>>28073765
-LAST TIME IN SALEM-
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/28057838/

You, Natalia Jean-Louis, a young american witch of afro-caribbean descent started your third day of class. Your second day wasn’t quite as emotional as the first day, in which a Turtle House member spilt a baldness potion on you intentionally. Thankfully, the nurse gave you a tonic that seems to be growing your hair back fairly quickly. Unfortunately you found out this morning that sometime during the night, a fellow Housemate passed away under mysterious circumstances. The student who found him was none other than Allen, the upperclassman who has been really nice to you ever since you arrived. You met Allen in the forges soon after you found out and bonded with him, learning a new form of magic in the process: the ability to enchant objects you smith via rune engraving. You learned a rune that helps make objects lighter than they should be. During breakfast you received a message from your Dad and Helen that was overall encouraging, apart from a weird note at the end that had been redacted somehow.

Keep updated here: twitter.com/Salem_Institute

This quest uses a ROLL-UNDER system. I'll usually take the best of the first 3 1d100 rolls that are linked to my post. Critical fails are 98-100, Critical successes are 1-5 and take precedence.

There is an -ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED- Fate point system in which for every THREE achievements Natalia unlocks, you get ONE Fate Token which can reroll ONE die-roll. If someone expresses a wish to use a token, I’ll call for a y/n vote on whether to use one based on consensus.

Current Fate Tokens: 1
Achievements Needed to next Token: 1

>>28073806
The contents of your father’s letter was still on your mind, even as you sat in your newly assigned seat in potions class. Evidently, Prof. Richardson thought it best to permanently separate you and Sophia Dahl, the girl who had intentionally balded you. You agreed wholeheartedly with the decision.

“[Redacted]”.

What was ‘redacted’? Who had been going through your father’s mail, and more importantly: why? It didn’t even look like the letter had been tampered with, but there it was. “[Redacted]”.

Your family has had little to no ties to a major corporation or the government in several generations so you couldn’t imagine your father knowing anything of importance. Not something that someone would want to hide. You felt puzzled by the entire affair.

“Are you even paying attention?” hissed Rakshmi under her breath as she busily took notes as the teacher lectured about creating the opposite of last class’ project: a shrinking potion. “I don’t want us to mess up because you’re off day dreaming.”

So far Rakshmi has proven to be a better potions partner than your previous one. At least with Rakshmi there was an ‘us’, not just a ‘me’.

>Glare at her.
>Quickly apologize.
>Ignore her comment.
>Other.

>>28073929
>Ignore her comment.

>>28073929
>Apologize distractedly

Rolled 2

>>28073947
>>28074012
Rolling to break the tie.

>>28074179
“Sorry,” you say, mind still distant. She chooses not to respond to you and continues her laser-like focus on the class.

Ms. Richardson ends her demonstration of the potion by shrinking a large goblet to the size of a doll accessory. It would likely be more impressive if you were fully invested in what was going on.

“Alright,” Ms. Richardson begins. “As you’ll see you all have large boxes with already pre-measured but not pre-prepped ingredients. I would like it if our class could go without incident today.”

You glance over to the opposite side of the room where Sophia sits with a turtle house boy. She seems unfazed by this news, eyes fixed a head. For some reason this makes you hate her a little bit more. Why doesn’t she react to anything?

You hear a thunk on your table as Rakshmi pulls the cauldron up from underneath the table. The wooden crate containing the ingredients are on your side so you lean over, pick it up, and place it on the large wooden desk.

>roll 1d100

Rolled 44

>>28074344

Rolled 45

>>28074344
FAILURE

Rolled 62

>>28074344
Time to mess up again.

>>28074386
...At least it's under 50?

>>28074386
For someone that hardly paid attention to the lecture you actually seem to do pretty well. You mince up the lavender root and begin to put it in the cauldron before Rakshmi stops you.

“Oh no, not like that,” she says as she gingerly scoops the root parts out of your hands and delicately sprinkles it on top of the potion. Aside from this she does not seem to be annoyed by your presence or performance. You feel slightly relieved to have a better potions class than your first day.

You reach for the pipet to test the potion but Rakshmi beats you to it, she squeezes up some of the potion in the pipet and lets two drops fall on top of your team’s goblet. It shrinks but is still slightly larger than the teachers’ example.

As Ms. Richardson looks at each group’s results you can see some varied success. Angela’s team only shrunk on one side, Todd’s work with the other Turtle House girl that you know as Danielle seems to have gotten the same results, and Sophia, possibly the most annoying of all, seems to have her goblet at the perfect size.

Ms. Richardson finally gets to your table and uses her goblet to measure yours.

“Not bad,” she says with a small nod. “Just keep the heat a bit lower and don’t cut the roots as much next time,” she quickly writes a few notes down on a piece of paper before handing it back to you.

It was a form of evaluation for your potion and you and Rakshmi have received a B. Rakshmi sighs heavily as she looks at it.

“I can’t believe this.” She mutters under her breath.

>What are you talking about?
>Hey, a B is a good grade.
>This is stupid!
>Other

>>28074678
>Other
I know, I thought we would get a C for sure.

>>28074678
Eh, apologize for cutting the roots too much.

Girl is clearly a perfectionist, and that's her business.

>>28074678
> Other
"Sorry, I'm a little out of it today. You heard about it, right?"
Reasonable Excuses!

>>28074838
That IS a reasonable excuse.

Let's go with it.

>>28074838
>>28074929
Lets not.

>>28074761
>>28074787
>>28074838
“I’m sorry, I cut the roots too much. I’m just a little distracted about what happened today.” You look at her, searching for some sort of recognition to know that she isn’t upset with you. “At least it’s not a C though….”

“A C?!”

Her voice seems strained as she turns to you with questioning eyes. “What are you? A Starfish House?!” she exclaims, somehow making the concept seem a fate worse than death.

Rakshmi pushes a lock of ebony hair out of her way and behind her ear while she collects herself.

“It’s my fault too. I kept the cauldron too hot.” She mutters to herself. “What would Mom say?”

She is clearly going through some sort of crisis right now.

Rakshmi was still in the depths of her personal dilemma as class is dismissed and you are released for your next class. You are struck with the thought that she way too young for this kind of attitude.

Flying is next on the schedule, which is on the opposite side of the island. Fortunately this means that you pass by the Main House and it’s rooftop aviary if you want to quickly write to your father and Helen to make sure if they are okay.

>Depart quickly so you have time to send a letter off to them.
>No need for such urgency, we can write them later during lunch. (Walk over with your classmates leisurely)

>>28075036
>Depart quickly so you have time to send a letter off to them.

>>28075036
>No need for such urgency, we can write them later during lunch. (Walk over with your classmates leisurely)

It'll probably get to them at about the same time regardless.

>>28075036
> Letter time. But tell our buddies where we're going.

>>28075083
>>28075144
You quickly make your way out of the classroom, trying your best not to knock people over.

“Hey, where are you going?” Todd asked with some disappointment.

“Gotta go Todd, I’m going to write a letter to my Dad. If I’m running late please let the teacher know,” you hurry out as a response. You only hear part of Todd’s ‘Oh-Okay’ before racing out the doorway and out across the island.

You are already out of breath halfway to the Main House and have to struggle to keep up your pace to get there in the amount of time you needed to. When you get to the large wooden doors you struggle to pull it open and slip inside the deserted gathering area.

You would find it eerie if you had any time to think about the strange stillness in the room, you do not. Feet gliding over to the staircase at the east side you race up the flight to the second story where the nurse’s office and library resides.

A sobbing sound is coming from the nurse’s office which distracts you momentarily.

>Investigate.
>Keep going

>>28075396
>Investigate.

>>28075396
>investigate

Snooping!

>>28075396
Be discrete, but
> Investigate.

>>28075435
>>28075450
>>28075504
Curiosity gets the better of you as you stop your mad dash to the aviary and walk quietly across the hall to the office.

“An aneurysm!?” You hear a young woman sob loudly. “That can’t possibly be it! It’s not fair!”

You peek around the corner of the door and watch a strange scene unfold. You see the stocky man that is the acting nurse at the school sit beside a young woman with curly brown hair. His large glasses have been pushed up on to his forehead as he pats her hand comfortingly.

“I know. This is such a shock to everyone,” he makes an effort to comfort her but it seems to have no effect.

“You don’t understand! He-he was just so different this year. Something had to be going on.” She struggles out the words before breaking down into a loud sobbing fit, throwing her face deeply into the provided handkerchief.

Her silver starfish pin glints at you and you recognize her as the hysterical starfish house girl from breakfast.

“You were close to Oliver, right?” The nurse hands her a fresh handkerchief to dry her face. “It is natural to feel like this but you have to understand that there was nothing suspicious. Aneurysms are not common but can happen to anyone of any age or in any state of health.”

Roll 1d100 to stay stealthy

Rolled 20

>>28075672
Honestly I feel like we've heard enough?

Rolled 94

>>28075672

>Crit failure

>>28075721
Wow! Such steal-
>>28075730
Nevermind

Rolled 8

>>28075672

>>28075730
One shy of that.

>>28075768
HAHA
WE STEAMD A4-1250 APU with Radeon(TM) GraphicsLTH NOW

>>28075740
>>28075770
>Critical fails are 98-100
>>28073806
Unless OP typod we're well clear.

>>28075768
“But,” She fights to compose herself for a moment. “He seemed so...angry about something. He wouldn’t tell me what it was but it was something important.”

Then she fell to pieces again crying deeply on to the nurse’s shoulder.

You did gain some very interesting information but now you can’t write the letter without risking being late for class.

>Write the letter anyways.
>Leave and write the letter later.

>>28075793
I lol'd

>>28075895
Leave and write the letter later.

>>28075895
We got all day to write the letter.

>>28075895
>Leave and write the letter later.

>>28075930
>>28075935
>>28075969
The letter would have to wait you decide and descend down the stairs, going much quieter than you were previously so you wouldn’t disturb the goings on in the nurse’s office.

When you arrive on to the flying field you are fortunate to find that there are still a few students still straggling in. There is a pile of worn out broomsticks in the middle of the field and you can see each student walk up, grab one, and take their place in a long line running horizontally to the field. A very tall black man with impressive physique stands in front of the line, calling out names one by one off a roster. When you get to the pile of broom sticks you hear his booming voice call out yours and you respond by saying that you’re here.

“Good to see you this time.” He doesn’t look up from the clipboard. “I hope you can catch up.”

You take your broom and find a spot by Todd and Angela. Angela seems to be too absorbed with fiddling with the broom’s straw but Todd gives you a small bob of the head to welcome you.

“How did the letter go?” He asks.

>Didn’t write it but I’ll tell you why later.
>Tell him what happened in full detail.
>Lie and say it went fine.

>>28076127
>Lie and say it went fine.

No time for gossip.

>>28076127
>Tell him what happened in full detail.

Tell him we know eavesdropping is wrong, but we couldn't resist.

>>28076127
>Didn't write it but I'll tell you why later

>>28076127
>>Tell him what happened in full detail.

>>28076154
On second thought
>Didn’t write it but I’ll tell you why later.

We don't want to interrupt any class time, we need to fail to ride a broomstick.

>>28076168
>>28076154
You quickly tell him what you heard in the nurse’s office and you can see Todd’s brown eyebrows furrow over his already naturally large eyes. You can visibly see him process everything and he seems deeply troubled by what you heard.

“Do you think there’s any truth in it?” he replies quickly. “Do you think we should try to ask some of the other fifth years if they think anything is up?”

>It doesn’t matter and it’s best not to go butting our heads into someone else’s business.
>I don’t know, but investigating a little couldn’t hurt I suppose.
>Of course I do! We need to look into this pronto!

>>28076260
>>I don’t know, but investigating a little couldn’t hurt I suppose.

>>28076260
>It doesn’t matter and it’s best not to go butting our heads into someone else’s business.

>>28076260
>I don’t know, but investigating a little couldn’t hurt I suppose.
"But not too much, I imagine that the fifth year students themselves are on the case, and I wouldn't want to steal their thunder."

>>28076397
>>28076272

“To be honest I really don’t know.” You admit to him before continuing, “But poking around a bit couldn’t hurt. Let’s just be sure not to overstep our bounds.”

“Fintch! Jean-Louis!” A loud voice makes both of you snap to attention. “I don’t believe the two of you are in any position to swap pointers.”

The two of you mutter out an apology that is drenched in embarrassment. The teacher seems satisfied by this and continues with his lesson.

“Alright, everyone pay attention.” The clipboard is tossed to the ground along with his pen. He strides over to the now significantly dwindled down pile of brooms. “To those of us who were gone last class, I’m Mr. Kage and I will be your flying instructor and Windleflux coordinator for those of you who decide to play.”

“Up!” Mr. Kage bellows the command and one broom leaps to the occasion. “Now we are simply going to go over what we did last lesson but we will practice it by doing a relay. I’ll number you off.”

He goes down the line making six teams of six kids each. This system splits you, Todd, and Angela into separate teams but you are surprised to see that you are in the same group as the Starfish boy you met during Dueling tutoring. You recalled that his name was Jeremy. He seems to notice you and give you a toothy grin and a wave.

Half of the team goes to the other end of the field as the Mr. Kage explains that everyone will have their own broom but they must summon it up once the other team mate crosses to their side and then you should ride the broom stick to the other edge of the field. The first team to do a full rotation wins.

“Ready, go!”

>roll 1d100

Rolled 93

>>28076538
Set sail for fail!

Rolled 21

>>28076538
Time now for a nat 100.

Rolled 50

>>28076538

Rolled 89

>>28076538

Rolled 21

>>28076538
We are truely the worst.

>>28076576
When it is your turn you feel a rush of anxiety and adrenaline. You command your broom up and it shakely rises to you. Mounting it you do your best to will it forward to the other side of the field. Surprisingly, it is not as tough as you thought it would be, specially after missing a class. The broom takes you about six feet up off the ground and uneasily takes you over to the otherside.

Your team isn’t fast enough to win though. Either way you feel better now knowing that at least you haven’t totally failed at flying class yet.

The lesson wraps itself up as you finish the class period running drills back and forth across the grass. When you place your broom stick back in the pile you notice that you have a little time before dueling. What do you do?

>Get Todd, fill in Angela on your plans.
>Say hello to Jeremy
>Just talk with Todd and solidify a plan for your investigation.

>>28076715
>>Say hello to Jeremy

>>28076715
>Get Todd, fill in Angela on your plans.

>>28076715
>Say hello to Jeremy
Briefly, then begin mentally preparing for dueling. Focus will, etc. We don't want a repeat of last time.

>>28076715
>Say hello to Jeremy
That's just politeness.

There will be time to talk about schemes after class.

>>28076764
>>28076833
>>28076852
You could always formulate a plot on your investigation later. You wanted to say a quick hello to Jeremy to see how he was holding up.

“Hey, ready for another go at Dueling?” You greet him when he comes up to put his broom back in the pile.

“Ugh, I guess,” he moans. “I just hope it goes better than last time. Why can’t it be easy like Herbology?”

>Yeah me too.
>Herbology? Easy?! You know that teacher is crazy right?
>Other

>>28076928
>Herbology? Easy?! You know that teacher is crazy right?

>>28076928
>>Yeah me too.

>>28076928
Do we have Herbology class with him?

If not, ask him if the teacher actually makes an effort when he's teaching his class.

>>28076928
> Yeah me t- Wait, what? That guy's kinda crazy.

>>28077029
This seems good.

File: 1383451123519.jpg-(62 KB, 531x408, SIR-FERDINAND.jpg)

62 KB JPG

>>28076947
>>28076955
>>28077014
>>28077029

“Herbology?” You ask with some surprise. You have the class with Octopus House. “He seemed really vague in my class. Is he any different with you guys?”

“Oh, not really.” Jeremy shrugs. “I don’t know though, I just kind of get it. I can’t really explain it.”

“I’m just glad he let’s us get our hands dirty. I like a direct approach to learning.”

That was something you had in common, at least. Apparently he wasn’t going to elaborate further, though. The two of you talk more of Herbology, Dueling, and the slight fear of failure as you approach the sand-lot for class. The afternoon sun hung in the middle of the sky and even though this day appeared to be normal and mundane there was something out of the ordinary.

Your classmates talk excitedly as they wait for class to begin but it seems to go on for a bit too long. You keep expecting Squall’s commanding voice ordering the group to attention. The problem was exactly that- you discover your instructor is nowhere to be found as of yet.

Another twenty minutes pass before you begin to grow concerned. Other students begin looking around in confusion. A few begin to talk about leaving, or going to Main House to get the Headmaster, or someone else in charge.

Where WAS Squall, anyway?

-NEXT TIME IN SALEM-
-A different sort of Dueling Class
-Lunch time with Guest
-Magical History (SNORE)
-Investigation time with Todd!

ALL THIS AND MORE, TOMORROW NIGHT ON:
-SALEM INSTITUTE QUEST-

Q&A starts now!
As always, stay updated with twitter:
twitter.com/Salem_Institute

Any comments, critiques, suggestions etc are welcome!

>>28077400
And by TOMORROW NIGHT, I mean NEXT FRIDAY. Because Im tired and an idiot.

>>28077452
Have you seen this skit yet?

http://vimeo.com/54162829

>>28077452
Thank you again

May I suggest getting a twitter page?

>>28077590
He/she does.

https://twitter.com/Salem_Institute

>>28077514
No, I hadn't. It's fuckin hilarious though. I love Key and Peele.

>>28077590
I posted the link to my twitter twice in this thread alone.

>>28073806
here

>>28077400
and here.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/28073765/

Archived, btw

>>28077650
So I take it that's not the situation in your quest?

You do realize that there's about five times as many people in the United States as there are in the United Kingdom right?

>>28077954
Things work differently in Magical America. There's a lot you guys don't know about the setting that is relevant to that question. That's all I'll say.

>mfw I missed the quest AGAIN

Fucking social life getting in the way of muh questing.

What does the school look like? I've always imagined American Wizarding Schools to kind of look like old Ivy League Colleges. Brick buildings, heavily wooded, multiple buildings.

>>28079717
This post reminded me - QuestFag, could we get somekind of rough map of what the island looks like and where the different lodges are?