Tribulations of Higher Education

I’ve undergone an evaluation by the prestigious Masters of Thornhill Academy and they have determined I show promise for membership of their society. However, the Headmaster requires me to prove myself worthy by performing a demanding service for the Academy first.

Headmaster Trevelyan explained how the Academy’s funding is being held for ransom by the tyrannical Lord Mayor of the City of Thornhill. He’s demanded for the Academy to build him a fabled weapon told to have been created in distant lands – the cannon.

To lead this project, the Academy Headmaster has sent an old genius of engineering named Norman Osborrow. He’s an old man who knows blueprints well, but will require my help with the execution.

I ought to meet him at a secluded research site, which I may reach by approaching one of the sergeants stationed at the gates to the Thornhill Castle, who will then escort me to where I need to go.

I discussed the plans for the cannon with Master Engineer Norman Osborrow at the research site. He tasked me with producing four major components: the cannon’s frame, its barrel, the ammunition and the black powder.

The Cannon Frame:
The choice of wood for the frame is Wildsfir, which grows in Prowler’s Thicket south of Thornhill City. The complete frame will require 8 Wildsfir Logs and 5 Nails to hold it all together, the latter I can find from most general shopkeepers. Once I’ve acquired the materials, I can create the frame at a crafting workbench.

The Barrel:
The barrel is made from iron – lots of it. I should acquire 8 iron ingots and bring them to an anvil, where I can hammer them into the proper shape of a barrel.

The Cannonballs:
In order to shape iron into cannonballs, I must bring to a forge 5 iron ingots and 5 oak logs to feed its fires.

The Black Powder Pouch:
The explosive material to make black powder is mined from infamous Black Stone, which I’m told a deposit exists in southern Prowler’s Thicket, directly south of Harshwind Village. I will also require a pouch to hold the material.

I will therefore need to craft 10 cotton into a pouch at a tailor’s workbench; then bring the pouch and 5 Black Sand to be refined at the alchemist’s workbench.

All workbenches I need can be found at the cannon research site, which I reach by getting Sergeant Almsworth to escort me from Thornhill Castle gates.

Once I’ve crafted a component for the cannon, I should drop it off to be installed at the dedicated build site near the crafting stations.

The mighty cannon is finally complete! I should approach Master Engineer Norman with the news.

After demonstrating the power of the cannon to the Captain at the research site, it seems the Lord Mayor will be pleased with the Academy’s contribution. I should make my way back to the Academy Headmaster to deliver the news.

No doubt I will have earned my position at the Academy after this!

The Academy of Masters is grateful for my service.