Pangothicon
A bulk of their Class attended the excursion, even recluses like Damien or Ryan. The Educator confidently led the way off the Academy grounds, cane clacking cheerfully on cobblestones in an even rhythm as he seemed to hum a faint, low marching song. It took a short stroll through the outlined thicket of woods surrounding the Academy to reach the border of the Educator's domain, the exact line where the Academy nominally became Fortuna, or a number of other worlds, depending on the particular layer a given Class inhabited. Instead of crossing the border, the Educator raised a hand to arrest the line of students following his trail.
"Ms. Parker," he called, with a vibrant tone, addressing their homeroom teacher. He energetically spun abaft. "Would you like to do the honors?"
Naturally, the young Fortune-Teller looked a little concerned and discomforted. "...What honors, if I can ask?"
"It's a simple thing, really!" A gloved, searching hand reached and rummaged amongst the inner pockets of his suit, and pulled out an implement like a mutated cousin of the pocket watch, made from some ephemeral golden metal that emanated subtle, wan light. It was almost obdurately thick with Architectural import, overflowing with crucial meaning, like one of the chief elements of the clockwork that comprised the universe. None but Solomon could sense its pivotal Role.
Still, the Educator, handling it as if the device were merely a storebought trinket from a streetside kiosk, dropped it carelessly in Ms. Parker's hesitant palm, and with an issuing finger, instructed: "The left hand controls Perspective, the right controls the World. Set the left for the star, and the right for the ankh."
After fiddling with the small clicking buttons on the side for a moment, Ms. Parker managed.
Immediately, the ambient levels of light fell, as the world ahead blurred into an indistinct nothing. After a second, like chiseled blocks sliding into allocated parking spaces at relativistic speed, entire sections of terrain came flashing in from the sides, below, and above, in a wild array of motions. Now, they beheld Pangothica, in all its horror.
Ahead of them stood a grim wrought iron gate, the spikes on it and the fence stretching from left to right like a row of spears. And beyond it, a world of mysterious dark-grassed valleys, mountains with cavernous secrets, and antediluvian forests bathed in lances of soft yellowish moonlight. A midsize settlement built over a river, its amber lights flickering beautifully through the night, could be seen faintly in the distance, amongst the wobbling evergreens.
"Wow," enunciated Sandra, the premier lover of the macabre, voice mellow and impressed with the sight. "That was so extra."
"Now," said the Educator, casually reclaiming his device and addressing the Class with a reproachful air, "in order to ensure our safety in an uncertain environment, I urge you to travel closely together! In fact, pair up!"
"We're not children, sir, we-" started to protest Isabella, only to be cut off mid-sentence by a sound. It was the sound of a branch snapping underfoot with a resounding crackle. Everyone, the Educator included looked at the source of the noise.
There, in the twilight of the bushes, stood a growling wolf-thing with a blood-caked snout, its eyes yellow like feverish sunlamps. It was hunched over on all fours, on almost digitigrade feet, yet the hints of manlike hands remained even with the claws scratching at the dirt. It emanated a climate of primal brutality and terror, sinking its claws in ways metaphorical and psychological. Even Solomon's psyche, reinforced as it was with a frugal protective amulet, bent under the strain like a door pushed on relentlessly until its hinges started to crack and it began to splinter out of its frame. No one could even think of running, primitive fight-or-flight instincts engaged in the beast's favor.
"Ah, most phenomenal, yes! This is exactly what I needed," said the Educator with profound delight, raising his cane, even as every student stood arrested in fear of drawing the beast's ire. The wolf continued to growl with menacing vehemency and approached slowly, with the steps of a predator about to feast lavishly on bountiful prey. Its eyes seemed to rove over them with stark intellect, as if picking out its first meal, and eventually closing on the Educator as a strange threat - unbowed by its alpha comportment.
"Pay attention, now! This creature here is a prime example of a specimen of the local lycanthrope - or in laymen's terms, a werewolf." He said that final word with a sort of hushed excitement as if the prospect of mere observation were a jovial scientific opportunity rather than a terrifying encounter with a ravenous beast. "A most fascinating etymology of that word, derived from the Greek lukanthropos, meaning wolf-man. There exists a correlation with the myth of Lycaon, the king of Arcadia chiefly recognized for slaying and cooking his own son, Nyctimus, as a meal to Zeus, in a bid to see whether a god could recognize the flavor of human flesh! As punishment, Lycaon was made into a wolf, and Nyctimus was resurrected: one of the rare few times, I'm sure we can all agree, where Zeus acted in a fairly reasonable fashion. I, too, would be extremely upset if served poorly seasoned human flesh!"
The Educator chuckled in good-natured humor. The werewolf's growl intensified with rapacity as it dashed forward and leaped with sufficient speed that Solomon almost couldn't track it. The Educator ducked, and his cornflower tophat remained cartoonishly hovering while the werewolf sailed overhead. He reached into the hat's bowels with superhuman alacrity to pull on a knife's handle and, as the lycanthrope whirled around with a second furious growl, slit its throat with almost perfunctory elegance. Miraculously, even as it burst, none of the blood dared stain his suit or glove. The instantly-dead werewolf dropped like an inanimate showpiece.
The Educator hummed with modest satisfaction, and returned the spotless knife - apparently silver-edged - back into the tophat, as the supernatural murk of fear abated.
"Now," he said, to Isabella, clapping his cane against the ground and mounting both hands firmly atop, "Ms. Adams, before my demonstration, I believe you were saying something about not being children?" He leaned forward curiously.
"U-Uhm," she stammered, and then grasped a mildly annoyed Noah by the arm, "L-Let's pair up, you guys..."
Solomon pondered how much of that was a fortunate accident, a deliberate setup by the Educator, or simply an Architectural kismet. A moment's contemplation yielded the answer the Educator probably didn't intend to make the werewolf appear, but stylishly took advantage of its presence while it was there.
"Now, for as long as we're here in Pangothica, I believe I should mention: our excursion isn't without educational value! Anyone who can turn in an essay by next Friday, outlining the connections and differences between your Theme and this world's, as well as any other interesting tidbits you'd learned, will receive extra credit!"
And like that, cheerfully, the Educator marched off down the valley.
"Hey, Penelope," said Solomon, nodding to the girl, slightly confused at being called out. "Pair?"
She looked momentarily around and noted most of the others were already paired or pairing, and a few of those who weren't stood further away than Solomon. She eventually shrugged and offered a slight smile. "Sure."
God bless the simple interactions of human beings, thought Solomon.
---
As you descend into Pangothica, you have a meager allotment of 5 Will, or a potential 20 to 35 if you choose to pivot from befriending Penelope to Decompression. Sadly, as a result of already pre-emptively starting your next set of Remedial Lessons as ahead of schedule as the Educator was willing to humor, that slot and Will are locked in!
If you desire to make such a pivot, add it as a write-in.
In the meantime!
Will: 5 / 20-35
Credit: 7.3
XP: 75
Here are your choices for the exciting opportunity of Pangothica! Make as many choices as you have the Will and Credit for! Careful to avoid the dreadful potential of burnout!
[ ] Essayism [5 Will] - Write an adequate essay. Earn 1 Student Credit.
-[ ] Great Essayism [10 Will] - Write a superb essay. Earn 2 Student Credit and 65% odds to unlock an extra Aspect with Gothic Horror Thematic influences!
--[ ] Grand Essayism [10 Will] - Write a beyond-superb essay. Earn 3 Student Credit and 100% odds to unlock an extra Aspect with Gothic Horror Thematic influences!
*Credit for each tier of Essayism doesn't stack. Each level is purchased separately.
[ ] Educational Exploration [15 Will] - Make a devotional study of the local Thematics, its correlations, its differences, and its overall telos. There's already some interesting commonalities you can spot when you squint: every other secret might compound for impressive possibilities.
Benefits:
*Discount Essayism by 5 Will per level and slightly improve the effects of each level.
*Gain 100-250 XP.
[ ] Architectural Exploration [20 Will, 7 Credit] - A fragment of you suspects there must be a deeper reason for Pangothica's existence, and it seems to bear a degree of connection to the Educator's strange clockwork device. Make observations with exceptional care, and perhaps ask him for guidance.
Benefits:
*Yield Architecturalism practice equivalent to taking on Remedial Classwork thrice.
*Improve the Connections Technique to Level 2.
[ ] Advanced Empowerment [50 Will, 12 Credit] - Ahead of you an entire world, the inchoate potential of its Thematics feeling like a freshly buried corpse. The Educator was right in many respects: you can learn so much from this excursion, if you look and think, or meditate and search for adventure. Somewhere in the center of this land, you can feel a presence calling out to you, like a welcoming voice... If you respond and reach out, you may be able to lay a claim to one of the miracles of this realm before its safeguards can fully rise.
Benefits:
*Gain at least 500 XP, potentially an explosively higher amount.
*Other, considerable benefits equivalent to a second such amount!
Warning:
*Potential high danger.
[ ] Explore Valleys [10 Will] - Beneath you, in these forested valleys, your insight into the Architecture tells you of hidden glades full of adventure and power. You're bored, so why not explore a little?
Benefits:
*Gain 80-160 XP.
*Other, uncertain benefits.
Warning:
*Moderate danger.
[ ] Find Apprentices [15 Will, 7 Credit] - According to the Educator's laydown of the area, there are at least dime-a-dozen cults here, worshipping different ephemera, vampiric lords, and eldritch gods. If you're willing to put in a little elbow grease, you could potentially find yourself a couple of disciples: or, for even more Will, an entire cabal!
Benefits:
*Allows you to recruit disciples from amongst a number of magic-capable local groups: power and danger level depends on further Will expenditures and choices. The Educator, in return for some of your credit and wish leeway, will prepare quarters for them, and potentially let you take them with you post-graduation.
Warning:
*Very minor danger.
[ ] Find Artifacts [15 Will] - With a combination of divination, stealth spells, and your (admittedly lackluster) thieving skills, nab some eldritch artifacts and tomes from secret libraries, workshops, and necromantic tombs.
Benefits:
*A bunch of cool stuff. You get to pick from a cornucopia of promising items.
[ ] Write-in - Other opportunities abound! Ask and find out.
