Opula 1.1: Fright at the Museum
The Opal Academy: Session 1
General Summary
Ivae Peral and Phoenix DeTrafford-Brandwreath are two students at The Opal Academy of Konaïs. During their third year at the academy, they meet for the first time when both of them are assigned the same official school assignment, a yearly "quest" of sorts which each student is required to do to be allowed to pass to the next year. The two of them are tasked with meeting one of the school's scouts out in the small town of Hylith to the south. There they will be required to work together to "retrieve" a magical artifact from a tourist trap named Waymond's World of Wonders.
They set out on their quest the very next day. The journey is long, the continent of Opula stretches far without any signs of civilisation. Their only other civilised resting stop in between Konaïs and Hylith is a small town called Biggetyburg. Here the two stay at the Burg and Breakfast Inn and Tavern, after which they continue their journey.
After pushing through a days-lasting rainstorm, the two finally arrive in the small town, where they immediately search for the Horned Hare inn to find this scout they were told to meet. This man is a dwarf named Sigmeyer Hornfell, he doesn't think much of the two and seems to find the entire encounter a chore, complaining to the two and telling them that he'll only help them as much as he needs to.
The man explains that the two are looking for a book. An old tome located somewhere within the tourist trap. He's done some scouting while waiting for the two, so he's able to tell them that besides some guards standing outside the building at night, the only person inside it should be Waymond himself, as he lives on the second floor of the building. Sigmeyer had purchased a ticket to look at the collection himself, so he knows that the book itself is not being presented to the public yet, meaning it must be in a storage space somewhere in the building, as Waymond does not seem to own any other property in the town.
The team decides to first scout out the premises, and break in under the cover of darkness, deciding that they can go through with the burglary that night. Phoenix creates a small light, distracting one of the two guards at the front door and leading them away. The other guard is charmed by Phoenix and allows them inside. Ivae casts an invisibility spell on himself, and Phoenix casts and Alter Self, transforming into one of the guards.
One leaves to investigate. The other is easily persuaded by Phoenix’s charm person spell that he’s an old friend who needs to run a quick errand. The party manages to get inside. They quickly notice the place is full of portraits of the same middle-aged man, presumably the owner. They begin to explore the lower floor. Behind one door they find several exhibits placed on stands. A deck of unknown packaged cards, a leaf from a magical tree, and a statue of the owner that changes its form to Ivae and Siegmeier respectively after being touched by them.
Not finding the item they were looking for, the team decides to go investigate upstairs. Phoenix attempts to pick the lock of the only upstairs door, but fails and ends up damaging the lock. Siegmeier tries it too, but the lock is too damaged to be picked. Hearing a rumbling of someone stirring in their sleep coming from behind the door, Ivae quickly turns invisible, and Phoenix transforms themselves into a human wearing the same uniform as the guards outside. The door is then opened by a disgruntled Waymond Finnith. Phoenix explains there may have been a burglary attempt and needs to inspect the room. Begrudgingly, he agrees. However, a quick scan of the bedroom reveals it’s mostly empty, except for a bed, closet and a desk full of uninteresting documents. He apologizes and leaves, after saying his name is “Redge” to the angry boss who wishes to have him reprimanded.
After they exit, Phoenix and Ivae hear a click coming from inside the room as if some mechanism has been activated. Phoenix drops their disguise and begins to head back downstairs. Two women’s busts mounted at the bottom of the stairs suddenly rotate and their eyes begin to glow, soon sending a bolt of electric energy to Phoenix who falls down the stairs. Siegmeier checks in on them to make sure they’re not too hurt. The still invisible Ivae hears a sound, but doesn’t realize it was Phoenix. He begins to have an argument, pretending to be Phoenix in disguise with Waymond. The angry Waymond calls for his guards to come capture the party members.
Phoenix checks the remaining doors to find the toilets and a locked office. Siegmeyer kindly picks the lock for him. When Phoenix enters, a parrot begins to scream about intruders and flies at them. The bird misses, and is shot through the neck with an arrow by Siegmeyer. With a button one of the paintings in the hall showing Waymond holding a dead rabbit and a crossbow slides away to reveal a secret passage. The party manages to hide there right on time before guards enter to look for them.
As they follow some steps down a trap opens, triggered by Phoenix, causing them to fall into a pit. They’re helped out by Ivae using a rope. In the room at the bottom are a bookshelf and a door. Ivae begins to remove books trying to find the magical tome, while Phoenix inspects the room. They find a desk with glue and other supplies on it, plus shelves full of makeshift magical artifacts. Lastly, they hear the growling of a pink panther from a cage. Soon Ivae picks up a book about said panther, triggering a mechanism that opens the cage’s door. Phoenix quickly goes back into the other room, followed by an angry panther. Siegmeier manages to get a few arrows in it before Phoenix shoves it into the same pit they fell in with their quarterstaff. They finally find the correct book, a self-help guide to success written by Waymond himself. This causes the bookshelf to open, revealing an octagonal room with a pedestal displaying the very book they need.
Phoenix notices a trap, so they attempt to switcharoo the book with one from the bookshelf, but fails and triggers the mechanism. Clay begins to pour in from holes in the ceiling. It forms itself into a hulking clay golem with glowing green eyes. After a long fight in which Siegmeyer is badly wounded before managing to burn part of the clay, turning it into crumbling dust. Phoenix manages to blow of its arm off with a witch bolt that leaves it leaking liquid clay. The golem is soon destroyed.
They take the book and head back up the same stairs. They hear the guards arguing and looking for them on the other side. They all throw the painting door open and bolt for the front door. Ivae is slightly slower, but still quicker than the guards. Luckily, none of them are caught and disappear into the night without being recognized. They immediately take their horses at the inn and head back as fast as possible.
They pause every night to sleep, taking turns keeping watch. One night, Ivae and Phoenix wake up to find that the book and Siegmeyer are both missing. Luckily, clear footprints in the mud lead them to him after an hour of running. They find him in a clearing in the woods, his eyes purple with corruption from the book’s necrotic powers. A fight ensues in which Ivae manages to kill him, and Phoenix accidentally summons a triangular golem with wild magic. They take the book and Siegmeyer’s armband as proof of what happende to him. Phoenix inspects the book to find that the black ironwork around the purple leather cover was made by their family company, the DeTrafford-Brandwreath Artisan Blacksmithing Corporation. After a few more days they return to the university to return the book and collect their rewards. Ivae tries to convince the academy to let him keep the book for study, but is sternly refused. Phoenix is still followed by their reputation of accidentally blowing up a teacher.
Almost a year later, Phoenix and Ivae have started becoming friends. As the festival of the three sisters is taking place, they practice on the academy grounds to teach Phoenix how to control their wild magic. This draws a handful of other students’ attention, who wonder what’s going on. One girl is accidentally poisoned by a spell and taken to the infirmary. Ivae is hurt several times by powerful attacks, but manages to heal himself every time. They end their training session.
Report Date
24 Jul 2022
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