Alter Aeon The Great Library

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AABN:  48333
Title: the Quest for the Silver Halberd, part 3

The Quest for the Silver Halberd, part 3

by Sparity Ket, Captain of the Order of the White Knights

Having been raised in a poor family, Kenwick considered himself to be quite
lucky to be one of the students of the Noble Academy of Magic in
Ritterholm.  Unbeknownst to him, once his parents had learned of his
desires to study magic, they had secretly saved up enough money to enroll
him as soon as he was of age.

At the school, Kenwick soon developed a fascination with extraplanar beings
and completely dedicated his studies to specialized summoning magic.  As
part of his research, the young wizard often conjured beings from other
realms of existence just to converse and play with them.  At first he would
summon wildlife from the Purnima, the lowest and most easily accessible of
the Planes of Light.  Over time he developed a strong bond with a handful
of friendly creatures, and so then he felt confident enough to begin
reaching out to the more far-flung ethereal planes to summon elementals. 
Having learned their native languages, Kenwick soon developed a
relationship with a number of lesser elemental beings.

Even among a body of eccentric magic-users, Kenwick's affinity for
extraplanar beings was looked upon with suspicion.  His tendency to be a
loner and only spend time with his summoned companions didn't help matters.
Rumors started to swirl of him dabbling in necromancy and summoning
demons, and other students avoided him.

One such other student was Zorat.  Although also a native of Ritterholm,
one of Zorat's parents was an elf.  Elves were rare and revered in the Dunn
Hurr, so Zorat enjoyed a privileged life and easily gained access to the
Noble Academy of Magic.  Zorat chose to focus his studies on earth magic,
combining ancient druidic concepts with more modern spellcasting
methodologies.  He had a naked mole rat familiar named Bill, whom he
usually kept in his pocket.  One of his goals was to be able to turn
himself int o a stone wall.  With dedication, he learned how to create
stones and create walls, but he wasn't quite able to turn himself into a
stone wall (yet).

One fateful day, a terrible fire broke out at the academy, and most of it
burned down.  Claude von Ritter, Marques of the Rittermark, was visiting
the school that day and died in the fire.  Alicja von Ritter, wife of
Claude and headmaster of the academy, dismissed the remaining students and
declared that the school would be closed until funds could be raised to
rebuild it.

While touring the city, Justice, Jamarkas, and Silliriun found Kenwick and
Zorat just outside the academy gate.  Zorat was accusing Kenwick of having
something to do with the disaster at the academy, claiming to have seen him
cavorting with fire elementals, while Kenwick vehemently denied having any
involvement.  Jamarkas offered to give them the gold they had just gained
from selling the armored leg-plates to help rebuild the academy. 
Intrigued, Kenwick agreed to go with them on their quest, and Zorat said
that he would go, too, if nothing else in order to keep an eye on Kenwick.