Azul and Ruggie

When the members of Octavinelle come up with a solution to the Magicam Monster problem during Halloween, it is Ruggie who catches on to their idea sooner than anyone else (“Ruggie: “If you want folks to leave, you make things so unpleasant for them that they don’t WANT to stay.” – Azul: “Brilliant deduction, Ruggie”).

After Azul’s overblot Ruggie empathizes, saying, “I can’t exactly blame a guy for gettin’ bent outta shape when something you’ve been building up for years gets ruined,” and the two also agree during Book 7: when Jack and Sebek get into a fight with darkness projections in Leona’s dream Ruggie scolds them by saying, “Pride doesn’t fill an empty stomach,” and Azul follows with, “What’s the point of defending your honor if it puts us in physical danger…?”

Ruggie plays a key role in Azul’s overblot, pick-pocketing the key to Azul’s vault to access the contracts that Leona then destroys, pushing Azul over the edge. In Azul’s dream of Book 7 he has ordered a special safe to hold his contracts that is “impervious to any thieving hyenas.”

Azul blackmails Ruggie into joining him during Beanfest and Ruggie is eliminated after protecting Azul from an attack, which Azul suspects was intentional.

It is Azul who comes up with the idea of how to awaken Ruggie from his dream of Book 7: tossing away coins of increasingly large denominations, causing a paradox as Ruggie reacts in response to the sound of dropped change but cannot understand why he is so concerned about money in a world where he is financially secure.

Azul explains that he discovered Ruggie’s ability to identify dropped coins by sound on a day that Ruggie was working a shift at Mostro Lounge.

Azul ultimately tosses a 500 madol (5 thaumark) coin into a fountain which Ruggie jumps into the water in pursuit of, while Azul declares, “You want it badly, don’t you? Be honest, Ruggie. Self-restraint isn’t healthy, you know. Just admit it…you want it more than anything!” (Ortho: “I know Azul is doing all of this to wake Ruggie up, but…”)

This successfully awakens Ruggie.

Azul and Ruggie are seen getting along in a vignette where Ruggie is working at Mostro Lounge during a particularly busy time when Azul decides to cut off the queue and send potential customers away to handle the crowd. Ruggie volunteers to cover for other students in the dining area who can be sent to work in the kitchen and successfully does just as he promises, impressing Azul.

During Book 3 Ruggie says that Azul’s study guide is “the real deal,” and while he does say that Azul isn7t “the kinda guy you wanna turn to as your first resort,” he adds that Azul is a capable mage.

When Jack’s is suspicious of water-breathing potions that his group receives from Azul, Ruggie says, “If Azul gave ’em to you, they probably work just fine. He’s got his pride. I doubt he’d ever give someone a wonky potion.”

With the revelation of how Azul’s unique magic work Jack accuses him of “cheating at everything,” but Ruggie argues otherwise, saying, “Technically, no. As far as signature spells go, his is crazy high-level. Guy’s gotta have some chops to pull something like that off.”

When Jamil visits Mostro Lounge on an errand for Kalim before the lounge has opened Azul agrees to make an exception (“Seeing as we are in the same class, I will allow it”), but sells him the drinks he has come for at a markup saying, “Exceptional circumstances call for exceptional pricing.”

Ruggie follows with, “You gonna buy ’em or not?,” and Jamil responds, “You two always become so worked up when it comes to matters of business. I would not have thought that you two would get along so well. But now I understand why you’ve teamed up.”

Ruggie says he is “usually not a big fan of snooty know-it-alls” while Azul says he is “not particularly fond of tiny dogs who bark incessantly,” but as Ruggie is a good worker and Azul gives him a lot of work to do, “it’s a win-win situation.”