a chance to be the first to grab it, but...man. A needle in a haystack is easy, there's magic you can cast to find that without any issue. This is...this is going to take something clever, is what this is...

-Dialectic. Recall how such a puzzle was solved before.
--One famous dilemma relatively well known within the Academagia is about one of its student who wanted to switch to College Morvidus, but whose regent was against the switch - politics you don't recall the details of, ultimately not important to your situation. In any case the student was given a challenge: Find a single item hidden inside the Imperial Reserve, a small iron statue if memory serves you correctly, and if the student could find it before the sun set their regent would relent. The student found it within ten minutes, because the regent only tried to hide the statue from the student. Not from the many animals who, after the regent's departure, were exceedingly curious about this strange object and whether it was at all edible. All the student needed to do was find the congregation of disappointed squirrels, and their challenge was solved.

One look through the treetops, and you can't help but notice an unusually active flock of birds coming and going further up ahead. Hopefully they're not all taking their own bites out of the piece of paper as you're standing here. That would just be deeply unfortunate...

With that idea in mind you rush over a bit faster than you had intended, ultimately getting noticed by a trio of birds sitting on a tree branch next to hollow cavity. They disperse at the sight of a potential threat, which you don't have a problem with. Instead you climb up the tree and take a look inside the hollow cavity. Inside is not a nest or a squirrel's collection of nuts, however, but a single, pristine piece of paper. Undamaged, unweathered, securely held in place by a few stones. You figure the birds must have realized the piece of paper itself wasn't food, and instead assumed it to be some kind of territory marking. They stuck around in case whoever left it here came back later, since of course the birds would assume the student would come back here to store food. That's what a lot of animals do, after all.

You are not an animal, however. You are an Academagia student now in possession of the missing piece of paper that caught the attention, and fascination, of so many students. The spells described on it, in all it's (potentially ignoble) glory, is now yours!

--You vaguely recall the story of an old Academagia student who wanted to...pursue Reserve-y things for reasons you can't remember. Point is that he(?) was challenged to find something hidden in the Reserve, and used a clever trick to find the item within basically no time at all. If you could remember that trick perhaps you could apply it yourself.

If you could remember the trick. That is the first problem.

Not being able to recall how the story goes - and having no confidence in your ability to find a piece of paper "somewhere" within the entirety of the Imperial Reserve or thereabouts - you decide to make a tactical retreat and return to the Academagia to do some studying. Yes, you're risking others finding the piece of paper first, but they're going to have to solve the exact same problem. If you're one step ahead of them in that regard, you've still got the advantage.

If you're one step ahead of them. That is the second problem.

In addition to how the old student managed to solve the same problem you're facing right now you also aren't able to recall several key details needed to find the story again in the Venalicium - say, for example, the student's name. As such finding relevant information proves needlessly difficult, so much so you end up spending so long with nothing to show for it you just have to give up for the day.

You're confident no one else is going to casually find a piece of paper hidden somewhere within the entire Imperial Reserve that easily, at least, so you don't think you're out of the race yet. You just hit a brick wall, and are now in the processing of trying, desperately, to maintain the lead you really, genuinely hope you do actually have...

-Astrology. Work out the first year's instructions.
--You sit down against a nearby tree, and carefully read through the instructions. It quickly becomes apparent why Maelys was standing around here rather than following her literal treasure map - albeit one in the form of Astrological instructions rather than a big, red X marking the spot - to the location of her treasure. These instructions? They are not easy to follow. You don't know if you'll have much success with it, bar another quick trip back to the Academagia to grab some reference materials, but you're confident enough to give it a try. You've memorized a lot of the stuff you need to know, and the magic components don't seem too difficult to perform even out here in the relative wilderness. So long as you won't get bothered, at least.

With that in mind you cast a few quick charms to make sure the local wildlife isn't going to notice you, and move on to picking up the trail where Maelys left off. Having read through the parchment before you knew what difficult parts to expect, no surprises there, and despite the relative rush you feel to find the piece of paper first you take your time. Go through each task slowly, one step after the other, take a minute to think things through and make sure you do it right. Honestly, that's probably the hardest part. You've gotten familiar enough with these sorts of drawn out processes to feel comfortable with them, gotten confident, which only further pushes you to try and go through it more quickly. Still, you remain patient. Even if there is a rush, this takes time.

Eventually, after a slow trek through the Reserve that felt like it lasted much longer than it actually did, you're lead to a tree with a hollow cavity. Inside is not a bird's nest or a squirrel's collection of nuts, however, but a single, pristine piece of paper. Undamaged, unweathered, securely held in place by a few stones.

The missing spell that caught the attention, and fascination, of so many students...is now yours!

--You read the first year's instructions over once, twice and even thrice, but you are not able to make any sense of some of the arcane and seemingly random instructions written here. You thought Astrology was all about stars and moon and stuff, not placing your foot at a specific angle relative to any particular day's sunset and the like. How are you even supposed to know that? Is this intended to take literally all day?

...Going over the instructions again that does, in fact, seem to be the case. It's not confirmed anywhere, but you can't help but notice that you mysteriously don't need to check any stars before sunset, or need to know the angle of the first ray of daybreak before you're done checking stars and moons. Hmm...Well, this is the life of a wizard, right? Still, there has to be something you're missing here. Did that first year intend to spend the entire night in the Reserve? Surely not. That's way too high of a risk to be noticed missing.

You must be missing something yourself here. But what? What trick or secret are you missing? If a first year thought she could succeed with-actually, than again, you did notice her standing around, not actively looking for the missing piece of paper. So maybe not?

Ultimately you're going to need a solution to this problem, because wandering around randomly is clearly not going to work. Fortunately you do think you've got some time to figure this out - anyone else looking for the missing piece of paper is going to run into the exact same problem, and you'd like to believe you're not so behind on your magic studies that you can't figure out a first year's instructions faster than someone else can cook up a solution completely by themselves. Honestly there's little to do but hope that's true, at this point. You're not figuring out these instructions before the next day has dawned one way or another at this stage, the brute force solution isn't going to work, and neither is the other brute force solution. You're just going to have to be patient and (hopefully) clever about this.

...Hopefully by that point it won't be too late...

For what is ultimately a bit of a filler-y stage, have to say I actually had some fun with this one.

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 7:

Spoiler

Being intensely curious, and feeling like you've earned it after coming all this way, you sit down (some distance further away, so as not to get spotted in case anyone else comes by) and carefully read what is actually written on this piece of paper. So much excitement, so many rumors...what, in the end, was it all for? You are not waiting to find out. You've gotten your prize, it's time for answers straight from the paper's...well, ink.

It quickly becomes apparent that this piece of paper was copied from something else. The calligraphy is frankly beautiful, clearly the work some someone familiar with scribing or otherwise possessing an enviable natural gift for it. That said it seems the paper was written in a relative hurry, given the presence of several spelling errors that would never have reached any self-respecting printing press. What few drawings are on the paper share this feeling of a well done rush job, leaving you with the impression of well drawn stick figures. You imagine the original text actually drew entire hands when showing examples of necessary wand movements, but this piece of paper largely omits those, leaving conspicuous empty space behind. Instead only a crude wand is drawn, with arrows roughly indicating the relevant directions.

As for the text itself, the sum total of it is dry textbook instructions. Solely and exclusively focussed on how to cast one particular spell, which the piece of paper doesn't even name. You're guessing the spell's history - including it's name, among other things - were mentioned on a previous page that didn't get copied. You do feel like this piece of paper was probably copied from some textbook or another, but not one you could name off the top of your head. Not surprising given you've never seen or heard of this spell itself before, for what that's worth given you don't have the spell's name in front of you. Would be funny if you actually have heard the spell's name before and just can't connect the (more literal than figurative, in this case) dots.

Regardless, the actual spell (insofar that you're able to gleam and intuit from the text's instructions and few scarce notes) is an Incantation which will form a temporary airtight substance of some sort. The Phemes used - which are fortunately explained on the piece of paper, and quite basic for the most part - would suggest something either between or involving air and water. Without actually casting the spell yourself it's hard to imagine what exactly it would do and look like, and in that respect there's both good news and bad news. The good news is that the spell itself doesn't seem too difficult to cast, given some experience and knowledge of Incantation. The bad news is that you're familiar enough with magic to tell that casting the spell correctly will only be the first step. Controlling it to do what you want it to do after you've cast it, that'll be the hard part.

...That seems to be everything you're going to get from the piece of paper yourself. If it hides yet more secrets they're not printed on the paper in the form of easily read text. So, this is your prize. The piece of paper that so many students went nuts over...what are you going to do with it?

-Bring this piece of paper to Professor Badcrumble.
--Based on what (admittedly little) you know about this spell you can't convince yourself that Grainne is the right person to give this to. You can't, with a straight face, call this any more dangerous than the other Incantations that any given first year learns - uncontrolled wildfires, objects ruined through water damage, name it. Nevertheless, this spell...perhaps it's just because of the bogus journey you took to get it, but it has a strange feel to it. Like it's a piece of candy being offered by a stranger. It's enticing, mysterious. Something unknown, seemingly possessing untapped potential. Something feels wrong about it. You're missing something here. And you feel like you should pursue answers, first and foremost.

A such, despite this being an Incantation at the end of the day, you decide to take this piece of paper to Professor Badcrumble. She seems the most likely person to be able to answer these questions. Whether she will or wants to, that's a separate question in and of itself. Still, it feels like the right thing to do. Figure out what kind of fire this is, before you try to control it.
---stage 8a

[PC did not take friendly option in stage 1]-Give the spell to Grainne.
--You're sure other people will be interested, but Grainne is the one who asked you to get it, and will be the only one to ask pointed questions if she doesn't get it. Besides, without her help you never would have found this thing, so it seems fair that she gets the prize.

As you start walking towards the Academagia you can't help but wonder, though: Grainne pointed you in a direction you never would have found without her, but you're the one who walked that path to the end. Why did Grainne push you in this direction when she could have gotten the thing herself? And what will you be getting out of this, ultimately...?
---stage 8b

[PC friend and/or high relationship with Grainne, took friendly option in stage 1]-Complete the favor Grainne asked of you.
--There really was never any doubt. Grainne asked you to find this for her, even said it was important. Not with those exact words, but, well, you know Grainne. You can read her signals well enough.

Time to go and deliver this. There are questions tugging the back of your mind, but you know Grainne can (and will) help you with that. She's a gossip and a half, yes, but she doesn't hold back her information to her friends...or, you know, most other people. That's kinda inherent to being a gossip and all.
---stage 8b

[PC did not take Deceit option in stage 5, did not take friendly option in stage 1]-Astrology. Drag the paper's last secret out into the open.
--Maelys' words circle around in your head as you stare at the piece of paper. Only this original copy can be used in Astrology. You can scribe the text written on it a thousand times if you so wished, but whatever secrets this piece of paper hides, only it can reveal. Assuming you're able to draw them out.

It's not hard to imagine what final secret this specific piece of paper might hide. It alone could not have gone through a hidden door build in the back of a hollow statue, through a secret tunnel, all the way to the Imperial Reserve, and ended up inside a tree secured in place by a bunch of rocks all on it's own. Someone else did that. Someone else got this piece of paper first and purposefully hid it here. Someone else...

...You feel a slight chill as you realize that 'someone else' might not have found this piece of paper just laying on the ground somewhere. Rather, it could have been stolen. Whoever brought it to the Academagia initially might have been robbed, and wrote it off as either having lost or forgotten it. That would be a pretty serious accusation, although it is of course only a theory. Even if it's wrong, though, the question of who brought this piece of paper here to the Imperial Reserve still remains. Whoever picked it up surely must have realized what is actually written on it. If there is something obviously scandalous or interesting about it than you can't figure it out. You imagine the same is true for whoever picked it up, as well. Unless they know something about this spell that you don't.

You feel it's time to resolve these questions. Grainne said she wanted this piece of paper, and speaking of which, it now seems obvious she wanted this piece of paper because she somehow learned (or merely suspected) someone swiped it, but needed the piece of paper to confirm or prove it. Aside from Grainne Professor Badcrumble probably would be interested for the same reason (and if anyone is able to figure out who the mysterious paper taker is, if they exist...). But, no. You are taking it for yourself. Not because of what the rumors say, they clearly don't know what they're talking about. You want answers. And answers, by the power of the wand within your hand, you will get.

It does take some time and effort to trace the Phemes, as well as recall the things you need to know without having convenient textbooks next to you, but you're able to manage it. One layer at a time you feel like a veil is lifted, and the image of the person who so recently held this piece of paper becomes more and more clear.

Eventually you see the critical hint you needed to put the pieces together. A vision of piles of books stacked in neat and ordered rows, icons and denominations of every currency you know of haphazardly strewn across the covers, a hazy outline of a feminine figure around your age going back and forth. Brown and blue. Eyes bending light. A lake stringing together a dozen rivers of knowledge, feeding and being fed in equal measure. And at last, a smaller figure sharing a magical bond off to the side, radiating dedication yet disappointment in equal measure.

All of that points to a single student - Milena di Montors. Time to safely stash away this piece of paper and go pay her a visit...
---stage 8c

--Maelys' words circle around in your head as you stare at the piece of paper. Only this original copy can be used in Astrology. You can scribe the text written on it a thousand times if you so wished, but whatever secrets this piece of paper hides, only it can reveal. Assuming you're able to draw them out.

It's not hard to imagine what final secret this specific piece of paper might hide. It alone could not have gone through a hidden door build in the back of a hollow statue, through a secret tunnel, all the way to the Imperial Reserve, and ended up inside a tree secured in place by a bunch of rocks all on it's own. Someone else did that. Someone else got this piece of paper first and purposefully hid it here. Someone else...

...You feel a slight chill as you realize that 'someone else' might not have found this piece of paper just laying on the ground somewhere. Rather, it could have been stolen. Whoever brought it to the Academagia initially might have been robbed, and wrote it off as either having lost or forgotten it. That would be a pretty serious accusation, although it is of course only a theory. Even if it's wrong, though, the question of who brought this piece of paper here to the Imperial Reserve still remains. Whoever picked it up surely must have realized what is actually written on it. If there is something obviously scandalous or interesting about it than you can't figure it out. You imagine the same is true for whoever picked it up, as well. Unless they know something about this spell that you don't.

You feel it's time to resolve these questions. Grainne said she wanted this piece of paper, and speaking of which, it now seems obvious she wanted this piece of paper because she somehow learned (or merely suspected) someone swiped it, but needed the piece of paper to confirm or prove it. Aside from Grainne Professor Badcrumble probably would be interested for the same reason (and if anyone is able to figure out who the mysterious paper taker is, if they exist...). But, no. You are taking it for yourself. Not because of what the rumors say, they clearly don't know what they're talking about. You want answers. And answers, by the power of the wand within your hand, you will get.

Of course you say that, but your wand alone can only do so much. Without any textbooks next to you it's hard to recall all the steps from memory, and trying to improvise on the spot doesn't work at all. As hesitant as you are to keep this piece of paper on you while you continue to try and poke away at it, that's exactly what you're going to do. Surely you've got a second before Grainne gets impatient and starts asking unfortunate questions. All you need is a quick visit to a library, and a moment to wind down from this bogus journey.

You want to know what it is you got roped into here, on your terms. Even if it's going to be harder to figure it out yourself...

-Incantation. Can you cast the spell, try to learn a bit more about it?
--You pull out your wand and lazily look over the crude illustrations showing how to draw the Phemes you'll have to use. You're familiar with most of them already. The rest don't seem too difficult. The spell itself...also within your skill level. You are, in fact, confident that you can cast this spell yourself. Time to put yourself to the test, you suppose.

Slowly, purposefully, you trace the required Phemes and string them together. Material shaped from raw magical energies begins to manifest at your command, and you direct it to coalesce within the palm of your hand. A small pool of material slowly forms, attached to your hand like a weak glue. You're sure that's intentional, though it still feels a touch strange.

Carefully you examine the material. First with your wand, and later with your other hand...though realistically you probably needn't be so skittish. Considering the stuff is glued to your other other hand in the first place and all. In any case, the material you can best describe as something between a viscous liquid and densely packed air. It's adhesive, but trying to peel it off your hand doesn't work at all. The material is also flexible, gelatinous almost, so peeling it isn't going to work. You try scraping, but your limited attempts at that don't work out any better. You think you could scrape it off pretty effectively with some tools, but you're not inclined to try. You're not sure if that would end poorly for your skin, and you've no desire to find out the hard way.

Looking around you can't help but notice a river nearby, and you decide to give this spell a more thorough test. You use your wand to cover your entire hand in this stuff - easier said than done, but you manage to get close enough for a quick test - and cautiously dip your hand into the water. Just the tip of a finger at first, before slowly pushing further until your entire hand is below the surface. The material works. Your hand is dry...mostly, given your less than stellar seal...and in fact the material itself is also dry. You try to pick up a scoop of water, and it works, but weirdly. The water isn't floating above the material coating your hand, but it is resting on it without making it wet. You wonder if this material would eventually buckle under a sufficiently strong water pressure and break outright, or whether it would hold, and whether it could protect someone against said pressures in the latter case...no desire to take a swim to test that theory, though.

Of course, in the end, you're still left starting curiously at this stuff. Scandalous magic the likes of which doesn't even exist in the Academagia, huh? You're torn on whether to believe those rumors or dismiss them. Of course this spell can be used in ways you wouldn't want to brag about in polite company, what spell isn't like that? That's not what fuelled all of those rumors. What fuelled them is the idea that this spell was designed for something like that. Possibly had no uses beyond it, even, though that's likely a question of creativity.

Having seen the effects of this spell with your own eyes? You're not sure if you're able to believe that. It's not that it isn't possible, it's that you don't think it would be practical. This airtight material is simply too difficult to work with, and given the fear of tearing off your skin trying to scrape it off, possibly even dangerous. It's a fair assumption, admittedly, that anyone who has a wand to conjure this material also has a wand needed to manipulate it. But it's also not ideal. Intensive wand work like that is tiring, and if someone makes a mistake with a wand? That could easily be disastrous. More so than if they made a similar mistake with a more mundane tool.

...You're not sure what to make of this. Regardless, at least you've gotten the information you did. And unlike rumors, you know you can trust you own observations. The only question that remains is who to give this legendary piece of paper to. You know Grainne wants it, but you can't imagine she's the only one who does. You're sure at least one professor would also be interested, and perhaps they can fully explain this mystery to you. The question there is who...

--You pull out your wand and wearily look over the (not at all helpful) illustrations showing how to draw the Phemes you'll need. They don't look too hard to trace, at least. As far as you can tell. The spell itself...uh, well...you can certainly give it your best shot? You are mostly definitely not confident that you can cast this spell yourself, but you can try. Time to put yourself to the test, you suppose.

After several minutes of fiddling it's become abundant clear that you're going to need clearer instructions if you have any hope of trying to cast this spell. You could try to intuit the parts you're missing, but knowing so little about what you're even trying to trying to accomplish in the first place that seems a dubious prospect at best.

Unfortunate, but than surely being able to cast this spell couldn't possibly make all the difference in the end anyhow. Surely it's great, terrible secret couldn't be inscrutable unless and until someone managed to cast it...right?

Say hi to an entire branch I hadn't planned for initially. For el record stage 8 (all three versions of it) are a respective last stage in this relatively short adventure chain.

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 8a:

Spoiler

Safely securing the piece of paper inside your knapsack you walk off to Professor Badcrumble's office. The regent responds to your knock on her door, and you walk inside. On the regent's desk there's a pile of parchment next to her, but you note there's none in front of her. Seems she put aside her work for the moment. "[PC FIRST NAME]?" she asks like she was expecting someone else. "How can I help you?"

"Wish I knew the answer to that myself," you cryptically answer as you take out the piece of paper and drop it on the regent's desk. She does not hide the fact that she is surprised. "I'm guessing you heard about the storm of rumors that piece of paper caused?"

"I haven't, actually. My day so far has been spend slowly going through a pile of office work. But I can imagine..." the regent admits as she stares curiously at the piece of paper. If she sees something special she doesn't show it. "[PC FIRST NAME], how and where did you find this piece of paper? Or the other way around, perhaps." You briefly explain, in broad strokes, how Grainne Inneith asked you to find this spell for her. Though, admittedly, her motivations are a mystery to you. "Grainne Inneith? Aranaz' gossip queen? She asked you to find this spell for her?" the regent repeats, and you reluctantly nod. Don't really enjoy feeling like you're snitching on her, but you're talking to Professor Badcrumble. Sparing her a minute's worth of effort when there's a pile of office work next to her is just good self preservation instincts, surely Grainne understands that. "I see. Hmm...I'll have to invite her to a cup of tea, it seems. Ah, don't worry. I'll see to it neither get any ideas about exacting retribution or what have you. Grainne or Rikildis, I mean. If this piece of paper was out there for any random student to stumble across you certainly did the right thing delivering it to me. I'll see to it good judgement is not unduly punished."

That's comforting news. Though you can't help but wonder if you should be worried about a very irate Grainne stomping around the Academagia looking for you in the near future. She knows who she asked to find that piece of paper for her, if nothing else...

"In any case, is that all, [PC FIRST NAME]?" the regent asks. You don't think it's worth even trying to hide the fact you've got questions, Professor Badcrumble has surely seen them written all over your face already. As such you decide to ask...

-"Who brought that piece of paper to the Academagia?"
--Professor Badcrumble gives you an inquisitive look, and silently pushes her office work off to the side. "Is that question because you are interested in where the spell described on this piece of paper came from, or why it was brought to my office?"

"The latter," you clarify, as you quirk an eyebrow in the process. Professor Badcrumble's own office, huh. Interesting. "Correct me if I'm wrong, I know I don't fully understand the situation, but if a spell like this was brought to your office I have to imagine there's a greater reason behind it."

Professor Badcrumble nods, but she also lets out a weary sigh. "Correct, though I'm hesitant to share private information of someone who visited my office to discuss the academy's handling of important personal matters. That said I am also curious about what the student body thinks of the ideas we discussed, broadly speaking. I have my own opinions, of course, but I'm also aware changes to academic curriculum affects more than the Academagia's professors. So I am curious to hear what a student thinks of it."

You slowly nod, slightly regretting your decision when Professor Badcrumble starts asking you for your opinion on the Academagia formally teaching students how, when and why to cast magic spells to address 'certain unpleasantness', as she calls it, as well as other problems caused by the onset of puberty. You manage to sputter out where that series of questions came from coherently enough for the regent to point at the missing piece of paper you found, and explain the family of spells that descend from it are the kind of spells her guest brought up as an example of what students are not (and, according to said guest, should be) formally taught for those purposes. Of course said guest is not a spellcaster herself, hence why she not only brought the wrong spell to use as an example, but also brought a bad example. At least, according to Professor Badcrumble. Go figure that she wouldn't be impressed by "crude" Incantations, and far more favorable of solutions based in Astrology.

As for the professor's ultimate question, whether such spells should be formally taught to students despite their personal nature, you really can't form a clear opinion on that right on the spot. That covers way more ground than you were prepared to, and you're hardly able to speak from much (if any) experience on the subject anyway (not to mention that whether you want to is another matter entirely). You can at least point out that the rumor storm that piece of paper caused seems to indicate the student body is interested, at least to some degree, and that your own ignorance as to the true nature of the spell on the piece of paper suggests there's some merit to including it into formal study. At least a few classes teaching students how to recognize what not to do seems like they wouldn't be wasted. Professor Badcrumble nods at your points, though you've no idea what she's thinking about beyond that.

"Is this, eh...something I should prepare for in the coming years? Or are those just 'ideas', at least for the moment?" you ask out of some sense of morbid curiosity. Fear, really. Professor Badcrumble confirms that she doesn't think your academic year - or the current first year's academic year, for that matter - will see major changes to the curriculum until after they've graduated. Traditionally most of the classes taught at the Academagia are explicitly "per librum" - the professors are expected to build their classes around specific books approved by the full Board of Regents, and approved by the Captain (though he'll invariably defer to Orso's judgment in academic matters). Most of those books have been in use for years if not centuries, too. The school's curriculum can deviate or be modified from the ancient traditions it usually remains true to, but only when there's a consensus that there are better alternatives to existing books and fields of study. Which is particularly tricky to figure out in this case - there are no existing academic books, no existing formal field of study (Professor Badcrumble's guest is basically trying to create one, and has repeatedly pointed out a lack of existing knowledge base on the relevant subjects), and no existing classes to compare either to. Not to mention that, given the nature of the subject, it would be very difficult to accurately catalogue whether formal study does indeed have the beneficial results that the regent's guest insists it will. Professor Badcrumble admits that it could, differences in opinion elsewhere aside she is not keen on trying to use ignorance as a cure for societal ills any more than her guest is. But she has many questions regarding the reality of how such "magical personal care" - or whatever it would be named - classes would(n't) work out. And depending on how things go, both inside the Academagia and outside of it, answers to those questions might take generations to be found out, at best. Centuries, at worst.

All that said, Professor Badcrumble adds even you might just get a chance to experience a form of those classes, in a sense. She knows at least some professors will be strongly in favor of it for one or more personal reasons, and while that alone will not sway the entire Board of Regents it could be enough for those professors to get permission to conduct a special seminar for a year. Indeed the regent fully expects that seminars would be held before formal classes, as a way to test the waters, so the speak. If or when this happens any upperclassman that has the requisite academic background to meaningfully use the magic taught within those seminars could sign on to attend them, both as "guided study" for academic credit and purely to learn what those seminars have to teach. Of course Professor Badcrumble has her doubts about how such seminars could be conducted, and in turn whether she should support them. Regardless, if they are held and prove popular enough among the student body to consistently fill a major lecture hall there is a non-zero chance it will influence some opinions among the Board of Regents. And if early signs suggest the lectures are beneficial to student health both short and long term, on top of that...things might end up changing more quickly than expected. Though, again, Professor Badcrumble doesn't expect you to see such formal classes. Bar becoming a professor and teaching them yourself, of course.

An amusing thought, but how about no. Regardless, that more than answers the questions you had about that piece of paper, so you excuse yourself and leave the regent to her office work - plus the little bit extra you've accidentally given her. Oops.

Stepping back into the Academagia proper is almost uncanny, students everywhere are still gossiping about the piece of paper they still believe is missing, and they have no idea about the true story and history behind it as you do. You wisely decide not to start telling any stories about that immediately, mind. Let them slowly figure out the piece of paper has been found, then you can swoop in with all the fun details.

Magical personal health care classes, though...good gods, what an age you live in. Than again, that is what you're here at the Academagia for, to study magic. And you certainly would like to not graduate having been permanently cursed into a frog, or some such. Well, it's not something you need to worry about now, if you even need to worry about it later. After the misadventure you just had you'll just cross that bridge if and when you get to it.

-"Just what is that spell, really?"
--Professor Badcrumble raises a curious eyebrow, and you admit(/explain) that you did read through the piece of paper earlier, just to sate your curiosity. That said you simply cannot make sense of this whole situation. The rumors seem to describe something that isn't there, and what is there doesn't seem like it could have inspired those rumors either. Rumors are rumors, sure, but you can't support a roof without walls any more than you should expect to see walls stand on a lake's surface. Try as you might, you can't make sense of it.

"Does it really bother you that much?" the regent asks. You nod. Even you are surprised you were this shaken by the mystery, yet here you are all the same. "Hmm...obscuring shadows, in a sense, though this is not what I expected. Well, regardless, I suppose I'll start with a simple question: This rumor storm, did it drag younger and older students with it in equal measure, or was it only the underclassman that were struggling with it?"

...Now that Professor Badcrumble mentions it, it was indeed just the underclassman that were openly gossiping with each other everywhere you looked as far as you can remember. The Great Hall, the hallways you went through to get to that statue...huh. What does that mean, though? Why didn't the upperclassmen bother to gossip about it?

Reading the answer - and follow-up question - on your face the regent nods. "I thought so. Than to answer your question: This spell - and why it was intended to be brought to my office, regrettably - is one of a series of crude Incantations that address personal matters. Physical needs brought about by the developing and maturing bodies of young ladies. I trust I don't have to go into further detail at this exact point."

She doesn't, you've indeed gotten the message. That said you do ask her to elaborate on why it was "regrettable" this spell was intended to be brought to her office. Could it really have done that much damage, if it fell into the wrong hands?

Professor Badcrumble slowly nods. "My guest is not a spellcaster, so she did not recognize she, technically, brought the wrong spell to my office. If an ignorant student found this spell and tried to use it in the same way it's descendant spells were actually designed for...well, suffice to say that could easily have ended in an extended stay in the Infirmary. This, incidentally, is why such spells aren't found within the Venalicium's collection of books. First years have no use for them, while second years know their craft enough that only the most foolhardy wouldn't leave well enough alone. That said what I meant by 'regrettable' is that, despite the pillar's relative popularity, it and many of it's related sister and cousin Incantations only offer crude solutions. It's unfortunate to see a guest use it as an example of what students could study, when Astrology offers much more graceful and elegant alternatives that achieve the same effect."

The strangely jovial tone of the regent makes it clear that she apparently convinced said guest to change their tune. At least that's your interpretation. Regardless you ask what other spells are part of this one spell's extended family, as it were.

"I'm afraid I haven't the time to tell you about the full history of that family of spells, not that I think it would be wise to study more than their history anyway. Though, speaking of-I do have an excellent reward in mind, for finding and delivering this to me." Professor Badcrumble opens a drawer and swiftly takes out a piece of paper, using her other hand to grab a quill at the same time. "The Venalicium isn't the only library the Academagia houses, it's just the one used most commonly by students as it's the general repository for textbook knowledge. One of the other libraries is called the Library of the Mantle of Stars, which houses much of the Academagia's collection of Astrology texts. I'll write you a letter of invitation to give to the head librarian there, so the staff will know you're welcome. It's not quite an official epaulette, but it'll make sure you're able to study there comfortably. I'm sure you'll grow to appreciate some study of Astrology. Say when you're a bit older, if nothing else."

...Well, at least you don't have to ask anyone to clarify that. You're also not sure whether you really trust the regent of Avila to be perfectly impartial about the value of those when you're older spells, either. That said surely it won't hurt to have options, right? You have to assume that some pillars will be better than others, at least for solving certain problems. So the more options you have available...hmm...

"Alright, thank you. Than if you've no further questions I'll be visiting the Mantle of Stars to deliver this," you say, pocketing the letter of invitation. Professor Badcrumble shakes her head, so you leave her office.

Not the outcome you expected from all of this, you have to admit. Still, you can't argue with the results in the end. You are curious whether Grainne had any ulterior motives for wanting that spell, but you guess it ultimately doesn't matter. If there is some secret to it Rikildis will absolutely spread the word as best she can - she is a journalist, after all. If there isn't, and Grainne wanted it for personal reasons...well, you probably shouldn't think about that one too hard. And in any case Professor Badcrumble made her point about why, even if Grainne wanted it for a reason like that, she's certainly better off not trying to use it. Surely if she has any problems that would push her to learn such magic Professor Badcrumble is the best professor to help her, anyhow. More so than Professor von Rupprecht, surely.

The whole idea makes you curious about what all you can learn in the Mantle of Stars, and how that knowledge could be put to uses you can't even imagine just yet only a few years from now. One way to find out, though, and that's to do what you came to the Academagia in the first place for - study magic!

[PC did not take Deceit option in stage 5]-"Why did Grainne want that piece of paper?"
--The regent frowns, understandably considering that could be interpreted as quite the personal question, but you point out what Maelys warned you about regarding the potential value of that specific piece of paper, beyond the text that is written on it and could be easily copied to any other piece of paper. You also, albeit in hindsight, can't help but recall that Grainne asked you to find this piece of paper, whereas Maelys mentioned she was looking for the spell, specifically. You, too, believe that there's an ulterior motive here, as Maelys did. You just don't know what it is.

"Sorry, Maelys? As in Maelys Laroyenne was looking for this?" Professor Badcrumble asks. You can't stop yourself from reflexively slapping your own forehead. That was not someone you needed to mention by name. The regent, however, simply looks bemused. "Oh, don't worry, that rebellious rascal making a mistake like that I could have guessed off-hand. I'm just glad you, from the sound of it, managed to convince her to reconsider. Maelys has yet to learn how to temper her ambitions, I'm afraid. It pushes and carries her forward, but it also stops her from seeing the pitfalls down the road sometimes."

You simply nod at that. Before you accidentally tell the regent about exactly how that convincing took place, and your end up digging an even deeper pitfall for yourself to sink into. "R-right. Anyway, do you know why Grainne wanted that piece of paper specifically? I know what significance it has in the hands of someone who knows Astrology, of course, but...I can't figure out exactly why Grainne wanted it. Neither she or Rikildis study Astrology, from what I recall. So what would they want it for?"

"Based on prior examples I would guess they wanted it as evidence to hold over whoever found, or perhaps even stole this piece of paper from my guest. Not that they didn't do her a favor in the the latter case, but the methods I must sadly disapprove of strongly. Regardless, I'll investigate it later. When I find the time to do so. I'll see to it Grainne is informed that the piece of paper is in my possession. If there is more to this story I trust she if not Rikildis will come to me about it," the regent drones out as she drops the piece of paper in her desk. You seem to have given her more work, and she's not happy. "As for you, [PC FIRST NAME], you can return to your regular studies...actually, before that, could you find Maelys and send her to my office? I feel she could benefit from a more detailed explanation as to just how much potential injury you serendipitously rescued her from."

Being a bearer of bad news isn't much of a reward. But you don't dare to talk back to a regent who is clearly swamped in work as is, has just been given more work by yours truly, and doesn't seem to be in the best of moods in any event. You're confident Maelys can take it, anyhow. If she'll even be surprised at all. You get the sense this may not be the first time she was called to her regent's office, let's say.

(Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on your part. Either/or.)

You nod and make your way to the Avila Common Room, where you find Maelys chatting with some of her college mates. Why did you think this was a good idea, again? It beats having to say hi to Grainne? Actually, that is true you suppose. Small victories. Maelys, for her part, sees you coming, and after a moment frowns. She's likely put the pieces together already. "You're here to tell me Professor Badcrumble wants to see me?" she asks. You simply nod. You've learned your lesson about saying too much. You especially don't want to make any mistakes now because both of the students Maelys is standing next to are girls and you don't know how well they know each other and how incredibly awkward things might get if you were to accidentally blurt out the wrong detail. Just smile and nod...well, okay, maybe not smile in this situation. But the nodding part is a good idea.

"What did you do?" One of the two girls asks. Maelys just lets out a sigh and shrugs.

"Trying too hard to study magic, almost like I'm an Academagia student or something," Maelys says jokingly, albeit with a tired voice. "Anyway, guess I better not keep the lady of the house waiting."

"Wait, did you go after that piece of paper everyone's talking about?" the other girl asks, but Maelys politely excuses herself and walks off. The two girls stare at each other for about one second before both suddenly turn in your direction, and you hastily say something about books and the Venalicium before excusing yourself. You've had your fill of rumors and awkward conversation.

Of course you say that, but in your haste you end up running right into Maelys again. She shows you a confident smirk, both of you walking wherever. You don't even care, you just want to be away from that Common Room right now. "Not interested in light conversation?" Maelys asks, with all due sarcasm.

You carefully look around to make sure no one is listening or paying attention - and no one is, the rumor storm is very much in full effect still - before quietly answering Maelys' question. "After accidentally blurting out your name to the regent I really didn't feel like making more mistakes. I don't know how well those two girls know you, but if they asked why you stopped going after that piece of paper that might have gotten awkward."

Maelys, still with that confident smirk, gives you a knowing nod. "True, that would have been embarrassing. Glad you're the type to recognize and learn from your mistakes, it's a good quality." Part of you feels like if you really are you'll refrain from ever falling for Grainne's bait in the future. You'll be honest, that's a questionable lesson at best. "By the way, don't worry about ratting me out. Professor Badcrumble would have grabbed me by the neck sooner or later anyhow. She's got my number, and I can't exactly hide the stuff I do with Astrology yet. Not that I'm the hiding type in the first place, anyway. Just take the lesson and move on. I'm certainly not going to dwell on it."

"An admirable trait in and of itself," you probably misquote from some play you can't recall off-hand. Maelys doesn't call you out on it, though.

"I'd like to think so too. Anyway, I better get running and see what Professor Badcrumble has in store for me this time. Cross your fingers it's not a complete tea set like last time."

You nod and watch Maelys run off, not drawing much of any attention as she does so. Students are still gossiping about the piece of paper, unaware that situation is, for better or worse, resolved. Or at least, as far as you are concerned at this point. You do wonder if what the regent has in store is, indeed, better or worse than a "complete tea set", though.

Finally you let out a very tired, very weary sigh and go back to what you were planning on doing today. Before Grainne derailed those plans. Not as exciting admittedly, but you know what? You feel like you've had your fill for excitement for one day.

Here's to hoping these stages work, lore-wise.

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 8b:

Spoiler

Safely securing the piece of paper inside your knapsack you walk off to Rikildis' newspaper office, fully expecting Grainne to be there (or if not that, Rikildis able to point you in the right direction). No one accosts you on the way there. Rumors are still abound and people are whispering, but no one pays you any mind. Clearly word of your victory hasn't reached anyone yet. It will soon, of course. But not yet.

Ironically enough it's the inside of the newspaper room that throws a curveball at you. Grainne is here, as it Rikildis, alongside a mountain of random parchments scattered across various tables. A special edition is being worked on, you can tell. What's strange, however, is that Grainne is quietly sitting in a corner in a fetal position. Rikildis, on the other hand, is busy walking around and organizing the piles of notes. That is, until she turns around at the sound of the door opening. Initially Rikildis seems annoyed at the interruption, glaring in your direction. Once she recognizes you, however, that glare quickly turns into a welcoming grin. "[PC FIRST NAME]! Excellent, I've been expecting you. Come inside, close the door behind you. We've got a few things to talk about."

You stare at Grainne, but you're not sure if she even notices. Well, surely she must have heard Rikildis, so she knows you're here. No response, though. "Ah...alright?" you answer without much in the way of confidence. Nevertheless you walk inside, closing the door behind you.

"I take it you got information about the missing piece of paper?" Rikildis asks, pretty directly. Again you look at Grainne, but she doesn't respond. After a moment you face Rikildis again, the obvious question written on your face. "Grainne's in time out right now," Rikildis answers. You...have no idea how to respond to that. "I know she asked you to look for the spell that Professor Badcrumble's guest 'lost', I take it that's why you're here. Did you find out anything about it?"

Another awkward glance at Grainne that isn't returned. You want answers, now more than ever, but talking back against Rikildis is a sketchy prospect even on a good day. Still, this elephant in the room is just too bizarre to be ignored...as much Grainne would probably not appreciate being called that in any context. "I did, but...what is going on here? What happened to Grainne?"

This time Rikildis also casts a quick (in her case disappointed) glance towards Grainne. The result doesn't change, though. "You should probably ask her about that directly. I don't mind you talking to her right now, in fact that might do her some good. I just want to know where the piece of paper is. Do you know why it's important?" You've got theories, but you shake your head all the same. "This is just a theory, mind, but I don't believe whoever visited Professor Badcrumble simply misplaced that piece of paper. I suspect someone swiped it off of her."

Huh. That's not a small accusation. "Do you have any suspects in mind?"

"No one in particular. That said if you're good enough at Astrology there is one reliable witness: The piece of paper itself. I plan on taking it - and my theory - to Professor Badcrumble. I can't find the potential culprit myself, and I trust I don't need to explain why the regent, moreso than anyone else, will be interested and inclined to help me find them. So...did you find it?"

Denying that you have it seems pointless after (more or less) coming here to drop it off in the first place, and if Rikildis' theory has merit - and it's Rikildis you're talking about here, pattern recognition skills alone say the odds are favorable - it also sounds like the right thing to do. Moreover, if that is Rikildis' plan you don't think Grainne would simply sit in a corner and wait if she objected to it. This situation is just bizarre, you can't make sense of it, but you think you understand it enough to know what to say here. "Yeah. I did," you tell Rikildis. She shows neither surprise or any great excitement as you take out the piece of paper and give it to her. There is a smile there, but it's muted. Even by regular standards, not just by Rikildis' standards.

"Excellent. Good work, [PC FIRST NAME]," Rikildis says with a low voice as she puts the piece of paper away. "I'll be handing this off to Professor Badcrumble. And don't worry, I'm not taking credit for your find - she'll know who helped locate this. Take the time while I'm out to talk to Grainne if you want, but...be careful." Whispering, Rikildis adds, "Even notorious, ruthless gossips have weak spots. If you care about her feelings at all, take care not to hurt them."

With that advise - or warning? - feeling like they're ringing in your ears Rikildis walks off, leaving you standing there, staring at a dead silent Grainne sitting in the corner. You did say you wanted answers, and you do. So...

-Ask your questions and leave. Grainne can probably use some space.
--Feeling weary of hurting Grainne's feelings you slowly, quietly, walk over to Grainne and grab a nearby chair to sit in. It still doesn't work really well, but at least you're not looming over her as badly. Grainne, for her part, lifts her head a bit and wearily glances in your general direction, but nothing more. "What is this all about?" you plainly ask. Rikildis' warning aside it's still hard to imagine Grainne as someone who could get knocked down like this.

"Do you really want to know?" Grainne asks. For once she is not happy to discuss someone's personal secrets. Not when someone is asking her about her own. Figures. Regardless you nod, explaining that you simply want to know if this - Rikildis taking the piece of paper to Professor Badcrumble and all - is really what she wanted. Grainne seems hesitant, but she does slowly nod.

"Would you have done the same, if I gave you the piece of paper before Rikildis did...whatever she did?" you ask. Grainne asks why that's important, and you answer that you simply want to know what it was all for. All of the rumors, the bogus search, all for a piece of paper that contained...what, exactly? You don't know the answer to that, either.

Grainne doesn't look like she wants to talk about what she knows, if she knows anything. So you ask her if she wants to say anything more, to which she shakes her head. "I...I just want to be left alone right now," she quietly admits. The temptation to call her out on her not giving others the same courtesy when she's the one prying into the feelings of others is there, but you wisely refrain from opening your big mouth. Instead you nod, stand up, and ask Grainne to better explain herself the next time she asks for a favor. Grainne nods and says she'll do her best to remember that, though you have some doubts she will.

Instead you leave the editorial room and rush after Rikildis, knowing that she won't be going to Professor Badcrumble's office in any real hurry - too many potentially good rumors she could overhear on the way there and all. You indeed find her not too far from her glorified office. "Grainne refused to answer your questions?" she pointedly asks the moment you catch up to her.

You actually have to give that question a bit of though. "I wouldn't say that. She said she wanted to be alone for a bit, and I didn't dare to pry."

Rikildis gives you a pointed look. "You didn't want to risk badly hurting her feelings by calling her out on her hypocrisy. Freely running over everyone else's feelings gleefully, yet clamming up the moment her own were exposed," she, very bluntly, spits out. She's right, too. You can do nothing but slowly nod your head. Rikildis lets out a sigh. "As much as I would like to believe that Grainne is stronger than that, I won't blame you for not wanting to be the one to test that theory. I'll put the screws to her myself later. If I don't that girl will never learn."

Visions of Rikildis as an Academagia professor start flying around your head, and it is a dire vision indeed. "'Ruthless' really is your middle name, huh?" you ask Rikildis as both of you start slowly walking to Professor Badcrumble's office.

"Far from. Don't you know why..." Rikildis starts, before she catches herself and shakes her head. "Of course you don't, stupid question. Sorry, even I'm a bit thrown off guard by recent developments." Rikildis takes a moment to try and shake herself out of it, rather more literally than figuratively. "Anyway, back to you - I take it you caught up because you still wanted answers?" she asks. You nod. "Right. If it's about the piece of paper, ask away. You've earned that much. If it's about Grainne, I'm afraid I'm keeping that to myself until I've gotten a chance to really drag her through the wringer. If she's just one more example of someone making a stupid mistake others could learn a valuable lesson from, that's one thing. If she is genuinely having a hard time with something so personal she feels she can't ask anyone for help despite needing it, that's an entirely different story."

You're tempted to ask Rikildis what she's talking about, but she just said she wouldn't elaborate and you are ultimately more interested in the piece of paper than Grainne's personal life anyhow. "Fair. So, first question: What is the story behind that piece of paper?"

"That's a rather broad first question," Rikildis notes with a smirk. You shrug and admit it is, but one broad question versus a series of specific questions, same thing ultimately. "I'd remind you you're talking to a journalist, but sure. I can imagine your brain is a also bit fried right now. So, to start at the beginning, as I mentioned the piece of paper was brought to the Academagia by a Staaden philosopher woman who visited Professor Badcrumble for a private meeting. I can't confirm exactly what was said during that meeting, except that woman travelled to Mineta for one reason only, so I can tell you that - broadly speaking - she and the regent discussed whether Academagia students are taught spells like the one she brought. And given they're not taught, at least formally to my knowledge, how realistic it is for them to be taught in the future."

You quirk a curious eyebrow and ask Rikildis what she knows about the spell, exactly. Because you have heard many stories about it so far - and continue to hear even more right this second, in fact! - and you just cannot figure out who actually knows what they're talking about. You figure that, between Rikildis being who she is and whatever happened with Grainne, that she knows the true score.

Rikildis nods, of course, though she grimaces a bit when you mention Grainne's situation. "Of course I do. Just do both of us a favor and not ask too many questions about how it all relates to Grainne's situation, alright?" she pointedly asks. You nod. "So, first off, the exact spell that woman brought was actually the wrong one to bring with her as an example. I assume she's not a spellcaster herself and simply didn't notice the difference. It's obvious when you look at the Phemes and how the spell is cast, but when you don't understand any of that, good luck. Regardless, that's why the rumors ended up so disconnected from everything. They started off on the wrong foot, and made more than one wild leap from there.

What the rumors assumed was that the spell was one of a family of spells that, in modern times, are collectively called The Lady's Shield. The precursor spell that would later be adapted into said family, which is the actual spell the woman brought, goes all the way back to the Early Empire. Back then it was an attempt to advance the convenience of magical food preservation, an attempt to create an airtight seal that people could simply push their hands through. The wizard developing the spell managed part of it, but reached old age before he could figure out the rest. For better or worse that spell was never finished, at least way back when. The wizard's granddaughter did continue her grandfather's work, in a sense, except that she adapted the foundational work of the spell and developed it in a very different direction. Specifically, she realized she could use the spell to catch and trap her lunar flow. So she adapted the spell to be usable for that purpose."

You can't help but quirk your other eyebrow in response to that last part.

"It's what it is," Rikildis says dismissively. "In any case across literal centuries of people further improving the spell and creating even more specialized adaptations of it that, themselves, were similarly refined and improved over time, ultimately resulted in the entire family of spells now collectively known as The Lady's Shield. If you want more details about it's history I'd suggest checking the Venalicium, just keep in mind the actual spells aren't listed there at all. Professors absolutely do not want to risk students making mistakes with that kind of magic, as students are want to do. Especially their historical inspirations. Modern versions of The Lady's Shield are - I've been told - quite gentle and convenient, easy to use and all of that. But try to use the spell that philosopher woman brought like it's descendants are used and I guarantee you'll spend the next week in the Infirmary."

Weren't planning to, and your plans in that regard have not changed needless to say. "And that philosopher woman asked Professor Badcrumble about whether students could be directly taught those spells by our professors in the future, or...what?"

Rikildis simply nods. "Hmm-hmm. I'm still investigating that angle, and yes, part of the reason I'm bringing this piece of paper to the regent is to try and shake information loose from her. But knowing that philosopher woman's entire shtick, it's easy to see the writing on the wall. Whether that will end up translating to us students getting any additional mandatory classes or optional seminars before we graduate, who knows. What I do know is that Professor Badcrumble is probably going to end up a major player in this debate, at least as far as the Academagia is concerned. So which way her opinion is swinging is something I'm paying very close attention to."

"Any idea which direction it is?" you ask, and Rikildis mentions she isn't sure. There's reasons to believe the regent is against it, there's reasons to believe she'd support it - at least to some degree. Rikildis isn't sure how that will end up playing out, if it'll even come up before she graduates, but either way she is keeping an eye on it.

You nod, and say you've heard enough. Rikildis nods in turn, and finally the two of you go your separate ways. What an adventure that turned out to be. That so thoroughly misunderstood piece of paper, the rumors, Grainne...well, nothing you need to worry about anymore now. Whatever happened with Grainne is no longer your problem, and you've gotten some very interesting insight into some potentially very interesting developments in the process. Can't complain about that.

You cannot help but wonder if you will see anything come from this mess before Rikildis, and hopefully you as well, graduate...

[PC high(-ish?) relationship with Grainne]-Try and talk to Grainne.
--Mentally pointing out this is not what you expected you walk over to Grainne and sit down across from her. She doesn't raise her head at all, but her eyes do rise up to look at you. "What is this all about?" you plainly ask. You know Grainne won't let herself get knocked down so easily.

Indeed, Grainne shuffles back and properly sits up straight, leaning against the wall behind her. She...might be holding back tears, you're not sure. You're not going to ask. "From the beginning?" Grainne asks. Her voice sounds a bit different, and you think you catch the hint of a stutter, but she's trying to push through it. You nod, trusting that she knows what her limits are. Worst case you're ready to support her, Grainne need merely ask. And while you're sure it'd be a difficult thing for her you trust she will if she really needs it. "Could you remind me where the beginning is? Sorry, but...I've had a lot running circles in my head these past few minutes. Too much, really."

Case in point. A gossip losing track of her own story? She has been running herself ragged, metaphorically speaking. "Start with how you first learned about that thrice cursed piece of paper," you answer. Grainne slowly nods.

"Do you know about Professor Badcrumble's guest? The woman who brought that paper to the Academagia in the first place, I mean?" Grainne asks. You explain you've heard about her, Rikildis also mentioned her a moment ago, but you never got a clear picture. "She's a newcomer in Mineta, recently arrived here from Staade. I don't know what her deal is, exactly, I just know it's this whole giant mess of things us 'young'ns' are supposed to keep our noses out of even though we're the ones who'll be feeling its effects in a few years. If it manages to have any at all, that is. She arranged a meeting with Professor Badcrumble to discuss details together in private, behind closed doors, and brought that piece of paper with her as part of that discussion. I don't know how that meeting went, but that's the story."

"You don't know exactly what this woman discussed with the regent?" you ask to clarify. Grainne shakes her head. "You didn't care about that at all?"

Grainne looks surprised, but you do know her well enough to pick up stuff like that. If she wanted to know that badly than private conversation or not she'd have found something out, you're sure. Considering she found out about the piece of paper itself and all. "I-I, eh...I guess...I really didn't," Grainne sheepishly admits. Despite her being lost in thought it seems she never connected those two particular dots together. "Um...truthfully, the first I heard about it was about the spell-the missing piece of paper, I mean. Once that caught my ear everything else took a back seat. I was really interested in that spell. I...I wanted it. Speaking of which, I'm sorry. For lying to you in the Great Hall. I wasn't being coy, the rest was all Rikildis' idea. I just wanted that spell, for myself."

Interesting, but you'll address that particular elephant later. "What, exactly, did you hear about that spell? What were you told about it that made you so interested?"

Grainne seems to clam up at that question, but you remind her you're not trying to embarrass her. You're here to lend her a listening ear, and the support of someone who isn't going to judge her. Grainne actually briefly flashes a smile at that. "Do you really want to know the full story?" Grainne asks. You nod, and ask if it's a story she wants to get off her chest. Grainne stares at you for a moment, her face gaining a few shades of red, before nevertheless admitting that she really does. Of course, you're more than happy to hear her out. "So...actually, did you read the piece of paper at all? That spell, did you learn it?"

"I did read it before going back to the Academagia to give it to you, yes. That said it was all dry textbook stuff, and the spell itself didn't make any sense to me. If there was anything scandalous in there I apparently missed it." Grainne shakes her head, and explains you didn't miss anything.

"I overheard the details of the spell from a few fourth years. They were gossiping about Professor Badcrumble's private meeting, but truthfully, once I heard about the spell I immediately forgot about the rest. I didn't figure out most of this until after I spend a while searching and researching, but those older students gave me enough information to finally find what I was looking for. That family of spells - in modern times - is called The Lady's Shield. The first version was developed in the Early Empire in an attempt to advance the convenience of magical food preservation, of all things. The idea was to create a seal that wouldn't let air or water through, but that people could push their hands through. The wizard developing the spell managed the former, but reached old age before he could figure out the latter. Said wizard's granddaughter, however, picked up where the wizard left off. Except she discovered a very different, but functional application for that spell - she could use it on herself, to catch and trap her lunar flow."

...Huh. Not the direction you were expecting that to take, not going to lie. "That...sounds uncomfortable," you point out.

"I'm sure it was, but that was just the start. A new discovery in an era where such techniques existing at all was something you couldn't take for granted, especially outside a place like the Academagia. The actual spell on that piece of paper? Foundational knowledge, these days. Across generations that spell has been improved, refined, adapted to different purposes, further refined from there...name it. It's got a very long history." For a spell that is, seemingly, so famous you have to admit you've never heard of it before. Grainne nods and points out why such spells are indeed not spoken of in the Academagia, or listed in the Venalicium: Students are student, novices prone to making mistakes. Making mistakes with spells like The Lady's Shield, especially the earliest precursor that is only part of the same spell family in a legal sense...well, the consequences would be unfortunate indeed. You ask whether that's why Rikildis put Grainne in "time out" as she called it, and Grainne slowly nods. She admits Rikildis has the right of it, but it's still something that irks her on a personal level. Finally grasping at something she wanted, only to need to be rescued from it. Not because she doesn't study Incantation, though. Because she couldn't tell the difference between an actual, modern Lady's Shield spell from it's food preserving ancestor.

You decide to quietly move on from the obvious question of why, exactly, Grainne wanted that spell so badly. You feel you've heard enough to put two and two together, anyhow. If Grainne doesn't want to address fine details you certainly won't ask her to. "So that's what happened...well, hopefully Rikildis is also right with her theory about the piece of paper having been secretly swiped. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me. Should be interesting, right?" Grainne nods, but she clearly isn't feeling it right now. You're left scratching your head trying to think of ways to cheer her up. If scandalous gossip doesn't do the trick than what will? Hmm...

"Something on your mind, [PC FIRST NAME]?" Grainne asks. You know what, you're just going to ask her outright.

"Yes. What can I do to make you feel better?" you ask with a big, goofy smile on your face. Grainne, for her, part, looks a bit confused. "You look really down, Grainne. Not like you just lost out on some big scoop, but like someone took something from your personally. I know I can't exactly help you with personal problems, but surely there's something I can do to at least make you feel better."

It takes a moment for Grainne to process what you just said, but once she does she can't help but show an honest smile. "I don't see childlike innocence like that nearly often enough, sometimes. And yes, that is a compliment. Not enough people are that earnest. So alright. If you really insist, than take me out into Mineta. Times like these I need some delicious food to get my mind off of it. I'll let you guess whether I'm talking about a main course or desert, though."

"Simple: Both," you answer. Grainne says she'll accept if you join her for a run around the Athletics Field afterwards - she has to keep in shape, after all. You take her up on that offer.

You actually end up spending a while touring various eateries around Mineta with Grainne, trying all sorts of things from boiled spinach to chocolate ice cream with her. Afterwards, as promised, the two of you end up going on a "full course" of athletic activities together. Running around the Athletics Field to warm up, having a few friendly wrestling matches and a quick arm wrestling competition, and finally heading off to Lake Ardica to wash all the sweat off. Grainne mentions she was planning on swimming laps around the lake before racing you to the edge of the lake and back, but she's feeling dead tired and doesn't want to even try to muster the energy to stay afloat. Instead she's content to lazily rest in the shallows, and frankly, you cannot help but agree with her. It only took a few hours, but you feel like you've been running around all day. Isn't time supposed to fly by you when you're having fun, not the other way around?

"Finally, there you are!" a distinctly Rikildis-like voice suddenly barrels over the lake, and both Grainne and you turn your heads to look at her. Just your heads, though. The rest of your bodies are too tired to move right now. "I just spend the past...I don't even know how long looking around for you two, after you mysterious vanished out of the office right after I came back from informing Professor Badcrumble someone might have outright robbed her guest, and handing her what she needs to find and apprehend that sneaky thief if that suspicion is correct. I didn't mention the whole 'by the way, please stay here because we've got stuff to talk about afterwards' deal because frankly I assumed that was implied. What have you two been up to this whole time?"

You glance at Grainne, feeling like that's really her question to answer. You'll answer it if she wants you to, though.

"Hanging out together," Grainne confidently answers. She sounds a bit tired, but otherwise has definitely cheered up. "Are you going to give me a hall session for running out on your detention?" she adds, jokingly.

"Don't give me ideas, I might choose to act upon them," Rikildis retorts with a smirk on her face. Her own face. Grainne has a wide grin on her as well. "In any case, you can tell me about that later. Right now I need an interview with [PC FIRST NAME] and how [s/he] found the missing piece of paper. If there is a thief Professor Badcrumble didn't make an example of them, yet, but I'll find out who it is when I figure out whoever has gone missing. Someone will notice, someone will talk. It's just a matter of time. Grainne..."

Suddenly Rikildis' clockwork thoughts grind to a halt. Not for long, of course, but for her the pause is still noticeable.

"Stay where you are and rest up. Make sure not to forget that warming down...stuff you talked about before. Cooling off? I forget, but you know what I mean." Indeed, Grainne nods. "[PC FIRST NAME], time for your long overdue interview. Don't worry if you think the story isn't particularly interesting, there's always the chance you simply didn't recognize it as such."

"So long as you're fine holding that interview right here, I'm game," you say, enjoying the feel of the water and the soft bed of the lake. All you need is a pillow, really. Surely there's a spell for that, actually? Hmm...

Rikildis frowns, but agrees that a bit of lakeside air doesn't hurt her. She complains the humidity does hurt her various writing supplies, but oh well. Worthy sacrifice. You're fine playing along with Rikildis, anyway. You don't think your journey to find the missing piece of paper was that interesting, but who knows. Maybe you did stumble across something worth elaborating on in the inevitable newspaper article?

Time will tell, you suppose. Truthfully, you don't care about it too much. Grainne looks happier than she did when she send you on this silly treasure hunt back in the Great Hall. Rikildis might disagree, but to you one more piece of gossip isn't going to be worth more than that.

[PC took friendly option in stage 1, has Affection/Love with Grainne? Male PC?]-Support Grainne, if she really is feeling vulnerable.
--You are, in fact, perfectly aware that trying to navigate a trap filled field regularly patrolled by a Dragon just to soothe Grainne's feelings would have at least half the Academagia question your tastes if not your sanity. You are going to summarily ignore those collective opinions, as well as whatever merit and meaningful arguments they may have, and instead continue doing what you decided on.

You wait for Rikildis to close the door behind her, walk up to Grainne, and silently sit down next to her. She is turning her eyes to look at you, but isn't responding otherwise. Truthfully you're not sure what's bothering her, which really doesn't help your confidence much. All the same you hold out a hand, which...Grainne just looks at confused. You'd think a gossip like her would be better at reading these kinds of signals, or maybe that's a sign you're the one making a complete fool of yourself. You're not scared or worried about that, though. You dare to show an honest smile, and gently take Grainne's hand. She doesn't resist, instead watching intently as you hold and start massaging her hand. Grainne stays silent, her facial expression not giving anything away. Her breathing, however, picks up some noticeable hickups. And speed.

"Are you alright?" you gently ask Grainne. Her eyes raise to give you a confused look before falling back down, staring at the overlapping hands. After that, however, she shakes her head. You ask Grainne if she wants to talk about it. Awkward silence falls over the conversation briefly - barring Grainne's deep, yet rapid breathing. You start massaging her hand a bit differently, much slower. Grainne's breathing slows down as well shortly afterwards. It feels better this way, but you don't miss the critical point it makes - as Rikildis warned, which your antics these past few minutes definitely did not help at all, Grainne is really vulnerable right now.

"Do you really want to know?" Grainne quietly asks. You nod, causing Grainne to stare curiously at her hand again. Slowly that hand starts to hold yours. You hold hers, in turn. "Have you ever heard someone say 'your body will betray you'?" Grainne asks. It sounds cryptic, but you don't think she intended it to. In any case, yes, you have heard that phrase before. So you nod. "Mine did," Grainne reluctantly admits. "Not that I was surprised or anything. I knew it was coming. Still, I think it's fair to say that...I didn't take it well."

"Were there complications?" you ask, hoping the question isn't too blunt. You have to be direct and firm with Grainne, though, even in a situation like this. Thankfully Grainne shakes her head.

"No. Just annoyances. Me not wanting to accept it, I guess. Or maybe I wasn't ready. Not sure." Grainne, curtly, spits out. "And because of that I lied to you earlier. Or, rather, I tricked you. I didn't want that piece of paper for any greater purpose, that whole thing about it possibly being stolen was all Rikildis' idea. What I wanted was that spell. I wanted it for myself."

Even in these circumstances you can't stop yourself from raising a curious eyebrow. Grainne notices, and you explain what you learned and found out about the spell along the way - which is to say, not a whole lot. You ended up with more questions than answers. You also can't stop yourself from asking the most obvious question afterwards: What was Grainne intending to do with that spell?

"Learn it, of course. Cram and brute force however much Incantation study I needed to use it. I didn't figure this out myself until later, but you're confused because that specific spell you found is just a stepping stone. A piece of magical history that's got almost as many years behind it as the Empire of Man itself. I wanted something like that - the real deal, I mean - but you can't find magic like that in the Venalicium. I checked, it's not in there. So when that guest lost that piece of paper I thought that was my chance, except I didn't dare to look for it myself. Too many potential witnesses slinging accusations about it being personal I couldn't handle...because it is. So I acted all coy and pretended there was some great secret behind it-at least, some secret that I knew of, let stand cared about. That's how I tricked you. That's how I ended up like this."

A pretty complete picture, but one aspect is still missing. "What role did Rikildis play in all this?"

Grainne flinches, clearly it's not a happy memory for her. You squeeze her hand to try and chase those thoughts away. Grainne doesn't show whether or not it worked, but you'd like to believe it did. "Rikildis forcefully dragged that truth out of me, then took it upon herself to personally set that piece of paper on fire if that's what it took to keep me from grabbing it. Don't get me wrong, though - as much as I hate to admit it I know she's in the right. I'm just...frustrated. I thought I could get something I really wanted, when in truth a friend had to protect me from it. I don't regret that she did, but..."

"You're going to need a moment to cool off," you fill in. Grainne nods, evidently keeping some thought to herself as a warm smile briefly appears on her face. Probably some witty joke about your antics not helping her cool off at all. Honestly, if that's the case, you'll happily accept it. Especially because you don't want your next question to go unanswered, even though Grainne might not want to hear it. "Are you sure Rikildis didn't go too far?"

Grainne turns her head, stares you right in the eyes for a moment, and confidently nods. That does push a weight off of your shoulders. "It's a bitter pill to swallow, but yes. She absolutely saved my life. Actually, do you know why these sorts of spells aren't in the Venalicium at all?" You admit that, truthfully, you're not sure. You can imagine people objecting because they're "inappropriate", but the appropriate spells you learn in Incantation could easily be used to start wildfires, so you don't see that argument holding water for very long. Grainne nods at your point. "I thought the same, until Rikildis explained it to me. The truth is, I don't study Incantation. And I figured that wouldn't be a problem - I'm only hoping to learn one spell, not an entire pillar - but even so I should expect things to do wrong. You've no doubt seen and probably even experienced your fair share of mishaps that first years get into. How badly it can go wrong. One first year tried to Revise their spinach to taste like candy, and ended up with such a bad case of food poisoning they spend the next day and a half in the Infirmary emptying both ends of their digestive tract. Imagine that, but with a spell to absorb a girl's lunar flow." Pausing briefly for dramatic effect, Grainne finishes the thought with, "Now imagine the same with a spell that wasn't even designed for that purpose, like the spell on the piece of paper actually isn't. Could you imagine how bad that would be?"

There is only one response to that question your mind can put together before throwing it out the nearest window in abject terror. "Honestly, I don't want to. Not when you're the victim of that story."

Grainne's lips slowly creep up into a mischievous smile. "You'd imagine it if someone else was the victim?" she playfully asks, almost like a cat asking a question to a cornered mouse. You awkwardly try to blurt out something defensive, but Grainne suddenly brings her other hand's finger to your mouth. The chaotic swirl of hastily chosen words comes to an abrupt halt. "I'm just teasing," Grainne says, quietly. "Speaking of, I've had enough of holding back your teasing, so..."

The finger pressed against your lips goes further, sliding across your skin until Grainne's hand is holding your cheek. You don't resist, trusting Grainne as she trusted your earlier. You don't have to wait long. Head held in place Grainne moves her own closer - shuffles closer to you in general, even - until her lips touch your other cheek. You can't help but feel a rush of excitement, and energy, feeling Grainne's kiss. She, however, rests her head on your shoulder and closes her eyes. She's smiling, but even so she seems tired.

"Maybe now my heart will stop pounding," Grainne whispers softly, though given the lack of distance you can hear it pretty clearly. You think it will, too. You can tell from Grainne's hand that you're still slowly massaging. It feels less tense than it did before.

You don't know how long you quietly spend by Grainne's side, slowly massaging her hand, lost together in your own little world...until the sound of a quill scratching against parchment tickles your ears and causes you to turn towards it's source. Sitting on one of the desks, grinning from ear to ear, is Rikildis, parchment in one hand and quill in the other. There's even an inkwell next to her. "Oh, don't mind me," Rikildis starts, her normal voice shattering the peaceful silence so much it sounds deafening in your ears. "Just writing some notes, and-"

Rikildis suddenly stops when you motion to her to stop talking, afterwards pointing towards Grainne. As far as you can tell she's comfortably sleeping, and you'd prefer her colleague didn't wake her up.

"Just...beautiful," Rikildis whispers, dipping her quill in ink and continuing her writings on a new line. "So, [PC FIRST NAME], I don't suppose you'd mind if I interviewed you later about Grainne and your-"

You were willing to let Rikildis talk in case she was referring to the whole missing spell business, but the moment Grainne's name comes up you stop massaging her hand just long enough to draw a line across your neck. Rikildis slowly nods, understanding the gesture.

She doesn't say anything more. She continues her writing, of course, but she doesn't say anything more. Grainne, once she wakes up from her comfortable nap on your shoulder, quickly finds many pointed questions she wants to ask Rikildis about regarding when she came back the moment Grainne sees her partner in gossip crimes. You say goodbye for now and leave them to it. The Academagia, in your absence, has returned more or less to normal - the flood of rumors regarding the missing piece of paper has washed away, replaced with a more normal amount of gossiping about who (allegedly) swiped the piece of paper from Professor Badcrumble's guest, as well as the part you played in stealing it back. You'll give Rikildis credit where it's due, she did make sure people knew about your involvement.

...It's just a shame that people are phrasing it as you robbing a fellow thief rather than, you know, following a trail of clues until you found it, but oh well. You know full well neither Grainne or Rikildis will be throwing any further slander on your name, so this won't last more than a day at worst. Rikildis because she's busy, and Grainne...thinking about her makes your heart race. Not the outcome you expected from a misbegotten treasure hunt - under false pretences at that - but honestly? You can't say you disagree with the results...

So remember when I said this adventure ran away from me? Yeah it sure did .

[Metis]

The Lady's Shield, Stage 8c:

Spoiler

After some light searching you find Milena in the Venalicium. The Venalicium is mostly empty, probably because everyone who wanted to gossip has already been thrown out by the librarians. You can't help but notice there's an unusually large number of them walking around, especially for as relatively empty as the library is. Milena, for her part, is quietly reading a book, with two more next to her. Busy studying, or busy hiding? The world may never know.

You, however, are planning to be a different story.

"Hey, Milena?" you very quietly whisper as you sit down next to her, keenly aware of how far away the nearest librarian is. For multiple reasons. Milena, for her part, merely turns a weary eye towards you. "I found a page to a book I never heard of before. Think you can help me find it?"

Milena doesn't say it and tries not to show it, but she shudders a bit. Nervously, after a second, she sputters out, "Um...w-what page are you...talking about?"

You take a discreet look around to make sure that no one is watching, and confirm that Milena is, indeed, in a pretty isolated spot. You imagine that's not a coincidence. As such you take out the piece of paper and put it on the table. You're not worried about Milena swiping it, even if she destroys it it's too late to start burning the evidence now. You also don't say anything, merely observe Milena's reaction.

Seeing the page a worrying amount of color drains from Milena's face. You're not sure what to make of it. "Of course it had to be about this. Of course someone else just had to find it," she laments. You don't want to judge too quickly, but this feels like confirmation Milena did not find that piece of paper just randomly on the floor somewhere. You know there's no reason to care about getting caught with it if that was the whole story, the spell on it - in stark contrast to the rumors still being discussed as closely as right outside the Venalicium's own front doors - is, frankly, boring. "I just..." Milena spits out, before falling silent for a moment. You give her that moment, after which Milena nods to herself and turns to face you. The color on her face hasn't come back. "What do you want from me, [PC FIRST NAME]? Just...just say it, do you want a favor? A tutor? My complete and total ruination? Rikildis dancing on my grave so she'll forgive you for something you did? I can take it, just tell me what you want already."

"First off, Milena, I want you to take a deep breath and calm down. You...well, you don't look healthy," you slowly say. Milena, however, just stares blankly at you, seemingly waiting on you to announce her fate. "Let's take this to a study cubicle where we can talk more freely," you eventually say, shaking your head a bit. Milena doesn't object, and silently packs up her books and follows you. She doesn't even try to swipe the piece of paper. You actually have to pick that up yourself to make sure it doesn't get left behind.

The study cubicle is, honestly, not the ideal place for this. The minimalistic decor and uncomfortable chairs give off the feeling of an interrogation chamber. Milena certainly seems to interpret it as such, staring at her lap and quietly asking you, again, what you want. If Milena is going to treat this as an interrogation perhaps you should just play along for now. You throw the piece of paper on the table, getting no visible reaction from Milena out of it, and ask her to explain where she got the paper from.

"I stole it," Milena tries to admit with some shred of dignity, but her voice is so quiet you can barely hear it. "I heard about Professor Badcrumble's guest. I knew what she'd be talking with the regent about. I saw her walking through the hallways and looking over that piece of paper. I...I had to know. I had to know what she was looking at, what she was going to bring up with the regent. So...I stole it from her. Used magic to blow it out of her pocket while she was walking next to a window. And took it."

Milena falls silent. You suspect you know what window she's talking about, but that's not the only question you have. "And...that's it? You used magic to steal it, that's it? Nothing else?"

Milena actually raises her head a bit and stares at you with a mixed look on her face. She still looks pale, so all told it's an uncanny sight. "No," Milena quietly admits, slowly shaking her head. "I planned on returning it to her. After reading it. I was going to, I wanted to, but..." The shaking suddenly stops, and Milena's head falls again. "I got scared. I tried to imagine giving it back, simply telling her she dropped it, but I just couldn't. 'Why did you pick it up?' 'Did you read it?' 'Are you curious about this stuff?' 'Did you create that gust of wind using magic?' I couldn't bring myself to move. I was frozen in place, until she was too far to catch up with. At that point I turned around and escaped. Ran away with my ill-gotten gains, hid it somewhere and hoped no one would ever find it."

You really don't want to put too much pressure on Milena, but there's something off about this that you don't want to let go unexplained. "Why did you keep that piece of paper at all? You had every chance to read it, memorize or copy what you needed to, and than either bury it somewhere in that secret tunnel or even just set it on fire. Why go all the way out into the Imperial Reserve to hide it? Why not destroy it?"

Milena, after a quiet moment and staring blankly at her lap, admits she didn't think about that. You ask if she had a reason for keeping that piece of paper intact, and she shakes her head. "I wasn't thinking straight," Milena admits. "You're right, I should have just burned it in that secret tunnel. I guess...I don't know. Maybe part of me was still hoping I could return it at a later date? I'm not sure. I've never done this before, [PC FIRST NAME], I'm new to this. Using magic to rob someone, hiding my pirate treasure somewhere I thought no one would find it, then desperately trying to pretend nothing happened while the entire Academagia loses it's collective mind because of what I stole...I just don't know. What I'm supposed to do with this, how I'm supposed to do this."

You can't help but notice the stark contrast between Milena here and at least several of her peers. Feels like at least a dozen of them wouldn't so much as blink after robbing someone like that. "If you didn't want this, than...what were you so concerned about?" you slowly ask. Milena actually looks a bit surprised, like she doesn't understand the question. "Why steal the piece of paper in the first place? If you were so curious couldn't you have simply asked Professor Badcrumble's guest what she was looking at?"

"Do you know what that woman discussed with the regent?" Milena asks. You admit that for all of the bits and pieces you've picked up here and there, particularly from Maelys, you never got a clear picture. You certainly don't know Milena's own interpretation, so you ask what her take is. "I don't know the details of the meeting, but I know enough to say with certainty that woman asked whether us students are taught these kinds of spells directly. And given we're not, whether we could be," Milena explains, tapping her wand against the piece of paper for emphasis. "I just couldn't imagine her not telling me I'm too young to understand, that it's a matter between adults - never mind the fact it's our curriculum she's talking about - or to ask my parents about it, or..." Milena shrugs, and lets out a tired sigh. "You get the idea. I couldn't just ask."

Staring pointedly at the piece of paper you can't help but remember what Maelys said about that spell. Although whether she actually had the right of it you're still not sure. You are worried about Milena's condition, but you also want answers, so you ask if she feels up to explaining it to you. Milena, of course, nods.

"About the spell, yes and no. That specific spell was designed to help preserve food in ceramic vessels, glass jars and the like. Don't try to use it on your skin. The spell isn't made for it." Huh. Sounds like you did Maelys more than one favor back there. "As for professor Badcrumble's guest, I was out climbing trees in the Imperial Reserve while that meeting was taking place and didn't come back until after she'd left. That said the rumor storm told me she left her meeting clearly satisfied about whatever conclusion it came to, and seemingly without missing the piece of paper I...stole from her. Honestly? I genuinely think these spells might be added to the curriculum at some point. Maybe not in time for us to study them, although in our case we might end up with seminars instead. I'm not sure. And if not that than something else is going on. I don't know what, but something convinced that woman Academagia students aren't being left let stand kept in the dark about stuff like this."

This might be too personal a question, but you're going to ask anyway. "Why, if I may ask, do you care about it so much? I know you're not just trying to stay one step ahead of the faculty in terms of your tutoring business, you wouldn't bring yourself to outright commit theft for that. Why...well, why does this matter so much to you?"

"If I give you my honest answer, will you promise to believe me, [PC FIRST NAME]? And, you know, not laugh at my stupidity." Milena asks. You nod. "That woman, professor Badcrumble's guest? She's right. Genuinely, I think she has the right of it. We should be taught these sorts of spells-hell, their study is measurably more important than some of the esoteric edge cases our actual classes teach. These are spells that inevitably end up being used by everyone, in some shape or form. I really don't understand why they're not taught in class already. Like, I can understand some of the objections people have against the ideas Professor Badcrumble's guest discusses in the Forum of Naxum, but I'm the one studying magic here. I think these proposed classes or seminars or whatever form they'd take would do far more good than some of the things most students aren't likely to ever find a use for. So...does that opinion just not matter at all? Am I just wrong about all of this?"

Milena isn't wrong to have an opinion. It does affect her pretty directly, and no one could accuse her of not caring about what and how well people are studying. But you also point out the situation with Maelys you encountered earlier. Not to gossip about the girl behind her back, but she is a pretty solid example of someone who doesn't seem likely to ever use the spell she was after. In the end, for multiple reasons.

Milena, however, deftly shakes her head. "That first year just misunderstood what she was looking for, and what she was going to find for that matter," she corrects. It's good that Milena is starting to recover from her shock, but she still looks noticeably paler than usual. "This spell-well, actually, let me correct myself there: The later descendants of this spell do have other uses, at least one of which most girls are likely to end up using regardless of who they prefer to date. If not those exact spells than something similar, possibly from different pillars. If anything I'd hold up that first year as an example of my point - she could have badly hurt herself casting a spell no one taught her how to use properly. It's obvious from the rumor storm this started that students are clearly very interested in this sort of magic, you've encountered at least one of them who actively started a wild goose chase just to unknowingly put herself in serious danger for it, just..." Milena briefly runs out of breath, but of course she's not done quite yet. "That's why I'm saying to just have our professors teach us those spells. How to use them, what to use, when to use them, why to use them, everything. The whole nine yards. I don't care if students find it embarrassing or if parents think it's inappropriate, if they wanted a too carefree life they should have joined a circus instead. We're here to study magic and time isn't going to stand still for us just because we are. I want to learn this stuff because I know it'll end up using it, if not personally than because inevitably I'll run into someone who will. And for as personal and embarrassing as it is...I feel like that's all the more reason to make sure the lessons are taught by an experienced, attentive teacher. Ignorance is not a good thing, that's why there's an academy here in the first place. I want to learn. Not ask my parents about things they don't understand, and can't help me with."

You actually give Milena a moment to catch her breath after that outburst. Hearing her gasp for breath a bit, however, you think it's time to start packing up here. That said, one very poignant question is running circles in your head and you will be driven insane if you don't ask it. "If that's how you feel, why did you steal that woman's spell? Or, well, the piece of-you know what I mean."

Milena actually has to think about that question for a moment. "I guess...I wanted to know what kind of spells I could be taught in the future. I want to believe that woman will succeed, even if it'll be too late for me to experience that new curriculum myself. Honestly, I don't think it mattered in the end anyway. Whatever Professor Badcrumble had to tell her was evidently even better than the piece of paper she brought, and frankly I shouldn't be surprised by that. Considering she brought the wrong spell and all, I think it's fair to guess that woman doesn't know the magic side of this subject all that well. Probably doesn't cast magic herself at all, if I had to guess. And the lack of readily available textbooks about them, well...that's one of the sticking points in her debates at the Forum. So, all told, it figures if Professor Badcrumble was able to run circles around her, in that regard."

Right. In any case, that seems to be it. You now know the full story behind the missing piece of paper and the storm of rumors it caused, at least insofar that Milena is able to tell it. You do ask exactly who this guest of Professor Badcrumble is, but Milena is still so out of it she completely blanks on the name. Something Staaden, that is all she remembers. Right. Despite Milena pushing herself to say her piece she's clearly still feeling as well as she looks - which is to say, not very. It's high time you brought her someone else, away from this study cubicle turned interrogation chamber.

"Um...[PC FIRST NAME]?" Milena suddenly asks. "What...what's going to happen now? Like I said I've never been caught red handed and interrogated like this before, I don't know how this stuff goes. If you want a favor or whatever, just tell me. I actually know what textbook that piece of paper was copied from, you know. If you want to learn those spells properly, I mean...I actually might be able to set you up with a tutor? I'm not sure, it depends. Regardless, I could tell you where to find the textbook at least."

An important question, to be sure. You know Grainne is still out there, and while there's no meaningful point to giving her the piece of paper anymore you could hand Milena over to her directly. Surely Grainne wanted the piece of paper for that reason, as Maelys suggested when she mentioned the special value that only that specific piece of paper has. Only it witnessed Milena's actions, no other piece of paper with the exact same text scribed on it did. Alternatively you could drag Milena to Professor Badcrumble. Given it was her guest that Milena robbed, and given her reasons for doing so, it seems like taking her there directly would just end up saving her (and possibly her regent) a trip. It begs the question of how to resolve Grainne's loose end afterwards, but surely the regent, if anyone, could figure that out.

Of course that's assuming you feel Milena deserves some kind of punishment or other retribution for her actions. You could burn the piece of paper yourself right here and now, and promise to help keep her secret...though that would put you at odds with at least Grainne and probably Professor Badcrumble. Honestly it sounds like a plan that would never realistically work. Dramatic, sure, but not practical. If you wanted to go that route you'd probably be better off just taking Milena to the Infirmary, and informing either Grainne or Professor Badcrumble immediately afterwards. You don't expect much in the way of sympathy from either considering the circumstances, but surely it has to account for something.

So...how to respond?

-Bring Milena to Grainne, but promise to defend her from the gossip grapevine.
--Grainne is surely going to notice if you never bring that piece of paper to her, and although you really don't fancy the gossip queen getting on your case instead of Milena's you also don't fancy just throwing Milena out to the wolves hunting her. No, no, you're not going to do that. Nor are you going to wait for those wolves to catch up to her, either. You're going to defend her yourself.

"What happens now is that we both go and see Grainne, considering she's the one who asked me to find that piece of paper for her," you start. Milena looks weary, and a touch more color drains from her already pale face. That, however, is when you put a hand on her shoulder. She shakes from the surprise and looks up, confused. "I'm not going to throw you to the wolves," you tell her, trying to sound as confident as you can. "We're going to see Grainne because it's inevitable that she'll try and get on your case about this, and slather your name all over the Academagia as that of a budding master thief. I don't think you deserve that, and I'm sure you don't want that either. So we're going to go there and give Grainne what she wanted and tell her we're not going to stand still and wait for her to spread her slander. If she does we go to Professor Badcrumble and explain the situation, in full. You are guilty, but that doesn't justify being made into a victim. I'm sure the regent will agree with that."

It takes Milena longer to process that than anything else up to this point. Eventually, however, she unsteadily stands up and quietly asks if she shouldn't turn herself in in the first place. Threatening to do so just sounds absurd, and she can't imagine Professor Badcrumble looking too kindly on her if she clearly tried to get away with it. Only crying foul when she was made out to be worse than she really was, not that she wasn't genuinely guilty.

"You could, and honestly, maybe you should. But I'm not going to make that decision for you," you admit. "I'll come along and make sure the gossip grapevine isn't going to turn you into a pincushion with it's myriad thorns. What you do after that is up to you."

Milena slowly nods and quietly thanks you. You simply nod, and remember to take the piece of paper with you. You genuinely don't know what value it even has anymore, but better to bring it along than to leave it behind for some random first year to make the chance discovery of a lifetime. As in, if Milena is to be believed, finding the required spell to add a legendary entry to the list of the Academagia's Infirmary patients.

The trip to the school newspaper office is slow and eerily quiet, with Milena half looking like a ghost as she is so lost in thought she doesn't really respond to the world around her all that well. Every other student you come across still is gossiping up a storm about this piece of paper, but it seems no one has clued in that said piece of paper is currently in your possession. And was once in the possession of the pale Milena shuffling along next to you.

At the school newspaper office the situation you two find is, frankly, even more bizarre than the trip over. Grainne is in a fetal position, sitting on the floor in the corner of the office, despite a mountain of parchment being scattered seemingly randomly across every flat surface in the room. Rikildis is also here, going from table to table organizing the mess, until she hears the door open and turns to sneer at it. Upon seeing you, however, that quickly turns into a warm smile...sort of. It is still Rikildis you're talking about here.

"[PC FIRST NAME]! Come in, come in. Oh, and close the door behind you. We've got a lot of stuff to discuss about-hello there, Milena," Rikildis starts, not even stopping for half a breath when her eyes land on her other (apparently unexpected?) guest. That is, until she sees the state that Milena is in. Rikildis' torrent of words comes to an abrupt end as she squints, stares at, and carefully studies Milena's pale face. Milena, needless to say, does not welcome the obvious attention. She actually shifts back, trying to hide behind you. Rikildis notices, but she doesn't comment. "[PC FIRST NAME], Milena? What is...going on here?" Rikildis asks, the sneer and smile from before both gone as quickly (and briefly) as they appeared.

"That, honestly, is the exact same question what was on my mind seeing this situation," you admit, staring pointedly at Grainne. Though you don't believe she sees, she's got her head buried on her knees. Rikildis, however? She definitely noticed.

"Grainne is in time out right now," Rikildis curtly answers. After Milena's whole situation you are left without so much as half a clue about how to interpret that. "As such I'll be taking over the part where she asked you to find the piece of paper that Professor Badcrumble's guest lost," Rikildis continues. Milena, behind you, shakes and tries to hide again when she hears that. Rikildis, for her part, narrows her eyes when she notices that. You note, however, that she doesn't break out one of her trademarked smiles. "I suppose it won't come as any surprise when I say I suspect someone actually stole that piece of paper. So, if I'm reading this situation correctly...Milena? Are you our budding thief?"

Milena's entire body shakes hearing that accusation from, admittedly, the last person you normally want to hear say such things. She doesn't hide behind you this time, however. You step in front of her. Rikildis raises an eyebrow at that. "Don't talk about Milena like that," you tell Rikildis. Her expression doesn't move at all, she's waiting for you to finish speaking. "Yes, she's the one you-or, Grainne, rather, wanted the piece of paper for. But you can also see the condition that she's in because of it. She's not a 'budding thief' of any sort, so for her sake, please don't call her that."

Rikildis dares to show a bemused smile, this time staring you up and down a few times. Before grabbing the nearest piece of blank parchment (this, amusingly, actually takes her a few attempts) as well as a quill to start writing stuff down. She even sits down, after making some space on one of the tables. "Milena?" she asks, which causes Milena to poke a nervous head out from behind you. "Come over here and let me take a closer look at you. I promise I won't eat you, or call you a master thief for that matter. Just let me make sure you're alright. You look like you're about to pass out."

Both Milena and you stare dubiously at Rikildis for a moment, while she grabs the nearest chair and puts it in front of her for Milena to sit in. Milena does take one hesitant step forward. One step, mind, before giving you a meaningful look. You nod, and follow her to Rikildis, where you grab a chair and sit down next to Milena. If Rikildis objects - or has any sort of opinion on it, for that matter - she doesn't show it.

Contrary to expectations Rikildis actually does run Milena through a number of basic questions and brief tests, both mundane and using Rikildis' wand, to measure the status of Milena's health. Between that and Rikildis patiently writing that stuff down she actually looks like an Infirmary nurse for a moment. It's uncanny. And you can't even imagine what's going through Grainne's head as this is going on. You do catch her looking up and staring a few times, but while curious she's clearly not interested in joining the conversation. "Not the worst case of guilt I've ever seen," Rikildis eventually concludes. You're not sure whether to be happy about that or not. Milena, for her part, still looks worried and lost. This is not helped by Rikildis' bemused smirk suddenly turning into something more serious. "That said, both my wand and my experience as a journalist tells me it's worse than it appears. Milena, I applaud you for putting on a brave face and all. But, how do you feel, really? About having stolen that piece of paper?"

Milena's answer to that is short and to the point: Awful. Rikildis follows up with a few more questions, and the answers spell out that Milena is indeed taking this harder than she's letting on. Of course she's trying to tell herself that "it's just a piece of paper", but she knows why she can't - and shouldn't - believe any of that. Rikildis pointedly mentions what Milena will have to do in order to rid herself of her guilty feelings. Milena clearly isn't happy about it, but she does nod.

"Than for the inevitable special edition, I'll do my part and offer you a fair deal to avoid having your name appear in it. Nothing that you'd lose sleep over, of course. Just a clean, mutually beneficial business transaction to trade something both parties find more valuable than the alternative," Rikildis says, before casting a meaningful glance over at Grainne. "I don't want to go into details, but...let's just say I might be in the market for a tutor. A very good tutor, who knows about the kind of textbooks this piece of paper was copied from. Modern ones, that is. Do you think you can arrange for that?"

Milena needs to think about it, but after a tense moment she does nod. Rikildis seems to accept that answer. Grainne, for her part, doesn't react. You're not going to call her out, of course.

"Than I suppose our business is concluded," Rikildis notes. And, indeed, Milena nods at that and awkwardly shuffles outside. Rikildis asks you to tell Milena to get in touch once she's ready to make arrangements with her tutor, since Rikildis assumes that will take a few days to set up. Especially with Milena, more than likely, in detention. You nod and walk out as well. Milena, in the hallway, looks...eh, you'd be lying if you said she looked better, honestly. Less pale, but more frantic.

"I'm going to Professor Badcrumble's office and confess," Milena sputters out. You relay Rikildis' message, and Milena breathes a sigh of relief. "Y-yeah, of course. I can manage that. Um..." Milena haphazardly fishes a small book from her knapsack and quickly skims through pages before finding the right entry, then writes down a name on a piece of paper for you. You hope, sincerely hope with every part of your body modern physicians have and haven't discovered yet, that this piece of paper is not going to end up capturing the attention and fascination of half the Academagia. Again. "Could you find this girl-eh, fourth year, Hedi, and tell her I need to speak with her tonight? Just tell her I'll be waiting for her at the usual spot, she'll understand the message. Assuming she has time, of course."

You nod, and despite Milena protesting initially you walk with her to Professor Badcrumble's office. She's hesitant to admit it, but it does make her feel better. Afterwards you track down the fourth year and relay Milena's request. The girl does ask for details you're hesitant to give, but one mention of the missing piece of paper and you're excused. The fourth year says she'll ask Milena about it directly, and she'll make time to meet Milena later today.

That, at last, seems to be the end of this lengthy misadventure. The rumor storm is still in full swing, funnily enough, but that will blow over in time. Milena you gave the piece of paper to, since she wanted to give it to Professor Badcrumble (in absence of the regent's guest). Either way, that's no longer out there. Rikildis made a deal to keep Milena's name out of the special edition, which you're sure she won't go back on. You don't know what Grainne's deal is, exactly, but you're willing to believe it's enough to convince Rikildis to wheel and deal. That...basically is the end of that. Knowing what you do about the spell you have zero desire to gossip to others about it, all told. Leave that discussion to other people, you're good.

And so, while half the student body continues to race around rumors and hearsay, you return to business as usual. Kinda silly, but so it goes sometimes. You'll meet up with Milena later and ask how her confession to Professor Badcrumble went. Hopefully she'll get a chance to ask about the regent's meeting with her guest. Mandatory classes discussing these kinds of spells, huh? Probably not something that will see the light of day before you graduate in any case, but all the same. Interesting developments to keep an eye on...

-Bring Milena to Professor Badcrumble.
--If Milena feels this guilty about what she did than the best way to put her mind at ease is to turn herself in. That will leave you with the question of how to handle Grainne afterwards, but surely if anyone could - and would - protect Milena from the gossip queen unfairly dragging her name through the mud it's Professor Badcrumble. Actually, come to think of it, you still have the piece of paper. You could give that to Grainne, and just stay quiet about Milena. Although if Grainne wants the piece of paper to figure out Milena's involvement, as you did...hmm...well, let's just bring this to Professor Badcrumble. It's what's best for Milena, and if anyone can figure out the aftermath surely it's the regent.

"What happens now is the two of us going to Professor Badcrumble's office, and explaining what happened to her," you tell Milena as reassuringly as you can. She slowly nods, clearly not a fan of the idea, but silently admitting it's the right thing to do. "Milena, grab the piece of paper and take it with you, please. Professor Badcrumble's guest may be long gone, but you can at least return it to the regent."

Another silent nod, and despite a few shivers Milena picks herself up, stands up, and grabs the piece of paper. She's trying, even if this isn't easy for her. "Do you want to make sure I actually go there?" Milena asks. You shake your head and confirm you're coming along to support her. Explain the situation, if she can't bring herself to. Milena dares to show a faint smile at that. "I-I was...eh, thanks, [PC FIRST NAME]. This...just, thanks."

You nod as well, and walk alongside Milena to Professor Badcrumble's office. It feels like it takes longer than it probably does, between the awkward silence and Milena flinching a bit every time she walks next to someone discussing the rumors she accidentally started - which, as it turns out, is most students right about now - but the two of you manage to get there in the end. Milena hesitates initially, but after gathering her courage she knocks on the regent's door with a shaking hand. The knocks are a bit of out sync because of it, nevertheless you hear Professor Badcrumble's voice from inside saying the door's open.

Milena drags herself inside, still shaking, and you follow behind her. Inside Professor Badcrumble is sitting behind her desk, flanked on both sides by a pile of parchment. Though you note there's none in front of her. "Good afternoon, Milena, [PC FIRST NAME]," the regent politely says as she points at a pair of chairs. Milena slowly sits down, with you not far behind. "You'll have to forgive me for skipping the pleasantries, but what's the reason for this visit?"

You can't help but notice that Professor Badcrumble has noticed Milena's condition, and is giving Milena a silent look. You do the same, before you even think to ask yourself whether you should. Regardless Milena takes out the piece of paper and puts it on the professor's desk with a shaking hand. She doesn't say anything, though she seems to try and bring herself to say something.

"You don't look like you merely found this note my guest earlier today thought she misplaced," the regent accuses. Milena shivers, but she nods as well. "Than how did it end up in your possession?"

"I-I...I..." Milena tries, but she can't bring herself to say it. You end up putting a hand on her shoulder, and Milena gives you a pitiful look. And a pointed nod.

Professor Badcrumble doesn't say anything. She merely listens intently as you explain what Milena told you - how she ended up with the piece of paper, her confused reasons for it, and how it all ended up going spectacularly sideways in the process when it ended up causing a massive rumor storm. Milena, for her part, patiently waits for her turn to speak. She's clearly upset, but not looking like she's fighting tears at least.

Once you're done speaking Professor Badcrumble gives Milena a chance to speak up. She doesn't, so the regent ends up breaking the silence. "You have nothing to say against these accusations, Milena?" she asks. Milena shakes her head. "Than explain to me why you robbed my guest, in your own words. If that meeting mattered so much to you it clouded your judgement I want to hear your own explanation."

Milena nods, and evidently feeling more confident now that you've already explained the situation is able to (piece by piece) explain her own reasons in her own words. Of course you've heard the lot of them before, nothing new there. The regent, for her part, simply nods at Milena's confession.

"I had my suspicions when my guest noticed the note she was sure she brought was missing. I'm just glad it didn't end up in the hands of a prankster who doesn't know the significance of it, or worse, a student in a situation desperate enough to want to try and use it," Professor Badcrumble, pointedly, says. Naturally Milena nods along, as do you. The regent takes a piece of paper out of her drawer and starts writing on it as she proceeds to explain what happens next. "Milena, for your theft I'm going to assign a special detention project. I obviously cannot condone your actions as they were. But I am willing to give you a chance to prove your concern for the curriculum, and how it could affect the student body as a whole, is sincere. I trust you will have no objection to that."

Milena shakes her head, and she lets out a tired sigh. That said at last a bit of color returns to her face. You'll admit it's not the kind of reaction you'd normally expect from a student being given detention for theft, but you can see Professor Badcrumble having one or two ulterior motives of her own here. You're not going to call her out on that.

"As for you, [PC FIRST NAME]," Professor Badcrumble continues, nearly catching you off-guard...not not quite. You were, in fact, not falling for that one. "I thank you for the part you've played in this, but for better or worse, this is where you can return to your normal business. Unless there was something more you wished to say."

Thinking about it you kind of do, but not to the regent. So you shake your head, leave as the regent starts telling Milena about the essay she'll be writing regarding the proposed curriculum and the effects it may have on the student body as a whole, and make your way to the Avila Common Room. There's one girl in particular you're looking for...

For better or worse you easily find her, chatting away with a few of her college mates. Maelys, for her part, sees you coming and frowns a moment later. "You're here to tell me Professor Badcrumble wants to see me?" she asks. In stark contrast to her expectations, however, you shake your head.

"No, just wanted to fill you in on a few things," you say...before staring at the two girls Maelys is standing next to. Really not sure if these three are friends or what, but if they're not...well, that could lead to some very awkward revelations if you blurted out the wrong detail...

"What did you do?" One of the two girls asks. Maelys rolls her eyes and shrugs.

"Trying too hard to study magic, really. Almost like I'm an Academagia student or something," she answers, jokingly. "Anyway, gimme a few minutes here. If the lady of the house isn't hiding somewhere I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Wait, did you go after that piece of paper everyone's talking about?" the other girl asks, but Maelys politely excuses herself and walks off with you. You can feel both of them stare holes through your back as you walk off, but better than the alternative.

Maelys leads you to a nearby quiet spot and asks what you wanted to say. You can't help but shake the feeling one of those two girls followed you, perhaps under a Glamour or something, but you won't let that stop you. You'll just choose your words carefully.

"Well, long story short, that spell you were after? It turns out it wasn't what you expected it to be," you start, and slowly growing confident you were not, in fact, followed, you end up fully explaining both what you've learned about the true nature of the spell as well as what all might be implied by Professor Badcrumble's meeting. For what that's worth, given no part of it is even remotely set in mud let stand stone right now.

Maelys, for her part, just stares silently at your explanation the whole way through. "I am going to need to have a very long talk with my parents next time summer rolls around, huh?" she asks, almost jokingly. You simply nod in response, though. "Right, thanks for the heads up. I don't know if Professor Badcrumble can stop that spell from getting into student hands one way or another, but if it does, I'll be sure to warn others about it. Make sure they, too, know better."

"Honestly, I might just end up doing the same thing. That said, those theoretical magical personal health care classes, or whatever Professor Badcrumble and her guest were talking about...do you think any of that will happen? Before we graduate, I mean"

"I don't know about you, but I hope so," Maelys, to the surprise of absolutely no one, says. "I've half a mind to turn myself in as well, just to add one more line beneath the arguments that it'd be a good idea. That said I think I'll leave well enough alone. Professor Badcrumble isn't my biggest fan, and, well...I might not want to know what her opinion on the matter is if I don't want that situation to get any worse."

"You think she'll veto the idea? As much as she can, at least?" you ask. Maelys nods.

"I'm afraid so. She's a prude who has very strict ideas on how a lady should act and how a girl should grow into one, and I don't even know what her opinion is on...well, girls, you know. I'd say there's about equal odds of that being a bad thing as it is being a good thing. Or it not mattering one way or another. Going to be a very interesting academic time for me if those ideas end up getting pushed through to some extent, though."

Indeed. For Maelys and you both, depending on how long that takes. Nothing you feel you can do with that information now, though. It's out of your hands, one way or another, so nothing to do but keep an eye on it.

Going back to normal while rumors two or three steps behind the latest developments continue to take the Academagia by storm, though, you have to wonder if, indeed, you'll graduate before hearing more about this whole situation...

[PC high-ish relationship with Milena?]-Take Milena to the Infirmary, try to protect her.
--The question of whether Milena is plain guilty of what she did or whether there's more to this situation that merits further questioning runs circles in your head a few times before realizing that that's not what you should be focussing on right now. What you should be focussing on is Milena. She genuinely looks like she's about to pass out.

"What happens now is that I take you to the Infirmary," you plainly answer. Milena looks surprised, until you take out a pocket mirror and show her...well, herself. Milena doesn't say anything after that. "Come on, grab the piece of paper and lets get going. We'll figure out what to do with this giant mess afterwards."

Milena slowly nods, picks up the piece of paper with a shaking hand, and silently follows you to the Infirmary. The walk over there is both silent and awkward, more than every other student you pass by still gossiping about the "missing" piece of paper that is, once again, in Milena's possession...but she doesn't even react to it. She just keeps slowly shuffling onwards, seemingly completely lost in her own world.

Over at the Infirmary you don't have to give anyone an explanation. One look at Milena and one of the nurses here simply nods and points to the nearest room. They're apparently expecting Milena to be staying here a while, or otherwise wish to examine her in private. Doesn't really matter which, you ask Milena if she wants you to come along, and she nods. "They're probably worried I tried to use that Lady's Shield precursor spell," Milena quietly explains underneath her breath. That actually brings up a point you didn't think about before - do the nurses here know what spell went missing, exactly? Surely they've heard a spell has gone missing by now. They'd have to be asleep not to. So...yeah. They probably have been dreading a student walking in showing symptoms that experiments went sideways...well, thankfully that's one nightmare scenario that won't come true anymore. Milena is no such victim, she knows better, and the piece of paper is currently in her possession as well.

As Milena predicted the nurse that shows up a moment later to examine her seems unsure about what to make of your presence here, and after Milena broadly explains her symptoms she clues in that this isn't what she feared it would be. As such she happily - jovially, almost - concludes that Milena is simply under some severe stress right now, and insists that she stay in the Infirmary for the rest of the day just to make sure she can get away from it all and catch her breath. Milena nods, and the nurse leaves afterwards, but of course you can't help but frown afterwards. "Sorry for saying this, but staying here won't change the fact that Grainne and Professor Badcrumble both are still out there," you reluctantly point out. Milena nods. Her face has regained a bit of color, but she's still weighed down by the whole situation.

"About that, could you bring this to Professor Badcrumble and ask her to come to the Infirmary?" Milena asks, holding out the piece of paper. You take it. If this is what she wants than you'll help her with it. "Thanks, [PC FIRST NAME]. I really don't know how I feel right now, but after talking to Professor Badcrumble I think I'll be alright."

Knowing Milena, she will be. As such feeling confident for the first time in what feels like a long time you make your way to Professor Badcrumble's office. Knocking on her door yields the regent's voice telling you the door is open, and inside you find Professor Badcrumble flanked on both sides by a pile of parchment. Unfortunate, but nothing you can do about that. "Good afternoon, [PC FIRST NAME]. Forgive me for skipping the pleasantries, but what's the reason for your visit?"

You place the piece of paper on the regent's desk, and simply tell her that Milena said she wants the regent to see her in the Infirmary. A second later you remember the whole situation earlier with the nurses, and amend that Milena didn't injure herself or anything of that nature. She's the one responsible for this piece of paper going missing, and after you found out about that she became unwell.

Professor Badcrumble, for the briefest moment, looks panicked when you mentioned the Infirmary...but once you explain yourself properly that panic fades away. "Ah, I see. Much better news than I expected, even if it comes at an inconvenient time given my office work. No matter, I'll finish up here later. If you don't mind, [PC FIRST NAME], please come along as well. I'm sure I'll have questions about what role you played in this sooner or later."

Not...the exact outcome you were hoping for, but fair enough. You slowly nod and follow Professor Badcrumble back to the Infirmary where Milena is waiting, and the three of you end up having a lengthy discussion about everything that's happened today - of course, exactly none of it is news to you at this point. Maelys' name does comes up, but you are at least able to avoid mentioning exactly how you convinced her to give up on her own search for the missing piece of paper. Milena, likewise, remains silent on that point. The real suspicious person that gets brought up, for better or worse, is Grainne. Professor Badcrumble isn't sure what to make of her not going after that piece of paper herself when she clearly had the knowledge she needed to do so. You don't know what the deal with that is either, but frankly you're none too interested in finding out.

"You don't have to worry about that mystery, or Grainne expecting that piece of paper from you, for that matter," the regent, at the end, concludes. "I'll swing by the newspaper club room before returning to my office and reminding Grainne and Rikildis both about proper conduct and, perhaps more importantly, graceful journalism. Milena, just in case I'll defer to the nurse's judgement and ask that you stay here for today. Tomorrow, however, I expect to see you in my office. We'll discuss exactly how much this...situation, and uncertainty, surrounding the proposed changes to the Academagia's curriculum affects you, and how you can - and should - properly attempt to have your voice be heard on the matter. If, indeed, it matters so much to you."

Milena nods. She looks ready to get to work right now, but honestly, after how she looked earlier you'll also go with the nurse's earlier suggestion. Just in case. "It does. I don't know why I take it so personally, but...it does."

Professor Badcrumble nods, excuses herself, and leaves. You, however, are left standing there with a curious eyebrow raised at Milena. "What was that about...taking this personally? If you don't mind me asking."

Milena shakes her head. There's a thin smile on her face, but you'd still be hard pressed to call her happy. "Talking to Professor Badcrumble made me realize this whole mess is getting under my skin, and I don't know why. Maybe it's just how comically out of proportions it got blown by the rumor mill, but...honestly, no, I know that isn't it. Something about the idea of me being denied those proposed classes, or...I don't know. Something about this is rubbing me the wrong way. I feel like I keep losing track of myself. One moment I'm minding my own business, the next I'm holding that cursed piece of paper and have only a vague idea of what happened in between."

"You know, there was one thing you said earlier that seemed pretty out of place, like it's something you didn't think about. Didn't need to, maybe. Something about...if people wanted a too carefree life, they should have joined a circus instead?"

Milena shudders when she hears that. "Oh, please, don't even...that's the last thing I want to-but, than again, if anything..."

"Basically, I'm on the right path," you fill in. Milena slowly nods, though whether she's unsure or merely reluctant to admit it you're not sure. "So what's the deal there? If you don't mind me asking."

Awkward silence falls over the conversation for a moment, but eventually Milena does speak up. "My older sister," she spits out. "I don't want to talk about it, but when I mentioned people living too carefree a life joining the circus and all...I was talking about her."

You do ask, and while Milena is not willing to discuss any part of her family right now you are able to talk to her about how badly she's betrayed even her own expectations. And about how that's why she feels like she can't face her family - or herself, for that matter - too well right now.

"I really wonder what my parents will think of what happened, and how I personally ended up causing most of it," Milena muses. "I can guess, though. But I just have to prepare myself, be ready. Professor Badcrumble's detention is sure to help with that...strangely enough, but, hey. Gifted horses and all of that."

"The regent has the own ulterior motives," you fill in. Milena nods and mentions that is, indeed, exactly what she's talking about. "Keep me informed about it, if you can. Beyond that I guess I better leave you to your rest. You've got a lot of work ahead of you tomorrow, and all."

Milena nods, thanks you again for the help you gave her, and you return to business as usual. The rumor storm hasn't exactly died down, in fact it doesn't seem like it's changed at all. You're curious what Grainne and Rikildis will make of this whole story. Hell, you're curious what Grainne's own story is, for that matter. Not to mention Professor Badcrumble...well, you can worry about that later. You've got your own work to do, and whatever happens you'll definitely not see any of it if you end up flunking out early. You can't let that happen!

All the same, the questions continue to slowly walk around in circles, reminding you of the pieces you found and how they might fit together. You push it out of your mind, though. Milena managed to pull herself out of the pit she dug for herself using the hand you gave her, that's the most important part, and Professor Badcrumble surely managed to handle whatever Grainne's situation is. If there's more to say about this whole mess Milena will surely tell you about it. If you don't end up finding out about it yourself, first...

This is definitely one of those "throw pieces on the table, figure out what picture they form (if any) later" kind of situations on my end. Still, I'd say it all fits together pretty nicely.

Anyway, that's the end of that adventure. As I said, a short experiment that ended up running away from me. Hopefully it'll be able to join the fold (once said fold exists ) as much as the others, though.