The local wizards’ college is doing well enough, but a formal complaint has been lodged against them by the caretaking staff about garbage collection.
The students need a crash course. If it glows, buzzes, or moves, tell the staff before they pick it up… -- Tergon
Properly trained and educated, a Wizard is no threat unless they want to become one. Trained Wizards know what they're doing. It's the ones still in training that you have to watch out for.
They're lazy, lackadaisical, and every single one of them thinks the "old fogeys" need to get a grip and relax about things. Like, come on. It can't be that dangerous.
If they're lucky, they will survive to know that, yes. It can indeed be that dangerous.
Steps have been taken to help preserve the student bodies in one piece. Which deflected the potential damage to arguably more innocent souls - the janitors.
Everyone has the capability to be a villain to someone.
Olwelyn was largely viewed by the student body as an annoyance at best and a menace at worst. Cleaning up their experiments in non-laboratory environments, berating them for leaving magical items lying around, and confiscating even the mildest kinds of contraband. In their opinion.
Olwelyn, on the other hand, largely viewed the students as out to ruin her day at best and her life at worst.
It got so bad that a physical demonstration was in order.
In the largest demonstration amphitheater[1], Archmage Nybaris set up several typical student experiments. She was a Dragon who had decided to live amongst middling-sized peoples, and had seen it all. She was also very fireproof. An advantage in such situations.
Olwelyn activated all the wards to protect the assembled audience from the anticipated pyrotechnics. She also donned her own protective charms.
"My students," said Nybaris. "You may recognise some of these experiments. I have seen thousands like them. Our chief janitor, Olwelyn--" she ignored some hisses from the audience, "--has seen hundreds. There are reasons why you must conduct such experiments within the designated laboratories." She nudged one arcane element too close to its neighbour.
The entire stage was wreathed in flame and eldritch energies. Some of which spawned a few fleshy horrors.
Olwelyn, long accustomed to this, drew her weapon and slew them before they could threaten existence.
"Experiments are just the start," said Nybaris. "Any of you who go Adventuring during your studies are bound to encounter interesting magical artifacts. There may even be a few in the catacombs of this university. I can already see the avarice in your eyes. Quell it. The thing about finding an artifact in the middle of a pile of bones is that it's the reason the bones are there. If you must handle something of the sort, be sure you know what it is and take appropriate precautions."
Some were still whispering about what power they could find if they took the risk.
Olwelyn stepped up to the stage, "I do not venture into the catacombs and I leave bodies like that where they lie. Try going after unearned power and your family may never know what happened to you."
Speculative whispers stopped cold. The silence was complete enough for one whisper from the back row to carry across the entire amphitheatre.
"What a bitch."
"Yeah, I'm a bitch," agreed Olwelyn, "but I'm the bitch who plans to live to retire."
Nybaris added, "None of you have any idea how hard it is to find staff willing to put up with all of you."
[1] Some magical experiments are volatile enough that an open space to dissipate is essential safety preparations. More for the observers than the unfortunate in the middle who made the literally fatal mistake.
[Photo by Manuel Gast on Unsplash]
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