A Witch's Tale IC

[Diachronos]

"Maybe, but... I don't know what he sees in me aside from my intelligence."

[NeoSeraphi]

"Isn't that enough? Well, anyway. Do you like him?"

[Diachronos]

"I do, he's a nice guy and really knows what he's doing. I don't know if I... like him, though."

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya sighs. "You're lucky that you get to be so picky...if only I had a guy that I could reject because I have high standards..."

The two of them spend more time together. Maya's Affection increases!

"Well, this was fun. Time for me to head off. Have a good one, Rachel." She walks away.

[Diachronos]

But I don't have high standards... After lunch, Rachel heads to meet up with the Alchemy Club.

[NeoSeraphi]

Everyone is busy working on a new potion or other as they enter. Brutus nods to Rachel as she approaches. "You are...welcome here..." it says slowly.

Rachel looks around. Seems like everyone is focused on their own individual tasks, which she could do as well. She could take this opportunity to create her own magic items and get some practice in. What would she like to make?

Spoiler

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As described before, the 2 hours spent in the Alchemy Club counts as eight hours of uninterrupted work for the purpose of crafting magic items.

[Diachronos]

Rachel sits down to start working on something to change the appearance of her clothing. She doesn't have anything nice to wear for the Autumn Ball, so this could be a big help.

Spoiler: Crafting

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Attempting to make sleeves of many garments. Craft DC is 11 (5 + 1 for caster level + 5 from Rachel not having the disguise self spell): (1d20+11)[16]

[NeoSeraphi]

Varsuvius doesn't come over to speak to Rachel. He seems to be trying to give her space after his sudden request. But she can still feel his eye on her, watching approvingly as she works on her items.

Varsuvius's Affection increased!

Rachel makes quite a bit of progress on her sleeves.

[Diachronos]

Rachel holds the sleeves up to the light when she completes them. They're not anything flashy, but they would be when she put them on!

Still, she's not sure it'll be enough to make her feel confident in accepting Varsuvius' invitation...

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel heads back to her dorm for the evening with her new dress in tow. She feels like she's gained some new perspective on crafting, and can already tell her time in the Alchemy Club will be well spent.

Spoiler

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Rachel gains +3 Proficiency! For every 4 Proficiency she has, she gets a +1 bonus to all Craft and Profession checks. For every 10 Proficiency she has, she treats her caster level as 1 higher for the purposes of determining what item creation feats she can take, what items she can craft, and any other caster-level dependent things related to crafting.

[Diachronos]

When she gets back to her room, Rachel sits down with the fencing book that Felicia had given her. Time to start learning how to wield a rapier without flailing like a fool!

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel looks inside the book and nods to herself. The stances, movements and thrusts that the images describe all seem familiar to her. She saw Felicia practicing them behind the tree before. But nothing in this book looks anything like the way Lance fights. As she skims through the pages, she wonders just how long the boy has been practicing with his sword.

[Diachronos]

Rachel stops reading when she starts getting tired. Something tells her she'll never become as good at fencing as anybody in the club... but that shouldn't stop her from trying, right?

She starts thinking about Varsuvius' invitation. There's no harm in accepting it, right? After all, they'd just be going as friends, and he wouldn't have asked her if he didn't want to go with her... I'll have to do something about my looks, though. A new dress isn't going to cut it.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel wakes up in the morning and heads out to class. Today is Saturday, so it's time for her Intermediate Conjuration class.

Today, they're working on (calling) spells. Rachel works hard to learn the difference between (calling) and (summoning), studying the different hand gestures and speech involved.

Spoiler

Show

Rachel automatically inscribes retrieve item into her spellbook with no cost!

It's time for lunch. As Rachel heads out to the cafeteria, she hears a loud beat playing. Oh...that could only be...

"Hey, all you cuties! Here to come see me, Risette?" the idol calls through her microphone. Everyone cheers and stomps their feet in approval.

[Diachronos]

Rachel hangs near the back of the crowd when she hears Risette's voice. Had she missed the notices about her performance today? Or is this an impromptu performance?

[NeoSeraphi]

Risette smiles as she walks onto the stage. "Good news for all the Risette fans out there! The band has reached out and asked me to perform a joint concert with them at the Autumn Ball! I was so excited I just had to throw a surprise concert for you all! You don't mind, do you boys?"

A roar of approval echoes through the cafeteria.

Yvette is walking by and she stares up at the stage. "Huh. So that's what guys here like, is it? Hey Rach, how was your week? Haven't really seen you since the party."

[Diachronos]

"My week's gone... alright, I guess. Things were a little hectic a few days ago."

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette crosses her arms. "You mean with the templar investigation? Yeah. I was pretty surprised at what they found too."

Rachel's ears perk up. She recalls the investigation had been about the assailant who went after the headmistress, but she hasn't heard anything about the investigation's results yet.

[Diachronos]

"What did they find, Yvette?" Had they found a lead on the attacker?

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette rests a hand on her hips. "They determined that the assailant's ease of infiltration was not due to the headmistress's negligence, but the Order's betrayal. The knight-templar on guard that night let the man pass willingly, knowing his intention. The lead templar was furious."

The students already know something like this? Well...at least the Order isn't trying to cover anything up. They're taking the blame and punishing their own man after investigating on their own. That's as honest and honorable as you can get.

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods slowly. No wonder the head of the Order at the academy was pissed, the man had allowed someone to walk right in and try murdering his mother. "Do they have an idea of who the assailant was?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"If they do, they aren't telling us about it," Yvette replies simply.

"My heart's beating faster
As I look in your eyes
Can't tell what you want
But then you break a smile

You're getting closer
And I melt in your arms
Your lips are puckered
I'm just lost to your charms!

Kiss kiss kiss me
Kiss kiss kiss me!"

The dwarf groans and looks at the stage in annoyance. "Sheesh. Does she ever sing about anything besides love? Come on, Rach, let's find a table somewhere."

Yvette has invited Rachel to eat lunch with her. Would Rachel like to accept?

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods and joins Yvette at the table. "Well... Maya from the school band keeps talking about writing music to send a message. Maybe that's what Risette is doing too?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"A message, huh? Only message I'm hearing is 'I really want your ears to bleed'."

She takes a drink and looks up at Rachel. "Sorry about what happened to Ciel. Where were you? I would have thought you'd want to come talk to me about it."

[Diachronos]

"I just needed some time to myself to process what happened. At any rate, he's off the hook, and the worst that'll happen is him getting a lecture about using magic responsibly from one of the Templars."

[NeoSeraphi]

"Alright. Look, I'm just a few blocks away whenever you need me, okay? Don't drift apart from me just because you're making other friends," Yvette says with a genuinely hurt voice.

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods. "We're not going to drift apart, Yvette. I promise."

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette smiles and nods firmly. "Next week is the start of practical duels. You need to prepare yourself to face your classmates in magic combat!"

[Diachronos]

Rachel pales. "Oh, no..." Conjuration wouldn't serve her very well in a duel, not when all of the important spells take so long to cast.

[NeoSeraphi]

"Don't worry. It's okay if you lose, it's not like they're going to give failing marks to half the class or anything," Yvette points out. "And the whole thing is monitored by that knight-templar with the brown hair, so you won't have to worry about anyone trying to hurt you either."