Yufune University, Alchemy Campus – After attending the festival in Yufune, the party made their way to the famed university to meet Professor Atreya, an expert in alchemy. However, upon arrival at the alchemy campus, they found things were in a bit of a state. Students were scurrying about quite frantically, failing to queue properly while attempting to extinguish various fires. The once peaceful river flowing through the campus was now glowing with rather garish rainbow hues, pulsing with elemental energy of all possible kinds - which was, frankly, quite unsettling.
The Fireball Gazette
Elemental Muddle at Yufune University: Professors and Adventurers Attempt to Sort Things Out
17 September 2024
On a bridge over the river, they encountered two figures - a towering man and a hunched figure with white hair, revealed to be Professors Atreya and Professor Hisashi. The professors had been collaborating on research into the language of elements, but Atreya’s experiments had gone a bit pear-shaped, unleashing elemental powers into the river and causing a dreadful amount of havoc.
Gunshots, Elementals, and a Rather Rowdy Battle
Mad Matt, ever the impulsive fellow, decided that the river could do with a bit of a lively intervention. He fired several rounds into the water, which - much to everyone's annoyance - immediately summoned both a Fire Elemental and a Water Elemental! These powerful beings burst from the river and began terrorising the campus, quite without any regard for the local peace.
Matt charged into the fray, attempting to cut the Fire Elemental with his sword, but the heat was rather dreadful and burned him before he could even land a strike. Mabel bravely fired an enchanted crossbow bolt into the Flame Elemental’s core, pulling it toward her - though she did find the sudden temperature spike quite uncomfortable.
Ace, thinking somewhat tactically, climbed atop a nearby building and leaped onto the Water Elemental, piercing it with his electrified rapier. The blow created a donut-shaped hole in the elemental, but it simply wasn't enough to settle the matter. Meanwhile, Professor Hisashi demonstrated how to harness the river’s power without making too much of a mess, grabbing a handful of water which turned into a bolt of lightning that he launched at the Fire Elemental. With some rather chilly concoctions thrown by Professor Atreya, the Fire Elemental was finally put to rest.
Ace landed another strike on the Water Elemental, finishing it off as well. Despite their best efforts, Hisashi’s attempts to communicate with the elementals’ cores in their native tongue were quite unsuccessful, leaving the professors looking rather stumped. Professor Atreya then invited the party into the alchemy auditorium and attempted to return the river to its proper state using the elemental cores, but two cores simply weren't up to the task.
Round Two: Stone and Wind Elementals Emerge
Just when one thought they might finally settle down for a nice biscuit, two more elementals - Stone and Wind - rose from the river’s rather unruly waters. Hisashi and Atreya advised the adventurers that they could safely grab elemental water from the quite vibrant river if they used gloves, and once armed with these powers, the party charged into battle.
Mad Matt, ever quick to act, grabbed a handful of ice from the river and hurled it at the Stone Elemental. Mabel followed up with a fiery mass that exploded on impact, chipping away at the creature. Meanwhile, Ace perched himself strategically on the roof of the alchemy building, waiting for the perfect moment to intervene.
As the Stone Elemental caused a bit of an unnecessary earthquake, Mad Matt narrowly avoided it by leaping, but Peanut Butter, Mabel’s trusty mechanic Owlbear, wasn’t so lucky. The Stone Elemental was weakened but retaliated fiercely, launching its stones at Mabel, aided by a rather gusty breeze from the Wind Elemental.
Close Calls and Final Blows
While Mad Matt dodged the attack and took cover in a nearby bush, Ace struck a decisive blow with his balestrina, taking down the Stone Elemental. However, the Wind Elemental, fast and quite frankly quite rude, charged through Mabel and sent Peanut Butter flying into the river. The water had turned into something dreadfully hot, appearing like lava as the Owlbear began sinking!
Furious, Mabel grabbed a handful of lava and threw it at the Wind Elemental while Mad Matt, emboldened by his Longsword of the Deep, came out of hiding to finish the fight. As Peanut Butter struggled to pull himself from the lava, the Wind Elemental sent him crashing into a wall - not very polite at all. Ace, in one final daring move, leaped onto the Wind Elemental and impaled its core with his electrified rapier, finally bringing the unpleasantness to an end.
A Breakthrough Discovery
With the elementals finally sorted and behaving themselves, the party brought the cores to Professors Hisashi and Atreya, who finally managed to return the river to normal. In gratitude, Professor Hisashi taught Mad Matt how to fully understand Ancient Deep Speech. This newfound knowledge allowed the party to confirm a crucial secret from a book Matt had been carrying: the Marid were indeed not beings to be feared, but capable allies knowledgeable about deep-sea creatures.
Even more important was the map translation. The map, which they’d found during their battle against the zombies in the Marid city, revealed the location of Manamea, a place they had been searching for since the start of their adventure. Situated between Flame Island and Arcachon, Manamea’s secrets were now almost in reach - if it weren’t for the strong ocean currents around Flame Island which even the most determined rower could never quite beat.
After exchanging scroll numbers with the professors, the party returned to their ship, ready for the next leg of their journey. Yufune University may be calm again, but the adventurers’ quest is only heating up.
Stay tuned to the Fireball Gazette for the next thrilling installment of their journey!