To the parents of Gavin Swiftfoot
Dear sir and madam
I regret to inform you of a tragic accident at the academy of
arcane and alchemical sciences (AAAS) here at Stagfell. From talking
to those involved and piecing together what little physical remnants
there were I have Come up with the following scenario which I believe
to be inaccurate portrayal of the events which conspired that fateful
evening.
Gavin and Melissa (another promising young student of the academy)
were assigned to carry a load of alchemist's fire from the academy to
a storage site in Fort Redemption. Melissa, always being a creative
student had concocted a packing material which should have kept the
alchemist's fire from prematurely reaching it's full potential and
this move was to provide her with material for what was certain to be
a brilliant dissertation. Young Gavin, not having the zeal for
laborious research, was to be her assistant. While a local merchant
drove the load through the rough streets of our beloved village of
Stagfell, Melissa and Gavin busied themselves with taking measurements
of the load's stability and level of excitation. The packing
material was to keep the level of excitation well below the critical
level needed for an explosion.
While passing near the proposed sight of Stagfells um,
entertainment district Gavin had a startling revelation about the
nature of critical mass in alchemist's fire. He also noticed that in
her haste to prepare for the trial some of the barrels were not pack
correctly. At this point it would have been prudent to have stopped
the wagon and repack the barrels. Instead your son decided to test his
hypothesis about critical mass being subject to the will of an arcane
alchemist.
Not having the knowledge base necessary to understand how to
control such a reaction, he soon realized the folly of his action and
attempted to warn a confused Melissa of what was happening. At the
same time he tackled the driver and used his body to shield him from
the blast. The resulting explosion destroyed the wagon, created a
crater the size of a mountain troll, and cost the life of his very
confused fellow student and four fine horses.
Had it not been for the heroic actions of your son to save the
merchant, the townspeople would have put him to death for certain. As
it is he has been expelled from the academy and will be returning to
you once his burns have healed. I commended him for his willingness to
experiment but he has stated he has no desire to pursue alchemy any
further. Should he change his mind he may reapply to the academy if he
can demonstrate restraint.
Cordially yours,
Fisselelvinel Gil-Ravendry
Magistrate, Academy of Arcane and Alchemical Sciences
P.S. - At the request of the department of the treasury, included in
this letter is a refund for the half year's tuition and a bill for the
damages.
