The Zailiens touched down in the desert outside of a vast urban city. The city's name was Pillosa, home of Montgomery Dahlia's Academy for Greatness, and additionally a singular oasis within the vast desert nation of Auhgrens. The city of Pillosa measured approximately twenty miles in diameter, centered on a singular and vast lake, upon which the academy was built, and which surrounded the academy like a large moat. The academy rested upon thin spires that protruded from the lake, giving the appearance as though it were floating upon the crystalline body of water. Despite its position right beneath such a dense population center of the city, the lake- which was never named- is purified constantly by a thick and multi-layered series of spells. As a result, all sewage is able to flow directly into the lake, where the magic works its... magic.

The city was separated into four distinct districts. The central district at the city's heart was where the college stood, as well as a small number of shops and services where students could quickly travel between classes for a meal or to get their clothes washed. This district was often called the College Circle, and was the most heavily trafficked area in the entire city. To the north of the city was the residential district, where towering obelisks of dense apartments ensured that all the attending hundreds of students were able to live- some freely, some as part of their tuition. To the southeast of the city was the trade district, where vendors and tradesmen peddled their goods for cheap to young students, and where students could work part-time, learning a trade as an apprentice and making money in addition. Here was where budding adventurers often received their first swords, shields, and armor. Lastly, in the southwest of the city, was the governing sector, where adults managed the political and financial aspects of running such a large charity organization and college far from where the students must worry.

The architecture of Pillosa was unusual for the time, instantly recognizable for the varied colors among even neighbor buildings. The dense apartments even go as far as to paint the faces of each room separately, giving the look of a multicolored wall. The streets of Pillosa are dense and winding, and the phenomenally urban architecture requires the city to fold over itself at many points, creating under- and over-layers. Stairs abound across the city, where students can take the stairs upwards to the sunny parks and restaurants or follow the roads down into shops and hotels. The streets were built from cobblestone but painted black, resembling the bustling cities of Velstadt or Cardige without the smog or litter. In fact, the city was spotless, kept that way by dedicated cleanup crews of students, who take up the job for gratuitous pay.

Outside the city, a large crowd had gathered to receive the unusual visitors- mostly teenage students, but there were a number of adult and elderly teachers and students as well. At the very front of the crowd stood a tall, muscular, and imposing man with red hair.

The man's name is Montgomery Dahlia, often called "The Hero of the Classroom." In each generation, there has been a hero- a title that is often bestowed retroactively. Except in very few cases, the hero is named after their deeds have been performed, and in honor of the good they have brought upon the world that is unparalleled by other adventurers. It is a title that is at times bestowed upon an adventurer haphazardly through lack of a better option, and at times by unanimous popularity for all the unfathomable heroism they have embodied. Thankfully, Montgomery found himself leaning towards the latter end of that spectrum. As a young adventurer, Montgomery would often undertake arduous and at times lethal quests, risking life and limb for the thrill of adventure. While selfish in his motivations, this ultimately allowed him to accrue a significant fortune. Now, as he enters his forties, the man has retired from the adrenaline junkie lifestyle, and has taken to opening an academy so that other youths- typically those with few options and those less fortunate- can be given a new lease on life.

Montgomery wore a stylish black vest and formal button-up shirt beneath it, and on his legs he wore a pair of long trousers. Despite the sweltering heat, Montgomery was often seen wearing a fashionable coat, which he usually draped over his shoulders rather than wore properly. The interior of the coat was red, while the exterior was black, and the buttons of the coat were a brilliant silver. The man himself was tall, around six foot three, and his hair was a dark red and cascaded down to his shoulders, short in the front and long in the back. His build was lithe but muscular, and his face was handsome but scarred.

Montgomery is a level 18 Petalstep. The Petalstep class allows its user benign control over nature, restricted only to flora, but more importantly allows the user to pass between four different stances- each bestowing different abilities- which are moved through like steps of a dance. The class is often touted as among the most difficult to learn and master, which was precisely why Montgomery sought such it out as a young adventurer. His stats are:

STR

45

DEX

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81

VIT

63

INT

54

WIT

87

PER

63

CHA

82

LCK

51

Montgomery stood expectantly at the forefront of the crowd as he awaited the Zailiens' imminent touchdown. Typically, an admission late into the semester- especially for six new students- would be rejected, but once Montgomery had learned of the one-of-a-kind artifact in their possession... well, who could say no to that?

The Zailiens' shields lowered, allowing it to make contact with the ground below. With a hiss, the hatch at the top of the ship opened- much like a true whale's blowhole- and promptly rose four figures. The rope ladder was cast over the side of the ship, and down climbed Simon, Mina, Lawrence and... Chix?

"Is that Monty-D?" Lawrence hollered. Simon grabbed him by the mouth, broke him in half, and threw him back into the ship.

"Sorry about that," Simon bowed, then offered Montgomery his hand.

"Don't worry about it," Montgomery shook the man's hand back, smiling. "If I had let something like that get under my skin, I wouldn't make it far as a teacher."

"See?" Lawrence groaned as he climbed down from the ship again. "I told ya he wouldn't mind."

"Ignore him," Simon faked a smile while continuing to shake Montgomery's hand, "think of him like a pet goldfish that can talk. About the same level of Intelligence, if you think about it."

Montgomery laughed, and pulled his hand away. "I see. Hopefully we can do something about that Intelligence stat here."

"Hopefully," Simon chuckled. "Gods know others have tried."

"You say something son?" Lawrence walked right up next to Simon. "You ever been slapped by a fish before? 'Cause I can make it happen."

"You know, I think I'll pass," Simon put his hand on Lawrence's face and pushed him back. To Simon's surprise, the old man had a lot more Strength in him than he expected, and pushed back well.

Montgomery let out a hearty chuckle. "I can see you four have a lot to bring to our school. We look forward to having you." Montgomery turned to face the crowd, and began to walk away into it. "I'll see you all in my office when you get situated. In the meantime, I think you've got some fan questions to answer." He stepped into the crowd, and vanished.

In that instant, the assembled people surged forward like a tide, and crashed upon the four of them. A barrage of questions let loose, typically somewhere along the lines of "can I go inside?" and "how'd you get this thing?" Simon sighed, and prepared for a long interview.

Simon threw himself onto the bed with a sigh. It wasn't easy, hauling all of his gear from the Zailiens outside the city all the way into his new dormitory close to the city's heart. It was harder that his oath of chivalry forced him to carry Dianna and Mina's belongings as well. Across from him, Chix dug through his belongings, fervently searching for something Simon did not care to inquire about. The dormitories were two beds to a room, and to keep things simple, Dianna and Mina were separated from the men. Simon assumed he and Lawrence would room together, but Lawrence insisted on rooming with a fellow pirate, and so Simon ended up together with Chix. Not that he found Chix particularly distasteful, it was simply a man he hadn't known as long as Lawrence.

"I'm beat," Simon groaned into his pillow, surprised by the softness of the bed, which rivaled even his own from his time as a baron.

"Hi beat," Chix chuckled to himself while he continued to dig through his small bag of belongings, a haphazard collection of things he'd managed to gather from his office before the wave had wiped Ad Limosa off the map.

Simon sighed, then sat up. "Fine, I'll ask: what the hell are you looking for?"

"Nunya."

"What's a nunya?"

"None of ya business!" Chix slapped his knee.

"This is going to be a long semester," Simon shook his head. He stood up, and turned to leave the room, and Chix paid him no mind.

Simon walked outside, and onto the walkway of the apartment outside. The walkway was open-air, giving Simon a chance to breathe in the hot desert air. He found himself grateful that he'd taken off his armor back in the room, because he knew that this heat would roast him alive. It reminded him briefly of the restaurant at Ad Limosa, which cast a shadow of grief over his face. He leaned onto the railing, and sighed. He thought of all the shops he'd never visited in Ad Limosa, and those he had, and all of the soul, time, and money in each of them, and how wholly unique each one was. And he thought of how the city, and all its people, were so suddenly wiped off the map forever. Simon sighed as he remembered that he could very well had spared all those people, by simply giving over the Zailiens to Dagon. It pained him as a future leader, knowing he put his own gains ahead of so many people- even if Chix and Al were fine with it now (maybe?) and even if the people had been evacuated to safety, he still felt guilty that he hadn't made such an obvious choice. Simon sighed again.

"Doing an awful lot of sighing there," Dianna's voice cooed from down the hall.

Simon turned to see that she was right next to him. "Neat trick, throwing your voice like that."

"Thanks, I try."

"What're you doing out here?"

"Coming to grab you all."

"What for?"

"We have to meet with Mister Dahlia, remember?"

Simon stared at her blankly.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Dianna chided him with a smile.

"Maybe..."

"Don't sweat it," she shoved him playfully, then turned into his room to grab Chix. "Everyone makes mistakes."

Simon tried to figure out if she was reading his mind or not.