Once an isolated and dying township, an influx of academics, adventurers and thrill seekers have made Scalvoris Town their home. From scholars' tea shops to a new satellite campus for Viden Academy, this is an exciting place to visit or make your home!
For someone who’d been such a terrible student in his younger years, Tio liked to think that he was a good teacher. It wasn’t that he had any genuine skill or talent in the area, nor that he knew much about established teaching methods, but he liked to think that his dubious moral compass helped him to come up with teaching methods nobody else would think of. Take the kid he’d taught to pick pockets earlier in the season; what other teacher would have gone around showing the proper way to steal from people? His willingness to disregard laws for the sake of education was a strength few others could lay a claim to.
Which was why he’d decided to take the job to teach Jivan Toma, a teenager who’d driven away numerous tutors so far with his bratty behaviour, how to pass his university exams. It was really quite hypocritical of him to accept this request considering that he’d only passed his exams through a healthy dose of cheating, but the Toma family didn’t need to know that. In a way teaching Jivan to pass his exam properly would make up for his own dishonest tactic. Besides the Toma family were rich, and were willing to pay well if anyone could manage to teach their child.
“We’ll be back sometime around sunrise tomorrow.” Elsibet Toma, Jivan’s mother, said to him as she put on a large fur coat. She and her husband were going to a party tonight, and were leaving him in charge of the house while he tutored their son. Not the smartest move really, but he supposed the threat of being robbed wasn't so threatening to people rich enough to afford the loss.“I'm sure he'll be a wonderful student. He's a good boy really, but he just needs a push every now and again.”
“Oh don't you worry ma’am, I'm sure I can get through to him.” Tio replied sweetly, acting the perfect gentleman in front of his employers. Appearances needed to be maintained after all.
Elsibet smiled at him. “Oh, aren't you a dear! Well then we'll be off now. Bye sweetie!” She called up the stairs towards Jivan’s room. No reply came, and so Elsibet gave him an expression as if to say ‘teenagers' and closed the door. The sound of footsteps walking off into the distance announced that she and her husband had gone.
Tio headed up the stairs over to his new student’s room, and knocked sharply on the door. “Jivan? Ready to get to work?”
“Go ‘way.”
Tio pushed open the door and stepped into the room. Messy rooms were often described as looking like hurricanes had blown through them, but this one looked more the result of a flash flood. Random puddles of dried dark paint were everywhere, streaked across the floor, walls, and even a few on the roof, and stray items of clothes were littered about in messy piles. In the far corner of the room a pale, lanky boy in black clothes and dyed black hair angrily slashed at a canvas with a paintbrush, violently splattering dark colours onto it in the vague shape of a… actually Tio couldn't quite tell what it was. It was either a screaming person, a wilting tree or a really ugly beaver.
“Get out of here! Can't you see I'm working?” Jivan whined in a voice that sounded like it was caught bang in the middle of being angry and mopey.
“Oh, is that what you're doing…” Tio replied with a hint of sarcasm. “Well how about you put the brush down and we crack on with your studying? We've got a lot of material to go through.”
“I said I'm working right now! Gah, I'm an artist you know! I can't just ignore when inspiration strikes me, I have to express it!” Jivan whine-yelled over-dramatically, turning his back on him to splash another streak of black paint haphazardly onto the canvas. Now Tio could see why all the previous tutors had had such trouble with him, the boy was clearly going to resist any attempts to make him sit down and study. So then how in the world was he supposed to succeed where they had failed?
His eyes alighted on the set of very expensive paintbrushes on the table behind Jivan, and a devious little idea began to form in Tio’s head. Silently he picked up the paintbrush set and hid it behind his back.
“Alright then, I get paid either way so it's no sweat off my back.” He said casually, backing away out of the room. “I'll be reading downstairs if you change your mind. Have fun.”
As he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him a thin, sly smirk grew across his lips.
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word count: 841
Fast Facts
Noticeable quirks your character can see when threading with Tio.
Floats
Tio floats in the air, usually just a foot off the ground.
Explodeibur
Tio wears a scary looking gauntlet on his right hand that is clearly magical. It creates explosions.
Jivan’s furious screech reverberated throughout the house as the moody teen stomped down the stairs towards the library. He was certain that he'd put his paintbrush set on the desk behind him, but when he reached around for them he was shocked to find that they’d disappeared! Given the circumstances there was only one possible explanation; that uncouth lout his stupid parents had hired to tutor him to pass that university test, which he was perfectly capable of passing if he wanted, had stolen them!
But when he stormed into the library the blonde man was nowhere to be seen. All that was there was a few sheets of paper laid out on the table. As he approached, Jivan noticed that the papers were practice tests and study material for his university exam.
“Hello Jivan. I want to play a game.”
He jumped as his tutors voice echoed around the library. It was a big room, and the echo made it impossible to tell where the source was located, so even when he looked around Jivan could find no trace of the tutor.
“Where are you?! Where are my paintbrushes?!” He yelled.
The disembodied voice of the tutor chuckled menacingly. “Oh don't worry, they’re quite safe. Well… most of them are anyway. Take a look under the test paper.”
It was only then that Jivan noticed the lump underneath one of the papers on the desk. A ball of dread knotted together in his stomach as he removed it, and he let out a cry of despair at the sight that lay beneath it.
One of his beloved paintbrushes, the smallest of them all, lay broken in a dozen pieces.
“Why?! Why would you do this?! She was so young!” Jivan cried.
“To prove to you that I'm not here to make idle threats Jivan. To show you that I mean business.” Came mocking reply. “Here's how my little game works. Before you are all the revision materials you could ever need to pass the twelve practice exams I've hidden throughout this library. I will tell you what subjects to review, and then you will have half and hour to look through them. When the time is up I will direct you to one of the practice tests, which you will then spend another half an hour completing to the best of your ability. If you fail to pass a test, complain, or slack of at any point despite my warning I will execute another hostage to make sure you stay motivated.”
Jivan swallow as a lump formed in his throat. “You can't do this! You can't come into people's houses and threaten to break their stuff if they don't submit to your teaching!”
“Oh, but I can Jivan. You failed to respect your other tutors, and in doing so have brought about a terrible reckoning upon yourself.” The sound of the tutors hollow laugher filled the air. “I, the demon teacher, have arrived! And I promise you that I will use every resource available to me, every dirty trick in the book, to make sure that you learn your lesson!
“But that's illegal! You're breaking the law!”
“Laws mean nothing to me Jivan. Now then, that sounded like a complaint to me. And you know what that means?”
The sound of snapping wood echoed through the library, and with a burst of desperate speed Jivan rushed to where the noise seemed to be coming from. But when he arrived it was too late: his paintbrush lay in pieces on the ground, and the tutor was nowhere to be seen.
“Now then Jivan, are you ready to do some work? Or do more innocent paintbrushes have to die before you understand the position you're in?”
Jivan scooped up the remains of his paintbrush in his hands, looking upon it with such a mournful express you would have thought it was a beloved family pet that died instead if a piece of wood. He loved his paintbrushes; he'd spent a fortune of his parent's money making sure they were the best that money could buy, and seeing them snapped apart like this was snapped his soul apart as well.
“Alright alright I give up, I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt them anymore!” He wailed.
“Excellent, I'm glad you see things my way.” The tutor replied mockingly. “Now turn to page 13 and let's get started…”
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word count: 762
Fast Facts
Noticeable quirks your character can see when threading with Tio.
Floats
Tio floats in the air, usually just a foot off the ground.
Explodeibur
Tio wears a scary looking gauntlet on his right hand that is clearly magical. It creates explosions.
When she had hired the latest one in a long string of tutors, Elsibet had to admit that she hadn't really thought he would be able to get through to her little Jivan. Her son was such a smart and sensitive boy, but his dedication to the arts was sometimes too much of a good thing as he often chose to focus on his creative pursuits above all else. Somewhere after the fourth tutor she'd began to give up hope that any of these tutors would really be able to connect to him, to channel his natural intelligence into something other than painting.
Yet when she and her husband came back from the party, Elsibet was surprised to find her darling Jivan asleep in the library, his head resting on a pile of completed practice papers. A quick glance over the papers revealed that, whilst not perfect, Jivan had certainly gotten most of the questions right, and had gotten a high enough score on the final couple of papers to pass.
“He's been up studying all night. You were right, all he needed was a push.”
Tio was stood by the entrance to the library, a pleased grin plastered over his face. At the sight of him Elsibet smiled warmly and approached him, keeping her voice low so as not to wake up her sleeping son. “You got him to study! Oh thank goodness, however did you manage?”
Tio grinned wolfishly. “I found a way to appeal to his creative side. Motivate his inner artist you could say. Why not ask him about it when he wakes up? I'm sure he'll be keen to tell you all about it.”
“Yes, I think I'll do just that.” She replied, shooting a quick glance over to Jivan. “Well as promised here's your pay, plus a little bonus reward for your hard work. If you've been up all night tutoring him I'm sure you must be exhausted as well, so I won't keep you any longer. Thank you for your help.”
Tio smiled at her sweetly. “Not a problem ma’am. By the way, when he wakes up could you tell him one thing for me?”
“Of course. What is it?”
“Tell him that the game's not over yet, and that I'll mail him the last contender once he sits his university exam. Though what state they'll be in depends on him. He'll know what it means.”
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word count: 419
Fast Facts
Noticeable quirks your character can see when threading with Tio.
Floats
Tio floats in the air, usually just a foot off the ground.
Explodeibur
Tio wears a scary looking gauntlet on his right hand that is clearly magical. It creates explosions.
OMG you held the paintbrushes hostage? I love the way you write Tio, the way that he is so funny and yet serious all at the same time and this was just a perfect example of it. I love how you craft the stories you tell - this one was funny and detailed and even the "bit part" npcs were great. Well done! I hope you enjoy the slight moral conundrum of the paint brush. Was it deliberate on the part of his parents? Will Tio return it...? Let me know if you want any input / moderation / discussion on that. Thanks!
Points
XP: 10
Fame: +10 (woohoo)
Loot
+50gn
+1 masterwork paintbrush. This has a slight enchantment on it - when used, it is addictive, making you want to paint with it, then need to. Even competent discipline can break it completely, and high-end novice would fight it well, but it's a trap for the weak willed. The question is - who set the trap and who was it for?
Knowledge
Teaching: Making use of a hostage situation
Teaching: The Demon Teacher
Teaching: How to motivate an artist
Teaching: 12 hours, 12 tests
Teaching: Identifying how to reach a student
Deception: Sure... he wanted to study of his own free will...
