a new project

Last Friday I introduced a new project to a few key people. It is time that we restore a few of the older memory stones, because if memory stones lie around for too long they get brittle and might explode spontaneously. A little nudge or increased temperatures may do the trick. So the old stones have to be deconstructed and then built anew. This is, of course, best done by the imp who made the original stone or at least someone who has opened the stone before. Don’t want to create any Ishta during this project.
To coordinate this I need a few people from different departments within the university to help me. In case of imps like Mikha, this can only be called a necessary evil. In case of the dean its alright, and when it comes to Cromvik, it’s just plain awkward.
Yes, he was at the meeting. I know I haven’t written about him for a while – that’s because I haven’t seen him for months. Not that I cared that much, I just don’t know what to make of him. It makes me uncomfortable that he is so certain that I was behind the new dean thing (don’t know what I’m talking about? Looky here and here). I plain don’t know how to deal with this. I don’t know whether I can trust him with that knowledge.
So, when he stayed behind after the meeting, the acutely uncomfortable conversation between us went something like this:
“Hi,” he said with a friendly smile.
“Hi,” I repeated dumbly.
Awkward silence.
“So, I was on sabital in Arachal for the last few months,” he continued.
“Oh,” was my intelligent reply to that.
“Yeah. Just in case you were wondering why you haven’t seen me for so long,” he added, shuffling his feet.
More silence.
“So … I’ll see you when you come to your individual project meeting?” Stupid question, considering he was obliged to come to that meeting. But at least better than silence, right?
He hesitated. “Yeah, I’ll … see you then … I guess.”
“Bye, then,” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“Bye,” he responded and finally left.
After this “talk” I really don’t know how the meeting between just the two of us will go. Guess I need to find out whether I can trust Chromvik. This uncertainty is driving me crazy.

Guarding reference works

I’m sure Keepers of Knowledge (KoK) of all worlds know the problem: reference works are supposed to stay inside the HoK (House of Knowledge), yet somehow students seem to conveniently forget this all the time.
This phenomenon used to annoy the heck out of me, but nowadays it provides a great source of entertainment. See, my HoK – as you may already have gathered – isn’t quite like other’s. Trying to sneak out reference works is a serious offence and goes neither unnoticed nor unpunished.
Let’s have an example. A student, let’s call him Dopey, comes in and finds just the reference book he needs. But, oh my, it’s large and full of knowledge one can’t possibly go through in the little time Dopey has before he needs to get home to mama and he really doesn’t want to come all the way back to the HoK another time. What to do? Dopey has an idea – it’s not quite a bright one (more like a candle in a dark room with the wind blowing) but to him it seems stellar. He puts the reference book in his bag and casually walks to the exit. Surely no one will notice what he’s doing. What he doesn’t know is the KoK of this particular HoK is a very knowledgeable mage and has a mean streak. The mighty Venimalia has protected her doors with a spell that picks up on reference works. So, when Dopey steps up to the doors, an enormous monster with sharp teeth, a grotesquely scaled body and sulphuric breath appears right in front of him and with scathing tone and booming voice, speaks, “Your dare to defy the rules? That makes you mine to devour!” The apparition comes complete with scorching body heat and flying spittle, which makes the experience that much more intimidating for little Dopey, who by now is shivering and very nearly peeing his pants. Enter Venimalia. While Dopey is still in shock the grand KoK opens his bag and finds the evidence. In front of everyone she tells Dopey off and imposes a draconic punishment on the little offender. This ensures that Dopey will never ever try something like this again and also serves as a neat exemplar for all other patrons.
I have found this to be an incredibly effective way of teaching people not to break my rules. And I don’t even have to hurt anyone in the process ;-)