Ross & Catarina Async - Steam, Smoke, and Secrets

Roster

Harry Blackstone,Marionette Moonbeam

Session Overview

Session Status: Occurred

In Game Date: 21st Hammer 1509

Group Cup Points

NPC's

Yedora

Summary

A lingering heat, a curious fog, and a vault older than the academy itself set the stage for an expedition into the mysterious Creature Vaults. Harry and Marionette confront the territorial magic of the Detention Bog, uncover a recently frozen Steam Mephit, and collect a sample of enigmatic black goo. Along the way, the students witness the rules of containment, the authority of the groundskeeper, and the hidden corridors that stretch beyond mortal comprehension. At one point, the corridor opens into the Infinite Staircase — an extradimensional highway of impossible architecture linking countless planes. By the end of the morning, danger is contained, burns are healed, and knowledge is quietly gained, leaving both students with awe, lingering questions, and appetite.

The Calm After Exams

• The academy drifts into the uneasy quiet that follows exams. Snow melts in thin rivulets along the paths, steam curling where warm magic meets cold stone.
• Rumours spread of Bow's End Tavern's temporary closure, injured kitchen staff, and strange frozen remnants removed overnight.
• Harry struggles with the residual heat from a prior encounter, while Marionette tends to burns on her hands, recalling the pain of the previous night’s confrontation with a Steam Mephit.

Preparing for the Vault

• Harry vents his frustration in his room before heading toward the Creature Vault, aware of the unique root-key grown by the groundskeeper to access its contents.
• Marionette stops at Whalebucks, drinks a healing potion, and reflects on her burned hands and the lingering aches. She recalls accompanying the groundskeeper to the vault previously, understanding that all entries and interactions are meticulously logged.
• Both students set off for the Detention Bog, stepping into fog and moss that clings to the ground, softening their steps as the vault’s entrance looms in the mist.

Approaching the Detention Bog

• Marionette experiments with a strange smoking plant, altering her perception: colours taste of sharp metals and bitter greens, while mundane sounds grow painfully loud, making concentration difficult.
• Harry arrives, warning her about the dangers of attempting magic while impaired.
• The vault door stands overgrown with petrified roots, veins of wood fused to stone, faint druidic runes etched along the surface. No ordinary key can open it; it is designed to accept only the groundskeeper’s root-shaped key.

Acknowledging the Vault’s Magic

• Marionette discovers a small sigil embedded in the door, meaning “request entry” in old druidic druidic shorthand. Pressing it awakens the door, and the surrounding fog reacts violently to Harry’s attempted elemental manipulation. He feels a sharp, almost physical recoil from the magic in the roots — a warning that the vault is aware of their presence.
• The groundskeeper, Yedora, emerges from the mist, her bark-textured skin and moss-draped form rooted to the bog. She assesses the students, noting the residual heat in Harry and the burns on Marionette’s hands. Recognition and authority temper her approach.
• A root forms the proper key, opening the vault with roots and stone shifting to allow passage. She grants them five minutes inside, emphasizing they must not interfere with the creatures or cast magic.

Inside the Creature Vaults

• The students enter dimly lit corridors, fungus-biolu­minescent glows casting shadows on the stone and wood. Each door is numbered and bears a small metal plaque.
• Marionette finds a clipboard listing creatures and their conditions, including a Steam Mephit recently frozen and noted for reacting to residual heat, with black residue observed on the floor.
• Harry responds to the residual heat from the mephit, and they carefully observe the creature restrained under a magical dome of steam. He collects a small sample of the black goo without agitating the mephit.

The Infinite Staircase

• At one point in the corridor, the students approach a door marked “staircase.” Opening it, they are blinded by a bright white light and step into the Infinite Staircase — a twisting, extradimensional highway that defies physics and sense.
• Steps spiral upward and downward in impossible orientations, gravity shifts unpredictably, and doors line each landing, each portal leading to a different plane, from the material world to the Feywild and beyond.
• The Infinite Staircase’s hum resonates through the mind, a faint chord of cosmic motion felt between thoughts, emphasizing the scale and danger of the vault’s deeper chambers.
• Despite the temptation to explore, Harry and Marionette return to their mission: containing the mephit and investigating the black goo.

Containment and Care

• The students exit the cell with the mephit, Yedora guiding them back through the foggy Detention Bog as the vault doors close behind them.
• The groundskeeper heals Marionette’s hands fully, leaving her skin smooth and unscarred. She cautions Harry to keep control over the residual heat within him.
• Harry and Marionette reflect on the vault, its rules, and the creatures contained within — a place older than the academy itself, where curiosity is tempered by caution.

Ongoing Threads

• Steam Mephit – Recently frozen, reactive to residual heat, leaving behind black goo of potential magical significance.
• Creature Vaults and Detention Bog – Ancient containment spaces that prioritize safety and observation, demanding careful respect from all who enter.
• Groundskeeper – A silent, territorial authority, balancing patience, supervision, and strict enforcement of vault rules.
• Infinite Staircase – An extradimensional nexus connecting multiple planes, emphasizing the scale and danger of deeper vaults.
• Marionette’s Resilience – Burns healed, lessons learned in patience, perception, and restraint.
• Harry’s Residual Heat – A persistent magical imprint, linking him to volatile creatures and complex vault interactions.