Boon and Burden

Your stomach doesn't growl (that rarely actually happens in real life for middle class people) however it does lodge a suggestion.

"A sandwich." You say. "With Pelrician bread. With some sliced pork, Dorelli style! None of that stuff the canteen has



mwith it, no tomatoes or olives or cheese, and let it be nice and warm! And I'd like a nice cool glass of King's nectar!"

The moment words leave your mouth, the air begins to convulse. A speck appears, and spins rapidly, growing into a tray. It hovers, aloft, for a few seconds before beginning to droop. You grab it, and remove the cover. A delicately crafted sanwich greets you, with a small flask of bubbling gold liquid. You take the tray to a secluded hill, lay it down and sit primly. You cautiously take a small bite, and your tongue ripples at the flavour.

"Mmm!"

There's a lot of raw flavour there, but some subtle flavours linger after. It is lightly seasoned; there seems to be but a dash of salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of oregano...

IT IS DONE. AND AS—


"Wait, it needs something. Can I have some buffalo cheese in it? Not rubbery like our cheese. And not too thick, just a sprinkle."

After a few seconds, the top slice shifts but a micrometer, and you eagerly take another bite. The cheese adds a pleasant contrast; it's almost tart in comparison.

You devour the sandwich, probably not taking the time to fully appreciate it, then take a swig of nectar. The fizz is like crackling fire. It tastes sweet, and a little bit like lavender. Not how the flower actually tastes, but how it should taste, based on the smell.

A creaminess washes over you, and you feel stronger, more confident. You throw  the rest down your throat, and you are filled with a giddy euphoria. You rise and exult in the sunlight. You could do anything, run any race, slay any dragon...

Ng... Ngu... you decide to call him
'Gundy', makes a hand gesture like dissipating smoke, then the tray and flask fade from existence.

IT IS DONE ALSO. THAT ONE'S PRICE SHALL BE AS FOLLOWS: A CLEANER SHALL NOW SPILL CVA UPON THAT ONE'S FLOORBOARDS. THE SCENT SHALL REMAIN FOR ONE ONE WEEK DIVIDED BY TWO.

You wilt a little at that. Ah, well.

Looking at the timepiece on your pendant , it appears as though you're supposed to meet with 'you-know-who' in ten minutes. There's a knot in your stomach. If only there was some way to get out of this.

You study the stone. Maybe you have one?

Oh, that'll work.

E maybe it's really the 4 pebbles

You decide to read the Legend of the Four Stones.

A great mage called Arcius once theorized it was possible to create a stone that could give its bearer infinite power and eternal life, the pursuit of which was called the 'Magnum Opus'.

Nobody ever did manage it, but four separate attempts came to some fruition.

Dwarven scientists engineered a black rock the size of a boulder that would rid water of impurities, and even give it the power to gradually heal scar tissue and lost limbs, though it would accelerate aging.

Elven philosophers managed to create a white opal the size of a grapefruit, affectionately known as the 'Magnum Opal', that could turn any material into a lesser material.

The Kin created a yellow stone that upon usage would choose a random effect and disappear somewhere random. Eventually, a device was created to stop it disappearing, and another to increase the chance of reaching the desired effect.

Human alchemists in the Southern Lands created a round ruby with the width of a coin that would allow its user to freely choose what they wish to happen, but they would also pay a price equal to the gain.

These stones were used for some three hundred years, before a dwarf named Rellakir used the power of the yellow stone to vanish the sun.

In doing so, he earned the approval of an evil numen, and gained control of the entire world for a time. Arcius used the power of the red ruby to return the sun and end his reign, but as payment, his entire race, save himself, died.

As a result, the four stones were destroyed in order to stop their power falling into the wrong hands. The method used to create them had been long lost, but Arcius theorized that unless they were destroyed in a process inverse to their creation, the stones would be reformed in places of great magical activity and great concentration of their creator's race.

That's basically all it has to say on the four stones.

What do you do now?

A: Read something else
B: Do something else
C: Wish for something

Familiars are magical creatures, invisible to the naked eye, that dwell in the Leyrealm and feed on magical residue.

They each have an alignment that ranges from 'Pure' to 'Vile', and 'Paragon' to 'Anarchist'. There are 7*7 distinct alignments.

By repeatedly performing powerful magic, a mortal allows their expended magical essence to be accessible.

Every mortal has sixteen 'slots' that familars can attach he themselves to in a symbiotic relationship. Being bonded to a familiar allows the host to channel powers of their realm, but also gradually shifts the host to their alignment.

The more powerful the familiar, the more slots it requires, and the less familiars per alignment there are.


Unfortunately, if you want to bond some familiars, you'll either need a way to see the world as it truly is, or travel to the leyrealm.

What do you do?

A: Read
B: Do
C: Wish

"I wish I had glasses that would let me see the world as I truly is."

IT IS DONE.

The turquoise figure raises a hand, and there's two twin flashes of blue light. Out of each appears an incredibly thin stone circle.

They hover directly in front of your eyes, before the outer circumerence is coated with a metallic sheen. A thin spidery line connects the two, then the spokes blossom outwards.

There's another flash of blue, and the frames are filled with some kind of crystalline lens, ever so slightly different to glass.

You move to take the glasses off of your face, but with some alarm, you find you cannot remove them.

THAT ONE'S PRICE IS SELF EVIDENT. THE GLASSES SHALL NOT BE REMOVED UNTIL THEY ARE BROKEN TO THE POINT OF DISINTEGRATION.

You examine the room with your new sight. Things look more or less the same, apart from words being more easily read and your dragon figurine looking more crudely-made.

When examining the ceiling, however, you gasp as you see the words above your head:

Lalika Caratral
The Stone-Seeker
Altruistic (74.3) Civillian (54.7)
Human (99.61%), ??? (0.39%)
Clear bindpoints 2.73/16

You gasp. Above your head is, well, you. Apparently, a brief summary of who you are and what you can do.

It seems, in addition to being able to see familiars, you'll be able to discern certain things about your classmates.

What do you do now?

A: Wander about the school
B: Read something else
C: Wish for something else
D: Do something else