Sorcerer Itinerant (A Mage Errant Quest)

Stomach satiated and thirst quenched you make your way out of the cafeteria and into the halls. One thing you're noticing already is the fact that being entirely underground is a unique experience. You could almost convince yourself that it's merely a large building, but the unending granite hallways do feel odd.

Thankfully Skyhold seems to understand that not everyone is comfortable being underground at all times. Decorations are carved into the walls, each a work of art. Countless mages through the years have made their mark, introducing thousands of styles. The mage lights and lanterns are colorful, introducing a much needed canvas of paint to the dull grey.

There are also plenty of side-halls that lead towards verandas and windows with lounges. Perfect for a bit of time under the sun without having to melt in the heat. That's one thing you particularly like about this place; the interior is cool and the air flow is smooth with just the right humidity. Plants and bushes have been set up as well to add greenery and nature. Whoever designed this place so long ago made sure to account for the issues such a life would pose.

Arriving at your student dormitory, you find it to be centralized around a circular chamber with a spiral staircase that leads through multiple levels. From there hallways split off in a cross-shaped formation. Each central chamber seems to be an area for relaxation, study, and socialization. Bookshelves line the walls and tables fill the spaces.

You make your way to a small office attached to the bottom segment. There, you arrange with the local official on duty that you need a room. It's not a difficult process, but you're annoyed to find that your room is at the very top. More stairs. Your ankles are going to give out by the end of the year at this rate.

Lugging all your things up the stairs, you move down the north hall and find your room.

Opening the door, you find the place occupied already. A girl stands in the room, mouth drawn in a tight frown as she surveys the domain. She possesses a long, flowing head of amber-colored hair drawn back into a loose ponytail. Eyes a shade darker dart to you in mild surprise. A narrow facial structure is framed by a pair of broad spectacles.

"Huh?" She asks, confused. "Oh. You've got a key, so you're probably not an intruder." The girl calms slightly, frustrated. "Uh... I guess you're my roommate?"

Nodding to her, you give a slight bow. "Nia Nya, it's good to meet you." You take a moment to look around the room. Rectangular, split down the middle by a partitioning wall that only goes halfway. It's not the biggest space, but it should get the job done. On both sides are a bed, dresser, cabinet, privacy screen, chest, and small desk. At the center is a larger table for dining at.

She crosses her arms. "Rosetta Cross. Look, let's just cut to the chase. I'm not exactly excited about having a roommate. Let's just make this a quiet year. Got it?"

"I can do that," you reply, somewhat disappointed to find her unsociable. Oh well. You can't always make friends with everyone, as much as you would like. "Which side would you like?"

"Eh. You pick. I don't care."

Which side of the room do you pick? The left side has green colored blankets and the right has blue.
[] [Choice] The left side.
[] [Choice] The right side.

Once that important decision is made, you dump your many bags onto the bed and let out a sigh of relief. Finally. You're now officially here at Skyhold. In only a few days you'll be starting classes.

Your roommate intrigues you, though. She's obviously a studious sort, with no room for nonsense. She rummages through her bags, pulling out articles of clothing and mumbling to herself as she sorts them. After a moment of lazing on the bed you decide to do the same and start putting away your things.

Once most everything is put away and sorted, you find yourself dwelling on a final item in particular. One that is a gift for your time here learning at Skyhold.

What item was gifted to you?
[] [Gift] A thorned whip. Masterfully crafted of a tough leather and studded with spikes, this weapon is a brutal display of skill in the wielder. Grants +2d6 to combat rolls. A gift from your Grandfather.
[] [Gift] A set of sturdy leather armor. Tailored in a way to not limit your movements in any way, this set of wonderful stylish armor was crafted by your parents. Grants a +12 to Skirmish Defense.
[] [Gift] An arcane tome. You never knew your Grandmother on your mother's side. She was a mage of some renown, apparently. Your parents gave you this tome, a collection of her knowledge of magic. It should help you quite a bit here. Grants +2d6 to rolls when attempting to make Advancements in your Proficiency Pool skills.

Once that is handled you find yourself free to do as you wish. You have six more actions left today.

[] [Action] - Explore through Skyhold. Chance of a random event occurring.
[] [Action] - Visit the Library and study. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Proficiency skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Work out and train. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Locomotion skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Spar with people in the arena. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Skirmish skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Socialize with your peers. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Intrigue skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Peruse the local job board. You can earn a bit of coin by doing odd jobs for people and the school. Typically this will be things like helping in the kitchens, ferrying letters and parcel, or aiding a researcher.
[] [Action] - Visit the markets. Skyhold houses many merchants and peddlers. Perhaps you'll find something interesting. Either way you can likely find supplies there and commission artisans to make things for you.
[] [Action] - Write-in.

You tuck the precious tome into your side-satchel, taking just a few moments to admire the expertly crafted leather binding. Then you finish putting everything away, taking care to slot everything into the right place. Now it feels a bit more like home. You'd best get used to this place. Once that is done you find yourself surprisingly free to do whatever you'd like. The world is your oyster.

"See you," you say politely to your roommate. She gives and affirmative grunt, not looking up from her book. '101 Methods of Spellforms.' Neat.

Feeling like you'll be spending plenty of time studying or training in the days to come, you decide to start wandering. Exploring these halls brings with it a myriad of potential. So many people to meet, so many places to see. Without much of a better idea you think it best to start from the bottom and work your way up from there.

It doesn't take long to arrive at the entrance to Skyhold and start looking around. You find various shops in a boulevard of sorts, each with their own funny names and wordplays. Anything under the sun can be bought here. You've no doubt there's some kind of underground (in the illegal sense) market as well, hidden down some random hallways. Your grandfather hated how flighty smugglers were. Their ilk would take one look at a place like this and find heaven.

But out here, with carved shafts to bring sunlight deep, it's all above board. You walk through a long tunnel that has been turned into an open-air market. Merchants hawk their wares. You spy bright baubles of glass and gold, bountiful cornucopias of fruits, and artisanal weaponry on display.

Encounter shall be automatic given this is the first one. Random encounter roll is 36. Event is as follows; bar brawl.

However, as you leave the tunnel and enter what appears to be a group of taverns and restaurants, your pleasant daydreaming of limes is interrupted. A commotion can be heard near 'The Bear & The Bard', according to the sign. You hear angry shouts and drunken rambling. Suddenly you see a burst of liquid spray outwards from the door. A man is swept up in a tidal wave of... wine? He somersaults through the air and crashes down right in front of you.

"Gahh... fuck yeh, bastard!" The man is some kind of mercenary, you ascertain. He wears a set of sturdy chainmail, leathers, and gambeson. A sellspell, given the way he reaches to a box on his back and summons forth a wave of small metal spheres. Ball bearings. They orbit the man, quivering as his concentration fumbles. He's drunk, heavily so.

Looking up, you see a woman step out of the bar, cracking her knuckles. "Hah-hah-ah." Her laugh is slurred and slowed, and she stumbles lightly on the wet floor. She wears similar armor, a saber on her hip. "That's the -hic- last time you cheat me on cards, Derik!" She gestures and the pools of wine begin to lift into the air. "This'll be a fun one."

All the nearby people have wisely gone for cover, save for you. You're currently in the crossfire of two drunken battlemages. That's a bad thing, obviously. But how will you handle this?

[] [Choice] Evasive maneuvers. Try to get the hell out of dodge. Requires a successful Locomotion Pool + Athletics check. Moderate difficulty.
[] [Choice] Defensive maneuvers. Call upon your magic and try to block whatever's going to come your way. Requires a successful Skirmish Pool + Fortitude check. Moderate difficulty.
[] [Choice] Talk your way out of it. You try and convince these drunkards not to fight in the middle of a boulevard. Requires a successful Intrigue Pool + Diplomacy check. Hard difficulty.
[] [Choice] Start fighting them. You decide the best defense is a good offense. Begins a combat encounter.
[] [Choice] Write-in.

Instincts flare up in response to the threat in front of you. Thoughts of fight, flight, and fear run through your mind. Rather than engage in a battle with two opponents of whomst you have no idea of their capabilities, you backpedal and raise your defenses.

The coiled whip at your side unfurls in a moment, rapidly spinning up as you focus your energies. Just in time, too, because the liquid-mage thrusts their arm forwards. A wave of red bursts forwards in an attempt to crush the metal-mage. He gestures and the marbles spin up into a circular formation, punching a hole in the wave that destabilizes it.

Or, most of it, you soon realize. The rest comes directly your way and you reach out towards the water, urging it to cool down. Frost crystals form inside the ring of wine, giving you just enough control to slow it down slightly. The rest is handled by your spinning whip which sends droplets everywhere. A few land on your robe and you groan. "That's going to be a pain to clean out!" You yell at them.

The two drunkards ignore you, sending more volleys of attacks each other's way. You're forced to duck, weave, and block whatever errant projectiles are sent your way. A marble ricochets off a wall and is narrowly slapped out of the air, nearly tearing the whip out of your hands. But you hold on tightly and remain vigilant.

Both of them begin to slow, their mana pools drained by frivolous uses of power. For a moment you hope that the show is over, but the liquid mage slurs out a few words. "Enough danshin... I'm ending thish!" She snaps her fingers and suddenly the pools of alcohol burst into flame!

You slap at the pockmarks forming in your robe, managing to put out the flame. A good thing, too, as suddenly the area is filled with flaming spheres of alcohol. The flame is somehow not burning out, managing to keep themselves fueled via arcane means. The marble mage grits his teeth, his cloud of marbles forming a spinning wheel that sprays the stuff everywhere.

It's difficult to keep your defenses up in the face of this attack. Droplets keep managing to get through, forcing you to snuff them out.

But then a vine bursts through the hall and grasps onto the alcohol mage's chest. It wraps around them, causing their control to vanish as it squeezes. "Stop this instant." A calm, matronly voice demands.

Your turn to see a woman standing there. She's seemingly middle-aged, at least in her thirties. A long pointed and suitably witchy hat rests on her head. Beneath that is a head of long, straight brown hair done up in a singular braid that goes over her shoulder. Piercing red eyes stare at the scene, her diamond-shaped face set in a scowl.

Bags and pouches line her waist, likely filled with all manner of things. Tiny spherical objects emerge; presumably seeds of some kind. She slams the butt of her staff into the ground. You see vines and thorns wrap around the implement and what appears to be an orb inset at its top. Another hulking mass of greenery rushes forwards and grabs the marble mage, wrestling them to the ground.

She sighs and steps forwards. "Drunkards fighting in the streets. Disappointing. You could've at least gone to the arenas. But no, you have to be displeasant." The woman looks towards you. "I applaud your restraint in not attempting to battle them. Wasted they may be, students should not be fighting seasoned mercenaries."

"Ah..." You reply, somewhat stymied for a response. "Just tried to stay out of the way." You look at your robe and frown. "But it seems there was one casualty in this war."

"Funny." She chuckles lightly, fierce eyes lightening. "You're a new student here, aren't you?"

"That I am. I've just been exploring." You watch as bystanders begin going about their day once more, satisfied that the danger is passed. Then again, circumstances like this might be commonplace here in Skyhold. Powerful mages duking it out in the halls? You've no doubt.

"It is wise to know your home for the next four or so years." She sends an appraising glance your way. "I'll bring these fools to the constabulary. Have a good day."

"Oh. Wait, who are you?"

She pauses, "Me? I am Claudia Verren. Just a humble librarian." She raises her staff and the vines lift the drunken fools, pulling them towards her. Two 'legs' sprout from the mass and begin walking. Wow.

If she's a librarian, you shudder to think what some of the teachers might be like.

What will you be doing next? You have six more actions left today.
[] [Action] - Explore through Skyhold. Chance of a random event occurring.
[] [Action] - Visit the Library and study. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Proficiency skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Work out and train. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Locomotion skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Spar with people in the arena. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Skirmish skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Socialize with your peers. Gain a +1 stacking bonus to any Advancement rolls you make for Intrigue skills. The bonus will disappear on success or failure.
[] [Action] - Peruse the local job board. You can earn a bit of coin by doing odd jobs for people and the school. Typically this will be things like helping in the kitchens, ferrying letters and parcel, or aiding a researcher.
[] [Action] - Visit the markets. Skyhold houses many merchants and peddlers. Perhaps you'll find something interesting. Either way you can likely find supplies there and commission artisans to make things for you.
[] [Action] - Write-in.