"Wizard High School Part 7"

"Ashe opens up! But just a little bit. And is mostly angry about it." - Wizard High School Part 7.
== Plot Synopsis ==
The group enters a large room filled with a winding suspended platform, encountering a pool of blood splatter ahead of them. Markus licks the blood (it's human). They begin to proceed cautiously when they hear the grumblings of a trawlide in the distance, stopping briefly to explain the creatures to Markus. Rounding the corner the group finds a dead cultist that has had their organs turned to paste, and a gigantic trawlide several times larger than the ones encountered in the dungeon. A number of smaller trawlides and slime-dogs can also be seen in the distance.
Ashe, Gregor and Inien strategize. Markus tinkers with something off in a corner after briefly borrowing Thog's gun and a few spare bullets. While the others are still debating on a plan of attack, Markus reveals that he has crafted a revolver out of shadows and fires at one of the smaller trawlides. He misses the vulnerable gills, but attracts it's attention and that of a nearby slime-dog (identified as a "hellhound" by Gregor). Leaving Gregor and Ashe to deal with the small trawlide by pushing it off the platform, Markus moves on to the giant trawlide. He stands with a gap in the platforms between himself and the trawlide, creates the illusion of a platform between them, and shoots with the shadow gun to goad it into charging. The plan works and the trawlide charges off the platform and falls to the floor below. Unfortunately trawlides are very good at jumping. The giant trawlide destroys part of the platform from below and continues to engage Markus at close quarters on one path while the rest of the group engages the hellhound on another. Inien reveals that she'll be no help against the magic-weak hellhound because she's out of magic. Gregor switches off to distract the giant trawlide so that Markus can deal with the hellhound, but not before Markus attempts to use his shadow gun on the trawlide again and shatters his hand.
Gregor leads the trawlide down the alternate path towards a group of slime-dogs and a smaller trawlide, attempting to get it to trample them. The rest of the group meets up with Gregor where the paths converge and help him to escape with them to the door, mostly via Ashe throwing Inien at the smaller enemies as a distraction. The trawlide tramples the other enemies (though the slime dogs reform) and continues to chase them down the platform. Rather than simply escape at this point, Gregor decides to slay the giant trawlide, managing to catch it in the gills with his glaive with Ashe's help in creating a distraction by using her "not-magic" to slough off all of its skin and spines. The group exits to the next room.
The elevated platform continues as group progresses into a suspiciously chimera-free room. They promptly trigger another trap. Everyone is picked up by a magical wind and swept away to the floor below, except for Thog who managed to hold on to the platform railing. Gregor and Markus fall into a pair of barrels (sheep's wool for Gregor and nails for Markus), while Ashe and Inien are slammed into a wall. Both Ashe and Inien lose consciousness as a large group of wizard cultists enter the room, lead by a masked man. The masked man identifies Ashe and Inien as intruders and directs the cultists to take them away. 
Markus and Gregor almost manage to stay unnoticed as they are concealed in their respective barrels, but attract the attention of a straggler. They subdue the man and begin to confront another pair of wizards, but Colvin appears before the situation can escalate and vouches for "Horatio Protagoniste" and "Gregor's Evil Twin". He offers to lead them to the leader of the Coven of Dusk so that they can continue their quest for "the truth".
Ashe and Inien wake up bound in manacles in a janitorial closet (as the masked man had said earlier: the cells were full). Inien pressures Ashe to use more of her "not magic" powers to get them out of this situation, revealing that she recognizes the markings on Ashe's body as a form of "bindings" used to contain a huge and inexplicable power. It is explained that the reason Ashe rarely uses this power is because she is afraid of being consumed by it, but Inien callously dismisses these fears. Angry and with no other options, Ashe lets loose and reveals a "giant hand of moss and stone" that she uses to sever the chains holding herself and Inien. They exit the closet intending to go on a rampage.
== Trivia ==
Unique Puppetry animations:
*[7:00] Markus shoots a revolver
== Quotes ==
*Markus: So any weak points that prove to be useful? Because I've only had a passing...experience...with trawlides...
*Gregor: Oh, yeah, the gills. And not the head, or face, or back.
*Markus: Great! And the gills are...?
*Gregor: The gill spot!
*Ashe: They're on the side! You've never seen a trawlide before!
*Markus: Of course I've seen a trawlide before Ashe, what do you take me for?
----
* Markus: Oh hey, another dead body.
* Gregor: It looks fresh... 'cus there's still blood coming out of it.
----
* Inien: Ok, I'm a little concerned about this one... These things are magic resistant.
* Ashe: Oh, they are?
* Inien: Yes, very. It's because of their bad attitudes.
* Ashe: Bad attitudes?
* Inien: Yes.
* Ashe: Whoa. Then Thog should be extremely magic resistant.
* Thog: I am Ashe, thanks for asking.
* Ashe: You are!?
* Thog: I dunno.
----
* Ashe: We need a plan. I don't want to fight it. I don't.
* Gregor: I kinda do...
----
* Markus: Whoa, good job Ashe.
* Ashe: I can't even begin--- I'm going to choke you to death later.
* Markus: That's great. My hand hurts, can you heal it?
* Ashe: No.
* Markus: *Markus holds out his hand. There are bones sticking out of it.*
* Ashe: Maybe... a little bit, yes.
----
* Inien: I really hope you rely on these people and trust them absolutely because otherwise, we're going to die in here like dogs. Or, you could just release those bindings you have on and break out something wonderful that I haven't seen before.
* Ashe: Wonderful!? You think it's wonderful!?
* Inien: Potentially. Could be terrible. I'm assuming it's wonderful.
* Ashe: It's not wonderful, Inien.
* Inien: Why not?
* Ashe: Why not--- You know what, fine! I don't use it because every time I do, it feels like a piece of me gets carved away! I feel a little bit less each time! Maybe one day I'll be walking around, yelling at everybody like normal, "Oh, Ashe, there you go", but I'll be empty. And nobody is going to notice.
* Inien: See? That is wonderful.
* Ashe: How could you call that wonderful!?
* Inien: What you have left inside of you is clearly some sort of inexplicable, horrid, huge power. What's being carved away is your nasty human bit. Please, the power itself isn't something to blame. In fact, you should celebrate it. Everything that separates you from the normal wretches of the world, all that's just dandy. Losing just a bit of yourself, that's fear. That's your human part. The part that needs to poop three times a day, calling out.
----
* Inien: Okay, so it's rampage time. It's clearly rampage time.
* Ashe: It's clearly rampage time. First them, then you.
* Inien: Hooray!
Category:Wizard High School episodes