Spellcaster's Society: Drill #2

Saturday, May 5, 1923
Outside the Spellcasters' clubhouse
3:00PM

As you approach the door to the Spellcaster's clubroom, the first thing you'll notice is the most obvious: the professor isn't here.

Indeed, Professor Barlowe, who usually stands by the door, ironically inviting you not to dawdle despite his own disposition, is nowhere to be seen. He is neither leaned against the wall nor curled in a corner taking a nap. It's easy to assume the man has overslept somewhere else and forgotten that he was meant to be meeting you there, but as you approach the door, you find a note.

The note reads simply:

"Step inside, one by one. The door won't permit you if you attempt to enter with a partner. I'll see you on the other side."

There you have it, not a forgotten drill at all.

As the note says, step inside when it's your turn and prepare to meet the afternoon of challenges that the man has provided for you.

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Round One

You brace yourself as you walk through the door, unsure what the professor has planned in mind. Perhaps you envisioned another forest, another wild plain, some treacherous path through rock or the roaring ocean in the middle of a storm. After everything else you've been made to endure, none of these ideas would seem out of place. On the contrary, it almost feels like it wouldn't be a drill without them.

That might be why you're confused to find yourself in a rather opulent hall. The last time the professor kept you inside, you had a screaming toddler to contend with. There is no screaming this time, no red-faced two-year-old that refuses to be soothed.

Taking a closer look, you realise that someone has begun decorating as if there is a grand event set to take place. The large chandeliers overhead have all been lit, the brass shining against the flickering light. The velvet curtains have gold trimmings, and they hang high on the tall walls. From somewhere you can't see, classical music dances its way into the room. For those of you who harbour this particular taste, you will recognise it to be Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers. You don't get much time to enjoy the space and the high-society atmosphere before the door on the other side of the room bursts open.

"There you are!"

A woman with a clipboard clutched against her chest, a tight bun at the back of her head and a stern expression, stalks her way over to you. Her grey eyes look you over, unimpressed and impatient as she gets close. She's no one you've ever seen before, but the look she gives you implies that she not only knows you but has also been waiting for you.

"Hurry, hurry! You should've begun this morning! The guests will be arriving in an hour!"

She takes you by the hand before you can offer any protests. Her grip is...surprisingly tight—iron-clad. The strength does not match the woman's slight frame. It is overwhelmingly firm and impossible to detach from. She takes you through the large double doors and into another, admittedly less impressive space.

You'll notice immediately that the floor...is covered in dust. Your grandmother – should you have one – might exaggerate that there is enough dust to plant maize. It coats the surfaces of the furniture in the room, too, and visibly changes the colours of the linoleum floor, making them dull and difficult to distinguish. There are mops and brooms, sure, and even feather dusters, but wouldn't you rather a bit of magic?

"Don't just stand there! Hurry up! We've much to do and too little time!"

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OOC: Hi hi! Welcome to the second of 2 drills for the term! If you haven't already, take a look at the guidelines for how they'll work. Even though it's one student at a time, please just assume it was your character's turn and they headed in. No need to wait for anyone else to be finished. In order to qualify for full points, you must post in 3 rounds plus an ending post for a total of 4 posts. The drill will run for 9 days, and I'll be updating on a more frequent basis than lessons. This means that the more frequently you post, the sooner you can complete the drill. After 9 days, the thread will close for grading. Think of this as a somewhat 'timed' event. There's no one way to complete any round, as there are a few acceptable options depending on the stage, so get creative and go with your gut! That said, the drill follows a logical and practical order, so there can be outright incorrect responses depending on the context. Please don't RP the result of your spell, only the attempt at it. The results will be posted by me whenever I give updates. If I update before you've posted, don't worry about it! This is all within your time (within the 9 days). Only one spell is allowed per round, so choose wisely. Please make an OOC note at the very end of your first post (only) stating your character's magical strength for the drill. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out <3

This drill ends on July 19.

Drago stepped through the door on his turn, feeling less destructive than the last time but determined nonetheless. Four whole months had passed since his mother’s death and none of them had been easy for neither of them. Wiosna still looked dejected most days, though she was doing her best, Serik on the other hand grew more erratic with each passing week. Drago had no choice but to swallow it all.

The Spellcasters’ training sessions always came as a welcome diversion, quieting his mind and allowing him to solely focus on a little bit of fun, forgetting about responsibility and duty for a short while. The drill was no exception to that, though today he felt less like getting challenged and more like tearing something up — or someone for that matter.

Finding himself standing in a grand hall then pulled a frown over his face, eyes scanning his surroundings with scepticism. There was no one in sight, but the space looked as though in the midst of preparations for a ball, a gala, some sort of event. Drago had seen his own home in various states of arrangements like this a million times before but what this had to do with Barlowe’s drill, he couldn’t begin to guess at.

Before he could turn to examine the room closer, a door burst open and Drago raised his wand, immediately alert, pointing at the woman now hurriedly crossing the space.

"There you are!"

Drago froze, confused. What was this? A trick of some kind? The woman looked like no threat at all, appearing like a planner to whatever event was set to take place here, strict and unimpressed, uncaring for the wand raised in her direction. In fact, her hand wrapped around his wrist like she didn’t notice it at all and before he knew it, Drago was dragged into the next room. Her grasp was firm, too firm to be natural but Drago didn’t fight. Nothing felt threatening yet, the woman appearing a part of the illusion and perhaps meant to lull him into a false sense of security, but Drago remained vigilant.

When they came to a halt, it was in a sea of dust. The entire room was covered in a thick layer, making the air stale and the room less bright somehow. Drago’s gaze lingered on the woman, impatience radiating off her in waves.

"Don't just stand there! Hurry up! We've much to do and too little time!"

Drago raised a brow, equally unimpressed and silently looking at her for a moment before complying. He still had no idea what this whole thing was about and cleaning someone else’s room when she could do it herself seemed odd. But he wasn’t one to disregard a professor’s plans.

Sweeping his wand across the room, Drago attempted to remove the dust from the floors and furniture. “Scourgify.”

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