Time for breakfast. And you meet someone there

When you arrive in the dining hall, breakfast is about to get served by the staff. You can see Professor Frost and Professor Ashwolf at the teachers table. But nobody else is there. You are very early today. The professors seem a little exhausted to you and Professor Ashwulf’s hair is untidy. Considering the rumors about the two being a secret couple, you don’t need a lot of fantasy to think they had a very interesting night together. When you greet them, both shrug together as if you just catched them with pants down. But then they greet you back and try to act normal. But their acting is terrible.

You sit down and take some tea and bread. However, you are not alone for long. To your surprise, nobody less than Miriam enters the hall. She looks exhausted too. Like she had a rough night. You start to worry a little, but she seems unharmed and walks normal. You get a nasty feeling in your stomach looking at her. She is so quiet and lost in thoughts. After your strange dream, you can’t shake of the feeling that it has something to do with you. Even if there is no logical reason for you to believe so.

After a moment of silent chewing on your bread and endure the strange feeling, it gets too uncomfortable. Maybe you should go over and talk to her. Just to make yourself feel better. And since there are two professors in the dining hall, you don’t even have to fear her getting violent. Slowly and carefully you stand up and walk over to her.

“Hey, Miriam,” you greet her carefully, “you look a little troubled. I just wanted to ask if everything is alright.”

Miriam looks up and her eyes wide in shock. She probably didn’t notice you before, but her face is hard to read. You are not sure if she is angry, afraid, disgusted of something in between. You also don’t know what to expect. She can impossible know anything about your dream. She is not even a mind mage.

“What the … you …” Miriam gasps and clearly does not know either what to say, “why do you ask? Why do you even care? It’s not your business and we are not exactly friends.”

“Well, you are right, we are not,” you admit, “and … listen, I just wanted to check. I don’t know why. You just look like you had a rough night and I wanted to ask if you are alright. Maybe even offer my help if you want it. That’s all.”

“It’s … well … it’s nothing,” Miriam mumbles calm after a moment of silence, “just some kind of nightmare. As I said, not your business. But … I guess it was indeed nice to ask. Thank you, but you can’t help. I just need some quiet moments to rest.”

“Sure, I will leave you alone then,” you agree calm, “just … if you need something, please let me know. Maybe I can help you, if you let me.”

Miriam nods and takes a deep breath before focusing on her tea again. This was probably the most friendly talk you ever had with her. Not a single insult and no threat. The strange growling in your stomach is gone too. But something is telling you, that there is still more behind this story than it looks. But for the moment you better focus on your daily tasks. The lessons will start in an hour and you promised the director to talk with your teachers about the next exams.

However, before the magic classes start, you need to visit the normal classes. There are some basic classes, like reading, writing and calculating, which every student at the royal academy has to pass before being allowed to study. You passed them a long time ago. The guild has a deal with the academy that allows all magic students to attend all kinds of other lessons too. Since this is a great opportunity to learn more about the world and gain some additional skills, you volunteered immediately.

The opportunity to gain bonus skills will show up sometimes in the future. These skills will unlock bonus options in the future, but they are just for fun and will not change the adventure at all.