Synopsis/Details
Matticus Arc: Being awakened by his disgruntled best friend Rivera, Matticus learns that he missed an exam that could determine his future at the Mage Academy. Rushing to the exam room, even if he’s already late, luck happens to be in his favor as he is allowed to take the test. Matticus has never been the most erudite of students and because of this, following attempt after attempt of nail-biting tension; he inevitably fails his exam for the final time. Officially expelled from the academy, Matticus trudges to the student dorms, alongside with Rivera, to take any possessions he wishes to bring with him and as they travel, Matticus has deal with the chortles and jokes made by enemies and friends alike, but at least Rivera is there to help mitigate the pain. At the entrance to his room, Matticus is met by his rival, Jagger Ashman, who is pleased at Matticus’s expulsion and is also eager to reclaim his position at the top of the school. Later, after a heart-to-heart moment and carrying what he feels is vital for his journey, Matticus says his final goodbyes and starts the trip to Meticula where he plans to enlist in the royal army.
Laguna Arc: In the lair of the Thieves Guild, everyone is on a desperate manhunt for the culprit that stole from their leader, Vincent Rosegarden. After a single jab of “encouragement” from Vincent, the perpetrator is quickly found and turns out to be none other than one of their own members, Laguna Houndbite. Bounded and at the mercy of the five masters of the Thieves Guild, Laguna has no choice but to wait out her unknown fate, hopefully it’s one in which her life is spared, but her hostile and odd behavior doesn’t do her any favors. Hasty decisions and unhelpful clashing between the leaders eventually leads to the stolen treasure being found and a simple voting process on whether Laguna should live despite her crimes, or to die for her sin. Saved by a decisive vote, Laguna is thankfully spared but also kicked out of the Guild. Outside the Guild entrance, using a counterfeit version of The Infinite Treasure Map, she follows the map’s marker and begins her travel to none other than Meticula Kingdom.
Soap Arc: Soap exits a blacksmith shop, now complete with his tasks for the day; he travels to the pride and joy of the kingdom of Meticula, Majestica castle. While on route, he comes across a missing person photo of the kingdom’s Queen and the different people from all walks of life, some poor, some of nobility, either way, it’s all unpleasant. Inside the castle, Soap has a friendly exchange with a maid and finds a partial answer to his question of where he can find his mentor and commander of the royal army, Caldarius Risen, who happens to be in the castle dungeons… a place that he seems to be oddly frequenting as of late. Once in the dungeon, Soap’s questions keeps getting dodged with unsure and vague answers from a suspicious knight but there is one response that appears promising; and following that response, in the deep and secluded layer of the dungeons, the Oubilette, the horrors that Soap never realized, come to pass. Discovering the tortured state of the Queen and the perpetrator, Caldarius, Soap learns about Caldarius’s nefarious plans and how his actions were able to go unnoticed for so long. As a man that’s always a step ahead, Caldarius murders the Queen in cold blood and pins her murder on Soap, framing him, and leading to an unwinnable trial against him and banishment from his home.
June Arc: June Heliastar stands, staring out the window of a desecrated cathedral site and looking out into the night’s abyss. A messenger of the Veiled cult arrives, chanting the cult’s ominous mantra and informing June that its time – time for her ceremony. Once downstairs, anxiety grips June as she listens to the initiator’s speech and becoming weary of the locked gazes from the other cult members. As the speech concludes, the crowd grows unruly, vicious, and subjugates June, turning a false ceremony into one of sacrifice. Using her necromantic powers, June barely escapes death and flees to anywhere but here; June’s escape is made difficult however from the cult’s defense mechanisms but despite that, June’s rush to freedom looks promising, but turns inescapable as the leaders, including the mysterious founder himself, block her path. June is however allowed to go free as the leader of the Veiled cult, Father, believes that their original plan for June’s sacrifice would be strengthened by letting June’s powers and mind develop more, and so, they shall wait for that foreboding day.
Encounter Arc: Sulking down their own paths of misery, Matticus, Laguna, Soap, and June unexpectedly encounter one another in the middle of a crossroads at night’s end. Misunderstandings and fits of pent-up anger are used as natural defense mechanisms, seeing as how their all strangers to one another, but they all learn through their yelling that their day’s misfortunes are similar to one another. Seeing as they all need help to get their lives back together, Soap offers an idea, the idea that with their unique team setup and common goals, that they should temporary work together to find a way to earn some money; but before any epic quests are ventured - rest is required first, and luckily Soap knows that best place for cheap and temporary shelter, Kingdom’s Edge Lodge. In the lodge, everything that they need to survive the night and plan for what comes next is readily available, but the group’s insecurities and hostility still remains prevalent, but for now, this is all they have.
