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"Welcome to your final," Karla said once all of her students were assembled in the Danger Shop, which was set up to look like an industrial-size kitchen. Out the back door was a garden filled with various plants, some presumably the ones that they'd studied over the semester, though nothing was marked. A beehive hummed nearby. "All you have to do is make one dish that skillfully hides whatever poison you include in it. The dish can be as simple or complex as you'd like to make it, anything from a poisoned beverage to a sumptuous meal, but it has to be appealing and the poison hard to detect. When you've finished, present the dish, and explain your choices. Once you've done so, you may leave."

Karla sat down at the head of the table, folded her hands, and smiled. "You may begin."
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Once more into the Danger Shop, dear friends.

This time, the class would enter into a dim forest, filled with tall trees, minimal groundcover, and many fallen trees. The air was damp and cool and the ground slightly soggy. In short, perfect conditions for the various kinds of mushrooms poking up from the soil and clinging to decaying plants.

"Hello, and welcome to our last real class," Karla said, waving to them. She was wearing a t-shirt appropriate to the lesson. "There will be an exam next week, so I suggest you all study your notes--or, at least, make sure you have notes because those will be available for you to use. But that's for next week, today, we're studying mushrooms! Or, more specifically, toadstools!" Your teacher got excited over weird things, it was true. "Technically, there's no specific, scientific definition for what counts as a toadstool, but it's generally taken to mean any of the various toxic fungi that you can happen upon."

Bless whoever first tried portobello mushrooms paving the way for me. )

Bon appétit!
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The class would be grateful that today's class was in the Danger Shop today, at least once they saw their teacher sporting the very latest fashion. In bee keeping attire, anyway. Blue, of course, because why have a color scheme if you didn't keep to it?

"Kiss kiss," she said when they arrived. "You're all relatively smart, I'm pretty sure that you can guess what we'll be learning about today." On the off-chance her clothing didn't give it away, the low done of bees coming from nearby should provide that last, needed clue. "Some of you might even be confused, because, traditionally, honey has been considered incredibly healthy, with useful in closing wounds, treating burns, easing coughs, helping with respiratory illnesses, even treating cancer. Modern medicine has trouble proving efficacy under laboratory settings, but many of Kaeleeran healing tonics and salves use honey as a base or a major ingredient. However, even honey has a dark side."

Turning around, she led the class further into the inside, where multiple Langstroth hives sat; small, blocky box towers humming with bee activity. Around the hives were multiple flowering bushes and shrubs, many of which the students would recognize from previous classes. There were also enough bee suits on a nearby table for each student, on the off-chance they thought this was going to be a lecture-only class.

"First of all, raw honey should never be given to infants and people with suppressed or compromised auto-immune disorders," she said. "Many types of bacterial and fungal spores can be found in raw honey which present no problems to people with healthy immune systems, but can be dangerous or even fatal to those without. Most doctors suggest waiting until a child is at least a year old before introducing raw honey and it's benefits. Of course, that's not what we're going to talk about today. There's also a naturally occurring phenomenon called toxic honey, which is what happens when honey made from certain plants is eaten by humans. The plants have no affect on bees or bee larvae, but to humans they can call hallucinations, paralysis, sickness, even death. There's extensive historical record of people falling prey to toxic honey. While some, like honey made from evergreen yew or wolfsbane look, smell, or taste unpleasant, most toxic honey is indistinguishable from honey made from non-poisonous blossoms."

"Now, bees, for all that they are industrious workers, aren't going to go further for pollen than they have to," Karla continued. "Most beekeepers place their hives in the middle of fields of plants that will have no ill-effects. Even a single rhododendron plant in a field of daisies isn't going to affect anyone, as there won't be enough poison present in the honey to harm anyone. But beekeepers who don't know about the local flora can end up with toxic honey if they set their hives near a stand of, say, belladonna plants, mountain laurel, or azaleas. And then there are the beekeepers who deliberately set their hives there in order to facilitate the production of toxic honey." She grinned at them. "Now get suited up. Today, we're learning to harvest hives of honey."
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Class was once again in a Danger Shop meadow. This time, instead of being surrounded by poisonous plants, there were easels set up surrounded by various art supplies. Oils, watercolors, pastels, and, of course, charcoals. She couldn't leave that out. There was also a stranger sitting in the middle, in front of his own easel with a palette of oil paints.

"So, we're taking it easy this week," Karla said, likely to the surprise of no one. "I can't see any of us looking to discuss poisons today. Draw, paint, color--do whatever you want to do. Paint through your trauma if that's your thing, paint anything that catches your fancy if it isn't. Or, if you'd prefer, watch Mr. Ross paint whatever he has planned today. Relax and enjoy your day." She nodded to a table full of moddable snacks. "Eat up. No tricks, no sneakiness, nothing to watch out for today. Just have a good day, okay?"
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Karla had sent out an email the night before, but also made sure to stop by her classroom and post a sign just in case.

No class.
If you need a safe place, stick to your dorms, the library here at school, or Caritas in town.
I won't tell you to stay out of this because I never listened when someone said that to me,
but be smart about it.
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To say that Karla was distracted today would be an understatement. She'd already been overtired when she got to Fandom. Add that to feeling whatever was wrong with the island and discovering that Kayla could feel it, too, would be enough to shatter even the steadiest of nerves.

"Okay, what the Hell is going on?" she demanded, running a hand through hair already gone messy from the same gesture. "What's been going on with the land over the past week?! You lot live here--someone should be able to tell me something, right?"

She looked at her assembled students, waiting for someone to volunteer an answer. Anyone?

"Right. Class. You're here for class." You know, the class that had been absolutely forgotten about, yes. "I'm going out to figure out what the ffff--the Hell is wrong with the island. You can come along if you'd like. Otherwise....I don't care. Go research something poisonous. Come back next week with a new fact you learned about a poisonous plant. Whatever. Class dismissed."
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Instead of the Danger Shop, class met at the Causeway today, with a portal ready and waiting to go.

"If I'd managed this better, today's class would have taken place last week because we're going back to Mexico today," Karla said with a grin. "Specifically, we're going to the Wahaka Distillery in Oaxaca. The Wahaka Distillery is known for its production of mezcal, an alcoholic beverage made from maguey plants. The more well-known alcohol, tequila, is a form of mezcal, made specifically from the blue agave plant. Mezcal, however, can be made from a variety of agave and maguey plants, and traditional distilleries use fermenting traditions that go back hundreds of of years."

Stepping through the portal led them out into warm sunshine, leaving them standing in a field filled with spiky-looking plants. "Alcohol is a poison, though not generally a toxic one. The human body is capable of processing ethyl alcohol and harmlessly passing it through the system, though that 'harmless' is gravely dependent on how much you drink and how often. Excessive drinking can lead to all kinds of unpleasant side effects, from vomiting and a hangover, to liver failure and death, because, again, poison." Karla explained how alcohol affected the body, including a breakdown of the blood alcohol content levels and what could generally be expected from each.

"As for how alcohol is made, it relies on fermentation, where yeast and certain kinds of bacteria break down sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol. Today, we're touring the distillery to see how this most popular and ubiquitous of poisons is lovingly crafted into a popular drink."
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Another class, another visit to the Danger Shop. This time, the class stepped into dusk, the sun lowering on the horizon and the sky turning pink and orange. The air was still very warm and the drone of bees came from somewhere nearby. Karla waved to them from her seat by a small campfire, burning merrily near towering shrubs covered in small pink and white flowers. Under the trees were the makings of a cookout: bottles of soda chilling in a cooler, unshucked corncobs roasting over the coals in aluminum foil, and a thick sausages waiting patiently next to a pile of sharp sticks, already peeled for their convenience.

"Hey there," Karla said, gesturing at them to sit down. )
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Yeah, a few steps onto the island and Karla had decided to readjust her lesson plan for the day. The pollen was still going strong and odds that her students would be able to pay attention to much else was slim. A pity the Danger Shop didn't filter it out of the air somehow, but if that was a setting, Karla had no idea how to find it.

Coming in the Danger Shop today, the students would find themselves in a large field of familiar, if vastly oversized, flowers, though Karla had thoughtfully programmed the day to be sunny and warm, with the occasional breeze. To the side was a rack of moddable weapons and a few gardening implements. "Hello," she said when her class arrived, foregoing her usual 'kiss kiss' for obvious reasons. "Let me start by saying this is one of the things that doesn't usually follow you off the island. So there's that small benefit, at least. I'm going to try to make this lecture fast--but topical!--because I know how your attention span get get, especially a week into this."

She'd barely been on the island ten minutes and she was already finding it hard to look at her students, rather than the winged guy sitting on a blanket and making silly noises at a baby.

Herbal abortifacients )

That conversation over with, Karla clapped her hands. "I'm certain I've used up all of the attention span you have, so the rest of the period is yours. There's an entire field of the flowers that are playing havoc on most of us. Feel free to take out any frustrations you may have--for whatever reason--on them. Kick, hit, stab, rake, pick, tear, stomp, destroy...whatever will make you feel better. And whatever else you do once you leave this classroom, please remember to be safe."

[Like the cut says, today's lesson includes a brief talk of plant-based abortifacients. I've tried to keep it as low-impact as possible, but if you would prefer not to read such content, click here to skip it all together.]
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"Some might consider today's class to be fairly gruesome," Karla warned the class outside of the Danger Shop. "I make no apologies for that. Hopefully this will be the closest you come to seeing someone die by violence, but I'm fairly sure that hope comes too late for at least half of you. And for those of you who wish to make your living as healers, warriors, or keepers of the peace, well, this is just one in what will doubtlessly be a long line of corpses. Take comfort in knowing that these, at least, are only an illusion. Simulation. Whatever. If, however, you decide that the class is too much for you, you are excused to the library to spend the rest of the period researching a poisonous plant and writing a two-page essay about it, due in my email by the end tomorrow morning."

The inside of the Danger Shop was set up to look like a private dining room. Around the table were five people; two were dead and the remaining three were in various stages of extreme distress. "Dinner was served two hours ago," Karla said calmly. "Each man was given a different poison. Based on the reaction times and displayed symptoms, it's your job to figure out what each poison was. You may be able to talk to some of the victims, for the rest, you'll need to rely on your observations and the strength of your notes. Feel free to work alone or in pairs. When you are ready, put on your protective gear--" she gestured to several shelves to the immediate left of the door "--and begin."
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An email was sent out in the morning before classes began.

Minor political turmoil means canceled class for you today. Enjoy the free period and see you next week!

[Ugh, sorry, not feeling well. Real class next week, promise.]
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"Kiss kiss!" Their usual teacher was waiting for them outside the Danger Shop today, looking quite cheerful and noticeably less pregnant than the last time they'd seen her. "Today we're visiting the Alnwick Poison Gardens, located in Alnwick, Northumberland, England. Normally, I'd bring you all directly there, but it's winter, so everything we'd want to see is dead. The same goes for my personal poison gardens--" yes, that was a plural "--only they're dead and buried under six feet of snow. So it's the Danger Shop for us today. On the plus side, I got to set the temperature, which means that we get an hour to pretend that it's not bloody freezing outside."

Stepping through the doors to the Danger Shop would usher the students into beautifully designed and sculpted grounds. Off in the distance was a castle, likely familiar to any fans of the Barry Plodder movie franchise. Several hundred feet to their left was a giant treehouse, built into a stand of sweet-smelling lime trees. And directly in front of them stood a walled garden, a pair of forbidding gates barring their entrance. Even without the handy "The Poison Garden" sign above them, it would be easy to guess this was where they were going, with the skull-and-crossbones motif and the warning on either door: These Plants Can Kill. For all that the Alnwick Gardens tried to suggest a old, pastoral feel, state-of-the-art surveillance equipment watched over the poison garden; where people were free to wander about and examine the plants elsewhere, entrance here was strictly monitored and guarded. Inside the walls, many of the plants were kept behind bars, out of reach of onlookers, and yet more warning signs abounded. The Poison Gardens were beautiful, a profusion of color, and that much more dangerous for it.

"Because this is only a simulation, we do not need to worry about guards or guides for our trip," Karla said. "But were this real, we would never be alone. There are over a hundred different kinds of poisonous and toxic plants in this garden, including several species of narcotics which require special dispensation from the British government to grow. Every plant in this garden can kill you, most in horrible and excruciating ways, and the staff don't want to worry about someone being stupid enough to pick a flower as a souvenir and end up dead." She held up a basket full of gardening gloves and sheers. "Here, you can feel free to cut samples to get a better look, but I'm insisting on using gloves anyway. This being a simulation doesn't excuse carelessness. You'll notice how the sign says not to smell the plants? They're not kidding. Every year, a decent percentage of tourists end up passing out because they've inhaled too many toxic fumes while exploring the garden. Should you find yourself growing lightheaded or developing a headache, step back from whatever plant you're examining, come back to the gate or head to the vine tunnel at the exit, and breathe cleaner air." Safety protocols would prevent anyone from passing out (or suffering from worse side effects if they touched or ingested any of the plants), but that didn't mean that the experience would be pleasant.

"Take this class to explore the gardens and the poisons in it. Feel free to take notes if you'd like. You'll need them for next class, when we get a little more...hands on."
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As Karla's note from last week had specified, today's class was instructed to meet at the Causeway. At 9:01, a portal opened, revealing a large room with several long tables, surrounded by drying plants and laboratory equipment. It looked like a cross between a stillroom, a classroom, and an alchemical lab. From what could be seen through a window set into the stone wall, the city outside the room was most certainly not Baltimore. Even the sunlight was different, the bright colors of early evening, rather than the diffuse light of morning. At the front of the room, an older woman stood in front of a chalkboard. The chalkboard was covered in a illustration of a plant and multiple notes. The woman was covered in a black gown that resembled cobwebs. She had pale blonde hair and was dressed in a long, black, somewhat cobwebby-looking gown and a large Opal necklace that hung down on her chest. People who took Karla's class last semester and spoke to the fortune teller would recognize her as Karla's old teacher, Helene. In the flesh, this time, rather than a hologram. "Hello," she said with a stiff nod. "Please step through the portal and find a seat. We have much to cover today."

Any students declaring an Exalted March on Kaeleer gets an automatic F for the semester. )
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There was no way that Karla was going to be on-island today; the only thing less likely than her wanting to leave the estate right now would be any of her Court actually letting her. But not being there didn't mean her students were lucky enough to get the day off. A quick call to Jono and everything was set up: the proper DVD in the player, microwave popcorn popped, and a quick note taped to the door.

Morning class!
My apologies for missing the second (and likely third) classes of the semester, but I'm not about to get up to teach a little over a week after having a child. Today is a movie day, an excellent film called Strychnine and Old Silk. Help yourself to some popcorn, take a seat and enjoy the movie. Next week, you'll be taking a trip, so come dressed for cold.

Kaylin, if you're here, take roll and press play when the bell rings. If Kaylin isn't here someone else do that.

Best,
Karla.


There was a picture of Kayla attached to the note as well, because of reasons.
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Word had been sent around for students to meet in a Danger Shop, as well as a note taped to the classroom door (along with a handy map for the newbies), for those students who hadn't yet figured out email. Inside, the Danger Shop had been programmed to look like an elegant dining room, with enough chairs for each person to sit. On the table sat six pewter serving trays of different foods, a carafe of a deep purplish-red liquid, and a vase filled with lilies of the valley, but none of the chairs had plates in front of them. Their teacher sat at the head of the table, drinking a mug of coffee.

Hey, it was the Danger Shop. which mean it didn't count. If she wasn't supposed to be a role-model right now, her cup would likely have been filled with something a lot stronger.

Welcome to History of Poisons )

"But enough about me, back to the stuff that's really useful. Poisons surround us every day, moreso if you're from worlds or countries or times that are not as developed as America in 2015. It's not just the wrong unknown berry that can kill you, even foods you eat every day can be lethal if you eat them at the wrong time of year, or eat the wrong parts, or eat them when they haven't been prepared properly." She gestured to the items in front of them. "Several of these are poisonous, others are not. I'd like to go around the table and have each of you give me your name, class, and your best guess to what is the most poisonous thing on the table is. I'll tell you now, no poisons have been added, that's not something you have to worry about. These are all poisons you could stumble over in the wild. And don't worry if you can't tell apples from arsenic, just give me your best guess."

Fandom High RPG



About the Game

---       Master Game Index
---       IC Community Tags
---       Thinking of Joining?
---       Application Information
---       Existing Character Directory

In-Character Comms

School and Grounds
---       Fandom High School
---       Staff Lounge
---       TA Lounge
---       Student Dorms

Around the Island
---       Fandom Town
---       Fandom Clinic

Communications
---       Radio News Recaps
---       Student Newspaper
---       IC Social Media Posts

Off-Island Travel
---       FH Trips

Once Upon a Time...
---       FH Wishverse AU


Out-of-Character Comms

---       Main OOC Comm
---       Plot Development
---       OOC-but-IC Fun





Disclaimer

Fandom High is a not-for-profit text-based game/group writing exercise, featuring fictional characters and settings from a variety of creators, used without permission but for entertainment purposes only.

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