Morgan: I have no witty comments for you this time, I'm afraid. I've run
out.
Chuchiru: That's not true!
Morgan: You really think so?
Chuchiru: Yeah! You should be a stand-up comedian!
Morgan: You mean it?
Chuchiru: Yeah! After all, every time you stand up, people laugh at you. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Morgan: (eyes glow green, levitates off floor in a cloud of darkness) I am gonna kill you so much.
Chuchiru: AIEEEEEEEE!!!
* * *
Evocation class definitely turned out to be better than Ash had begun to expect from Cain's initial outburst. The man, though gruff and stern, had a dry sense of humor and a mind like a scalpel. He was interested in Ash's "condition," but didn't treat him like a specimen floating in a jar. Instead, he was considerate, thorough, and above all, an excellent teacher. Ash left for abjuration class with a growing affection for his new school.
Kendrick and Brenna, however, both warned him not to expect much out of the next professor. The pair were both scheduled to have the class with him, as well as the next one after that, and filled him in rapidly on what they knew of the reticent woman as the trudged up the stairs to her room on the second floor.
"She's rigid and arrogant," Kendrick informed the tiefling, "and really not very nice, from what I've heard. Neither of us have had her, and you don't even pass her that much in the hallway, but nobody seems to get along with her."
"She's a real witch," Brenna commented.
"Obviously; she's teaching an abjuration class."
"No, I mean she's a bitter old hag, you silly!"
"Oh."
The classroom was stuffy and stale, and there were only five students including the three friends. Although he'd only known them for an hour or two, Ash had to consider them friends; otherwise, he'd slip into a state of lonely depression.
The professor of abjuration, one Mistress Minerva Ferrin, was indeed a bitter old hag. She did not bother to greet each of her pupils individually, nor did she deign to outline a curriculum for her class. She simply ordered, in her grating, condescending voice, that they would follow the rules she had posted throughout the room while they were in her class, and that they should take out a piece of paper and begin working on the assignment on the board.
Ash was glad to leave when the bell rang. He had known better than to think that he would like all his classes and instructors, but he had made a number of acquaintances so quickly and liked both of his previous teachers so much that he couldn't help feeling disappointed with Minerva Ferrin.
Fourth period was magical engineering, in a room at the back of the school that was large, open, and lined with layers of magic-absorbent metal to prevent any loss of life from sudden explosions. The teacher was a short, fat, jolly man called Girbeld Alpenssun--or so Ash thought at first. He noticed, however, when the man removed his outer robe to demonstrate the various ways of forging a foot-piece for a wizard's staff, that the bare arms protruding from the sleeveless vest he wore underneath were not fat at all. Rather, they were huge masses of muscle that seemed quite capable of rending an oak tree from the ground. In addition, his massive black beard was almost hypnotic: It had a personality all to itself. It bristled when he reprimanded a student, waggled when he spoke, and tangled when he worked as though in protest. It was like listening to an ambulatory shrub giving the lecture.
Between fourth and fifth periods was a half-hour for lunch. Kendrick and Brenna led Ash down a back hallway that sloped from the rear end of the second floor behind the first, which explained why all the rooms on that side had no windows--the building was on top of, behind, and around them on all sides.
Ash wasn't interested in sampling what appeared to be a badly prepared meat course of some sort, school food being what it was the world over, and looked around for an empty table. He spotted J'soon, who, apparently, had also decided to skip the food, and who was beckoning to him from a corner. He made his way over, taking one of the many empty chairs around the circumference of their table.
"What is that stuff?" Ash muttered, glancing at a huge, stern-looking half-orc lunchlady.
"I don't even want to think about it," the older boy said with a shudder. "How are your classes so far?"
"Fine, except for abjuration. That Mistress Ferrin is a real witch."
"Of course," J'soon replied slowly. "Otherwise she wouldn't be in charge of a magic class, would she?"
Ash chose not to answer that. "Here come the others," he said instead, waving to them.
Kendrick and Brenna, followed closely by Casanith and another girl, who was tall and dressed in black to match her long hair, navigated the maze of loose chairs and students to reach the table. "What is this stuff?" Brenna asked them all sickly, looking at her plate.
Ash and J'soon exchanged a long look. "Don't bring it up," the human told her, shaking his head. "Hey Sara; how's it going?"
The new girl sat down between Kendrick and Casanith. "Fine so far, except that I've got that boring theology class first thing. I'm going to change it so I'll have art with you guys, I think. Who's the new kid?" She gave Ash an appraising look.
"I'm Ashnod," he greeted her with more confidence than he had displayed earlier. "But you can just call me Ash."
"Well, I'm Sara," she informed him, "but you can just call me Sara. You definitely don't look like you're from anywhere in Waterdeep, no offense."
"None taken," the boy said easily, leaning back in his chair. "I'm a tiefling, that's all. From up around Luskan."
"Of course," Sara sighed sardonically, "since you guys seem to have made friends with this kid, he's got to be the only interesting or decent person north of Neverwinter. Luskan's a hard place, or so I've been told."
"Only out in the countryside. The cities are just like other cities: loud, noisy, and loud."
Sara chuckled and pointed at him with her fork. "I think we'll get on just fine. What class have you got next?"
"Concert band and choir."
"Had a feeling. Me, Casanith here, and J'soon all have that fifth period, so I'll get a chance to switch 'I-hate-my-life-stories' with you. You look like a goth to me, so we should probably feel about the same, I guess."
Ash rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."
"See?" The bell interrupted whatever she was going to say next, though, and she rose abruptly. "See you in class, then, Ash. Jay can show you where it is." She jerked a thumb at J'soon, and followed Casanith toward the plate drop-off window at the other end of the cafeteria.
"So," she murmured to the shorter boy as they walked, "did you get a load of that? I love that shirt, even if those abs are the color of wax in a white candle. And did you see those muscles? He's like a tiger or something, all smooth and slim, man." She nudged Casanith. "Eh? Eh?"
Casanith rolled his eyes, thinking of his own skinny frame. "Yes, I saw--a lot more than I wanted to see, but I don't complain about a person's clothes. If he wants to wear that little piece of transparent gauze and call it a shirt, even though it shows everything there is to see, then fine. I don't have to look."
"But why wouldn't you want to?" Sara whined, dumping her leftovers into the trash bin and tossing her plate to the lunchlady. "Did you see those pecs?"
"I think everyone did, Sara." Casanith grinned wickedly. "His tail's prehensile, you know."
Her eyes glazed over. "Well, now. Well, well, well." She pondered a moment. "I wonder if he's got any pants to match that shirt."
Casanith sighed, pushing the unwanted image from his mind, and shoved Sara in the direction of the band room.
Chuchiru: That's not true!
Morgan: You really think so?
Chuchiru: Yeah! You should be a stand-up comedian!
Morgan: You mean it?
Chuchiru: Yeah! After all, every time you stand up, people laugh at you. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Morgan: (eyes glow green, levitates off floor in a cloud of darkness) I am gonna kill you so much.
Chuchiru: AIEEEEEEEE!!!
* * *
Evocation class definitely turned out to be better than Ash had begun to expect from Cain's initial outburst. The man, though gruff and stern, had a dry sense of humor and a mind like a scalpel. He was interested in Ash's "condition," but didn't treat him like a specimen floating in a jar. Instead, he was considerate, thorough, and above all, an excellent teacher. Ash left for abjuration class with a growing affection for his new school.
Kendrick and Brenna, however, both warned him not to expect much out of the next professor. The pair were both scheduled to have the class with him, as well as the next one after that, and filled him in rapidly on what they knew of the reticent woman as the trudged up the stairs to her room on the second floor.
"She's rigid and arrogant," Kendrick informed the tiefling, "and really not very nice, from what I've heard. Neither of us have had her, and you don't even pass her that much in the hallway, but nobody seems to get along with her."
"She's a real witch," Brenna commented.
"Obviously; she's teaching an abjuration class."
"No, I mean she's a bitter old hag, you silly!"
"Oh."
The classroom was stuffy and stale, and there were only five students including the three friends. Although he'd only known them for an hour or two, Ash had to consider them friends; otherwise, he'd slip into a state of lonely depression.
The professor of abjuration, one Mistress Minerva Ferrin, was indeed a bitter old hag. She did not bother to greet each of her pupils individually, nor did she deign to outline a curriculum for her class. She simply ordered, in her grating, condescending voice, that they would follow the rules she had posted throughout the room while they were in her class, and that they should take out a piece of paper and begin working on the assignment on the board.
Ash was glad to leave when the bell rang. He had known better than to think that he would like all his classes and instructors, but he had made a number of acquaintances so quickly and liked both of his previous teachers so much that he couldn't help feeling disappointed with Minerva Ferrin.
Fourth period was magical engineering, in a room at the back of the school that was large, open, and lined with layers of magic-absorbent metal to prevent any loss of life from sudden explosions. The teacher was a short, fat, jolly man called Girbeld Alpenssun--or so Ash thought at first. He noticed, however, when the man removed his outer robe to demonstrate the various ways of forging a foot-piece for a wizard's staff, that the bare arms protruding from the sleeveless vest he wore underneath were not fat at all. Rather, they were huge masses of muscle that seemed quite capable of rending an oak tree from the ground. In addition, his massive black beard was almost hypnotic: It had a personality all to itself. It bristled when he reprimanded a student, waggled when he spoke, and tangled when he worked as though in protest. It was like listening to an ambulatory shrub giving the lecture.
Between fourth and fifth periods was a half-hour for lunch. Kendrick and Brenna led Ash down a back hallway that sloped from the rear end of the second floor behind the first, which explained why all the rooms on that side had no windows--the building was on top of, behind, and around them on all sides.
Ash wasn't interested in sampling what appeared to be a badly prepared meat course of some sort, school food being what it was the world over, and looked around for an empty table. He spotted J'soon, who, apparently, had also decided to skip the food, and who was beckoning to him from a corner. He made his way over, taking one of the many empty chairs around the circumference of their table.
"What is that stuff?" Ash muttered, glancing at a huge, stern-looking half-orc lunchlady.
"I don't even want to think about it," the older boy said with a shudder. "How are your classes so far?"
"Fine, except for abjuration. That Mistress Ferrin is a real witch."
"Of course," J'soon replied slowly. "Otherwise she wouldn't be in charge of a magic class, would she?"
Ash chose not to answer that. "Here come the others," he said instead, waving to them.
Kendrick and Brenna, followed closely by Casanith and another girl, who was tall and dressed in black to match her long hair, navigated the maze of loose chairs and students to reach the table. "What is this stuff?" Brenna asked them all sickly, looking at her plate.
Ash and J'soon exchanged a long look. "Don't bring it up," the human told her, shaking his head. "Hey Sara; how's it going?"
The new girl sat down between Kendrick and Casanith. "Fine so far, except that I've got that boring theology class first thing. I'm going to change it so I'll have art with you guys, I think. Who's the new kid?" She gave Ash an appraising look.
"I'm Ashnod," he greeted her with more confidence than he had displayed earlier. "But you can just call me Ash."
"Well, I'm Sara," she informed him, "but you can just call me Sara. You definitely don't look like you're from anywhere in Waterdeep, no offense."
"None taken," the boy said easily, leaning back in his chair. "I'm a tiefling, that's all. From up around Luskan."
"Of course," Sara sighed sardonically, "since you guys seem to have made friends with this kid, he's got to be the only interesting or decent person north of Neverwinter. Luskan's a hard place, or so I've been told."
"Only out in the countryside. The cities are just like other cities: loud, noisy, and loud."
Sara chuckled and pointed at him with her fork. "I think we'll get on just fine. What class have you got next?"
"Concert band and choir."
"Had a feeling. Me, Casanith here, and J'soon all have that fifth period, so I'll get a chance to switch 'I-hate-my-life-stories' with you. You look like a goth to me, so we should probably feel about the same, I guess."
Ash rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."
"See?" The bell interrupted whatever she was going to say next, though, and she rose abruptly. "See you in class, then, Ash. Jay can show you where it is." She jerked a thumb at J'soon, and followed Casanith toward the plate drop-off window at the other end of the cafeteria.
"So," she murmured to the shorter boy as they walked, "did you get a load of that? I love that shirt, even if those abs are the color of wax in a white candle. And did you see those muscles? He's like a tiger or something, all smooth and slim, man." She nudged Casanith. "Eh? Eh?"
Casanith rolled his eyes, thinking of his own skinny frame. "Yes, I saw--a lot more than I wanted to see, but I don't complain about a person's clothes. If he wants to wear that little piece of transparent gauze and call it a shirt, even though it shows everything there is to see, then fine. I don't have to look."
"But why wouldn't you want to?" Sara whined, dumping her leftovers into the trash bin and tossing her plate to the lunchlady. "Did you see those pecs?"
"I think everyone did, Sara." Casanith grinned wickedly. "His tail's prehensile, you know."
Her eyes glazed over. "Well, now. Well, well, well." She pondered a moment. "I wonder if he's got any pants to match that shirt."
Casanith sighed, pushing the unwanted image from his mind, and shoved Sara in the direction of the band room.