fandomhigh | Care for Magical Creatures; Friday, Period 2 [ 01/16 ].

Minsc had been very excited for this second class, even if, instead of massive desk destruction, he had learned his lesson and simply had all the chairs and desks shoved aside, opening up the space in the middle for the much more comfortable sitting and lounging pillows.

He was sitting at one end of the circle, legs folded, with a small brown box with holes punched in it in front of him, beaming. Once the class settled, he figured it was time to begin!

"Good morning, class!" he greeted them. "First of all, I regret to inform you that we're technically not supposed to destroy desks. So they're just moved. I know, I know. Not as fun, but they said next time they will take it out of my paycheck. And I need that so Boo and I can eat!"

"Secondly, I would like to announce that we are all very honoured and lucky to have amongst ourselves two individuals who I have deemed quite worthy of assisting me in this class. Lady Blysse and Prince Arthur will be your go-to people for this semester."

"Now! Last week was very interesting, as most of you seem to have either bad, negative, or displeased reactions to transformations, which makes this class very important! Today, we will discuss why anyone would want to transform. In my own experience, there are many reasons. Protection, camouflage, better fighting. Tell me, which is easier to do? Ripping out a man's throat with your bare hands...or ripping it out with actual bear hands? HMMMM? Think about it!"

"Today, I am also going to introduce you to a very special creature. Now, strictly speaking, this little guy in this box here is not a magical creature. There are variants of the species that are indeed magical, but one would be very hard to procure. However, this creature posesses such interesting transformation powers that he may as well be magical as is. Class, I'd like you to meet the chameleon."

Here, Minsc opened the box, which was filled with plenty of the little lizards. Persuaded by the ranger's silent encouragement, they inched forward tentatively, blinking their eyes and flicking their tongue and slowly starting to match the colourful patterns on the pillows. He certainly hoped no one was squeamish about reptiles! Especially since he might just laugh at them, since they were so little and harmless and cute.

"Watch them, see? They are transforming their appearance to blend in with their surroundings! They do this for two main reasons: one is for camouflage. Blending in like this, predators will find them very hard to...well, find! But there is another reason which might interest you all a bit more." Here, he chuckled. "They also change colours to help attract mates! Oh-la-la! The magical variety of chameleons actually have the ability to change into whatever they can, to fend off predators and otherwise benefit their lives! Such a simple transformation, but effective!"

[[ OCD ~~a-coming~~ has taken the shades of purple plaid paisley! Class Roster and Syllabus! ]]

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"They're machines," he said, slowly. "Are you worried they've been enchanted?"

"They are Thinking machines," Leto replied. Clearly that was a concept not yet developed in Arthur's time. "They have been created with an artificial conciousness that simulates that of a human. It is forbidden."

Arthur was visibly struggling to understand it. But the only answer he stumbled upon every time was magic, and Leto had denied it. "Are you sure," he repeated, "That this isn't merely the hand of some thieves, playing you for a fool with ridiculous notes? Otherwise, we'll have to find the sorcerer."

"That could be the case," Leto admitted. "In which case all this would be easy and we could just have them executed. But the girl in the library told me they were actually relying on machines to run it, so it might be that in this time and place people are unaware of the danger."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Arthur replied. This was one shade of home he wasn't certain he was happy to see in Leto. "Execution might be a bit harsh for a prank. I'm sure we can have them thrown in the stocks." If there actually were stocks.

"So, we need to find out whether it it merely a prank, and punish the guilty accordingly," - they would have to consider the local laws, no doubt - "Or we destroy the machines." Leto looked at Arthur. "Will you help me?"

"If the lady of the castle deems it necessary to destroy them, I'll do my duty," he said, "Although if this is magic, you'd be better off finding the one who enchanted them."

Leto decided to decide that was the maker of the machines. "I believe they have the name of the company making them stamped on them. But machines can take on a life of their own. That's why they are dangerous."

"Are you telling me you're convinced these machines enchanted themselves?"

This was roughly the point at which Arthur felt Leto was crossing over into 'being rather dumb'.

Using Arthur's own vocabulary in order to make communication easier, Leto clarified: "No, but once created the... enchantment can take on a life of it's own."

All right. He nodded.

"It sounds faintly ridiculous," he said at last, "But if the lady concurs, you can rely on my sword to deal with them."

"Thank you," Leto told him, ascribing Arthur's opinion to the technological level of his culture.

"It's not a problem," he said, simply.

Care for Magical Creatures; Friday, Period 2 [ 01/16 ].

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