Touch of Fate

Smoke was pouring out of a fourth story window, and it seemed that there was some kind of commotion going on inside. Sighing, Mike gave quick instructions for Sera to remain with their packs while the other three went in to investigate. If there was a fire, they would need to move quickly.

They entered through the front door, and were greeted by the sight of a tastefully appointed common lounge, complete with an attached kitchen and dining area. It seemed that the majority of the first floor was allocated to these two areas. Strangely enough, there were no people visible on the floor, with the exception of a woman dressed in a maid outfit that was reading in one of the chairs. She looked up curiously when the adventurers burst into the room, but quickly seemed to lose interest.

Feeling slightly confused by this turn of events he started towards a set of stairs set in the back wall. Passing by the second and third floors, he was able to determine that they were composed of hallways with elaborate, numbered doors. These were evidently the residential section of the dorm. It seemed that there were four rooms on each level, suggesting that the rooms themselves were quite spacious.

The fourth floor turned out to be similar, except that most of the landing and a good chunk of the stairs were taken up by people standing around, muttering quietly. There were 7 in total. Three were dressed in the student outfits he'd seen walking around. Another three were women wearing maid outfits like the one on the first floor. The last was a distinguished looking gentleman wearing a suit who was currently pounding on door.

Moving up to join the onlookers, Mike casually asked one of the students, a sleepy looking young man in a blue and grey uniform with an insignia of a crossed paintbrush and quill overlaying a sheet of paper, "What's going on?"

The man regarded him for a second, before answering. "I don't know, but I'd guess Lily's experiments backfired again." He yawned before continuing, "This is the third explosion this week, but at least it's not toxic smoke this time. I hope they move out of the way soon, I'm late for my nap."

"Milady! Open this door right now! We've discussed this." The gentleman was shouting.

"Who is the yelling guy?" Mike asked while simultaneously using Appraise on him.

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William

Age: 51

Race: Human

Class: Butler Extraordinaire

Title: Man of Sophistication

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[That can't be a real class….]

The young man gave him another appraising look, "That's Lilly's head butler, William. They go through this routine every few days."

"And she gets away with causing explosions constantly?"

"I think she's supposed to be part of some big noble family in her home country, so the staff here at the University can't do much. They moved her out here to minimize the damage, I suppose." He yawned again.

The butler William was knocked off balance as the door was suddenly thrust open. A wave of smoke rolled through the corridor, driving the majority of the onlookers back. Almost without thinking, Mike used a bit of Air Magic to push the cloud out of an open window at the end of the hallway.

As the smoke dispersed, it revealed a woman dressed in a simple pair of tattered overalls. Numerous stains, burns, and tears of uncertain origins marred the fabric's surface. The woman herself was statuesque, standing close to 180 cm with a broad and curvy frame that was heavily emphasized by her lack of any other clothing besides her coveralls.

Her short black hair was currently sticking straight up into the air, likely due to whatever explosion had taken place. Most of her upper body was streaked with soot, which gave her a reverse raccoon mask appearance when she removed her heavy-looking goggles.

While his gaze unknowingly slid down to the highly visible and generous curve of her bust, he used Appraise again.

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Lilliana Dornovo

Age: 19

Race: Human (Frost Giant)

Class: Alchemical Warrior

Title: Seeker of the Truth

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[I guess this is what Morris was talking about when he mentioned bloodlines. I wonder if the Frost Giants of this world are anything like the ones from Norse Mythology in my old world.]

He felt a sharp pain in his ribs as Tal jabbed him with an elbow. Evidently he had been staring too long.

Williams paled when he saw the state of his charge, and quickly removed his coat to cover the young woman up. "Milady! Please! Have some decency."

Lilly gave a confident laugh, as she ignored the offered coat, "Ah, William. I'm glad you're here. I think I've made a discovery! Come in! I need a test subject."

She grabbed the poor butler, and pulled him inside the room, closing the door immediately afterwards.

This seemed to mark an end to festivities as the group of onlookers started to break up. Mike noticed a male student in glasses angrily handing over a few coins to a smug looking female student. Evidently, the drama played out often enough that it had become a source of gambling for the residents.

Sighing internally, Mike did one last Appraise on the sleepy student, before he headed back down to the ground floor.

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Lionel Yuthan

Age: 20

Race: Human

Class: Minstrel

Title: Slacker

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[Really? Slacker is the title you chose?]

Shrugging to Tal and Brenden, Mike headed back down to the first floor to pick up Sera before heading back into the lobby. He looked around for something resembling an office, but was unable to find one.

Sera finally asked the reading maid, who hadn't moved since they passed through the first time. "Excuse me. We were assigned to this dormitory. Do we need to check in somewhere?"

The woman looked up at her with slightly watery eyes. "Ah…..I suppose you are new tenants then…..do you have a letter from housing?"

Mike produced one of the many documents he had been carrying around.

"Looks good…." She stood up and wandered into the kitchen, still carrying the letter.

Glancing around at the others in confusion, he made to follow her, but stopped once she re-emerged into the lobby carrying a set of keys.

"Your room is 404.....enjoy." She said while handing them over. At the same time, she handed Sera a sheet of paper that the Oracle began studying.

Wanting to confirm a sudden suspicion, Mike used Appraise on the airy maid.

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Anna

Age: 26

Race: Human

Class: Maid

Title: Dormitory Manager

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[Of course...also, why is that a title?]

Thanking the Dorm Manager, Mike led his crew back upstairs to locate their room. It turned out to be right across the hall from the explosive woman. Idly wondering if the previous tenant might have been driven off by the neighbors, he opened the door to his new home, which turned out to be a suite.

An entry hallway, complete with a closet, split off into four other rooms. The first, apparently, was the student's bedroom. It featured a large, four posted bed, a dresser, a desk and chair, a closet, and a full length mirror. The bay windows opened up to a balcony with a view of the ocean.

The second was the largest, a sort of general living area. It had a couch and a few chairs on one side, another desk, and a mini-kitchen complete with a round wooden table and four chairs.

The third proved to be a second living area, where a set of bunk beds with coarse linens were pressed against one wall. Two foot lockers, a small desk, and a closet were the only other features.

The final room turned out to be a bathroom of sorts.

It had originally been hard for Mike to adapt to the way people in this world handled their business in this regard. The presence of Lifestyle Magic had not only made bathing unnecessary, but had even removed the issue of waste management. In fact, most of the inns they'd stayed at merely had a closet-like chamber with a reconfigured bucket dedicated to the act. So it was with some surprise that he noticed a large tub dominating one corner of the lavish room.

Sera and Tal seemed to understand its purpose, since they immediately got excited (based on contextual clues in Tal's case) and went to investigate it. The tub had built-in magical devices that produced hot water on demand, evidently to allow for people to take hot baths. Since Lifestyle Magic obviated the need for bathing, he could only conclude that it was meant as a luxury item.

After some careful consideration, Mike decided the room arrangements. Tal and Sera would be in the larger bedroom while he and Brenden would take the smaller. This had more to do with not wanting to share a bed with the beastman, than chivalry. He'd noticed on the ship that Brenden had a tendency to thrash violently in his sleep, possibly troubled by nightmares. As much as he sympathized, he also didn't want to kicked in the face in the middle of the night.

They finished the relatively easy process of unpacking, and settled down in the living room to discuss their next step.

"So, what's the plan?" Brenden asked.

"I vote we find ourselves something to eat for dinner, relax for the rest of the night, and head out into the city tomorrow. What do you say?" Mike responded with another question.

"Sounds good. According to this schedule," She held up the sheet of paper she had gotten from the Dorm Manager, "dinner will be served in the common room from nine to ten bells. Judging from the last time I heard the clock tower, we have a little bit of time to kill before it will be ready."

Mike had forgotten about the paper. "What else is written on there?"

"Just the meal times, some basic rules that frankly don't seem to be enforced, and where to go to get new linens and cleaning supplies. It's apparently up to the residents, or at least their servants, to take care of their own living areas."

"Huh. Good to know." He replied.

There was a knock on the door.