Kai-El

Character art by Brahahaga

### Affliation

Lor-El (mother)Jondara 'Jon' Kelby (stepfather)Kno-El (sister)Maik-El (biological father)

## Character Information

### Proficiencies

Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Performance, Persuasion

## Biographical Information

### Height

6'3"

Kai lives by one philosophy: in a world of heroes, be a superhero. Like his superion ancestors before him, Kai feels pulled by the call to heroism and a responsibility to protect and guide the weak and terrestrial races of the multiverse with his innate power and purpose. So how better to give them an example to strive for than to amass a following as an arcane influencer and magical model? And now that he’s enrolled in Strixhaven as a Prismari student, he’s set to prove himself to the world — and to himself!

## Character Biography

### Acceptance

Kai-El was lying by a sunlit pool, flipping through sending stone notifications on his StonelyFans account, when an envelope bearing his name landed next to him.  He opened it to find an acceptance letter to Strixhaven University School of Mages.  Kai tried to find his parents and share the news, which took some time due to the size of the house.  He eventually found them in one of the back rooms, where his mother, Lor-El, was enjoying a drink while his stepfather, Jondara ‘Jon’ Kelby, was repairing a pipe.  When Kai told them the news, the parents exchanged looks.  Kai was confident his acceptance into Strixhaven University meant he would enter Prismari College, like his father, Maik-El.  Lor-El cautiously reminded him that he didn’t need to attend Strixhaven just because he had been accepted.  After Kai insisted this was what he wanted to do, Jon spoke up and supported his decision.  After discussing some of the orientation events and inviting his family, Kai went to begin packing. He planned to attend orientation events with his sister, Kno-El.

Kai’s parents would ultimately attend a Strixhaven parent mixer session.  His mother gravitated towards the social mixer events, while his stepfather went to the lectures and took notes. His (biological) father was absent.

### Arrival and Orientation

Kai decided to survey the university incognito and disguised his arrival with a pair of glasses.  He was accompanied by his mother and sister, who chose a similar form of disguise.  He made his way to the Archway Commons, where he exchanged introductions with a human woman, Nora, and received his welcome packet. Kai asked if the dorms had individual rooms and learned that Nora was a second year student in Prismari.  He expressed interest in Prismari, citing enrollment in the college as a family legacy (Nora belatedly realized who he was). His sister, Kno-El was very excited and insisted Kai tell her everything.  Kai teased her for being short as she was only half-superion; unlike himself and his mother who were full-blooded superions).  The family brought belongings to his room, with Jon struggling with the ‘lighter’ package, and said their goodbyes.  Shortly after they left, Kai got a sending stone message from his father, Maik-El, telling him to make him proud.

Kai spent an inordinate amount of time settling into his dorm before leaving for his mandatory orientation.  He opened door to see an owlin and a human, commented on the former being the one with the ‘porn comics’ and left without another word.

Kai, Nell and Celdryn made it to Orientation and were directed by a minotaur to the Hall of Oracles.  Kai assumed he was asking for a tip and gave him a copper piece. Seeing that, Nell and Celdryn wondered if they were expected to tip as well.  Nell admitted she couldn’t afford it because she spent all her money on anime and manga, then proceeded to blurt out that she also wrote fan fiction in her free time.  Celdryn asked if he could read it sometime.

The three then entered the hall and met Arlynn and Telbron.  Telbron recognized Kai from a charity event they had attended two months ago.  After they exchanged names, Telbron recalled that Kai almost got kicked *out* of the charity event, after the two got in a fight, and approved of how thoroughly Kai irritated Telbron’s father.  He later confided that his father made him start working out after the altercation. It was at that point that Nell realized Kai was *the* Kai-El, recognizing him from his StonelyFans account.  She promised to show a confused Celdryn later.

The students were then greeted by the Snarl, who welcomed them to Strixhaven and told them that the orientation consisted of a scavenger hunt.  As a list appeared, the Snarl told them the list had clues leading to various places throughout the Biblioplex.  They had the rest of the day to solve as many as possible, with the opportunity to win prizes for each riddle they successfully completed.

Arlynn and Kai guessed the first clue referred to the Snarl itself.  They said ‘Snarl’ aloud.  Nelloris noticed pool underneath Snarl and ran towards it, with the others following.  When Nell stuck her hand in the pool, she retrieved a Potion of Healing.  The list automatically checked off the first clue, signaling they successfully solved the riddle.

The students consulted the map for the second clue.  Arlynn, using her knowledge of Strixhaven, guessed it referred to either the Art Gallery or the Student Activities Complex.  Nell then introduced herself to Arlynn and thanked Telbron for his assistance earlier. After some discussion, Arlynn excitedly led students to the Student and Alumni Art Gallery.  Reading the clue again and noting a reference to inspiration, they found a portrait whose placard included that reference.  Telbron felt around the portrait and found a switch that popped open a hidden compartment in the nameplate.  He retrieved five Strixhaven pennants and handed them out to each of the students.  When another team of first-year students came in, Kai pretended it took them a long time to solve the riddle.  Celdryn took a moment to catch on.  Arlynn was completely oblivious to Kai’s deception.  Nell excitedly thought this was like one of her mangas.  Celdryn used Prestidigitation to further conceal the hidden compartment, triggering a Wild Magic Surge that turned him invisible.  Everyone but Telbron noticed Celdryn had disappeared and called out for him.  Celdryn waved a hand in front of Kai before poking his cheek, prompting Kai to flail wildly and almost hit him.  He then gently shook Arlynn by her shoulders.  While Arlynn thought the gallery was haunted, Nell guessed Celdryn was trying to communicate. After Celdryn’s invisibility wore off, Arlynn stiffly introduced herself to the sorcerer.  Telbron distracted the other students with Thaumaturgy (specifically, the sound of crows cawing) so they could continue.

Looking at the next clue, students guessed it referred to the Biblioplex Café and headed over there. There was a gnome barista and a long lineup.  Nell grabbed the list and flew to the front of the line.  The customers protested, prompting Nell to try and elicit sympathy until Arlynn cast Sleep, knocking out twelve of them.  One of the students who’d remained awake yelled at them until Celdryn cast Friends.  Kai scolded the remaining two students for raising their voices in the library. Telbron Intimidated them with Thaumaturgy while Kai loomed over them, scaring the two away.  Now free, Nell and Arlynn presented the list to the gnome barista, who looked at the customers and silently handed goodie bags over to Arlynn. Arlynn took bags and pulled Nell away. Nell thanked Kai and Telbron for coming to her aid.  Kai bought coffees for the remaining thirteen students, while Telbron added a silver coin as tip.  They ran away as the customers woke up (or shook off the Friends spell).  Once they were safe, Arlynn handed out the goodie bags. Each held a scone, artisan mints and a 10% off coupon for the café.

The next clue led the students to the Book Garden.  All the flora reminded Nell of home, prompting her to sit down between some bushes. To her surprise, the bushes took turns poking Nell and waving hello.  At Kai’s prompt, Nell showed letter.  Nell suggested Kai and Telbron wade into the bushes, who promptly patted the two men.  When they returned the gesture, the bushes gave them stuffies (Kai got an art elemental stuffie (mascot of Prismari), while Telbron got inkling stuffie (mascot of Silverquill)).    Celdryn waded into bush and gave it a pat, receiving an inkling mascot as well.  Nell waded into the bushes, dragging a reluctant Arlynn after her.  After they patted the bushes, Nell got a pest mascot (mascot of Witherbloom), while Arlynn patted the bush and got a spirit statue (mascot of Lorehold)

Looking at the list, the students saw there was one final clue that made a reference to stars. After some quick brainstorming, the students headed to the amphitheatre.  Various other students were nearby, some of whom appeared to be part of a LARP club.  Kai-El and Telbron hopped up onto the stage, while Arlynn, Celdryn and Nelloris stayed behind, though they did not know what they were supposed to do.  At Nell’s request (echoed loudly by Arlynn), Kai-El took off his shirt.  Arlynn, Telbron and Nelloris cast Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy and Druidcraft, respectively, to enhance the performance.  Kai gyrated for a moment before ripping Telbron’s shirt open. Remembering that a similar event occurred at the aforementioned charity event, Telbron punched Kai.   As Kai fell to the stage, some hooded lanterns popped out of the stage.  Seeing that, Arlynn assumed everyone else had to get on stage and remove their shirts. Getting up, Kai hit Telbron back. Nell was so overwhelmed by the drama that she fainted, though Celdryn caught her before she hit the floor. Coming to her senses, Nell reached out to Kai and Telbron, touched their abs and cast Cure Wounds.  Arlynn then climbed onto the stage and began to remove her shirt.  Celdryn saw her, experienced another Wild Magic Surge and sneezed a Fireball at the LARP club which exploded one of their chests.  While magical safeguards put out most of the fire, one of the flaming bits woke up a disguised mimic that began lashing out at anyone nearby.

Most of the students began attacking the mimic with various spells and cantrips. Arlynn was initially oblivious, focusing on removing her shirt as no more hooded lanterns popped up, but eventually joined the fight (with her bra protecting her modesty). Nell suffered a serious wound when the mimic bit her, but managed to avoid getting eaten. In the end, Arlynn killed the creature by using Catapult to hurl a book at it. Exhausted and grievously wounded, Nell sought permission to drink the Potion of Healing. Arlynn checked on Nell, unaware of her current state of undress. Nell admitted she was not prepared for university to be so eventful (episode 1).

### First Year

Arlynn helped Nell drink the healing potion, inadvertently revealing how well-endowed she was.  Nell seemed overwhelmed, either from the recent combat or the number of shirtless students.  Telbron and Kai also noted her confused state.  Arlynn offered to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before Kai reminded her about the lanterns.  After Arlynn summarily dropped Nell to the ground to retrieve the lantern she’d won, Telbron helped the stunned owlin up.

Other students began to congregate, drawn to the conflict, while the LARP club doused any remaining flames.  An owlin flew down and asked if everyone was all right.  Celdryn asked if it was common for the university to house mimics on the school grounds.  The owlin asked if that was the source of the commotion, prompting Kai to question her knowledge and competency.  She introduced herself as Professor Mavinda Sharpbeak and explained she had been sent to handle an incident at the café involving students using illegal enchantment magic, adding that could be an expellable offence, before being drawn to the ruckus at the amphitheatre.  Nell explained they were attacked by a mimic and defended themselves.  Celdryn added they were also protecting their fellow students, while Kai emphasized that they saved them.  Professor Sharpbeak asked the students to introduce themselves. She recognized Kai’s name, telling him they had been awaiting his arrival and she looked forward to teaching him when he entered Prismari College.

Seeing how Telbron’s shirt was torn, she cast a Mending cantrip.  Sharpbeak then urged Kai and Arlynn to put their shirts on, reminding them Strixhaven was a prestigious institution.  Arlynn complied, but accidentally mixed up her shirt with Kai’s, causing some confusion before Nell corrected them. Once they were clothed, Professor Sharpbeak repeated her earlier statements that casting enchantments on fellow students would normally be an expellable offence.  However, given their actions against the mimic, she was willing to overlook that incident.  She did instruct them to read over their welcome packet and school rules, as they did cover the use of unauthorized magic.  Sharpbeak also corrected their mistaken impression that the scavenger hunt was a form of competition.  When Nell realized she hadn’t gotten a lantern and asked if she had to take her shirt off, Sharpbeak hastily explained that she simply had to give some kind of performance.  A gnome girl from the LARP club came over and explained that the students had given a performance when removing their shirts, one that included dancing and fireworks, which the professor conceded would meet the requirements.  Sharpbeak also suggested they visit the Student Activities Centre and channel their energy into the clubs and extracurricular activities that were available at Strixhaven, requesting that they refrain from getting into any more trouble.  Kai was particularly interested in the Iron Lifters’ Club and urged Telbron to join him.  Kai also asked if Professor Sharpbeak was in charge of Prismari College, but was told that that privilege fell to the Deans.  Arlynn was embarrassed at the realization that she’d gotten into trouble with a professor.  Sharpbeak then bid them farewell and began casting more Mending cantrips on anything that needed it.

The gnome girl ran up to Arlynn, gushed over how she’d defeated the mimic and introduced herself as Rosie.  When Celdryn asked, Rosie explained she was also a first-year student, but knew people who had attended Strixhaven before and joined the LARP club as well.  Rosie asked Celdryn how he recognized the mimic before, thinking he must be a powerful mage to be able to cast something as powerful as a Fireball spell.  Kai made some boastful claims on Celdryn’s behalf, much to his embarrassment. Rosie urged them to join the LARP club and ran away, before returning to give them pamphlets.

Kai threw away Celdryn’s LARP club pamphlet before he could read it, dismissing it as too nerdy.  Nell commented on Kai’s attitude towards anything nerdy, told him she was a nerd herself, and asked if that made her bad.  Kai said she wasn’t bad, but she shouldn’t become nerdier, citing pornography as a perfectly acceptable pastime.  A confused Arlynn asked what pornography was.  The conversation went on to include the merits of different kinds of relationships, how everyone was feeling and Kai’s desire to check out the Iron Lifters’ Club and see if it could help him maintain his fitness regimen.

After being reminded that she hadn’t gotten her lantern, Nell got up and tried to take off her shirt.  Celdryn reminded her that Professor Sharpbeak had told them such measures were unnecessary, then, seeing that she was unconvinced, tried to stand between Nell and the professor.  Nell revealed to her friends that she was also well-endowed.  Celdryn chose to recite a poem about knowing who you were and being true to yourself, rather than take his shirt off, and was embarrassed by the resulting praise.  Spotting the crumpled LARP club pamphlet, he retrieved it and put it away.

The friends went to the Student Activities Club and found it was fairly empty.  While there were rows of tables, only a few of them were staffed with club members. Kai went to the Iron Lifters’ Club and saw a dwarf with massive pigtails who was talking to a stunning, muscled half-orc from Lorehold sporting several piercings and tattoos.  After silently joining them for a minute, the half-orc greeted him and handed over a pamphlet.  Kai read it and learned they met on Wednesdays and Fridays.  The half-orc and Kai took turns lifting each other off the ground.  Before leaving, Kai gave his name, learning the half-orc was Bageira Bloodbasher and the dwarf was Greta Gorun.  Kai promised to encourage his friends to join him.  Bageira invited him and his friends to a mixer that would take place later at the Bow’s End Tavern that night.  Kai promised he would come but had to stop his friends from joining something like the LARP club.  He was stunned to hear the LARPers cast actual magic against real monsters.

Telbron checked out the Silkball table and saw a large, dishevelled owlin trying to organize the pamphlets.  The owlin was excited to hear Telbron was interested in joining, given the number of players they’d lost due to graduation.  Telbron told him he had a cousin who used to play. The owlin recognized his cousin as an asshole, albeit a skilled player, then hastily apologized for his comments. Telbron reassured him that he took no offence, citing his cousin’s unpleasantness at family gatherings. Kai, who had tagged along, became enthusiastic when Telbron told him players could hit each other.  His enthusiasm increased when he learned they lifted weights with the Iron Lifters’ Club on Wednesdays, but trained on Mondays and Thursdays.  The owlin, whose name was Javenesh Stoutclaw, added that they had tryouts on Monday after sixth bell.  Kai wanted to visit the Mage Tower table, but was told that their representative had left. Javenesh encouraged Kai to pick up a pamphlet as the game was highly enjoyable (even if the two clubs sometimes had conflicts over game times).

Kai and Arlynn later saw Nora run out of the SAC with Celdryn, with Nora briefly returning to talk to an orc who followed her out of the room. Nell wondered what he was up to and gathered her friends.  Arlynn told them that Celdryn was taking Nora to the amphitheatre where some of them had taken their shirts off (and, also, fought the mimic).  Kai was notably disinterested, as he was looking forward to the mixer.  After Telbron pointed out that would take place later in the evening, Nell suggested a round of ‘pre-drinks,’ which earned her Kai’s enthusiastic approval.  Arlynn revealed her limited experience with alcohol outside of a glass of wine she’d drank at the age of thirteen.  Kai told her she had a lot of catching up to do. Nell warned them that she could get a little crazy when she was drunk.  Shortly after, they decided to follow Celdryn, Nora and Mak.

The friends met up with Celdryn, Nora and Mak. Nora said hello to the other students. Mak then told the others that he had discovered the mimic corpse had some black goo that was not typically found in such creatures and that he would have to experiment on the sample to learn more. Celdryn asked if he could help.  Mak agreed, inviting him and Nell to join him the next day.  Nora thanked the group for showing her the mimic.  She also asked Arlynn if she could borrow a book from her, as she had (also) fallen afoul of Universal Planar Services.  After giving Arlynn some suggestions on what kind of reading material she was looking for, she commiserated with Telbron on their shared experiences with Universal Planar Services.  Kai offered his opinion on the rival Goblin Postal Service.  Nora then returned to her club table.

Nell then noted that Kai wasn’t looking well.  Kai admitted he was hungry, but what he really wanted was beer.  Celdryn was told about the party and, when asked, admitted he had never been to any parties.  A stunned Kai had to sit down and hyperventilated into a bag.  A helpful Nell told Celdryn it was like a particular issue of a manga they read before urging her friends to get their drink on.  Kai misheard her and wondered if Celdryn would have a carnal encounter before he would. Telbron rolled his eyes.  A worried Celdryn asked Nell if they had to pay for drinks.  Telbron assured them they could put it on his father’s tab, so long as they did not overdo it.

They made their way to the Bow’s End Tavern.  Nell walked up to the bar and asked for a Goblin Grenade, Kai ordered three Kinky Kenkus and a Genie and Tonic.  Telbron asked that the drinks be put on the Stevedore tab.  After they all finished, Kai ordered another round. Telbron decided to slow down while Nell resolved to keep up with Kai.  Celdryn nursed his first drink until Kai encouraged him to ‘open his throat’. Taking him literally, Celdryn enlarged his throat and poured the rest of his drink down.  Kai looked at his drink and wondered if he was seeing things in his inebriation while the other students expressed varying degrees of surprise. When a second round of drinks arrived, Celdryn downed his glass in a similar fashion.  Impressed, Kai wondered if Celdryn was the Chosen One.  Celdryn then grabbed another drink from a passing waitress and, in an uncharacteristically confident manner, finished it in one go and told the others they were two drinks behind. Shaking his head, Telbron declared he would not even try to keep up.  Kai eagerly chugged another drink while Nell asked for a Slippery Nipple. Celdryn needed a moment to compose himself, but assured the others he was fine.  He and Nell declared their appreciation of each other before agreeing to have more drinks.  Arlynn decided she wanted to join them and finished her drink.

Kai revealed that he saw Arlynn by the Cheer Table and told her she would look great in a cheerleader uniform.  By sheer coincidence, four cheerleaders came in and the friends took a moment to admire them.  Emboldened, Celdryn decided to walk over and asked the cheerleaders to help them navigate the various drinks available on campus.  As one of them began recommending the Strixhaven Strut, Celdryn interrupted her and invited them to join his friends, volunteering Telbron to buy their drinks.  Celdryn led the cheerleaders back and introduced them to his friends as J’dell (a halfling), Jeta Stream (a water genasi), Jetam (an elf) and Joy (a tiefling). Telbron wondered if this was the same Celdryn they had met at the beginning of the day.  Nell sidled over to Telbron and asked if he would be okay buying all these drinks.  Telbron reassured her that his father had encouraged him to make connections, but had not provided any limitations on how.

The cheerleaders bought some Strixhaven Struts and demonstrated how to drink them. Celdryn’s attempts to flirt with one of them failed as he became momentarily, and visibly, ill.  Telbron abstained, deciding to ‘babysit’ the others and cut Celdryn off from any more drinks.  Seeing this, Kai and Celdryn tried to encourage him to continue drinking. Kai also cast a Resistance cantrip on Celdryn so he could keep partying.  Telbron reluctantly agreed to join them in another round, only to regret it as the room began spinning.  Nell noticed his vertigo and apologized for all the peer pressure.  Arlynn declared she had a perfect performance and asked Joy the tiefling if she got a prize.  Joy agreed and suggested another drink, but Celdryn suggested a kiss instead. A drunk Arlynn agreed and kissed Joy. As the two began making out, Nell declared she had gained so much material for fan fiction, Celdryn was shocked at this latest development and Kai broadcast the whole thing to his StonelyFans with his sending stone.

More students began trickling in.  A well-dressed first-year student strode up to the bar and ordered a round of drinks for his companions like Telbron had done.  Celdryn then struck up a conversation with J’dell, suggesting Kai was already poised to become the next silkball captain.  Kai played along, asking her about Mage Tower before asking her opinion on various ales.  J’dell recommended the Witherbloom ales, explaining that students guilty of infractions often had to perform unpleasant tasks in Witherbloom’s Detention Bog, whose conditions were ideal for brewing ales.  Hearing about the creatures that roamed freely in the bog, Kai wondered if that was where the mimic came from.  He then summarized their mimic fight to the halfling, playing up Arlynn’s role with Celdryn’s help.  Arlynn mistakenly thought someone had mentioned more shots.  Celdryn obliged and asked for more shots with Thaumaturgy, only to be chastised by a bartender’s louder use of the same cantrip. When the drinks arrived, Celdryn used Mage Hand to drink his shot.

Nell sat in Kai’s lap, much to his surprise, and gave him a kiss.  Celdryn noticed.  Kai waved Bageira over and introduced everyone.  As Bageira sat down, an increasingly inebriated Celdryn commented on her height.  She explained how she just met Kai and asked whether he would also join the Iron Lifters. Celdryn tried to impress her by shapeshifting some extra muscle, but she easily discovered his deception and ordered water for everyone.  After Celdryn asked how she could help Kai, Bageira offered some tips… and suggested food would be a good idea considering how early it was and how drunk they were. She ordered a round of chicken wings after Nell was assured they wouldn’t eat *her* wings.

A group of musicians came in, led by a stunning elven singer who drew Celdryn’s attention.  The well-dressed student and his group cast judgemental looks at the friends’ table. More students were coming into the tavern.  Arlynn finally registered the order of food and agreed she could eat.  Kai and Bageira debated the merits of carbohydrates before he challenged her to an arm-wrestling match.  They exchanged some trash talk before Kai lost decisively. Kai good-naturedly agreed to have some fries.  Arlynn asked if she could have some and offered them to Joy, who declined as she was on a diet.  The cheerleaders said their goodbyes and left.

Nell and Kai sensed that the well-dressed student and  his group recognized Telbron.  Celdryn noticed they were looking at someone, but was so inebriated that Nell was worried about him.  Kai asked Telbron if he recognized the people looking at their table.  After turning his head, he recognized him as someone he had met at one of his father’s events, but he could not remember, or care to remember, his name.  Celdryn waited until that student went to the washroom, found a secluded hallway, morphed his face into a distorted version of the student, went to his friends’ table, faced the other table, wandered into the crowd, returned to his normal features and returned to his friends.  He bowed to Telbron before face-planting on the table.  The friends, clearly worried, tried to find the other student, who they called out Grayson, and queried him when he returned from the washroom.

After helping Celdryn up, Bageira revealed she was in Lorehold College and asked the group which college they hoped to enter.  Kai admitted his family had a legacy in Prismari and felt he had no choice but to go there.  Telbron revealed his famiy had a legacy in Silverquill.  Nell hoped to get into Witherbloom.  Arlynn gave her response through a mouthful of fries.  Celdryn mumbled ‘Goldfeather,’ but some of the students guessed he meant Silverquill.  Nell told Kai and Telbron they should go to whichever college they wanted to enter.  Kai claimed he wanted to go to Prismari because it was the best.  Telbron admitted he hadn’t really decided for himself yet, but wanted to stay on his father’s good side so he would be left alone while he was attending Strixhaven.  The others guessed Telbron might have some father issues.  Nell added he was surprised how many people seemed to resemble the characters she’d read about in her manga.

Celdryn kept admiring the elven singer, which Kai noticed.  A moment later, he saw the singer enthusiastically wave to a blonde elven first-year student.  To his shock, he recognized the other elf as Elowyn, one of his first friends and one of the few people who knew about him, his family and his life.  The others noticed him keeping his head down.  When Nell asked, Celdryn asked her to keep it down, insisted things were fine and claimed he was just drunk.  He asked that if they met the student talking to the elven singer (who he was clearly infatuated with), that they not trust anything she said. After some questions over how they knew each other (and some queries from Kai on whether it was sexual (which Telbron translated)), Celdryn reluctantly admitted they knew each other as children but she had since made his life miserable.

With that settled, Kai challenged Bageira to another arm-wrestling match while Arlynn sent a surprisingly legible text to Larine and asked if she was coming to the Bow’s End Tavern party.  After Larine confirmed she was coming in an hour, though, Arlynn responded with an incoherent series of emojis before dropping and cracking her stone.
Celdryn debated whether to confront Elowyn.  Arlynn offered to give her a piece of her mind.  Nell offered to cast a Chill Touch cantrip to spoil her beer, but Telbron advised it, considering her drunken state and the likelihood of getting the group into trouble again.  Celdryn was open to exploring other spells if they did not require a target.  Arlynn suggested another Sleep spell, which Kai and Telbron quickly discouraged.  Nell listed other spell options before Telbron distracted her with a question about manga characters.  Kai tried reading a manga for himself, only to read it backwards and bend the spine (much to Nell’s and Celdryn’s horror).  He then challenged Bageira again to an arm-wrestling match and won (due partly to Celdryn’s Silvery Barbs).
Kai and Bageira decided to leave. They flirted with each other as they walked through the campus.  Bageira escorted him back to his dorm room where he declared that ‘green [was his] weakness’ before they spent the rest of the night together (episode 2).

Kai woke up in the morning to find himself lying on top of Bageira.  He carefully extricated himself, slipped on a pair of boxers and a tank top and left to buy some coffee and snacks (Powerbar equivalent) from the closest vending machine.  He returned to greet a flustered Bageira, handed over the coffee and snacks and gave her some privacy while he brushed his teeth, offering to talk later (or not, depending on how she felt).  After sorting through his luggage, which he had not unpacked, he grabbed a bag that he thought was appropriate and left for the communal bathrooms.

He didn't get far before discovering Celdryn, who was lying down in the hallway.  Celdryn asked where he’d been.  Kai replied he ‘d spent the night in his room and asked if Celdryn had spent the night in the hallway, suddenly concerned that his new friend couldn’t afford a dorm room.  Celdryn assured him that he had a room and began fumbling with his key again.  Kai took pity on him and gave him the cup of coffee he was holding.  Celdryn downed the cup and immediately felt better.  While he tried to remember what happened the previous night, Kai asked him if he had soap.  Celdryn told him he had some in his room and began struggling with his key until Kai took pity on him, took his key and unlocked his door for him.  A grateful Celdryn found a bar of soap and handed it over, saying he’d go to the bathroom afterwards.  Kai assured Celdryn that the communal washrooms had multiple stalls and went so far as to split the soap bar in half before leaving Celdryn, who promptly passed out on the bed.

After Kai finished his shower, he wrapped a towel around himself and walked back only to find Arlynn, Nell and Telbron. Arlynn and Nell observed he had forgotten his shirt and pants, respectively.  Kai explained the only clothing he had was soiled.  At that point, they were joined by Celdryn. Hearing Kai, Celdryn offered to clean his clothes.  A confused Kai thought he was going to do his laundry for him, only to see him cast Prestidigitation and belatedly realize he could have cast the same cantrip himself.  Telbron told them he was going to leave and departed with Nell in his arms.  Nell shouted her goodbyes over his shoulder.

The remaining three students were left wondering what had happened.  Kai hollered down the hallway, asking if Nell and Telbron had sex, which momentarily drew the attention of another student.  Nell hollered back that she and Telbron just talked about anime as she was too drunk to do anything else, before loudly asking if Kai and Bageria had sex.  Kai said no (but nodded his head in silent confirmation).  Arlynn took him literally by his word until Nell hollered an explanation.  Nell then shouted that they should continue their conversation in the café so they wouldn’t have to keep yelling down the hall.  Arlynn promised she would ensure Kai put on pants, which derailed any lewd jokes he was about to make.  Instead, Kai showed Arlynn where she could find some coffee, surprised at the quality of the dorm amenities.  Arlynn was not surprised, as her parents had told her Strixhaven was the best educational institution on the plane.  As Arlynn continued to recite more and more factoids to a thoroughly confused Kai, Celdryn went to take a shower.

Bageira had left by the time he got back, but not before making the bed.  He left his room again in time to hear Arlynn calling through the door, telling Nell and Telbron that Celdryn wanted to know if they had ‘anime’d’ each other last night.  Confused, he joined the two of them and asked the same question out loud.

They made their way to the Firejolt Café, only to hear someone call out Arlynn’s name excitedly.  Turning around, they saw Rosie the gnome charge up and ask if they were doing anything.  After asking if they were going to Firejolt, she urged them to follow, telling Nell she’d enjoy it.  When they arrived, Rosie told them she would go in first, and that the others should casually make their way to the back room later.

The friends went inside and quickly saw Larine sitting at a table with Grayson and a distinguished-looking girl.  There were several other students in the café including an owlin sitting by himself, Greta, an earth genasi, Nora and the elven singer.  At the coffee bar, Javanesh could be seen chatting with a barista.

Celdryn’s eyes were drawn to the singer, but the friends recalled he was fixated on the other elf who had talked to her.  They also wondered how he was able to drink so much without a hangover.  Kai was still confused as to why they had followed Rosie inside.  Nell told him the gnome had something cool to show them.  Arlynn decided to apologize to Larine, despite the fact that she was with friends, explained things had escalated faster than expected with the person who’d given Arlynn lipstick, and expressed hopes that they could hang out.  Larine’s friends gave Arlynn judgemental looks.  Grayson also glanced at Telbron.  Arlynn rushed away before Larine could say anything more.

Seeing the friends, Nora greeted them.  Telbron took the opportunity to tell her his uniform had finally arrived, after travelling through twenty different planes (including the Abyss).  Nora admitted she knew someone who had something similar happen and the incident ended with an imp hitching a ride in the package.  Telbron admitted he was not sure if there were any imps in his package as he had not opened it yet.  Nora assured him he probably did not have to take any precautions.  When Telbron asked if there would be any repercussions for attacking any imps, Nora suggested he make sure the devils were not actually university employees.

Nora then introduced Aurora Winterstar, who recognized him as she had performed at some of his family’s events.  Nell complimented Aurora on her voice.  Aurora recalled seeing them at the Bow’s End Tavern enjoying themselves.  Celdryn looked away awkwardly.  Aurora recognized Kai as well, through the messages they had apparently exchanged on StonelyFans.  After swapping compliments, Kai and Aurora agreed to meet up for drinks (and maybe more) some time.

Kai asked if anyone wanted coffee.  Nora and Aurora declined, indicating they already had some.  Heading over to the coffee bar, he ordered coffees for everyone (white chocolate mocha with extra caramel sauce and an extra shot of espresso for Nell; espresso deep roast with a long shot of espresso for Telbron (per his request for the strongest thing they had); espresso macchiato for Celdryn (despite his request for the cheapest thing they had and black coffee for Arlynn.  He paid for the coffees and added a tip.  Arlynn grabbed her coffee from the bar, having followed Kai without his knowing.  Kai brought the other coffees back and told Celdryn he’d made his drink a little more expensive as thanks for the soap.  After they got their coffees, they noticed Rosie trying to get their attention and trundled over to the back room.

They saw Rosie sitting with a blond elf who had a small crate.  There were many other people, including a dryad, Mak and a loxodon in military garb with a wealth of gold piercings.  Rosie waved them over and introduced them to the elf, whose name was Cadoras.  Cadoras whispered to Rosie that she thought they were inviting one person over, not five, but was assured it was fine.  Nell piped up that they were all as smart as one person, rendering Telbron speechless and offending Arlynn.  Telbron told Cadoras that Nell was still waking up.  Rosie told Cadoras that Nell looked like the kind of person who would know about certain things and urged him to open the box.  He slowly complied, revealing four glowing frogs.  Cadoras told them she’d found the frogs in a creek behind the café, but had never seen any creatures like them before and wondered if they were native to this plane.  Nell offered to cast Speak With Animals, picked one up and greeted them.  To her surprise, they belched and grew in size until they were the size of large dogs.

The students swung into action, casting various spells. Arlynn hid behind Rosie and asked why the frogs grew in size, but Rosie did not know. Kai scored the first frog with a Guiding Bolt from his eyes. Nell hid behind Telbron, who went down after two frogs latched on his arms. Arlynn killed two frogs with a flaming log that she launched with Catapult, while an injured frog died after botching an attack against Kai. Nell cast Spare the Dying by kissing Telbron, then kissed him again to regurgitate a healing potion into his mouth. Arlynn belatedly pointed out that pouring the healing potion into his mouth would also work.

Celdryn and Telbron were distracted for their own reasons.  The others noted the frogs shrinking back to normal size, leaving behind a oily black substance that Nell recognized was similar to the ooze from the mimic.  Arlynn investigated the black substance, going so far as to lick it, and concluded it was sweet to the taste.  Mak overheard, came over and took a sample.  He also looked at Nell and Telbron before suggesting that they put off any scientific experiments until the next day.  Nell assured him they did not need time to recover, so Mak decided they should begin his investigation at once.  Nell and Mak then wandered off.

The loxodon in military garb asked the others if they were all right and whether they needed to see the nurse.  Telbron wearily agreed.  Celdryn agreed as well after learning it wouldn’t cost anything.  The loxodon introduced himself as Rampart and led them to the nurse’s office, having assured them that he’d memorized the campus map and knew where to go (episode 3).

Kai asked Telbron if was okay.  Telbron assured him that the healing potion Nell had fed him cured most of the damage, but agreed he should go to the infirmary to make sure nothing else was amiss. Kai wondered if the frogs would give Telbron warts.  When Arlynn stepped away, Kai wondered if fey could get warts.  After a one-sided conversation from Kai about the transmissibility of the virus that caused warts and the necessity of vaccines, the three of them went to the infirmary.  The nurse confirmed Telbron had been wounded, but was not cursed or poisoned.  Telbron assured Kai that his father had made sure that his vaccinations were up to date.

On the way out, Kai swiped some free condoms.  He offered one to Arlynn, who refused to take it.  Telbron tried to surreptiously take some as well and was mortified when he knocked over the bowl.  He warned Kai against making any remarks.  Kai insisted he would have given him some, as he did not intend to use them all… that week.  Telbron eventually took the ‘Orc’ brand, a regular-sized condom that claimed to have extra durability.

Classes began the following day.  While the students had chosen their own electives, they all were expected to take Magical Physiology, a course scheduled for the end of the day (last class of day).  Kai showed up early in disguise (wearing glasses) and went to the front row.  Nell showed up with Telbron and dragged him to the front.  Arlynn joined them in the front door.   They failed to see Kai, not recognizing him in his glasses.  Meanwhile, Celdryn sat in one of the back corners, secretly practicing his magic and trying to cast levelled spells.

Arlynn went so far as to compliment Kai on his glasses without realizing she was talking to her friend.  He noticed she had labeled every page of her notebook with her name, the date and timestamps.  The latter, Arlynn explained, was so she could go back and calculate her note-taking velocity.

Before long, the teacher arrived and went to the front of the lecture hall.  She introduced herself as Professor (Veralda) Lang and welcomed them to Magical Physiology. After taking attendance, she gave an overview and class outline, explaining that the focus this year would be on slaadi, owlbears and otyughs. Celdryn asked for the correct spelling of those creatures. Nell wanted to know Lang’s favourite mushrooms. Telbron asked which of the creatures she was teaching was her favourite.  Lang admitted she had never been asked that question but picked owlbears.  She thanked him for his question by name, which drew the attention of several students.

After class, Nell asked her friends if they wanted to go out for ice cream, wondering where Kai was. As if on cue, Kai walked behind a dryad, took off his glasses and joined them.  Nell wondered where Kai had been all day, but invited him to join them for ice cream.  Before they left, one of the condoms Telbron grabbed from the infirmary fell out of his pocket.  Celdryn retrieved it and, after Kai identified the brand, returned it to Telbron. Nell’s eyes widened before she flushed and hurried her friends to the ice cream shop.

At the ice cream shop, Kai tried samples.  He did not like the first few options (frankenberry, razberry (that was somehow spicy). Eventually, Kai chose pumpkin spice ice cream.

Over the next month or so, the students would take their classes.  They spent some of their free time on extracurricular activities or picking up jobs around campus, with Kai signing up for Silkball and the Iron Lifters' Club. At one point, Kai was tanning with Greta in the quad when he saw one student chasing a fire genasi student. Overhearing the former demand the return of an item, he scanned the duo, concluded the latter was a thief and took off in pursuit.  He caught up with the supposed thief as he was about to enter the Firejolt Café, grappled him and lifted him over his head.

Hearing the commotion, a white-haired barista stepped outside, saw them, and demanded Kai put her brother down.  The other student caught up and made the same request.  After Kai complied, the barista checked on her brother, whose name was Carlton. They questioned Kai for his aggressive behaviour.  Kai, feeling defensive and embarrassed, assumed a challenging pose and began talking back. Celdryn stepped outside at that point with a broken coffee pot, before seeing Kai and asked what was going on. The other student explained that Carlton had taken his textbook.  Celdryn tried to defuse the tension with an offer of coffee (from the broken thermos). After returning the textbook, Carlton and the other student eventually left.  Mina pointedly declared that Kai did not need any coffee and went back inside with Celdryn to fix the thermos and continue his training.

At some point, the friends went to the Firejolt Café for coffee. Celdryn was already there, finishing his shift with the help of his notes and cue cards. As he had slowly improved his barista skills, Mina allowed him to make the occasional drink for his friends in order to gain more experience. Kai was the next to arrive. Mina ignored Kai and gave Celdryn a look when Kai greeted him.

Arlynn came in wearing a lab coat, covered head to toe in soot, requesting a spicy raspberry latte. After realizing who she was, Celdryn directed her to Kai and hastily gave her some paper towels to put underneath--and around--her. Kai was shocked to see Arlynn's state. Arlynn explained she had followed a checklist of tasks during her first day as a lab assistant, but had neglected to erect a blast shield.

Seeing the soot that Arlynn was leaving around her, Mina walked over and tried to clean it up, only to find it strangely--and magically--resistant to her efforts. Celdryn brought over drinks and was fascinated by how hard the soot was to clean. He also noticed that Arlynn had left a trail of soot behind her that meandered throughout the campus. Arlynn suggested her lab could help deal with the soot before remembering she promised to order coffee for them. While the contact information and the list were all covered in the soot, she managed to interpret the order as four black coffees. Kai ordered three Underdark coffees for himself, Nell and Telbron. Mina took Arlynn's order, but pointedly ignored Kai. Seeing that, Celdryn took care of Kai's order.

Shortly after, Nell and Telbron arrived. After Nell let Arlynn and Kai assume she was pregnant with Telbron's child, she presented her new mushroom familiar, Shae Taki. Arlynn was confused until Nell explained she had cast a Find Familiar spell. Kai was confused that Nell and Telbron were actually dating. Shae greeted the friends with burbling comments and happily accepted Arlynn's offer of coffee. Nell began taking notes as her familiar drank the coffee, becoming covered in Arlynn's soot, and greeted all of Nell's friends... with the notable exception of Telbron. Telbron wondered if Shae's aloofness was because they sensed he was a warlock.

Nell asked Celdryn how his barista job was going. He told her it was going well, but became overwhelmed with shock when remembering his attempts to make latte art. Celdryn did bring one of his attempts over, which seemed to depict a horrified face mouthing 'Please kill me'. Seconds later, he experienced a Wild Magic Surge that transformed the latte into a unicorn with an equally horrified face. The friends—and Mina—were shocked and confused. Nell and Telbron wondered if there was something hallucinatory in their coffee. Kai tried to wipe his soot-covered hand on the unicorn and saw that its hide remained pristine. Arlynn offered the unicorn her coffee just as Kai slapped the unicorn's rear. The unicorn reared up, spilling Arlynn's coffee, and bolted out of the café, breaking down the door in the process. Kai decided it was time to leave. Taking his coffee, he sneaked out through the kitchen (episode 4).

Kai was struggling with all his classes.  He thought Introduction to Evocation was the easiest and best, but found the details and theory eluded him.  He found solace in History of Magic and Art, partly because at least half the class was as lost as he was, partly because he did not initially have expectations that he would excel at the subject.

While Kai was too proud to openly ask Celdryn for help at first, he eventually asked to study with him under the guise of correcting his practical use of evocation.  Celdryn quickly figured out that Kai needed help, organizing study sessions after his barista shifts ended.  He also arranged the exchange of notes, only to find out Kai’s notes consisted of doodles and Sending Stone numbers.  Over the next few weeks, Celdryn proved to be an effective teacher… though they found time to wonder about the particulars of Telbron’s and Nell’s relationship (and whether Telbron got scratched and bled by Nell’s talons).  Kai also studied History of Magic and Art with Telbron, though he tended to focus on sexual organs and nudity.

Celdryn, Kai and Telbron also prepared for their Magical Physiology course.  Given Professor Lang’s scientific slant, they found her approach to creatures such as slaadi to focus on the technical side of things. Kai’s lackadaisical approach to studying continued even as exams approached.  He decided not to study for Magical Physiology, figuring he would wing it.  He occasionally studied History of Magic and Art with Telbron, but only if Telbron asked him first.   He also reviewed notes with Celdryn for Introduction to Evocation.

He was invited to a study group with Celdryn and Telbron, but turned it down over differing ideas on group size and what constituted as ‘studying’.  After leaving his friends, he bumped into Bageira.  Bageira mentioned having trouble studying History of Ravnica, as her usual study group consisted of owlin, who were absent for the Owlidays.  Kai was somewhat envious, wishing superions had holidays that would allow them to skip classes.  The topic drifted to Kai’s wish to eventually master flying, even going so far as to demonstrate his high jumping abilities to an impressed Bageira, though he admitted he might be something of a late bloomer.  Kai eventually offered to help her study, even though he was not taking that course.  Bageira eventually agreed and asked whether she could help him in return.  Kai waved her off at first, but asked if she remembered anything from her Magical Physiology class when she took it the previous year.  After she remembered something about owlbears, they eventually decided to study at the Firejolt Café.

Kai did arrive on time for his Magical Physiology exam, despite not taking them seriously.  Telbron almost thought Kai had missed the exams because latter was in casual disguise. Celdryn was late for his Magical Physiology exam, stumbling into the exam room at the last second like a dead man.  Everyone noticed him; partly because his uniform buttons were askew, partly because he was faintly glowing.  His face drooped, revealing his changeling nature, as he received exam from Lang.  Concerned, she wondered if he needed to see a nurse.  Lang quickly recognized he was exhausted as Celdryn called her ‘sir’.

Professor Lang told them the exam would consist of two portions: a multiple-choice section on red, blue, green, grey and death slaadi and a short essay question on common ways to calm slaadi in order to avoid dangerous encounters.  They later got magical missives informing them that they passed.

The next few days’ worth of classes were fairly relaxing.  As the Owlidays were still going on, Arlynn and Nell were still off campus.  They heard rumours of an event taking place at the Bow’s End Tavern, which were confirmed when Javanesh waved to Kai.  Javanesh explained he had a shift at the Bow’s End Tavern and admitted some Wizard Gizzard machines were being retired.  Kai revealed he had never heard of them.  Realizing he had not encountered them yet in his Evocation courses, Javanesh explained they shot out magical orbs for target practice.  After a few semesters, though, their magic dwindled and they became less reliable.  The Bow’s End Tavern had a longstanding practice of inheriting them to entertain the customers.  Javanesh invited Kai and his friends to come, revealing he was donating a prize.  Kai and Telbron eagerly accepted.  Celdryn quietly agreed to come as well.

The four of them went to the Bow’s End Tavern.  As Javanesh split off to start work, Kai offered to buy drinks.  However, Celdryn insisted on buying the first round of ales (after the kindness they’d showed him in the past).  The three of them clinked ales and drank, spotting the machines Javanesh was talking about.  Curious, Celdryn finished his drink and went over to try the machine.  Kai and Telbron followed.

As another student turned away, after failing to hit the magical mote, Celdryn stepped up and scored on the first try.  He was so excited, he released another Wild Magic Surge as he threw his hands up.  Kai and Telbron joined him for a bro hug… then all three of them started floating up into the air.  Kai launched Celdryn forward, causing him to float over the crowd… and crashed into the wall.  Telbron struggled to control his flight, wondering how Nell made it look so easy.

Kai looked for Bageira but couldn’t find her.  However, he caught Aurora’s attention and she greeted him while she was singing.  Aurora told him she would finish in twenty minutes.  Kai told him he’d wait for her.  Aurora told him to work on his stamina.

After Kai returned, Celdryn wondered if he knew Aurora.  Kai admitted he might come to know her well as they were going to have drinks together.  He then realized Celdryn was interested in Aurora and offered to introduce them to each other.  Kai gave Celdryn a pep talk, complimenting his appearance and encouraging him to have more confidence in himself.  Celdryn felt he needed more drinks.  Kai agreed, though he recognized Celdryn should not consume too much alcohol, and flagged down a bartender for shots of duergar vodka.

Kai called Telbron to join them.  Telbron struggled, as he was still floating, but eventually cartwheeled over. When he arrived, Kai told Telbron they had to do everything in their power to get Celdryn and Aurora together.  When asked for details, Kai declared that Telbron was ‘swakward’ (suave but awkward) and they needed to elevate Celdryn to Telbron’s level in the hopes of getting him to Kai’s level.  Kai gave him some cologne via Prestidigitation, while Telbron established mood lighting with Thaumaturgy.

When Aurora finished singing and joined them, Kai quickly introduced his friends and manoeuvred her towards Celdryn.  Aurora side-eyed Kai, guessing he was setting her up with Celdryn.  As a distraction, Kai remembered she was trying to get into Witherbloom and mentioned Telbron’s girlfriend had the same hopes.  Aurora admitted Witherbloom’s focus on the duality of life and death complimented her dhampir nature, then asked what colleges they were going in.  Recalling Kai’s online history, she knew he was going into Prismari.  Celdryn expressed hopes of entering Silverquill.   Aurora was slightly surprised as his studious nature made her think of Quandrix, but admitted it made sense based on comments from a mutual friend who didn’t have the highest opinion of him.  Celdryn suggested she should not believe everything that their mutual friend said, as they had not seen each other in some time.  A skeptical Aurora revealed she had met that acquaintance/Elowyn a couple years ago at an event for her parents, that they had become friends and that she/Elowyn planned to go into Lorehold.

Kai tried defusing the tension by asking if anyone wanted drinks.  When Aurora requested a glass of dhampir red wine, admitting it was somewhat stereotypical of her, Kai lied that Celdryn liked it as well.  At his prompting, Celdryn agreed to buy drinks for everyone. Kai saw that Aurora was starting to become interested in Celdryn, despite what she had been led to believe. When he paused to calculate the price, Aurora assured him that she had a small tab from the bar and offered to cover the drinks.  She got three glasses of wine (and a root beer for Telbron, who requested something without alcohol).

After their drinks arrived, Aurora asked Telbron what college he would enter.  Telbron admitted he was expected to go into Silverquill like the rest of his family, but felt an increasing desire to be his own man rather than fulfill a family legacy.  Aurora admired that sentiment, remembering she’d sang at one of his family’s events.  She found the experience of seeing Telbron’s and Elowyn’s world of privilege interesting, as she herself came from a more common background.  She guessed Celdryn must have come from a family of some importance if he knew Elowyn.  He admitted they met through their parents, vaguely implying his family were influencers of some sort.   Kai remembered he and Aurora were talking about collaborating for their followers.  He suggested Celdryn do some script writing, as he aspired to enter Silverquill, and Telbron act as their producer, using his family wealth.  Telbron warned that if his famiy got involved, they would expect a cut of the profits.  Aurora expressed an interest to turn one of her songs into a music video.

Just as Celdryn agreed, the group suddenly heard a clamour, with pots and pans crashing and bowls breaking.  As people started running to the exits, a dwarf cook stumbled out of the kitchen.  She cried out that the steam was trying to kill them and begged for help before crumpling to the floor.  Javanesh and Aurora tried to make his way to the kitchen but was blocked by the crowd.  Celdryn, Kai and Telbron decided to investigate on their own. Entering the kitchen, they saw several young employees passed out in the kitchen.  Above them, four steam mephits were flying around, regularly hovering over and dipping themselves into a certain cauldron. Telbron decided to blast the cauldron.  Some dark-coloured stew splashed out.  He then summoned an Armor of Shadows. Celdryn cast Mage Armor, then opened his new Bag of Tricks, pulled out a badger and told it to attack.  It tried to attack the steam mephit, only to get blinded by stew. Kai cast Chromatic Orb and killed a mephit. One of the mephits exhaled a breath of steam.   Kai and Celdryn barely took any damage, but Telbron was seriously hurt.  The other mephits attacked Kai, one of whom hit.

Telbron Hexed the mephit that attacked him, then Eldritch Blasted it. Celdryn tried the Bag of Tricks again and summoned a Giant Elk.  As it grew, its antlers broke through the ceiling.  Celdryn commanded the elk to attack, and watched it hit a mephit. Kai cast Thunderwave, hitting all three mephitis… and Telbron.  Telbron would have been knocked out the door, but Celdryn cast Silvery Barbs, effectively rewinding time to curse the mephit that succeeded and increase Telbron’s luck. Several mephits attacked Kai, but only one of them hit. Turning around, Telbron killed another mephit with his Eldritch Blast. Kai noticed that Telbron's face lost all colour and his eyes radiated darkness as he unleashed his magic. Celdryn tried the Bag of Tricks for a third time and summoned a dire wolf.  He had the elk attack a mephit and killed it. Then he had the wolf attack the last mephit. Kai cast another Chromatic Orb and killed the last mephit.

Celdryn asked Kai and Telbron if they could destroy the elk and wolf before anyone else came in.  After Kai balked, Celdryn had the animals try to hide.  Javanesh burst in, saw what happened and wondered aloud what happened.  Kai blamed the mephits.  Celdryn, Kai and Telbron then checked on the employees and found they were okay. Seeing the cauldron was still bubbling, Celdryn grabbed a bucket of water and put out the fire.  Telbron looked at the cauldron’s contents and saw it was black and oozy, but wasn’t sure if it was the same goo they’d seen before.  Celdryn took a look for himself and thought it did look similar to the goo.  At that, Telbron began looking for a way to get a sample.  Kai tried to find his hat.

Celdryn and Kai saw Mac walking towards them, only to casually walk away quickly.  Celdryn tried to call him back, but Mac just kept going.  Hearing that, Telbron cast Thaumaturgy and called after Mac.  Mac just kept going around the corner.  Celdryn and Telbron found that suspicious.  Kai wondered if they had found their villain… (episode 5).

After returning from the Bow’s End tavern, Kai found a missive from his biological, albeit distant, father, Maik-El.  Apparently the wyvernball season starting up again and the first official game of the season would put the Superia Supernovas (his father’s team) versus the Camor City Chimeras (his stepfather’s team).  Maik-El had gotten tickets to the game and, knowing he had a exam break, invited Kai to join him on Ylos, watch the game and go on a whirlwind tour of wyvernball games throughout the multiverse.  While Maik-El did not send Kai tickets, he said he’d meet his son at the ticketing gate.

Kai immediately accepted without a second’s thought and teleported to Camor City.  He saw several RVs and fans in face paint having mock fights with each other.  Saw RVs, fans in face paint having mock fights with rival fans.  After a few minutes, he bumped into Clifton Stoneswarm, his dwarf wyvern ball coach, and struck up a casual conversation. Stoneswarm had heard Kai was accepted into Strixhaven.  They mutually approved of the Chimeras name change (from the Centaurs) but felt the mascot sucked.  Kai said he was waiting for his dad and thanked Stoneswarm for letter of recommendation. Moments later, he found Morelith, his former teacher and mentor.  The gold dragonborn, sporting a mustache and Chimera gear, had also heard he was studying at Strixhaven.  Kai observed he’d had this conversation recently but repeated his comments.  They eventually parted ways, but not before exchanging trash talk as they supported rival teams.

Kai was then ambushed by a monkey who leapt onto his shoulders and stared at him.  A brawny half-elf with bright pink beard and rainbow hair voiced his surprise that he was in Camor City.  Kai recognized the monkey as Edgar, which meant the half-elf was his best friend Danore.  After Kai made homoerotic jokes at Danore’s expense, they happily greeted each other and caught up on old times.  Danore was about to leave before finding out that Kai went to game with Maik-El, rather than Jon.  Furthermore, he found out Kai had not told his mother he was in town.  Danore grew increasingly frustrated and upset with Kai, as Maik-El had a history of making promises to his son that he never kept because ‘something came up’, resulting in his son being constantly disappointed.  After exchanging angry words, Danore left to watch the game while Kai waited for Maik-El.

The game soon began. As it progressed, Kai saw many instances of celebration as fans cheered for their teams.  Danore walked by at some point, but barely made eye contact with his friend.  Kai kept making excuses for his father’s tardiness.  Eventually, the game ended.  The fans and spectators began to leave, the sky grew dark, the lights turned on and housekeeping began cleaning up.  Only then did Kai receive a Sending Stone message from Maik-El:  “Sorry, kiddo.  Something came up.  Next time.” A disappointed Kai teleported back to Strixhaven.

Kai arrived in a cloudy void.  He realized he was staring at the edge of the demiplane where Strixhaven existed before seeing Nell. Kai noticed Nell was upset and walked over.  Through barely contained sniffles, Nell told him she had returned earlier than planned due to family issues, which she did not want to talk about.  Searching for another topic of conversation, they saw sparkles falling like snowflakes.  While Kai found it pretty, Nell remembered her History of Magic and Art lessons that the Snarl occasionally caused flares that interfered with teleportation magic.  As a result, Strixhaven University had established outposts that teleportation scrolls would automatically default to in the event that they could not reach their intended destination.

As Nell tried to explain, Kai told her to stop talking and take in their surroundings.  They admired the view in silence.  Kai asked again if Nell was okay.  Nell admitted that she’d come home hoping her mother had changed, only to find she hadn’t changed and didn’t accept she wanted to go to school.  She’d returned to Strixhaven early after the two of them had gotten into a fight during dinner.  Nell then apologized for creating such a depressing mood, as she realized Kai had gone to a wyvernball game and assumed he had fun.  Kai told her that parents were sometimes stuck in their ways, while their children had the capacity to change.  Kai asked if Nell was okay not being like her mother. Nell said yes, feeling that her mother was stuck in a never-ending circle and refused to grow beyond their present pot or garden.

Nell noticed a glowing crystal Kai was wearing and, in an effort to change the topic of conversation, observed that she had not seen him wear it at school before.  As she came (much, much) closer to him to get a better look.  Kai told her it was superiite, a mineral that grew on his home realm, and explained it was a superion tradition to keep a piece of it when they lived offworld.  He added his mother did not really follow that practice, as she’d embraced the culture of his stepfather, but his father did. On a whim, he asked Nell how far down the void might go.  Nell was distracted by Kai, but replied that it probably went on forever.  Kai decided to test that theory and threw the crystal over the edge.  It fell out of sight, but Kai and Nell never heard it hit ground.

Nell thought Kai might have jumped over the edge too.  Kai said he would only do so once he could fly.  Nell immediately began flying despite Kai’s protests.  She told him flying felt calming and peaceful and suggested he could experience that with her someday.  Nell told him she wasn’t sure why Kai had come home early and wondered if it was also due to family issues.   Kai claimed he had returned because he sensed she was in trouble, insinuating that he found her attractive.  Before they realized how intimately close they were to each other, a horseless carriage arrived to take them back to school.  Nell insisted Kai go first as she was short and wearing a dress.  Kai obliged, carrying her luggage in.  As they went inside, Nell remembered she had deferred exams to take.  Kai wondered if he was allowed to talk about them given that he’d taken the exams, then hinted at how he’d tried to get Celdryn laid.

The two settled down, while Shae pretended to sleep.  During their trip, Kai gave her an account of his night with Celdryn and Telbron, though he initially focused more on Celdryn’s activities before overcompensating by describing Telbron’s actions.  Nell belatedly remembered to ask about Telbron at that point. Kai also mentioned the kitchen fight and Mac’s suspicious behaviour.

Growing serious, he warned her against going out on her own and asked her to find him if she had to go anywhere after hours. He asked her to wait if he was ‘entertaining’ a woman at the time.  Nell admitted having limited experience in that area outside of what she’d read, but was assured by Kai that she would catch up in time.  She asked if Kai was up for coffee, as she needed a friendly face after suffering through a week of disapproval from her family.  Kai agreed as long as they didn’t go to the Firejolt Café, as the barista there hated him.  Nell suggested going to the Bow’s End Tavern after taking a shower.  They agreed to meet in the lobby in an hour.

Kai sent a text to Danore expressing regrets that he’d missed the game and gratitude that they’d seen each other again. He added that he should wash his monkey. Danore replied with some emojis, along with a request that they stay in touch.  He took a shower and changed before heading down to the lobby.  After waiting for Nell, he went up to her room to find her.  He saw that she was distracted and asked if she needed more time.  Nell explained she had just received a message from Telbron, explaining he had gone home as he was sick with spectrepox.  Kai advised her to get a spectrepox vaccine if she had not already done so and admitted his surprise as Telbron had not appeared sick.  He added that his eyes had turned black during the steam mephit fight and asked Nell to be careful.  After some thought, he decided they could go to the Firejolt Café so long as he disguised himself.  Nell offered to buy the drinks.  Kai asked her to tell him about ‘porn comics.’

After their coffee, they returned to Nell’s room, where she introduced Kai to manga in general and hentai in particular before settling down to study.  Kai found manga confusing at first until he learned he was reading it backwards.

The next day, Nell had an impromptu study session, while Kai read manga in his room. At some point, Kai found the manga Nell had drawn of the two of them at the train station.  He hid it in his drawers. When Nell returned to Kai, she was amazed at all the manga in the room.  Kai told her he’d finished the manga she loaned him and bought more with his Myrmidon account, using the Primal Shipping option to get it sent overnight.  Nell quickly realized that Kai had become a manga fan and had completely lost track of time.  She invited him to join her for pizza.

Nell took her exams and later received a note informing her she’d passed.  She excitedly gave Kai the good news and dragged him out to celebrate (episode 6).

Nell and Kai came into the bar and joined Arlynn, who quickly revealed her inebriated state.  Javanesh asked Kai for help and was flustered when he asked for multiple shots to try and catch up.  He was relieved when Nell assured him that she would see Arlynn back to her dorm.  Arlynn drunkenly told Kai that he looked the same with or without his glasses, only to be completely confused when she put her glasses on him.  Now concerned, Kai asked if she needed to leave.  Arlynn agreed after learning Kai had copious amounts of alcohol in his room.

Some time later, Kai and Nell were enjoying a coffee outing when they were greeted by Arlynn, Celdryn and Telbron. Arlynn came over and, noting some empty chairs at their table, wondered if anyone was coming back to occupy them.  Nell realized Telbron had returned, dragged a chair over and launched herself into his arms.  Telbron asked how she was doing, sensing she had not enjoyed her time home based on her letters.  Nell confirmed things only improved after she left her family and returned to Strixhaven.  She explained she’d passed the time hanging out with Kai.  Despite Kai’s efforts to silence her, Nell told the group she’d gotten him hooked on manga.  Kai then made some comments that offended Arlynn.

Nell asked how Telbron was doing after his spectrepox flare-up.  He replied that he was doing well, and that his father worried way too much about it. Kai was the only one who saw Telbron clench and unclench his fist, while maintaining a smooth façade.  He recognized this as a tell or sign that Telbron was lying.

Nell reassured Telbron that she had kept his ring safe.  Telbron asked if anything weird had happened, as he was currently drawing his magic from the ring and his family did not know that yet.  Kai wondered if they were engaged.  Arlynn admitted she had not noticed as she was still processing Kai’s comments.  Celdryn hastily brought over the coffees in an effort to pacify the situation.  Kai added some ‘water’ (actually vodka) to Arlynn’s coffee as a (successful) peace offering.  As Celdryn handed out the rest of the coffees, Nell offered Shae to Telbron, only to be dismayed at the lack of enthusiasm her familiar expressed to her boyfriend.  Nell then admitted they’d been there for three hours, though she’d spent the time reading manga.  Kai had apparently spent the time coming up with names.  Celdryn recognized Kai and Nell were talking about manga, silently observed the chemistry between them, then asked how they had done on their exams.

After a pause, Celdryn asked how everyone had done on their exams.  Kai and Nell said they did well.  Celdryn admitted he couldn’t remember.  Arlynn asked Kai for some ‘spicy water’.  After he accidentally spilled some on himself, he left to clean himself up—but not before leaving the vodka at Arlynn’s request.  Nell recalled that Arlynn had spent a surprising amount of time in the exam room.  Arlynn made it clear she did not want to discuss it and asked about their vacations.  Celdryn replied he had an enjoyable vacation with his sister, as his parents were not around.

At that point, Rosie ran up to Arlynn.  She handed her a letter, only to stop and ask where Kai was.  The students gave various responses laden with innuendo until Kai came back.  He forgot who Rosie was, but eventually remembered she was the ‘LARP nerd.’  As a joke, he offered her vodka, which she took three times.  He then relented and gave her a bottle that actually contained water.  Rosie drank some before Alynn smacked the water bottle to the ground and cracked it.  Celdryn gave in to Kai’s indignation and Mended the bottle back together.  Arlynn cast Prestidigitation on the bottle and Nell cast Druidcraft on Kai.

The letter was addressed to the ‘big heroes on campus,’ challenging them to recover ‘the legendary Sassy Sally Jane’.  While the note was not signed, it told them to meet the sender outside Captain Dapplewing’s Manor at midnight.  Arlynn thought it sounded like a spooky caper, while Nell thought it might be fun.  Telbron, to Kai’s question, only knew it had nothing to do with his family as his father did not believe in fun.  Nell asked Kai if it came from his family, but he did not recognize the handwriting.  Nell and Telbron agreed that they were more disaster magnets than heroes.

Recalling what he read from the Strixhaven brochures, Telbron told the students that Captain Raymous Dapplewing was a military veteran and owlin mage who was one of Strixhaven’s first professors, holding faculty appointments in Lorehold and Silverquill.  Dapplewing had built the manor using his military pension, where he could retire in the evening and hold lavish dinner parties or seminars.  Upon his death, he bequeathed the manor to the university, who named it in his honour and preserved most of the original furnishings.  The upper floor libraries were converted to offices for esteemed dual-college faculty members, who met with students during the day.  The manor also hosted dinner parties and cocktail hours for those faculty members, their most promising students and visiting alumni.  As no one lived there permanently, the manor was locked overnight and security measures were in place. Arlynn, Celdryn and Kai knew Sassy Sally Jane was a magical doll. Kai remembered how his father tried, unsuccessfully, to retrieve Sassy Sally Jane.

The students guessed that breaking into the manor to retrieve the doll was against the rules, and might even be a form of hazing.  While Celdryn expressed some reservations, they ultimately decided to attend the meeting at midnight. Kai thought they should prepare by having frequent small meals to get enough nutrients and protein.  Arlynn and Nell agreed that they should eat, mostly because they were hungry.  Celdryn cast Mage Armor, followed by Arlynn, Kai and Telbron (through the ring that Nell was still wearing).

Kai changed into black jogging pants and a sleeveless hoodie to better blend into the dark.

They easily found their way to Captain Dapplewing’s Manor and saw a small group of students waiting underneath a massive oak tree in the front yard.  Rosie demanded Mina pay up, as she’d successfully bet that they would come.  Mina and Kai exchanged insults before Grayson emerged from the shadows.  Celdryn began asking questions, to which Grayson replied that he had Rosie transcribe the note and this challenge had nothing to do with the LARP club.  He observed that Celdryn was interested in joining the Entrepreneur’s Society but Telbron had not, to which the latter replied he was trying to step out on his own and follow his own interests.  Celdryn observed Grayson seemed to know a lot about them, to which Grayson replied that: a) he and Telbron moved in the same circles and b) the students had made a name for themselves.  Kai, after conferring with Celdryn, wondered aloud if that was a good thing, prompting Grayson to get to the point: if the students were successful, they stood to make a great deal of profit.

Grayson told them that Sassy Sally Jane was a talking doll with a proprietary animating intelligence magic that let it learn new things.  If the ‘AI’ could be reverse-engineered, it could be used for a great many things.  As such, Grayson offered gold and shares in a theoretical future company if the students retrieved the doll. Arlynn, Kai and Nell found him difficult to read, but felt he might be sincere.

The students quickly had a huddle.  Celdryn suggested keeping the doll for themselves.  Telbron assured them that Grayson was trustworthy.  Arlynn proposed giving a noncommittal response to Grayson’s proposal.  They ultimately agreed to break into the manor, though Celdryn added that they could negotiate arrangements once they acquired the doll.  Grayson agreed and provided the following information:

* Watch out for the Earl, an automaton that might offer hostilities to anyone caught after hours who was not a professor.
* The stairwells could adjust themselves to the strides of different people.
* They could ignore any glowing runes they might see.
* Sometimes the doll was on display, sometimes it was not.
* The doll was known to say some really inappropriate things, especially at the wrong time.
* There was a student storage area on the second floor.
* Some display cases could be found on the first and second floors.

The students began debating how to get in when Kai asked what stopped past efforts to acquire the doll.  Grayson admitted the Earl tended to catch most students in the act and alert the faculty.  Hearing that, Celdryn decided to shift his shape to resemble Professor Brenneth Blackstone, a dhampir Scriptology professor from Silverquill College.  He tried the front door, only to find it was locked.  Nell saw a key glinting from a nearby potted plant.  Pulling it out, she saw the inscription Prof. Eudora.  With Celdryn’s help, she opened the door.  Celdryn went in first to test any security measures while Telbron cast Light on his ring.  Seeing no reaction, the other students went in.

They saw coatracks carved into statues of various people.  Kai and Nell noticed nothing else as they were strangely distracted.  Arlynn, Celdryn and Telbron recognized them as Captain Dapplewing’s favourite military compatriots, some of whom were professors, while others were frequent visitors to the campus.  They also saw the dwarf statues were so lifelike that they seemed to be breathing.

As Celdryn approached one of the dwarves, it turned towards him, greeted him as ‘Professor Brenneth’ and offered to take his coat.  He declined, pretending he and his companions would not be long.  Celdryn tried to ask about any security measures and learned the Earl was online.  He tried to ask the dwarf to have the Earl make tea, only to learn the automaton was behind him.

Turning around, the students saw a clockwork butler setting a table.  Seeing that it had not noticed them, the students silently discussed where the doll might be.  Celdryn had the idea of approaching the Earl under the guise of the Professor.  Unfortunately, the Earl saw through his disguise, sounded the alarm and reached for Celdryn.

Arlynn tried to cast Sleep to no avail. Nell cast Shillelagh and awakened her Halo of Spores, which dealt necrotic damage to the Earl. The Earl then charmed Arlynn, who suddenly wanted to approach the Earl. Kai tried to punch the Earl, but slipped on the carpet. He hit Nell in the jaw instead on the way down. Celdryn Commanded the Earl to reset, but it resisted his spell. Shae glared at Kai, dealing him psychic damage in the process. Telbron cast Witch Bolt. Seeing it fail, he Hexed the Earl instead.

A Charmed Arlynn walked towards the Earl and hugged it. Nell hit the Earl with her Shillelagh'd quarterstaff. The Earl grabbed Celdryn and Kai and clanged them together like a set of cymbals. In the process, Celdryn clipped Arlynn and broke the Earl's charm. Celdryn then experienced a Wild Magic Surge that caused him to cast Fog Cloud on himself. Kai knocked the Earl's legs out from under it and destroyed it with one punch. The party found themselves trapped in the Fog Cloud... (episode 7).

The Fog Cloud proved to be somewhat problematic for the students.  Nell fumbled around and gripped Celdryn’s… parts.  Celdryn yelped and warned the others that there was a threat with them, causing Kai to hurt himself while trying to engage the ‘enemy’. Arlynn fell down near Celdryn while Nell tripped over the Earl and fell between Celdryn and Kai.  Celdryn fumbled around and bumped into Kai.  Realizing the fog was causing too many problems, Kai cast Gust and blew the fog away.  Telbron walked past Arlynn to help Nell up.  Kai helped Arlynn up after repeatedly asking if she needed help, then decided to carry her until she could walk again.

Looking around, Celdryn looked around and found a small velvet purse underneath a nearby chair. He opened it, only to close it after discovering it contained fifteen gold pieces rather than the doll they were looking for.  Telbron and Arlynn noticed his discovery but were not inclined to take it for themselves. Celdryn also found a poker with a silver tip and mentioned his unusual find to the group.

Meanwhile, Nell wandered off on her own, going to the second floor via the magical stairs, which magically grew and shrank depending on who was climbing.  Celdryn went behind her, followed by Kai, who was carrying Arlynn. Telbron used the runes to teleport to the top.  He chatted with Nell before Kai hollered for them to stop blocking the stairs.

Once everyone was on the second floor, they looked around. Celdryn went to the next one and found it was full of day beds.  Seeing Arlynn was still disoriented, Kai offered to let her sleep in one of them. The eladrin wound up lying down for a short time.  Kai continued carrying her as she had not fully recovered.

Nell and Telbron returned to the others.  Celdryn noticed Nell’s lipstick was smudged and pointed it out.  Nell quickly cleaned herself and Telbron up. The students compared notes and realized they were in an interdepartmental office area for professors like Professor Lang that taught in more than one college.  Nell looked for Professor Lang’s desk and put her ring on it.  Telbron looked around and saw random coins here and there, but left the money alone as he felt he didn’t need it.

Panicked, Celdryn let loose a Wild Magic surge that serendipitously gave him resistance to everything. Arlynn sensed something was happening, launched herself from Kai’s arms, took cover by a doorway and held her action. Telbron entered the room, moved his Hex to the pteradon closest to Celdryn and Eldritch Blasted it. Shae got close to Nell and helped her. Nell flew into the room, came to a hovering halt near the pteradon attacking Celdryn and cast Poison Spray, then used her Halo of Spores to kill the pteradon. Arlynn realized the pteradon went down so easily that Sleep would likely affect one hostile. Casting the spell, she did indeed bring one pteradon down, though the other one came very close to succumbing. Kai pushed his way into the room, saw what was happening and tried to circle kick the pteradon, only to miss as it was falling asleep. Celdryn got up and cast Firebolt. A lone pteradon attacked Kai. Arlynn Phase Stepped in between two of the pteradons, Charming them in the process, and told Telbron to open the window as she had a plan. Telbron walked over, opened a window and ducked out of the way.  Arlynn encouraged one pteradon to fly out, then woke up the remaining live pteradon and shooed it out the window.

The students then noticed Celdryn looked shiny. Kai tried to stuff the dead pteradon into the couch.  Nell grabbed a bottle of alcohol and Celdryn put a book over its head to make it look like it passed out.  The students then split up to continue their search.

Kai walked into a large office that served as both a parlour and a study.  Antique furnishings and sculpted heads of magical creatures lined the walls.  A heavy table and desk were covered with scattered documents.  Seeing some dragon heads mounted on the wall, he went over and touched one of them.  Its eyes lit up and looked down at him.

The red dragon head exhaled fiery missile at Kai while the black dragon head lobbed acid. Both attacks missed, though the missile set a desk on fire. Kai pulled one of the dragon heads off the wall and stuffed it into the other (to make them ‘kiss’). Telbron walked into the room, heard Kai say he was trying to make the dragons kiss and calmly moved his Hex over. The red dragon head spit fire into the black dragon head.  The black dragon head spit acid into the red dragon head.  The heads fell to the floor in a heap of molten metal. Telbron put out the fire with Thaumaturgy.  Nell came in and asked what had happened.  Kai’s explanations only added to Nell’s confusion.

Meanwhile, another battle began in the next room. Kai came in, wondered what was going on, cast Guiding Bolt from his eyes and killed both oozes (though he was slightly blinded by the shot).

Celdryn was clearly in rough shape, so Nell cast Cure Wounds.  He thanked her and cast Prestidigitation to clean himself. However, he noticed there was one splotch that did not come off.  Looking closer, he thought it looked like the goo they’d encountered on and off during school.  Nell wondered where the package came from, only to discover it was mostly burned with radiant light.  Celdryn cast Mending to reform the package label.  He saw it was addressed to the Strixhaven campus, but the label was ripped beforehand.  All he could see of the sender were the initials “U.M.”

The students wondered where the doll was.  Arlynn, however, happened to be closest to the window and heard movement outside. Looking outside, she saw a group of professors opening one of the back patio doors.  Arlynn warned the others.  Nell advised they should find a place to hide.  The students began running up and down the hallway, frantically looking around for hiding places… and Nell noticed a crack in the centre pillar. She also noticed an open door leading into the pillar.  They saw a stairway inside the pillar leading up and quickly ascended.  Kai was the last student in and closed the pillar behind him.

They found themselves in a cramped attic with boarded windows with various oddities including dozens of dolls, a dress with wings made of bone and a rocking animal shaped like a roc.  Celdryn investigated the dolls while Nell rode the roc, finding a pink-haired doll dressed in tartan.  He asked the doll if it was Sassy Sally Jane and it gave a cheerful, if vague, response. Celdryn told his friends he’d found the doll, put it in a cloak pocket and began examining the windows.

Meanwhile, Arlynn noticed the doll underneath was a white-haired leonin wearing a suit, sporting an impressive mustache and gripping a coin purse.  Arlynn promptly claimed the second doll and named it Issacah. She then reached for the dress, which suddenly fired bone spurs at her. Kai cast Guiding Bolt, then moved near Arlynn to offer himself as a distraction. Celdryn cast Catapult to throw the creepiest doll he could find at the dress and shattered the wings that were attached to it.

Arlynn grabbed the dress, still intent on having it.  Nell desired it until she realized it was fitted for someone much, much taller than her. Celdryn told them he could Mend it later.  He then opened one of the windows facing the front, as the professors were entering through the rear door and carefully climbed out the window.  He only made it a short way along the roof before suddenly falling.  Nell and Arlynn both tried, and failed, to catch him, and watched helplessly as he slid down the roof and fell to the ground below.  Nell flew down and cast Spare the Dying on Celdryn.  Celdryn assured her he was (barely) fine, and deliberately fell on his back to cushion the impact to the doll.  Hearing Kai, she flew back up.

Meanwhile, Kai got impatient and jumped out.  He asked if Arlynn needed help.  When Nell came back up, Telbron asked her to hold on his ring and popped into it. Shae, who was perched on him, fell on the ground and looked unimpressed.  Nell flew down with Shae and the ring… but locked eyes with one of the professors. As the professors ran down the stairs, Nell urged the students to run.  Arlynn slid part of the way down with Kai’s help and Phase Stepped to the ground.  A stunned Kai began arguing with Arlynn about why she did not use that ability earlier, then cast Thunderclap on the roof as a distraction and jumped off the roof.  Arlynn caught his hand and helped him land safely.  Celdryn tried to compliment Arlynn.  Kai grabbed them and ran.  Celdryn offered to help her study.  Nell flew with the ring in her talons.

Unfortunately, Celdryn was so smitten that he tripped and fell.  The doll fell out of his robes and insulted him.  Celdryn cast Catapult on the doll to shoot it towards the students. The other students saw the doll land in front of them.  Looking back, they saw Celdryn surrounded by professors.  The students kept on running, with Nell scooping up the doll.

They returned to the campus and waited. Eventually, they saw Grayson emerge, escorted by another professor, who left after reminding him to report to the Witherbloom campus first thing in the morning.  The other students came out of the nearby bushes to join him once the coast was clear.

Arlynn declared Celdryn to be a fucking legend, while Nell thought the real Grayson would be very confused. Celdryn asked Telbron what might happen, who suggested telling the real Grayson what they did or continue pretending he was Grayson for now.  While Arlynn thought they should give up Grayson, Nell felt the best option was to masquerade as Telbron for a little longer, as fingering Grayson could backfire on them.  Kai asked whose description Celdryn would give if he met the professor.  Celdryn wondered if he could get away with a vague description.  Kai half-jokingly asked if Celdryn was planning on making some enemies to use as scapegoats.

As the students talked, a group of Mage Tower athletes shoved Celdryn aside and tried to get inside. Kai came to Celdryn’s defence, but his attempts to punch one of them wound up shattering the door glass instead. He then proceeded to confront the athletes until another professor called him out by name.  Kai realized she was Professor Uvilda Mistcoiler, the Prismari Dean of Perfection.  She told him he would be cleaning up the campus for a month as punishment for his actions, and to report to her office in the morning.  As the athletes went in, Kai glared at them until the Dean warned him to get his anger in check, pointedly telling him that his father’s status as a prominent donor would not shield him from the consequences of his actions.  Kai asked how much she saw and observed bullying was a serious problem on the campus. Dean assured him she had witnessed enough of the altercation and would report the athletes to their coach, who could closely watch them as well.

Once the students were inside, Arlynn took some of the ooze from Celdryn’s clothes and threw it at one of the athletes.  The athlete caught her in the act and went to the washroom to clean their attire.  Celdryn asked Arlynn for one of the mind reading potions.  He apologized to Kai for indirectly getting him into trouble and thanked him for his support.  A concerned Kai asked if Celdryn was okay as he could have been hurt.  Celdryn simply followed the athlete into the washroom. Kai realized what Celdryn was up to and decided to drown his sorrows in his room (episode 8).

Kai woke up and sent some half-naked photos of himself.  As he was still groggy, though, he sent them to Greta instead of their intended recipient Bageira.  Greta eventually responded with a text guessing he’d had a late night.  Kai gave confirmation and shrugged it off as a free sample from his StonelyFans account.

Nell tried to organize a study session for their upcoming exams through a group chat.  Arlynn replied that she was not feeling well and was at her mothers’ place.  The sheer number of emojis confused Nell, who thought Arlynn might be having sex for some reason.  Telbron confirmed he could make it via the group chat… while sitting next to her.  Kai initially said he did not see the need to study, but later explained he had been distracted sending lewd photos of himself.  He then sent the same picture to the group chat. It was clear that Celdryn saw the chat, but he did not give any response.  Kai asked Celdryn whether he wanted to do a double photoshoot.  Celdryn remained silent.  Nell told anyone interested in studying to meet in fifteen minutes.

Kai did some morning exercises before meeting his friends.  As his door was open, Nell and Telbron saw him as they walked by.

Nell and Telbron picked up Kai and they wandered around campus looking for a place to study.  They eventually wound up at the Firejolt Café.  Nell and Kai noticed Mac, who clearly saw the group and was doing a poor job of hiding it.  After hearing Kai call him out on his previous suspicious behaviour at the Bow’s End Tavern, Mac hastily gathered his things and left.  Nell felt Mac was not a bad guy, while Kai disagreed and Telbron felt he knew more about the ooze situation than they did.  The conversation devolved from Kai’s note-taking (or lack thereof) into questions about druidic beastiality, during which Mina was drawn into their talk and Nell Wild Shaped into an octopus.  Mina found this development hysterical but tried to maintain a straight face.  She took their order and left, but not before having another talk with Kai, who became convinced Mina was attracted to him.

Kai found some time before exams to work on some art projects, even trying his hand at drawing.

Kai eventually went to see Dean Mistcoiler for his community service.  She told him to see Shuvadri Glintmantle, a student responsible for cleaning up graffiti on campus.  Kai sought clarification on what counted as undesirable graffiti versus self-expressive art.  The dean explained there were some areas on the Prismari grounds that were set aside for where such forms of expression were allowed.  She directed Kai to meet Glintmantle at the Bow’s End Tavern, where she was trying to remove a magically infused painting from the tavern wall (first year owlin).  Kai wisely chose to leave rather than argue with the dean about art having rules.

He made his way to the tavern, where he saw a surprisingly tall owlin scrubbing at a lifelike painting of a monkey holding a banana.  After exchanging greetings, Shuvadri demonstrated that the painting literally moved away from—and chattered at—her when she tried to clean it.  Kai asked if they knew who had painted this art.  Shuvadri guessed it was Prismari as animated art fell within their purview.  In a flash of inspiration, Kai gave the owlin some silver to buy coffee while he returned to a Prismari art store and bought the largest piece of canvas he could find, along with some paint that matched the exterior of the tavern.  When he returned, he absentmindedly handed his coffee to a random passerby—as it had sugar—and positioned the canvas as if it was an extension of the tavern wall.  Asking Shuvadri to hold it, he Persuaded the monkey to cooperate, painting some bananas after the monkey requested them.  The monkey eagerly scrambled onto the canvas and began eating.

Kai and Shuvadri walked back to the dorm with the canvas, discussing how artists could enter other Strixhaven colleges such as Silverquill or Quandrix, and how words could be art.  He then released the monkey into his room and asked that it either stay in the room and not reveal what happened inside or leave, with his blessing, and not get caught.

Shuvadri offered to show Kai around the Prismari campus and direct him to some of the more impressive art installations, given that they ‘cleaned up’ the monkey painting faster than she’d expected.  She promised to show him her aunt’s art, as she had entered Prismari and showed her around.  Kai admitted his father had also been in Prismari, but hinted he had not spent as much time with his son.  Shuvadri brought him to a multi-tiered painting of a beach installed outside El Hall.  Kai looked at the painting, took in the sounds and smells that it magically generated, and instantly fell at peace.  He found himself surprised at how it apparently helped so many people without needing to be flashy—unlike El Hall.  Kai asked Shuvadri to convey his appreciation to her aunt and thanked her for not having any expectations.  He then walked her away from El Hall to have a drink and talk about owlbears.

The students continued studying until it was finally time for exams.  They entered the lecture hall, where Professor Lang had exam packets laid out.  The first half was a multiple-choice section on owlbear hunting, eating, mating, fighting and living habits. The long form section was on owlbear companions—taming, training and handling owlbears.

After exams, the students went for coffee.  When they returned to their dorm, they all received papers.  Kai was surprised to discover he passed with the highest marks out of all the students.  Nell passed with flying colours, though she did better on the multiple choice section than the long form.  Celdryn saw a bit of red on the multiple choice, but made up for it by deducing how to answer the long form section.  Unfortunately, Telbron barely passed the multiple choice section and failed the long form—ultimately failing the exam as a whole.  When the students compared results, Kai’s delight contrasted with Telbron’s silence.  When asked, Telbron curtly told them he failed and slammed the door shut in frustration.  Kai wondered if Telbron’s spirits would be lifted if he saw Kai’s monkey.  Nell was confused, while Celdryn was very concerned until receiving confirmation that the monkey was a pet (sort of) rather than a euphemism.  Kai abruptly asked whether Celdryn got his text and what his shapeshifting could do.  In response, Celdryn shapeshifted an extra set of abs, which Nell found titillating.  This made Kai consider the possibilities of Celdryn using his abilities as a personal trainer.

Celdryn turned the conversation to more serious matters, wondering if Telbron thought he could retake the test.  While Telbron knew there were tutoring services available, he was more worried about his father, who expected his son to maintain a certain reputation.  The students saw Telbron was shaking in fear.  Nell held his hand and tried to reassure him.  After some thought, Celdryn expressed his gratitude to Telbron for all the kindness—and drinks—he provided and asked for the opportunity to return the favour.  Telbron allowed him to buy one drink.  Kai and Nell wordlessly agreed to follow and the students went to the Bow’s End Tavern.  As they entered, they saw Javanesh working—though he paused to wave at them—and Aurora’s band playing.

Once they had found a table, Celdryn went to buy the first round.  The bartender understood his request of ‘bad exams’ and began making dwarven drinks.   While waiting, he was joined by Elowyn, who declared it was time they talked.  Not looking at each other.  Celdryn wished things were different and offered apologies.  Elowyn returned the apology, acknowledging her hurt feelings and childish overreaction cost his parents their jobs.  It was implied that that incident forced them into a life of crime.  He reluctantly explained that his family was still struggling and barely managed to scrape enough funds together so he could attend Strixhaven.  Elowyn started to leave when Celdryn asked if she knew who he was.  She replied that he appeared to be a kind, generous and fun individual, but she did not know whether that was genuine or a façade that might hopefully become reality.  Celdryn commented that there were times where he felt she was the only one who truly knew him.  Elowyn told him that the ability to change his appearance did not mean he could change who he was.  The two said their goodbyes and returned to their respective tables.

After Celdryn passed around the drinks he ordered, Nell proposed a toast to friends and the support they offered each other regardless of their fathers.  After drinking, Kai voiced his opinion that they should do something fun.  Celdryn quickly became intoxicated.  Telbron tersely told Kai he did not have the luxury of enjoying the same activities as he had to help run the family business while at school.  Kai retorted that they were here for education and wondered if Telbron’s hair had gone prematurely white from stress.  Nell found those remarks rather insensitive while Celdryn tried to smooth things over.  After commenting that Telbron seemed tightly wound up, Kai got confirmation that the Stevedore family was paying for his schooling and he was the sole remaining heir.  Kai suggested he could turn the situation to his advantage as his family needed him more than he realized.  Telbron told him there were fates worse than death, thanked Celdryn for the drinks and stormed off.  Nell ran off after him.

Once their friends had left, Celdryn quietly told Kai that he had not given Telbron the support he needed and, in fact, had gone too far.  Kai disagreed as Telbron had been acting increasingly strange.  He believed he was simply showing Telbron some tough love and trying to get his friend to fight back, as his past method of coping was not working.  He then provided some more information on the monkey he’d rescued.

At some point, Celdryn eventually shapeshifted into a duplicate of Kai.  The two drunkenly danced together, thoroughly entertaining Aurora, Bageira, Elowyn, Greta and the rest of the crowd.  Kai dipped the shapeshifted Celdryn, lifted him over his head, then ripped their pants off.  Celdryn then experienced a Wild Magic surge that saw vines grow out of the ground, encapsulated the pair and suspended them in midair.  Eight people had nosebleeds and fainted at the sight.  Mina then walked in, took one look and walked back out.  Elowyn may have considered Celdryn’s use of his abilities to entertain the crowd endearing.  The two received a rousing ovation and several free beers before the vines released them. At least six people approached Kai, but Bageira grabbed his hand and took him back to her dorm (episode 9).

Kai woke up after a night with Bageira.  Seeing that she was still asleep, Kai left her some food and water—having spent enough nights with her to know what she took before morning workouts.  He then quietly sneaked out and returned to his dorm. When he returned, he saw his dresser knocked askew with a drawer left open.  Kai immediately accused the monkey, who jumped around the room before pointing to a note from Celdryn apologizing for accidentally sleeping in his room overnight and promising him coffee.  He saw the note was above the picture that Nell drew.

Hearing a knock behind him, he turned to see Aurora lean in.  She asked if Celdryn was okay.  Kai admitted he did not know and asked if Celdryn slept in his room.  Realizing that this was *Kai’s* room, she explained Celdryn directed her to his room and evidently made a mistake.  Kai checked the bed for any telltale signs and determined that someone had lied on it. He then asked Aurora if she and Celdryn spent the night together in his room. Aurora hastened to explain that she escorted Celdryn back from the bar and would never dream of taking advantage of him in his inebriated state.  Kai suggested that she might have escorted him back instead, but Aurora was confident she was not mistaken.  Kai apologized for trying to mislead her and complimented her fashion sense.  They briefly talked about various articles of clothing, with Aurora revealing that her father originally came from Ravenloft. She then left for classes, but asked Kai to tell Celdryn that she dropped by to check on him.

Commenting on how much progress the unassuming Celdryn had made with Aurora, Kai turned around and glanced out the window.  To his surprise, he saw Celdryn standing with an unfamiliar woman dressed in leathers and a cloak.  The two were discussing something, leaning close together.  Then the woman opened a portal, which the two walked through and disappeared.  Kai simply thought that Celdryn was juggling multiple relationships, feeling a sense of pride.  He then began his morning exercises, with the monkey offering encouragement.

Kai later went to the Firejolt Café.  He soon found himself arguing with Mina over definitions of coffee drinks and sizes. Eventually, a visibly frustrated Mina determined that Kai wanted a caramel macchiato and agreed to make it.  Arlynn asked for the same.  Kai tried to ask more questions to clear up some of his misunderstandings but Mina deliberately worked the espresso machine to drown him out.  Arlynn helpfully told him that Mina did not want to continue the conversation, which Telbron confirmed.  Mina brought over a beautifully decorated caramel macchiato, a caramel macchiato whose foam artwork was in the form of an extended middle finger and a black coffee for Arlynn, Kai and Telbron, respectively.  Kai paid for the coffee with enough for a generous tip and asked why the Skyfire Coffee definition of a macchiato differed from other cafes.  Mina gamely tried to explain until she saw Kai sipping his drink in such a way that it—or he—was giving her the finger and stormed away.

Kai asked whether his friends passed the exam.  By coincidence, flying creatures delivered the exam results.  Telbron opened his envelope and, much to his relief, saw he did better on the long form section.  Ultimately, he barely passed the exam.  Arlynn was too nervous and asked Kai to open the envelope for her. Kai was confused at how Arlynn got 102% on the multiple choice section.  He also saw she got 99% on the long form, losing some marks due to grammar mistakes.  After trying to interpret the grades, Arlynn took the exam results, read them for herself, declared they were terrible and threw the paper to the floor.  Kai and Telbron were confused.

A sudden clatter drew their attention to Rosie, who had gotten herself tangled in a chair and fell over after hearing the sexual innuendo that occasionally crept into their discussion.  After Kai helped extricate her, Rosie claimed she had LARP practice and ran away. Arlynn took notes on her grammatical mistakes while Kai tried to help.  To her surprise, Kai’s suggestions—based mostly on what he saw on his social media feeds—were rather insightful.  Arlynn invited him to study with her for the next exam, which would be covering otyughs.  They agreed to study outside by the reflecting pool.  Telbron decided to take a break from studying and considered checking on Nell once he’d recovered from the exam experience.

When they reached the reflecting pool, Arlynn told Kai she had wanted to try something that she’d been considering for some time.  She stared deep into Kai’s eyes… before pulling out a book and declaring she wanted to summon a familiar, though she was cryptic about what kind of familiar she desired.   She enlisted Kai’s help in arranging spell components, though a series of confusing instructions, before starting the ritual. After a while, the ground beneath her started to move and shift, throwing the eladrin into the air.  When she fell back down, a clear ooze lay in front of her.  It sat in a blob until Arlynn offered greetings, at which point it rippled into a mitten-like shape (with two thumbs) and made burbling noises.  Glitters and sparkles ran up its body.  Arlynn picked it up, complimented it on its beauty and told Kai they had made the ooze together.  She then turned red as the implications of her words sank home, quickly clarifying they had made the ooze as a collaborative effort.  Arlynn cuddled the ooze, though admonished it against getting her glasses dirty.

Kai learned Arlynn had named the ooze—or, to use her term, a non-Newtonian fluid—Oozac, a portmanteau between ooze and Issac.  Wanting to satisfy his hunger, he ate a poppyseed muffin that fell out of Arlynn’s bag, though he cleaned it with Prestidigitation first.

Arlynn then asked Kai if he wanted to do anything.  Kai agreed to show Arlynn—and Oozac—his new monkey.  Along the way, he asked if she did anything to her hair.  Arlynn admitted it was an unintentional side-effect she experienced while going through some things and leaned against her arm. Kai expressed sympathy and reminded her she could confide in her friends.

When they arrived at Kai’s room, they could not find the monkey.  Kai grabbed a vial of ink out of an open drawer and drew a banana on the wall. As she admired his artistry, Arlynn looked down at the open drawer and saw a drawing of Kai and a small being with pointed ears embracing.  She mistook the latter for herself and expressed her surprise.  Kai immediately turned around, kicked the drawer shut and pleaded ignorance.  Arlynn tried to open the drawer, only to pull off the handle and sprawl onto Kai’s bed. She asked again if the drawing in the drawer showed the two of them.  Kai evaded the question and pulled out a series of profiles he’d made of Arlynn since they first met.  Arlynn was shocked.  Kai shrugged it off modestly, claiming he was still working on the ears.  A stunned Arlynn admitted no one had ever drew her before.  Kai quietly suggested that no one had bothered to look.  The two leaned close…

…only to be interrupted when the door abruptly closed.  Kai was startled.  Arlynn wondered if they were about to kiss.  They hesitantly agreed they were open to the possibility.  Arlynn put her new ooze familiar in Kai’s drawer—next to the drawing.  Kai leaned back on the bed and invited Arlynn to join him.  She gamely climbed on top of him (episode 10).

Kai woke up to the sound of Arlynn snoring on his chest.  After a few minutes, he woke her up.  She apologized if she bothered him with her snoring.  Kai assured her he was used to snoring after growing up with his stepfather.  He asked if she needed coffee, but Arlynn wanted a shower instead.  Realizing she meant the two of them shower together, Kai warned that that might not be allowed.  Arlynn realized they’d already missed first class, so she guessed no one would see them.  After challenging Kai to live up to his reputation, she ran to the showers wearing nothing but Kai’s sheets.

Kai followed, only to see Bageira watch Arlynn run by.  Bageira said she was gonna invite Kai to join her for morning exercises in the gym, but guessed he would be too busy (with Arlynn).  Kai admitted he had classes in an hour and suggested an afternoon workout, only to learn Bageira had afternoon classes and would be similarly unavailable.  They agreed to work out together at another time.  Kai ducked back in his room to get another towel, but stopped to ask if he and Bageira were okay.  Bageira slowly said yes as they had never agreed to an exclusive relationship.  The two tentatively allowed for an open relationship until they could talk.  Bageira headed off while Kai joined Arlynn in the shower.

Arlynn and Kai agreed they had fun and decided to go have coffee… after changing into clothes that did not have any buttons bitten off.  She ran back to her room. Kai entered the room and attempted to close the door.  Unbeknownst to him, his towel fell off and jammed the door frame.  He saw his monkey, who he’d since dubbed Reginald, eating bananas and chuckling.  Kai asked what Reginald found so amusing, but eventually gave up when the monkey failed to reply and ate his own banana.

Kai saw Nell and recognized she was upset.  Grabbing a pillow to protect his modesty, he asked if she was okay.  Nell admitted she wasn’t doing well, but guessed he had a good night and didn’t want to ruin his mood.  Kai told her to wait until he put on some boxers as he sensed she was upset.

Walking down the hall, Celdryn saw Nell outside Kai’s room, which was across the way from his own.  In his exhausted state, he simply thought Nell looked goth.  Nell marveled at Celdryn’s outfit and said he looked like he had a fun time.  Celdryn then realized Kai was naked.  Kai realized Celdryn went to Mirage.  Marveling at his fashion sense, Kai asked Celdryn if he had any connections.  Celdryn was too confused to answer.

At that point, Arlynn returned and asked if Kai was ready for coffee.  Desperately needing coffee, Celdryn went into his room and used his shapeshifting abilities to quickly change out of his Mirage outfit and into his school uniform before returning to the hallway.  Nell was very confused by the whole situation.  Arlynn gave Nell a hug and received a banana from Kai.  The friends then saw a monkey in Kai’s room, some for the first time. Having concluded any distractions, the friends went for coffee.  Celdryn repeatedly cast Prestidigitation along the way to remove the magical glitter that had transferred to his school uniform, with limited success.

At the Firejolt Café, Arlynn, Celdryn, Kai and Nell sat at a table.  Arlynn fed Oozac bits of banana.  Celdryn watched the ooze familiar in fascination.  Curious, Shae hopped off Nell’s shoulder and waddled closer to Oozac.  After the familiars burbled at each other, Shae asked for some banana.  Arlynn gave Oozac some banana to give to Shae.  Oozac took the banana and gave it to Shae, only to cover it in ooze.  Shae alternated looks at Oozac, Nell and the banana but—after some encouragement from Nell—eventually devoured the banana.  Arlynn asked if Celdryn had met her new familiar yet and held them out to him.  Oozac reached out and grabbed Celdryn’s face.  Celdryn patted Oozac back and saw a thin sheen transfer to his hand.  Curious, Celdryn licked it and observed it tasted like cinnamon and banana.

As Mina got the students coffee, they saw Nora walk up with a huge stack of flyers and exchanged greetings.  Nora saw Celdryn’s haggard look and wondered if the students had a rough time with exams.  Kai said no, while Arlynn declared she had a great time last night.  When Celdryn expressed curiosity, Nell bluntly told him that Arlynn and Kai had sex.  Kai chose that opportunity to stand up, completely oblivious to the conversation.  He asked Celdryn if he wanted any coffee, giving him an impromptu shoulder massage.  Celdryn complimented Kai while Nell made various sexual innuendos.  An increasingly confused and disturbed Nora admitted she did not know what she had walked into and had only come by to invite them to the Rose Stage Festival that was taking place next week as she was a member of the Fine Arts Guild and helped paint their props.  While Nell mimed sexual acts, a flustered Nora explained the festival was an annual improv show and thought Kai might be interested as he was planning to go into Prismari.  Celdryn assured her that Kai was going into everyone.

Seeing Telbron, Celdryn offered his congratulations, as he mistakenly thought Kai had slept with everyone.  Telbron observed that the conversation topics had not changed.  A distressed Nora explained to Telbron that she was handing out flyers for the Rose Stage Festival next week.  Celdryn took one of her flyers and showed it to the others.  Kai encouraged Nora to go on stage and perform, but she explained that she was too busy working behind the scenes on projects like painting a very lifelike owlbear.  After Nora left, the friends agreed that they would like to participate in the festival.

Arlynn spent the next several evenings sleeping with Kai.

A few days later, Telbron arranged to meet Kai alone by the Firejolt Café.  He found him half-asleep at a table, woke him up and told him they had to talk about their families.  Kai thought Telbron was trying to proposition him.  For privacy, Telbron tried to see what non-Common languages Kai spoke, eventually settling on Celestial.  Telbron asked what Kai’s father did for a living.  Kai said he killed things, saved worlds, went on adventures and made a great deal of money.  Kai did not notice Telbron growing pale, as he had recently stopped taking him seriously.   Telbron confirmed that Kai’s father made money helping people and that Kai believed his father was a hero.  He then took out a book and directed Kai’s attention to the largest sum, which was addressed to ‘El—Superia’.

Kai guessed it was someone from his family, probably his father.  Telbron told Kai the figures were copied from his family’s business records, which strongly indicated that his father was paying Kai’s father to kill people.  As such, Kai’s father might not be the honourable role model Kai thought him to be.  Kai accused Telbron of having daddy issues and projecting his problems on other people.  Telbron tried to tell Kai that his father hired Kai’s father to keep his hands clean and set up a suspect to take the fall, but Kai denied that was possible.  Trying again, Telbron admitted he would not mind if the Stevedores fell, but he was concerned that Kai might get hurt as their families appeared to be inextricably linked and asked if Kai was willing to be a hero if the villain was his own father.  Uncharacteristically serious and upset, Kai warned Telbron against prying into his personal affairs or making accusations against his family, and told him to sort out his own problems.  He then tossed a coin on the table for Telbron’s coffee, as he did not want to be in debt to Telbron, and stormed out.

The following week, the friends went to the titular Rose Stage where the Festival took place.  They viewed the outdoor performing space, which consisted of a main stage—decorated with a huge rose—benches packed with spectators, an orchestra pit and an enclosed annex building behind the main stage.  Looking down, they saw Aurora and one of her bandmates, Rubina, in the orchestra pit.  They saw a few students in costume improvising an amusing, bawdy conversation on stage, with various props standing by for use near the stage’s edge.  In the shadows, they also saw Quentillius Antiphiun Melentor III, a member of the Playactors Drama Guild, directing the performance and sending new actors on stage from behind the scenes.

Kai and Celdryn wanted to go on stage.  Arlynn agreed to join them, but was leery at the prospect of going on stage.  When Kai reminded her she’d gone on stage at the beginning of the year, Arlynn admitted she had been uncharacteristically brave at the time.  She ultimately decided to watch from backstage and take things from there.  Nell decided to sit in the audience, as she had participated in enough drama recently, but promised to provide special effects if needed.  Telbron decided to give Nell her space and go backstage to provide sound effects with Thaumaturgy.

Arlynn, Celdryn, Kai and Telbron went backstage, where they were greeted by Quentillius.  When asked what he could do, Kai proclaimed he was the CEO of improv.  Quentillius approved his attitude and had the students pick names out of a box.  Arlynn repeated her request to stay behind, and was assured by Quentillius that she could help out with other matters like handling props.  Telbron volunteered his services with Thaumaturgy.  Kai then realized that Nell was not with them.  Telbron explained she was sitting this activity out.

Reaching into the hat, Kai picked the swashbuckling servant while Celdryn picked the bawdy noble.  When Arlynn asked if she could be an owlbear, Quentillius assigned her the role of a very hungry monster.  Kai and Celdryn grabbed whatever costumes and props they thought were appropriate.

The performers on stage—a furious-looking ship captain and a cat in a business suit—continued acting until Quentillius grabbed Kai and pushed him into the scene.  As the cat ran off stage, Kai began improvising with the captain.  They exchanged a few words—punctuated by Telbron’s Thaumaturgy—before the captain traded places with Celdryn.  Kai and Celdryn put on a performance that grew increasingly bawdy and laden with innuendo as Celdryn opened up his shirt and bared his chest, Nell cast Gust and Telbron cast Thaumaturgy.  The audience found Kai and Celdryn hilarious.

Quentillius then pushed Arlynn onto the stage.  Amidst Telbron’s sound effects, she announced that she was an owlbear… and appointed insurance adjuster for the ship.  Kai called out for an owlbear, prompting Nell to Wild Shape into the creature and join them on stage.  Quentillius ran out on stage and showed Nell a note, telling her she was to play an adult in a toddler’s body.  Nell adjusted her Wild Shape into a baby owlbear, while Arlynn claimed she was her senior colleague.  One of the other students wheeled the giant owlbear prop on stage, prompting Telbron to cast more applications of Thaumaturgy.  The audience seemed slightly disappointed by the change in pace, but still found the performance highly entertaining.

However, things took an unexpected turn.  Telbron had problem seeing from the backstage, but the other students saw something weird from the owlbear prop.  The roars of laughter from the audience turned to sounds of confusion and fear as monstrous shrieks began to come from the prop.  As the friends watched, the owlbear prop turned into an actual, enraged owlbear that charged towards them… (episode 11).

The students looked at the owlbear, who had just come to life.  Meanwhile, they saw paper birds transform into real birds that attacked the audience and people backstage.  Furthermore, they saw prop swords become real swords and started attacking students.  After wondering if any of the students behind him made that noise, Telbron got out from behind the stage.  He Hex’d the owlbear before casting Shatter.  The owlbear shook visibly and almost turned back to wood and paint for a moment before recovering and shrieking at Telbron. Kai ran to the bottom of the stage, shouted at the owlbear to draw its attention, then fired a Guiding Bolt.  The owlbear exploded into bits of wood that rained down on the students. Remembering her classes, Arlynn had obtained a muffin from her backpack.  She expressed dismay that Kai had destroyed the owlbear before she had had a chance to apply her lessons.  Nell, still in her owlbear form, gnawed on a piece of wood.  They watched as several professors entered the Rose Stage and began dispatching the remaining hostile props.

Nell saw the bottom of the platform was covered in black goo.  Dropping her Wild Shape, she motioned her friends over.  Arlynn came over to investigate, sullenly eating her muffin.  She gave Kai half a muffin at his request.  As they looked, a professor hopped up behind them and asked what had occurred.  Nell explained the various props came to life.  Telbron said he didn’t see anything backstage.  The professor noticed the black goo and asked what it was.  Nell explained that they’d encountered the goo throughout their year.  Celdryn scooped some of the goo with a dagger, which he handed to the professor at her request.  The students cited various encounters with the black goo, causing the professor to realize they were the ‘underclassmen’ that the other faculty had referred to.  As the students watched, she pulled out a flask and poured some of its contents on the goo, causing it to bubble.  The black hue turned to smoke and vanished, leaving behind a semi-opaque mucus-yellow substance.  She rubbed the substance between her fingers, tasted it and declared it was what they expected.

The professor asked why the students had never brought the ooze to the attention of the faculty.  Nell explained that Mak, from the Fantastical Horticulture Club, had been investigating the ooze.  She and her friends had assumed he had informed the other professors.   Totsky darkly guessed the Witherbloom professors had kept it under wraps for fear that others would learn their supply had been tainted.  She told the students that the substance was eldritch balm, which originated from an underground spring in the Sedgemoor swamp and was used to magically treat and strengthen a wide variety of objects.  The black ooze that the students had found throughout the year was actually eldritch balm that had been tainted in some way.  Totsky suspected that the spring had been tainted in some way and wanted the students to investigate, but realized they had no reason to enter Sedgemoor on their own as they were only first-year students.  Instead, she suggested they offer to collect magical ingredients and samples from Sedgemoor for Professor Lang, as she commonly assigned such tasks to first-year students who showed promise.  Totsky gave the students the flask she had used and directed them to find the spring, which was in the northwest area of the swamp.  If the spring looked unnatural in any way, she told them to empty the flask’s contents—holy water—into the spring.  Arlynn would end up carrying the holy water for safekeeping.

The professor decided to consult with the other professors and help the students calm down.  Before she left, she gave them her Cloak of Protection in case the students needed it.  Nell eventually accepted as she could not cast Mage Armour.  After some discussion, the friends decided to put off their next adventure in favour of studying, as their final exam was the next day. Kai and Arlynn decided to study together.  As they walked away, Arlynn reached over and held Kai’s hand.  They talked about various things, including the size of their hands, what their hands could hold and how the tainted eldritch balm could seemingly bring inanimate objects to life.

The next day, the students took their final exam, which focused on otyughs. As this was their final exam, Professor Lang marked them then and there.  Once she had finished, she had the students line up to receive their paper. Kai learned he passed the multiple choice section, but was advised to work on his memorization.  However, Professor Lang told him he did superbly on the short essay.

Professor Lang told Arlynn and Nell they would have to retake the exam.   She also offered them the opportunity of retrieving magical samples from Sedgemoor instead, explaining she normally granted this task to her most promising students.  After Arlynn and Nell chose to visit Sedgemoor, Professor Lang wrote passes for Arlynn, Nell and their friends.  Nell apologized and promised she’d do better… or prove her parents right.  Lang expressed her belief that Nell would prove everyone who doubted her wrong.  While Lang wrote the passes, Arlynn squeezed Nell’s hand and gave her some words of encouragement.

Lang warned them that they might need galoshes and directed them to a shed that contained tools suitable for harvesting magical ingredients.  Nell took the passes and handed them to her friends.  Kai was confused as he had little sleep the night before, but eventually remembered why they wanted to go to Sedgemoor.  Telbron made a remark about Kai’s memory, to which Kai cruelly made a reference to his previous failures.   Celdryn asked how everyone did on their exams.  Arlynn and Nell claimed they did okay. Kai assumed Arlynn and Nell were smarter than him and would naturally do well.

After gathering whatever supplies they thought they might need, the students made their way to Sedgemoor.  Celdryn cast Mage Armour.  They got a guidebook of things to look out for.  Once they got to the swamp, Celdryn pulled a giant elk from his Bag of Tricks.  After some thought, he named the elk Antony.  Kai and Arlynn thought it was pronounced Anthony.  The students saw two broken-down docks and many islets to the north.  Celdryn, Telbron and Arlynn climbed on top of the giant elk while Nell flew above.  Kai decided to scout ahead and jumped to the central island, before Nell could cast Pass Without Trace.

The central islet had two wooden research sheds with a tree stump between them.  Kai landed and turned around in triumph, only to here a noise behind him.  Turning back, he saw two wargs emerge from behind the tree stump, their skin peeling off their faces.  They began stalking Kai.  The other students on the elk (or flying) took advantage of the distraction.

Celdryn moved up on the elk and Twinned Dragon’s Breath, casting the spell on himself and Antony.  They breathed fire on the wargs. Arlynn cast Chromatic Orb gainst a warg, poisoning the monstrosity.  Her familiar, Oozac, blinded the warg with ink. Nell flew over the wargs, activated her Symbiotic Entity and summoned her Halo of Spores, which had no effect.  She then cast Shillelagh on her quarterstaff. Kai rushed up and punched the unpoisoned, blinded warg twice.  It crumpled down into a heap.  Seeing its comrade collapse, the warg began talking.  As he spoke Undercommon, Telbron understood a few words ‘Power… evil… mine.”  The warg then Disengaged and dove into the swampy waters. Thinking the warg was going for reinforcements, Telbron blindly fired an Eldritch Blast.

Shortly after, Celdryn experienced a Wild Magic surge as the cold of the swamp hit him.  His clothes shrank to half their size.  Celdryn was embarrassed.  Kai thought he saw a previously hidden piercing.  The giant elk ran after the submerged warg.  After Celdryn and the elk breathed fire on it, the warg died and sank to the bottom. Nell admonished her friends to be quiet.  Telbron pointed out the warg might have been trying to summon reinforcements.  Due to her lifetime growing up in Strixhaven, Arlynn knew the swamp was generally safe.  The fact that wargs were here, though, meant something was seriously wrong. The party then split up.  Arlynn and Nell investigated the northernmost research building, while Kai and Celdryn investigated the southern one.

Kai and Celdryn were not very stealthy, in part because Celdryn’s clothes were restricting his movements.  After struggling, Kai helped Celdryn peel his pants off.  Now free, Celdryn investigated the shed with Kai’s help and found a defender sword and a sample kit.  Celdryn gave him the sample kit and walked out with the defender sword.

The students reconvened.  Nell cautioned the others to be quiet after Celdryn was loud.  Speculating about thing and Nell thought swamp was tainted.  Telbron finally revealed what he’d gleaned from the warg.  Celdryn then asked if anyone was good collecting plant samples, explaining he had a sample kit that might help.  Nell offered to trade the Potion of Healing for the kit, but Celdryn encouraged her to keep the potion as he felt she would need it more.  Celdryn then pointed to some plants and wondered if that was what they were looking for.  Kai and Nell realized it was, based on the artwork and Fantastical Horticulture club meetings, respectively.

Seeing a few more islets, Arlynn, Celdryn and Telbron rode Arlynn over to the northeast islet.  Kai followed by jumping, while Nell flew over.  As soon as the elk landed, though, several snakes darted out from underneath a rock and bit Antony, ignoring Nell’s Halo of Spores. Indignant that the snakes bit ‘Anthony,’ Arlynn cast Chromatic Orb and burned up most of the snakes. Enraged, the surviving snakes attacked the elk again. Nell flew down and cast Inflict Wounds.  Vines burst out, wrapping around the snakes and dragging them back into the ground.

Nell expressed her irritation over the snakes.  Kai, having just arrived, had no idea what she was talking about.  Looking at the dirt released by the vines, she found a root that her guidebook said was quite useful and took a sample.  Kai was confused at why they were gathering samples.  Arlynn or Nell vaguely said they had reasons.

The students decided to go to the southernmost island.  This time, Kai chose to join the others on the elk.  However, as soon as the elk touched a hoof down, it began sinking.  The elk hastily reared back, sending Celdryn flying into the nearby water.  He clambered back on, lamenting that things should have been better considering he’d lost his pants and was now wet.  An oblivious Kai gave him a pep talk, which Celdryn rewarded with a muddy pat on the back.  Telbron and Nell found that very amusing.  Seeing that Kai did not appreciate the humour, Celdryn cleaned him off with Prestidigitation.  Telbron still seemed to find the situation amusing, even after an irritated Kai shoved him off Antony and into the mud.  Nell responded by using Druidcraft to put nice flowers over Telbron and stinky flowers over Kai.  Arlynn and Celdryn felt Kai had gone a little too far, with Celdryn pulling Telbron back on the giant elk and cleaning him off with another application of Prestidigitation.

After enjoying a short rest, the students (and Antony) then moved north.  As they travelled, they noticed the water getting darker and thicker.  Seeing a steady burbling in between two islets, they guessed that was the spring they were looking for.  The elk was visibly hesitant, slowing to a stop before they reached the spring.  The students hopped off and continued on foot, but failed to notice anything.  To make matters worse, Celdryn experienced another Wild Magic Surge, causing rocks and random things to bounce around him.  Kai noticed a waterlogged notebook with a green jewel on the cover bouncing towards him and his friend, and felt weaker and weaker as it approached.  Suddenly afraid, Kai backed up into the water.

Meanwhile, Arlynn felt the spring was being obstructed by something in the water.  A giant scorpion emerged, dripping black ooze, and advanced towards them. Nell activated Symbiotic Entity and cast Shillelagh on her quarterstaff. The elk charged the scorpion and landed a solid hit, flipping it on its back. Celdryn cast Dragon’s Breath on himself and Antony before breathing lightning on the scorpion. Telbron Hexed the scorpion, but missed with Eldritch Blast. The scorpion righted itself, seriously wounding and grappling Celdryn with its pincers, but failed to pierce him with its stinger. Arlynn cast Chromatic Orb, hitting the scorpion with acid.  She then Phase Stepped back next to Kai and charmed the scorpion.  She then had Oozac hand a Potion of Healing to Kai. Kai did not feel well, but gathered his strength and cast Rime’s Binding Ice, aiming carefully to avoid Nell.  Nell cast Wither and Bloom, hurting the scorpion and healing Celdryn. Antony tried to breathe fire on the scorpion, but it dodged most of the damage.  Celdryn breathed fire as well, dealing the killing blow.  He cursed as he fell from the dying scorpion’s grasp into the swampy water (again).

Nell urged Arlynn to pour the holy water into the spring before anything else showed up.  Celdryn asked Kai what was wrong.  A haggard looking Kai asked where the book was.  Hearing his mumbled reply, Celdryn grabbed the book and threw it as far away as he could.  Kai faintly thanked him, claiming the book must have had an evil aura or something.

Kai managed to stand up, despite Celdryn’s continued concerns over his wellbeing.  He slapped himself back into a more alert state, only to realize to his dismay that he’d splashed himself with swamp water.  Nell tried to help by dropping scorpion goo on his head, prompting Telbron to start laughing again.  Arlynn ignored–or missed–Nell’s jibe about Kai putting goop in Arlynn’s hair and used Mage Hand to pour the holy water into the spring.  They could see the radiance cleanse the spring and clear the water.  As they looked around, the edges of the surrounding islets exuding the balm that Totsky was talking about.  Celdryn tried to investigate the source of the ooze and found an empty leather satchel.  He also saw various books and items bounce around him.  More importantly, the cursed book began bouncing towards Celdryn, as if caught in a current.  As soon as Kai saw the book coming near, he began wading through the water away from it.  Telbron grabbed the book and opened it, noting it was bound in soft leather and filled with waxed, waterproof paper.  He saw that many words were washed away, but the remainder was written in some kind of language he could not read.  Given that he could read most languages, he guessed it was some kind of cipher.  His only clue was an ‘M’ on the front page.

Celdryn, Nell and Telbron thought the ‘M’ looked the same as the package they found in the teacher’s offices of Captain Dapplewing’s Manor.  They found that suspicious, especially when Telbron recalled the chest also had some of the black ooze.  Celdryn asked Kai if he was feeling any better, then took the book from Telbron.  He put the book away in a bag, after remembering that his shirt was now too tight to fit anything else underneath, and asked if that made Kai feel better.  Kai’s evasive response indicated he was still unwell.  Celdryn admitted he thought the book might be important, but did not want to take it if it made Kai feel unwell.  Nell wondered why the book affected Kai but not anyone else.  Kai was forced to admit that he was allergic to emeralds and they made him weak.  Celdryn pulled the emerald off and sought clarification that putting it in the bag still affected him.  Kai confirmed that he would notice if any emeralds came within fifteen or twenty feet of him.  Celdryn then threw the emerald away and returned the book to Telbron.

Nell declared that they had accomplished what they set out to do and that Arlynn and Nell could return the magical ingredients to Professor Lang without anyone else accompanying them.  Celdryn, Kai and Telbron saw no reason to question her motives.  Celdryn made Antony spit out the swamp flora it was eating and had the giant elk give the students a ride back to campus.

An exhausted Kai returned to his room and collapsed on his bed, then remembered the scorpion goo on his head and went to the shower to wash it off.  Seeing that Celdryn was there, Kai went over to thank him for throwing away the emerald.  As Kai got closer, he noticed Celdryn’s silhouette was curvier. Kai greeted Celdryn, who had not noticed his arrival.  Despite his exhaustion, he thought Celdryn’s voice was slightly higher than normal and asked if he was okay.  Celdryn explained he was just tired, which Kai understood.  After a few minutes, Kai asked if Celdryn was trying a new look.  Celdryn looked down, finally realized what had happened and let out a high-pitched scream.  Kai clapped his hands over his ears, revealing he had only approached Celdryn to thank him for throwing away the emerald.  Celdryn abruptly declared he had to go, ran out of the showers with his hair half-washed, and returned to his room. A confused Kai wondered if he had inadvertently given offence as he genuinely did not care what Celdryn looked like, then proceeded to wash up.  After returning to his room, he passed out on his bed.

Kai eventually woke up to the increasingly suggestive pictures Arlynn sent him, along with some photos she and Nell were posting to the group chat.  Seeing they were having an impromptu party, he decided to join them.  However, he stopped by Celdryn’s room on the way over. Kai knocked on Celdryn’s door and asked if he had received the texts and photos from Arlynn and Nell.  Celdryn confirmed he had, opened the door, and admitted he could not change.  Kai asked why Celdryn wanted to change, as no one cared what he looked like and he—or she—had proven themselves.  He encouraged Celdryn to come and celebrate, as he owed his friend several drinks for throwing away the emerald.  Celdryn was shocked to hear how much the gem might be worth.  They eventually joined Arlynn, Nell and Telbron and they all enjoyed the rest of the night together. The next morning, the friends received an invitation to dinner at Captain Dapplewing’s Manor.  That evening, they met various professors, received several gifts   feted as heroes of the Strixhaven campus (episode 12).

## Appearance

Kai-El is a male humanoid with a height of approximately 6'2" to 6'4". He has a (sick) fade on his beard and hairline, complimented by piercing blue eyes.

## Character Build

* Metamagics: Empowered Spell, Seeking Spell
* Known ASIs/Feats: Strixhaven Initiate (Prismari), Silver-Tongued
* Known Spells:
	+ Cantrips: Firebolt, Gust, Prestidigitation\*, Ray of Frost\*, Resistance, Word of Radiance
	+ 1st Level: Guiding Bolt, Mage Armor, Thunderwave, Unearthly Chorus\*
	+ 2nd Level: Rime's Binding Ice, Spiritual Weapon

*\* = Strixhaven Initiate spells*

## Trivia

* Kelly originally planned for his Strixhaven character to be a warforged bard, but abandoned the concept when he was unable to get the jaw mechanics look right on the head.
* Has a popular StoneleyFans account
* Accidentally became involved in Nell's harem anime in episode 1.
* Took Magical Physiology, History of Magic and Art, Introduction to Archaeomancy and Introduction to Evocation in first year.
* Is surprisingly neat and tidy. For example, he meticulouslly makes his bed.
* Had been drawing profiles of Arlynn since episode 2.
* In episode 12, Kai revealed he was vulnerable to emeralds.