Session 24 - Consequences, Coursework, and Controlled Damage

Roster

Atudark,Guiloip Guhloo,Harry Blackstone,H'er,Lyra Everlight,Marionette Moonbeam,Vigilius Palamas

Session Overview

Session Status: Occurred

In Game Date: 12th -25th Alturiak 1509

Group Cup Points

NPC's

Taiva Loreweaver,Mavinda Sharpbeak,Imbraham,Valentin,Plargg,Nassari,Shaile Talonrook

Summary

The consequences of the beanstalk finally come due. After a chaotic descent back to campus, the students are summoned before Head Teacher Taiva Loreweaver and the assembled deans, where calm words and binding magic replace shouting and punishment. Rather than expulsion, the party is given responsibility: the restoration of Kollema Hall. While Lyra quietly seeks freedom from her truth sigil and Marionette pursues unfinished business in the Cloud Realm, the remaining students begin hazardous, messy, and occasionally hallucinogenic repair work. As the beanstalk is finally poisoned and begins to die, one student is left stranded above the clouds — a new problem born from the slow closing of an old mistake.

Down the Beanstalk

• The students descend the beanstalk back toward Neverwood:
  • Several climb down by hand.
  • Lyra and Glue fly.
  • Harry and Marionette jump.
• Harry is caught mid-fall by Mavinda Sharpbeak before he hits the ground.
• Marionette attempts to teleport while falling and instead reappears near the Whalebucks in Pillardrop.
  • She is quickly apprehended by staff.
• The entire party is escorted to Head Teacher Taiva Loreweaver’s office.

The Head Teacher’s Office

• The party is brought before Taiva Loreweaver, Mavinda Sharpbeak, and a dean from each of the five colleges.
• Taiva never raises her voice.
  • “Please… sit.”
  • “You are not here because you are in trouble.”
  • “You are here because you are interesting — and the academy has not yet decided whether that is a blessing or a structural hazard.”
• An illusion of Kollema Hall forms between them: cracked stone, vines tearing through lecture benches, chalkboards split in two.
• Calmly, Taiva outlines the consequences of the beanstalk grown on the eleventh of Alturiak:
  • It pierced three floors.
  • Displaced a nearby building.
  • Rendered Kollema Hall temporarily uninhabitable.
  • And — crucially — did not kill anyone.
• She notes that the last point is the only reason the discussion remains civil.

Confessions and Consequences

• The students scramble to justify or explain their misconduct over the term.
• In an attempt to avoid punishment, Lyra reveals that Harry possesses the Star of Remembrance.
• Harry reluctantly returns the Star to Taiva Loreweaver.
• Lyra is lectured for breaking into the drama teacher’s office and dismissed from the meeting.

Taiva’s Judgment

• Taiva outlines the Academy’s decision:
  • “Neverwood is a place of experimentation — not unexamined experimentation.”
• The illusion shifts to show faculty scrambling, locked classrooms, and flaring wards.
• The verdict is delivered calmly:
  • No fines.
  • No expulsions — prompting a raised eyebrow from Mavinda Sharpbeak.
  • The students will take responsibility by assisting in The Restoration of Kollema Hall, under supervision.
  • They will learn why their actions were dangerous.
• A gentle but absolute binding sigil settles over the party.
  • Not a geas.
  • They are not compelled to succeed — only to try.
• The students are placed on Supervised Independent Study for the remainder of Alturiak.
  • Classes and exams continue as scheduled, including the Owlbear exam for A is for Ankheg.
• The meeting ends, and the students are sent to bed.

Departures and Repairs Begin

• The following day, Lyra packs a bag and leaves for Neverwinter to meet a wizard about removing the truth sigil on her arm.
• A few days later, the remaining students are collected for their first day of renovations.
• Dean Imbraham brings them to Kollema Hall:
  • He asks what went wrong.
  • He asks how they plan to fix it.
  • The students’ plans are… not great — but Imbraham seems satisfied enough.

Structural Lessons

• Dean Plargg leads the party into a destroyed classroom.
  • He quizzes them on methods for reinforcing a crumbling wall.
• Glue watches closely, trying to help.
• Vigilius searches nearby rubble for anything salvageable.
• Marionette, annoyed at being punished, sits on the floor and pets Shroom.
  • She begins hallucinating.
  • Dust fills the air.
  • Shroom sneezes, blasting spores into Marionette’s face and poisoning her.
• Once the walls are reinforced, the students are dismissed.

Roots in the Walls

• After several days focusing on studies, the party returns to Kollema Hall.
• Dean Valentin brings them to a small study room where a massive root has grown through the wall.
  • The root pulses as they approach.
  • Valentin explains it seems to believe it belongs there.
  • It must be removed or redirected before it destroys more of the building.
• Glue suggests using a powerful herbicide.
• Marionette protests the idea.
• Glue spends several days brewing a large batch of herbicide anyway.

Lyra’s Cure

• After days of flying, Lyra reaches the wizard Ebeneezer the Strange.
• She pays 400 gp to have the truth sigil removed.
• The procedure is successful.
• Lyra begins her journey back to the Academy.

Back to the Clouds

• Marionette meets up with Cyinth.
• Together, they sneak back up the beanstalk into the Cloud Realm.
• The two spend time exploring and relaxing atop the clouds.

The Beanstalk Dies

• Glue finishes the herbicide and hands over a comically oversized syringe to staff.
• A construct is dispatched to inject the herbicide into the massive root.
• Over several hours, the beanstalk begins to wither and decompose.
• High above, Marionette and Cyinth notice:
  • The beanstalk dying.
  • The hole in the clouds beginning to close.
• Marionette tells Cyinth to leave.
  • Cyinth flies through the shrinking opening.
  • Marionette is left stranded alone atop the clouds as the passage seals.

Ongoing Threads

• Kollema Hall Restoration – The students are now bound to assist in repairs; many more hazards and lessons remain.
• The Binding Sigil – Gentle but inescapable, it ensures effort — not success. What happens if they refuse?
• Lyra’s Freed Tongue – With the truth sigil gone, what secrets might now stay hidden?
• The Dying Beanstalk – Its removal solves one problem and creates another.
• Marionette Stranded – Alone in the Cloud Realm, with no clear way back down.
• Faculty Scrutiny – The Academy is watching more closely than ever.

Player Handouts

Whalebuck Spring Specialty Menu 1509
Neverwood Times Vol: XXXIII