Episode 83 - Power to the Pebble

## Synopsis

Angelika and her short friend went into one of the empty Necromancy rooms. Realising they must have a key, Winsler, Serinepth, and Phillip followed them inside.

They saw a small storage room, with shelves of various herbs and large metal containers. At the back of the room, Angelika was pushing a large bookshelf to the side to reveal a hole in the wall, which she walked through. The shorter figure did not follow.

*“Allena come on!”* The shorter figure walked through the hole.

They continued to follow them, and found that the hole led to a wide and low-roofed room. Across the floor were carpets with geometric star patterns, one star in the centre surrounded by seven more in a heptagon. There was a pile of pebbles in one corner of the room. At the end of the long room was a grate, through which the stones seemed like they could fit.

Angelika put her ear up to the grate, and began nodding as though hearing whispered instructions. Soon after, another pebble popped out of the grate. She picked it up and read the message written on it, then looked confused, and passed it to Allena.

Allena read the message aloud: *“To thee four who newly enter, we welcome warmly. Both those standing visibly, and invisible. Two days hence in the pantry of the kitchen, meet he who will show you the way. To Allena Hollyfield, Phillip Maisel, Serinepth Sinderman, and Winsler Wallaby.”*

Allena and Angelika looked confused at each other, and then to the apparently empty room they stood in.

*“So I have to go and get them to help me with this now?*” Allena asked, *“I thought it was like, I have to do this thing by myself but now I have to get other people to help me and like being more people into this?”*

Phillip was getting increasingly nervous, and asked Serinepth not to drop their Invisibility as she tried to comfort him.

Angelika looked back to Allena. *“When I got mine, I only had to do it by myself, I don’t know why you have to get other people to help you with it, I don’t know if it’s something big, but like I don’t know it’s weird.”*

Winsler slowly crept up to behind Angelika, as he approached the grate he heard whispers emanating from it. As soon as he was behind her, he conjured a glowing frying pan, and tried to whack her in the back of her head. However, as he raised it above his head, the weight of the pan caused him to topple over, fully visible, onto his back.

Angelika and Allena jumped in shock. They stared at each other before Angelika asked, *“What are you doing here Winsler?”*

*“I could ask both of you the same thing.”*

*“We were just… doing regular things, that you do at school. What are you doing here, how did you find this place?”*

*“I’m also doing regular things you do at school, why else would I be here.”*

*“Did you get brought here? Like you know, for the message?”*

*“Yeah!”*

Angelika was not convinced, and asked there was anyone else with him. Serinepth sighed and dropped her and Phillip’s invisibility. *“Hi guys.”*

Angelika pointed at all three of them. *“Alright, I just need to say off the bat, this is absolutely not as horrible as it looks or seems-“*

Winsler cut her off. *“What did you do with Artis?”*

*“He’s tied up in a storage cupboard.”*

Winsler dived at Angelika’s legs and attempted to hold her in place. “*Where did you put him!*”

Serinepth explained that they had been doing their own thing, before ending up in the Necromancy department, and overhearing them say they tied Artis up.

Angelika turned to Serinepth. *“Serinepth, you know those upperclassmen I was watching every single day right?”* She tried to push Winsler off of her leg and continued. “So eventually one of them figured out that I was watching them, and they came and was like ‘Oh you need to do this thing’ and handed me a pebble, and it was like *‘Go light a fire in the dormitory hallway,’ and I was like ok this is weird extortion but sure. I was just scared that they’d… I don’t know! I don’t know Serinepth!”*

Serinepth told her to just calm down and breath, and hoped she’d learned her lesson about watching other people. Angelika explained that she then got another pebble, this time telling her to burn the Enchantment tower, and that Allena’s name was on the pebble as well.

*“So our upperclassmen are making you start fires?”*

*“No, it’s this hole in the wall.”* Angelika pointed to the grate. “*It just shoots out pebbles and tells you to do things.”*

Winsler, still holding her leg, asked why she followed the pebble’s instructions. Angelika said that when she hadn’t followed them for a week, she got a letter that her grandmother had died, and thought there was a connection. She continued to say that all the pebbles had come from the hole, and that now one had their names on it, they should probably listen to it if they didn’t want their family members to die. Winsler told them they would do it if she showed them where Artis was tied up.

Angelika led them to the Divination department, and opened the door. In the basement was a storage cupboard, inside which was an unconscious and tied up Artis. He had a huge welt on his forehead, though otherwise seemed unharmed. Serinepth and Winsler untied him, shook his shoulder, and his eyes slowly opened.

*“Are we still in the tower? Where are Mira and Delnys?”*

Serinepth helped him sit up. *“We’re not in the tower, we’re back at Wildcliff. You got hit in the head, and we found you.”*

Winsler conjured a small cloth to pat his wounds. Angelika told him he’d gone into the Enchantment tower, and then a piece of wood had fallen on his head.

*“What are all of you doing outside your rooms? I was looking for you two earlier tonight, and couldn’t find you, and now there’s five of you for some reason.”*

Winsler said, *“I will say this, don’t put any blame on Serinepth or Phillip, they’re ok, just blame me and these other two over here, because I’m pretty sure they’re also up to no good.”*

The students argued for a moment about who was really guilty, before Artis spoke up. “*No one is getting in trouble tonight, none of us are supposed to be here. But we do need to have a conversation, did you all light that fire? Winsler, did you light that fire?”*

*“There’s a fire?”*

*“In the Enchantment tower, did you light that fire?”*

*“No, we did not do that. Why is there another fire?”*

Artis held his head and scrunched his eyes. *“Have any of you seen Mira or Delnys Raethran tonight? In any of your running around and doing no good.”*

All five denied seeing them, and Artis told them that they had been in the tower when it was set on fire. He suggested they all go back to their rooms while he looked for them, as he would get in less trouble for breaking lockdown.

Serinepth suggested they check Mira’s dorm to see if they were there. Artis agreed then said they should all meet up the next day to talk. He squinted at Allena and Angelika in their soot-covered robes, before leaving.

They arrived at Mira and Allena’s room, which she unlocked easily. They were instantly hit with the stench of smoke and sickly sweet perfume. Inside they saw Mira sleeping on the floor and Delnys in the bed, looking terrified.

Mira woke up as the door opened. *“Oh my gosh is everything ok? Allena, are you ok?”*

*“Oh, I was just in Angelika’s room, and we were just relaxing. Right, Serinepth, Winsler, that’s what we were doing?”*

Winsler just glared at her.

Serinepth put her hand on Mira’s shoulder. “*We’re all going to talk tomorrow, maybe Artis will be there maybe he won’t, but were going to meet up tomorrow. For now let’s just go to bed.”*

Mira asked if they knew where Integrity and Artis were, and they told her about Artis, but also that they hadn’t seen Integrity. She also asked if they knew anything about the Enchantment tower fire, seeing as Angelika and Allena were covered in soot. They tried to deny it, though Winsler was slowly shaking his head at them.

They decided to talk more in the morning, and Winsler dropped of the Tear before heading to Integrity’s room.

Integrity, followed by Teb, arrived at her dorm room to find Winsler waiting outside. Teb again demanded the stone as Integrity awkwardly reintroduced him and Winsler. When Integrity told him that neither of them had the stone, Teb told her he would stay with her until he got it.

Winsler, confused, asked what he wanted, then after Integrity explained what Teb wanted, asked if it was such a good idea. Teb nodded enthusiastically.

Winsler told Integrity he felt uncomfortable leaving her alone with Teb, and asked if she wanted to sleep over in his room, provided he could deal with Kurt. Integrity agreed, but before going over grabbed the three gold she owed to give to Teb. While in her room, she also tried to find Ida to no avail.

While she was gone, Teb sidled up to Winsler. “*Six gold for butterfly net, it could be yours. I have net”*

Winsler conjured a small butterfly net. Teb looked extremely unhappy at that.

The three of them headed back to Winsler’s room. They decided to keep Teb in the bathroom, and Integrity took Kurt’s bed.

Back in Mira’s room, Allena had decided to stay with Angelika so Mira could be alone with Delnys.

Mira turned to Delnys and said, “*So that was weird right?”*

*“Why is everyone you know not doing the lockdown thing?”*

*“Um, I don’t know why any of them were out. Like they were covered in soot and then Allena was like ‘*Oh yeah we were in the tower*’ and then Angelika was like ‘*We weren’t in the tower’ *so um… that’s suspicious. I’m not like, a very good detective, as evidenced by I have no idea what’s going on here, but like that’s suspicious right?”*

Delnys agreed, and thought they might have started the fire. Mira agreed, but said they probably didn’t kill Underbough, so the two events were likely unrelated. Delnys looked incredibly stressed. Mira gave one of her books for Delnys to read, and suggested they try to get some sleep.

Mira dreamed of her favourite book character, Diane Dangerous, as she explored an abandoned temple and jumped over a snake pit. As the dream progressed her face shifted, first into Delnys, and then into the woman who gave Mira the urn, as she spoke directly to Mira.

*“I had need of that gift I gave you, this very night.”*

*“Oh I’m sorry, should I wake up and bring it to you, I mean everyone’s already kind of breaking the lockdown.”*

*“I already know you destroyed it.”*

*“No I didn’t, I just opened it!”*

*“You’ve destroyed it.”*

*“No it’s still under by bed!”*

*“Come to me, as soon as you can.”*

*“Ok, tomorrow?”*

*“Tomorrow. It’s urgent.”*

*“Ok, I didn’t mean to destroy your urn, but I think it’s a little weird that it would be destroyed just by me opening it and then it’s a person that’s growing in there. What’s up with that?”*

The woman looked furious. *“I gave it to you to be kept safe, and now it is destroyed because of you, and you opened it.”*

*“You didn’t tell me not to open it, I kept it-“*

*“I told you to keep it safe!”*

*“If closed and safe are the same thing then you should have told me! That’s not fair to blame me, you didn’t tell me that.”*

*“You will get another one. You will keep it safe, and closed this time.”*

Mira woke up in the morning, uncomfortable and sweaty. She looked over to see Delnys, who had fallen asleep with the book resting on her chin.