As my invitation demanded, I made my way to the kissing gates at the appointed hour. So... now what? I checked out the bulletin boards for a bit. It was silly, but I liked the little tear-off fringe at the bottom with the highly abbreviated version of what the rest of the flyer said. Roommate needed.  Katair lessons. Unian peace rally? What the fuck? Whatever. They might need hecklers. I took a tear-off.

A dwarf in a black hoodie showed me a card with a purple and orange fish. I shook my head. They stowed that card and showed one with a blue-flamed torch.  Nope. I shook off the sign. Is this some kind of cloak-and-dagger act, or do all these secret societies share the same party guide? They showed me a silver ring. That's the one. I nodded. Hoodie dwarf nodded, and consulted a little notebook, then beckoned me to follow.

"Is this on campus, or off? If we're going off, I don't mean to offend you, but we're going to need a bit more security."

"It'll be fine, all the cops are getting overtime tonight."

"How's your-"

"I'm really not allowed to talk to the party guests."

Ugh. Fine. We walked in silence. Passing through the main gate to the college, I noticed we picked up a couple of additional escorts. In army uniforms. We traversed a twisty maze of tunnels, very nearly alike, until reaching a carved stone door very much like every other that I had seen.  Instead of knocking or pushing a button or pulling a little chain, hoodie dwarf slid a paper under the door. A minute or so later, it opened. Hoodie dwarf gestured me into the door, and the army guys posted up conspicuously on the opposite side of the tunnel. I went in alone.

And there, we graduated from mysterious hoodie to some kind of ceremonial robes. The person who met me on the inside was a little shorter than my height, but mostly concealed by the hooded robe and a mask, which had a brass ring stuck to the forehead.

"Welcome, guest, to the Torus Society. Tonight, we are serving the Silver Torus, and I will guide you through the start of the ceremonies and festivities. To warn you, there will be nudity and sexual activity, so if you are uncomfortable with this, please indicate now, and we will have you escorted back to campus with our apologies."

"No, I'm good with all that. It's a party, right?"

"Excellent. So if you would remove your clothes, place them in this cubby, and put on the robe and guest mask, go through that doorway there, and I'll lead you to the opening ceremony."

Guide left through the indicated portal, and I followed instructions. It was a bit of a waste that I didn't get to wear the dress I picked out to the party itself, but maybe hoodie dwarf appreciated it. This robe was really nice, too.  Do I get to keep this? I hope I get to keep it. But wait. If I don't get to keep it, that means that maybe someone else wore it. Which means they had to clean it. right?

I smelled it. Smelled clean. This is not party thinking, Ravy. Put your party brain on. What I need to be doing is ensuring that this robe absolutely, definitely needs to be cleaned or burned by the end of the night.

I strode confidently through the doorway, emerging into a hallway.

"So are you familiar at all with Torus Society?"

"No. I have never heard of it."

"Since you're here as a guest, that means that one of our members must have been very impressed with you. Most non-members simply do not understand how we operate. From this point, please keep your mask on. The members will do likewise, and please, even if you do recognize someone, that person with the mask on is different from the one you think you may know."

"I think I understand."

"Because we are different, our parties are also different. It may not be what you expected."

"I hope it's a little like what I expected."

"Oh, yes. I read your sponsor's note. You'll be fine. Here we are."

We exited the hallway into a round assembly area, with a raised circular dais in the center, and bench seating surrounding it, several rows deep. A few benches were already occupied. When we sat in the first row, a fortuitous billow of robe fabric suggested to me that my guide was an elf woman. She whispered to me.

"If you have questions, whisper into my ear. We try to keep the noise level down. It prevents all kinds of problems, not the least of which is the neighbor complaints. The walls are thick stone, but we all share the same ventilation network."

"If this is for Silver Torus, why is your ring made of brass?"

"The Torus Society has three age groups. Copper Torus is for those younger than legal majority. Silver Torus for the younger adults. Brass Torus is for the older adults. Tonight, the college kids are throwing a college party.  There are always a few brass rings around, to keep everyone safe and sound."

More robed people were filtering in and finding seats. The usual murmur of conversation that normally accompanied such gathering was absent. A few people were using hand-sign language.

"Do you have a lot of deaf members?"

"Not many, and none that will be here tonight. Some of us simply prefer to communicate silently."

My brain was starting to assemble clues, against my better judgment. I think I knew now what kind of secret society I was dealing with.

"So my brother, Orazon..."

"Already recommended to Copper Torus. Although I'm afraid Cairns is the closest place for club activities. The society would sponsor his academy attendance by providing boarding, if your parents were to allow it."

"All of us are home schooled. I'm not sure they'd want to let him go."

"After tonight, you may want to recommend it to them. We support one another, in all ways. Although the society functions are important, we will also send a brass ring out to your burrow, now that we are aware. There was a time when we suffered horribly from being an invisible minority."

Damnit, Chrysoll. This better be good.

A few more minutes saw the room fill up. Although most of the people were providing themselves with plenty of personal buffer space. Another person with a brass ring on their mask ascended the dais and raised two grey hands into the air. The already quiet room fell into dead silence.

"Welcome, Toruses. Tonight marks the opening of a new term at the miner's college, and with it, a new season for Silver Torus activities. Now, the Copper Toruses here tonight should mount the center platform."

A group of robed individuals, who seemed to be mostly dwarves, but also included other body types, both bigger and smaller, climbed onto the dais. One seemed to be about the right height and weight. They all had copper rings on the foreheads of their masks.

"These Copper Toruses have all reached the age of legal majority for their race, and thus, we admit them to the Silver Torus."

One by one, the brass ring removed the copper rings from masks, using a small prying tool, then snapped silver rings into the vacated slots.

"As of now, all restrictions placed upon you as Copper Toruses are lifted. You are now subject only to the rules of the Silver Torus. All those present, I remind you that this is a sex party; the drug party will be held later in the term. Please refrain from consuming unfamiliar substances tonight, and take only those materials you brought for your personal use."

Guide leaned in and whispered into my hood. "You should at least know the hand signs for 'yes' and 'no'. To give consent, make a fist and pitch it forward and backward. To refuse, make a fist and yaw it side to side. Like this."

She demonstrated the signs.

The brass ring on the stage pointed at the doors opposite the ones we had used to enter.

"Let's begin."

The robed people began filing through into the next room.

One of the freshly-minted silver rings hopped down from the stage, and held out a dwarven hand before me. I placed mine into its grip, and it led me through the double doors.