March Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

March Event and Intro Log Golem On The Loose The rain never stops. Water and mud track all over campus. Diligent cleaning golems stomp about, mopping and scrubbing and polishing and then going back to do it all over again, and again, and again... One of them seems to have had it. The renegade golem bursts into Kedrigan Hall -- interrupting classes and disrupting labwork to furiously seize students and scrub every last scrap of mud and dirt off of them. All the halls have been locked off with "Under Cleaning" signs, and anyone who enters them meets with the golem's wrath, as it violently plays a pre-recorded message about not interfering with groundskeeping and deploys a giant claw-like tool to grab the interloper and put them back on unforbidden ground. The professors, who are after all completely immune to the golem's attention by its very design, seem to think this is a good learning opportunity for students. Is it? Horrible Spell Doom? "Are you sure you're ready for the test on Advanced Gaseous Discovery?" one upperclassman asks the other. "Of course I'm sure," the second says confidently. Whipping out a wand from a holster on her belt, she sweeps her wand through the air gracefully, pronouncing several Osmarian sigils as she draws them. Probably. "See, that's a blue cloud--" Said blue cloud, which puffs into being as the last syllable left her lips, abruptly doubls in size. Then it doubles in size again. And again. The upperclassmen, who have been in Diatu for several years and know exactly what this sort of thing means, don't hesitate. Not even stopping to share a glance between them, they run like crazy, leaving the growing cloud behind just as classes let out and students begin to enter the halls. But... surely it doesn't have any weird and wacky side effects, right? The Bala-inlota Parade (aka The Non-Horrible Prompt) To celebrate the start of the Bala-inlota season, Anastara spares no expense. The great parade and associated festival stretches the whole weekend, and the whole city puts on their colors and turns out for the fun. Enterprising vendors sell food, drinks, and souvenirs ranging from small and crude figurines to magical constructs that shine field displays onto flat surfaces so you can watch the action up-close! (Good luck affording that, students.) Practically any sort of entertainment you could want appears on the streets and canals of Anastara, and food and drink flow freely. Research On the Sundered With the arrival of the Sundered come those wizards engaged in research on their presence here, now set to investigate what brought them here and how to get them home. All newly-arrived Sundered students are asked to meet with representatives of the research team, to introduce themselves and relate what they will of their homes. In addition, the team requests samples of blood, hair, and skin -- carefully magically collected, and the researchers will sign in the presence of the Sundered a Glyphed contract that forbids them from using the samples for a purpose they know will be harmful. (They quite understand your reasons to be suspicious of this collection! And they will not compel anyone who refuses even given these conditions.) This month, the team has developed a Sundering spell that they warn is crude and unpolished, because the Curriculum is so unpracticed. They hope it will connect to your home worlds and establish a magical link they can build off of to open further passages. No promises! And to those who do undergo this spellwork... it has a certain side effect of confusion, as brief images from your home world flicker across your vision for a few hours afterwards. Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Have fun!

A Special Note

If you thread out one or more scenes based on the confusion from "Research on the Sundered", respond to the comment on this post with a link to that thread. The results of this will be revealed next month! (It is, we're afraid, not a regain, lest your participation be based solely on that hope!)

Comments

[nomoremistergneissguy]

Luckily for Rounder, he's tough, so he's not really going to get squished. He really is made of rock. Though there might be some nasty grinding noises as he rolls about beneath the golem's feet.

Meanwhile, Cliff took her words to suit his actions, and jumped at the golem's legs. He actually managed to get his arms around one leg, but that just had him be dragged around a bit.

"Just like wrestling with my uncle," he panted. He tried to move up towards the golem's waist, so he could try to wrap his legs around its legs and get a take down out of that.

[plusfivedex]

When Cliff mentioned wrestling his uncle, Kamala found herself laughing despite the rather serious situation they were in. This guy would probably make a great superhero, if only because he had the quips down. Spider-Man, in particular, would like him.

But she regained focus before the golem could shake her, and got up with her hands gripping its shoulder. From there, she made the rather risky move of swinging her self around, keeping her hold on the shoulder so she wouldn't fall as she tried to kick the creature's head. She made contact, yes, but it didn't seem to do much to it.

"...Crap."

[nomoremistergneissguy]

He hadn't even mentioned that his 'uncle' was a horse-sized wolf with a metal pelt yet, either! ...yeah, Cliff's family was weird.

Not that Cliff was having much success himself, as the golem resisted his attempts to scissor his legs shut and pin its own. Nor did there seem to be a way into its innards that he could see.

"Hang on, this is gonna be a real wild ride!" They didn't have broncos where Cliff came from, but he was getting a taste of his first rodeo, for sure.

The golem booted Rounder across the grass in its frenzy, but it didn't seem to faze the familiar much. The marble sphere paused, lifted its index finger in what seemed like excitement, and opened to bring out what looked like a small carafe of--oil, from inside it.

Cliff's eyes went wide. "Buddy, you wanna try and trip it? That's a great idea! If you can, go for it!" He figured that Rounder had a pretty good chance...

"Hang on tight, he's gonna try to grease its feet!"

[plusfivedex]

Grease its feet? The golem falling would be great, but if it feel at certain angles, it could totally crush her. Kamala winced. Was there any way she could guarantee her safety? And what about Cliff's?

"We're going to have to jump off first!"

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Okay." Yeah, he could kind of see her point, but Cliff also didn't want the golem getting distracted and going after either one of them before Rounder could get the oil on the golem.

It was a dilemma, for sure. But what was the worst that could happen?

Yeah...he probably shouldn't be asking himself that. But still. "You first!" he called out.

Oh, sure, he'll probably regret that in the next few moments, but he was pretty sure he could keep the golem's attention and fall or roll out of the way before he got crushed.

He hoped.

[plusfivedex]

"What?" Kamala blinked in surprise at the very noble gesture, but she wasn't about to let Cliff potentially get hurt so she wouldn't. That wasn't what a good hero did; what a good person did.

Unfortunately, Kamala didn't get to make up her mind on that, though, because the golem made a jerking turn, and Kamala lost her grip, falling to the ground.

"Uh-oh..." She was sore, but not injured, and scrambled to her feet.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

Cliff didn't really flip off of the golem, so much as fall off. So much for looking cool. Then again, he didn't exactly consider himself cool in the first place so...no great loss?

"Now! Do it now, Rounder!" he yelled, after spitting out a couple of blades of grass. Mmmm.

At least he hadn't had the wind knocked out of him. He pushed up from prone, even as his familiar tore under the golem. It made an admirable effort at trying to stomp him, even as the sphere threw the flask of oil at its foot, where it shattered, smearing it all over the sole.

And Rounder didn't have to worry about glass shards harming him in the end, either. Win/win, in Cliff's mind.

[plusfivedex]

As the golem struggled to stay upright, Kamala carefully but hurriedly made her way to Cliff. He seemed alright, but she wanted to make sure, and leaned by his side.

"Did you get hurt?" she asked, the golem temporarily forgotten. Because... Kamala didn't help others to beat the bad guy. Sure, it felt good and was important, but she did it just for the sake of helping. That was what really made her feel happy. Seeing that someone was okay.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Nah, 'm fine. It'd take more than that, even without my earth powers." Which was entirely truthful. "How about you, you okay?"

Cliff straightened a little and yelled at his familiar, even as Rounder zipped through the golem's legs again, it turned to try to keep an eye on him, and started to topple over. When it set its oiled foot down, that seemed to be the end of it, as it did an almost Stooge-like exaggerated fall and landed on its back.

"Be careful!" But he couldn't help but hiss a "Yessss!" under his breath as the golem went down, pumping a fist in the air.