“Good,” Beth said. Her face relaxed slightly for a moment. “Please don’t take this as me implying either of you would act inappropriately. It’s just something we tell everyone sharing a room with someone they don’t know.”
She stood up, gave them another nod, and strode out of the room. Damien looked around, doing everything but making eye contact with Sylph.
The only light in the room came from the sun outside, and it had already started its downward path. Damien sighed. He grabbed his travel bag and set it on his bed, dumping out its contents just to have something to do. He felt Henry stir within his mind.
“Are you going to let me come out and say hi to your new friend?” Henry asked. "She doesn't have a keen eye like that dean woman, so no risk of her figuring anything out. It would be fun to move around on the mortal plane."
Absolutely not.
“Come on, now. You’re just being rude, to me and to her. She’s been pretty nice to you so far. Just introduce yourself, you wuss. You’re going to need pawns if we’re going to conquer the world.”
“Shut up,” Damien muttered under his breath.
“I’m sorry?” Sylph asked.
Henry’s laugher faded into the background as Damien forced his companion away from the front of his mind, cringing the entire time.
“I’m so sorry, I was –”
“Talking to your companion?” Sylph guessed.
Damien blinked. That wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.
“Yes, actually,” he said. “I didn’t realize many people did that.”
“They don’t,” Sylph said. “But you had the same spacey look that you had before you took the test earlier today, and you were talking to someone then as well. Your mouth was moving a little.”
“She’s a sharp one,” Henry observed. “Be careful.”
Damien ignored him, as he was growing accustomed to doing.
“I – ah. Yeah, I was talking to my companion,” Damien said meekly. He felt Henry prod him again. “I’m Damien, by the way.”
“I know,” Sylph said, flat faced. “Your name is above the door, right next to mine.”
Damien blinked as Henry roared with laughter within him. Then a smirk flickered across Sylph’s tanned features, vanishing as quickly as it had arrived.
“I’m just giving you a hard time,” Sylph said, extending her hand. “I’m Sylph.”
Damien shook her hand, suppressing a sigh of relief. Sylph nodded at the travel pack that was currently scattered over his bed.
“What’s in there?” She asked.
“Nosey. I like her,” Henry said, his voice fading as Damien tuned him out. “She’s going to be disappointed when she finds out it’s all boring.”
“It’s mostly rune drawing stuff and basic necessities,” Damien said. He paused for a moment, noticing the uneasy expression on Sylph’s face. “Rune drawing is a lot more useful than people think.”
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“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Sylph said. “I just thought the college would provide the basic stuff we need.”
“They didn’t even give us a whole room,” Damien pointed out. “I guess that tiny room behind us is probably the bathroom, maybe they put something in there?”
Sylph stood up and stepped into the dark room. Damien followed after her, stopping at the edge of the room since he didn’t know how large it was. Their bedroom was already dimly lit by the sun, and the tiny room behind it was even worse so. It was dark, aside from a tiny sliver of light that eked its way in.
“Why is there so little light in here?” Damien grumbled. “It’s not that dark outside.”
“The mountain has runes limiting the light coming into your room, among other things,” Henry said within Damien’s mind.
“Well, that’s just great,” Damien said.
“Did you just reply to yourself?” Sylph asked. “Or was that the friend in your head?”
“It sounds weird when you put it like that,” Damien said. “And it’s my companion.”
“He,” Henry corrected. “I’ve decided I like being male. It’s probably because I’ve been trapped in your mind for the past few years.”
Damien grunted in acknowledgement.
“Well?” Sylph prodded. “If you’re going to talk to it, you could at least fill me in on what it said.”
“What he said,” Damien corrected, sighing. “He’s male as of a few seconds ago. And he said that the mountain has runes blocking light from entering our rooms.”
“Wonderful,” Sylph said. Damien heard a thud followed by a curse.
“Hold on,” Damien said. “I think I can help a little.”
He grabbed a stick of chalk from his kit and followed Sylph into the room. It was almost pitch black, but Damien didn’t need light to see what he was doing. He felt around on the wall for a few moments, looking for a smooth area, and then started to draw.
Sylph remained silent as the rapid scratch of chalk on stone filled the room for several moments. Damien finished and stepped back from his work, accidentally bumping into Sylph.
“Sorry,” Damien said.
At the same time, a halo of gentle golden light lit up on the wall. It faded slightly before settling into a steady glow, casting the tiny room in yellow and gray hues.
It wasn’t particularly inspiring. There was a small stone shelf with a hole in the center at the back of the room. There was a small door that Damien opened to reveal a bowl of stone with a hole at the bottom and a line of basic runes along the top.
“Well, it’s a bathroom,” Damien said. He stepped out to see Sylph investigating the left side of the room, where a dozen tiny holes had been carved in the ceiling. Damien spotted several rune circles on the wall, and another dozen miniscule holes on the floor beneath Sylph’s feet.
“Is that supposed to be the shower?” Damien asked, aghast. “Couldn’t they at least have given us a curtain?”
“They didn’t give us anything,” Sylph said, heaving out a heavy sigh. “Damn it. Do you think we get an allowance?”
“No clue,” Damien said. “Dean Whisp mentioned the Treasure Pavilion, but I think that was for quest rewards. They said we could get food for free, though. Is there something wrong?”