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[brewer bob]

I'm tempted to choose the last option because of its absurdity, but maybe just let him come along in the hopes of avoiding trouble.

So, 2.

[Glass]

2
We’ve already antagonized them enough, let’s not chase the poor man off.

[Maximum Spin]

I'm tempted to choose the last option because of its absurdity,

It doesn't seem that absurd, he's clearly been hinting that he wants the D the whole time.

Anyway, 2

[Enemy post]

Sam turns to the Dark Side.

"Of course, Sam," you say. "Come with me."

Sam looks relieved. "Thank you."

"Have you ever been down here before?" you ask.

"Not any farther than these cells," Sam says. "Which I understand are only temporary," he adds quickly. "We wouldn't expect people to work for the Church under these conditions."

Regardless, you find one mage still sleeping in her cell, on a shabby straw pallet. You recognize the black velvet robes of a student at the University of Edra, which imitate the wizard robes of the magic academies of old despite the university's mundane teachings.

Despite incarceration, this student has the clean sheen of someone who has rarely known hardship. Her long, curly black hair achieves a luster that is probably impossible without an assortment of beauty products. She wears a small amount of makeup—mascara, blush—that has begun to smudge without access to a mirror. She is short and has a curvy figure barely hinted at by the contours of her voluminous black academic robes. Her black thigh-high boots look somewhat expensive.

In sleep, the student's face is scrunched in a look of annoyance, as if her dream involves someone she has no patience for.

You have a strong sense that this student does not belong here.

Sam unlocks the door with a key, and you enter.

The young woman opens her eyes. "Did my parents send you?" she says eagerly. "Am I getting out of here?" She looks not much younger than you, but sounds still younger than that.

Sitting up, the young student reveals that her wrists are bound, presumably to prevent the casting of spells. Her legs aren't bound, though.

On seeing Sam's tabard, the student slouches despondently. "Oh. Are you going to kill me now, or what."

You glance at Sam. You can tell neither this mage nor her living conditions are exactly what Sam expected. He looks a bit distraught. "I'm not going to kill you. Tell me, why are you still down here? Did you do something wrong?"

"Wrong?" The student looks bewildered. "I'm the lucky one. The others are dead!"

"Dead!" Sam looks stricken. "What do you mean? How do you know?"

"They were dragged down the hall screaming that they wanted to live, and they would serve the Church or do whatever it took," the student says. "Those doors at the end of the corridor slammed shut. And that's the last I saw or heard of them." The student frowns. "I bet my parents pulled some strings, and that's why I didn't have to go. But they're not letting me out, either." The student gives you a puzzled look. "If you're not from my parents, and you're not going to kill me, what do you want?"

What do you want to say to the student?

1."Your parents didn't send me. I'm a mage, like you."
2."What's your name?"
3."Tell me more about where the other mages went."
4."Why are you still here?"
5."What sort of magic got you captured?"
6.Consult with Sam about the prospect of freeing the student.
7.I've asked enough questions. I free the student from her bonds.
8.I don't trust the student. I leave her in the cell.

If you like, we can ask every question before we make one of the final two decisions.

Spoiler: Stats (click to show/hide)

Scribe Foo

Appearance

A bookish, spectacled man wearing a shimmering cloak and tight black clothing fit for a thief or an assassin

Magic
  Negation:7
  Automation:7
  Glamor:1
  Divination:1
  Vivomancy:9

Skills
Ancient History: 3 (Decent)
Fighting: 1 (Bad)
Subtlety: 5 (Good)
Charisma: 4 (Good)

Personality
Optimism:62%/Caution:38%   
Humor:54%/Solemnity:46%   
Empathy:45%/Calculation:55%   

Relationships
Romances (Interested romantically, but not sexually, in men and women)
Tal

Tal: 56 (Good)
Cos: 46 (Bad)
Sam: 70 (Great)
Church: 40 (Bad)
Undiscovered relationships: 2

Kingdom
Adoration: 52%/Vilification: 48%

Inventory
Gold: 10 gold
Sword
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Clutch of Dragon Eggs
History Book, True Life of Abraxas
Golem Manual

Students
Blessed Sam

Pets
Verdigris the Baby Dragon

The Dead
The Academy Inquisitor

Plot Points

Chapter 1

You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You killed the inquisitor with negation magic.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You animated a serving tray to retrieve an alchemy set, but in the process, you released some dangerous chemicals.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You destroyed the specter.
You obtained a clutch of dragon eggs from the crow's nest of an ancient airship.
It became clear that the spilled chemicals were going to consume the whole academy.

Chapter 2


You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
You created two horses and freed them in the woods.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that those who follow orders regularly are more likely to be glamored.
You learned the location of the Magisterian capital from True Life of Abraxas.
You met a hat seller but bought nothing from her.
You allowed a thief to steal from Fruitseller Fran.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You kissed Tal.
You restarted the automated mine that was the dodecapede's lair.
You restarted Akriton's giant fans after the death cloud passed.
Cos and you agreed that you would secretly work for Akriton.
Though you thought you kept a low profile, you heard inquisitors are coming to town anyway.

Chapter 3

Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You waited until the inquisitors left.
The old man revealed himself to be Mayor Cos, who is a shapeshifter.
You went to a House of Sun service, led by Blessed Sam.
In the middle, your vivomancy disguise wore off, but Blessed Sam did not take any action to pursue you.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.

Chapter 4

You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you sneaked into the basement.
You found a university student held in the Cathedral dungeon—the last mage left there.

[Glass]

2
I feel like that's just the polite way to start a conversation.

[King Zultan]

2 Then 5.

[Superdorf]

Offer information, then ask information. Scared captive and all.

1

[brewer bob]

1

[Knightwing64]

8

She’d just be a hindrance.

[Yellow Pixel]

1 then 2, 5, 6

[Enemy post]

1, 2, 5, 6 seems like a good compromise.

"Your parents didn't send me. I'm a mage, like you."

"Oh!" The student looks excited. "Are there more of us somewhere? Some kind of secret society?"

"I'm afraid we're it, to my knowledge," you say. You glance to Sam for confirmation, but he looks downcast and doesn't respond.

The student looks slightly crestfallen. "Ah well, then I suppose it's really too bad you didn't come in time to rescue the others. But I'd love to have a mentor, if you're willing!"

"What about these parents of yours?"

"They'll come around to the idea," the student asserts. "Any chance you're going to rescue me anyway?" She optimistically holds up her bound wrists.

What else would you like to say to the student?

"What's your name?"

"Wizard Vera," the young student says with forced confidence.

"Did your mayor grant you that title?" you ask.

Now Vera turns embarrassed. "Ah, my mayor would probably still call me 'Vera Carolinesdaughter.' But sometimes people get titles just because everybody calls them that, right?"

What else would you like to say to Vera?

"What sort of magic got you captured?"

"A professor at the university turned me in," Vera grumbles. "It was a professor I liked, too. I was just curious what she did outside of the university—you know, she seemed like an interesting person."

"So you spied on her," Sam says.

Vera looks sheepish. "Well, it gets worse. The professor was writing an exam at the time I scried, and thought I was not just using magic, but using magic to cheat. So she went to the inquisitors."

"An interesting coincidence, to scry exactly when the professor was writing an exam," Sam says tartly. "But I suppose that wasn't the inquisitors' concern."

"Hey," Vera says, offended. "I wasn't trying to cheat. I was always a good student, even before I found the divination book. I swear to Abraxas or whatever." Vera gestures around at the cell. "Besides, usually nothing even happens to cheaters at the university. But use magic and suddenly you're thrown in a fucking dungeon!"

"So what happened next?" you prompt.

"Well, then the inquisitors raided my room," Vera says. "They just burst down the door and grabbed me, without even giving me time to change out of my stupid academic robes."

"Well, you have to understand that sort of situation is dangerous for the inquisitors as well," Sam says, but you give him a look to quiet him.

"Go on," you say.

"And that's how they found my book of divination," Vera says. "A gift from my father, who didn't realize what it was. He just knew it was old and thought I could practice reading the ancient tongue with it."

"And they confiscated that book?"

"Yes, but I did see where they put it. I threatened legal action if they didn't show me," Vera says. "Can you take me there?" She holds up her bound wrists. "And maybe do something about this, too?"

What else would you like to say to Vera?

Consult with Sam about the prospect of freeing Vera.

"One moment, please." You pull Sam out of the cell to confer.

"Sam, that kid shouldn't be here," you say. "Her magical things are already confiscated, and it seems like she's probably powerless without them. For all we know, magic was just some kind of lark she'll never touch again. What do you think about just freeing her?"

"Look, I'm disturbed by her story as well," Sam says. "But right now, we have just one story, hers. For all we know, the other mages went to Heaven, and this is the one bad apple, trying to deceive us into letting her go! You don't know how dishonest people can be when they feel threatened. I say we leave her here and look into it more. Let's do nothing about it today. Whatever happened already happened, and she survived it."

You think Sam is probably engaging in wishful thinking about the mages; you're not certain even he believes it.

What else would you like to say to Vera?

1."Tell me more about where the other mages went."
2."Why are you still here?"
3.I've asked enough questions. I free Vera from her bonds.
4.I don't trust Vera. I leave her in the cell.

I might not update on Saturday.

Spoiler: Stats (click to show/hide)

Scribe Foo

Appearance

A bookish, spectacled man wearing a shimmering cloak and tight black clothing fit for a thief or an assassin

Magic
  Negation:7
  Automation:7
  Glamor:1
  Divination:1
  Vivomancy:9

Skills
Ancient History: 3 (Decent)
Fighting: 1 (Bad)
Subtlety: 5 (Good)
Charisma: 4 (Good)

Personality
Optimism:62%/Caution:38%   
Humor:54%/Solemnity:46%   
Empathy:45%/Calculation:55%   

Relationships
Romances (Interested romantically, but not sexually, in men and women)
Tal

Tal: 56 (Good)
Cos: 46 (Bad)
Sam: 70 (Great)
Vera: 50 (Fine)
Church: 40 (Bad)
Undiscovered relationships: 1

Kingdom
Adoration: 52%/Vilification: 48%

Inventory
Gold: 10 gold
Sword
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Clutch of Dragon Eggs
History Book, True Life of Abraxas
Golem Manual

Students
Blessed Sam

Pets
Verdigris the Baby Dragon

The Dead
The Academy Inquisitor

Plot Points

Chapter 1

You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You killed the inquisitor with negation magic.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You animated a serving tray to retrieve an alchemy set, but in the process, you released some dangerous chemicals.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You destroyed the specter.
You obtained a clutch of dragon eggs from the crow's nest of an ancient airship.
It became clear that the spilled chemicals were going to consume the whole academy.

Chapter 2


You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
You created two horses and freed them in the woods.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that those who follow orders regularly are more likely to be glamored.
You learned the location of the Magisterian capital from True Life of Abraxas.
You met a hat seller but bought nothing from her.
You allowed a thief to steal from Fruitseller Fran.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You kissed Tal.
You restarted the automated mine that was the dodecapede's lair.
You restarted Akriton's giant fans after the death cloud passed.
Cos and you agreed that you would secretly work for Akriton.
Though you thought you kept a low profile, you heard inquisitors are coming to town anyway.

Chapter 3

Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You waited until the inquisitors left.
The old man revealed himself to be Mayor Cos, who is a shapeshifter.
You went to a House of Sun service, led by Blessed Sam.
In the middle, your vivomancy disguise wore off, but Blessed Sam did not take any action to pursue you.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.

Chapter 4

You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you sneaked into the basement.
You found a university student held in the Cathedral dungeon—the last mage left there.

[Yellow Pixel]

3

[BlackPaladin99]

4
trusting her seems like a bad idea

[brewer bob]

4

[King Zultan]

4