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[color=#663399]Location:[/color] Primary Artificer Laboratory, Strange Academy
[color=#663399]Grimore:[/color] 
[color=#663399]Skills:[/color] N/A
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Annika shifted slightly away from Finley and Dysphoria. They seemed far too eager for blood…and brains. Finley sounded more like a zombie than a Fae creature. Then again, Annika couldn’t recall coming across Fae in her travels. Maybe Dysphoria was a zombie?

So, they had to create an anchor for protection, to draw power on, and to bring them back should they need it. Annika liked the idea Frankie came up with to create a tree with a branch to represent each of them. She pictured something quite large and grand, but when she saw the vault, Annika quickly shrank that image. Annika was thinking about creating some sort of silver bobble for her branch (could she contain some shadows within it?) when Rohan said he didn’t have blood. 

She looked over at Rohan with a bit more intrigue. He was cursed? Incredible. 

Annika felt more comfortable knowing the relic they were to create would be destroyed after the term. Blood was a powerful substance and shouldn’t be given carelessly.

[color=#663399]”A tree sounds interesting, Frankie. Do you have an idea of how it should be constructed?”[/color] She glanced at the wood Rohan was placing out. Of course, that was the obvious answer, but how would they fill it with blood? And to have it move throughout the tree would be interesting. Like it would be truly alive.


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[color=#B22222]Location:[/color] Mikkail’s Sitting Room, Strange Academy
[color=#B22222]Grimore:[/color] 
[color=#B22222]Skills:[/color] Predatory Instinct; History; Investigation; Perception
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Mikkail handled Nicky just the way Cal expected he would. With words meant to bring comfort more than anything else, however, Cal didn’t understand the words beyond them being in the Twins’ native tongue. Nor did he understand why Mikkail looked as if he had tried to shift but couldn’t. Why would he want to move into his dragon form, especially when he was significantly larger than Cal’s dragon form and this room?

When Mikkail placed the book on the shelf, Cal paused and turned his head slightly. There was instruction in those words, but no instruction was given. At least not one that Callaghan understood. He glanced at Nicky while Mikkail rewarded Cassie. Would he share with Cal what Mikkail said?

The notebooks Mikkail placed Nicky’s with didn’t yield any answers for Cal, but he could always return later and pull them aside. There was a reason he placed that book there. Perhaps they were from past students, or Mikkail’s own recollections about this strange planet he had visited that exhibited similar magic to the one Mikkail wanted them to uncover.

Callaghan shifted on the couch, setting his empty tea cup down. He was buzzing with the anticipation of research and knowledge yet to be uncovered. He felt electric. Even when he looked at the blackboard and saw a language he recognized from his time with Mikkail but failed to understand, even with all his pleadings to his mentor. Cal looked at Mikkail, then back at the board. He felt eyes on him and glanced at Nick. He gave a slight shake of his head before looking back at Mikkail. Several things were amiss, but Cal didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he had noticed Mikkail’s strange behaviour. 

The single word in English didn’t bring any comfort to Cal. Could escape be a warning, what was to come, or what was to be avoided? There were so many different possibilities, but language wasn’t something Cal could decipher easily. Maybe he could talk to Connie. He did recognize a few of the words, having seen them before, but he didn’t understand a thing beyond that. Cal cracked open his notebook, located a pen, and jotted down the blackboard writings well enough. Even though he didn’t understand, he did know how to copy Mikkail’s words, and with his strange behaviour, anything could be a clue. He shut his book, smiling brightly. 

[color=#B22222]”The only way to figure that out is to start researching. Look at what we have and work from there. So, I recommend we move to the library,”[/color] Cal said and stood. His pants still felt damp from where Cassie had spilt tea on him earlier, but some discomfort never bothered him. [color=#B22222]”Is there a section you recommend we start with, Professor?”[/color]