Here it is! Strixhaven University. The place where all your dreams come true. As you are shuttled there on the magical carriage, you see the expansive campus, and all the colleges, too. Lorehold. Prismari. Witherbloom. Quandrix. Silverquill. You see small students, milling about, talking to each other- even some practicing magic. Unfortunately, your carriage driver eventually has to descend, leaving you unable to see anything but the main campus. 

As you arrive there, you are escorted by strange, perky robots to the Archway Commons, where a large group of students has gathered. A female owlin stands on the stage, looking quite uncomfortable standing in front of such a large audience. People all around you murmur and shift, waiting for something exciting to happen.

"Uh, h-hello. My name is Mavinda Sharpbeak, but you can call me Ms. Sharpbeak. I'm, ah, your guidance counselor. I'll, uh, be telling you about Strixhaven University and your next few years here."

Some students chuckle at her discomfort, pointing at the flashcards she tries to hide with her wings.

"Well, you're, uh, probably here because, um, you were accepted. And, uh, the bathrooms are located- hmm?" It appears she has mixed up some of her cards, causing her to somehow manage to turn red. She drops some of her flashcards, much to her embarrassment. She eventually just decides to tuck them in her back pocket and ad lib it.

"So, uh, we are standing in the middle of the Archway Commons right now, and, uh... this is where you can hang out. On sunny days. Um... you know, just... mingle amongst yourselves. Tour guides should be around soon. Here, these are your tour groups-" a massive, spectral image appears directly behind her, causing her to give out a startled squawk and fall off the back of the stage. You see her fly off, unharmed, however.

As you read the board, you see your name alongside 5 others: Mavoi Dreamwatcher. Jaud Erelos. Amari Feringlow. Richter von Gerkin. Avery Veritas. Kalos- unfortunately, Kalos' last name is covered by a tree. (Could you come up with a last name, actually, though?)

 <I'll try to get on when I can, but my appearances will be sporadic at best. Take this time to introduce your characters to the other PCs.>

Avery smiles to herself as she walks through the crowd. Everyone here gave off such a unique presence, allowing her to quickly identify the stronger students from the others. She tugged her blindfold to make sure it was still on tight, and smiled to herself. This was going to be very, very interesting.

"That.  Was a terrible briefing."

Reaching out across the stage to gather the discarded flash cards, Mavoi frowned and placed them in a neat pile - Being so very tall, his reach was easily long enough.

He had bridled at the strange robots, looking as if he expected them to explode at any minute - but quickly calmed when they did not appear threatening.

"Looks like we're on our own until our tour guide arrives - can we at least rally in our groups? (reading from the sign)
Erelos?  Feringlow? von Gerkin?  Veritas? ... Kalos?."

His jacket, coat and especially boots looked to be well-worn and patched, and his barrel-chest lent extra volume to his parade-ground voice, but his face was open and friendly.  A young Goliath, as fresh-faced as any of that tribe, more gangly than muscular, his long arms too thin to pass for those of a great warrior, but wearing the red war-tattoos of his people head to foot over his teal skin.

A quiet, deliberate voice responds from near the back of the crowd.

"Here."

The group parts slightly as Kalos Emberquill steps forward—a tall orc with pale green skin and piercing crimson eyes. His tightly pulled-back hair is threaded with bronze wire, keeping it out of his focused gaze. A weathered grimoire is clutched tightly in one arm, and a slenderblade hangs on his back, the hilt clearly well-used despite its pristine care. His robes, stitched in Lorehold reds and golds, drape cleanly over hardened leather armor—an odd blend of scholar and swordsman.

Kalos stops just beside Mavoi and offers a polite nod to the others in the group, though his expression remains mostly reserved.

“I take it we’ll be learning more from each other than the cards,” he says, glancing in the direction Ms. Sharpbeak fled, his tone flat but not unfriendly. “I’m Kalos Emberquill.”

“I came here to study the bones of the past,” he adds, glancing toward the towering libraries beyond. “And to test how well a blade sings in a scholar’s grip.”

"An archeologist, eh? Interesting." Avery crosses her arms as she walks over, her silky black robe trailing behind her. "Avery Veritas, nice to meetcha, Emberquill." She chuckles to herself as she gazes over to where the stage is "That... that was pretty funny. If all the bigwigs are like this, school's going to be a breeze."

Richter slowly blinked one yellow eye than, well, technically the other, even if instead of an eye there was but a pitiless there. But regardless! He watched watch Ms. Sharpbeak fly away for a time, before muttering all enthusiasm of a retail worker nine hours into what was supposed to only be at best a seven hour shift, "Well, that was... riveting."

After spending a moment to make sure the patchwork bandana covering the lower half of his face remained firmly fit into place, he started scanning the crowd, taking advantage of his height and somewhat imposing figure to search with few bothering him. At least until in seeing a potential kindred spirit in Mavoi, made his way over to the little giant(and by extension any others already gathering nearby). For much like the goliath, everything from his high collar green vest to the threadbare pants and boots on Richter have seen better days.

"Veritas?" He drawled out in a deep and gravely voice, drawing near enough in time to catch the introduction. "Then I guess the rest of ya are also apart of my tour group." He added as a lanky arm snaked it way up so callused fingers could scratch at the back of his head. Although he takes care to avoid brushing his hand against the wreathe of leaves that appeared to have its start growing from out of his head. "Names, uh, Richter. Ricther Von Gerkin, or, uhm... yeah. Pleasure to be making all ya'lls acquaintance. I'd offer a hand to shake, but from what I hear, most folk find clammy hands to be a touch uncomfortable."

"Tour Group? There's a list for that?" Avery asks. She clicks her tongue, a bit annoyed, but turns to the large man and asks "Could you read out the list for me, big guy? I'm basically blind, so I can't really read out who my group is."

Amari listens to Ms. Sharpbeak's introduction on the edge of her seat, clutching her satchel to her chest excitedly, seemingly ignoring the woman's nervousness. As Ms. Sharpbeak concludes and dismisses them for the tour Amari bounces out of her seat, looking around for the appointed spot to meet.

She approaches the group as they've begun to make their introductions, and the others will see a short, slight-looking young half-elf with warm brown skin, her curly hair braided up into two buns. A large pair of metallic glasses sit on her nose, matched by the earrings that run up her ears. She wears a structured, tunic-like dress over leggings and a charm bracelet around one wrist with a dangling unicorn symbol of Mielikki.

She chimes in after the others introduce themselves, "It's so nice to meet you all, I think I'm in your group too! My name's Amari Feringlow, I'm here to be a healer." She glances around, taking in the other students in her group, and looking for any newcomers. "I wonder who our tour guide will be..."

<All but one person has posted, so let's get this party started!>

Small tour guides fan out throughout the crowd, grabbing their group members and directing them towards the next section of the tour. Your tour guide walks up to you, counting up the people, then nodding with satisfaction.

"Greetings! I am Click, your tour guide for today. before we begin the tour, is there any questions?"

Jaud Erelos has been standing and staring, with his mouth slightly agape throughout the whole introduction. Although he is sharply dressed in a fine but well-worn military suit of leather armor, the blank look of awe and wonder on his face belies his country-bumpkin origins. He thought he'd seen the world as an eager young soldier, but he's never seen anything like this! Already skeptical about whether a school was the best place for his rough outdoorsy talents, Jaud looks at the wild collection of fellow students in his tour group and considers slowly slinking away into the shadows to disappear . . .

However, his years of training and his quiet determination to make the best of himself soon returns. Jaud shakes his head to clear his mind, with a wavy flop of his auburn hair, and approaches the others. "I'm Jaud," he says matter-of-factly. "And I have too many questions to name." He smiles nervously. "But I'm ready for the tour . . . Click . . , if you're ready to lead the way."

Jaud looks around at the other students, making mental notes of their identifying features. It's a habit of the soldier's life -- to keep track of potential suspects . . . um, fellow students.

Quote from EchoSandwich >>

Jaud Erelos has been standing and staring, with his mouth slightly agape throughout the whole introduction. Although he is sharply dressed in a fine but well-worn military suit of leather armor, the blank look of awe and wonder on his face belies his country-bumpkin origins. He thought he'd seen the world as an eager young soldier, but he's never seen anything like this! Already skeptical about whether a school was the best place for his rough outdoorsy talents, Jaud looks at the wild collection of fellow students in his tour group and considers slowly slinking away into the shadows to disappear . . .

However, his years of training and his quiet determination to make the best of himself soon returns. Jaud shakes his head to clear his mind, with a wavy flop of his auburn hair, and approaches the others. "I'm Jaud," he says matter-of-factly. "And I have too many questions to name." He smiles nervously. "But I'm ready for the tour . . . Click . . , if you're ready to lead the way."

Jaud looks around at the other students, making mental notes of their identifying features. It's a habit of the soldier's life -- to keep track of potential suspects . . . um, fellow students.

 "Too many questions to name? Tsk, tsk! Say a simple one to start out with, then, and we will progress from there."

Insight: 17 (12 + 5)

Avery playfully hits Jaud on the arm. "Come on, soldier boy, lighten up. Nobody'd be stupid enough to attack us while we're at a magic school." She flashes a sly smirk then turns to Click "Actually, there haven't been any attacks on the school, right? Just to make sure soldier boy over here can calm down."

<Why'd you roll insight?>

"There have been- *Chunka chunka chunka DING!* 39 attacks in the past 10 school years, primarily assassination attempts or large scale monster attacks."

**Insight check for Avery insighting Jaud**

Avery doesn't even seem surprised. In fact, she grins a bit wider a lets loose a snort as she pats Jaud on the back. "Nevermind, soldier boy. Be suspicious as you need to be, sir." She gives a mock salute and laughs to herself.

Quote from Platyboss >>

<Why'd you roll insight?>

"There have been- *Chunka chunka chunka DING!* 39 attacks in the past 10 school years, primarily assassination attempts or large scale monster attacks."

 "Thirty Nine?" Mavoi frowns "Is that why there are so many of you War Machines everywhere?"

Kalos tilts his head slightly at Click’s casual “39 attacks” revelation, crimson eyes narrowing just a little. The orc crosses his arms, robes rustling as the glint of his arcane orb catches the light. He glances at Jaud, then at Avery, and finally at Click. “Well,” he says flatly. “That explains the dueling pits.”

There’s a pause. Then Kalos smirks—just a little. “I’ll take the library maps and a security briefing, if they’re handing those out.” He turns to the rest of the group, his voice calm but edged with something dry, like old parchment. “Assassins. Monsters. And magical tour guides with a kill count. Strixhaven’s certainly living up to the recruitment pitch.”

He lets that hang for a beat, then looks to Amari with the faintest, reassuring nod. “Looks like your healing skills may be in high demand.”

Quote from Parkway244 >>

Quote from Platyboss >>

<Why'd you roll insight?>

"There have been- *Chunka chunka chunka DING!* 39 attacks in the past 10 school years, primarily assassination attempts or large scale monster attacks."

 "Thirty Nine?" Mavoi frowns "Is that why there are so many of you War Machines everywhere?"

 "War machines? No, no. We are simply friendly tour guides! We can defend ourselves if need be, but we are protected for the most part."

Quote from mattrfagan8 >>

Kalos tilts his head slightly at Click’s casual “39 attacks” revelation, crimson eyes narrowing just a little. The orc crosses his arms, robes rustling as the glint of his arcane orb catches the light. He glances at Jaud, then at Avery, and finally at Click. “Well,” he says flatly. “That explains the dueling pits.”

There’s a pause. Then Kalos smirks—just a little. “I’ll take the library maps and a security briefing, if they’re handing those out.” He turns to the rest of the group, his voice calm but edged with something dry, like old parchment. “Assassins. Monsters. And magical tour guides with a kill count. Strixhaven’s certainly living up to the recruitment pitch.”

He lets that hang for a beat, then looks to Amari with the faintest, reassuring nod. “Looks like your healing skills may be in high demand.”

 "Dueling... pits? I don't believe that is in my index... and you will receive the maps and briefings later on in the tour."

"You mean you don't have dueling pits? I thought everyone had dueling pits, at least that's what I was told coming here"

"Woah, Calm down there, Spartacus. This is a scho for sorcery, not swords." Avery intersects playfully

"Why not both? I have stories of ancient scholars and explores that blended sword and magic into a seamless dance. I want to learn that craft, and take that knowledge into the ancient ruins"