Ramshackle Dorm - Your Room
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Bonjour, [MC]! Today is off to a most magnificent start, wouldn't you say?
We'll be doing morning practice sessions starting, well...this morning! Come to the Pomefiore ballroom. |
Pomefiore Dorm - Ballroom
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Last night was awful... |
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I'm aching all over after having to sleep on the hard floor. |
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I ain't even in the ensemble. It ain't fair, I tell ya... |
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Guys? Are you okay? |
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Ah, everyone's here. Good morning. |
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I heard a bunch of noise last night and leapt out of bed. I thought someone was attacking. But no...
When I went to see what was going on, I found you guys sprawled out on the ground. |
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It wasn't by choice, okay?! Vil used his signature spell on us. |
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Did he really? |
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Yeah. He cursed the grub in the fridge. Is that scary or what?! |
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He put a curse on food?! |
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Now I'm gonna be wonderin' if everything I eat between now and the SDC is cursed.
It's got me all paranoid. |
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I'm pretty careful about poisons, but I'll have to be extra careful if there are curses involved. |
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Anything using magic will leave at least some trace behind, but... Hm. |
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Maybe I could identify it if I brush up on my sensory abilities? |
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You're not exactly sensitive to start with, you know. Mastering that seems a bit out of your reach. |
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Hey, don't say that. You never know until you try! |
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Uh, are we not gonna address the part where Kalim said something about poison? |
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Hm? Oh, it's just that I've had my food poisoned before. |
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Yeah, that's why I got brought on as his poison tester during the holidays. |
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I've had some awful experiences with it.
Before long, I started being suspicious of pretty much everything I was about to eat.
But it's exhausting weighing whether or not you can trust whoever cooks your food, let alone whoever sits at your table.
It really got in the way of enjoying a nice meal, you know? |
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I can see why. |
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If I know a dish isn't poisoned in advance, then I can more fully savor it.
And if I figure out it's bad as soon as I take a bite, then I can avert a much worse situation…
...for myself and the other party both. |
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The other party? |
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Suppose the food-poisoner sees the error of their ways and realizes they've done something wrong.
If I'm already gone, then that wouldn't do them any good, would it?
I wouldn't want to deny someone the opportunity to redeem themselves after recognizing the error of their ways.
That would just be awful. |
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...... |
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The Land of Scalding Sands has more legends than just those of the Sorcerer of the Sands. There is also a tale of a street thief who became king. |
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Whoa. That really happened? |
| Could you tell us about it? | (There are all sorts of stories out there, huh?) |
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One day, the thief met a princess and fell in love.
He had a change of heart, and he came to regret his life of dishonesty and larceny.
After that, he went on to rescue the sultan and princess from the villain who plotted to take over the land!
Then he married the princess and became the next sultan, and everybody lived happily ever after!
I just love that story to bits!
Everybody trusted that the street thief was changing his ways, and they all gave him a second chance. |
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So, the moral of the story is that there's no undoing past wrongs, but what matters is what you do after that? |
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Guess reality's not as simple as "bad guy gets their just desserts; the end." |
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Exactly!
So I consider it very important for me to survive.
Though in the end "studying" just allows me to enjoy fine meals. Aha ha ha! |
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You're laughing, but what you just described sounds really dark... |
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I wouldn't say that. If he can laugh about it, then it's not exactly morbid, is it? |
| How did such an earnest guy end up chosen by the Dark Mirror? | He's a far cry from the other housewardens, that's for sure. |
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Yeah, seriously. He's TOO nice. Makes my hair stand on end. |
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Awww, really? Do I sound that strange to you? |
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It's not that. You're just, er, a bit different from the other people on campus...I think. |
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Actually, I transferred to this school two months late.
I wonder if that's got something to do with it. |
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You can transfer in here...? |
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Is it really that surprising? The prefect got a special transfer too, right? |
| That was kind of a mix-up... | I was technically at orientation... |
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I thought Night Raven College only admitted folks whose souls were chosen by the Dark Mirror. |
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You're correct. But about a month after Jamil left home...
I suddenly got a letter of acceptance from the school.
I forget if it was an oversight in selection or some special exception or what, but the black carriage came for me right after that. |
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So they belatedly recognized the nature of your soul? |
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Hmph. I'm still skeptical that the Dark Mirror actually selects students based on that.
Knowing the headmage, he probably arranged for a backdoor admission so he could get some generous Asim family donations.
And just like that, my nice, free campus life went up in smoke. |
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Well, I love every day I spend at this school. And I got to make friends with you all over again, Jamil! |
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I keep telling you, we are NOT friends. |
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I see my spuds are all present and accounted for. |
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