Chapter 2: A Friend
Solona dozed quietly into the late morning. Jowan noted how still she was when she slept. He was eager for her advice however, and could not keep himself from waking her.
"Mmm?" Solona yawned, stretching and raising her eyebrow at her friend.
"Jowan, you always interrupt the best dreams," she complained at him.
"It's important. You'll like it too. Come on, get up."
Bounding with eagerness, Jowan left the room, calling over his shoulder, "Meet me at the kitchen in an hour."
Seriously considering just sleeping in more, Solona reluctantly got out of bed and made herself ready. She combed her long spiraling hair, dressed in her favorite blue silk robe and matching slippers and freshened her face at the wash basin. Sleepy, she looked sleepy, but her appearance would do for whatever Jowan wanted to show her.
She met him, as promised, an hour later. Her friend of 6 years, was waiting for her eagerly in the doorway of the kitchen. Jowan was strange. Friendly and open one moment, then somber and gloomy the next. Getting her into trouble often, Solona was not always sure what made her decide to have Jowan as her friend. Supposing that it was too late now to do anything about the situation, she went along.
He led her to the back of the kitchen where Lora kept all her spices and pointed to an oddly shaped canister with a red label.
Dragon Spice
Solona raised an eyebrow, already guessing where this was going.
"We are not."
"Oh come on, it'll be fun. Messing with Templars is always fun."
Jowan did not share her tolerance of Templars and was often chatting away about the visionary concepts of Circle Tower life that Anders liked to lecture on. When Anders was in the tower and not being chased by Templars across Thedas after his most recent escape attempt.
"Jowan. No." Solona's attempts at being firm was quickly turning her friend into a sour mood.
"You never want to have fun. You love Templars don't you? You choose them over us all the time. You don't want to be a mage. You just want us to be trapped in this prison, forever!"
"Hush Jowan, you're making a scene."
Imploring her friend did not quieten him and a few moments later she was arm in arm with him, on their way to sneak into the Templar's wash room. All this to keep her friend happy.
She supposed the odd distraction of Jowan's was a bit of an adventure, though she'd prefer clean fun over this. Perhaps she was drab. Maybe Jowan's idea of lacing the Templar recruit's socks with Dragon Spice would be funny.
At any rate it was always amusing to see them keep their pose in the face of discomfort and the two of them may very well be helping them to practice being serious and devout. Solona chuckled and decided she would go along. It was one of the more harmless pranks Jowan wanted to pull. It would keep him from more serious offences at any rate, and help him release tension. Circle Life could be very demoralizing without proper distraction.
Jowan and Solona made their way into the Templar's wash rooms. Locationally they were near the stairway and before the quarters themselves, making it an easy target for getting in and out.
Jowan took the Dragon Spice from inside his robe and sprinkled a rather generous amount onto the socks hanging to dry. Dragon Spice did not discolor, unlike red pepper powder and packed twice the punch. Not to mention that sweaty feet would set off a chain reaction. If a Templar scratched his feet, the friction would multiply the burning effect of the Dragon Spice.
Solona chuckled at the thought of Templars doing the 'Itchy Dance'.
Distracted by her imaginings, Solona was not keeping proper watch.
"And what, pray tell, are you seasoning my recruit's socks for, Apprentice Jowan?" the booming voice of Greagoir carried across the entire floor.
Jowan froze and Solona's heart stopped. They were in deep trouble.
That evening a very shamed faced duo of students were sent to the library for their punishment. This included, but was not limited to, kitchen duty for a week, writing out a thousand lines and no dinner tonight. The yelling that Greagoir had given them had also been such that the entire tower knew of their trespass.
As far as punishments went, it was strict but not sever. Greagoir had to keep the peace in the tower and it was a full-time job.
The two sullen faced mages made their way to the library late into the evening. Most of the Circle residents were eating or going to bed. Jowan and Solona would have a long night ahead of them.
