PAINTING
As you approach the painting, you find it to be a portrait of none other than Bartholomew Corkhoof, a renowned wizard of the past. Next to the portrait is a small plaque. Twirling her wand around in her fingers nearby is the Charms Instructor, Yvette Fairfalls.
You take a closer look at the painting. From what you know, Bartholomew Corkhoof was a professor at Lumenspire several decades ago. A seasoned traveler, he had quickly risen to fame as the head of House Viator and was best known for his contributions to the introduction of magical creatures into the syllabus. The painting depicts him holding his second favorite pastime, a glass of wine.
Suddenly, the figure in the painting lurches forward a bit, sloshing a small amount of wine towards you and causing you to reflexively take a quick step back before Corkhoof begins speaking in a brash yet dazed tone, as if having just awoken from a dream.
“Whashappening ‘ere? Eh? What bloody idiot spilled my wine? Oh, it’s you, that abrasive Bellator student. Watch where yer goin’!”
Bartholomew takes a noisy sip from his wine glass, then uses the back of his other hand to wipe the remnants from his mustache.
“Listen closely child, *hiccup*, there be strange happenings round ‘ere, and bizarre tidings whispered in the air, more oft-than-not from that blurry look’n painting of the old headmaster, Korhonen, ramblin’ on about the supposed importance of alphabetical order or some such nonsense. Ohoho! The fool thinks he’s still headmaster! *hiccup*”
Separate from the painting is a plaque containing a silly quote from Zephora del Cor, the founder of House Viator:
“We howl together on the uncharted path, knowing that being the first is a journey, not a destination.”
-Zephora del Cor
What would House Viator know about being first? Pshht.
Keeping a cautious eye on the twirling wand in her fingers, you direct your attention to the Charms Instructor, Yvette Fairfall.
“Curious to see what this wand can do, are you? The core is phoenix feather, you know, just as powerful as Lysandra Bloodthorne’s.”
With a quick motion barely perceptible by even you, she slips the wand away into her sleeve. With a disarming wink, she continues,
“Whether it was a resurrected witch, a not-quite-escaped convict, or even someone here, I’m not surprised at what happened to Headmaster Levinwood. A lot of people had it out for him, it’s true. He promised so much to the professors here, but never delivered. It’s your first year, so you may not have realized it yet, but that dunce really ran this academy into the ground, and now all this, right in front of the Minister of Magic Education, no less! Why, I had been speaking to the Minister about the very subject of underfunding when this commotion began. On second thought, maybe a vague, unseen threat is a good thing if it means I can finally get the resources to run my Charms class effectively.”
You take a closer look at the painting. From what you know, Bartholomew Corkhoof was a professor at Lumenspire several decades ago. A seasoned traveler, he had quickly risen to fame as the head of House Viator and was best known for his contributions to the introduction of magical creatures into the syllabus. The painting depicts him holding his second favorite pastime, a glass of wine.
Suddenly, the figure in the painting lurches forward a bit, sloshing a small amount of wine towards you and causing you to reflexively take a quick step back before Corkhoof begins speaking in a brash yet dazed tone, as if having just awoken from a dream.
“Whashappening ‘ere? Eh? What bloody idiot spilled my wine? Oh, it’s you, that abrasive Bellator student. Watch where yer goin’!”
Bartholomew takes a noisy sip from his wine glass, then uses the back of his other hand to wipe the remnants from his mustache.
“Listen closely child, *hiccup*, there be strange happenings round ‘ere, and bizarre tidings whispered in the air, more oft-than-not from that blurry look’n painting of the old headmaster, Korhonen, ramblin’ on about the supposed importance of alphabetical order or some such nonsense. Ohoho! The fool thinks he’s still headmaster! *hiccup*”
“We howl together on the uncharted path, knowing that being the first is a journey, not a destination.”
-Zephora del Cor
What would House Viator know about being first? Pshht.
Keeping a cautious eye on the twirling wand in her fingers, you direct your attention to the Charms Instructor, Yvette Fairfall.
“Curious to see what this wand can do, are you? The core is phoenix feather, you know, just as powerful as Lysandra Bloodthorne’s.”
With a quick motion barely perceptible by even you, she slips the wand away into her sleeve. With a disarming wink, she continues,
“Whether it was a resurrected witch, a not-quite-escaped convict, or even someone here, I’m not surprised at what happened to Headmaster Levinwood. A lot of people had it out for him, it’s true. He promised so much to the professors here, but never delivered. It’s your first year, so you may not have realized it yet, but that dunce really ran this academy into the ground, and now all this, right in front of the Minister of Magic Education, no less! Why, I had been speaking to the Minister about the very subject of underfunding when this commotion began. On second thought, maybe a vague, unseen threat is a good thing if it means I can finally get the resources to run my Charms class effectively.”