1. New Student Orientation

"I see... Thank you, Professor Starforge. Taverns aren't my usual choice of haunt, but if I can find more of this, then I may just have to drop by." Marlena happily finishes off her pastry. "Gods, it's like there's pixie dust added in."

She initially hesitates to join in on the pact, her thoughts being more align with Zix's, but after Greta says her piece, Marlena is convinced to place her hand on top of Dorian's. "Okay, I'm in. You lot seem alright so far, so... Tour buddies!" Marlena chuckles sheepishly.

Zix giggles a bit at Dorian's extremely loose reinterpretation of a pact, then saw that even Marlena was swayed, and figured no harm would be done from such a minor commitment. "All right. A promise to watch each other's backs and support each other, at least until after we choose otherwise and say we're out," Zix added a hand on top. "Tour buddies."

As you accept the pact and finish the toast and the last bites of your enchanted pastries, Professor Starforge claps her hands together, signaling the next stage of orientation.

"Right, my eager scholars! To the lecture hall of the Biblioplex. Let’s get you all settled before the real fun begins."

The hall she leads you to is vast, with rows of tiered benches forming a semi-circle around a central podium. Senior students and faculty have already cleared out, leaving only first-years to fill the space. Most of them look fresh-faced and untested, regular students without any magic training or instincts of battle.

The room hums with excitement, students still abuzz from the day's events, when suddenly...

A scream rips through the hall.

"That chair!" a young elf girl shrieks, pointing toward the stacks as she sprints past. "That chair has teeth! Please, anyone, stop it!"

Chaos erupts. Students scatter in every direction, papers and books flying as panicked bodies collide in the rush to get away. Some trip over benches, others push toward the exits, creating a bottleneck at the doors.

Professor Starforge is already moving. She tries to corral the panicked students. "Stay calm! No pushing! Move in an orderly fashion..."

But she’s only one person, and the situation is spiraling fast.

From the corner of your eye, a shape scuttles between the benches—a monstrous chair, its wooden legs bending like insect limbs, its seat splitting into a jagged maw lined with too-white teeth. The creature gnashes hungrily before lunging forward, knocking over a student as it moves.

Kiraen has her figthing wand out in a eyeblink. Suddenly, she has the stiletto dagger out and stands in front of her pack—pact—tour buddies. That is a horrible name, but she just gave an oath to protect them.

She points her wand at the Nervous gnome and projects a handful of images looking like the gnome, giving the animated furniture multiple targets to choose from

This is not the first she has been in real combat. But it is the first time her companions haven't been trained drow warriors.

Some sort of chair mimic? Marlena can't help but wonder if this is someone's idea of a prank. However, there's no time to think about it now. She feels compelled to do something!

While Kiraen's casting her illusion, Marlena digs into her satchel of holding and pulls out a prototype she's been working on. It's a metallic sphere no bigger than an apple, inactive Excidium runes carefully carved into the surface. A thin line divides the sphere in half. A mechanical click rings out as she twists the halves, disengaging the mechanism keeping the sphere firmly shut. It takes a more pill-like shape as it opens, revealing an ice-blue crystal held within that starts violently reacting to the air, spilling subzero fog and trembling wildly. Simultaneously, the runes light up.

Marlena lets the prototype ice grenade cook in her hands for a couple seconds, then lobs it at the monstrous chair!

The Dragon Guard ensures the safety of all within these grounds, Zix recalls, finds the nearest warden, or at least anyone bearing the closest resemblance to the previously seen representatives of the Dragon Guard . . . unfortunately there is nobody who could plausibly match that description. Zix then turns to face Greta, and begins humming an enchanting tune with the intent of enhancing her physical capabilities - more speed to get to the distressed student sooner, strength to be able to overcome the threat easier, toughness to minimise the risk of serious injury. It was a modest enchantment, but it seemed like betting on the someone used to physical solutions to problems was better than trying to take the plunge into the fray, at least on the first day and under the circumstances.

Dorian similarly acts on instinct. Not instinct per se, but more like carefully reasoned actions prepared spontaneously and without forethought.

He presses the air together between the girl and the monster chair to give her some protection from it's particular brand of dis-comfort.

As the monstrous chair rears back for another lunge, with a flick of her wrist, Kiraen conjures a flurry of illusory duplicates of the gnome, each one mimicking his panicked flailing.

The chair’s jagged maw pauses mid-snap, its wooden legs skittering as it hesitates, confused by the sudden swarm of identical targets. Its hungry, twisting form flickers between them, unsure which is real. It buys them precious seconds.



But instead of running, the nervous gnome, still frozen in place, glances around in shock as half a dozen versions of himself do the same.Marlena, fueled by adrenaline and the need to act, yanks the experimental grenade from her satchel. The Excidium runes glow as the ice-blue core meets the air, fog spilling from its seams in an eerie cascade. With a sharp twist, she activates the device and hurls it toward the mimic.

She miscalculates.The grenade bounces off the back of a chair, spinning wildly before slamming into the floor just short of its intended target. The freezing reaction activates immediately, a burst of ice spreading across the wooden tiles between them and the monster. Marlena barely has time to curse before Dorian attempts to press the air into a protective barrier between the gnome and the monster.

The force takes—but not as intended.

In the chaos, the shimmering barrier forms around the wrong target. The mimic lets out a guttural, wooden creak as it finds itself wrapped in an invisible cocoon of safety, shielded from any attacks. It hesitates, seemingly surprised by its newfound protection—then its jagged maw spreads into what could only be described as a wicked grin.

The creature slams its wooden legs against the barrier, testing it, and when it holds, it begins to circle inside, watching its would-be attackers with something disturbingly close to amusement.

---

Complications and injuries
Chair mimic: None
Nervous gnome: None
Room: Slippery floors (D6)

Assets and bonuses
Chair mimic: Force field (D6)
Nervous gnome: Mirror images (D6)
Greta: Enhanced strength (D6)

Zix decides that the lack of cohesion lasted for too long. Someone has to try to organise the defenders, and there was a seemingly likely candidate, but he decided to take a different approach, and it would be unwise to make a bet he'd pick up the reins now. Someone had to step up, and it might as well be Zix.

At least it's worth a try.

The doppelgänger expands it ribcage and lungs slightly to shout louder. "Greta, defence in depth - stay at the front, but with retreats as necessary! Gnome, fall back to the exit, Critic, show the way! Lena, you can add water when the chair is on the iced floor or something," Zix took a breath. "Kira, your wand is a weapon, it's time for it to shine along with you."

Maybe I overstepped my bounds. Maybe Dorian would be better at this after all . . .

She hears Zix's guidance—It was impossible not to—but she had other plans. "No, I've got an idea!" As her ice grenade didn't work out so well, Marlena's eager to prove the effectiveness of her inventions. Kneeling, she slips her satchel off her shoulder and upends it, dumping a bunch of half-finished magitech works in front of her. She starts to take bits and pieces from each creation, hastily reconstructing them into what looks to be some sort of hand cannon. Her enchanted tools allow her to work at an almost inhuman pace. She's in the midst of carving Excidium runes along the barrel that would allow its magic shots to rot organic matter, like wood.

Zix is yelling something, but not doing anything. Kiraen rush Gretas aid, but around the frozen patch (if possible). She tries to cut one of the leg joints.

Zix’s voice boomed over the chaos, issuing commands in an attempt to turn their disjointed efforts into a coordinated strategy.
Greta’s thick brows furrowed. Retreat? Defense in depth? She was no stranger to strategy—football had its own formations and tactics, after all—but she didn’t appreciate being micromanaged in the middle of a fight. Worse, the way Zix barked orders irked her. She wasn’t about to let some shapeshifter tell her how to handle herself.

"Nah," she grunted, lowering her stance. "I’ll just hit it harder."

With a powerful push, she charged at the mimic, shoulder braced to tackle it. But she hadn’t accounted for Dorian’s force barrier. The moment she made impact, the force field repelled her with a loud thud! She staggered backward, shaking her head as if she had just rammed into a stone wall. "The hell?" she muttered, dazed.Meanwhile, the gnome, wide-eyed and jittery, barely processed Zix’s shouted instructions. Critic flapped its wings, trying to herd the panicked student toward the exit, but the gnome’s feet wouldn’t cooperate. Instead of running, he scrambled in place like someone trying to move through deep mud, tripping and landing flat on his back. He let out a helpless squeak, arms flailing.

Marlena heard Zix's guidance—impossible not to, really—but she was already working on something else. She was able to build a magic hand cannon. Her hands worked with near-inhuman precision, carving Excidium runes into the barrel. A weapon designed to rot organic matter, perfect for attacking a creature made of living wood. She grinned to herself, eager to prove her inventions could succeed where the grenade had failed.Meanwhile, ignoring the frozen patch and Zix’s yelling, Kiraen dashed around the slick floor and went straight for the mimic. She quickly closed the distance. With a swift, calculated slash, she sliced clean through one of the mimic’s legs.

A guttural screech echoed through the hall as the creature stumbled, its balance thrown off. One limb severed, it swayed violently, trying to stay upright.Zix’s plan had crumbled before it could take shape, but Kiraen’s instinctive strike had drawn first blood.

Now the fight was truly on - the half-drow thought.

---

Complications and injuries
Chair mimic: Severed leg (Major injury, D8)
Nervous gnome: None
Room: Slippery floors (D6)

Assets and bonuses
Chair mimic: Force field (D6)
Nervous gnome: Mirror images (D6)
Greta: Enhanced strength (D6) None

Dorian sees Greta falter and he decides to help her. First, he stumbles backwards, waving his arms. "Hey, buddy, are you ready to RECLINE and ROCK like a CHAIRman of the board?"

Dorian’s words rang out, laced with magic, and Greta felt an immediate surge of power coursing through her muscles. Her limbs tingled, her stance steadied, and suddenly, she felt stronger. A lot stronger.The force field had stopped her once, but now? That was just a warm-up.

Greta clenched her fists, rolling her shoulders as she adjusted to the newfound strength. Her boots dug into the floor, and a grin—wild and full of challenge—split her face.

"Oh, hell yeah."

---

Complications and injuries
Chair mimic: Severed leg (Major injury, D8)
Nervous gnome: None
Room: Slippery floors (D6)

Assets and bonuses
Chair mimic: Force field (D6)
Nervous gnome: Mirror images (D6)
Greta: Enhanced strength (D8)