Part 2: Perils of Wizardry

Chapter 2: Perils of Wizardry



"Okay, right, I'm not the master of unlocking good first impressions at any rate, but I have to ask- are those wings real? If it's not too rude, I mean."

He chuckles a bit at my question. "And what if it is, milady?"

I shrug. "Then we spend the next few minutes conversing awkwardly while I try to ignore your wings and you try to ignore me failing to ignore your wings," I tell him, after which he laughs again.



He steps a little closer and turns, giving me a better view of said wings as he continues, "You're new to all of this, or at least that part of it that has wings, at any rate."

"Can't say I am," I admit. "I'm- what's that word again? Oh yeah- I'm a 'wild seed', you see."



I raise an eyebrow. "...seriously? Do you actually think lines like that work?"

He shrugs. "Law of Averages- sooner or later, it's going to work on someone. Besides, you can't argue you're not worth the attempt, yes?"

I smirk. "Oooh, almost got me there. Good try though. But seriously, I don't know how things work here. Is it normal for, I dunno, pure-blooded wizards to have wings and stuff? Like, uh, wolf ears, fairy wings and the like?"



He smiles. "And besides, I would like to remind you about stones and glass houses, oh ye of pink hair and eyes."

"It's genetic!" I scowl. "Are you always this evasive?"

"Only when it gives me an aura of mysteriousness, which when combined with a carefully-cultivated bad boy reputation, will endear me to all the beautiful ladies in the school. Not to imply that you lack in looks, madame, only that you're far too smart to fall for such tricks."

And here I go raising my eyebrow again. Spock would be proud. "You're not going to let up, are you?"

He responds firstly with a wider smile, then, "Nope. Like I said, it's bound to work on someone eventually. Besides," he says, pointing to the cape, "I'm an Eagle. I have a reputation to keep."

Figures. "You still haven't told me about the wings yet."

He laughs at my probing. "Tenacious little thing, aren't you?"

I nod. "And you're not easily offended, it looks like. Might as well take advantage of the situation."



"Wait, you can buy wings?" I ask incredulously.

"Oh yes," he replies, "wings and a lot more besides. The local mall has a shop run by wizards, carefully hidden from mortal eyes, and carrying everything that an aspiring arcaneer might seek. However, as to the truth of my wings- well, that's something I hope you try discovering for yourself."

"Fat chance- uh, what's your name?"



I take his hand, and bows over it, wings fluttering behind his back. It's possible those are fake, but magical senses I didn't even know I had were telling me they were anything but implants. "I'm Mary, Mary Sue, I tell him, "and really- 'Damien'?"

"What's wrong with Damien?" he pouts.



He winks at me briefly, before replying, "Oh, I'm sure you know better than to judge by appearances- though I'm quite open to being judged as a handsome devil, if you like. I'm open-minded, I can handle 'superficial'."

"Yeah, I'll bet you can," I reply dryly. "And have. Trust me, I know your type."

Now it's his turn to raise an eyebrow. "And I, Miss Sue, know yours."

"Oh really?" I ask. I hate to admit it, but he was somewhat interesting to talk to. If nothing else, I can see why he's in Eagle House.



He then continues in that same grandiose vein and tone, "You're dazzled by sights you never thought possible, and unaware of the dangers you might face."

"Oh, I don't know," I reply. "I'm completely aware of one of them, at least."

He turns to me again, but while he's still smiling, the playful spark has left his eyes. "I'm not joking, Mary."



"You could lose your mind here," he adds. "Or your life- or worse." He sighs. "Look, I'm not trying to scare you, Mary- just keep you on your toes, that's all. Just be cautious- attend the first magic lecture for each class as soon as you can. Pay attention to what they say, and what they don't."



He steps a little closer to me as he continues, "As long as you follow the stricter rules and don't get caught breaking the lesser ones, then all you really have to fear losing is... your heart."

And there we go, back with the charming, pulse-quickening smile and amethyst eyes gazing deeply into mine. Not gonna fall for that. Nope. Nope. Not at all. Nosiree.



"Why? What happens next week?" I ask.

"The most wonderful of events, Mary, I assure you," he replies.

I sigh. "Uh-huh, yeah. You know what? I'm going to start on that whole 'not believe everything you hear' thing now, if it's okay with you."

Seriously, Damien, I'm a little freaked out now. Not the time to laugh at me. "Don't worry," he says, as if I'd believe him. "Everything will be fine!"



And there you have our first encounter with Damien Ramsey, the game's 'bad boy' character. Those who've played through this scene before will notice that Mary's a lot more active here; in the original game, Mary's a lot more passive and blush-y, which I suppose fits in with the stereotype the game was going for, but it wasn't all that much fun to transcribe straight. Mary's personality is left a blank slate at the year's beginning to help ease player immersion, but while it's fun to play, it's boring to LP. Hope you goons don't mind.

Anyway, on to the Gym results!



As you can see, we only gained 1 point of Strong for 1 point of Stress; this is actually the desirable result. Whenever you Study or use the Gym, you will only ever see gains of 1 point for 1 or 2 Stress.

My little encounter with Damien over, I return to my room. Ellen's back in there, looking at the ceiling. Guess I got her thinking about ceiling decorations as well. "Hey, Ellen," I say, raising my hand. "Thinking about the ceiling?" I ask.

She looks at me and smiles in response. "Yep! You said you were going to use Blue Magic for the ceiling, right?" she asks, and I nod in response.



"I mean, just think about it!" I said. "We could have swirling clouds, lightning, dragons flying around, ripples and sparks... the possibilities are endless!"

Ellen's brow crinkles. "That... sounds nice, Mary, but how will we sleep at night?"

"Who says we need sleep?" I respond, with the best maniacal grin I can muster. "Sleep is for the weak! Like sanity! Muahahahahaha! But seriously though," I add to counter the look Ellen's giving me, "we can turn it off at night like any other light."



"Pfft, spoilsport," I grin. "You just can't appreciate true art like moi."

"Thank God," Ellen grins. "How was gym?"

"It was... okay, I guess," I shrug. "Met one of our seniors from Eagle Hall."

"Oh, was he nice?" Ellen asks.

"I suppose so. Bit of a drama queen, but I guess you can't be an Eagle or a Butterfly without being at least a little theatrical," I reply, when I hear the door open.



Virginia then slumps onto the bed, her notebooks falling to the floor and shedding pages. "Urgh, school today sucked."

"You certainly look like you've pushed yourself hard," I venture.

"I didn't have a choice," she says. "I had to take one of Grabby's classes. In case you didn't know, he's in charge of detention, and there's no way I'm giving up my weekend just because I couldn't get a few syllables right. Still..."



She sighs, and grins at us. "And here you two are, taking it easy."

"Whoa, hey, don't look at me!" I say, holding my hands up defensively. "I was in the gym. Can't say anything about Ellen, though," I add mischievously, and she sticks her tongue out at me in return.

For her part, Virginia just waves it off. "Same difference," she says. "Anyway, it's different for you. If I screw up, I'll have my brothers after me. Not that I care what Donald thinks, but William... William's a good guy, he's looked out for me ever since we were kids. He's looked out for me in Massachusetts, and it's nice to know he'd be looking out for me here at Iris- though not if it's because I have bad grades!"

"Oh, you're all from Massachusetts?" Ellen asks, and Virginia nods.

"Let me guess- Salem?" I ask, and Virginia shakes her head.

"Man, I get that a lot!" she laughs. "No, no, I come from Springfield. And no, we don't have a nuclear plant or anything."

"But... were there witches in Salem?" Ellen asks.



"See," she begins, "a lot of magical people are really connected to their homes; when we build a tower, we stay around and defend it. and if things go wrong, we'd stay behind and protect it. Not so keen on moving- after all, you've got your library, and experiments and all that stuff in one, well-fortified place, why risk it all by going on the open road?"



"And there weren't any African wizards in America at all," she adds. "The only magical people around were the natives, and by the time of Salem they didn't want to have anything to do with the colonists. Then a few kinds came out wildseed, and there wasn't anybody to control them."

"So the people hanged there at Salem were real?" I ask. "Wow, I always thought- they weren't?" I ask again, when I see Virginia shaking her head.

"It was only those kids who were witches," she replies, "but since they didn't have any magical training, they were as scared as the other villagers. So they blamed whomever the preachers told them to, and it was those people who got hanged. Hard luck to them. Wasn't until the British and French armies brought wizards and witches in during the Revolutionary Wars that places like Iris Academy got started."

"I guess school's really important then, huh?" Ellen ventures, and after a moments' consideration, Virginia nods.

"Guess you're right," she sighs. "Maybe... maybe I'll hit the books a little more; I'm going to the library- anyone wanna come with?"

"Uhm," Ellen begins. "I'm in the middle of doing some stuff, so can you return those books for me? I think I've got some really good notes, and I want to write them down before I forget them," she says, pointing to a huge stack of books in the corner.

Me and Virginia look at the Library of Congress for a moment, then she turns to me and smiles widely. "Well, gym girl, time to put those muscles to the test!"

And with that, she rushes out of the room, my scowl burning itself into what little back my eyes managed to catch.

Later, once I'd managed to restock the school library, Virginia having found (against all odds) a book she was actually interested in, I plodded back to our room, its door slightly open, when I heard Ellen curse. Well, not so much 'curse' as 'minor hex'- mind you, I'd never heard anyone who made 'darn' sound like something that'd make a soldier blush. I peek through the gap, trying to see what's inside, and I see Ellen, cleaning up some laundry. Well, I hate doing the laundry too, but that's no reason to-



I haven't made a sound, she hasn't heard me yet.



And yes, another choice! I also have another question, which shall be asked below. So basically, our situation is:

We've found Ellen nosing about Virginia's unmentionables! Should we:
-Confront Ellen?
-Or tell Virginia?

New voting choice HERE!

Also, pick one smiley: or for purposes yet unknown!

Voting closes 0400 GMT Sunday, and depending on the decision we take then, we might have another update up quickly as well!