Firetail gives Golondrina a mission to investigate the thefts at the Garden of Delights

The Housemaster stands at his office window with his back to you, looking out on the snow-covered roofs of the buildings of Boarbristle Academy. Between terms, all is quiet. He rubs his short black beard and turns back round to explain his request.

"To be honest," Fergus Firetail says. "This is more of an irritation for me than anything else. Someone has been stealing from the Garden of Delights. As one of the Garden's primary, well, shall we, say, gardeners, I take it somewhat personally. And between my duties as Housemaster and my having to fill in for House Leontes' vacancy in the role of Warden, I have been unable to give this matter the attention that it deserves. That the Garden deserves."

"Housemaster," you say, acknowledging him.

"So I'm pleased you're here between terms, and looking for something to do," Fergus says. "I have the best reasons to trust your bravery, should this turn out to be an incursion, and your integrity, should this turn out, perhaps, to have a connection to one of us at Boarbristle. Let us walk in the Garden and you can tell me if this is a task for you to take on."

Firetail indicates for you to rise. He makes a sign with his wand in front of a door. You feel a tickle of magic. Something unfamiliar. A warm, fragrant breeze comes through the door as he opens it, and the light of a sunny afternoon spills into the office, flooding over the pale blue-gray from the window.

Fergus steps through and stands beyond the door until you cross through, then closes it behind you, leaving you in the world of the Garden. "Let us walk," he says.

The Garden of Delights is such a place as you've never seen. It feels like a garden from a fairytale or a dream. Your growing-up in chilly, dark mountains and forests and your education in grey stone chambers never prepared you for this. Bright flowers nod over marble-rimmed pools amid lush green lawns and spreading shade trees. Golden bees buzz through the warm air, wandering from flower to flower. There are nude statues and statuary groups in full size and miniature, alone and in erotic combination. Some figures are human, but among them are centaurs, mermaids, winged angels and horned demons fornicating in twosomes, threesomes, foursomes and moresomes. Nor do the delights seem reserved for the statues. There are cushioned corners overlooking the pools and lawns, with fluffy towels and soft coverlets at the ready, and trays with silver and golden pitchers and cups. It looks to be a luxurious garden party -- an orgy, actually -- waiting for the guests.

Firetail chuckles as he sees your eyes goggle at the sights and hears the surprise in your indrawn breaths. "Oh, yes, this place has seen parties the likes of which you can hardly imagine. But it has been a goodly while. The day will come again, but not yet. The Garden is a showpiece for conjurations, a sort of collective art piece devoted to the fondest dreams of sensual pleasure. Primarily, but not merely sexual. One can swim in the pools, roll in the grass, sniff the flowers and fall asleep in the warm zephyrs under a tree. And it mostly takes care of itself. The birds and bees and breezes are gardeners, too."

He takes a deep breath and continues, "Part of why it's been difficult to discover the theft is that the garden tidies itself, so no evidence is left, but the thefts themselves. And with all the excitements of this year's first term, I haven't had time to investigate further."

He leads you along a sinuous, hedge-bordered path and up a little branching trail to a grove of trees in neat rows.

"An orchard?" you say.

"An orchard," Firetail says. "Apples, pears, quinces, medlars. Everbearing. Buds, flowers, and fruit. But our thief -- thieves? -- seems to pick them as they grow ripe. There should be bushel baskets of fruit ready to pick. I see one here, one there. Not the grapes, it seems, they grow from arbors in the statuary park. Your task is to remain here, quietly, and catch the thief in the act. Even an observation, a clue, would be of some use. Would you care to be my hunting hound?"

"I would," you say.

"Excellent, Golondrina," Firetail says. "It will be a tedious watch, likely." Or he'd think of it that way, at least. "But the surroundings are pleasant."

Fergus Firetail, Housemaster of House Leontes, gives you the GOAL of discovering the nature of the thefts from the Garden of Delights. Treat this as a -3 GOAL vs. DILIGENCE to keep watch. On success, gain +1 XP, Fergus' thanks, and the special privilege to enter the Garden of Delights.

ADVANCEMENT: Spend 5 XP to gain +1 DILIGENCE. You now have 3 XP, -1 AMBITION, +3 BRAVERY, +1 CUNNING, and +1 DILIGENCE.

Dorothy the Porter, Housemaster Fergus Firetail, and Miss Wormwood are your FRIENDS and each will grant one FAVOR. (Fergus will not let you use his FAVOR directly to ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL, but you can use it to help resolve a bad result or for another purpose).

Your familiar Sapienta also counts as a FRIEND.

Your suitemates and FRIENDS Marina Madeline, Andrew Saltire, and Rebecca Honeybee are absent during term break. Marina and Andrew owe you a FAVOR each.

Possible next Moves:

• Stay in the Garden, then either search for clues (+CUNNING), or prepare Sapienta (Encounter, +BRAVERY+2).
• Ask for your Housemaster's help preparing Sapienta. Roll +BRAVERY(+3 Bravery, +2 Friend, capped at +4) to ENCOUNTER Fergus Firetail; on a success, Fergus will transfer the FAVOR to Sapienta.
• "Rest up" first. You may return to Boarbristle and visit Dorothy the Porter or Miss Wormwood with sex in mind, or for some other purpose. Perhaps Miss Wormwood would have some thoughts on the magical fruits that would give you an advantage in your task.