The Price of Integrity

Roster

Vigilius Palamas

Session Overview

Session Status: Occurred

In Game Date: 22nd Nightal 1508

Group Cup Points

NPC's

Mavinda Sharpbeak, Ricard Ruanad, Mirella Blackbriar

Summary

A quiet day of reflection turns into a rescue mission when Vigilius answers Professor Sharpbeak's call to find a missing Witherbloom student in the forbidden Root Archives. Ignoring a tempting note from Ricard Ruanad offering payment for “anything valuable,” Vigilius proves that integrity can burn brighter than ambition — quite literally, as he faces the living roots of the Archives themselves to free a terrified classmate from their grasp.

The Tempting Offer

• The morning after a scolding from the Head Teacher, Vigilius finds an unsigned note on his desk — a proposition from Ricard Ruanad, offering gold for any “valuable” discoveries made during her errand for Professor Sharpbeak.
• Choosing conscience over coin, Vigilius ignores the note and sets off for Witherbloom Campus, determined to find the missing student.

Descent into the Root Archives

• The Witherbloom Wing looms dark and overgrown, its halls heavy with damp air and creeping ivy. A rusted service door offers a quiet way in.
• Vigilius slips down the service stairs but is spotted by a janitor. Thinking fast, he convinces him that he’s acting under faculty orders — earning reluctant permission to proceed.
• The Root Archives are eerily still, illuminated by dim fungal lamps and choked with spores. Among the twisting shelves, he discovers a torn satchel marked with the Witherbloom sigil and smeared with green ink — a clue that confirms the student’s passage.

The Tangled Rescue

• Following faint cries deeper into the maze, Vigilius finds his path blocked by a web of thick, living roots. When no alternate route presents itself, he squeezes through the gaps, forcing his way into a hidden chamber.
• At the centre writhes a mass of vines and bark, pulsating with pale green light — and entangling Mirella Blackbriar, the missing first-year.
• As Vigilius approaches, the vines lash out, seizing him by the leg. He hacks through one with his dagger, then scorches another with a blast of fire breath.
• Pressing through the struggle, Vigilius cuts Mirella free, comforting the sobbing student as the roots recede into stillness. Nearby, a sealed chest glistens with sap — but Vigilius leaves it untouched.

Safe Return

• Carrying Mirella back through the tunnels, Vigilius is met by Professor Mavinda Sharpbeak, who offers heartfelt thanks and a token of gratitude: a Silver Ink Charm, allowing its wearer to cast Detect Magic once per day.
• As the adrenaline fades, Vigilius returns to his dorm to reflect. The past few days — and the student he saved — leave him with a new resolve: to stop chasing ghosts of his past and start living in the present.

Ongoing Threads

• Ricard Ruanad’s Note – His proposition went unanswered, but it’s unlikely he’ll forget Vigilius’s refusal. What “valuables” did he truly seek in the Root Archives?
• The Sealed Chest – Left behind in the chamber, its sap-frosted surface hints at lingering magic — and unfinished business.
• Mavinda’s Favour – The Silver Ink Charm marks Mavinda’s trust; future assignments from her may follow.
• Vigilius’s Resolve – His experience in the Archives has changed his outlook — but will that conviction hold when temptation comes calling again?