by Lars M.
Updated: Probationary Citizens Nathaniel Micah and Derek Weber have become rivals, and their discussions are disrupting classes. Ensure that the disruptions stop. If possible, have the students resolve their issues.
Reward:
50-100 reputation with High Hold, depending on success.
100 experience points
I got to it right away. We were in between classes, and it didn't take long for me to locate the rivals. The two humans were sitting at either side of the hallway, eyes shooting daggers at each other. You could feel the tension even as their classmates tried to ignore or distract them. I didn't talk to the pair, however. Instead, I went to the classmates. Many things are variable and depend on culture, gender, and religion, but if there's one constant across the entirety of intelligent beings, AI-generated or otherwise, it is this: gossip wants to be shared. The classmates must have been bursting with the desire to unload the wealth of juicy details regarding the pair, because I soon found myself overwhelmed with information on their behavior, actions, and theories on the cause of it. Oh, and it was petty. Tiny provocations, shots fired, nasty comments of every kind. It was with great pleasure that I entered the classroom, drawing every eye to myself, and addressed the teacher.
"Apologies for the intrusion, ma’am. I will be but a moment." Letting my eyes rove over the students of all ages, they fixed on my targets. "Mr. Micah, Mr. Weber. If you would please join me?"
The brawny one, Derek, spoke up, "Why? What did he do?"
The thin, prettyfaced one growled. "Me? It wasn't me who-"
"If you would both cease your squabbling, it will go over much easier. Move." The collective intake of breaths among the students was almost physically pleasing, and I had to struggle to keep from smiling. With the young men in tow, I entered a nearby classroom that would remain vacant for the following half hour. More than necessary for what I was planning.
The duo entered and immediately split, keeping as much distance between themselves as possible.
I looked from one to the other, letting disapproval ooze from my voice. "All right, let's not waste any time here. You're both acting like brats, and it needs to stop."
My words had the expected effect, as both started talking at the same time. I shouted over the indignant voices, "SHUT UP!" and continued in my best official 'you're in so much trouble' voice, "The Academy has had it with your petty squabbles, and you're going to stop right away. There's an easy solution or a hard one. I'd like to hear which one you prefer."
Nathaniel seemed to put the pieces together first - the skinny, dark-haired guy looked like he was the brains of the duo. "Wait a minute. You're the newcomer from that village. You aren't even a Citizen. You can't make us do anything."
Derek jumped in. The brown-haired teen was massive, and I was certain that he'd be able to crush me with one hand. "Yeah. Hah. He's just one of the bards. Like you can make us do anything." Realizing he'd just agreed with his nemesis, he went back to staring daggers at Nathaniel.
"You are, of course, entirely right. I cannot force you to do anything. I can, however, make you choose either of my solutions, and I'm going to have a ton of fun either way. In fact, I would love for you to choose the hard solution."
"How do you think you're going to do that?" Derek's words were equal parts challenge and actual confusion.
"Glad you asked, Derek. The easy solution is you two making up right now, or at least agreeing to keep your rivalry on the down-low so it doesn't disrupt the class."
Nathaniel glared at me like I'd crawled up from the primordial soup to mate with his dog. "Forget it. You don't know what he did."
"I didn't do anything! You're just-"
I spoke over them both. "You're right. I don't know. I also don't care. The hard solution leads back to my profession. Like Muscles over there so astutely noticed, I'm a bard. I'm also a fair composer, if I say so myself. That's why, when I create a song about the two of you, I'm fairly sure it's going to become an instant hit around the Academy."
"Really? Like, you're going to invent something, just like that, and people are going to believe it?" Derek sneered at me.
"Oh, yes. I've found that people much prefer to go with an interesting lie than a boring truth. Especially, when it's so... spicy. At first, I was planning an easy solution – make this wonderful little ditty over a lover's spat between you two – but then I learned that harpies treat same-sex relationships the same way they do with those between males and females. No taboos, no judgment, you’re allowed to do whatever you feel like. So I’ve decided instead that you’re both head over heels for that harpy teacher of yours and competing for her favor."
Derek was shell-shocked, but Nathaniel looked more confused than anything. "Ms. Cline? But she’s so old!"
I laughed, "I know, right? It’s so decadent. But in the right light, she’s not half ugly. Like you said, I have no real powers here, but then, neither do you. So, unless you're going to take the chance with the thousand rumors that will spread over you two fighting over an older woman, you'd better roll with it and stop your constant bickering. Now, what'll it be?" I raised an eyebrow with a nasty grin.
A minute later, the duo left, fuming and railing at the unfairness of everything. Pleased with myself, I grinned at how they were discussing their new-found enemy. This moment, at least, they'd forgotten about their fight. When I touched my key gem to the bulletin board again, the system seemed to agree with me.
Congratulations. You have completed the quest:
Intervention
You have managed to resolve the issue, causing Derek and Nathaniel to cease their squabbling in class.
Reward:
You have received 100 experience points. Experience towards next level 3195/5000
Your reputation with High Hold has increased by +80(+20%)=96. New reputation: 1756 (Liked)
Heh. I'd probably have to look out for spit wads, but that was a small price to pay for an easy win. My blackmail skill went up one, unsurprisingly. I was glad Greck had introduced me to the skill ages ago. It was almost too fun. Oooh - and that made yet another skill to hit Apprentice level.
Congratulations. You have reached the Apprentice level with your skill:
Blackmail
You have learned that a successful blackmail is not only about browbeating the opponent. Rather, it is a collection of different skillsets. From now on, if any of your following skills have reached Apprentice level, they will give a +1 bonus apiece to Blackmail: Barter. Brawling. Diplomacy. Gambling. Lore. Spot.
Wow! That was an instant – I checked over my character sheet - +4 bonus to blackmail, with barter pretty close to giving me another.
Checking out the board, I picked a repeat of the same quest and the 'Cantina Band' quest. They both seemed like something I could knock out on a regular basis without too much effort.
Today, I'd kept my wits with me as I'd asked Meline to pack me a lunch for the Academy. I enjoyed a cold meal of pheasant meat and dark bread on the edge of the Amphitheater, marveling at the good weather.
Playing was a repeat performance of the day before. I changed to some new songs but otherwise kept it similar, activating my Affect Emotions spell regularly. I noticed a handful of repeat listeners, and it seemed like people stayed for a while longer than they had the first day, but it might have just been wishful thinking. The only weird moment was when one of the listeners near the end started staring intently at me and then rushed off. I was packing up when Mr. Slick himself came to see me. "Hey, Benjamin. To what do I owe the honors?"
The tall human looked utterly serious. "I came the moment I heard some allegations from a teacher. He said that he was experiencing some sensations when you played - like somebody manipulating his emotions with spells."
My mind raced. Of course that'd be something frowned upon. Denial was probably no good. I'd better go with ignorance. "Of course."
"I believe that- wait, did you say of course?"
"Yeah. Don't you guys use
it to improve moods where you're from?"
He frowned. Clearly, he wasn't expecting that response. "Altering somebody's emotional state is not something to be taken lightly, and I don't know where that would be acceptable."
"Seriously? You guys accept warlocks and demonologists to walk among you and this is where you draw the line? Especially when you've made it absolutely necessary?"
"I... really don't know what you're talking about."
I expelled my breath in a huff. This was going to be a long shot, but at least I had him confused. "Okay. I may not have spent decades as a bard, but I've been a musician my entire life. Do you know what happens when you make music systematic and put it on a regular schedule? People become desensitized to it, and the effect you're looking for fades."
His eyes narrowed. "What are you getting at?"
"You've institutionalized music to a point where the effect you wanted - brightening up people's day, improving morale and productivity, showing what bards are capable of, whatever - is gone." I pointed behind me. "I stepped up on this stage - a new player - and not a single person batted an eye. They didn't even know what I would bring, and they'd already dismissed me." Wow. Okay, maybe the indifference of the audience had gotten to me worse than I'd initially figured. I shrugged. "So yeah, sure. You can make me stop, penalize me, whatever. Or you can face up to the fact that you'd need to change something to actually have any sort of effect."
Benjamin visibly reeled. Clearly, this wasn't the way he'd envisioned our talk. "What... what are you suggesting?"
I expanded at the stage with a hand. "Allow me to continue while I'm here in High Hold. I'll swear an oath to stick with positive emotions. You can come see for yourself, compare with the other musicians that play. Once you've done that, you can judge the truth of my words. And I guess it'd be something of interest to present to the leaders of the Academy, since they probably care a lot about the effects of the systems here."
He didn't respond. Had I pushed him too far? It wasn't that I didn't see the dangers of manipulating emotions, but I did hate to see people ignoring the presence of good music. Also, I did want to increase my Affect Emotions skill quickly, morals be damned. It was far too good a tool to ignore.
"All right." He swallowed, clearly unsure of himself. "We will give it a shot. However," he raised an admonishing finger, "we will keep it to ten days, you will swear an oath, and I will be present for the first couple of performances, both to assess the results and to indicate which teachers are around. We do not want anybody to become aware of our little experiment before we know whether it's worth presenting to the Headmaster.
Yesss. "Our" experiment. He’d bought the idea, hook, line and sinker. A pop-up established the formalities, and I clicked accept almost before I had the chance to read all of the text.
You have been offered a quest:
Lessons In Morality
The assistant leader of the bard wing of the Academy in High Hold has agreed to your proposal to experiment with the effects of mental manipulation on the students of High Hold. You have ten days to prove to him that the results of the spell are worth any moral quandaries.
Reward:
500 reputation with High Hold.
300 experience points.
Penalty for failure: -1000 reputation with High Hold
Accept/Decline?
That had just about been too much excitement. I considered calling it a day and going back to get drunk, but I still had one more thing I'd set out to do. After completing my quest and enjoying the bit of added reputation ticking in, I approached my next goal - the Sonic Magic classes.
The moment I stepped inside the regular classroom, I knew one thing: regardless of whether the class was going to suck or not, it wasn't going to be boring. Some of it was due to the arrangements. The front half of the classroom was your regular old classroom, tiny chairs attached to even tinier tables. God, how I hated those! The other half, however, was dedicated to all sorts of props. Shields, torches, weapons, candles, and wooden doodads I couldn't even identify were stacked everywhere in a semi-orderly fashion, leaving a large open area in the middle. The real reason sat on the large desk in front of the class, however. The teacher made a hell of an impression. Flamboyant red and black clothing accentuated his green-grey skin color, and his hands and neck were decked with jewelry. Even his tusks were crowned with gold tips.
As he spotted me, the half-orc burst out with a grin, "Aah. Fresh blood." His eyes narrowed. "You are here to learn, right? Not just a messenger. I can smell it on you, son. The traces of Sonic magic. The poor physique that comes from sitting on your arse for too long. You're a bard, that's for sure."
A halfling in the first row smirked and rolled her eyes. "He's not psychic or anything. There's a list of new students. Not many half-elves around. Don't let him mess with your head." She shook her head and returned to doodling.
The half-orc barked a laugh. "Ah, Genoa, but you do know how to rob me of my simple pleasures. Come. Sit. Introduce yourself."
I took a chair. Hated this - being put in the spotlight before everybody. At least they didn't seem hostile. "Hey, everybody. Name's Arcangelo. I'm the local bard from Grant's Crossing, here to try and build an alliance with High Hold and... well, I wanted to see if I could improve my magic while I was here." I shrugged and sat down.
The half-orc grinned like he'd just caught a particularly large fish. "Wonderful. Now, we'll get back to you, but first we'd better attend proper de-co-rum - that's acting nice and proper, for you barbarians, Sienna." The girl in question just grunted and he continued, "I'm Tyler. Tyler Cavanaugh. Came to the place fifteen-plus years ago as a Chronicler, but when I saw the sorry state of their bard wing, I decided to do something about it."
The halfling gave a tight smile. "Genoa Willowby. Read one too many stories about the world and decided to see for myself. A Chronicler too, but I find magic to draw me in more."
A set of male bespectacled ratlings were next, almost identical except for a white patch on the rightmost ratling's otherwise dark fur. The dark one spoke first. "Soren Darkling. I had this crazy notion that we'd be able to make a fortune playing for those crazy harpies we'd heard stories about." Whitey continued, "Cam Darkling. I was dumb enough to listen to him."
The surly half-orc, Sienna, spoke up. "My life sucked. Most of my tribe are addicts or lowly workers by now. I wanted to try a different course."
A tall, regal elf with a glorious mane of blond hair sat upright with a brilliant smile. "Way to ruin the mood, Sienna. Mordiel at your service. I grew weary of the closed minds of my home village and decided to go explore." He finished with an elaborate half-bow.
Cam laughed, "Oh, yeah. And it had nothing to do with a bunch of pregnant girls who were about to have conspicuously blonde babies join the tribe, right?"
Mordiel glared at the ratling, but denied nothing. Introductions continued. They were a small class - ten in total, but seemed like a tight-knit, jovial bunch. The teacher clapped his hands, bringing the attention back to him. "All right, time's a-wasting. Now, Arcangelo. You're a village bard. Have you had any formal teaching?"
My inner eye envisioned Greck, sleeping amidst his rags on a bench in the tavern. "Teaching, yes. Formal, no."
"Great. Then, how would you say that you've learned about Sonic magic?"
I shrugged. "Erm - combat, mostly? A lot of solitary practice, too."
The half-orc sprang to his feet. "Perfect. Now, class, I just had an idea."
The class collectively groaned.
"Oh, come on. You'll like this one. Bad news is that you won't be rehearsed on the effect of Sonic magic on different materials. Good news is that we get to do a practical lesson."
The notion enlivened the students, who migrated to the back half of the class. Everybody looked expectantly to Tyler, who approached the center of the area with a wide smile on his face. "Please pay attention. I've mentioned this before, but practical lessons tend to be the only thing that really w
orks for you lot. Now, combat. Combat would seem to be the perfect teacher for spellcasters. Our skills increase faster when our lives are on the line. A novice of Sonic magic who risks his life to improve his powers will reach twice or triple the power that a similar student in a school setting does. Then why is this not the recommended approach by every school on Aeion?"
The halfling rolled her eyes again; it seemed to be her favorite expression. "Because they'll die."
The class laughed, but Tyler spoke over them. "Laugh all you'll want. She's right. A lot of adventurers die, especially those starting out. What else?"
"Limited access to spells and knowledge." This from the surly Sienna.
"Correct. Not only for inspiration, but also regarding how to learn exactly those you wish to learn, and using them to full effect. Anything else?"
He was met with silence. "Oh, come on. What do I always say about control?"
In unison, the class mumbled, "Control beats power, every time."
"Exactly. Any self-taught magic practitioner forged in the heat of combat will aim to increase his power - and rightly so. Often, victory goes to the mage with the biggest spell. But!" he raised an admonishing finger. "This invariably comes at a lack of control. Lesson time. Sienna, Mordiel, drag over my table. The rest of you, move away."
A moment later, the table was placed in the center of the back area and Tyler stood next to it, grinning at the class. "Arcangelo," he barked, "you've been imprisoned. It wasn't your fault, but are they listening to you? Of course they aren't." He took something shiny from his pocket and placed it in the center of the table. "The key is right here. The guard's chatting with the help right outside the door, and you don't know how much time you have. Now, free yourself." He gestured at the table and crossed his arms with a smirk.
