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<blockquote data-quote="Rae ArdGaoth" data-source="post: 3942834" data-attributes="member: 21064"><p><span style="font-size: 12px"><strong>A Teacher for Laynie: Mystery at the Academy</strong> </span>(<a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=159698" target="_blank">Part 1</a>, <a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=170126" target="_blank">Part 2</a>)</p><p></p><p><strong>The Story</strong></p><p></p><p>The adventure begins with Vanitri, a young Freefolk man, Mearran, a catfolk druid, and Laynie, an orphan Vanitri met in another adventure, looking for information about the Academy of the Chromatic Order. As they gather information, an orc barbarian named Hewj Ogr stalks them through the streets. After a drunk old man tells Vanitri of a game called 'croquet' played with many colorful balls and sticks, Vanitri decides to take Laynie to the library. There Vanitri pays the 100gp membership fee. Laynie grabs a book off the shelf, <em>Advanced Studies in Thaumaturgy</em> by Draelik Vryden, which she reads while Vanitri and Mearran check the library's map room. They gather their information, buy supplies, and head out for Medibaria.</p><p></p><p>They take the road to Fallon first, pass by some adventurers and road wardens on the way, pay a small toll, and stop at an inn just outside of Fallon. Short on money, Vanitri liberates a few coins from a drunken merchant guard and performs tumbling on the streets to pay for the next few days' food. That night, the same merchant wagon is attacked and some people are killed, but the murderers remain at large. Vanitri didn't investigate much, and the next day he, Mearran, and Laynie continued on to Old Medibaria.</p><p></p><p>Finally reaching it on their 4th day out of Fallon, they stay at an inn. Vanitri tries to make some money tumbling again, but this time he's stopped by a guard, because Vanitri isn't a member of the Acrobats, Jugglers, and Tumblers Guild. After a useless talk with the guild receptionist, Vanitri passes the night at the inn.</p><p></p><p>The next morning, the trio heads to the Old City to find the Academy. On the way, Laynie drops her ball into the basement of a building. She accidentally stumbles upon a secret passage way into a furnished room which contains a chest. The chest contains an old tome, a fluted rod, an emerald necklace, and a fair bit of gold. Vanitri takes the lot and returns to the surface.</p><p></p><p>They reach the Academy. A man named Garrick informs them that Laynie is far too young to start her education at the Academy. A woman named Layna takes over and guides the group to start their tour. She gives Vanitri the idea of enrolling in the school himself and bringing Laynie to all his classes. Layna leaves and after signing some forms, the tour proper begins, given by Elektra.</p><p></p><p>The tour takes them through the gardens and the colossal Academy library. They visit with a teacher and some students, see a few House common rooms, tour through Omega's Otherspace and Daryne's Imaginarium, until Elektra has to meet with Truman, another student. Truman is reluctant to discuss his topic in front of Laynie, so Mearran takes the child to the Academy's main Imaginarium. Truman tells Elektra that Tammy is missing, and that he found a letter with a grim message in the library.</p><p></p><p>The tour continues to the extravagant Sice dorms, where Laynie makes known her knowledge of advanced medicine when she confuses the word "diary" with "diarrhea". That's the end of Elektra's tour, so she directs the gang to the Academy entrance and hurries off. Vanitri registers for an examination, sells some of the things he found in the Old City to a merchant, and returns the next day to schedule his examination. Mearran decides that teaching Laynie isn't his thing and departs from Old Medibaria.</p><p></p><p>The next day a professor gives him his 200 page exam, which he has 24 hours to complete with the resources of the Academy Library at his disposal. With Laynie's help, he answers about 20 pages off the top of their heads, and the duo consumes dozens of books in the library to answer the questions. Laynie does most of the work. After 10 hours, they're left with 9, which stump them both. The librarian is bound not to assist them, and they discover that 5 of the remaining questions are topics being researched by labs in the Academy. After reading the preliminary drafts on those projects, Vanitri and Laynie piece together the answers to those questions, leaving only 4, which turn out to be "as yet unanswered mysteries of magical theory". Vanitri turns in the test, and the professor expresses some surprise at his answer to a question on chronomancy.</p><p></p><p>Day 2 of the exam is Vanitri, all alone in a desk, answering more questions. He barely answers half of the questions before time is up.</p><p></p><p>The third and final part of the exam has Vanitri pass under three arches and undergo three strange tests. First he takes on the avatar of supposed past life. He becomes a more powerful version of himself, alive at the time when the Medibarian empire is powerful. He chases a dark elf, a nesfylim, and eavesdrops on a conversation with its cruel master. They discuss plans to awaken a powerful dark master. Vanitri makes moves to stop a slaughter of his fellow Freefolk and the theft of the Seer's crystal ball. He goes to the farm house the cruel pair was discussing, sneaks past the guards with a dimension door, and finds a fair maiden covered in mud, unconscious, lying in a bed. A dark elf, a nesfylim, discovers his presence and drops a globe of darkness over the room. Past-Vanitri uses his tremorsense to cut the elf into pieces. He grabs the maiden and dimension doors away, out of the farm house.</p><p></p><p>The maiden is Lady Elayna Lyrue, a Medibarian princess. Using a combination of her magic, Vanitri's horizon walker abilities, and Eirian's legs, they travel at a truly miraculous speed. They reach the Freefolk caravan just before dusk, and Eirian collapses from exhaustion. Vanitri warns the seer of the coming Nesfylim, and a Medibarian guard arrives in time to protect them. Vanitri and Elayna walk back to tend to Eirian...</p><p></p><p>Now Vanitri is chasing nymphs through a forest... now he is in a cell, a feeble form of his current self, confronted by a powerful shadow clone. The Vanitri clone tries to make Vanitri worship him, but Vanitri uses magic to beat his inner demons into submission...</p><p></p><p>Finally, Vanitri appears in a large underground chamber with Elektra and Truman. In the center of the chamber is a large, glowing red gem. Snakes attack, the trio does their best to defeat them. As soon as the snakes are down, a cloaked figure descends upon them. She tells them that she will kill them all except Vanitri, who she will keep as a servant. Removing her hood, she reveals her face...</p><p></p><p>Vanitri has passed all the tests, and is accepted into the Academy. He applies for some scholarships. He's denied an Omega scholarship, but Daryne is quite impressed by him. Lady Lyrune's mechanical cat curls up in his lap and grants him another scholarship. Then the choosers, some intelligent magical artifacts, award him some more scholarships. Of note, Elayna Valsice's chooser approves Vanitri for 3/4ths of the tuition if he will stay in house Sice. Despite the tempting offers of money, Vanitri chooses House Daryne and arranges (secretly) for him and Laynie to live with Elektra in her dorm.</p><p></p><p>Elektra, Vanitri, and Truman discuss Vanitri's third dream sequence. Since the other two have schoolwork to do, Vanitri promises to do some research on the Dark Lord in the library. While he's there, he suggests some books for Laynie to read, which she does so reluctantly. Later, Elektra reveals her secret: Using a magical artifact, she has split her essence in half and created a clone. She can reunite with her clone, and she must share spells with her clone, but she can be in two places at once. Vanitri invites Elektra (and her clone) on a date. One accepts, and they enjoy a night of dancing.</p><p></p><p>The next day, Vanitri is going about smoozing the professors when he hears about Gaark Bruskran's suicide. Vanitri decides to do a little investigating. He breaks into Gaark's room, with Elektra's help he gets a copy of the suicide note, and talks with Headmistress Rayne. They come to no conclusions, and continue on with school. Then Lara Espree disappears, leaving behind a suicide note saying she left to be with Gaark. In the following weeks, several nonhuman staff members begin to disappear. After a brief romantic encounter with Misha, the albino half-elf student in Omega, Vanitri notices that his own roommate is missing as well.</p><p></p><p>After a mostly unhelpful discussion with Rayne the Daryne headmistress, Elektra and Vanitri decide to find the secret Sice library. Elektra has an incomplete map of the Sice tower which Laynie completes with the help of the miraculous book that she and Vanitri discovered in the Old City. Vanitri successfully breaks into the library using a cloak of invisibility, reads some histories, and is interrupted by the headmistress of Sice. Vanitri leaves and then returns later, to get a map of the Academy catacombs. He brings it to Elektra, who copies the map, and then returns it to the library. On the way out, he bumps into two students who flee, thinking they're about to be abducted.</p><p></p><p>Finished now with the library, Vanitri, Elektra, and Truman decide to go into the catacombs to find the Dark Lord. After some navigating with the miraculous notebook, they find the chamber with the Philosopher's Stone. They're then attacked by snakes, just like in Vanitri's third trial. Then the Dark Lord appears and the dialogue alters from the trial. The Dark Lord turns out to be the spirit of Elayna Valsice, a beautiful, powerful female wizard possessing little Laynie, her body controlled by the miraculous Notebook in which Elayna stored some of her essence. After some talking, the Dark Lord attacks Truman, whose mother's love reflects the spell back on the Dark Lord. Then suddenly Rayne appears. Rayne and the Dark Lord duke it out for a bit, until two spell stitched monsters appear and take out Rayne. Vanitri helps the Dark Lord destroy the two monsters and she uses their souls to fuel the Philosopher's Stone magic. The Dark Lord's ritual complete, she disappears. Vanitri runs back to the others and collapses into unconsciousness...</p><p></p><p>And wakes up in the infirmary. He is soon released, meets up with Laynie and Elektra, and discusses the events. All of the abducted students and staff members and even some people from the New City were killed in the ritual, their souls irrecoverable (except for Tammy, who just turned out to be a deadbeat college drop out). At a dinner with the headmaster and the four housemasters, Vanitri tells a modified version of the events that transpired in the dungeon. Later on, he goes to dinner with Lex, and the two become a little closer.</p><p></p><p>Years pass, and Vanitri earns his Journeyman's degree from the Academy. Laynie's still not old enough to join the Academy, but she's got a fair amount of knowledge about the arcane now. Elektra chooses to stay and study, while Vanitri and Laynie ride off to Orussus together, in search of adventure to pass the time until Laynie comes of age to attempt the Academy application.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>The People</strong></p><p></p><p><em>Teachers and Administrators:</em></p><p></p><p><strong>[smallcaps]<span style="color: silver">Headmaster Umbryn Albion</span>[/smallcaps]</strong> is the headmaster of the Academy. Anyone can tell that this man is powerful just by looking at him. He appears a stereotypical old archmage, even with the robe and pointy hat, but he has an aura of power around him that belies his soft grey eyes. </p><p></p><p><span style="color: skyblue"><strong>[smallcaps]Professor Dorian Grywald[/smallcaps]</strong></span> teaches at the academy. He's a twenty-something blond-haired man. His robes are an ornate gilded version of the Omega House's robes with a bright red cloak and an emerald circlet. He is friendly and has a jesting manner.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: cyan"><strong>[smallcaps]Daryne Housemistress Rayne Liore[/smallcaps]</strong></span> is a half-elf professor, one of the rare non-human teachers at the Academy. She is quite friendly. She once lived in Orussus, where she managed to get a job as a clerk at the library before reading about the Academy and deciding that she must find it one day and join. They almost turned her away, but she was able to impress a few important people with her previous studies, including the old Housemistress, Adriona Mineria, who sponsored her as a graduate student and selected her as her successor when Rayne became a professor. She is capable of casting 4th level spells.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: pink"><strong>[smallcaps]Sice Housemistress Kharisa Valpyren[/smallcaps]</strong></span> is a beautiful and sophisticated human woman, though not as effusively friendly as Rayne Liore. She has a large elegantly furnished suite in the Sice tower. She found the dungeons and was present when Vanitri encountered the Dark Lord.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: brown"><strong>[smallcaps]Omega Housemaster Cedric Bronwen[/smallcaps]</strong></span> is a graying man. He is very interested in magical artifact research. His wife is a young woman named Adrianna.</p><p></p><p><strong>[smallcaps]Mordrue Housemaster Humboldt Tyndall[/smallcaps]</strong> is even older than Headmaster Albion.</p><p></p><p><strong>[smallcaps]<span style="color: darkslategray">Dean Thrym Grolsen</span>[/smallcaps]</strong> is the dean of the Academy Archives.</p><p></p><p><strong>[smallcaps]Professor Quent Galton[/smallcaps]</strong> teaches at the academy. He handed out the admission test to Vanitri.</p><p></p><p><strong>Professor Mikam Erlis</strong> teaches at the Academy, he is in House Omega.</p><p></p><p><strong>Professor Byllik Namander</strong>, Mordrue.</p><p></p><p><strong>Professor Jarvys Dendril</strong>, Mordrue.</p><p></p><p><strong>Professor Friesa Dralkin</strong>, Omega.</p><p></p><p><strong>Professor Ewan Maldur</strong>, Sice.</p><p></p><p><strong>Professor Santhiel Alair</strong>, Daryne.</p><p></p><p><strong>Professor Adrianna Branwen</strong> Omega. Cedric's young wife, she fell in love with Cedric for his genius as a graduate student working under him.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Students:</em></p><p></p><p><span style="color: red"><strong>[smallcaps]Garrick Thendrin[/smallcaps]</strong></span> is a red-cloaked enchanter, a graduate student at the Academy. He is very proud of the Academy, even arrogant. He is quite stubborn, and like many Old Medibarians, disdainful towards foreigners. Despite his pride, he is not Highborne. He enjoys learning about history and knows a lot of details about the Medibarian empire. He sometimes serves the Academy in the capacity of welcoming visitors.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: green"><strong>[smallcaps]Layna Larinas[/smallcaps]</strong></span> is a green-cloaked Illusion graduate student at the Academy. She is Highborne, but unlike Garrick, she is kind. She has a graduate degree in illusion magic from the Academy but chose to stay on, teaching other students rather than "blasting the heads off of orcs with fireballs".</p><p></p><p><strong>[smallcaps]Damien Sorvrin[/smallcaps]</strong>, is an Academy graduate student specializing in Divination.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: lime"><strong>[smallcaps]Elektra Planter[/smallcaps]</strong></span> is a student at the Academy. She bonded with Vanitri during his studies.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: yellow">[smallcaps]Truman Kilner[/smallcaps]</span></strong> is a student at the Academy, in house Daryne. He is a dark-haired lad whose face has a bit of a grim set, but he's still fairly handsome, except perhaps for the dark eyepatch over his left eye, covered with a mystic rune. He's half-highborne. He's friends with Elektra. In the dungeons beneath the Academy, his Lesser Eyepatch of Reflection reflected one of the Dark Lord's spells back on her, weakening her and allowing Rayne to save the day.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: orange"><strong>[smallcaps]Alden Ferrous[/smallcaps]</strong></span> was a student at the academy, in house Daryne. He had red hair. He was Truman's roommate. He was Tammy's brother. Elektra took him to a school dance in the Sice tower once, but it didn't go so well. In the dungeons, in the battle with the Dark Lord, he appeared suddenly and sacrificed himself for Elektra.</p><p></p><p><strong>Tammy Ferrous</strong> was a student at the academy. She had a crush on Truman, and was later discoverd to have administered love potions to him. She's Alden's sister. She disappeared mysteriously, and it was thought that she was abducted by the Dark Lord, but it turns out she just dropped out of school and became a prostitute on the streets of the New City in Old Medibaria.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: white">Misha</span></strong> is an albino dark elf student in Omega. She was infamous at the school because she killed another student in an illegal mage duel. Most students don't believe that it was an accident. She became close to Vanitri one night, but the next day she disappeared. It is presumed that she was killed and her soul was absorbed into the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: gold"><strong>Kitty Valdaryne</strong></span> is a student at the academy, in house Daryne. She has a large bosom, and is dating Alden Ferrous. Elektra thinks she's a bimbo. Elektra took Kitty's form as a disguise on her two dates with Vanitri into the New City.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: blue">Rowan Aranah</span></strong> is an Enchantment graduate student at the academy, in house Omega. He is handsome and well-muscled with long blond hair and blue eyes that sparkle. He's rather pompous and a lady's man. He was once cursed (not by Bestow Curse) by Elektra Planter and some co-conspirators.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: cyan">Malak Saferi</span></strong> is a student at the academy, in house Omega. He's quite the enterprising young researcher, and he somehow manages to pull off more A's than B's without studying at all. Studying doesn't help him much.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: royalblue">Solon Valpyren</span></strong> is a student at the Academy, in house Sice. He called Elektra a "lowblood whore". He's not very nice. He's Kharisa Valpyren's son.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: red">Sarya Atropos</span></strong> is a student at the Academy, in house Sice. She's Elektra's friend.</p><p></p><p><strong>Jyrad</strong> is a 1st year student at the academy, in house Mordrue.</p><p></p><p><strong>Cherise Malbin</strong> is a student at the academy, in house Mordrue. She was friends with Gaark and Lara before they were abducted.</p><p></p><p><strong>Miliana Draenyst</strong> is a student at the academy, in house Mordrue. She is Cherise's roommate.</p><p></p><p><strong>Kelin Jerias</strong> is a student at the academy, in house Omega. He was seen working in a lab area.</p><p></p><p><strong>Gaark Bruskran</strong>, 15-year-old male half-orc student of House Daryne, was thought to have committed suicide, but was eventually discovered to have been killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Lara Espree</strong>, 23-year-old female half-elf student of House Omega, Gaark's friend. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Anvar Stormhammer</strong>, 44-year-old male dwarf student of House Mordrue. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Ellie Valanise</strong> is an Omega student. She descends from Anoura Valanise.</p><p></p><p><strong>Fern Ambrosia</strong> is an Omega student.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Staff</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Agatha Evangeline</strong> is the name of an elderly human priestess and healer who works at the Academy. She is related to the PC Aletheia Evangeline.</p><p></p><p><strong>Sican Goodbarrel</strong>, 52-year-old male halfling janitor. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Baalsh One-Eye</strong>, 28-year-old male half-orc groundskeeper. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Nalki Vriialia</strong>, 150-year-old female elf gardener. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Vaaran Clanless</strong>, 35-year-old male hobgoblin night watchman. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Brormar Anvilforge</strong>, 152-year-old male dwarf janitor. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Allie Lightwagon</strong>, female halfling janitor. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p><strong>Pyrrha</strong>, an acolyte healer. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Other</em></p><p></p><p><strong>[smallcaps]<span style="color: magenta">Laynie</span>[/smallcaps]</strong> is a very young orphan girl, discovered near Briarton with a gray render. Laynie is the reason that Vanitri was enrolled in the Academy. She's extraordinairly intelligent, and assisted him on his first entrance test, helping Vanitri tie with the highest grade ever scored on that part of the exam. Even after Vanitri earned his Journeyman's Degree from the Academy, Laynie still wasn't old enough to apply, so she left with Vanitri.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Villains</em></p><p></p><p><strong>[smallcaps]<span style="color: darkorchid">Elayna Valsice</span>[/smallcaps]</strong>, the Dark Lord. When the real Elayna was at the school, she imbued some of her essence in a special notebook, accidentally discovered by Laynie and Vanitri on their way to the school. Laynie was slowly possessed by the Dark Lord, and eventually the Dark Lord had enough control over her to start abducting students for the ritual which would fully materialize her. Though Vanitri intercepted her plans, Elayna Valsice still managed to complete the ritual and disappeared with the book.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rae ArdGaoth, post: 3942834, member: 21064"] [size=3][b]A Teacher for Laynie: Mystery at the Academy[/b] [/size]([url=http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=159698]Part 1[/url], [url=http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=170126]Part 2[/url]) [b]The Story[/b] The adventure begins with Vanitri, a young Freefolk man, Mearran, a catfolk druid, and Laynie, an orphan Vanitri met in another adventure, looking for information about the Academy of the Chromatic Order. As they gather information, an orc barbarian named Hewj Ogr stalks them through the streets. After a drunk old man tells Vanitri of a game called 'croquet' played with many colorful balls and sticks, Vanitri decides to take Laynie to the library. There Vanitri pays the 100gp membership fee. Laynie grabs a book off the shelf, [i]Advanced Studies in Thaumaturgy[/i] by Draelik Vryden, which she reads while Vanitri and Mearran check the library's map room. They gather their information, buy supplies, and head out for Medibaria. They take the road to Fallon first, pass by some adventurers and road wardens on the way, pay a small toll, and stop at an inn just outside of Fallon. Short on money, Vanitri liberates a few coins from a drunken merchant guard and performs tumbling on the streets to pay for the next few days' food. That night, the same merchant wagon is attacked and some people are killed, but the murderers remain at large. Vanitri didn't investigate much, and the next day he, Mearran, and Laynie continued on to Old Medibaria. Finally reaching it on their 4th day out of Fallon, they stay at an inn. Vanitri tries to make some money tumbling again, but this time he's stopped by a guard, because Vanitri isn't a member of the Acrobats, Jugglers, and Tumblers Guild. After a useless talk with the guild receptionist, Vanitri passes the night at the inn. The next morning, the trio heads to the Old City to find the Academy. On the way, Laynie drops her ball into the basement of a building. She accidentally stumbles upon a secret passage way into a furnished room which contains a chest. The chest contains an old tome, a fluted rod, an emerald necklace, and a fair bit of gold. Vanitri takes the lot and returns to the surface. They reach the Academy. A man named Garrick informs them that Laynie is far too young to start her education at the Academy. A woman named Layna takes over and guides the group to start their tour. She gives Vanitri the idea of enrolling in the school himself and bringing Laynie to all his classes. Layna leaves and after signing some forms, the tour proper begins, given by Elektra. The tour takes them through the gardens and the colossal Academy library. They visit with a teacher and some students, see a few House common rooms, tour through Omega's Otherspace and Daryne's Imaginarium, until Elektra has to meet with Truman, another student. Truman is reluctant to discuss his topic in front of Laynie, so Mearran takes the child to the Academy's main Imaginarium. Truman tells Elektra that Tammy is missing, and that he found a letter with a grim message in the library. The tour continues to the extravagant Sice dorms, where Laynie makes known her knowledge of advanced medicine when she confuses the word "diary" with "diarrhea". That's the end of Elektra's tour, so she directs the gang to the Academy entrance and hurries off. Vanitri registers for an examination, sells some of the things he found in the Old City to a merchant, and returns the next day to schedule his examination. Mearran decides that teaching Laynie isn't his thing and departs from Old Medibaria. The next day a professor gives him his 200 page exam, which he has 24 hours to complete with the resources of the Academy Library at his disposal. With Laynie's help, he answers about 20 pages off the top of their heads, and the duo consumes dozens of books in the library to answer the questions. Laynie does most of the work. After 10 hours, they're left with 9, which stump them both. The librarian is bound not to assist them, and they discover that 5 of the remaining questions are topics being researched by labs in the Academy. After reading the preliminary drafts on those projects, Vanitri and Laynie piece together the answers to those questions, leaving only 4, which turn out to be "as yet unanswered mysteries of magical theory". Vanitri turns in the test, and the professor expresses some surprise at his answer to a question on chronomancy. Day 2 of the exam is Vanitri, all alone in a desk, answering more questions. He barely answers half of the questions before time is up. The third and final part of the exam has Vanitri pass under three arches and undergo three strange tests. First he takes on the avatar of supposed past life. He becomes a more powerful version of himself, alive at the time when the Medibarian empire is powerful. He chases a dark elf, a nesfylim, and eavesdrops on a conversation with its cruel master. They discuss plans to awaken a powerful dark master. Vanitri makes moves to stop a slaughter of his fellow Freefolk and the theft of the Seer's crystal ball. He goes to the farm house the cruel pair was discussing, sneaks past the guards with a dimension door, and finds a fair maiden covered in mud, unconscious, lying in a bed. A dark elf, a nesfylim, discovers his presence and drops a globe of darkness over the room. Past-Vanitri uses his tremorsense to cut the elf into pieces. He grabs the maiden and dimension doors away, out of the farm house. The maiden is Lady Elayna Lyrue, a Medibarian princess. Using a combination of her magic, Vanitri's horizon walker abilities, and Eirian's legs, they travel at a truly miraculous speed. They reach the Freefolk caravan just before dusk, and Eirian collapses from exhaustion. Vanitri warns the seer of the coming Nesfylim, and a Medibarian guard arrives in time to protect them. Vanitri and Elayna walk back to tend to Eirian... Now Vanitri is chasing nymphs through a forest... now he is in a cell, a feeble form of his current self, confronted by a powerful shadow clone. The Vanitri clone tries to make Vanitri worship him, but Vanitri uses magic to beat his inner demons into submission... Finally, Vanitri appears in a large underground chamber with Elektra and Truman. In the center of the chamber is a large, glowing red gem. Snakes attack, the trio does their best to defeat them. As soon as the snakes are down, a cloaked figure descends upon them. She tells them that she will kill them all except Vanitri, who she will keep as a servant. Removing her hood, she reveals her face... Vanitri has passed all the tests, and is accepted into the Academy. He applies for some scholarships. He's denied an Omega scholarship, but Daryne is quite impressed by him. Lady Lyrune's mechanical cat curls up in his lap and grants him another scholarship. Then the choosers, some intelligent magical artifacts, award him some more scholarships. Of note, Elayna Valsice's chooser approves Vanitri for 3/4ths of the tuition if he will stay in house Sice. Despite the tempting offers of money, Vanitri chooses House Daryne and arranges (secretly) for him and Laynie to live with Elektra in her dorm. Elektra, Vanitri, and Truman discuss Vanitri's third dream sequence. Since the other two have schoolwork to do, Vanitri promises to do some research on the Dark Lord in the library. While he's there, he suggests some books for Laynie to read, which she does so reluctantly. Later, Elektra reveals her secret: Using a magical artifact, she has split her essence in half and created a clone. She can reunite with her clone, and she must share spells with her clone, but she can be in two places at once. Vanitri invites Elektra (and her clone) on a date. One accepts, and they enjoy a night of dancing. The next day, Vanitri is going about smoozing the professors when he hears about Gaark Bruskran's suicide. Vanitri decides to do a little investigating. He breaks into Gaark's room, with Elektra's help he gets a copy of the suicide note, and talks with Headmistress Rayne. They come to no conclusions, and continue on with school. Then Lara Espree disappears, leaving behind a suicide note saying she left to be with Gaark. In the following weeks, several nonhuman staff members begin to disappear. After a brief romantic encounter with Misha, the albino half-elf student in Omega, Vanitri notices that his own roommate is missing as well. After a mostly unhelpful discussion with Rayne the Daryne headmistress, Elektra and Vanitri decide to find the secret Sice library. Elektra has an incomplete map of the Sice tower which Laynie completes with the help of the miraculous book that she and Vanitri discovered in the Old City. Vanitri successfully breaks into the library using a cloak of invisibility, reads some histories, and is interrupted by the headmistress of Sice. Vanitri leaves and then returns later, to get a map of the Academy catacombs. He brings it to Elektra, who copies the map, and then returns it to the library. On the way out, he bumps into two students who flee, thinking they're about to be abducted. Finished now with the library, Vanitri, Elektra, and Truman decide to go into the catacombs to find the Dark Lord. After some navigating with the miraculous notebook, they find the chamber with the Philosopher's Stone. They're then attacked by snakes, just like in Vanitri's third trial. Then the Dark Lord appears and the dialogue alters from the trial. The Dark Lord turns out to be the spirit of Elayna Valsice, a beautiful, powerful female wizard possessing little Laynie, her body controlled by the miraculous Notebook in which Elayna stored some of her essence. After some talking, the Dark Lord attacks Truman, whose mother's love reflects the spell back on the Dark Lord. Then suddenly Rayne appears. Rayne and the Dark Lord duke it out for a bit, until two spell stitched monsters appear and take out Rayne. Vanitri helps the Dark Lord destroy the two monsters and she uses their souls to fuel the Philosopher's Stone magic. The Dark Lord's ritual complete, she disappears. Vanitri runs back to the others and collapses into unconsciousness... And wakes up in the infirmary. He is soon released, meets up with Laynie and Elektra, and discusses the events. All of the abducted students and staff members and even some people from the New City were killed in the ritual, their souls irrecoverable (except for Tammy, who just turned out to be a deadbeat college drop out). At a dinner with the headmaster and the four housemasters, Vanitri tells a modified version of the events that transpired in the dungeon. Later on, he goes to dinner with Lex, and the two become a little closer. Years pass, and Vanitri earns his Journeyman's degree from the Academy. Laynie's still not old enough to join the Academy, but she's got a fair amount of knowledge about the arcane now. Elektra chooses to stay and study, while Vanitri and Laynie ride off to Orussus together, in search of adventure to pass the time until Laynie comes of age to attempt the Academy application. [b]The People[/b] [i]Teachers and Administrators:[/i] [b][smallcaps][color=silver]Headmaster Umbryn Albion[/color][/smallcaps][/b] is the headmaster of the Academy. Anyone can tell that this man is powerful just by looking at him. He appears a stereotypical old archmage, even with the robe and pointy hat, but he has an aura of power around him that belies his soft grey eyes. [color=skyblue][b][smallcaps]Professor Dorian Grywald[/smallcaps][/b][/color] teaches at the academy. He's a twenty-something blond-haired man. His robes are an ornate gilded version of the Omega House's robes with a bright red cloak and an emerald circlet. He is friendly and has a jesting manner. [color=cyan][b][smallcaps]Daryne Housemistress Rayne Liore[/smallcaps][/b][/color] is a half-elf professor, one of the rare non-human teachers at the Academy. She is quite friendly. She once lived in Orussus, where she managed to get a job as a clerk at the library before reading about the Academy and deciding that she must find it one day and join. They almost turned her away, but she was able to impress a few important people with her previous studies, including the old Housemistress, Adriona Mineria, who sponsored her as a graduate student and selected her as her successor when Rayne became a professor. She is capable of casting 4th level spells. [color=pink][b][smallcaps]Sice Housemistress Kharisa Valpyren[/smallcaps][/b][/color] is a beautiful and sophisticated human woman, though not as effusively friendly as Rayne Liore. She has a large elegantly furnished suite in the Sice tower. She found the dungeons and was present when Vanitri encountered the Dark Lord. [color=brown][b][smallcaps]Omega Housemaster Cedric Bronwen[/smallcaps][/b][/color] is a graying man. He is very interested in magical artifact research. His wife is a young woman named Adrianna. [b][smallcaps]Mordrue Housemaster Humboldt Tyndall[/smallcaps][/b] is even older than Headmaster Albion. [b][smallcaps][color=darkslategray]Dean Thrym Grolsen[/color][/smallcaps][/b] is the dean of the Academy Archives. [b][smallcaps]Professor Quent Galton[/smallcaps][/b] teaches at the academy. He handed out the admission test to Vanitri. [b]Professor Mikam Erlis[/b] teaches at the Academy, he is in House Omega. [b]Professor Byllik Namander[/b], Mordrue. [b]Professor Jarvys Dendril[/b], Mordrue. [b]Professor Friesa Dralkin[/b], Omega. [b]Professor Ewan Maldur[/b], Sice. [b]Professor Santhiel Alair[/b], Daryne. [b]Professor Adrianna Branwen[/b] Omega. Cedric's young wife, she fell in love with Cedric for his genius as a graduate student working under him. [i]Students:[/i] [color=red][b][smallcaps]Garrick Thendrin[/smallcaps][/b][/color] is a red-cloaked enchanter, a graduate student at the Academy. He is very proud of the Academy, even arrogant. He is quite stubborn, and like many Old Medibarians, disdainful towards foreigners. Despite his pride, he is not Highborne. He enjoys learning about history and knows a lot of details about the Medibarian empire. He sometimes serves the Academy in the capacity of welcoming visitors. [color=green][b][smallcaps]Layna Larinas[/smallcaps][/b][/color] is a green-cloaked Illusion graduate student at the Academy. She is Highborne, but unlike Garrick, she is kind. She has a graduate degree in illusion magic from the Academy but chose to stay on, teaching other students rather than "blasting the heads off of orcs with fireballs". [b][smallcaps]Damien Sorvrin[/smallcaps][/b], is an Academy graduate student specializing in Divination. [color=lime][b][smallcaps]Elektra Planter[/smallcaps][/b][/color] is a student at the Academy. She bonded with Vanitri during his studies. [b][color=yellow][smallcaps]Truman Kilner[/smallcaps][/color][/b] is a student at the Academy, in house Daryne. He is a dark-haired lad whose face has a bit of a grim set, but he's still fairly handsome, except perhaps for the dark eyepatch over his left eye, covered with a mystic rune. He's half-highborne. He's friends with Elektra. In the dungeons beneath the Academy, his Lesser Eyepatch of Reflection reflected one of the Dark Lord's spells back on her, weakening her and allowing Rayne to save the day. [color=orange][b][smallcaps]Alden Ferrous[/smallcaps][/b][/color] was a student at the academy, in house Daryne. He had red hair. He was Truman's roommate. He was Tammy's brother. Elektra took him to a school dance in the Sice tower once, but it didn't go so well. In the dungeons, in the battle with the Dark Lord, he appeared suddenly and sacrificed himself for Elektra. [b]Tammy Ferrous[/b] was a student at the academy. She had a crush on Truman, and was later discoverd to have administered love potions to him. She's Alden's sister. She disappeared mysteriously, and it was thought that she was abducted by the Dark Lord, but it turns out she just dropped out of school and became a prostitute on the streets of the New City in Old Medibaria. [b][color=white]Misha[/color][/b] is an albino dark elf student in Omega. She was infamous at the school because she killed another student in an illegal mage duel. Most students don't believe that it was an accident. She became close to Vanitri one night, but the next day she disappeared. It is presumed that she was killed and her soul was absorbed into the Philosopher's Stone. [color=gold][b]Kitty Valdaryne[/b][/color] is a student at the academy, in house Daryne. She has a large bosom, and is dating Alden Ferrous. Elektra thinks she's a bimbo. Elektra took Kitty's form as a disguise on her two dates with Vanitri into the New City. [b][color=blue]Rowan Aranah[/color][/b] is an Enchantment graduate student at the academy, in house Omega. He is handsome and well-muscled with long blond hair and blue eyes that sparkle. He's rather pompous and a lady's man. He was once cursed (not by Bestow Curse) by Elektra Planter and some co-conspirators. [b][color=cyan]Malak Saferi[/color][/b] is a student at the academy, in house Omega. He's quite the enterprising young researcher, and he somehow manages to pull off more A's than B's without studying at all. Studying doesn't help him much. [b][color=royalblue]Solon Valpyren[/color][/b] is a student at the Academy, in house Sice. He called Elektra a "lowblood whore". He's not very nice. He's Kharisa Valpyren's son. [b][color=red]Sarya Atropos[/color][/b] is a student at the Academy, in house Sice. She's Elektra's friend. [b]Jyrad[/b] is a 1st year student at the academy, in house Mordrue. [b]Cherise Malbin[/b] is a student at the academy, in house Mordrue. She was friends with Gaark and Lara before they were abducted. [b]Miliana Draenyst[/b] is a student at the academy, in house Mordrue. She is Cherise's roommate. [b]Kelin Jerias[/b] is a student at the academy, in house Omega. He was seen working in a lab area. [b]Gaark Bruskran[/b], 15-year-old male half-orc student of House Daryne, was thought to have committed suicide, but was eventually discovered to have been killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Lara Espree[/b], 23-year-old female half-elf student of House Omega, Gaark's friend. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Anvar Stormhammer[/b], 44-year-old male dwarf student of House Mordrue. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Ellie Valanise[/b] is an Omega student. She descends from Anoura Valanise. [b]Fern Ambrosia[/b] is an Omega student. [i]Staff[/i] [b]Agatha Evangeline[/b] is the name of an elderly human priestess and healer who works at the Academy. She is related to the PC Aletheia Evangeline. [b]Sican Goodbarrel[/b], 52-year-old male halfling janitor. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Baalsh One-Eye[/b], 28-year-old male half-orc groundskeeper. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Nalki Vriialia[/b], 150-year-old female elf gardener. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Vaaran Clanless[/b], 35-year-old male hobgoblin night watchman. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Brormar Anvilforge[/b], 152-year-old male dwarf janitor. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Allie Lightwagon[/b], female halfling janitor. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [b]Pyrrha[/b], an acolyte healer. Killed and absorbed by the Philosopher's Stone. [i]Other[/i] [b][smallcaps][color=magenta]Laynie[/color][/smallcaps][/b] is a very young orphan girl, discovered near Briarton with a gray render. Laynie is the reason that Vanitri was enrolled in the Academy. She's extraordinairly intelligent, and assisted him on his first entrance test, helping Vanitri tie with the highest grade ever scored on that part of the exam. Even after Vanitri earned his Journeyman's Degree from the Academy, Laynie still wasn't old enough to apply, so she left with Vanitri. [i]Villains[/i] [b][smallcaps][color=darkorchid]Elayna Valsice[/color][/smallcaps][/b], the Dark Lord. When the real Elayna was at the school, she imbued some of her essence in a special notebook, accidentally discovered by Laynie and Vanitri on their way to the school. Laynie was slowly possessed by the Dark Lord, and eventually the Dark Lord had enough control over her to start abducting students for the ritual which would fully materialize her. Though Vanitri intercepted her plans, Elayna Valsice still managed to complete the ritual and disappeared with the book. [/QUOTE]
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