Roald slips out of the changing room and nearly collides with a tall boy in a sharply cut coat. The corridor light flickers hard across polished shoes and a pale, composed face.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Steady there. I am looking for the headmaster’s office. You would not happen to know the way?
Roald Dahl
It is along the main corridor, then left at the chapel end.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Excellent. You do look as though you know your way about this place, though I suspect the place knows you better.
He glances past Roald toward the changing room door, taking in the bruised quiet there without comment. His expression stays mild, almost detached, but his posture is careful now.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
I am Alexander Pavlovich Romanov. Thank you. If I am late, I should rather not begin by offending the headmaster.
With a slight nod, he draws aside to let Roald pass, still poised in the corridor like a visitor who has wandered into the wrong country.
✓ Quest Accepted
Reach the headmaster’s office
“I explain to Alexander that a prefect has just beaten my pyjama-clad bottom, I apologise for my dishevelled state, and I offer to accompany him to the headmaster's office.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -3)
Roald Dahl
I am sorry about the state of my clothes. A prefect has just finished with me, and I should be glad to go with you.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Then you are exactly the sort of guide I need. I should not like to lose myself twice in one evening.
Alexander’s mouth tightens with polite sympathy as he steps in beside Roald, making room rather than asking for it. The corridor light catches the fresh crease of his coat and the dark opening toward the stairs.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
You need not mind the appearance of it. Schools prefer boys to look as though they have been handled.
Roald’s apology buys him a companion, but the cost is immediate, the sting of the recent caning makes his balance careful, and his face feels hot under the flicker of the lamp.
Alexander Pavlovich Romanov
Come along, then. If you know the route, I should be grateful for the company.
He turns his head toward the main corridor, then pauses as if waiting for Roald to choose the pace. The open ledger in Roald’s thoughts feels suddenly less like a threat than a secret he has not yet named.
“I obediently follow Alexander as he takes hold of my ear and twists it harshly. I helpfully show him the way to the headmaster's office.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled -2)