Let the voice inside.

You don't say a word, but as soon as you think it, it's like the door to your body has opened. You feel a tingle, and then a shiver through your body. Nothing else feels different after that. With the voice gone, Professor Davella inspects you closely.

"Interesting. I thought I saw something," she explains. "Perhaps I did, and it escaped elsewhere. Has anyone else seen anything strange? Heard something odd? Perhaps even felt something." Her eyes glance over to Eva.

"No, ma'am!" Eva blurts out. "Sorry, ma'am!"

"There is no need to apologize." She turns back towards the front of the class, and sashays through the center of the room once again. "But if there is something affecting magic in this room, we must find it. I am afraid that I must cancel the rest of the lecture then, for the safety of the students. I will inform the Acting Grand Master immediately. In the meantime, please leave this room. I will remain and do what I can do find the source."

A lot of whispering among students fills the room. Though confused, one by one, they stand and start to shuffle out.

As you stand, you hear the voice again. This time, however, it echoes inside of your mind.

"I owe you my life," it says.

You quickly look around yourself. Nobody is there but Eva. She looks at you strangely as she starts to move towards the door as well.

"Are you coming?" she asks. "It sounds dangerous in here."

"Right. Of course," you reply. The two of you proceed out.

After that strangeness, the two of you make your way down the hall and stop to lean by the drinking fountain. The rest of the students disperse to wherever it is they may go. When nobody else is around, it's Eva that speaks up first. She looks to you with excitement in her eyes. Though, she still tries to keep her voice down just in case.

"That was a sprite!" she says.

"A what?"

"There are all sorts of different sprites of various elements. Fire sprites, water sprites... They look kinda like Delphi, but smaller, and little silhouettes of light. Sometimes they help travellers, though usually they keep to themselves and play around in nature. You'll see water sprites around lakes and stuff, for example. They're mostly harmless."

"Then why is it inside my body?" you say, looking down at your hands. "And how do I get it out?"

"Oh. Well when I say help travellers, I mean that when a sprite is inside you, it actually can bolster your powers. There are stories of people like pyromancers making temporary agreements with fire sprites to boost the strength of their fire spells for example."

"She's right," the voice says.

"So what is it doing here?" you ask.

Eva shrugs.

"I was captured just to be put on display for the students here, and maybe even experimented on. Please don't let them find me."

"You were captured?" you ask.

"I'm right here," Eva replies.

"No not you. The sprite is talking to me. You can't hear it?"

"Of course not. She's in your head."

"Well then how do I respond?"

"Maybe just think really loud."

"That's the stupidest--" You sigh and think. Can you hear me?

"I can," the sprite responds.

"I can't believe that worked," you say.

"Hey! I did go to school here, even if I didn't finish," Eva responds.

Were you among Professor Frin's stuff then?

"I was," she explains. "They sealed me in a bottle so I couldn't escape. But then it broke."

So why don't you just escape now?

"The talisman. It's really difficult to capture a sprite like me, but they managed to do so with a spell. The bottle might be broken, but the talisman isn't. Now it's like there's an even bigger bottle surrounding this school, and I can't get out until someone destroys it."

Eva leans in closer. "I wanna hear the conversation too."

"I don't think that's possible." You scratch your head and lean back against the wall with a sigh. "Hold on. Does this sprite have anything to do with all the weird happenings in class then?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Yes. That was me," she says. "I don't care if it was risky. The students here need some shaking up. Everyone is too stuck-up and proper. You have to admit that it was entertaining to watch."

"Seems like she does share some things with Delphi after all," you say.

"I feel like I've read about this before... Let me think. Hmm. Wait a minute. Professor Frin does seem to love showing off rare, difficult to capture creatures. But that's amazing if she was actually able to find one of those."

"One of what? And keep your voice down."

"The only one that isn't an element. Wild sprites. They're able to actually distort magic around them. I can't believe there would be one here."

"So like, if someone casts a spell, something completely different can happen? That really is powerful."

"I can barely even control what happens. I can only steer it in a direction," the sprite explains. "When that one girl tried to cast Sleep, it actually cast a different spell called Pleasure instead. And when that super stuck-up dragon tried casting the same spell, it actually made her panties completely vanish. I don't even know how that happened!" She giggles.

Her panties...

"I knew you'd like that. See, I told you I can pay you back for keeping me safe."

I didn't say--

"Until you break the talisman, I'll stay in here and guarantee you some entertainment."

"I guess we have a magic talisman to find," you say. "Or she'll be trapped at the academy."

Just be careful. You know, if you keep doing it, they might find out where you're hiding. At least be tactful about it.

"You can count on me."

"So what now?" Eva asks.

"I guess we should check in on Professor Frin. That's where it happened. Though when we get there, I'm not really sure what we're supposed to do. I guess just tear the talisman into pieces?"

"That should work," the wild sprite says.