Ehlissa's Story (a Castle Greyhawk Prologue) - p. 7

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Eura, Johannah, and Leana were sitting at their
regular table in the study hall, waiting for Ehlissa
to join them. Ehlissa’s footfalls echoed loudly
across the polished wood floor of the hall, but not as
loudly as the whispered chatter of the three young
magic-students.


“…what she was wearing?”

“You could not catch me wearing a headdress like
that.”

“Yeah, but the circlet she was wearing with it? Where
do you think she bought that?”

“Did I miss anything?” Ehlissa said as she took her
seat. She wondered at first, but was now confident
they were not talking about her, as she almost never
wore anything fancier than a cap or hood.

“It’s Hertha,” Leana said. “You didn’t see her
yesterday and what she was wearing?”

“Parading around
like she’s a princess,” Eura remarked.

“Because she’s after Mordenkainen,” Johannah added.

“Who?” Ehlissa asked.

“Mordenkainen?” Leana asked back. “You know. You
must have seen him. He’s still an apprentice like us,
taking lessons at the guildhall, even though he’s
older than us, but he must have connections because
they say he already has membership in the University
of Magical Arts .”

“But an apprentice can’t attend university,” Ehlissa
protested.

“He can,” Johannah answered simply. “And Hertha—“

“That slut,” Eura interjected.

“Thank you,” Johannah said. “That slut Hertha has
been all over him.”

Discussion of Hertha’s comings and goings was nothing
new to the study group. Hertha was an outsider, a
loner, and, scandalously, a “bad girl.” Eura knew
someone who had overheard Hertha, when she first
enrolled, asking if classes were available in
witchcraft. Johannah knew someone who knew someone
who had seen Hertha trying to seduce one of her
instructors so he would teach her extra spells.
Ehlissa gave little attention to her studies or her
friends for the rest of the morning. She was instead
thinking about what help Hertha could be in learning a
useful spell for adventuring.