Arc 2: Hunt for Mage Tower

ARC SUBPLOT: PROOF OF PERFORMANCE

Cormack Seboxan, Blova Holyspell, Bellow d'Avalon, Tyran Harlow

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MASCOTS EVERYWHERE!

Rio Saoirse, Dela Pierre, Tyran Harlow, Grimmwood drifting by Jormungandr, Karsana, Ambiance Faira

The year starts off strong with the initial forming of the Mage Tower teams leading up to the eventual Battle of Deroulex at the end of the year. Representatives from both the soon-to-be-named teams consisting of the player characters and the Silkball team were approached by Professor Mavinda Sharpbeak, asking for a favor. She and Doctor Islesong were in charge of containing the mascots and tagging them for the game later that year, but in between prep work and some logistical issues, five of them got loose, and she only realized when it started affecting students. She tracked them down to Wiltroot Hall, and asked the party to dispatch of them, promising a leg up in the mascot draft in return. The party set out into the swamp waters, contending with shambling mounds of mushrooms and riddles posed by their fellow students in order to capture the mascots, splitting up to better cover their ground. However, as the swamp reared its ugly head, perhaps with some magical meddling, the party was left hurt and scrambling to complete their mission. Whether Wiltroot Hall is naturally this way or if there was magical interference remained to be seen, as the party was forced to run, beaten within an inch of their life. Their mission was complete, but the true mysteries of the swamp were left unexplored...

A STONE-COLD RUSE

Amadeus Orpheus Hart, Cassiopeia Sonyore, Lardriira'xyra Nallisoth, Blova Holyspell, Jalivia de Vaironne, Bellow d'Avalon

It's well known that a normal day at Deroulex doesn't exist, and this day was no exception, as the party came across quite the scuffle happening in the midst of the Silverquill Campus. Many of the Silverquill Students, prospective students included, bore witness to what appeared to be, strangely, a verbal dispute between petrified dragonborns and a basilisk. Even stranger, the basilisk was hardly attacking, instead hiding its face and backing away in fear, which left the party quite confused. Though some party members kept their initial reservations that basilisks are dangerous and should be dispatched, the party decided to carefully pry into the matter, and after much debunking, discovered the truth of the ordeal, that the dragonborns were actually gargoyles, and poachers at that, that had poached the basilisk's eyes. The basilisk, being fully unable to pose a threat to the party, was uncovered to be a former Mage Tower mascot, and with the truth fully uncovered, the party fought the poachers, until eventually most of them fled. Though there were disputes afterwards on what to do with the mascot, it was eventually returned to Doctor Islesong and re-cataloged for the Mage Tower game.

PARTY AT THE ROSE STAGE

Astrid Berge, Ambiance Faira, Grimmwood drifting by Jormungandr, Amadeus Orpheus Hart, Cassiopeia Sonyore, Jalivia de Vaironne

The students at Deroulex have not fully abandoned the idea of using school facilities for illicit partying, and with the Silkball team's approval to use the Rose Stage and a bunch of Witherbloom Pest Mascots for practice, they put together a grand mixer in order to foster togetherness between the teams. Participants from different teams were paired up in a mascot-stacking game, trying to get the docile pests together to make as big a tower as possible. Everything went well, until the pests began to...melt together, forming an amalgamate with three heads and exponentially more teeth than it started with. With the power to fly and decimate, the party was in for quite a fight against the monster, but they eventually came out on top, though many of them were beaten within an inch of their lives. Further investigation revealed that Melwythorne was the only one to handle the pests, which sent Astrid into a rageful flurry against them, which, upon making first contact, seemed to break Melwythorne free from some sort of spell. Confused, bloodied, and terrified, the party retreated back to their lives before the staff could find them, and the investigation team was left to ponder what to donext.

WHAT COMMUNITY MEANS

Rio Saoirse, Grimmwood drifting by Jormungandr, Lardriira'xyra Nallisoth, Echo, Ambiance Faira

In between months at Deroulex, it was revealed that Drazhomir Yarnask, with the help of Shuvadri Glintmantle, was attempting to overturn his felon status within the walls of Deroulex, which would give him certain rights - most importantly, that he couldn't be used for labor at the Student Store as part of a "correction plan." With Drazhomir's smarts and Shuvadri's level head, he was able to get everything in order, and the last thing he needed was testimony from other students that Drazhomir was "able to communicate and enhance the ideals of community at Deroulex." With help from the above players in their free time, the administration heard Drazhomir's case, and ruled that he had improved enough to be freed from his probation. Newly freed from the administration's eye, Drazhomir opened a secret service where he could rent restricted books out to the party for a price, saying that he would absolutely be willing to break the rules if it kept people safe.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Ambiance Faira, Jalivia de Vaironne, Blova Holyspell, Amadeus Orpheus Hart, Grimmwood drifting by Jormungandr, Lardriira'xyra Nallisoth

The first game in the Battle of Deroulex Tournament is underway, and the Investigation Team, named the Vicious Vespons, went up against the Dire Wolves themselves! It was certainly a battle to behold and gossip about, since it was the fated battle between the top Mage Tower players on campus against the top student-mages, perhaps in the history of the school. Though the match started strong and strategic, with illusions meant to deceive and plants made to slow down, the Vicious Vespons realized that they were possibly a little bit out of their depth in terms of strategy when Ambiance was hit and knocked out by a powerful spell by Kirol. Beyond that point, the game turned into a grudge match, as the Vicious Vespons realized that though they couldn't beat the Dire Wolves in strategy, they could beat them in combat experience. Spells were traded, and in the end, the Vicious Vespons came out on top. However, that wasn't the strangest thing that happened that day. When the Vicious Vespons arrived back in the locker room, they found it trashed, with their stuff completely overturned, and Grimmwood's backpack being completely destroyed. Investigating the mess revealed it was some kind of creature attack, but not being able to investigate much beyond that, the party simply left, reveling in their victory and moving forward in the tournament.

GETTING SOME AIR

Karsana, Ambiance Faira, Cormack Seboxan, Echo, Grimmwood drifting by Jormungandr, Rio Saoirse

With the Battle of Deroulex competition heating up, Javenesh, in his rebellious wisdom, invited everyone to used the carved out water bowl behind the Bow's End Tavern as a skating rink while it was emptied for cleaning, in a way to get the teams to bond together again. The daring students who wanted to compete would use the magically-created "skates" that were made (a dangerous combination of wooden boards and wheels magicked together and ready to be destroyed.

DANGEROUS KNOWLEDGE

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TELL US IN SONG

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THE BATTLE OF DEROULEX

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