A scenario for levels 1-4. Begins on September 11, 2022.
You begin in the lobby of the Grand Lodge in Absalom. It is strangely crowded today, and most of the new faces are children.
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A human woman carrying a helmet under her arm looks at the swarms of children rather dubiously. She runs a hand through her short cropped brown hair and edges back towards the wall, keeping the bastard sword across her back out of reach of little fingers. Muttering under her breath, "What are these people doing here of all places?" she looks around hopefully for someone in charge to rescue her from the terrible menace.
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Despite being even smaller than many of the children crowding the room, a ganzi halfling woman draws attention as she enters the lobby. Her dark brown skin sets off the fiery gold and red feathers she has in place of hair. Vestigial wings with matching plumage emerge from slots in the back of her colorful clothing. She prominently wears a number of knives and juggling pins about her person, and moves with an acrobat's grace as she dodges through gaps in the crowd. Her cheerful greetings to both old acquaintances and strangers alike are colored by a rich Mwangi accent.
"Well met...fellow Pathfinder, I assume?" she says brightly to the nervous-looking swordswoman. "I'm very curious about all these children in the Lodge today. I wonder if it has anything to do with this new mission I was summoned for. Oh, where are my manners? Professor Felicity Featherwit, at your service."
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Soon the door opened and another small figure enters the lodge. "What the hell happened here?" A gnome asks looking at the children
He begins to wade through them trying to get out of that scrum of kids. His short hair has brown color, but their color begin to slowly shift into darker one. On his belt he carries kukri and a backpack on his back.
He is wearing shirt with jacket on top.
"Ulrich Makaisson from Makaisson and Fishhead PI. It is good to be back to Absalom! Do any of you know what is happening here? When will the kids leave" he looks at a girl looking at him with her big eyes
"No offence"
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Elfino was very happy that his new mission was once again in Absalom, his hometown. More specifically, Elfino was from the Puddles, where he could usually be found sitting quietly in a shadowy corner of the Soggy Piper; at a table that he treated as his office. Occasionally, one of his confederates might join him to update him on one of his many business ventures; or perhaps one of his informers would pass by the table to whisper something in his ear; but generally he sat alone, nursing an ale and keeping a watch on the goings on around him. With his hood up in the dim corner of the bar, his features were shrouded and hard to make out. Unless you knew he was there, you might easily miss him in a cursory inspection of the bar's interior.
It was thus that he got his summons for the new mission. A young and clearly terrified halfling entered the bar and looked around. Elfino immediately recognized him as one of the new initiates at the Grand Lodge. He was amazed that that the little fellow had made it all the way to the door of the Soggy Piper without having met a rather grim fate along the way. Those halflings were rather lucky bastards really.
Not seeing who he was looking for, the young halfling starts waving the slip of paper in his hand like a flag and shouts out for all to hear. Elfino almost sprays his mouthful of ale across the table as all the noise in the bar ceases and every head in the establishment turns a baleful glare on the newcomer. Several of the customers start reaching for their weapons and look ready to engage the halfling in conversation, but Elfino recovers; makes his way across the bar surprisingly quickly; snatches the halfling up by the collar; and drags him out the door and into an nearby alley before anyone else in the bar can react more forcefully.
"Whut de devil do ya tink yer up ta? Do ya 'ave a death wish or sometin'? Whoever sent ya 'ere from de Grand Lodge clearly don't want ya back. I'm Elfino by de way." Elfino then plucks the note from the stunned initiate's hand, scans it and sighs. He well remembers his recent visit to the Dacilane Academy with its strange denizens. He hadn't expected to be returning to that madhouse so soon. He glances over at the still shivering halfling. Sighing again, he grabs the boy by the collar again, and half pulls and half pushes the fellow through the alleys and out of the Puddles, making sure that the initiate got back to the Grand Lodge in one piece.
He finally releases the hapless initiate, and dodging around all the children makes his way to the small group of Pathfinders against one of the walls. They soon notice him and turn to face him. Elfino drops his hood, and the group is a little surprised to find itself looking up at a rather tall albino elf. A pair of clear red eyes stare back down at them with preternatural stillness from a clean shaven face whose skin is the color and smoothness of polished alabaster. A close-cropped mop of snow-white hair does nothing to hide his pointed elven ears. By human standards he seems young but when he introduces himself, it is with a weary tone that belies his apparent age. Those who have not heard Elfino speak before usually expect to hear the refined and cultured diction for which elves are known. They are quite surprised when instead, they hear the rough and uncouth vernacular of the Puddles emerge from his lips. "Elfino's de name n detectin' is ma racket, uh... I mean trade."
Elfino looks over his companions and sizes them up with a trained eye; they were quite the mixed bag, and he expected that this particular mission might turn out to be somewhat more interesting than he'd initially thought.
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"Oh, hee hee! Look at all of you dearies! Hello! Who wants a little something to play with?" At this declaration, the juvenile masses crowd around a plump elderly human woman who's not much taller than they are. She hands out some little trinkets (acorns, pretty stones or seashells, etc.), and pats the kiddos like an affectionate grandmother. Her eyes twinkle between ample rosy cheeks and short, curly white hair. Once she's finished handing out her goodies, the children scatter, revealing the her clothing. And well, there's only one way to say it: she has no sense of style.
Over a set of chain mail you see a bright red, uh, dress? Knitted blanket? Whatever it is, it's WAY too big for her, and is bunched and tied sloppily all over the place so she can move without tripping on it.
She leans on her staff for a moment, watching the children invent a game with their new toys, before turning her warm, cheery smile on the group of Pathfinders gathered off to the side. "Why hello! Those children are such darlings. So full of energy! Hee hee!" She leans in conspiratorially and stage whispers: "They know how to have a good time." Straightening, she introduces herself: "I'm Mrs. Crinkle, dearies. And who might you be?"
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Ulrich greets Jyllian and spots Elfino entering. He knew of an albino elf investigator from puddles. Absalom is not large enough for most of the investigators to know about each other. When he comes he nods his head
"Hey Elfino, how was the Tarnbreaker Trail? I heard you were picked to travel north to participate in a race. Who did you piss off to get that assignment!" says chuckling when Mrs. Crinkle makes an appearance
"Good, maybe this is their teacher on some trip or something."
He waits for her to free herself from kids and says
"Mrs. Crinkle a pleasure is ours, I am Ulrich that is Elfino, Jyllian and Profesor Featherwit. We appreciated what looks like lovely trip for the kids but they really can't stand here in the corridor! Could you take your kids and ..." the rest of his speech cannot be heard as some kid beings to cry.
The gaggle of young people crowded into the lobby of the Grand Lodge parts to step out of the way for a man in an Eagle Knight’s uniform. “Pathfinders! So good to see you today. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedules to assist with our little educational venture. Allow me to present the students of Dacilane Academy!” J Dacilane raises his voice and sweeps his gaze over the students, who all fall silent and give friendly nods or shy half bows.
“And this is their history teacher, Professor Thandmere Krelsun.” J gestures to a gray-bearded dwarf with spectacles perched on the end of his nose. The teacher struggles with a stack of papers as J continues. “As you’ve been told, the class is traveling to Woodsedge Lodge today to explore life in the Pathfinder Society and to cooperate in a series of small tasks at the Lodge. They’ll report back to me at the end of the day.” J casts a glance at the students as he puts a subtle emphasis on each word of the Pathfinder’s motto.
“Why don’t you introduce yourselves to the students, and tell them a little bit about your adventures in the Society so far?”
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At this point, Mrs. Crinkle leans in toward Ulrich and chuckles. "Oh, I'm not their teacher, dearie. But handsome Mr. Dacilane here seems to be doing a fine job." She winks at J and flashes him a smile. "Such well behaved children! Now, I'm Mrs. Crinkle, just like my eyes when I smile. Hee hee!" She demonstrates with a giggle. "I've had all sorts of exciting adventures with the Society. I fought off giant crabs during a fishing contest, explored ancient ruins and fought off an ancient creation that still worked after all these thousands of years... Oh! And I explored some ruins inside a volcano, and had to fight off an attack from invisible foes! Oh, it was fun! Hee hee!" Her eyes twinkle in merriment as she mentions all the fighting.
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Elfino sighs inwardly. "At least I won't be going back to the academy, but it does appear that I'm on babysitting duty today. Someone in the Society's administration definitely has it in for me."
He then nods to the uniformed man in acknowledgement. "'Ello again Mr Dacilane. It looks like de academy 'as come ta us dis time rather dan de other way round. I 'ope de matters we took care of durin' our recent visit 'ave not recurred." Turning to the children, he gives them a looking over with his bright red eyes. "Me name's Elfino, when not uncoverin' de secrets of yer academy, I've also smuggled refugees out of New Thassilon, battled de odd devil in Andoran, n at great personal risk, 'elped win de Balgirdtrek in de Lands of de Linnorm Kings. I spect today's activities not ta prove as challengin'."
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Jyllian looks....slightly disturbed and definitely disappointed that the mission actually *is* something to do with these children. She "smiles" at them all, introduces herself as Jyllian, mumbles something about ghosts in the forest and somethingsomething ocean, before stepping behind Mrs. Crinkle and letting her take the stage. It's difficult for a six foot tall woman to hide in plain sight, but she's trying.
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"I'm so pleased to meet you, Headmaster, Professor, and of course, all of you children," the ganzi halfling begins, beaming with genuine excitement. "My name is Professor Felicity Featherwit, though I’m sure I can't claim the depth of experience of your esteemed teacher," she says, nodding respectfully to the sage old dwarf. "I was born in Nantambu, in the Mwangi Expanse, where I was a teacher for some years before deciding to join the Pathfinder Society lodge there. Most recently, I spent some time traveling with a circus on the Isle of Erran, which I'm sure you all know lies just off the north coast of Kortos.” As she mentions the circus, she pulls some pins from her bandolier and begins juggling them, but easily maintains her light, chatty tone while she shows off her skill. ”Besides learning some very interesting tricks, I also helped defend the circus and the town of Abberton from a sinister druid, and root out a tribe of evil xulgaths. Those reptile-folk kept dinosaurs as pets, which were very exciting to see up close, if rather scary, too.” She deftly catches the pins, one after another, and returns them to their holsters, bows gracefully, and concludes with, ”I hope we can learn a great deal together today.”
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Entering the room is a two and a half foot tall stuffed toy rabbit wearing a professor's cap and gown. He is dishevelled and covered in dirt. His robes seem to be a bit chewed on. He attempts to adjust his cap, without much success as it appears to be stitched to his head. "Thorry I'm late everyone. I wath ambushed by a trio of eager puppieth that mithtook me for a play toy. That'th the third time thith month." His oversized incisors cause him to speak with a pronounced lisp.
He looks around the room and his button eyes seem to light up at the sight of the children. "Oh my goodnethth! What have we here? Could thith be the nextht generation of pathfinderth? Fabulouth! It'th been tho long thince I had children to inthtruct. Everyone at the Univerthity of Lepidthtadt wath too old to be much fun. I left there after being denied tenure becauthe of the molaththeth inthident"
He greets a few of the children before continuing. "The Magaambya was much more to my liking but thadly I was forthed to 'purthsue other opportunitieth.'" He snorts derisively. "You blow up one alchemical laboratory and everyone getth upthet. Prepothterouth!"
He finally acknowledges the pathfinders. "Allow me to introduthe mythelf. I am Profeththor Bun Bun, Q.T.E." He grabs Jyllian's hand and shakes it vigourously.
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Ulrich jaw almost drop to the ground, as his skin and hair color change to that of walls as he would try to turn invisible
"Oh, that can't be happening. I am not ready to deal with bunch of kiddos" he looks at the same little girl looking at him with big eyes "No offence"
Finally his turn comes "Hello, children! My name is Ulrich and I am private investigator. My partner, kobold called Fishhead, and I are working mostly for different organizations in Puddles. And every now and then for Society. I worked on many cases: there was a scarf thief from Forest of Spirits and carnivorous goblin eaters from Katapesh. I was overseeing 'negotiations' with Hobgohblins and running around sewers in search of one of the Pathfinders who went missing. You know my wits had to be as sharp as my kukri!"
As you are making introductions, Professor Krelsun will describe exactly what he would like you to do with the students, and hands you a sheet of paper with those objectives and some other helpful information conveniently listed for you.
for several weeks, so they should be very familiar with this information.
Field Trip Rules
• Students are guests at the Lodge and should show courtesy to Pathfinder agents and Venture-Captain Armeline Jirneau.
• No horseplay except in the battleground, and then only under the supervision of chaperones.
• Students have full run of Woodsedge Lodge, other than the restricted section of the library, where sensitive documents are kept. Remind students that the restricted section is off limits, and do not allow them access for any reason.
• Under no circumstances are unaccompanied students allowed in the Maze of the Open Road.
Class Assignment
Students are to complete the following tasks as a group to show that they have gotten something educational out of the trip:
• In the Main Hall: Identify an artifact with a significant tie to Taldan history.
• In the Kitchen: Speak with the chef to learn the secret ingredient in Woodsedge Pie.
• In the Battleground: Document three combat techniques frequently used by Pathfinder agents in the field.
• In the Library: Make note of the most common type of document in the Galtan library.
Reliable Students
While any student in the class should be happy to assist you, the following are particularly responsible:
• Alec Gracekin (he/him): A tall, dark-haired human from Ustalav. Alec is helpful and friendly. He often volunteers to run errands for me!
• Geltra (she/her): A kobold from the Sewer Dragon tribe. Geltra is quiet, but dependable. She has permission for her pigeon familiar, Ruffles, to accompany her on the trip.
• Hari (they/them): A studious half-elf from Osirion. I’m sure they’ll be full of questions about the trip and about you! Hari is very focused on their academics and is usually the first to volunteer during class discussions.
• Tels Olsen (he/him): A sturdy redheaded changeling human. Tels is the captain of our ruk team and a quiet leader. He watches out for the younger students and often gives them good advice.
• Vim Moneymaker (she/her): A talkative Katapeshi goblin. Vim probably knows as much about the Pathfinder Society as you or I! She writes letters to Ambrus Valsin once a week asking to start her training.
You have the opportunity to question the students or the professor. You may also make secret Absalom Lore or Society checks to learn more about Dacilane Academy, and secret Pathfinder Society Lore or Society checks to learn about Woodsedge Lodge.
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Jyllian's eyes get even wider as an animated rabbit toy shake her hand vigorously. <First children, now toys?! This is the craziest mission yet.>
"I volunteer for the battleground." 'Obviously' is unvoiced, but definitely heard. "How long is this supposed to take anyway?" she asks Ulrich under her breath.
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"Oh, this all sounds very exciting!" Featherwit exclaims as Professor Krelsun reviews the expectations for the field trip. "I've never been through the Maze of the Open Road before, though I've wanted to see it for years now, of course. Who wouldn't? And you have such a wonderfully diverse class, too!" Her tiny, brightly-plumed wings flutter in anticipation.
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Ulrich looks at the list. He reads through the assignment and then follows with the kids
"Dear Aroden!" he says a bit to loud and lowers his voice looking Jylian's
"Look at those names, Moneymaker from Katapesh? I did a mission there for Yigrig a local merchant. The kid from Ustalav last name Gracekin... Charlla Gracekin is a known pathfinder agent. If we piss those kids, their relatives can return the favor."
He looks again at the list and tries to approach it as other cases.
"Ok kiddos, we are ... excited to have you here. Come and speak with uncle Ulrich. You girl, I will speak names and you nod when it is relative of yours: Ambrus, Finze, Fola..."
He looks at Elfino clearly having an idea what to do and look over his shoulder "Good idea, Woodsedge Lodge"
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Glancing over the list of rules, Mrs. Crinkle realizes that she may not be the best chaperone for this field trip. Rules aren't her favorite things, and these are a lot of rules. All the same, she doesn't want any dead kiddos, so she decides to herself that she'll only follow one rule, and it'll be her own: Keep the kiddies safe while having fun. So there! Hee hee!
Tucking the paper into one of the bulges of her sweater/dress/circus tent thing, she giggles at Ulrich. "'Uncle' Ulrich? Hee hee! Oh my! Kids, I hope your parents taught you not to trust strangers who want you to call them 'uncle'. Yeesh! Creeepy! I suggest you call him Mr. Ulrich the Name-Namer instead." She gives Ulrich a cheeky grin and blows him a kiss.
It seems she's auditioning for the role of class clown.
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Tucking the paper into one of the bulges of her sweater/dress/circus tent thing, she giggles at Ulrich. "'Uncle' Ulrich? Hee hee! Oh my! Kids, I hope your parents taught you not to trust strangers who want you to call them 'uncle'. Yeesh! Creeepy! I suggest you call him Mr. Ulrich the Name-Namer instead." She gives Ulrich a cheeky grin and blows him a kiss.
It seems she's auditioning for the role of class clown.
"What? Creepy? The Family Regiano from Northern Absalom uses the term Uncle to designate bodyguards for their kids, I thought it was a well-established term instead of cut-throat..." he looks at the faces and turns quiet.
The Pathfinder Society purchased the manor housing the Academy decades ago. In recent years, J Dacilane has become the school’s benefactor, financing a high-quality education for the students.
You may speak to as many children as you want. When you do, make a Perception (Sense Motive) check to see how they respond to you and whether there is something specific worth discussing with them.
Images of the reliable students have been added to the slides.
Geltra seems disinterested in the field trip and the Pathfinders. You get the impression that she would rather be poring over books - at least when she is not chasing the pigeon around.
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Chuckling at Jyllian's attempt at conversation, Mrs. Crinkle stows the impish idea to send Alec to go find the snipe that's been nibbling on her azalea bushes for now and ambles over to join them. "Hee hee! I think what she's trying to ask, Tels, is how you channel your teammates' energies so they don't spaz all over the place. Right, Jyllian?"
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Elfino does not have to deal with children very often and prefers it that way. Still, if the mission demands it, he'll at least make an effort. He beckons Hari over. "So, 'Ari is it? Whut are ye 'opin' ta get out of dis little visit ta Woodsedge Lodge?"
Receiving a blank look, Elfino sighs inwardly. So this is what they mean when they say to 'never work with children or animals'.
He looks over at the talkative goblin. "Whut about ye, uh... Vim. Whut can ye tell me about dis Woodsedge Lodge we're goin' ta?"
He then repeats essentially the same question to the remaining children.
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Ulrich shares what he knows about Woodsedge Lodge with Mrs. Crinkle
He looks at the kids and breaths out and heads to speak with Hari
"Lets play a game, do you like craps? Have you ever played? I'll teach you."
He quickly explains the rules observing how she behaves, and how well is she expressing her emotions.
He throws some questions as they play
"Do you like games of chance? Would you cheat if you knew how? Have you seen me swapping the dice for loaded ones? "
Jyllian and Mrs. Crinkle speak to Tels. He confidently proclaims, "It's all about keeping an eye out for your teammates and letting them know how to be the best they can be. Just like I'm sure you all will. Nothing bad could happen today." His admiration for Pathfinders is obvious. He can be influenced with Diplomacy or Games Lore.
Hari does not seem interested in the dice game offered by Ulrich, but plays along anyway. He asks questions about the probabilities and strategy that make you think he can't be swindled long-term. He can be influenced with Diplomacy or Acadmeia Lore.
Vim is happy to discuss everything she knows about the Woodsedge Lodge with Elfino. It's all secondhand, most coming from stories from her uncle Yig. She seems excited to finally go there in person. She can be influenced with Diplomacy or Pathfinder Society Lore.
Professor Bun Bun finds Alec to be polite and reserved, though he answers any questions you have and compliments you for any particular skills you describe as part of your work as a Pathfinder. He can be influenced with Diplomacy or Legal Lore.
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Featherwit parts with Geltra with a mental note to herself to see how well the bookish kobold fares at the library task once they reach the lodge. She joins Hari and Ulrich midway through their dice game.
"You remind me of some of the slick operators I met in the circus, Ulrich. I'll have to keep my eye on you," she says, impressed by his sleight of hand. "So, Hari, what are you most looking forward to on this trip?"
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Ulrich chuckles on Profesor Felicity remark "There is no fun in cheating if no one is watching right?"
He looks at Hari "Ok, craps is not your thing right. But game of chances is about probability. Look, when playing dice the chance of rolling each number is 1/6. The highest chance among two rolls is to get 7 as you can get it by rolling 1|6, 2|5, 3|4, 4|3, 5|2, 6|1. Do you get it?"
"Now let's talk about something else..."
He moves for a moment to Mrs. Crinckle "Look, they seem to be impressed by physical activity, how about you chat with them while shooting from the sling?"
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Noting that Geltra is standing off by herself, Mrs. Crinkle pops over to say hello. "Why hello there! What a good-looking bird, and such intelligent eyes. It's clear you take good care of Ruffles, Geltra. How did you two meet?"
Unfortunately, she tries to play professional, but it just comes off as patronizing.
Hari seems to be enjoying the attention of the Pathfinders, trying to decide whether talking about the future with Felicity or mathematics with Ulrich is more worthwhile. The other students start squirming, and seem relieved when the Professor (theirs) announces that it is time to enter the Maze of the Open Road.
The trip passes without incident. When the field trip group steps out of trimmed hedges of the Maze of the Open Road and onto the lawn of Woodsedge Lodge, something is clearly wrong. The air has a flat metallic tang, the sky is a startling emerald color, and the sounds of distant bells tinkle on the breeze. The students don’t seem to have noticed anything odd: they chatter excitedly about their journey through the Maze and speculate on where else it might lead.
Suddenly, Hari darts a look across the group and asks, in an alarmed tone, “Where’s Professor Krelsun? Where are the chaperones?” The other students fall quiet, then burst out arguing about what to do.
Professor Krelsun is nowhere to be seen.
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Featherwit fairly vibrates with excitement as the group heads through the Maze of the Open Road, but when they reach the lodge, she stares at the sky and says, "Oh my, that color can't be natural. Ah, hello, children, we're right here--" She reaches out to get the attention of Hari, and her hand passes through their arm. "Grandwhatzit's tail feathers!" she exclaims. "What's going on here? Did we take a wrong turn in the Maze?" Then, in a much quieter voice, she says, "Oh, I hope it's not one of my relatives having a bit of fun."
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Jyllian looks around for the Professor. Grabbing one of the nearest children to ask when they last saw him, she jumps back when her hand passes right through them. She draws her sword and goes en garde, looking for any danger.
"What's going on here?" she shouts, hoping to restore order, but doesn't make a dent in the arguing children.
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Elfino calmly examines the situation. "How interesting. We seem to be in a different but overlapping dimension to that of the students. The fact that we're all here and none of the children suggests that this is not some random effect of crossing the Maze of the Open Road but a deliberate act on the part of some unknown entity. To what end, I don't know, but we need to find out."
The investigator falls silent as he ponders the situation.
“Maybe they’re stuck in the Maze. We should look for them!” Vim suggests.
Hari puts up a hand to halt her. “Absolutely not. Going in the Maze is strictly forbidden!”
“Let’s go inside for help,” Tels gestures toward Woodsedge Lodge. “They’ll know what to do.”
The students mutter assent and head to the Lodge, a two-story manor house that sports rounded turrets on the front of the building. The students walk up the staircase to the front doors, decorated with a painting of a stylized wayfinder. Tels knocks, and when no one answers, he opens the doors and leads the class inside.
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"Well, I don't intend to leave the children alone, even if they can't see us," Featherwit says, her voice determined. She takes out a dagger and begins flipping it in the air with one hand as she follows the children inside the lodge. "What a strange sensation," she says as she pushes through the door.