In contrast to the other halls, where everything seemed to be organised and had a system in place, the Hall of Ogmios was like a warzone. Piles of paperwork, documentations, files and binders were flying all over the place, dodging and escaping from the trainees' clutches. Some books would even perch on the cabinets as if enjoying the chaos. A senior dragon-kin could be seen running away from the bulgeoning scrolls.
Cori was unfazed by the chaotic scene and thought it was just another normal day of training. The duchess was equally cool with the whole situation. After all, she had to submit her report in this very place and was part of the fiasco just a few moments ago.
"Fire! fire!" Someone shouted, pointing at the roaring flames emitted by one of the books. "Close the book before it burned down the hall!" a senior yelled while barricading the paperworks flying towards the fire. "The fire is too strong!" another trainee cried out.
Without a second thought, Cori rushed into the burning fire and slammed his backpack on the book. The book let out an angry grumble, sending fierce rumbling flames of every colours in an attempt to raze the backpack to ashes. Its foolish attempt ended in futility as the backpack stood steadfastly against its attack. A senior with pigtails and thick round glasses intervened, slipping her hands underneath the cool covers and slammed it shut the instant Cori retrieved his backpack. "Key! Where is the fxxking key!" she screamed.
A pale looking slime with washed out colours passed the ominous red key to Cori, locking the book shut. "Thank god!" the senior relaxed on the floor catching her breath. Her eyes darted to the sad slime, "Here, keep this back on the shelves and don't... Don't ever unlock the chainned books without knowing what you are getting into! Always read the Title and Synopsis. And if it is locked, there is a good reason for it." The slime nodded. He then balanced the book on his head slithered away.
The freckled senior adjusted her glasses and praised, "Thanks for the save! Nice backpack by the way."
The duchess floated towards Cori. 'Are you both alright?' she asked.
"Can't you see I'm talking to someone right now!" the senior barked before turning to face the voice. "Your Grace! I'm really sorry!" the girl apologised profusely, astonished to find the imposing figure of the duchess towering over her.
The duchess smiled at the clumsy-looking senior and said, 'Would you mind showing us around?"
"Me? Us? Who?" the confused senior asked.
"That would be me. I'm Cori, nice to meet you" Cori said extending out a paw.
"Oh! A future furry! Nice to know you, I'm Samantha. You can call me Sam." the senior said while shaking Cori's sticky paws. Not daring to offend the guests, she held back her tongue and wiped the sticky fluid on her black uniform. The energetic girl picked herself up and shouted, with a curtsy, "Your Grace and Cori, please follow me! I will do my best to show you around!" Taking a deep breath, Sam continued, "So, the place we are standing at now is supposedly the lounge. We used to have a workroom where we process and store all sorts of magical contracts, documents, spells and scrolls but work took over the lounge and our library. The contracts are sent from all over the land and we process for the contractees and do book keeping. We also keep a healthy financial check of the school and the hall provide auditing experience to other Lords and other households. We also help to process incident reports for uncommon occurences."
Moving to the eastern wing of the lounge, the senior opened the door to the cafeteria, "Every day our food will be stored in this chilling box. And whenever we are hungry, we can takeour food and warm it up in this machine. If you wish to order a food delivery, we have a list of restaurants that cater to your request too. But it can be quite pricey."
Moving on, the senior showed them their dormitory and explained that the rooms here were priced according to the tier of luxury. The more facilities it had, the more expensive it would be. Sam further elaborated that they also have a list of contractors to design the room as Cori see fit.
"As you can see, our hall specialised in contracting and trading. Because of that we learn the ways of the merchants and most of the graduates are business owners living a thriving life." Sam said with a shine in her eyes, "Someday, I will carve a niche of my own too!"