As the ladies and Aiden wind down from dinner, Aiden begins clearing the plates.
During the conversation, he mentions that there was once another main subject taught at the Academy: Creaturology. After a bit of prodding from the ladies, Aiden explains that Professor Solana is no longer at the Academy, and that her husband, Gilliam—who also served as her assistant—shut down the Howling Heart Reserve.

He goes on to explain that the Reserve was a fortress located at the northern edge of Costa Del Rugidio, where Solana and Gilliam ran their research and creature rescue center. When Creaturology was still part of the curriculum, students would often visit the Reserve to study the many wild creatures that inhabit the desert.

Aiden believes the situation is being kept quiet. Other professors have quietly absorbed creaturology-related topics into their own subjects, as if to erase the discipline entirely. When the ladies ask why, he reveals that Professor Solana died in the Moonhowl Bloodbath of 245 ATC, three years ago. Gilliam survived the tragedy—though he lost his hand—but their daughter, who also survived, was taken from him by Howlstead's ruling council, who deemed him unfit to raise her.

As the questions continue, Aiden grows quieter. He admits he’s tried to speak with Gilliam, but the man now spends his time in the city’s bathhouses and brothels. Any attempt at conversation ends in shouting—and Gilliam made it clear Aiden is no longer welcome near the Reserve.

While Aiden recounts all this, Naomi recalls traveling through the Iron Pass, where the tragedy occurred—everything there still covered in dried blood. Rose notes how eerily similar it sounds to the events surrounding Kall-Carie’s disappearance, drawing a connection between both incidents and the presence of Voidspawn.

When the ladies ask if the Reserve is still open, Aiden explains that it's officially closed. However, two of Solana and Gilliam’s former disciples—Larik and Lizz, twin Hordelings—still tend to the remaining creatures. Though he hasn’t seen them in some time, Aiden says he’s still on good terms with them.

The conversation briefly circles back as Aiden reflects again on the mysterious fall of Creaturology. He suspects a cover-up, citing how the subject was quietly dissolved and how Gilliam refuses to talk about it. He reiterates that the Howling Heart Reserve was shut down a year and a half ago, following Solana’s death in the Iron Fur incident. Gilliam, ever since, has been drinking heavily—while Lizz and Loric, who nearly adopted Aiden once, are the last caretakers still watching over the place.

The ladies ask what kinds of creatures are still at the Reserve. Aiden recalls that there should still be a few Axebeaks, a rescued Merrow, several Tressym kittens, and a handful of fire salamanders—all brought in by Solana and Gilliam for healing or research.
The ladies agree to join Aiden on their day off tomorrow to visit the Howling Reserve.

The next morning, on the 15th, Aiden arrives early to meet the ladies at the central plaza in front of the Academy. They decide to order a Drake Taxi, since the Howling Reserve is more than a three-hour walk across the city. While waiting for the Drake, the ladies relax by the fountain as the penguin, Duke Slipping, waddles happily over to Naomi, clearly taking a liking to her.

After a calm carriage ride, they notice the area is much cooler, with an abundance of deciduous trees. The Howling Fortress reflects a more traditional Sevenfold Northern architectural style. The ladies wonder whether this environment is natural or artificially created.

There’s no response when they knock on the door, and Aiden’s arcane access to the building no longer seems to work. Thalga and Vita confirm that the building is still warded with Abjuration magic, and Rose feels an unpleasant sensation as she approaches the door. She decides to scout the fortress from above, using her golden wings to fly over the walls. Inside, she observes a lot of rubble and a water leak in the courtyard. She reports that the closer she got to the center of the fortress, the stronger the unsettling sensation became.

After some back and forth, Aiden casts Dispel Magic to open the sealed door, revealing signs of a violent struggle inside—smashed items and scattered books. Rose and Thalga discover claw marks leading out of the building, but surprisingly, there’s no blood. Aiden identifies the marks as likely caused by the Axebeaks that were once kept there.

As the ladies explore the rooms, Naomi finds the kitchen filled with rotting animal food and maggots, suggesting the place has been abandoned for at least ten days. Rose finds personal belongings, gold, and keys in a storage room, but takes nothing she doesn’t immediately need. Meanwhile, in a bathroom, Thalga and Aiden make a grim discovery...

Larik, Aiden's friend and former colleague, had been turned to stone, his hands posed as if holding something that had been torn away. The ladies realize this petrification resembles what happened to the dragonfolk they brought to the academy. When Aiden reaches out to touch the statue, the ladies quickly stop him and explain that they’ve encountered this phenomenon before. Aiden grows concerned that the same fate may have befallen Liz. The group agrees to investigate further, since without Larik and Liz, the rescues may be in serious danger.

As Aiden tries to open the door to the courtyard, Vita suddenly has a vision of him being ambushed by a Tressym on the other side. She leaps in to stop him. When Vita cautiously opens the door herself, two injured Tressyms lunged at her, but her shield spell deflects them. The creatures retreat to a nearby tree in the courtyard.

The group steps into the fortress courtyard. Aiden, Naomi, and Rose approach the tree where the Tressyms are hiding, while Vita and Thalga remain on a raised platform. As they explore, rumbling and splashing sounds come from the water, and Rose sees a strange purple aura surrounding the Tressyms in the tree. They attempt to lure the creatures out with food, but it doesn't work. Then Rose hears a soft, feminine voice telling her the Tressyms are hurt. She casts a healing spell, and the purple smoke around them disperses.

To everyone's surprise, the Tressyms begin to speak. They introduce themselves as Chip and Chuck, snickering as they sarcastically warn the group not to linger too long. But it’s already too late. The rumbling grows louder, and a massive elemental, a Galeb Duhr, erupts from the ground and slams Rose, Aiden, and Duke Slippington into the wall. Aiden says that Galeb Duhrs are usually peaceful, but this one is clearly enraged. Strangely, only Thalga can see a glowing aura around it.

While spells and weapons fly, the Galeb grabs Rose. Naomi’s attacks do little damage, but Vita’s magic proves effective. The elemental disappears into the ground and reemerges unpredictably. Meanwhile, the group notices something watching them from the water, though it quickly dives out of sight when approached.

Thalga attempts to communicate with the Galeb. She focuses on the nearby vines and roots that seem to be connected to it. A whisper enters her mind: “I can’t tell right from wrong anymore. I want to feel a warm embrace.” The Galeb knocks Naomi to the ground. Thalga jumps from the platform and runs to the creature, placing her hand on it and repeating in her mind, Embrace the Sun. Just as the creature’s fist descends toward Naomi, the strange aura vanishes and the Galeb stops its attack.

"What's... going on...?" The Galeb suddenly stops its attack and turns to face Thalga, gently offering her a flower. It speaks in a slow, kind voice. Once things settle down, the group tries to question the Galeb and the Tressyms about what happened and why they became violent. Neither of them really knows. They only remember that Larik had been tending to them, then a sudden headache hit, and everything after that became a blur.

After some rest, the ladies accompanied by Aiden decide to push further into the fortress, as Aiden theorizes that the Fire Salamanders, Axebeaks and the Merrow must be in similar conditions... While searching for some catnip for the Tresym, the ladies do find evidence of scimitar slashes, meaning that it's possible that the people who were after the dragonfolk might also have been here...

With Galeb's help, the ladies and Aiden manage to get closer to the habitats. Aiden dispels another closed door and now they're inside the caretaking area. The ladies discover that it's trashed, covered in dried blood. Naomi finds a notebook written in Theran, indicating the last entry was on the 30th, which was sixteen days ago and the notebook mentions that 'Magnus' came to visit. The ladies wonder if this might be the name of the dragonfolk.

The ladies find in the Open Fields Habitat a rotting corpse of an axebeak, which must have been there for at least a tenday, matching up with what the notebook says. The rubble the ladies found earlier seems to explain that the other axebeak must've escaped.

The group decides to enter the water pond area, as they need to confront the creature that was watching them earlier... The creature's watching them while remaining underwater, and yet this time only Naomi can see the strange aura around the creature. Aiden explains that Meddoh is a Merrow. Merrow's loyalty to their kin often overrides any sense of fear, and some believe that Merrows guard ancient secrets lost beneath the waves. Naomi steps forward and touches the water, which causes her to hear something: "I've lost my fighting spirit... I must... find it..."

Naomi decides to take off her armor and boots, stepping into the water, which causes the Merrow to rise from the water to confront her, yet it doesn't attack.... It doesn't seem scared, but it hesitates. Naomi decides to take a hand-to-hand combat stance, which the Merrow mirrors. Naomi notices that the Merrow is unarmed, yet in its movements it's clear that it wants to hold a weapon. As Naomi's movements flow almost like a dance, the water seems to somehow respond to her and the Merrow's movements.

Naomi decides to reach for her katana, offering it to the Merrow, and once he touches it, the purple aura fades away. Merrow takes the weapon and speaks: "Now... I want revenge on that traitor!" He then looks at the beautiful blade and proclaims: "Beautiful craftsmanship, I'm going to put it with my other stuff." And the Merrow disappears into the water. This confession leaves Naomi a bit stunned, because that weapon is important to her, she decides to let it go for now, but she's adamant about getting it back.

When the Merrow returns it introduces himself as Meddoh. The ladies ask him similar questions, he remembers a strange headache. While his version of events is foggy, Meddoh does confirm that Magnus, the red dragonfolk, was at the reserve days prior, injured and scared, arguing with Lorik. He also noted Magnus's arm "looked strange" and "gray, almost like stone."

At some point Magnus went with Lorik to tend to an Axebeak. The ladies theorize that Magnus must've used a 'Knock' spell, because the arcane wards were still in place afterwards. Meddoh recounted hearing a "strange laughing voice" which Vita realizes must've been the tablet speaking in her mind, from when she accidentally ignited it.

The group then moves to the Fire Salamander enclosure. Upon entering the lava enclosure, the ladies are immediately struck by the extreme heat, which surprisingly does not bother Vita at all. She immediately notices the strange aura surrounding the three salamanders. Vita then observes a fancy gemstone on a pylon that is responsible for maintaining the room's conditions, and realizes it is similar to her own necklace and those worn by Einar's servants. Vita can hear the salamanders shout 'TOO HOT, TOO HOT!!'

The salamanders attack Vita with their scorching rays, but Vita's wild magic causes a strange eight-pointed shield to manifest near her, blocking the attacks! Realizing the salamanders are distressed by the heat, Vita uses Ray of Frost to cool the crystal. As she continuously beams the frost at the crystal, ice crystals and snowflakes begin to fall, causing the salamanders' purple aura to dissipate entirely, and they instantly turn back to their normal red color, exclaiming "That was too hot!"

The salamanders then tell the ladies and Aiden that they heard a strange 'hissing' sound, but they didn't know where it came from. Naomi, wondering if it could have something to do with the sound that she heard earlier with Einar, tries to mimic it. The salamanders confirm it was the same sound. Naomi then recounts that she had heard this hissing sound while dancing with Einar outside the Shamsha Leonidas, where ice with snake-like patterns had appeared around her, making her temporarily paralyzed. This revelation causes concern among the group, as they wonder if Einar himself might be afflicted.

While spending some time with the salamanders, Vita's necklace, the gemstone from Einar's mansion, seems to glow and expand when exposed to heat. But she doesn't seem to be able to figure out what it could mean. The salamanders tell Vita that they are hungry, and that something smells yummy. The ladies and Aiden wonder if it might be the Axebeak corpse that they smell. The salamanders waddle their way out of the enclosure and within seconds they eat and clean up the rotting axebeak carcass!

The ladies and Aiden decide that the best course of action is to inform the authorities and the professors at the Academy about their discoveries at the reserve. Aiden thanks the ladies for their assistance. The group leaves the Howling Reserve for now, with Aiden gathering students and informing Professors Hasulon and Kalashar to oversee the evening's cleanup.

The ladies immediately head directly to Einar Giedensera's office at the Academy. There they meet another blue-skinned man with pointy ears and a water-like ponytail, speaking in Luminary to Einar. Vita, the only one who can understand it, overhears that the blue-skinned man's request is denied by Einar before being dismissed to leave.

Rose, Naomi, Vita, and Thalga all observe the suspicious purple streak in Einar's hair. Einar, perceiving Vita's "loudness" in her thoughts, directly asks her what she wants to tell him. Vita begins to ramble about the petrified Dragonfolk, Magnus, and the hordeling, Lorik, at the reserve, describing a "purple aura" they cleansed and her belief that it was connected to the tablet. Einar cuts her off, asking Thalga to recount finding Lorik petrified, cleansing the creatures, and linking it to the red dragonfolk and snake bandits who seemed to be after the tablet.

While the conversation happens, suddenly a fancy box falls off a shelf. When Vita attempts to touch a jewelry box, Einar magically puts it back, warning her about 'not touching things that don't belong to her,' which sparks rebellious thoughts in Vita about him being her father.

Einar states that he needs to file a report to prevent the ladies from being arrested for trespassing. Naomi then tries to mention the "snake-like slithering sound" she heard after dancing with Einar at the Shamsha Leonidas.

Einar's eyes widen, and he casts a spell, causing Naomi, Vita, and Thalga to lose the active memory of the "hissing" sound. Vita tries to grab Einar's hand before the spell affects her. Rose manages to resist. As the spell was cast, she noticed her necklace glow. She feigns forgetfulness, realizing what Einar has done to the others. After completing the spell, Einar dismisses the ladies, thanking them for the information.

Outside, Rose cautiously confronts Thalga, Naomi, and Vita, but it seems that they have no idea what just happened. Rose keeps her awareness of the mind-alteration a secret, now wary of Einar's telepathy. That same evening, the ladies decide to forgo further activity for the day and head to the cafeteria for dinner. Rose, feeling conflicted, goes to the library to study Divinity, specifically focusing on Harmonia's protection.

On her way back, Rose encounters Professor Lorelai, who notices Rose's glowing necklace. Rose inquires about elemental magic and unique connections, and Lorelai explains that elemental chaos in the desert is theorized to be a curse. She advises Rose to pursue these sensations while keeping her friends close.

Back in the common room, Rose discusses her elemental theory with her roommates, identifying their connections: Thalga and Earth, Naomi and Water, Vita and Fire, and herself with Air. Vita shares that she learned some Luminary language from her time at Einar's palace. She wonders if it's somehow connected to the statues in Einar's palace.

Suddenly there's a knock on the door. A Concordi Sentinel then delivers a letter from Prince Ramiel to the four ladies, informing them that their planned Drake House visit was rescheduled from the 20th to the 30th because he and his Sentinels were helping at the Howling Heart Reserve.

The next week of Academy begins. All perform well, but Naomi particularly excels in Weapon Mastery, which prompts Professor Thananthos of the Sands to invite her to his office. He notices she is not using her typical weapon. When Naomi explains what happened earlier at the reserve, Professor Thananthos offers her a new weapon from his vault, from which she chooses a scimitar as a replacement for the one she gave to Meddoh, hoping to trade her own katana back.

Vita animates fire salamanders in her Harmonic Arts presentation. Thalga impresses Professor Anthea with her presentation, and Rose demonstrates strength and elegance in a Weapon Mastery performance, switching between a fan and a mace, impressing Professor Thananthos and getting approving smiles from Professor Lorelai.

On their next day off, the group decides to revisit the Howling Heart Reserve. They find the reserve cleaned up and guarded by sentinels, with one of their rival students, Villi, managing the common room. When the ladies ask about Lorik, Villi doesn't seem to know what they are talking about, which the ladies take as her not being informed about Lorik's petrification. Unfortunately for Vita, it seems that prince Ramiel wasn't present for the day.

In the courtyard, they see two other students playing with the Tressyms, Chip and Chuck. Chip complains that he has eaten all the catnip that Vita gave him and is no longer getting more from the students before flying to Rose's shoulder.

They find Aiden in the salamander enclosure, tending to one of the creatures. Aiden informs the ladies that Lorik was taken to the Cursebreakers Academy, but they won't tell him anything beyond that. He also mentions that he visited the Hordeling Encampment, but Lizz, Lorik's sister, was still on her hunt. He was hoping she would have returned by the end of the month. Aiden also mentions that the Hordelings have a meat festival on the 5th of next month.

Aiden notes that Prince Ramiel personally helped clean up the reserve, along with his staff and someone named 'Serik'. The name is recognized by the ladies; it was the bartender who attempted to steal the eggs!

Naomi visits the water enclosure where a Concordi Sentinel is tending to Meddoh. The Sentinel is placing seashells on his skin. Meddoh appears to be recovering well and wishes to return to the ocean soon. Naomi tells Meddoh that she wishes to trade her weapon back, since it's important to her. Naomi offers the new scimitar she received from Professor Thananthos, which Meddoh accepts as a fair trade. When Naomi takes her original katana back, it feels strangely lighter. Meddoh advises her to meditate on it and calls her "water-blessed."

Naomi promises him to be there when he's we'll return to the ocean. Aiden wasn't sure when they'll be able to arrange it yet, but he promises to keep her informed.

Vita asks Aiden if she could pet the fire salamanders and decides to name them: Stewie, Dewey, and Louie. As Vita pets Stewie, its eyes glow orange, and it suddenly disappears into her necklace! Vita realizes she can summon him and mentally communicate with him through the necklace. It seems that Stewie is intent on staying with her for now.

Thalga interacts with Galab, who grows a pineapple for her. Galab decides to stay at the reserve to protect other creatures, and Aiden expresses excitement about starting an expedition to find more creatures in need. Naomi plays with Duke Slippington, making him do tricks in the water. Rose, now feeling more connected to the elements, pays closer attention to the breeze, feeling more attuned to it than before. After their visit, the ladies return to the Academy. As Naomi meditates during the ride home, water emanates from her sword, discovering that she can now cast a new spell!

During the second half of the month, the ladies decide to focus on their studies. They all decide to study together in preparation for their exams at the end of the month. All four perform excellently! Next time pick up the moment they get their results.

Rose takes her exam in Divinity, Naomi takes her exam in Weapon Mastery, Thalga takes her exam in Alchemical Studies, and Vita takes her exam in Defense Against the Arcane.

Rose taking her exam in Divinity,
Naomi taking her exam in Weapon Mastery,
Thalga taking her exam in Alchemical Studies,
and Vita taking her exam in Defense Against the Arcane.

Key Information

Discovery at the Academy

• During dinner, Aiden revealed that Creaturology was once taught at the Academy but was quietly dissolved after Professor Solana's death in the Moonhowl Bloodbath of 245 ATC.

• The Howling Heart Reserve, a research/rescue center at Costa Del Rugidio's northern edge, was shut down. Gilliam (Solana's husband) lost his hand in the tragedy and had their daughter taken away by Howlstead's council.

• Two former disciples, Larik and Lizz (twin Hordelings), were the last caretakers tending to remaining creatures.

Visit to the Howling Heart Reserve (15th)

• The ladies and Aiden found the fortress abandoned for ~10 days, with signs of of a struggle.

• Larik had been turned to stone, similar to the dragonfolk they'd encountered before.

• All remaining creatures (Tressyms, Galeb Duhr, Merrow, Fire Salamanders) were afflicted with a strange purple aura that made them aggressive and confused.

Creature Encounters & Cleansing

• The ladies successfully cleansed each creature of their purple aura affliction:

  • Tressyms (Chip & Chuck): Healed by Rose, became friendly and talkative.

  • Galeb Duhr: Calmed by Thalga's embrace, now peaceful and protective.

  • Merrow (Meddoh): Gave him Naomi's katana to restore his "fighting spirit"

  • Fire Salamanders: Vita cooled their overheated enclosure, curing their distress

• The creatures remembered Magnus (the red dragonfolk) visiting.

• Meddoh noticed that Magnus had a "gray, stone-like" arm.

• The salamanders recalled hearing strange sounds (hissing/laughing) before their affliction, linking the events at the Reserve back to the mysterious tablet.

Confrontation with Einar

• The ladies reported their findings to Einar, noting his suspicious purple hair streak.

• When Naomi mentioned the "snake-like slithering sound", Einar cast a memory modification spell, erasing this memory from Naomi, Vita, and Thalga.

• Only Rose resisted and kept the knowledge secret, now wary of Einar's behavior.

Academy Life & Return Visit

• All four ladies excelled in their studies in the following days.

• Professor Thananthos gave Naomi a new scimitar to replace her katana.

• During a second visit to the Reserve, they found it cleaned up with sentinels guarding it. Prince Ramiel personally helped with the cleanup.

• Lorik's petrified body was taken to Cursebreakers Academy.

• Naomi traded her new scimitar back to Meddoh for her original katana,
  which now felt lighter and gained water-based magical properties.

• Vita bonded with the fire salamander Stewie, who disappeared into her necklace and can now be summoned by her.

• Prince Ramiel sent the ladies a letter to postpone their visit to the Drake House to the 30th due to his involvement with the Reserve cleanup.

Exam Results

• Rose took her exam in Divinity, Naomi in Weapon Mastery, Thalga in Alchemical Studies, and Vita in Defense Against the Arcane and all performed excellently.