Maulwurf von Trap is the Musicology Scholar at the Arcanum. A Nibbelung Mole, he was raised in the underground mining town of Nibbleheim in the world of Karamelle. He worked on behalf of Nana's Olde Fashioned Karamelle Delights, and later rose in the ranks and became the first-ever Nibbelung to join the company's Executive Board.
After retiring from the company, von Trap was given the position of Scholar of Musicology at the Arcanum's Musicology Department. With the Cabal fractured by the exit of Grandfather Spider, von Trap became a double agent or "mole" for both the Arcanum and Cabal and monitored their communications from the inside for attempts at retribution.
Biography[]
Early life and career[]
Maulwurf von Trap grew up in the underground Nibbelung mining town of Nibbleheim, in the world of Karamelle. He worked for Nana's Olde Fashioned Karamelle Delights, before becoming the first ever Nibbelung to join the company's Executive Board.[1] He eventually became acquaintances with Lydia Greyrose,[2] who would later become notable as Ravenwood's Ice Professor.
Explosive symphony[]
- "Oi! You can't go in there! That office is toast. The Musicology Scholar's last symphony nearly blew this whole place into another interdimension."
- ―Sunny to the Wizard[src]
During the "Empyrea kerfuffle," Maulwurf von Trap was seen by his old acquaintance, Lydia Greyrose, when she was astrally projected into the Arcanum along with the Council of Light. She wanted to deliver some of her Nana's Olde Fashioned Karamelle Delights chocolates to von Trap to remind him of her old friend and Karamelle.
Not long after, the Musicology Scholar conducted a symphony of sorts that resulted in the explosion of his Musicology Office. The Wizard, now working for Nana's Karamelle Delights as a part-time job under Bryce Crispie, went to the Arcanum to deliver the chocolates to the Musicology Office, but instead found the explosion-blackened door covered by caution tape. Fitzhume cleaned up the old office, and did the paperwork to give von Trap a new office down the hall,[3] where the Scholar continued to play his music despite the inherent danger.[2]
A mole problem[]
After the retirement of Grandfather Spider, the Cabal was left without a leader and was fractured. In order to thwart any possible plans of retribution, the Arcanum monitored Cabal communications. To Ione Virga's surprise, many of the communications were traced right back to the Arcanum's Musicology Department. In order to prevent another Medulla situation from happening again, Ione Virga summoned the Wizard and promoted them to Arcanum Liaison before having them confront in his office rather than anyone else, for liability reasons.
After being called a Cabalist mole and confronted by the Wizard, von Trap invited them to speak. He assured the Wizard that he was not a mole in the traditional sense of infiltrating the enemy to gain intel for his true allies, but that he was a mole for the Arcanum and had uncovered the latest Cabal plot: that the "fiend" known as the Scarlet Shrimpernel was plotting to assassinate King Pyat MourningSword and take the throne of Khrysalis to forge a new Shadow Empire. Since the Wizard already knew Khrysalis, von Trap urged them to go there and stop the Scarlet Shrimpernel before it was too late.[4] In Khrysalis, the Wizard reunited with Dyvim WhiteHart, and together fought the Scarlet Shrimpernel and his Arachna forces inside his hideout in Bastion. After being defeated, the Shrimpernel revealed to them that Maulwurf was indeed the Cabal's mole in the Arcanum, and was allied with the Old One.[5]
After the Wizard had left for Khrysalis, von Trap had went to his Musicology Studio in order to prepare a surprise for them. Once the Wizard returned, they told Ione Virga of the revelation of von Trap being both a spy for the Arcanum and Cabal, a "double double" agent, which they learned from the Scarlet Shrimpernel. Virga said this was confusing, and warned the Wizard of a supposed trap from Maulwurf, but urged that it must be sprung and that he must be apprehended and brought back to Ione for questioning. In the Studio, von Trap welcomed the Wizard back from Khrysalis, and asked if the Scarlet Shrimpernel had been dealt with. Upon hearing the good news, he said that the Shrimpernel only would have gotten in the way, and as a "reward" he surprised the Wizard with the Doombox. Once they defeated it, he asked them if they felt the music, and the rhythm syncopated with the Wizard's inherent magic created a new spell infused with Musicology, von Trap's actual token of gratitude for dealing with the Scarlet Shrimpernel.[6] The Wizard, however, didn't give up on their mission, and formally accused von Trap of being a Cabal spy. He in turn admitted to it, and expressed that saying it out loud felt good, while assuring the Wizard that he only had the best of intentions, and told them to come along back to his office to discuss the matter further. Before anything could be discussed, Ione beat the Wizard to Maulwurf's office and called the Scholar a traitor. He responded by pushing pack against her "fighty words", and invited her to speak of something new.
Personality[]
To be added
Relationships[]
Allies[]
- Arcanum
- Lydia Greyrose – Acquaintance
Trivia[]
- Maulwurth von Trap was first mentioned in the prequest for Karamelle. His first name was changed from Maulwurth to Maulwurf sometime between the release of the prequest and the full release of Karamelle in November 2020.
- The world maulwurf is German, literally meaning "mole."
- Maulwurf von Trap's surname "von Trap" is likely a reference to the von Trapp Family, an Austrian singing family that were active from 1935 to 1957. The family's story served as the basis of the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, which in turn spawned two German films and ultimately the Broadway musical and film, The Sound of Music.
Appearances[]
Sources[]
Wizard101: Novus Update Now Live! on the KingsIsle Entertainment YouTube channel (November 30, 2022)
