August Event Log

[magicademymods]

August Event Log Performance of a Lifetime Valhudor, ever eager for a chance to take the stage, has launched a flash-theater campaign across the campus. Wherever students might gather, be it the Great Hall or the Promenade or the Library of Starchime or whatever, there a play will erupt, acting out the tumultuous events of the Three Dragon War. The director-ringleaders, with all the ethics of Captain Lominia, don't hesitate to shanghai students into the feature itself. Usually, these roles are that of Cowering Student #1, Useless Faculty Member With One Shoe, or Comedy Relief Pratfall Victim, and you're expected to mostly just sit there, ad-lib a little, and generally make the actors playing the Three Dragons look good. Do you behave just to get it over with, or take your role into your own hands for a little revenge? Or perhaps you're determined to take the role of a dragon and make this play your own! Alternatively, you might be looking to cash in on the bounty for the safe return of their performing surface to Brindavil Theater. These students, unfortunately... took the stage. The Great Familiar Audition With finals coming to a close for many students and graduation (or flunking) at hand for many, the cycle of academic life comes full circle once again. Airships discharge students into Anastara, the local schools send their best and brightest up the street, and the constabulary once again has to stop that creepy guy who keeps trying to kidnap school-bound students with a 'magic' train on an alleged, misnumbered 'platform' made of paper mache. And with these students come beasts of all shape and size, eager to audition for the role of familiar. Consequently, the campus is absolutely flooded with owls, cats, snakes, rats, and more, all looking for their in with a wizard. Unfortunately, they're just animals, so sometimes this results in unintended hilarity results. There's nothing quite like opening your dresser only for an unexpected snake to pop up and offer you your underwear, unless it's two snakes each offering you half of your underwear after a furious territory dispute ended in a tie. Owls deafen everyone with incessant hooting. Swarms of rats establish packs and engage in dance-fights, probably to catch the eyes of Valhudor students. The cats are oddly the most tolerable potential familiars, since they just wander around pushing stuff off of surfaces and demanding food and attention, the same as they always do. Familiar-cuckoos appear, making every effort to rub out the competition and take their places in order to get fat and lazy off the hard work of their 'master'. Also for some reason a corgi has a shiv and knows how to use it, so you better give him your sausages right now, huh? No, no one will ever believe you. The Food Cartening Though Anastara's restaurants get most of the culinary glory, a true Anastaran will tell you that the food carts of the city are as fundamental to the city as the island of Ascelion itself. When pressed, said Anastaran will reluctantly admit that no, if you take the food carts away the city won't engage in unsupported freefall, but the truth is that as a city of trade, commerce, and tourism, the food carts really are quite amazing here. But which one is the best? Famous chef Rodden Grimmslay wants to know the answer, and has issued a challenge to ever food cart: register for Cartfest, where the offerings will be put to the taste-tests of both the chef and the city at large! So welcome to the celebration, where food styles from across the Tenscore Kingdoms fill the air with competing, delicious scents and merriment abides. (The breweries are probably the real financial winners here.) Hailfight When you ask a wizard if they are capable of controlling the weather, they will engage in a long, rambling explanation of wind currents, tides, cloud albedo, size and effort, the breakdown of order, and any number of other factors that complicate the issue. When you ask a student if they can control the weather, they say, "sure," and with a wave of their wand cause the falling hail to focus directly on you. When, aggrieved, you point out that you hadn't meant it like that, another wave of their wand sends the hailstones that had just hit you back into the air to pelt you again. With a fierce hailstorm rolling across Ascelion, battle rages across the campus. From mean-spirited surprise attacks to hailstone chicken to almost literal war zones complete with bunkers, artillery support, and the occasional gas attack depending on what was for lunch, most students just can't resist playing with the hailstones and their magic. Whether you're in a duel, hunkered down in the trenches, a victim of a cheap shot, or an active instigator... you can probably get away, but only with skill and panache can you seize victory! (Many years later, linguists will identify this as the root derivation of the otherwise nonsense phrase 'hail, seizer'. Little Tenscore Kingdoms etymology lesson for you all there. Free of charge. Don't say the mod team never did anything for you.)

Comments

[travelpants]

"I don't know, but I do hope to find their missing owners quickly before this place gets overrun by animal familiars everywhere," Lena admits while trying not to step on the mice she hasn't gathered up yet and hoping that Marly doesn't try to eat a single mouse.

"Does anyone here have any ideas or suggestions to make that the cats and mice don't run into each other?" she asks June and anyone else present for any humane way to wrangle up the familiars.

[sweetsummerchild03]

June nods, looking at all the animals gathered around them. "Yeah...I bet they're lonely without their owners."

She thinks for a moment, reaching down to scoop up the little elf owl as it starts stalking some of the mice as well. "Hmm...maybe we could put all of mice in some boxes without the lids? We can try to put the cats in another area too, but we'll have to make sure they don't climb out or anything."

[travelpants]

"Good idea, June. We need to start finding any lidless boxes that we can find in the school and gather as many as we can, and corral the cats into another part of the area," Lena nods in agreement.

There is an empty box waiting to be used on a table nearby, so Lena swoops in to grab with one hand while still holding onto Marly with her other arm.

"Here, I had this box here, we should get started in getting the mice into it quickly," she informs June as she shows her the box.

[sweetsummerchild03]

"Okay!" Looking at the owl, she says, "Do you think you could find us a few more boxes?"

The owl looks at her for a long moment, but eventually hops out of her hands and takes off out of the room. Then June heads over and carefully picks up a few of the mice.

"You'll be safe in here," she tells them as she places them down inside Lena's box.

[travelpants]

Lena also begins to gather many eager and hyper mice as much as she can while trying to stop Marly from letting her feline instincts from pouncing on them. She is able to locate some more lidless boxes nearby and distribute any mice she and June could get their hands on into said boxes.

Marly is feeling kinda sad that her master is not letting her to have a bite on the mice, but then again, Lena isn't risking to incur the wrath of concerned mouse owners if she let her get her way.

[sweetsummerchild03]

After a while, the little elf owl flutters back into the classroom, carrying a box in its talons. As it flies overhead, it releases the box for June to catch.

"Thanks!" she says as the owl perches on her shoulder again. "...gosh, I should give you a name, huh?"

[travelpants]

"It looks like that owl is liking for you, June," Lena smiles when she sees the owl flies onto her shoulder, "So what are you going to name them?"

Marly finally gives up any chances to snack on some mice by this time; Lena is hoping to make it up for her by finding some good cat food after all of this soon.

[sweetsummerchild03]

She giggles, gently petting the owl. "Yeah! I think this one's my familiar." While some of other animals had tried coming up to her, this one feels different somehow.

"I'm not sure what to call him, though. I've never had to name an owl before."

[travelpants]

"He does look very friendly and cuddly," she scratches the back of her head absentmindedly, "No need to be on the rush to name him: I'm pretty sure that it will come in time soon."

She could honestly hear Marly meowing in anguish as her way to say that she is very hungry, maybe even a growling from the stomach as well. Please be patient, Marly, she will give you the food real soon.

[sweetsummerchild03]

"I hope so! I don't wanna keep calling him just 'owl' all the time."

Gently scratching the owl's head, June then glances around. "Did we get all of the mice?"

[travelpants]

"Oh yeah, I think that we'll need to check before any cats try to go after them," Lena suddenly realizes that they need to double check if they managed to get all the mice before the cats could go after them.

She then proceeds to frantically look at every table, bench, chair, and anything else to see if there are any mice still hiding within them. Panic ensues as she wonders of their whereabouts.

[sweetsummerchild03]

"Okay!"

While Lena checks on the ground, June scales up a nearby shelf to look for any mice that might have tried climbing to get away from the cats.

"None of them up here!"

[travelpants]

"None of them are hiding behind the benches so far," Lena checks in after scanning around the benches and tables for minutes, I haven't found a single mouse under the benches either. Did we catch all of them in the great hall by now?"

It looks like that they may found all the mice they could find, maybe it is time to search in the other areas of the school as well?

[sweetsummerchild03]

"It looks like it! That might be all the mice in here." Jumping from the bookshelf, she flips before landing on the ground. "Maybe we should check some of the other rooms! We should take the boxes with us too, so they don't stay here with all the cats."

[travelpants]

"Yeah, I agree as well: we'll need to check the other rooms to see if there are any mice hiding in there and grab all the boxes we can find," Lena nods as they head off to the next room.

She soon gathers up as many boxes she could find in the Hall to put any mice she and June would be trying to find in the other rooms they will be visiting and gave some of it to the young duck girl for her to use. Marly on the other hand groans about lunch right now, it's just cat instincts.

[sweetsummerchild03]

June gently taps on her little owl, and it flaps its wings and takes off to find more boxes. Then she picks up the box with mice inside and follows after Lena.

[travelpants]

While scanning for any runaway mice, Lena comes across a classroom that is literally surrounded with mice and some of the students panicked while they seek shelter on top of the desks.

She motions June and her owl familiar to come over to this classroom and she wonders how could they try to get the mice into the boxes without losing track of them again.

[sweetsummerchild03]

When her owl returns with another box, June catches it and follows Lena into the classroom.

"They must be getting hungry," June says thoughtfully. "We've been at this for a while."

[travelpants]

"Do you suppose we need to get something for them to get inside without causing too much distress on everyone in campus?" Lena asks after taking a little peek of the mice infested classroom.

She couldn't get over the screams the students in the room are making while the mice scamper about on the floor.

[sweetsummerchild03]

June thinks for a moment, looking from the mice skittering around the room to the box in her hand. "Oooooh! Or maybe we can try to lure the mice into the boxes with food?"

[travelpants]

"Why, that could also work," Lena informs her, "We'll need to get some food from the kitchen, maybe put them inside the boxes, and let the mice to come to the food themselves. Let's hope that it will work."

[sweetsummerchild03]

She nods. "Okay! I could run and get some!"

[travelpants]

"Great thinking, June! Now let's get to the kitchen and start finding food for them to get to," Lena happily agrees with her while Marly meows in concern for her stomach's hunger, though she is so far behaving herself for her master's sanity's sake.

[sweetsummerchild03]

"Yeah!" With an excited giggle, she holds the box up over her head and starts skipping out of the room. "Let's go!"

[travelpants]

Upon arriving at the kitchen (which was left unattended by the kitchen staff during the chaos that ensued) with June, Lena begins to search cabinets, pantries, barrels, etc. to find things for the mice to nibble on and get the scared students off from their desks safely.

Among the things she was able to find are cheese, bread, leafy greens, and apples: she isn't sure if this would be very helpful, but she still hopes for the best.