Just a Field Trip (Rayage & Class)

[Arcane]

Day 8, Summer of 512 AV Early Morning Rayage's Office, University of Zeltiva Seven days earlier, a fellow alchemy professor by the name of Gregory Theodore Valius had approached the new staff Professor Rayage with an offer to join him in an experiment that he promised would bring them recognition. Unbeknownst to the nuit, Professor Valius had actually approached him precisely because he was a newcomer, having decided that the current staff were all too established and entrenched in the complicated, ongoing politics that existed in the University and in Zeltiva in general to be open to his works. It was clear that he intended for his work to be secret, yet ever since that day where he contacted Rayage there seemed to be no more news of him, and Rayage found himself saddled with more work when the Head of Magic, Professor Stonemiller, assigned the missing teacher's alchemy students to the nuit instead. Rayage now found himself in his office, early in the morning even before most people normally woke up, preparing for class later in the morning and contemplating Gregory's offer. The only thing he had was the short note made of yellowing parchment from the missing professor requesting his assistance, and a crudely hand-drawn map on the other side of the note which showed the location of his lab. Strangely, it was not anywhere in the University where most staff pursued their research, but instead on the outskirts of Zeltiva, in a certain clump of trees where - if the map was to be believed - Gregory Valius' lab lay in a certain clearing.