The weeks had been arduous.  Each work day was dedicated to the study of magic, beginning with magical theory and devolving slowly from there into the practice of the basic, and most important magics.  From the first few days, the course load had seemed not quite as structured as the students had expected.  While magic in the elements and healing were highly encouraged (and in fact, other colleges were off limits to the incoming youngster class) the primary focus of the college was to create battle wizards and to that end they allowed much greater autonomy than expected.  While being well rounded in the basics was seen as desirable, in practice it was far more common for young students to become gifted in just one or two colleges, creating depth of knowledge rather than breadth.

What had been structured however, was life within the walls of the castle.  While students had some say in their course direction their course load was unanimously crushing.  And though students were often times split into different courses and under the control of no single direct supervisor, it seemed instantly known when a student was wasting his time or even tarrying in the halls.  Punishments were different based on who exactly was doling them out -- those young professors, some of which had just earned their knight's cross often harried the students with a stern look or word, the kinder of the knights would nudge them along, ensuring they knew they were lucky that someone else had not caught them.  And they would have been lucky, for it seemed that more often than not, those roaming the hall were only too happy to punish those even seeming to dawdle.  This took many forms, from detentions on their already minimal time to actual, physical punishment on the spot.  Brother Loke was famous for his torment on those in the halls during classroom hours, one story had him conjuring a pair of wild dogs to chase a student back into his classroom, and another with a student's robes set aflame, extinguishing only when he had finally broken the threshold of his Alchemy class.

It seems that the professors had their own ranks as well.  Though most had no real position other than their knighthood, it seemed that there was a rank among them even in that.  The Templars employed a system of awards and decorations, starting with the Knight's Cross which was the symbol of their knighthood.  Adornments could be added, among the most common were oak leaves, or occasionally a pair of swords marking the cross.  It seemed only two members of the staff, Baron Graves himself and Brother Loke had won the final adornment, a diamond border to the cross signifying the final step in a Templar's knighthood short of becoming the grand master himself.

The student body itself was structured as well, including the largest percentage of their time between classroom and study hours and the hours of mandatory sleep.  Saturdays were their only time off, though it seemed inevitably at some point or another during the week they would end up in a detention whether warranted or not.  Even without the detentions, the youngster class was prohibited from leaving to the city of Azer, so they would spend their time in the keep either practicing their spells, or blowing off steam however they could.  Sundays were dedicated to prayer, regardless of the religious preferences of the students and those who chose not to practice religion made it clear to the newest students it was in their interest to keep their mouth shut and toe the line.

Class as well had it's place.  Rather than each student living in the same dormitories, they were split into houses: The Hall of Nobles, where those with families of influence would dwell; The Hall of Bishops, oddly enough, where those with families of wealth alone would stay; The Hall of Soldiers, where those who had claim to their skill and intellect alone would reside.  In addition, there was a small dormitory for women, as their numbers did not warrant a house of their own and on a separate portion of the grounds, a series of buildings belonging to the Jesuits, where as their instructors would often say, "Only only God knew what abominations were being carried out in his name."

---

It was the feast day of the fall equinox and the harvest and for once the class was free of detentions - put off for another day as the entire keep (minus the youngster class) went down into the city to celebrate the day.  Left for the most part to their own devices, the youngsters grouped into their own hall common rooms, chatting and being social as they had been near unable for the last six weeks.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:04, Sun 22 Dec 2013.

"Liar!"  Mariana squeals, lifting a small cup and exposing three dice, a six, four and a two.

The young woman had made the Hall of Soldiers her second home, explaining that though there were a handful of other women (a total of five in the entire college) their society had become tiresome almost instantly.  All of them were of far higher status, and because the college was so judgmental of women in the first place it became far easier for each of them to tear down at each other, exposing the weakest link, or the slowest elk in the herd for the Templars to hunt, rather than to stick together.  Being the mere daughter of a governor and the youngest girl there, Mariana was naturally the first cast out, though luckily she had enough intelligence and talent to keep her head above water on her own.

"What!"  Eliot murmurs, lifting his own cup and exposing two dice, a five and a one.  "Two fives my ass Mariana!"

Though he was in his second year at the school, Elliot had been held back into the new youngster class, adding to their number.  Though he seemed a kind enough boy, it was no small jump to know that he would be the first to be culled from their ranks if someone was to be kicked out.  Though he was probably smart enough for a baker's son, he was bounds behind the rest of the students, even some of the rich ones, when it came to spell casting.  He was clumsy when it came to his hand motions and often mispronounced a word or two, usually leading to nothing, although once had created such a spectacular ball lightning in his Air College class that Sir Neranmal had been overjoyed, until he realized the whole thing had been a fluke.

"It is Liar's dice Elliot"  The girl rolls her eyes, taking the small pile of pennies that were the wager on the game.  "Maybe next time you'll get me."  She smiles, though the whole room knows that she doesn't have it in her to attempt anything less than to run the table when it comes to gambling.

"What about you guys?"  She looks over to Giles, Grobbik, Indrid, and Juroc grabbing the dice from the floor and placing them back in her cup, shaking it enthusiastically and listening to the happy rattle.  "Fancy a game, or are you afraid I'm going to go home with your allowances too?"

Without waiting for an answer, she turns back to Elliot.  "So how'd air go today?  Any progress on shape?"

"No..."  Elliot sighs.  "I think Neranmal is getting tired of me wasting his time in class - the man's got a lot of patience, I just think I'm starting to wear through it.  I just can't get that pronunciation down!  aerea.  aerei.  It's all gibberish to me.  I'll get kicked out this year for sure.  Probably better off for it too, I had always thought that my dad would want me to join the armies, you know, for real, but he had though that the mages company would be a lot safer place to be."

"Well..."  Marianna starts, looking uncomfortable at Elliot's candor and eager to change the subject.  "Do you guys remember the beginning of the term?  When Loke talked about summoning daemons on accident?  Do you guys think that he was for real?  Or maybe just trying to scare us out of trying anything too hard?  The whole thing seems bogus to me.  I just can't get it out of my head though."

OOC:  Really, this is a continuation of the intro thread, though it takes place several weeks later.  Please PM me with 5 CP worth of study in spells split however you like amongst the elemental colleges or healing to reflect the hard work over the past few weeks.  You can feel free to use this thread either as just a conversation piece or you can get involved in a game of Liar's Dice.  If you don't know how to play, Mariana can teach you IC, though she still expects a wager to be placed on the game.  The buy in from the last game was $20, winner take all, though Mariana has never refused an opportunity to up the ante.  As my detailers would say back in school, "it pays to be a winner".
This message was last edited by the player at 06:03, Sun 22 Dec 2013.

Grobbik listens to the exchange between Mariana and Elliot closely. While the second year was no genius when it came to spells, he showed an honesty that was rare to find in such a competitive group. Not many people would lay themselves bare like that in front of everyone. Grobik made a mental note to cultivate a friendship with the man. He may not be cut out to be a mage, but he would be successful somewhere. In response to his comment Grobbik asks "What would you do if money and prestige were no issue?  You obviously have intelligence. What would you do if this doesn't work out?"

In response to Marianna's question, Grobbik answers "I will not say yes or no until I know the rules. Otherwise I would just be playing the dupe. "

"I'll play, Mariana.  Just give me a rundown of the rules."

Judoc has never played Liars Dice before, being not much of a gambler, but how hard could it be?  You just call out a number and go from there.  Obviously losing dice was bad, but he was reasonably confident he'd get the hang of it.

Poor, poor Elliot.  The lad just couldn't get the hang of it, could he?  Well, Judoc didn't see a problem with associating with lesser skilled mages.  Perhaps he could show the boy a thing or two, get Elliot in his debt.  Being owed favors could be incredibly useful.

"Yes, Mariana, it is indeed possible to attract unwanted supernatural attention," he says, taking on a lecturer's tone.   "All kinds of dreadful results can occur from poorly trained mages attempting magic.  It's far rarer among the truly skilled of us, of course, but it has happened.  Say a word incorrectly, muff a gesture, and horrible, horrible things can happen."  He smirks.  Of course, such disastrous effects would never occur when Judoc was casting spells.  No, perhaps he shouldn't attempt to tutor Elliot.  He wouldn't want the baker's son inadvertently summoning a legion of devils to destroy the college.

OOC:  Judoc is game for a game.

Giles was irritated, at first, that he'd been put into the Hall of Soldiers. More because he'd been misjudged by the academy - or at least his father and family had perhaps been viewed to lowly to warrant him a position amongst other noble students. After a while though it became a more pressing concern that his father had not been paying for his position. Giles wasn't so much bothered about the money, it was just money after all, but instead hoped that his family were doing well and were not in trouble. For the first week Hind became somewhat introspective as frustrations about not knowing his kin's status got a hold on him.

The gruelling schedule and indiscriminate punishments helped things considerably. He seldom had time for his mind to wander back to his family and instead had taken to pushing himself hard in his studies.

After a couple of weeks Giles had settled and was making painstaking efforts to endear himself to the rest of the academy. Both teachers and students were offered his friendship and he really enjoyed spending time getting to know people. So many people from so many different walks of life brought together in the leveller that was the mage academy. The place seemed to start all people equal, at least all those in the House of Soldiers, and offer regard purely for ambition, perseverance and dedication to the cause of learning.

It was because of this that Elliot's introduction had tugged Giles's sense of pity. He would never show it, though, and never brag about his achievements infront of the second year.


"Well, I'd prefer to lose my money to women in different ways. I can't imagine how I'd win a game I don't know how to play" he said with an easy smile. The past few weeks hanging out with the group had really given him a sense of bretheren amongst the group, even the severe Judoc. (OOC +2 to reactions... woo :D) The group had become his new family and it made the harshness of some of the templars more tolerable.

"Well, I think summoning demons would be a problem. My old master once said that magic can make the world an amazing place but when it goes badly, it can cause ruin greater than anything you could imagine.

I imagine that this place has defences against the kind of thing... and being Templars probably helps them deal with such unnatural and unholy creatures, right?""

"Oh, it's easy enough to play."  Mariana starts out.  She puts her cup face down over a set of five dice and shakes it vigorously, the dice rattling happily inside.  After a moment, she lets the dice rest and peeks under the lid, inspecting the results of her role without letting the others see.  "You roll the dice and look at what you have, with no peeking at your neighbors.  Then make bets on what you think everyone has, all put together.  Ones are wild and are every number all at once."  She lifts up the lid of her cup, showing a five, two fours, a three, and a one.  "So if this is what I rolled and I wanted to be honest I could bet two threes, or two fives, or three fours, or if I wanted to slow-play it I could bet two fours... Or,"  She throws an upwards glance around the room at each of the boys, "If I wanted to lie, I could say two sixes.  We go around bidding, each bid has to be higher than the next, so two fours beats two threes, three twos beats two sixes.  If you don't think the table has enough to back up your bet than you can call liar instead, and everyone lifts up their cups.  If there bid was good, so like, if I bet five sixes and there were a total of three sixes and two ones under everyone's cups then the person who called liar loses that round, but if there aren't enough numbers to cover your bid, like if Judoc bid seven fours and there were only four fours and two ones, then he would lose that round."  She smirks upward at Judoc, expecting to take slight pleasure in his reaction to an example of him losing.

"If you lose a round, you lose some of your dice.  You start with five, then go down to three, then two, then you are out."  She pauses for a moment trying to sum up the whole game in a few words.  "Basically, you are trying to bet the highest amount you can without going over, or trick someone else into bidding something that you don't think the table will support but all you know is what you have and what everyone else bids."

Mariana hands a cup over to Judoc and looks to see if anyone else wants into the game.  "What about you Indrid, we all know you have enough money to waste on games of chance."

Indrid sits up from where he had been lazing about for the earlier part of the day, finally taking some part in the conversation.

"I figured you wanted to keep at least some of your money."  The young man replies.  "Maybe next time, after everyone learns, then I'll show you how to really play."  He smiles at the group.

Though Indrid had seemed a little rough around the edges at first (he was among those who left Judoc choking on his own vomit without as much as a sideways glance) the others had come to appreciate him as a talented magic user and devoted friend.  Certainly, he had plenty of provocation to offer at the students from the other houses however.  And he was one of the few members of the House of Soldiers whose families came from wealth.  Why he had been put there instead of the House of Bishops was unknown, the youth had yet to disclose that with the others.

"I think it's really rare." Indrid offers his opinion on the other subject.  "It's one of those things that has happened once and from that point on there are ghost stories told told for the rest of time.  I can't imagine it actually happening at this school.  And I think it takes a really powerful wizard to do it anyway."

OOC:  GM posting in players absence, for those of you interested in Liar's dice here is the configuration for the roller.  You can put the results in a PM to me, but do not disclose them with the other players (or you'll be the one at a disadvantage anyway).

Liars Dice

"Sounds like fun."  Judoc smiles wolfishly as he places five silver pennies down on the table.  He looks around at the others.  "Anybody else in?"

He takes the dice cup offered, gives it a good shake, and turns it over so that the dice are concealed beneath it.  Peeking at his dice, he grins.  He's won already.  Not being much of a gambler, Judoc doesn't have the first clue as to proper bluffing, so confident is he in his luck.  "Two fives," he says, smirking at Mariana.

"I'm in!" Grobbik spits out all at once.  As a merchant it was foolhardy to join a game without knowing the rules.  However, once he knew how to play the game seemed interesting.  It looked like something he could win at.  Why wouldn't he play?  Besides, he liked haggling about just about anything.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity to earn a nice pot of money quite easily.  Shaking his dice, Grobbik looks underneath his cup carefully.  Sailors were notorious cheaters, and he wanted this to be a clean game.  In fact that reminded him of a detail.  As he puts down his cup, Grobbik asks the question "No magic, I assume?"  Then, with a quiet little smirk that he tries to keep to himself, Grobbik offers up his bid... "2 sixes".

OOC So just to be sure, we are trying to count the number of dice under *everyone's* cups, right?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:20, Mon 06 Jan 2014.

Giles had no taste for a game that he wasn't able to play. Instead he sat close-by and watched, contented enough to spend time with his friends and enjoy their friendly game of deceit.

"I can't play this game. I'll watch and learn and perhaps play another day." he said, casually sitting back on his chair.

He liked to see what people were about and kept an eye on each of the players, trying to discreetly discover things about the other players, and their other companions.



~Observation ( all players )
21:54, Today: Giles 'J'naeth' Hind rolled 4 using 3d6. observation (will take time +x).
// critical success


sorry for short post, very tired atm :D

Mariana beams as she gleans a pair of players for her game, throwing down the few silver pennies she had just won and rolling the dice in her cup again.  "Yeah,"  She answers Grobbik's question with a surprised smile.  "No magic, at least none that anyone can catch or your bet will be forfeit."  Her smile lingers as she peers under the lid as if the thought of magic in the game had never occurred to her before.  She quirks an eyebrow at the first two bids that come across.  "Booooring."  She answers before throwing up her own, slightly raised stakes.  "five sixes."

OOC:  Gents, welcome back from our hiatus!  Things are picking up for me at work (they are already picked up for me at home with a 1 month old!), though for right now it's pretty easy posting.  I may start up another thread to run in parallel to this one (if I didn't already mention that) which would be later on in timeline if I get the opportunity to write it up.  For now though, it is your opportunity to ask IC questions or simply try and win at dice

Grobbik is a bit surprised when he hears Mariana bid that high.  He raises a bush eyebrow at her, and then responds quite quickly "Six 5's, and I dare you to bid higher.  You forget, I come from a family of merchants.  We make a living at this.  Take your loss, and let's move along."  The goblin finishes his comment with a broad smile, flashing his pointy teeth at her and wiggling his eyebrows in a gesture meant to communicate a friendly jest.

Judoc's eyebrows raise when Mariana goes as high as she does.  The mage hadn't expected such gumption from a female, but he has spent some time around her, and Mariana seems exceptional for one of the weaker sex, even if she has no prayer of being accepted as a Templar.

He frowns when the goblin calls out another bid, and he says testily, "I believe you need to bid in the order of your turn, Grobbik, and trust me, don't count your coin before you earn it.  Six fours."

Grobbik laughs and says "I don't think the order matters when you know you are beaten anyway, Judoc.  Wow, you are a prickly one, aren't you?  I don't know that it was a rule or not.  But, if it makes you feel better, I accept your assertion that we should go in order.  I hope that makes you feel better when you lose." Then, he politely repeats his bid of "Six 5's."

Grobbik laughs off his poor manners, and then, to Judoc's growing astonishment, the goblin yet again breaks with social convention and makes another bid!  Judoc cannot take this fresh affront, and throwing his hands in the air, he says, "Have you never gamed in your entire life?  Have you no concept of form?"

Still angry, he says, "You know what, Grobbik?  If you're going to be a complete idiot, I'd rather not take advantage of someone of your stunted intellectual development.  God's body, you're hopeless!"  He pushes his cup and money to Giles.  Rising from the table, he inclines his head to Mariana.  "Perhaps some other time, Mariana.  Relieve this buffoon of every last coin he owns."  He walks away in a huff, muttering imprecations under his breath, and then takes a seat at a nearby table, pulling out a leatherbound journal and beginning to write.

Mariana watches her two opponents spat with a one-sided half smile and cannot help but contain a giggle as Judoc quits the game without notice, pushing his coin towards the center.  "Grobbik."  She hardly whispers.  "You might be the best novice I've seen in a while, I don't think I've seen anyone force a forfeit in this game yet."  She winks at the goblin slyly, though resumes a serious expression within the same breath.  "Of course, you'll still lose, because I don't think you can beat seven fours."

"Judoc, hun, no hard feelings, we wouldn't want you to alienate yourself when you had been our best defense against Brother Loke.  You know I don't think that bloke likes you - not that he likes anything I imagine, but he fairly well ignores us when you are around..."

Grunting, Judoc finishes writing in his journal and slips it back inside the folds of his robes.  Although his furor has cooled since his humiliation and half-drowning at the good brother's hands a few weeks prior, Judoc still intends to see the monk receive his comeuppance one day.  He doesn't mind waiting.  Revenge is a dish best served cold, after all.  "Brother Loke has gone out of his way to target me," he says, shrugging his shoulders.  "What can I say?  Those who hate must continue in their hatred, I suppose.  Teach Grobbik how to play games, and I'll take his money and yours next time."

Grobbik sits back in his chair when Judoc leaves the table in disgust.  The man was fairly immature for someone his age, and it came out in situations like this.  Judoc had a low threshold for frustration, and was prone to react in anger.  Grobbik was fairly sure he held grudges, too, considering the notes he took in his journal.  That wouldn't serve him well here.

Despite his best efforts to hide it, Grobbik can't help but chuckle at the situation.  The moment was fairly awkward as he and Mariana locked eyes to say what they were both thinking.  Neither of them wanted to address Judoc's behavior, but at the same time neither of them really knew how to act without making it worse either.  Finally Mariana breaks the silence somewhat awkwardly by continuing the game with a veiled message to Judoc.  Hopefully that would be enough for him to understand.

That moment led Grobbik to consider Judoc a bit more deeply for a moment.  They were friends, and in fact Judoc hadn't done anything bad besides be temperamental.  If Grobbik had to live in close quarters with the man, it was sure to be an issue.  However, under the current circumstances Judoc was easily avoided.  He could have his moments of anger, and Grobbik could just walk away.

The issue was that Judoc looked like he would be easy to manipulate.  The right person could push his buttons easily, and Judoc would be left to take the fall for something.  Or, maybe he would get into something over his head.  While Grobbik wasn't one for those sorts of mind games, Brother Loke certainly seemed to be inside of Judoc's head.  It could prove to be an issue in the future, and Grobbik vowed to keep an eye on the situation.  If not for Judoc's sake, he would do it for his own.

As Judoc finishes speaking, Grobbik comes out of his introspective moment, and continues the game in a somewhat distracted tone.

"Seven 5's."

"Liar."  Mariana smiles as she lifts up her own cup, showing two fours, a six, a five, and a two.  She lifts up Judoc's cup as well, showing two ones, two fours, and a two.  Grobbik is last to lift his cup, smirking, as he shows two fives, two ones, and a three.

"Damn!"  Mariana exclaims. "Should have gone eight fours...  who would have known?"  Mariana removes two of her dice and pushes Judoc's cup over to the side and rolls her dice.

She glimpses under the cup.  "You won the last round, so you bid first."

OOC:  Grobbik, here's the configuration for the dice roller Liar's Dice