Chapter 26

I dreamed about a parade through the desert. There was a sultan and a grand vizier? I found it very odd. I did not have much time to reflect on it, for someone barged into my room, making a racket.

"How long are you two going to sleep?" said a Scarabian student. "On your feet, now!"

"Mrow?!" Grim exclaimed. "What now?! Wait, it's only 6 a.m."

"We're marching ten kilometers to the eastern oasis!"

"Are you guys nuts?" I said. This was worse than living in Savanaclaw!

"You expect us to trudge that far through sand that's hard to walk on as it is?" said Grim. "Why should we?"

"Because the housewarden said so," said the student. "Now stop whining and come on!"

"Myaaah! I don't wanna! Get your paws off'a me!"

Sighing, I got out of bed before anyone could force me. I quickly got ready and then headed outside with Grim. The Scarabian students were already gathered. Kalim sat atop an elephant and appeared to be in a foul mood. "Now march to the eastern oasis!" he shouted. "This will help strengthen your legs. If I see anyone break formation, they'll be punished later!"

"How'd I get dragged into this?" Grim grumbled.

"Less talking, more marching! Move out!"

"Uh, Kalim," I said. "No one here seems adequately prepared. Jade says one should always bring adequate water on a hike."

Kalim glared at me. "Jade's not here!"

"Well, just wait until he finds out about this! Or Floyd, for that matter."

Grim tugged on my pant leg, so I bent down to listen to him. "That's not a bad idea. Did you get Jade or Floyd's number? They could totally bust us out of there."

I frowned. "No, it didn't cross my mine. You're right; they would save us."

"Hmm... Maybe you can find them on that Magicam thing Cater is obsessed with? Check your phone!"

"Oh, good idea!"

"Did I hear mentions of a cell phone?" Kalim said. "Jamil, confiscate it."

Jamil approached me and held out his hand. "I'm sorry about this."

"There goes out chance," Grim muttered as I gave Jamil the smart phone. We were left with no choice but to march to the oasis through the desert. To say it was a terrible experience was n understatement. I was not use to walking in the sand, and the heat made me want to fall over. Jade would definitely not approve.

And then, as I took in the formation, I had the strangest thought. I had seen all this in my dream last night. There had been a parade of elephants and camels with a prince riding one. Kalim certainly looked princely enough to fit the bill.

"Hey, Ona, what're you starin' off into space for?" said Grim. "Did the heat get to you?"

I shook my head, breaking out of my thoughts. "Sorry."

"Everyone, halt!" Kalim commanded.

"Phew. We made it at last!" Grim said.

"We will take a fifteen-minute break," said Jamil. "Then we march back to the dorm."

"Finally, some water..." Grim trudged over to the oasis. "Wait. What kinda bizarro oasis is this?! It's empty!"

"Water?" said Kalim. "You say you want water?"

"Uh, duh? My throat's dry as a bone."

"Then water you shall have... and I'll make it cool and refreshing for you!" Kalim instantly brightened. "Respite in the scalding sands, a neverending party. Dance! Sing! Oasis Maker!" Rain began to fall, filling in the oasis.

"Oooh! Sweet, merciful rain!" Grim held out his tongue and lapped up the rain.

"I was feeling like a withered husk for a minute there," said a Scarabian student, "but this water's refreshing me from the inside out!"

"Ahhh... I needed that," said another student.

Kalim grinned. "You really like it? If water's all you want, then I'll produce enough to fill this whole oasis." He turned to Grim and me. "That's my signature spell, Oasis Maker. It allows me to expend a little bit of magic power to produce large volumes of the finest water."

"Y'know..." said Grim. "Making a buncha water seems really low-key for a signature spell. There are plenty of other spells that let you conjure water..."

"I beg to differ. The point of Oasis Maker is its efficiency. It produces a lot using a very small amount of magic. Back before the advent of running water, one would have had to draw their own water and boil it to sterilize it. A spell like mine would have been a tremendous boon back then. But I guess you're right. Now that running water is a widespread service, it's not the most useful of spells. Aha ha! But hey! I'm still confident that the water I conjure is the finest, most delicious water in all the land."

"It was pretty useful right now," I said, watching him carefully. He appeared pleased at the compliment. I looked for any sign of his previous personality but found none. Interesting... Shrugging, I bent down and cupped my hands to gather water from the oasis.

"Now that you mention it, it's basically the perfect temperature," said Grim. "Not too cold to drink, but not lukewarm, either. And it goes down all nice 'n smooth, like fresh spring water."

"Since when are monsters water aficionados?" said Jamil.

"Hey, I resent that! I've got a discerning palate for everything!"

"I figured!" said Kalim. "I was right to hope you would appreciate the difference. Here, have a cracker as a treat." He attempted to stuff a cracker in his mouth, but Grim jumped out of the way.

"Erk! I'm hungry, sure, but this ain't the best time for dry and crumbly foods!"

"He's acting differently than he was before we set out," I said to Grim in a low voice.

"Now that ya mention it, it's like those were two different guys."

"Strange, right?"

"Hm? Did you say something, Ona?" said Kalim.

"Nope!" I said, plastering on a smile. "Nothing at all."

"Kalim, our fifteen minutes are just about up," said Jamil. "Let's assemble the students and get back to the dorm."

Kalim frowned. "Already? A little more time to catch our breath wouldn't hurt them any."

"The sun will rise higher if we take too long. The hotter it gets, the worse our trip back will be."

"You've got a point." Kalim looked around at the students. "Okay, guys! Let's get back to the dorm and have breakfast! Back to marching!"

Somehow, the march back to the dorm did not seem quite as bad as the march to the oasis. And there was a feast awaiting us. All that food tasted great after that long morning! From the way Grim scarfed down anything in sight, I could tell he felt the same.

"I know we gotta stage a prison break as soon as possible, but man..." he said. "As much as I hate to admit it, this food is to die for. Or, well, to be Grim-napped for."

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I'm glad you like the food," said Kalim. "Have some more! Try this blue cheese made from cow's milk for starters. It's great on a cracker. Here!" He held a cracker out to Grim.

"Uh, nah, I'm good on crackers..."

"Please, no need to stand on ceremony! Ah hah hah!" Kalim proceeded to shove the cracker into Grim's mouth.

"Mrrrph?!"

"Kalim, don't stuff Grim's mouth so full of food," Jamil said, sounding exasperated. "You'll make him choke."

"Oh, sorry!" Kalim said with a sheepish smile. "Please, take your time. There's plenty more where this came from."

"I think you're missin' the point, pal..." Grim grumbled.

"We've still got ice cream left over from yesterday. I always like to set out lots of different flavors, and then take a big spoon and scoop out however much sounds good of each one."

"That sounds amazing," I said. I had not had ice cream in a long time.

"Y-yeah?" Grim said to Kalim. "You got a whole system for that?"

"Sure do!" Kalim said brightly. "No matter how full you are, there's always room for dessert, right? Hold on, I'll go fetch you some."

"Kalim, wait!" said Jamil. "I'll get it. You stay seated."

"I don't mind, really! All you have to do is get it out of the freezer, right?"

Jamil crossed his arms. "You don't work as a servant, Kalim. At least TRY to remember that you're the heir to the Asim family. If word got out that I allowed you to do this, my parents would never let me hear the end of it."

"You're too serious about servitude, Jamil. We're just classmates here at Night Raven College. Can't we act like it?"

Jamil sighed. "Fine. Just let me handle the actual scooping. Would you help me carry it out to everyone?"

"Easily done!" Kalim got up and followed Jamil.

"...Y'know, I'm really startin' to get baffled here," Grim said once they were gone. "The way Kalim was talkin' just now, he wasn't exactly respectin' others' points, but he meant well enough."

"Yeah, it's a far cry from how he was acting before," I said. I looked up when Kalim and Jamil returned... without ice cream. Something was wrong.

"Well?" said Kalim. "How long are you going to sit around eating? Do you fancy yourselves royalty?! Get these dishes washed and put away, on the double! And get ready for afternoon training!"

"Y-yes, sir!" said the Scarabian students.

Grim jumped back in fright. "Erk! We're back to scary Kalim again."

"Ona," said Kalim, "you and Grim aren't getting out of this. We'll be doing defense magic training until evening. To the courtyard!"

"This is going way beyond mood swings!" I said. How was I supposed to figure out what was going on? I stared at Jamil, who stood beside Kalim with a neutral expression. Last time Kalim turned crazy, he had been alone with Jamil as well. Hmm...

Finally, after a long day, Grim and I were locked in our room for the night. "That afternoon training was so brutal, my meal was ready to come up the same way it went down," Grim groaned. "We already know the headmage ain't gonna be any help here. Which means it's up to us to get ourselves outta this mess. Luckily, you've got my towering intellect over here. I've got a perfect prison break plan ready to go."

"Towering intellect, huh?" I said.

"Heh heh heh. I swiped our escape tool this morning. Behold: our ticket to freedom!" Grim held up a spoon. "We'll use this bad boy to dig our way through the floor, one spoonful at a time!"

"Where does intellect come in? This is the most basic plan possible!"

"They used to call me Grim the Digger back home. Leave this to me while you stand lookout!" Grim dug into the hard floor, and it actually worked. "Wow, this is goin' smoother than I thought. I think I'm actually onto something here." I watched him as he dug for awhile. "Okay, I'm gettin' bored of diggin' into the same spot over and over again... Ona, let's switch places. I'll keep an eye out."

"Alright." I took the spoon from him and began digging. We kept this up until morning. Grim stood over the hole, looking satisfied.

"It took 'til morning, but we dug a hole big enough for me to fit two paws through."

"Prison breaks aren't done overnight." I thought two more days might do it.

Suddenly, a Scarabian student barged into the room. "Out, you two!" he said. "It's time for morning training. We're marching to the oasis again!" And so, we were at it again. Marching to the oasis today sounded even less appealing than it did yesterday.

"Wake up and get a move on!" Kalim shouted. "To the eastern oasis! March!"

"Urgh, it's even harder to deal with the heat when I'm runnin' on no sleep," Grim grumbled.

"You're sleep-deprived?" said Jamil. "Make sure you drink plenty of water so you don't collapse."

"Aw, Jamil... Yeah, I'll do that."

The march was long and exhausting. "You're taking longer than yesterday," Kalim said when we neared the oasis. "Hurry it up!"

"Ugh... I can't walk another step," said a Scarabian student.

"I can see the oasis," said Jamil. "Respite is just ahead! Hang in there just a little while longer, everyone!"

"Wow, he's still cheering us on after all of this. What a vice housewarden!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm dead tired!" Grim grumbled. He nearly collapsed when we stopped walking. "I think I've got a whole desert's worth of sand in my throat. Kalim, gimme some water!"

"How DARE you take that tone with me," Kalim said, glaring at him.

Grim's eyes went wide. "Eep!"

"I am not your faucet. If you want water, draw it from the oasis yourselves."

"You mean the one that's bone dry?" said a Scarabian student. "How?"

"This is going beyond tyranny..." said another student.

"Seriously, what's wrong with the housewarden?" said a third.

"So, it's clearly not situational," I said. That meant it wasn't something triggering a change in Kalim. At least not something in the environment.

"Don't worry," said Jamil, "I came prepared for this. We've got camels loaded with water. Offload it and share it amongst yourselves."

"Thank you," said the first student. "If only you were housewarden, Jamil."

"Perish the thought. And don't vocalize it. What if Kalim heard you?"

"But it's true!"

"Even before Housewarden Kalim started acting like this, you were the one doing most of his duties, Jamil," said the second student.

"Shhh. It's fine." said Jamil. "It's my family's honor, actually no, it's MY honor to serve the Asims. Drink your water and rest up. It's getting hotter now that the sun's high in the sky. The march back will only be worse."

"Jamil..." said the first student.

I watched Jamil carefully during the entire conversation. Maybe I had become too cynical after arriving at this school, but I found his behavior quite odd. No one even from my world would be totally happy about serving a family and not having any choice in the matter. Considering how many egos were at this school, I found it difficult to believe Jamil had no ambitions at all. And yet, I sensed nothing like that leaking through. If he was acting, he was doing a great job at it, but what was his end?

"All students, assemble!" Kalim commanded. "Break time is now over. Form ranks, and no lollygagging!"

"Jamil, I... I can't take another day like this," said the first Scarabian student.

"I'm done following the housewarden, too!" said the second student.

"Why are you still obeying him, Jamil?!" said the third.

"It's because... He's Kalim Al-Asim," said Jamil.

"Because you like him as a person?" I suggested.

"It's... hard to say. Let's have a talk tonight. I'll arrange things so Kalim doesn't catch us. Ona, could you spare some time for this as well?"

"Sure," I said. I was interested to see where this would go.

That evening, Grim and I gathered with the Scarabian students in the lounge. Although I was tired, I made a note to pay careful attention to everything. I wanted to get to the bottom of this, and every little detail mattered.

"Is everybody here?" said Jamil.

"Yes, sir," said a Scarabian student. "Where's Housewarden Kalim?"

"Sleeping. I brewed him a soporific herbal tea. He should be in a deeper sleep than usual."

"So, what's the deal, and where do we come in?" said Grim. "I'm exhausted, so make it quick. I wanna get back and pass out."

"It's no different for the rest of us," said another student. "Quiet down."

"I understand that you are all unhappy with how Kalim is running things," said Jamil. "Being locked in your dorms over winter break and forced to undergo harsh training day in and day out... Who wouldn't resent such harsh treatment? I agree that what Kalim's doing is not for the best."

"Then why won't you stop him?!" said the first student.

"I have, many times. But he's stopped listening to me."

"If you guys have that much of a problem with it, how about sayin' it to Kalim's face instead of whining to Jamil?" said Grim.

"Well... Um..." said the second student.

"What, so you can say it to this guy, but not to the one actually causin' problems? What a bunch of gutless wimps."

"Th-that's not true," said the first student. "We HAVE tried to talk to him. Over and over, actually!"

"When he's not acting strange, the housewarden really is a broadminded, kindhearted soul..." said the second student.

"Everybody in the dorm used to look up to him before this started happening," said a third student. "We thought we had the finest housewarden in all of Night Raven College."

"When I first enrolled, I had trouble adjusting to dorm life," said the first student. "He lent me a shoulder and let me air it all out."

"When I was struggling to keep up in school and ready to drop out, he joined me for late-night cram sessions to catch up," said the second student.

"Sometimes he's a little cavalier and not totally on top of things, but we all loved our housewarden," said the third student. "It was fun being a Scarabia student. And yet..."

"Yes," said Jamil. "Kalim is a truly fine housewarden. He treats everyone equally and never puts himself above anyone else." He sighed. "However did it come to this?"

"So, it's hard to put your foot down because you look up to him?" I said.

"Y'know, it might be a good idea to get Kalim checked out by a doctor," said Grim. "He keeps sayin' one thing, then changing his mind the next minute. Even his personality shifts. That's kinda weird, don'tcha think? What if he ate some bad food or something?"

"What if he's sick? It sounds like it could be Multiple Personality Disorder. That's about the only explanation I can come up with that makes logical sense." Then again, the rules in this world were different than mine. What if... magic was involved?

"It's hard to rule out," said Jamil. "A doctor, though? If we go back to the Land of Scalding Sands, the Asim household has a doctor in their employ... But as things stand, simply getting him home would be an ordeal in and of itself."

"And this school doesn't have a therapist or counselor or something?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Darn it," said the second student.

"This is getting us nowhere fast," said the first.

"The problem facing Scarabia now is similar to a problem that Heartslabyul recently had to address," said Jamil. "There, the students were also forced to live under their housewarden's tyranny, as I understand it. They were all afraid of Riddle's signature spell, and no one could stand against him. Hence, I would like input from you two, since you were central in solving Heartslabyul's problem. What do the two of you think we should do?"

"What if you challenged Kalim to a duel and became housewarden yourself, Jamil?" said Grim. "When everything went down with Riddle, Ace and Deuce challenged him after the headmage floated the idea. Of course, they were a couple of knuckleheads and Riddle wiped the floor with 'em, but hey. Kalim's signature spell ain't nowhere near as threatening as Riddle's. You could probably whoop him with one hand tied behind your back!"

"That... is the one solution that is utterly out of the question," said Jamil.

Grim crossed his arms. "Seriously? Why even ask for advice if you're gonna immediately reject it?! What's your issue with my suggestion, anyway?"

"The Viper family has assisted the Asim family for generations. How could I betray our history like that? It would be beyond the pale. Not to mention the lecture I would get from my parents..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it just wouldn't be right."

"I guess you make a good point," I said. I did not understand that kind of life, but he must have had a lot of pressure from him. Even if he did want to take over, he couldn't do it without repercussions. So, if he had ambitions, what would he do? How could he gain power? He would have to have no other choice. It would have to be so obvious that even his and Kalim's parents could see it. Hmm...

"It is what it is."

"Okay, I get why you can't challenge Kalim to a duel," said Grim. "But if the housewarden keeps actin' like this, he's gonna make life totally miserable for everybody in the dorm. Riddle was bad enough, but this hot and cold thing Kalim's doin' is making it way worse."

"Yeah," said the first student. "He's not acting like a housewarden at all!"

"He's not even meeting the job requirements," said the second. "This goes against our Scarabian spirit!"

"What do you mean, 'Scarabian spirit?'" I said.

"A sense of keen mindfulness - a quality attributed to the Sorcerer of the Sands," said Jalim. "And to be housewarden of one of Night Raven College's seven dorms, you must be the most befitting of the dorm's spirit. Anything less, and you are unqualified to be housewarden. Dueling is essentially an easy way to determine this. The seven dorms each have their own different spirits, and their own ways of determining who befits it. For example, tradition in Pomefiore states that the housewarden is whoever can make the most potent poison."

"Gah, that's nightmare fuel!" said Grim. "So, how'd Kalim get picked to be the head honcho of Scarabia?"

"He was nominated by the previous housewarden. Through his prior work and virtues, he cultivated a reputation as the most befitting in the dorm. I'll never forget how proud I was at his nomination."

"But he wouldn't have half that record if you hadn't been helping him!" said the first student. "Everybody in the dorm knows it."

"Why didn't the last housewarden choose you instead?!" said the second student.

"Don't blame him," said Jamil. "For a relative of the Asim family to choose me over the main house's heir would be... Ah!" His eyes widened.

"Seriously?" said Grim. "AGAIN with this Asim family stuff?"

"So, that's what was going on," said the first Scarabian student. "I had no idea. That sounds like blatant nepotism!"

"Man, the Asim family plays way too dirty!" said the second student.

"Please, I implore you," said Jamil. "Forget what you just heard."

"Night Raven College is known as a big-name university precisely because it's a meritocracy," said the first student. "Getting special privileges because of your parents is something that shouldn't fly here!"

"He's right, Vice Housewarden," said the third student. "We won't stand for this!"

"Social status and wealth aren't supposed to matter here on campus," said the second. "We're all supposed to be equals!"

"But, ah..." said Jamil.

"Scarabia is a dorm built around the Sorcerer of the Sands' spirit of mindfulness," said a fourth student. "I've always felt that someone thoughtful like Jamil deserves the seat of house leader way more than Kalim."

"Slow down. I'm not special or superior to anyone else. My grades are dead average. On a scale of one to ten, mine are fives across the board. I'm not fit to be housewarden."

"Magical talent isn't what decides who befits the dorm's spirit."

"What do you guys think?" said the third student, looking around at the others. "Who's the most suitable housewarden out of everyone here?"

"Oh, it's Jamil, no question!" said the first student.

"Yeah," said the third. "Jamil is way more fit to be Scarabia housewarden than Kalim!"

"We can't just accept an incompetent housewarden because he was born into a rich family!"

"That's right," said the second student. "Scarabia's got no use for a leader who can't lead!"

"Scarabia won't suffer an incompetent housewarden!" the Scarabian students shouted. I watched all of this with great interest, paying special attention to Jamil.

"What are all of you doing, gathered together at this hour?" said an angry Kalim, waltzing into the lounge.

"Gah!" Grim exclaimed. "Busted!"

"K-Kalim..." said Jamil.

"Morning training clearly wasn't enough for you, if you still have energy to burn," said Kalim. "Jamil! Take the students out to the courtyard this instant."

"The courtyard, sir?"

"We'll do magic training until their bodies give out."

"That's ridiculous!" said the first student.

"I dunno about you, but I'm already way past my limit!" said Grim.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" said Kalim. "Hurry up!"

"...Fine," said Jamil. "Come on, everyone. Out."

And so, we found ourselves engaged in training for much too long. Grim and I were dead on our feet by the time we returned to our room. "We should take turns sleeping tonight," I said. "We won't finish digging tonight anyway, and we'll need strength for tomorrow."

"Good idea," Grim grumbled. "I'm ready to get out of here."

"And I'm ready to get a second opinion. Jamil claims he wants my help, but there's no one here I can really bounce ideas off of."

"You have ideas? Why didn't you say so at the meeting?" Grim grabbed his spoon and began digging.

I hesitated. "Because I have suspicions about Jamil, and I don't want him to know."

Grim looked at me in surprise. "Suspicions? Jamil is nothing but a saint for putting up with all this nonsense. What's he guilty of, not having a backbone?"

"That's exactly it. Don't you think he's acting a little too perfect? He has a great reason for not seeking power and seems to not want it. He sticks up for Kalim while understanding the students' plight. No one could accuse him of trying to take advantage of the situation. And yet... I sense no strong emotions from him... in any direction. He's not resentful of his status, and he has no real compassion for Kalim."

"Maybe that's how he copes. He's shut everything down."

"Maybe... I just can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong with him."

"Kalim is the one you should be concerned about. Figure out what is wrong with him."

"I plan to."