Frostgrave RPG Campaign: The Bursar's Tale, Chapter II

The Bursar's Tale

Chapter II

Wherein Our Friends are Given Room and Board

While Anvarr is investigating the Pentangle works in the Library, the rest of the party goes to their lodging in the student domitories.

They find that the proctors are unceremoniously kicking a number of students from their residence so that that party can have their rooms.

Of course, this operation is being watched over by the ubiquitous Scribes.

Bozydar, who has returned from his fruitless visit to the Bursar's Offices, argues with the Chief Proctor, an officious Dwarf named Ingol Frossmounder. 

Braanx the Rangifer, having lived his whole life in the outdoors of Frostgrave, decides to set up camp in the quadrangle between the two dormitories.  He then begins feeding on the leaves and nuts of trees in the quad.  As these trees provide many of the components of magical spells, mixing them in the rangifer's stomach would have an interesting effect. 

Ultimately, Bozydar is able to convince the Chief Proctor that the party does not need to inconvenience the students and, being use to the rigors of Frostgrave, came easily camp in the unoccupied Echodrome.

Suddenly a great dark cloud brimming with arcane energy forms over the dormitories. 

 Eight fearsome specters emerge from the cloud and descend onto the dormatories.  They begin attacking anyone in their reach.

The proctors decide that their time would be better spent completing paperwork in their headquarters on the far side of the university.

Many of the students rise to the challenge and begin to fight back.  Unfortunately, their courage is greater than their skill and errant spell effects are flung about the quad.  Bozydar is struck accidentally by a Monstrous From spell and takes on the appearance of an ogre.

The party is more effective at fighting back against the specters.  They are led by Braanx whose rangifer aversion to the undead proves a great benefit.

The specters are soon driven off.  The menacing cloud roils on and moves above nearby Thephior Hall, a building containing many classrooms and laboratories but, on the ground floor, the Great Hall where faculty and students dine. Trails of ectoplasmic energy emerge from the cloud and appear to penetrate the Hall.

Braanx, the mix of magical leaves and nuts having acted like a potion of teleportation, moves to the roof of Thephior Hall.  He is followed by Redmane and Redmane's apprentice Thisby.

Atlantia and the rest of the party charge into the Great Hall.  There they find four large glass spiders, enchanted automatons used to serve wine and cut meat during meals, out of control and wreaking havoc.  They immediately move to the attack.  Much to the party's chagrin, they find that the spider's glass bellies carry acid rather than wine.

Meanwhile above, Redmane, Thisby, and Braanx begin casting spells upon the cloud, hoping to dissipate it.  While Redmane's Banish spell has some effect, the rangiger Pyre spell appears to be more effective.  With great effort, the trio manages to disperse the cloud, presumably driving off or destroying any of the entities that remained within.  They then rush to the ground floor to aid the rest of the party.

As the party battles the glass spiders, four great wraiths appear on the faculty dais, waited upon by four specters.

Dame Roswith, armed with her magic sword, Starshatterer, and assisted by Braanx and Ril, fight back against the specters.

The wraiths, all of whom are long dead followers of Malcor and all proficient in the various magics of the Pentangle, begin hurling spells at the party.  An Astromancer wraith launches a Meteor Strike spell that "knocks the ugly off of Bozydar," returning him to his normal form but severely wounding him.

The meteor continues on and strikes Atlantia a devastating blow.  Redmane, Thisby, and Urkmaas rush to protect her.  They quickly begin to cast Heal spells to try to revive her near lifeless body.

A Distortionist wraith casts a spell that brings down one of the support columns behind which Ril was taking cover.  The elf manages to avoid the Collapse with uncharacteristic agility.

With Atlantia revived, the wizards in the party can devote all their attention to counter-attacking the wraiths with a volley of Grenade spells.

Sir Emerick gets close enough to the Astromancer to use the Horn of Hellfire, causing the wraith to dissipate completely.  The remaining three wraiths flee through the walls of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall falls quiet.  The party now begins to ponder this sudden attack.  How did the cloud that was the source of these spectral entities appear so suddenly and without notice in the midst of a school of wizards?  Who had filled the bodies of the glass spiders with acid and how were the spells controlling the automatons negated?  The party was able to discern that the four wraiths against whom they battled represented schools of the Pentangle - Astromancer, Distortionist, Fatecaster, and Sononancer.  Where was the representative of the fifth school of the Pentangle, the Spiritualist? 

The party will have to delve further into these mysteries if Malcor is to be defeated....