Arcane Academy Ep 8

### YouTube VOD

***The Arcane Academy* Episode 8** was streamed on BrettUltimus' Twitch channel on the 3rd of September 2020, and premiered on the World of Io's YouTube channel on the 10th of September 2020.

## Summary

Tremmer arrives at the destination of his leyline, which leads to a young man who is aboard a ship. It turns out that this young man is Alice, one of the missing students of the Academy. Alice used the wishing room too, but he ended up arriving on this pirate ship, losing his sea snake familiar Elenore in the process. Tremmer explains the situation he and his fellows are in and informs Alice that the boy may be one of their ways back to Io. However, the ship is currently one month away from Ishtar—nowhere near the Academy. Tremmer offers Alice help to get back to the Academy, but the young man refuses, claiming that he is in no rush. Eventually, Tremmer decides to look through Otto’s senses. What he sees is a sobbing Nigel, whose lower body is now a fleshly abomination. Tremmer tells the ship’s crew that he may know who is responsible for the missing familiars and determines that Nigel is at the Old Academy. Luna, an elven pirate, reveals that she was once a student there before its destruction. However, she doesn’t know about the facility’s current state. Tremmer says his goodbyes to the pirates and returns to the Astral.

Gideon arrives at his destination within a red misty cloud. He immediately spots Nigel and asks him if he has something to do with the missing familiars. Nigel doesn’t answer immediately, and all four familiars appear and turn to Gideon with lifeless eyes. Gideon runs up to Risk, but the familiar bites at him like a rabid dog.

> “Gideon! I... I didn’t mean to! I didn’t have a choice! I didn’t know what to do. They were after me! I needed help... I needed assistance. Gideon, don’t trust the Academy! Don’t trust—”
>
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Both Gideon and Tremmer wake up in their physical bodies. Twelve hours have passed, and Elenora passed the time reading, while Aldoras took the time to learn Feather Fall and to master Disguise Self. The two returning students report what they saw, asking Levin whether he knows anything. The Headmaster is unfortunately not familiar with the red cloud but believes it is an astral barrier. As for what Tremmer saw, Levin believes it to be a physical and current manifestation. Tremmer also brings up Alice, his situation, and his distance from the Old Academy. Tremmer brings up the original leyline they traveled through and is concerned that someone could follow them. To ease his thoughts, Levin says that he can hasten the natural clearing of the leyline. The students then decide to take advantage of the Astral’s time dilation to train themselves. Levin mentions that he requires a fungus in order to transport the students back to Io. This fungus grows along a path outside the Astral Academy. If they follow the path, they come across a friendly Gith village. In a cave nearby that settlement is one of the astral constructs, and the cave itself is a font of power where they can gain strength. After sleeping in the Archives dormitories, the party sets off.

Their task to find the fungus is soon interrupted. A piercing migraine befalls Elenora, and a gargantuan and grotesque “Space Baby” appears in the sky and begins to chase the party. During the chase, the students find the fungus they sought for. However, the Space Baby catches up to them, so the students take refuge in an underground passage. When they exit out of the passage on the other side, Elenora’s migraine disappears, and the Space Baby is no longer in sight.

The party continues on the path, eventually arriving at the Gith village. The first denizen they meet, Cell, is at first cautious of the students. However, when the party mentions that they were sent by Levin, he calms down and asks them to follow him. He leads them to the cave where the party finds the astral construct embedded inside a crystal, which is connected to two other crystals. The students believe that the crystals can only be dealt with by alchemical means, so Cell brings the settlement’s herbalist, who shares his workspace and ingredients with the students. While Tremmer receives a lesson in making healing potions from the herbalist, Aldoras concocts a few potions which can cause the crystals to shatter.

The main crystal breaks, and the construct emerges from the crystal. Once it confirms that the party members are students, it says: “Allow Educatus to teach you!” While the construct is interested in teaching, it still deals serious harm, so the students decide to defend themselves and attack the construct during its “lessons”. The first lesson involves finding the weakness to Magic Missile, then Scorching Ray. The students cast Shield to defend against the Missiles and go into a melee to force the Rays to miss. The second lesson tests the students’ knowledge on chromatic dragons and what elements they represent. The final lesson repeats the first lesson while the construct uses Pack Tactics. In addition, it produces a shield that blocks the damage type of the attack it last receives. The party survives all three lessons, and the construct thanks them for allowing it to teach them before it crumbles into a heap. Tremmer collects the arcana dust from the remains. The cave soon hums with power. It turns out that this is a storytelling chamber that resonates stories of the Gith and their shared experiences. The students accept the power.

## Cast

### Player Characters

* Elenora Mordove
* Tremmer Kushions
* Gideon Snowfall
* Aldoras Theletian