Vicious Eyes and Vicious Hearts

Arc Summary
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Session 86

 * Google Document (4-16-23)

Kain gets up from his desk as four people suddenly teleport into his room. He comments that we look like hell. He asks what happened! We explain that people were waiting there and we were apparently getting scryed on this whole time. At the mention of scrying, Reides gives the crystal ball to Kilwin, since he doesn't want to use it himself. Kilwin intends to use it, but only on people who deserve to be spied on! Reides really wishes that we could get rid of the Tyrian tracker. Kain remarks that it would take very high-level magic. Unfortunately, the only other real option is finding a way to kill him for real. Jorah asks how things in Falas have been. Kain says it's been fine for the most part, just typical court nonsense. Ashara groans before apologizing to Reides, who promises he hates nobles as much as the rest of us. He admits it's weird that he took a job in court, but it's okay! He will attempt to gently alter it from the inside.

Kain asks if we accomplished what we were hoping. Reides shows him the Crest! Jorah explains that Tyrian came for us after our arrival and had the Crest. He asks if there's been any luck house-hunting. It hasn't been long enough for Kain to make much progress though. We figure we'll need to return to our prior room arrangements in that case. Jorah also tells Kain about the wall showing the Crests' locations, warning him that they can't really rely on secrecy to keep it safe. Kain is less worried when he finds out the locations aren't exact and says anyone wanting to steal the Blade would have a hard time with the wards he's placed anyway. Jorah is glad to hear that. Kilwin points out that we know the last Crest's location too! We take a moment to appreciate that we are alive. Jorah remarks that he'd appreciate some free time, especially since he needs to buy clothes.

We leave Kain to his business and find a quiet spot for Reides to identify our haul. He starts with the Drape of the Cursed and learns that it allows the wearer to summon an undead creature at the cost of some of their vitality. It also causes a trail of mushrooms to sprout behind the wearer as they walk before quickly decaying. The robe requires attunement to make the mushrooms grow. The rod is an Immovable Rod, which can hold up to 8000 pounds of weight. The vial contains a Potion of Heroism, which gives the drinker temporary hit points and the effects of a blessing for an hour. Reides decides to demonstrate the cloak's effects rather than just telling the party. He puts it on and makes it billow dramatically. Kilwin remembers seeing cloaks like this in the Exeter and is very excited. Ashara and Kilwin clap. Jorah quietly loses his mind. Although Jorah is the only one who can use a Crest, he doesn't think he's much of a robe person. There are also a number of deep religious philosophical reasons for this. Ashara considers using it as a fashion accessory while sticking with the Bands as her Crest, but decides it wouldn't coordinate with the rest of her outfit. The Drape goes in the Bag! Kilwin says he thinks we'll be better at keeping the Bag's contents guarded now. Jorah wonders why he would ever say that out loud. We all kind of want the Rod but Jorah asks and receives. We also decide that either Jorah or Kilwin should get the potion, and Jorah gets that too. Most of us are cloaked up already. Ashara assesses it for fashion suitability. It's black on the outside and light brown inside. Jorah remarks that black and gold go together well. Kilwin admits that he does really enjoy the billowing. Ashara suggests that Kilwin can use it to interrupt any awkward moments on his date with Grinlief. A cloak that billows without any wind is a great conversation starter! Kilwin thinks that the billow could be a good safe word whenever a conversation gets dicey, subtlety be damned.

We set about our other business. We have two days before the shipment of magic items that Reides was waiting for comes in. Jorah stops by the Stitch in Time to get formal attire for the ball. He orders a green version of the suit that's worn out now. He also asks for Tyrian's crest to be removed from the Cloak of Protection. The halfling tailor sucks his teeth and admits it might be a bit expensive since it's a magic item. The outfit and the restitching will each cost 25 gp. Jorah admits he's not happy but it's not as bad as he was expecting. The tailor says they'll both be ready in three days. Reides and Ashara buy spell components, with Reides picking up enough special chalk for four teleportation circles and Ashara buying a mysterious vial. Kilwin finds a bakery.

Jorah realizes he missed his appointment with Galnur, so he heads over to Galnur's forge as soon as he's not bleeding everywhere. He knocks on Galnur's door and steps back before it can be kicked open. Galnur looks around even though it doesn't really accomplish anything. Jorah acknowledges that he's late but he got held up. Galnur just tells him to come inside. He leads Jorah back to the main forge and explains that the pelagic ore is weird stuff. It turns into a water-like substance when forged. Jorah admits that that's not all that surprising to him. Galnur admits that he's not sure how well it would work mixed with dwarven materials. While Jorah doesn't want to risk Quickbrand, Galnur assures him that Quickbrand is sturdy and storied. He's sure it will survive and the real risk is that Jorah doesn't get a pretty new toy. Assured by Galnur's confidence, Jorah decides that it's worth trying then. He hands Quickbrand over to Galnur. Galnur thinks for a bit and asks the date before telling Jorah to come back in a week. Jorah offers to bring drinks or something, but Galnur says to just bring himself. He goes back to his table, hefting Quickbrand while deep in thought. Jorah wishes Galnur luck, although he doesn't think he needs it. He leaves without foisting payment onto Galnur this time.

When they next see him, Reides and Kilwin ask Jorah what happened to Quickbrand. He always has it! Jorah says he lost it and it fell down a well. Reides and Kilwin ask where the well is! Together we can get it! Jorah apologizes and explains that Galnur is making some modifications to it. Galnur has it! Reides and Kilwin are relieved.

Reides finds a bookseller on his search for a book about constellations. He finds a store run by an elderly halfling woman. The wares are covered in dust but otherwise seem to be in decent shape. Reides asks the halfling bookseller if she has any books on constellations in stock. She's pretty sure she has something and calls Reides "dearie." She uses a ladder to navigate the shelves and finds one. She blows the dust off. Reides sneezes, although the bookseller says she's built up an immunity over the years. The book is called The Canvas of the Gods. It costs 25 gold, which Reides readily pays. The bookseller thanks him and calls him a sweetheart. Reides calls her a charmer! She says when you get to be her age, it's kind of obligatory. Reides is going to pretend he's special though. As he leaves, Reides notices that the store is called the Page Unturned. The sign is shaped like an open book, with the name written in an arc.

At some point, Kilwin messages Grinlief to double-check that he knows when the ball is and say that he's looking forward to it! Grinlief is happy to hear back and assures him he'll be there, wearing his finest. Later on, the whole party meets up at the Outer Wall for drinks. Reides mentions that he's thinking of stepping out of Falas for a bit, since he has some things to ask his father and it'd be nice to check on home. He says the rest of the party is welcome to tag along, although no one has to. Reides does also mention that Jorah has an obligation to Dhudus though. Jorah admits that he was hoping to get out of that. Reides is saddened and asks why! Jorah says it's just so wet! Eventually everyone agrees that they'd like to accompany Reides though. Reides doesn't plan to stay in Aquos very long and wants to leave after the magic item shipment on the 25th. Jorah has his stuff to pick up on the 26th, so Reides agrees to wait until then. Kilwin has an idea that might save the mages some chalk, although he needs to ask permission at the cathedral first. Reides is grateful and comments that the chalk is expensive. Ashara says she's keeping a running tally of how much the party owes her for it. At any rate, Reides just needs to talk to Khavas and Jorah needs to beat up Dhudus. We discuss which teleportation destination is the least bad to get wet before it just kind of devolves into hanging out for the evening. Reides shows Jorah the constellation book. Jorah looks through it, but the names don't match what his mother taught him. For example, what she called the Guiding Star is called the Sovereign Star. Reides is worried that he might have gotten scammed but thinks the bookseller was too nice for that. He also admits that he doesn't know enough astronomy to be able to check the book for accuracy. Although Jorah says the stars are far away for everything, Reides points out they were extra far away for him. Still, they look forward to going over the book together and maybe learning something. Before turning in, Kilwin communes with Alethus. He can't find out what aspect of Slumberjack the orb is bound to or if there's other components to bringing back the people of Port Valor, but does learn that the orb would need to be detached from Slumberjack first.

Ashara sleeps in on Magic Item Day, so the lads and Pepega go without her. In the Market Terrace, the magic item vendors have largely set up temporary stalls rather than have brick and mortar shops. People are carrying around huge boxes and shipments seem to still be rolling in. Barkers are calling out details about their fantastical wares. One says they have potions that will give you the sight of an eagle or let you run and jump as if you were nineteen again. Another asks passersby to behold the Globe of Light, demonstrating a wand that shoots multi-colored lights. Another presses a boot into a small sandbox. When he takes it away, a deer's hoofprint is left behind. Reides is amazed by all of these wonders. Jorah is extremely skeptical of it all. We approach the guy with the boots. Reides says the boots are amazing but he doesn't really see the use of them. The salesman suggests using them to obscure our trail when fleeing pursuers. He shows that it can create the tracks of a large bird too. Reides says it's like a giant Pepega though! Our group tends to stick together though, and we don't do a lot of fleeing at this point, so it doesn't seem like the item for us. This guy has other wares though! He sets down a single die in front of us. Jorah asks if it's loaded. Reides asks what it would be loaded with. The vendor says it's not in the traditional sense and asks Jorah to pick a number. Jorah picks seven. The vendor says come on. Jorah picks six, so the vendor rolls the die and gets a six! Reides picks three, and the man rolls a three. He asks Kilwin to try, and once again, the die rolls a two on command. The vendor says the die might be magic, but we might also be very lucky! We must be very lucky if we found his shop. Reides thinks that might be helpful with the games they play on the Desperado, but isn't sure it's a good idea. Jorah is pretty sure we're going to get kicked out of places for cheating if we try to use that. The vendor says we'll only be kicked out if we're bad at cheating. We're pretty sure we're all bad at cheating. The vendor has one last item, a horn made of goathorn with metal bands. He says it's a Horn of Silent Alarm, which will only be heard by one designated person when blown. It has a range, but at 600 feet, it's pretty wide. We ask the price. The vendor says that's the fun part: We name a price and then haggle! Jorah says it's cool and useful, but lowballs and offers 70 gold, since we have a friend with similar abilities. The vendor is scandalized, and Jorah asks if he's overpaying. The vendor says Jorah is underestimating the horn's potential: Not only could it be used by a lookout for our illicit activities, it could be used to communicate between a split party. Kilwin and Reides take offense to the implication that we are conducting illicit activities. The first offered price is 400 gold. We prepare to walk, since we have Ashara. He then offers 350 gold, although he says we'd be skinning him alive. Jorah says he can keep his skin. The vendor says we can have some muscle too and offers 300 gold. Jorah says the most he could possibly pay is 200 gold, and any more than that would be indirectly robbing an orphanage in Atemcester. The vendor can't do 200, considering the import fees, but does offer 250. Jorah admits he's spent 250 gold on dumber things, and the deal is made. Jorah asks the vendor's name, which is Stevonicus. We also ask Stevonicus for a demo on the horn before we leave. Jorah hears it loud and clear, but Reides and Kilwin don't hear anything. As we leave, Jorah tells Stevonicus he's not the worst magic item dealer he's had to deal with.

We pass someone hawking the Magically Mending Rope. He chops it into pieces before shouting "Voruga!" The pieces of rope then stitch back together when held to each other. Reides is astounded. Jorah messes with his new horn, saying that he's going to test it out on Ashara. However, Reides is the actual victim of the prank. Reides yells out at the sound, and people stop to look a bit. Reides gets mad at Jorah for scaring the shit out of him and tells on him to Kilwin. Kilwin tells Jorah not to scare people with the horn! As we continue shopping, Jorah finds someone who can sell him a golden acorn as a spell component.

Reides looks around and finds a stall selling spell scrolls, hoping for one containing Disguise Self. The vendor offers one with a spell that allows one to appear in the guise of others, which he would be happy to offer to such exquisite customers. Reides asks why he's talking like that, and he says this is simply how he speaks, which he finds is a boon in his business. Reides simply nods. The man tents his fingers. He's got that INTJ stare. The Disguise Self scroll is going for 100 gold. Reides tries to haggle and points out that that's a pretty basic spell actually. The vendor says that's true, but convincing a mage to part with the knowledge and the work of scribing the scroll are much more than the act of casting it. Reides's not sure if he's supposed to keep haggling but decides to just drop the 100 gold. The man accepts it with a flourish. Reides likes his flair and really wants to know his name. He introduces himself as Mistell the Magnificent. Reides is amazed! Jorah has to suppress some snickering in the back. Mistell says he would have a permanent shop if he could get a permit, but alas. He hawks his wares wherever he can. Reides suggests moving to Port Valor and says it'll be back in its prime soon. Mistell responds with another flourish and reaches his hand to his chin in contemplation. Kilwin billows his cape, and Mistell takes a moment to check for a breeze. Mistell admits Reides has a point, since permitting isn't working out in Falas. Port Valor could be quite mystical… Reides says it's a better port location too, and he also knows a really dependable saleswoman he could work with there. She's called the Kraken! Jorah is startled into the conversation. Mistell's face pales. He's never worked with the Kraken before, but he's heard dangerous stories about her. Reides says she's bad if you try to con her, but she's the best of the best if you pay her well. Mistell says he'll keep that in his back pocket. Reides mentions that his boyfriend works for her too. Mistell says his current supply lines are solid, but he'll keep it in his back pocket. He does a little bow and begins trying to attract his next customer. As we leave, Reides says he's hoping to get a lot of people to come to Port Valor so it'll be populated again. He also doesn't understand why people think the Kraken is scary. Jorah asks if they met different Krakens. Reides thinks she's cool and just wants her to get paid. If she gets paid, Aske also gets paid! Jorah sees how it is.

The group passes someone demonstrating a pair of magic boots. They seem to be running a bit faster than normal and when they jump, they jump about three times higher than you'd normally expect. Everyone claps. Jorah has been practicing and is pretty sure he can do something similar with his new paladin abilities. Reides wonders if that means Viglis can jump really high, although there's no much point in that underwater. Jorah asks if Reides knows how high he can jump, and Reides admits he had no idea until he came to the surface. Reides does a little jump to test it out. Viglis's jumping abilities remain a mystery.

Reides looks for a potion seller and finds a high elf dealing in them. Reides explains he's looking for healing potions but is interested in other types too. The elf welcomes us and says they have the full range of potencies in healing potions, brewed in Arc-Delia and of the highest quality. A regular healing potion is about 50 gold. Reides remarks that that's a good price, and the elf explains that they're the most popular offering, so they pretty much run the going rate. Reides purchases two of them! Out of curiosity, Reides asks about the supreme healing potion they mentioned. Those cost 2500 gp a piece. We all go eep. The potion seller shows us the rest of their stock. One is a red vial with a tiny bead inside that expands and contracts. They explain it's a Potion of Growth that makes the drinker big and strong. They also have a Potion of Climbing, which could help any of us scale a mountain. The liquid is in brown, gray, and silver layers, giving it an earth-like appearance. Their last offering is a vial that looks like it's filled with liquid fog. It's a Potion of Gaseous Form, which allows the drinker to fly but not very fast, pass through creatures, resist damage, enter rooms through keyholes, although they can't swim. A full list of effects is available along with the potion for 400 gold. Reides is deeply intrigued. Kilwin and Jorah say they're good and, after some consideration, Reides decides he's good with just the healing potions. We leave and let them deal with their next customer. Reides is having fun, but Jorah thinks he's personally spent enough money for one day.

As the group heads to the Holy Terrace for Kilwin's errand, Reides receives a message from Ashara. She's just woken up after a long night and asks where the group is now. She also asks if she should bring anything. Kilwin and Jorah are okay, so Reides just asks for some porridge if she can manage when he lets her know. On the Holy Terrace, Jorah almost goes to the Temple of the Nameless God before Kilwin redirects him. The group waits for Ashara, who's absolutely winded when she arrives. She has a tube of porridge for Reides and some bread rolls. One is for her, although she gives the crumblier one to Jorah. Kilwin's not sure if it's okay to eat inside, so Jorah eats out here and Reides decides to save most of his porridge for after. Jorah gets out his horn to prank Ashara. As Kilwin scolds him, Reides gives Ashara the rundown on how Magic Item Day works. Ashara is pranked and thinks it's happening again and she needs to run right now. She calms down when Jorah explains the horn to her. In fact, she wants to prank Kilwin, although she doesn't get the chance today.

Inside, Kilwin finds a priestess with somewhat more ornate vestments than the others. She's a short wood elf woman with side-parted hair. Kilwin says he's a cleric of Alethus and asks for her permission to use the cathedral as a sanctuary for a spell that would help him and his friends escape danger if they need to. She's familiar with the spell Word of Recall and says that's fine. Kilwin asks if there's any etiquette he'd need to observe, and she just asks him not to make a mess. He asks if water counts as a mess. It does, and the priestess is now very confused. She doesn't get a better explanation than that we're planning on going somewhere wet. Ashara asks about towels they could set out and Reides suggests sponges, but Kilwin thinks it's best to not impose on the cathedral. Jorah's not sure what a sponge is. Reides says he'll show him. Kilwin asks the priestess her name, which is Saissa, and introduces himself. He then finds a quiet, out-of-the-way alcove where he can cast Word of Recall and teleporting won't be too much of an imposition. With that done, the party heads to the Outer Wall together to enjoy some split pea soup. That night, Kilwin attempts woodcarving for the first time. He tries to make a cow. Ashara helps him by using the Bands of the Archmagi to cast Silent Image and conjure a reference image of a cow. As a result, his first attempt comes out decent. It's not amazing, but it's very obviously cow-shaped. Kilwin thanks Ashara for her help! She suggests making a business of it, although he says it's for Alethus. Ashara suggests putting it in our eventual altar room then! Reides works on his spellbook, officially learning Disguise Self.

The next day, Jorah gets his new drip. The Cloak of Protection is now free of any association with Tyrian, and Jorah can wear it right side out again. We love to see it. Everyone gathers at the Outer Wall, where Reides casts Water Breathing on everyone and starts drawing the circle. Ashara is concerned that we're not leaving anyone behind to erase the circle, especially since Reides wants to keep the sigil a secret. Reides initially plans to lock the door and if anyone follows us, they drown, but Ashara convinces him. Ashara considers summoning a creature to erase it before chilling for an hour and disappearing. Reides thinks that asking Urli for help might be a better play. He goes downstairs and asks if Urli is a good person and if they're friends. Urli is a little nervous about where this is going but says yes. Reides tells Urli that he'll be doing some magic in his room and would like if Urli could erase the chalk left behind when it's done. He also asks Urli to not go through the portal because he might die if he does. Urli is suddenly very concerned that we're about to die, but Reides promises it's nothing dangerous for us! We're just visiting his home and there's a family meeting, which could break bad but won't. The only danger to Urli is if he went through unprepared and drowned. Kilwin points out that the portal should close pretty soon after we go through if he understands this stuff correctly, so Urli should be fine so long as he doesn't try it immediately. Urli is still concerned but agrees to do it. Reides thanks him profusely. He goes back to finish the circle and the party travels to Aquos. As we find ourselves in the secret room at the base of the tower, Reides realizes he should have sent word first. He's pretty sure it's okay though!

We leave the secret room, closing it behind us, and Reides leads the rest of the group to the front gates. There's two guards with harpoon-like weapons who ready them as we approach, but one makes eye contact with Reides, freezes, and pulls his weapon back up. He welcomes back the prince! The other guard very quickly follows suit. We enter the palace, and Reides looks for Kanom so he can have an audience with his father. He gives the rest of the party a chance to bail since Khavas is scary, but we end up sticking together. Reides quickly spots Kanom's wizened features, relaxing near the great doors to the throne room. Kanom greets him, and Reides explains that he's shockingly here on business. He asks if Khavas is busy. Kanom says Khavas is always busy, but he'll check. Reides says it should be a fairly quick thing. Kanom bows as he swims away. We wait a while, but the great doors open and Khavas swims out of the throne room in his full regalia. Other than Reides, this is the closest most of the party has been to him. They can now appreciate what an imposing figure Khavas is, towering over everyone present. Kilwin bows and remains bowing. Reides explains that even though it hasn't been long, he has some bits of business and some personal questions. Khavas waits for them. Reides says that now that he's the ambassador, Khavas is going to have to talk to him sometimes. Khavas thinks that's what they're doing. Reides means properly, officially! He asks if Khavas really wants to do this in the hallway where anyone can hear everything. Khavas admits he didn't think the discussion was of a sensitive nature and we move into the throne room. Reides looks to the rest of the party, exasperated. Inside, Reides tells Khavas about the upcoming ball and remembrance ceremony. He acknowledges how Khavas feels about Karseidon but asks if he has anything he'd like Reides to do there or anything he should watch out for. Khavas says he doesn't know anything that's happened up there in the past ten years and doesn't concern himself with surfacer politics. He thinks for a moment, but comes up with nothing. His spies on the surface were concerned with Reides and nothing else. Reides also asks about using the Laverath name at the event. He was considering using it, but wanted to consult with the emperor about the level of secrecy he should be practicing. Khavas closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He says that a few weeks ago, he would have said absolutely not. He grips at his regalia before saying that it would behoove Reides as an ambassador of Laverathia. He has permission to use his name. Most surfacers aren't familiar with its meaning anyway, so it's unlikely to give too much away. He doesn't expect any sea elves to come out of the water and attend the ball after all. Reides points out that he came out of the water and is attending the ball! Khavas thinks Reides is a special case though. Speaking of special cases, Reides asks for more information on the Wreath of Persana's history, specifically about the triton depicted in the mural in the Temple of the Abyssal Guardians. Khavas crosses his arms. He says the Wreath has a long history, largely passed down through the rulers of Laverathia. While Laverathia maintained isolation, one scion of the Laverath family disagreed. They took the Wreath to the surface with them. Khavas doesn't know much about them after that, and they were stricken from the family records. Laverathia was even less kind to those who wished to see the surface back then. Reides wonders if their name could still be recorded anywhere, but Khavas suggests surface records at this point. Their ancestors were apparently extremely thorough. He also tells Reides to tell Kilwin he can stop bowing now, so Kilwin stops bowing. Reides asks about the rebuilding efforts, which are apparently going well and largely helmed by Viglis. However, Dhudus is also helping him now that he's been released from captivity. Reides also asks permission to contact Khavas through Sending or Dream, but Khavas says to direct those messages to Kanom instead. Reides is visibly disappointed. Khavas then turns to Kilwin and tells him to swim tall. The one known as the Deeplight shouldn't bow their head at every moment. Kilwin is alarmed but thanks him. Khavas smashes his trident on the floor to adjourn the meeting. As Kanom leads us out of the throne room, Reides looks pleadingly back at Khavas. Kanom gives him a soft smile.

With the door closed behind us, Reides remarks that his father is calmer than normal. Kanom agrees that Khavas has mellowed out a bit recently. Reides asks where Dhudus is. Kanom is pretty sure he's still at the training grounds. He also knows that Viglis and Lotlyn are out in the city, having a nice day together. Reides thinks they deserve it! We make our way to the training grounds, where we find Dhudus stabbing a dummy with a trident. He's wearing some of the pelagic armor we recovered too. He looks toward all of us and says Hey. Reides swims forward and hugs him and messes up his hair. Dhudus wraps one arm around him, holding the trident away with the other hand. Reides is glad to see him out and about! Dhudus agrees that it's nice to be training again. Reides says he brought Jorah for the spar! Dhudus remembers that conversation and asks if Jorah is ready. Jorah says he's in the area anyway, although he'll need a sword. Dhudus has him covered and lists a number of types of swords. Jorah says he uses a longsword, so Dhudus throws a pelagic one at him, hilt first. Jorah catches it effortlessly. They discuss rules, with Jorah suggesting first solid hit wins. Dhudus prefers first to yield, although Jorah says they'll be there all day then. He agrees to the revised suggestion of first to yield or get knocked out. Reides is distressed because he knows neither of them are ever going to yield. He forgot how dumb his brother is! Jorah asks if Kilwin's got him in case anything goes really badly. Kilwin says he's got both of them but asks them to please not stab each other for real. He points out that when he used to spar with Eleanor, they used wooden sticks! Dhudus remarks that if they're using wooden sticks instead of real weapons up on the surface, they must not be getting good training. Dhudus and Jorah both enter the arena.

Session 87

 * Google Document (4-21-23)

It's time for a spar! Jorah draws his loaner sword and gets in there. As he enters Dhudus's range, Dhudus takes advantage and stabs him with his trident. Jorah places a Hunter's Mark on Dhudus and strikes him. Dhudus retaliates by stabbing at Jorah's leg and pulling it to the side. This catches Jorah totally off-guard, and Dhudus manages to flip Jorah onto his back. He manages to stab at Jorah three more times, switching his grip on the trident to two-handed, although he only hits two more times. Hunter's Mark does not survive the encounter. Dhudus then swims back a bit. Jorah takes a swing but whiffs. Dhudus beckons Jorah to come in closer. Jorah decides he is not doing that. He rights himself, swims farther away, and gets out his heavy crossbow. Hunter's Mark makes its return and Jorah manages to shoot a bolt into Dhudus. Dhudus gets a second wind, recovering from most of what Jorah's managed to inflict, and swims to the side, taking cover. Jorah goes after him, although he's careful not to leave Kilwin's sight just in case. As he enters range, a trident comes at him from around the corner. Jorah attacks, although he refuses to use his smiting powers. Dhudus steps out and retaliates, flipping Jorah again and driving his trident down at him. Jorah continues to just attack, since he feels that magic beyond Hunter's Mark is cheating here. Dhudus manages to parry the blow somewhat. From the sidelines, Kilwin and Reides suggest that maybe it's time to call it a fight! Reides says they've both proved they're very tough! Ashara remarks that she wants to see this to the death. Dhudus attempts his leg hook again, but Jorah is ready this time, and the blow just grazes his leg. Jorah's next strike connects and, before he can attack again, Dhudus rears back and drops his fighting stance. He concedes! He could tell Jorah was holding back but he was still tough! Jorah promises he wasn't holding back all that much. He thought he was going to bite it for real and Kilwin would need to waste diamonds on this. Jorah sets down the borrowed sword, and he and Dhudus shake hands.

Jorah continues to insist that he wasn't even really holding back, just playing fair. Dhudus says that no one plays fair on a real battlefield, but Jorah argues if it was a real battlefield, he wouldn't be using someone else's sword. Reides inspects Dhudus's wounds and sees that they're superficial. The same goes for Jorah's. Reides remarks that Dhudus has gotten a lot stronger than he was when Reides last saw him in action. He asks where he learned all that! Dhudus says he's been doing a lot of training with Dharsus and Viglis, although that leg sweep maneuver is his own. Reides agrees that neither of them would do something like that, since they'd take the Jorah approach to fighting. Jorah protests that there's a difference between tripping your opponent if you're good enough to pull it off and unleashing the power of the Nameless God on them. Dhudus offers to teach Jorah the tripping maneuver, but Jorah says he's probably too busy with dancing lessons or something. Dhudus is filled in on the ball situation. Jorah hasn't danced since he was a kid and it was probably the wrong kind of dancing for this. It's been a while for Dhudus too. He says most nobles who try to dance with him learn their lesson the first time. Reides says they get whacked repeatedly. Dhudus disagrees because if that were the case, he'd actually enjoy it. Reides insists that's what it looks like! Kilwin heals up both of the combatants. Reides says he wants to see Jorah spar with Viglis now. Dhudus realizes he forgot to ask why we're here. Reides explains he was just seeing Dad and everyone else tagged along, except Jorah who was getting dragged along for this no matter what. Dhudus says it was a good fight and would have been boring otherwise. Jorah thinks we've had too many good fights lately and wouldn't mind some one-sided stomps, provided we're the stompers. Dhudus figures we have a lot to do, and he has more dummies to whack. Reides compliments the driftwood armor that the dummies have been adorned with since the last time he was out here. Dhudus says they drifted into the palace courtyard and he thought why not. Reides says he's glad to see Dhudus doing okay, and Dhudus thanks him for checking in. Reides mentions that he wants to check in with their mother before leaving, since he'll be dealing with court and she might have better advice than Khavas. Dhudus thinks that's a good idea. He remembers once that a lesser noble family really wanted him to meet with their daughter, even though he didn't want to. Arlyn talked to them, and they backed off immediately. Reides asks if Dhudus knows where she is. He thinks very hard on where he last saw her before realizing he simply does not know. Reides pats him on the back and thanks him for trying. Dhudus returns to stabbing viciously at one of the dummies, although he already looks kind of bored again. Jorah remarks that he needs better sparring partners. Reides thanks him for his contribution, but Jorah doesn't think he's that good. Reides says that he's probably on the same level as Viglis and Dharsus. Jorah thinks they're better at swords and he's just good at getting hit with swords. Reides accuses him of being too modest because he's extremely tough.

We find some guards who stand at attention when Reides approaches. He asks if they've seen his mother. Staying at attention and without making eye contact, they say she's in the palace gardens. Reides thanks them and the rest of the party follows him to the gardens. They're the spiritual center of the citadel. Light filters down directly from the surface, piercing the colorful flora and fauna that permeates the area. Many colors are interspersed along the walls and floor, and rocks are covered in colorful algae and sea sponges. Floating near the top of the garden, someone in a flowing shawl tends the plants up there. Reides recognizes Arlyn and swims to her. She heard he was here and gives him a big hug. Reides tells Arlyn that Jorah beat up Dhudus. Jorah swears it was really close. Arlyn says that's very impressive and they'll need to keep their eye on Jorah. Reides fills Arlyn in on the ball situation and asks if she knows anything about the Falassian court, even if it's outdated. She admits she doesn't know any specifics. She knows that nobles are nobles though. She remarks that she'd be surprised that Reides is going to something like this if she didn't know he had ulterior motives (despite Reides's protests that he's the ambassador now). Reides is just curious to know if there's anyone up there who'd want to skewer him like a fish on a stick. Arlyn offers some general court-dealing tips, which the party readily accepts. While she's not sure what kind of danger we might need to look out for, she warns us to look out for double meanings. For example, if someone says "It's nice to finally meet you," they could be being nice, but they also could be implying that you should be more available to meet. Arlyn's heard that one a few times. She says it's petty, but nobles tend to be petty. Kilwin lists out the positions of two of the suspects before Jorah stops him, since we could be being scryed on at any given moment. Ashara asks if we should switch this to a telepathic relay, but Reides would prefer to just talk to his mom and leave some of the details out. Arlyn suggests that, in any case, we keep an eye out for someone with their head above the clouds, far above their station. Everyone's going to be pompous, of course, but our mark will probably be especially so. Ashara suggests that the opposite may be true if the person has fallen from grace, remembering the fall more than flying. Arlyn agrees that this could be true and that a person in that position could also have much less to lose. Reides asks if Arlyn had any dealings with Karseidon's court, but apparently Khavas handled most of that himself. She knows that Khavas had to deal with a spellcaster, though, since Karseidon wasn't one himself and needed one to make contact. Arlyn has a few more pieces of general advices, such as not to be so nervous (directed at Kilwin), to find an excuse to leave if you ever find yourself in a compromising situation (even if it's that your hippocampus is on fire), and to avoid agreeing to anything you normally wouldn't. Arlyn says this is especially the case if alcohol is involved. Jorah tells Kilwin to make sure he pays attention to his date. Arlyn didn't realize it was that type of social engagement! Kilwin says we all have dates and elbows Jorah, which confuses everyone. Jorah points out that he's not the one who's mom is right there. Kilwin admits that he was just trying to get Jorah back and embarrass him a little but now he thinks it backfired. Arlyn asks Reides for the deets. Reides is very embarrassed but explains that he spoke to Aske a month in advance, and when Aske said he'd come if Reides wanted him there, Reides said he did want him there. So Aske is coming and he has a date! Arlyn gives a wide knowing smile. Jorah assures her that we'll look after Reides and hopefully demons won't burn the whole place down. At least we won't have to worry about any krakens (except the one). Jorah knocks on his crossbow. Arlyn assures Reides that she and Viglis and even Khavas all have faith in him, so he doesn't need to be nervous. Reides thinks Khavas could stand to show it a bit more, and Arlyn agrees. She gives him a big hug and ruffles his hair, saying "Give 'em hell, Little Storm."

Arlyn prepares to go back to gardening, but Reides has something else he wants to discuss with her privately. Jorah and Kilwin offer to step away, and Ashara wants to check out the library anyway. Arlyn suggests they don't go too far though. Although Reides points out that the guards know the surfacers in our group, Arlyn tells him that some new guards have been hired recently who might not! Ashara suggests that Reides and Arlyn could come with us and have their talk there. Arlyn agrees to come along. Reides leads the way to the library, which is now populated by scholars and sorcerers milling around and doing research. Everything has been cleaned up since we fought the aboleth here and it's been restored to its former glory. Reides and Arlyn go to the library's trident-shaped inner chambers while the rest of the party floats in the outer section.

Alone with his mother, Reides switches to Primordial and tells her how he came down here to talk to Khavas. It actually went surprisingly well, and Reides thinks Khavas seems calmer than he has in the past. Arlyn agrees that he's mellowed out. Still, when he asked permission to contact Khavas magically, he just got told to talk to Kanom instead. Reides admits he's frustrated and that, while trust is a two-way street, he can't help but feel that his father doesn't think he's worthy of his role. Although Reides knows he hasn't done much yet, he's trying really hard and doesn't want to mess this up. It's hard to even talk to Khavas! Arlyn's advice is to go to this remembrance ceremony, knock them dead, and come back to Khavas triumphant, not leaving him any choice but say Reides did a good job. Reides appreciates the sentiment, but tells Arlyn that he knows his title was her idea and she made Khavas do it. Reides has never wanted his approval before, but now he's conflicted. Arlyn is confused and asks if Khavas told him that. Reides says he did and that she shouldn't be surprised because Khavas listens to everything she says. Meanwhile, Reides feels like he and Khavas are trying to speak foreign languages to each other. Reides admits he needed to let some steam out, though. Arlyn agrees that she often gets a different translation of Khavas's words and actions, but swears she never told him to appoint Reides as ambassador. She just suggested that the position existing might be a good idea. Arlyn's a scapegoat here! She says this is all new to Khavas too and he's actually really awkward. Reides is doubtful about this, but Arlyn says that this is part of her being able to see a different side to Khavas and that Reides needs to trust her on this, even if it takes time. She says that Viglis is great down here, but she thinks Reides is the only in the family who can stand the tests of the surface. Reides just wants Khavas to talk to him in a real way, and recognizes that means he has to put effort into talking to Khavas. It's just all happening so fast! Arlyn asks if he's having trouble keeping up and suggests a two-pronged approach: They'll both work on Khavas until he's nice. Reides is glad to know that Khavas did support his new position, but Arlyn reminds him that she's still his #1 fan. Reides says he's hers too, although she points out that he has some stiff competition and isn't sure he can beat Lotlyn. Reides says he'll give her a run for it though! Reides says he'll check on his friends but thanks Arlyn for the talk. He hopes he'll have good news soon. Arlyn is sure he will!

The rest of the party is gently struggling with the fact that they don't know Primordial. Ashara looks for information on cosmic winds, needing to ask around for a scholar who speaks Common and mostly finding people who know the section for it but don't know if there's anything specific on it in the library. Eventually, she finds someone who can definitively say there's no scholarship on cosmic winds here. Kilwin looks for a random book in Common and finds a children's storybook called "Persana and the Hunter." It's the story of a sea elf who was assisted by Persana and teaches that all who respect the seas should be afforded Persana's grace. Kilwin thinks it's a nice story! Reides returns and asks how everyone's library trip went. Ashara asks if there's a language exchange programs and why some of the scholars didn't speak Common. Reides says some people here are pretty set in their ways and Primordial is the language of Persana, so that's why some people stick to it exclusively. There are classes though, and that's how Reides learned Common growing up!

We're more or less ready to go, but Reides gathers a vial of sea water first. He also grabs a sponge out of his bathroom to show Jorah. Jorah asks if it's a plant or something. Reides explains it's an animal fiber. Jorah wonders what kind of animal grows fur like that. Reides says it's useful, and Jorah can see why. Reides mentions a time when he covered Dhudus in jelly and they had to use sponges to clean him up. Reides offers the sponge to Jorah because there's plenty down here, but Jorah is okay. One side is more abrasive, as if it's for removing barnacles. Reides gets ready to draw the teleport circle when Kilwin asks what he meant about covering Dhudus in jelly. Jorah agrees that's a good question. Reides tells the full story about how, when Dhudus was about one year old, Reides covered him in jelly for fun. Dhudus loved it, but Reides got in a lot of trouble. Dharsus did not think it was funny. Reides is pretty sure Viglis did, though, even if he tried to hide it. Reides would do it again, though, if he could get Dhudus to cooperate. Kilwin says he could! Reides thinks he might need to change the jelly type, though, since Dhudus doesn't like sweet stuff as much anymore. Kilwin thinks we have learned so much about the world and each other from this sponge. Reides offers it to him, but Kilwin says Reides can keep it.

Reides draws the teleportation circle and takes us to the official nexus in Falas. There's a loud splash as a bunch of water rushes through the portal with us. Kilwin hopes they're used to weird things happening. Jorah just wants to be dry. The Falas nexus is similar in scale to the one in Atemcester, but not as grand. Reides dries everyone off with Presto Chango, as well as our immediate surroundings. He thanks everyone for coming with him, and the rest of the party thanks him for having us along. As we make our way out of the nexus, we see a number of mages going into and out of various rooms just like us. When we leave the building, we realize we're on the High Terrace, the second tallest after the Royal Terrace. We find some benches by a stone planter with a large tree growing in it. We decide we can speak semi-privately there, in the shade. Ashara suggests we all go out to a nice dinner together. Kilwin suddenly realizes he forgot to test the Cloak of Billowing underwater. While there's a river nearby, Ashara and Jorah don't think that's the best idea. Reides says we'll probably be back in Aquos soon enough. We quickly return to the point as Ashara points out that reading an etiquette book is one, but practice is another. She thinks Kain might be able to help, although Jorah's not sure he'll have time. Ashara says he stretches his work out to fill the day though. Reides offers to show us, even though he just said he doesn't know surfacer etiquette. Ashara also brings up the prospect of dancing lessons. She invites us along, although none of us are sure just how much dancing there will be. Jorah doesn't think the Kraken seems like much of a dancer anyway. Ashara suggests we meet up at 6 and she'll ask Kain for fancy restaurant recommendations in the meantime. We can wear our fancy outfits and pretend we're other people for an hour or two. Ashara also offers to pay as thanks for welcoming her to the team, even if it's a bit late. Jorah says that's not really necessary, so she removes him from the offer. Reides asks if we're planning on doing any recon before the ball, although it would have to be subtle. Kilwin suggests checking in with Kain to see if he's finished with the reports. Ashara uses Sending to let Kain know we're back and ask if it's okay to drop in. Kain responds that it's fine and he's almost done with his work for the day.

We make our way up to the Royal Terrace and meet up with Kain. Ashara gives him a big hug and says we went for a swim. Kain remarks that she smells salty! Reides and Kilwin ask about the reports, but Kain wants to keep working on them until the last possible moment. Some of them are tough to gather info on, and he wants it to be as useful as possible. Kilwin admits he's just nervous because the ball is getting closer and feels unprepared. Ashara asks Kain about fancy restaurants and he says the Brimstone Boutique on the High Terrace gets good reviews from the nobles. Jorah is afraid for his coinpurse. Kain says the cheapest meals are about 2 gold. We're used to a meal being about 3 silver! Jorah comments that he used to make that much in a whole month. Kain advises against bringing our own flask or food, since that's frowned upon. Kilwin suggests we could eat light and then meet up at the Outer Wall for real food and a debrief. The party likes the idea. Ashara also asks about dancing lessons. Kain says he could find time most days as long as he knows in advance. He offers to arrange lessons for the rest of the party too. They agree to at least come for moral support. Ashara appreciates this because the last time she danced, it went very badly. She would like a healer present! This makes Kain nervous. She explains that last time she danced, it was pre-pod and resulted in the destruction of a lot of lab equipment, including so much adamantine. Kain doesn't think that's possible, but there were apparently vials of something that could make it possible. Jorah's not sure he wants to join in on this. Ashara expresses exasperation with "round-ears," but Jorah says she can call him whatever she likes as long as he doesn't have to dance. Ashara offers to bring Kain back some cake. Reides asks if there's a general guest list for the ball. Kain says there is and we can request a specific name to be announced under. Reides asks to be announced as "Reides Laverath, Ambassador of the Depths." Kilwin asks if it's okay for him to just be "Kilwin of Cowersby" but isn't sure if that would draw negative attention. Kain says it should be fine, although Ashara suggests adding a "sir" in front. Jorah points out she can't knight him, but Reides can! He says Kilwin has a better title down there though. Jorah just wants to be "Jorah Wolfwood" and would prefer the kraken-slaying thing not come up. Ashara decides to use her last name even if it's hard to pronounce and will be announced as "Arcanist Ashara Mlezzane." We briefly discuss cover stories, although we're the Champions so we might be okay? Kain says to be prepared to answer questions about why we're there, since nobles can be really nosy. There's basically no chance we'll run into any of our marks at the Brimstone Boutique, since every group gets a private booth. While we could scry on them, Kilwin has some ethical concerns about scrying on someone he doesn't know deserves it. Kain asks if he can come along for dinner, and with the rest of the party's permission, Ashara says yes.

In the roughly three hours before dinner time, Reides wants to hit the library and see if he can learn anything about the mysterious triton hero. Kilwin offers to go along and help, since otherwise he'd sit around and get nervous about everything. He could do literally anything else! Jorah suggests panicking about how nervous he's getting. Kilwin is worried that that's not that far off. Reides reminds Kilwin of Khavas's advice. Kilwin says it's weird that Khavas was nice, but he was being nice. Reides says that Kilwin's the Deeplight and he's a badass and if anyone's rude, fuck em! Kilwin says he'll give it a try. Jorah also tags along to the library, but Ashara stays behind with Kain. At the library, Reides and Kilwin start researching while Jorah wanders around and lets out some pent-up energy, looking at books about demons he's already read. Reides realizes he might not find anything that mentions tritons by name, so he looks for accounts of heroes with fish-like features or blue skin. In the mythos section, which has a lot of books about the legendary heroes, Reides finds an interesting book called The Forgotten Hero of the Depths. It details a person from the Draconic Conflagrations with mysterious origins. He could breathe underwater and saved people trapped under ice during the Draconic Conflagrations. He was a spellcaster and used fire magic to make a hole in the ice before diving down. Unlike Lyvernia and Audha and the old Jorah, this hero wasn't noticed as much. People didn't know what to make of him and some were actually afraid of him, as they had never met anyone like him before. This author seems to have painstakingly accumulated all the information and stories they could. Reides feverishly reads through and takes his own set of painstaking notes as Kilwin watches in awe. Eventually, Reides encounters a name: Daiven. It's unclear if that's the hero's real name, but that's the best information available. He wore a violet cloak and a silver circlet with blue gems embedded in it. He worked with the other heroes in repelling the chromatic dragons to Dregonus and displayed an affinity for water and storm spells. He was also extremely tight-lipped about his origins, so there's less written about who he was than what he did. Reides is very very hype! Kilwin suggests that, now that Reides has a name to ask about, we've met some elderly people that could know more. He says Glasny isn't quite old enough ("only" 400), but Ninleyn from the Council of Elders in Malino're could know something. Jorah, having moseyed back, suggests that there could be hidden archives, possibly at the palace. Reides complains about this guy being "tight-lipped" even though he was also very tight-lipped not long ago. Reides wants to find a way to pay honor back to Daiven, though, and he doesn't think Khavas would be opposed now. He also just wants to know about his predecessor for the sake of it. Jorah admits doesn't know much about the other Jorah, since he was mostly just embarrassed about his name whenever he came up. Reides says we can research the old Jorah next time, and Kilwin throws in Audha Wyrmaxe for good measure. They realize, though, that they just have enough time to get to the Outer Wall and get ready for dinner. They all run over to the Outer Wall, with Jorah using his divine power to run faster. Kilwin is baffled. Jorah also uses it to jump up the stairs in the inn. Urli asks where the fire is! Kilwin and Reides present themselves so Urli knows they didn't drown. Urli concludes that Jorah is just showing off.

The lads all get changed into their formalwear. Jorah's outfit is simple and very green. His cloak is blue on the outside but green inside, and his shirt and pants are green to match. They're also somewhat looser than what he normally wears. His hair is back in a ponytail. He's wearing his holy symbol around his wrist and a golden acorn around his neck but is otherwise mostly unadorned. Kilwin is wearing brown pants and an orange collared shirt, more fitted than his casual clothes. He also has a white knee-length jacket with gold trim embroidery, held together by a red sash. The outfit had a capelet that he replaced with the Cloak of Billowing, and he's wearing his holy symbol as usual. Reides is wearing a puffy white shirt with black pants and a black underbust corset. He's also wearing an oversized purple coat as a cape with silver-blue trim in a wave-like pattern. The coat also has the symbol of Aquos embroidered on the back in the same color, although it's covered by his hair. Reides is also wearing the Wreath of Persana with the blue peacock feather Ashara gave him worn inside it. There's a string of pearls around his neck and he's also wearing real shoes. Kilwin admits it feels really weird to not be wearing armor. Reides feels like he's wearing too much clothes. Jorah admits he doesn't really love it either. As the party heads downstairs, Urli asks what the occasion is! We tell him it's a fancy dinner and he says to enjoy! Kilwin mentions that we'll probably be back for real food, but Urli advises splurging and then coming back and telling him about it so he can steal the recipe and sell it for cheaper.

The group makes their way to the Royal Terrace to meet up with Ashara and Kain. Ashara is forsaking her shades for the night, so she's holding onto Kain's arm for guidance while it's still light out. She's wearing a champagne-colored beaded gown with a somewhat scandalous neckline. She's also wearing a champagne-colored shawl and the necklace Kain gave her. Kain also helped rebraid her hair. He tried to match Ashara's outfit and is wearing a puffy white shirt that gets tighter at the wrists, a champagne vest, a blue sash, brown pants, and boots that come up to the knees. Everyone says everyone looks very nice! Ashara calls herself Kain's arm candy, but Kain assures her she's more than that. She says she's got a weapon on her arm, and he advises her against saying that.

The group makes their way to the Brimstone Boutique, a flat, stout building made of white stone. It has stained glass windows that let in the evening light. The interior is dimly lit and there's a podium with a young human man standing at it. There's also red velvet seats along the entranceway for people waiting for their reserved tables. Kain waves to the maitre d' and says he has a reservation for a party of five. The maitre d' takes us to a private room with a circular table and booth. Everyone filters in but makes sure that Ashara gets to sit next to Kain. Someone comes with water and wooden menus and tells us about their recommendations and the day's specials. Ashara asks for a bottle of wine for the table, but doesn't know whether to get red or white. Jorah prefers white wine, which makes the decision even though he's really fine with either. As we look over the menu, we see that the most expensive meal is 10 gold. Ashara says that's not that bad! Jorah and Kilwin say that's an incredible amount of money for a single meal. Ashara points out how much gold we all have, but Kilwin says it's weird that we have that much gold! Reides sees oysters on the menu. He's been craving them and they're "only" four gold so he decides on that. While Reides offers to pay for his, Ashara insists on paying for everyone, including Jorah. We save her life all the time, so it's fine! Kilwin and Jorah are whispering to each other in confusion. Kilwin asks if a "shrimp cocktail" has chicken in it. Jorah doesn't know! The server comes back and Reides asks if the oysters are good. They say they're the best in the imperial citadel! Kain orders a steak, while Ashara gets a salad with potatoes. Kilwin picks something at random in the low-to-mid price range because he doesn't know what half of this stuff actually is, so he gets the Falassian broil. Jorah gets the roast pork. When the waiter is gone, Kilwin asks and learns what a broil is. Ashara starts a toast to us, even though we don't really have a name. We're the Champions? Kain mentions an archaic form of "Valorian," Valoris. For example, if Reides were from Port Valor, he could call himself Reides Valoris. Everyone thinks that sounds pretty swag. The party has their first toast as the Champions Valoris! Ashara orders a bottle of red wine too. The food is fantastic and, while nothing will ever compare to Arlyn's oysters, Reides has to admit these are pretty close. Kilwin remarks that he didn't know they made food like this. Kain's steak is the worst dish and he remarks that it's not as good as he remembers, but it's still good! Ashara shares her salad with him anyway. As we eat, Kain gives etiquette advice. He admits it's a hassle, but he did have to learn it all too at one point. Falassian and Aquosian dining etiquette turn out to be quite different utensil-wise. At one point, he has to stop Reides from opening the oysters with his hands. Reides realizes that Dhudus literally warned him. Reides is curious about chocolate cake, since Aske mentioned it, but balks when he sees it's 10 gold. Ashara orders it anyway over Reides's protests. It turns out to be a whole cake, though, so that isn't so bad. Everyone gets to try it, and it's decadent.

As the night winds down, the waiter brings the bill and Ashara doesn't let anyone see it. She begins to look horrified, though, and is convinced to flash it to the rest of the party, who sees the dinner was 85 gold. The rest of the party offers to contribute. We do not know if tipping is customary or included in the bill. Kain says that tipping is more the custom in Villane and on the eastern coast. Jorah is very cynical about the waitstaff getting paid here, despite Kain's assurances that Falas has minimum wage laws. Once she realizes that this is the total cost, Ashara is back to insisting on covering the whole thing. On the subject of the ball, Kain says that Eurystheos might be able to get us out of a jam, although she'll be busy so it's best to not rely on her too much. Ashara also mentions the cloak signal. Kilwin demonstrates the Cloak of Billowing to Kain. He apparently had to enchant one of those early on in school. Jorah believes it. Ashara comments that she had to trap souls in crystals back in her day. Reides says he's just feeling the heat. Kain assures him that it'll be colder in Chillbreath, although he knows the outfits can be uncomfortable. Kilwin is too overwhelmed by the fancy restaurant experience to tell if he's joking. Reides is more worried about the weight of kingdoms, but Kain says he'll get used to it with time. Jorah assures Reides that there's a few barons he's worked for in the past that he wouldn't mind yelling at, just in case they give Reides any trouble. Kain thinks it's good that we have each other's backs, although it's not in our best interest to fight too much. Ashara asks if he could make a list of nobles who are especially nosy or annoying that we should avoid, but Kain says it would be impossible to finish before the ceremony. Reides reminds Ashara of Arlyn's advice to just say she needs to powder her nose.

The party leaves the Brimstone Boutique behind. Kain offers his arm to Ashara and tells the rest of the party that he'll be in touch when the reports are finished. He and Ashara head back to the Royal Terrace, while the rest of the party starts to go back to the Outer Wall. As soon as they round a corner, Jorah reaches into his bag and takes out the Horn of Silent Alarm to blow on. Ashara hears the horn and screams that it's happening again. Although Kain says there's no horn, Ashara insists on running, dragging him along.

Session 88

 * Google Document (5-5-23)

After their fancy dinner, everyone heads back to rest for the night. Reides thanks Urli for removing the chalk circle. There's still traces but it's not recognizable, which is all he needed! Over the next few days, Kilwin starts researching Audha Wyrmaxe for his own sake. Jorah goes to the library with him and tries to find anything on cults following Alzrius. Kilwin doesn't find deep lore about Audha, as most books about the legendary heroes here center Lyvernia. He figures he'd probably have to go to the Exeter for that. He does manage to sate his curiosity. Audha was one of the heroes that ended the Draconic Conflagrations (the official name of the period). Audha was born clanless but became known as the Wyrmaxe due to her signature weapon. Eventually, she accepted that title as her clan name. In battle, she used her inner anger to fuel her attacks. She was integral in slaying the dragon commonly known as Poison, beheading them with her namesake axe. That battle was one of turning points in the effort to drive the dragons from Lyvernus. When the Conflagrations ended, she retired and returned to the Exeter, where her newly founded clan was highly honored due to her heroics. Even today, there's still a small Wyrmaxe clan in the Exeter, although they've declined in influence since Audha wasn't particularly interested in encouraging her clanmates to leave descendents.

Jorah's search is much more difficult. He spends a lot of time looking and asking library aides for assistance. Days pass with no success until, after a week and late in the day, Jorah finds an old book that almost seems hidden away from the rest. Inside, it mentions the name of an old group in passing, the Heritors of Flame. They worshiped the everburning flame of Alzrius and opposed Alethus, considering her light heretical. Jorah puts the book back where he found it and decides to content himself with having a name. Reides sends a message to Aske telling him that he's staying at the Outer Wall if he arrives in Falas early. Aske responds that he's on the ship over, but he'll keep it in mind and might need to do some clothes shopping when he arrives too.

When he's not at the library, Kilwin finds some time to attend services at the Cathedral of Alethus. It's been a while since he's really had the chance! The sermon is about how the blessings of Alethus are all around us and include her light, which simply reveals our surroundings. Kilwin feels somewhat more in tune with Alethus. For the first time in Kilwin's experience, they open the cathedral's roof, letting natural light in like a skylight. Kilwin is very startled, since he thinks the roof is breaking, but a nearby elderly woman tells him they do this all the time. Kilwin really enjoys the effect and is impressed by the mechanism! He leaves the service feeling spiritually refreshed.

Reides takes a trip to see the Falas River. It takes him a day to get there and a day to get back, so he takes some time to check it out. It's probably the widest river he's ever seen, with a stone bridge leading across. The water is visibly darker than one would expect and filters northward toward the ocean. It doesn't seem to be polluted, though, and has a normal river smell. It's unnerving but nice! It's also more striking from an aerial view, but still a sight to behold close up. Reides sticks his arm in up to his elbow and watches as it disappears from view as he touches sediment. When he takes his arm out, it looks darker from the water, but returns to its normal skin tone when it dries off. Reides goes swimming! He waves at the passersby. However, the water is thicker than what he's used to. While he can breathe it, it's a little unpleasant, similar to humid air. Reides returns to Falas and updates the party on his findings. Kilwin is glad the river isn't dirty! Reides is glad too, since he's heard stories about rivers near big cities. He mentions not having seen a lot of people or houses around the main road though. Urli overhears the conversation and chimes in. He explains that the main port of call for Falas on the river is to the north of the main road. Generally, goods are sailed to Rivermouth and then transported by land to Villane or sailed down the Falas River to the Falas port. From there, goods are generally transported over land to Falas proper, with some destined for Blackpool afterward, since the river is difficult for larger ships to pass farther south. Reides would like our house to be by the river, although he didn't see a lot of buildings near the main road and figures the water probably isn't very potable. Kilwin would be fine with a house by the river, and Ashara suggests renovating a warehouse if we can't find a regular residence. After some discussion, the party realizes that they don't want a house so much as they want a mailbox. Jorah is instantly opposed to the party getting a house at that. He doesn't want people knowing where to send him bills! Kilwin points out he has the money to pay them now. Jorah asks why he'd do that. Kilwin says it's the right thing to do like 90% of the time! Ashara also requests that the rest of the party attend dance lessons with her and Kain the next evening. Everyone agrees with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Jorah, who hasn't actually learned about the Heritors of Flame yet, admits he could really use a break from research.

The next morning begins the month of Chillbreath. Jorah goes to visit Galnur in the morning. He knocks on the door and, as usual, dodges it as Galnur flings it open with abandon and looks around. Jorah reminds him that he asked him to come. Galnur invites Jorah inside. Quickbrand is on the table, with one side of the blade replaced with the pelagic ore. Galnur says it took him forever to get it to work like that and that Jorah can use the dwarven side for land and the pelagic side for underwater. Jorah examines the blade before wondering why Galnur is still living out here. Galnur doesn't know what he means: It's great and also cheap as hell. Jorah also says that Galnur's better at this than Fron, since he's not making him smelt the two sides of the blade himself. The sword feels a bit lighter as well, although it only seems to be a benefit underwater. With business done, Jorah tells Galnur he'll have to suffer through a ball soon and wants to do something enjoyable before that. He also happens to be flush with cash at the moment. He asks if there's anything Galnur would want, suggesting a meal or drinking magma wine. Galnur thinks for a while, making faces and pulling at his beard. In the end, all he wants is for Jorah, if he ever meets any of the Fluxtwists again, to show them the new Quickbrand and tell them Galnur doesn't need them. He adds an additional request, though, telling Jorah to get out of his house. Jorah obliges. Before Galnur closes the door on him, he stops and calmly tells him to press the button on Quickbrand's pommel if he wants a good time. He then closes the door. Jorah stands there for a bit, absolutely befuddled. There is, in fact, a new-looking button on Quickbrand's pommel. He calls out to Galnur, but receives no response. Eventually, he gathers himself long enough to quietly slip a platinum piece under the door. As Galnur yells that he heard that, Jorah calmly walks away.

Back at the Outer Wall, Jorah gathers his friends and warns Urli that he's about to pull out a sword. Urli asks why! Jorah says he had it worked on and wanted to show it to his friends. Urli says that's fine but asks him to do it behind a wooden divider in the corner so he doesn't scare the other customers. Jorah insists that such a fine and noble weapon deserves to be shown off! Reides teases Jorah for being such a paladin. Jorah moves the gathering into one of the party's rooms without further argument though. When he takes out the blade, Reides stares at it and lightly touches the pelagic side. He asks why Jorah didn't tell him about this and calls the new Quickbrand amazing. Jorah says he didn't know it would work. Reides is still in awe of the blade, as if he's seeing a piece of home where he didn't expect it. Jorah also shares the mystery of the button and admits he doesn't want to press it without a healer present. Kilwin asks if he'd rather have him in the room or just outside the door. Jorah was thinking of just heading outside the city to avoid possibly setting any fires, although he doesn't think Galnur would try to blow him up. He's just not sure how quick response to a fire would be around the wall, especially by Galnur's place. The group agrees to head out, although Reides and Kilwin agree that the button probably doesn't do anything like that. They both suggest that it'll make something light up. Outside Falas, Jorah presses the button. The runes that spell Galnur's name begin to glow blue-green as the pelagic part of the blade is pushed out. Quickbrand begins to split into two shortswords, with different sets of runes. The dwarven blade reads "Quickbrand," while the pelagic blade reads "Seabrand." Both shortswords carry Quickbrand's level of enchantment. Everyone is extremely impressed! Reides says he has a good feeling about Jorah carrying a pelagic blade. Jorah puts the swords back together into Big Quickbrand.

That night, the whole party shows up for dance lessons. Kain and Ashara have been practicing together for a while at this point. Kilwin is just here to watch and hang out! He nervously hangs to the side. Reides wants to dance, so Jorah volunteers to be his partner. They're not the world's best dancers, but they're fairly in sync with each other and manage not to step on each other's toes. While Ashara and Kain have the moves down pat, Kain does accidentally scuff her shoe and apologizes profusely. Ashara is deeply upset about her cool boots. She says if she didn't love him so much, she'd throw him in the hell dimension for that. Hell dimension aside, he says he's very lucky she loves him! He offers to fix it later! Ashara accepts but is still upset about her shoe. Reides remarks that underwater formal dancing tends to be more flowy and also uses vertical space a lot more. Jorah has a hard time picturing Reides at a formal ball. Reides says he snuck out of a lot of them, but couldn't get out of everything. Jorah has a much easier time picturing that. After the dance instructor is gone, Kain asks the party to meet him at his desk tomorrow at whatever time works for them. He has something for us! Ashara says she was planning to surprise Kilwin with a trip to the bakery for croissants but can work around that, especially since it's technically not a surprise anymore. We decide that morning works best so we have plenty of time to process things. Kain teasingly tells Ashara not to be late. Before the group splits up, Ashara invites Kilwin to dance with her. He nervously agrees. She asks who he expects to lead between him and Grinlief and he admits he's not sure since neither of them know how to dance. Jorah suggests that Grinlief would lead. Ashara says there's no harm in learning both parts but this time she leads and Kilwin follows. Kilwin scuffs her shoe again and they stop the dance for a full minute while Kilwin casts Mending. Kain gives Ashara A Look. At the end of the dance, Ashara says that Kilwin wasn't bad and was also not completely stationary, so he should be fine. She thinks he'll probably do better than Grinlief. Kilwin doesn't think she should assume that! He did say he couldn't dance, but Kilwin suggests that he might have been being modest for one single time in his life. Jorah says it's possible, and Reides agrees. Jorah says maybe Aquos could also fly, which gets a chuckle out of Reides. Reides isn't sure if Aske knows how to dance, but the two of them are very in sync generally so they'll probably be okay. Jorah suspects that the Kraken is a better dancer than he is. Ashara agrees that Jorah is gonna get dipped on the floor. Reides asks if it's okay to use Mage Armor at the function. While the wards wouldn't prevent it from being cast, it would cause complications that Kain would prefer to discuss in detail in a more secure location. The shimmer would also be fairly noticeable to the prominent mage guests. Kilwin expresses interest in followup dance lessons, and Ashara promises to keep everyone in the loop about when they're happening.

The next morning, Ashara is already by Kain's desk when the rest of the party files in. Kain is seated, clasping his fingers and resting his head on the desk. Kain's gathered all the details he could: who had the most opportunity to get Karseidon alone for an attack, who had the most to gain, who had the most to lose, and something else that will have to wait until the end. We'll see why!

The first report is on Horus Fornathrius. As chancellor, he had quite a bit of power to gain through the loss of a more established monarch. He consolidated a fair bit of power in the wake of Karseidon's death and, as chancellor, would have had a number of opportunities to meet with the emperor privately. He was quite solemn at Karseidon's funeral. Kain stops to ask if we have any questions. Reides asks if Fornathrius and Karseidon were friendly or if their relationship was strictly business. Kain says he wouldn't call them friendly. Fornathrius was old even then, compared to middle-aged Karseidon, and they didn't have much common ground outside of work. Jorah asks if Karseidon was the one who appointed Fornathrius. Kain explains that, while the emperor has the final say on such appointments, the chancellor is actually elected by the Falassian council that works underneath them. This council includes the Minister of War. The chancellor has the most direct contact with the emperor, but can be overruled by them at any time. Kain admits there could have been bad blood at the end if Karseidon overruled anything Fornathrius was really pushing for, but he's not aware of anything like that.

The next suspect is Keld Norre, a middle-aged half-elf with long black hair and a prominent widow's peak. He had the most to gain from Karseidon's death as he was able to consolidate power due to Eurystheos's weakness in her early reign. He had the least opportunity to get Karseidon alone, though, as they really only met at council meetings. He seemed quite angry at the funeral, although Kain's not sure why. He and Eurystheos were still quite shell-shocked from the whole thing. Reides asks if he's hot-headed in general, but Kain says Keld is usually pretty even-tempered. Jorah asks how he got his position. Kain explains that council members are elected by the people directly and candidates campaign for the seat. Most of the campaigning takes place in Falas proper, since that's where most of the people live. Prior to campaigning, Keld had his own set of accolades. He had served in the Falassian Army for some years. Before Eurytheos was born and when Kain was about 5, there was a skirmish with Villane where Keld became known as the Demon of Twin Gods Pass. While the rest of his unit perished, Keld managed to stave off the entire attack by himself. After that, Villane gave up their ambitions for territorial expansion. Jorah thinks he's heard about that. Reides asks if it's something widely discussed and if there's songs about it. While there are some songs, Keld tends not to be very forthcoming about the details of what happened. Kilwin points out that we are looking for someone demon-connected and, title aside, that sounds kind of suspicious. Reides agrees he could have tapped into something.

The next suspect is Diol Wyrmspine, a middle-aged scarlet tiefling. The dishonor of losing Karseidon weighs heavily on her reputation, although she retained her position due to financial considerations, as Karseidon's coffers were burned through quickly after his death. She was appointed more directly by the emperor. As the captain of the imperial guard, she had many opportunities to set Karseidon up. Jorah asks if she was the one investigating the assassination. Kain explains she was and wasn't able to find anything. Admittedly, she was in a good position to cover her tracks if applicable. Jorah doesn't think a blow to reputation matters that much if you have other motives. Diol seemed out of it at the funeral, not entirely mentally there. She also has some war stories of her own, including some skirmishes of Villane. However, she made her reputation in the annexation of Quadroad, pushed for by Fornathrius, some 30 years ago. At the time, Quadroad was part of the Western Elfgroves. Diol's victory in that battle led to her appointment as the Captain of the Drakeguard. Kilwin had occasionally heard people talk about how much harder it was to ship goods when Quadroad was owned by the elves, but hadn't really made any connection there. The town's connection to the Elfgroves is also responsible for the increased amount of Cysebelle worship there. Karseidon wasn't wholly dedicated to his work and was generally quite personable. He was always walking through Falas and taking trips throughout the empire to meet as many of his subjects as he could. This naturally made a lot of trouble for Diol, but the position was a great opportunity for her. Karseidon didn't seem strongly connected to his guard and, while he and Diol talked sometimes, Kain's under the impression that it was pretty much just small talk.

Next is Damien Wright, a middle-aged earth genasi. Kain comments that all of the suspects are middle-aged except Fornathrius. They have literal onyx skin and white crystal hair. Easy to pick them out of a crowd! As we can figure from Kain's relationship with Eurystheos, the Imperial Mageguard works very closely with the emperor, so Damien had many opportunities to set up Karseidon. They lost the most in the fallout, though. They were completely replaced in their job and disgraced. The Imperial Mageguard is the emperor's last line of defense, even above the Drakeguard, and their failure was seen as unforgivable. After Karseidon's death, Damien became disillusioned with the empire and left for a few years. They returned about four years ago and established themself as something of an ambassador to Atemcester due to their magical prowess. They seemed afraid at the funeral, although it could have been either the possibility of being discovered or just the impending consequences of their failure. Kilwin asks if they have a connection to any specific seat on the Circle of Eight, but Kain has no idea. Apparently, their recent activities were pretty difficult to find information on. He knows they studied in Arc-Delia though, and you have to be extremely talented to be accepted there when you're not a high elf. Reides asks if they've been accepted back into the court, but Kain says they're pretty much tolerated. Reides says oof. Kain admits he's not sure why Damien ever came back.

The last listed suspect is Jorlief Dartson, who met with Karseidon numerous times to discuss funding for various projects. Given his contributions, he could have secured an audience with Karseidon pretty much whenever he wanted. He's very financially savvy and profited off the turmoil after Karseidon's death, although he seemed generally sorrowful at the funeral. Jorah asks what he looks like. Jorlief's hair is graying to white and he usually wears it tied back in a ponytail. He wears small round glasses and has a trim white goatee. He has a posh upper class accent. Reides asks if he's a more snobby kind of posh or flamboyant. Apparently, he's actually quite stern and strict. Knowing his son, none of us really saw that coming. Reides speculates that he might have a soft spot for Grinlief though. Kilwin certainly hopes so! It's been a while since Grinlief's been in Falas, though, and Kain doesn't really know what their relationship is like. Reides asks what causes Jorlief has supported. Kain has a list including repairs for the outer wall, funding to St. Vashreen's Law Academy, investment in most shops on the Market Terrace, as well as a number of smaller projects, such as the commission of all of the Drakeguard's current armor. Apparently, the list goes on and we could be here all day. We get the idea though! Jorlief also owns a decent-sized mansion on the High Terrace. Kilwin asks if Kain knows how Jorlief originally got his money. Kain says he was born into wealth and you'd have to research the family history to know more.

Kain explains that all of these suspects were in town at the time of Karseidon's death and, given the nature of how he was killed, would just have to set up a private meeting with him to arrange it. Any of them would easily be allowed into the palace, although Karseidon had no known plans to meet with anyone that day. Kain also has one last thing to show us. We need to know the full facts of the night of Karseidon's death. Kain doesn't know all the details, since he wasn't there, but Eurystheos was. It's hard to ask her to recount it, though, all things considered. Kain did magically preserve her memory of it, in case it ever needed to be revisited. He takes a dusty spellbook from under his desk, as this isn't a spell he needs to use very often. Kain casts the spell and pulls a golden strand of light from his mind, which floats above the desk. Kilwin confirms that Eurystheos knows we're doing this. Kain directs us to put our hands on the strand and warns that what we're about to see is quite gruesome. He casts again, circling his hands around the strand and our hands, causing the party's vision to fade into blackness. When our eyes open, most of us feel smaller and we realize we're seeing through the eyes of a teenage Eury. We're in the Falassian royal gardens, where a thunderstorm is raging. The view turns to a broken window. Eury's arms turn away as she begins looking into the rain, covering her face to try to keep the water out. She runs into the gardens, where the flowers are wilting under the force of the rain, making loud splashes as she runs. She stops cold at the sight of a body, face down in a bed of Falassian tulips with a still-bleeding wound in his back. The blood mixes with the rain water and seeps into the flowers. Eury kneels into the mud and we feel a sense of despair and hear a wail, although none of us are sure if it's the wind or coming from us as Eury. Then we notice a bit of white cloth with a rose embroidered into it, lying on Karseidon's back. Our vision goes back and we're back at Kain's desk.

Everyone seems a bit shaken. Kain explains that he had to keep that memory in mind for years just in case anything like this ever happened. Reides asks about the cloth. Kain explains that it's not Karseidon's and it's probably a calling card from one of the Pale Cloaks, the assassins' guild from Seaton. The rose embroidery was specifically used by an assassin known as the Pale Rose. The Pale Rose was once the leader of the Pale Cloaks, but seemed to have retired as they hadn't made any kills in 20 years. When Karseidon was assassinated, the leader was the Pale Shadow, who still leads the organization today. Kain's not sure why the Pale Rose would return for this one kill, although their calling card could have been faked. It would have to be someone outside the guild, though, as the Pale Cloaks have strict rules against impersonating each other. Kain also thinks it would be hard to find a matching design, and the cloth left with Karseidon's body matched the real thing to the exact stitch. Kilwin asks if any of the suspects has special ties to Seaton, although they've all done business there, either in support of Karseidon or on their own. Kain also doesn't think they'd need to go to Seaton to arrange this, as the Pale Cloaks have liaisons all over. He also confirms that Eurystheos was the one who reported the body to the Drakeguard, so she seems to have been the first to have found it. It's also hard to say how the positioning of the broken window might have played into the attack, but it would have allowed the assailant to climb through. The investigation turned up very little and it's still a mystery how the assailant escaped the palace. Guards were posted at the front door, and the wards would have dispelled any illusion magic hiding an escapee on the way out. The rain also would have made it hard to scale the walls. While someone could have been invisible inside the palace, it would have ended as soon as they crossed the threshold to leave. Kilwin asks if any of the suspects lived at the palace, like Kain currently does. Kain says that Damien resided in his current chambers at the time, but the wards end at the threshold. Kain turns invisible and demonstrates, becoming visible as soon as he steps into the hallway. Kilwin says that if the door wasn't being watched, that might not be much of a problem though. Reides asks about relations between Falas and Atemcester. Kain says it's good enough, although there's complaints that Atemcestari exports are too pricey. It's possible that someone could have something to gain by unsettling those relations though. Kilwin wonders if Damien isn't too disconnected from the court to be able to serve as a current contact for the Burning Knight there, but they've been back long enough that that's not necessarily true.

Jorah, who's been taking notes this whole time, rips off the bottom bit of the page and turns it around for us to see. It's a good summary of the information we've received. Jorah's notes point out that Fornathrius's involvement could implicate the entire Falassian council and that Jorlief has a direct connection to the Drakeguard. There are two things crossed out: a note stating that Jorlief was unlikely to be capable of the murder considering his son, and "Empe" written at the bottom. Kain confirms that the plan is less to figure it out now than to goad one of these people into making a mistake and revealing themself. We're not sure we're up to this but we're gonna try! Ashara asks who Kain suspects. Kain admits he's been thinking it over for the past ten years and he's still not sure, but Keld Norre doesn't sit right with him. Reides asks about Damien's connection to Aquos, but Kain thinks it's unlikely that they know anything about it. Someone had to return the Crest and, while Kain supposes Damien could have had a hand in it, he doesn't know the details. If there was a mage involved, it would have been Damien, but Kain suggests that Karseidon might have sailed out there himself. Kilwin asks more about the relations between the Falassian Empire and Villane. Apparently, after the battle in Twin Gods Pass, Villane wasn't sure their forces could stand up to Falas and surrendered. Eventually, the Falassian council selected and chose a new duke for Villane, a halfling named Errol Mountainfall who continues to rule. Kilwin is confused since Villane isn't part of the empire, but Kain explains that it was a vassal state for a while. However, Karseidon ended that arrangement since he disapproved of the council essentially installing a dictator. During Duke Errol's rule, the Empire has been able to trade freely with the Duchy of Villane, although sailors aren't allowed to step far out of port. When they stop at Cemouth or Northrune, they drop off goods, get paid, and get out. Karseidon stopped the council's efforts at expansionism. Keld's appointment to the council was after that. There was also a skirmish with Seaton five years ago, during Eurystheos's rule but pushed for by Keld Norre (with support from Fornathrius). The Falassian Empire wrested control of Blackpool away from Seaton. The main goal was better control over the Falas River. Eurystheos was opposed to it, but was inexperienced and didn't know how to handle it. Without Karseidon's intervention, Cemouth and Northrune would likely also be part of the Empire. Kain suspects that Fornathrius doesn't bear much love for Villane. The conflicts over Quadroad, Villane, and Blackpool are the wars that the Falassian Empire has been involved with in the past thirty years: The five years since Blackpool have been peaceful and Eurystheos vetoes any attempts at expanding the Empire coming from the council. We note that the Pale Cloaks are based in Seaton. We also note that we're going to need some time to process this.

Reides asks how we're supposed to socially approach literally any of these people. Kain points out that since Reides is also being introduced as an ambassador, it may be easy for him to approach Damien due to their similar jobs. Kilwin admittedly has a good in with Jorlief, and Jorah points out that walking around with a well-known philanthropist's son on his arm might open conversation with some of the others too. Kain admits he doesn't know Keld very well, but is under the impression that he's really into armor and armor upkeep. Kilwin supposes they technically have that in common. Kain knows Diol a bit better and knows that alcohol is a good topic of conversation with her. He wishes us luck with approaching Fornathrius. He has no soft spot to be found. He was born into a high household and has no family, no close relationships, no heirs. Fornathrius relaxes in the gardens sometimes, so we might be able to approach him with that, but Kain asks us not to quote him on that. Kilwin notes that Grinlief would love to be involved with all this but we can't tell him, at least not first. The rest of the party is pretty sure that Grinlief would blow our cover immediately, whether he intended to or not! Kilwin thinks we might be able to bring him in if he knows it's meant to be secret, although we'd have to rule out Jorlief as a suspect first. Reides clears casting Mage Armor if he needs to with Kain, although Kain declines Kilwin's offer to meet with Eurystheos to cast a protective spell on her. Kain promises he's very good! Reides says it wouldn't be a bad idea to have an extra layer of protection, but Kain says that casting any spells on her wouldn't affect her anyway with what he's devised. While we can cast Sending to each other within the barrier, Kain advises against it since we'd create a lot of alarm by casting in front of people. Reides suggests we establish a safeword like seaweed to use if we're in trouble. He also says he'll kill someone if anyone hurts Aske! Asked about the venue, Kain says the ceremony will be held in the Sunshaft Ballroom, which is designed to let natural light in. While the Pale Rose's involvement is a mystery, Jorah suggests that it might have just been a job for them. That's about all Kain has for us and this might be the last chance we really get to talk to him before the event. Jorah mentions what he's discovered about the Heritors of Flame. Ashara says she'll stay at the inn from now on, so that she won't get in the way or distract Kain. Absence makes the heart grow fonder too! She promises to visit often. Kain says she'll have to meet him in the hallways while he's eating but doesn't try to stop her. He takes a deep breath and clenches his fist before saying that he doesn't say this kind of thing very often: "Let's get this motherfucker." He excuses himself, though, as he's late for about three different appointments now. He'll see us around though! As the party leaves the room, Ashara telepathically tells everyone individually to take an indirect route back to the Outer Wall so we're not followed. Outside the palace, Kilwin says he's going to take a bit of a walk before heading back, but Ashara says he needs to get croissants with her. She offers to pay, but he says she doesn't need to and, after Ashara inspects her coin purse, covers it instead. Jorah heads to the Temple of the Nameless God to pray for a while. Even when people are there, it feels empty. Reides actually does take a walk.

The party meets up at the Outer Wall in the evening. We say hi to Urli! He remarks that Ashara being with us is a sight. She asks if she's a sight for sore eyes, but Urli is worried her boyfriend might kill him if he says that. She's worried about that too! Ashara asks if she can start a tab like her friends. Urli jokingly asks why the rest of the party hasn't been paying him and takes a hammer out from behind the bar. He promises he's kidding, but now we know the hammer's there! Urli couldn't hurt a fly though. Reides and Kilwin are skeptical about that claim, although they don't think Urli would hurt a person. Urli says he simply naturally repels flies, so he doesn't have to! They know not to mess with him! Reides asks Urli if he could do him a favor and possibly direct any handsome half-elf men asking about him to his room. His boyfriend is coming to Falas! Urli asks Reides to write a description of him and Reides writes a very flowery and gushy description of Aske. Urli asks if he really had to dot the i's with hearts. Reides says yes! He also tells Urli to stay away because Aske is his. Urli makes no promises! Kilwin asks if Urli could help him out with something similar, although he clarifies that Grinlief isn't really his boyfriend and might not stop by the Outer Wall at all. Urli gives the paper to Kilwin, who writes a description that's clearly filtered through romantic affection. Urli asks if we'd like some drinks and receives a resounding yes. Ashara asks if we can take the drinks to our rooms, and Urli says it's fine as long as we don't spill anything. Reides points out he can clean it up if we do! Urli offers him a dishwashing gig if the adventuring thing doesn't work out. Ashara asks if he hires people with criminal records, and he says it depends on the crime. Urli asks who wants ale and who wants to spend more. Reides gets red wine despite Urli not being especially enthusiastic about the label. He receives a whole pitcher! Kilwin orders ale, promising to spend more another time, so Urli sets out the gallon for us. Jorah buys two shots of firewhiskey, downing one immediately and nursing the second one. Reides is impressed with the wine! It's a regular Falassian red, apparently. Reides notes it's not as good as rip currant though. Urli says he's making things up now, but Reides explains it's a fish thing. He offers to bring some to Urli sometime, but Urli says to be careful because he might want Reides to start importing it for him then. Reides thinks that could be fun though! Now that Urli is suddenly on boyfriend duty, he asks what's up with the boyfriends. He seems a bit surprised that we're going to the remembrance ceremony. He notes that Jorah doesn't have a date, but Kilwin points out that Urli was there when he was being set up with one, although he was really hungover at the time. Urli admits that's why he usually doesn't drink on the job. He notes that we're really filling up his establishment then!

We take our drinks to one of our rooms, where Ashara casts Telepathic Bond on the group. Ashara says she saw what Jorah wrote on the bottom of the page. Jorah didn't bring that up for a reason though. If it's true, there's nothing we can do until the knife is already in our backs. Kilwin and Reides are very confused. Ashara and Jorah reveal that they're discussing the possibility that Eurystheos and Kain are behind Karseidon's death. The other two are baffled. Jorah points out that they both gained the most from Karseidon's death, removing their respective predecessors in the process. Reides doesn't think Eurystheos wanted her position and her "benefitting" is just how dynasties work. Jorah says we only have Eurystheos's word on her desire for the throne. Reides does think that Kain is suspicious though and might be jealous. Jorah points out that he's the Imperial Mageguard, but Reides thinks Kain might have wanted the throne instead, having been raised as Karseidon's son. Ashara thinks memories are malleable and that what we saw could have been magically manipulated, especially since the two of them knew it would be used. Kilwin points out that Eurystheos was only 15, but Jorah says she was already 15. Reides really doesn't think Eury could be involved but does agree that Kain is suspicious. Ashara says she loves him to death, but she worries that the death part could come sooner than she'd like. She moved to the inn because she couldn't sleep with someone she thought might be involved in this. Kilwin points out that the last Crest, owned by the Heritors, is located in Villane, which could be connected to the puppet government installed by the Falassian council and implicate someone there. It could be unrelated though. Reides is worried about Laverathia, since he knows from his parents that there was a mage involved in contacting them. Damien definitely knows about Aquos and possibly its location! Kilwin asks why the Blade of Lyvernia is still in Falas if Eurystheos and Kain are behind everything. We saw it on the Crest map and they would've had every opportunity to just turn it over before now. Reides agrees and intends to defend Eurystheos as hard as he can. He does admit that there could be a conspiracy between multiple people, but doesn't think she would ever have anything to do with it. Jorah thinks that Eurystheos probably didn't know her father was going to die, assuming the memory was accurate, but was otherwise in on it. If it's true, though, we'll just have to flee Falas, so he doesn't think it's worth truly investigating. He has suspected Kain for a while though. Ashara asks why Reides didn't share that with her, but he points out that that's her boyfriend and he didn't want to stick his nose in! Ashara's not sure what to think and asks Kilwin to consult Alethus, but he feels that this is something she'd want us to solve through our own efforts. Jorah says that Julia always said that if you live every day like you have a knife at your back, you won't really live at all. Ashara did that and doesn't really feel like she lived since she slept in a pod instead. She wonders how to investigate Kain and Eurystheos. Reides points out that Ashara is the one best positioned to investigate Kain. He didn't like that Kain didn't let Kilwin help protect Eury, which Kilwin reluctantly agrees was weird. Reides also felt uncomfortable being directed to bring concerns to Kain instead of being about to speak directly with Eury. Reides admits that his offer of assistance to Eury puts him in a good position to feel her out, but he doesn't want to take advantage of that because it was a genuine offer. Jorah, rapidly getting drunk, asks what the difference is. Kilwin asks if he is okay. Ashara decides to run recon on Kain. She asks Reides to help her roleplay not being suspicious, but he's not really comfortable doing that. The two mages both recognize the spell Kain used to show us Eury's memory as Encode Thoughts. Ashara also knows that he would need to use a spell like Modify Memory first if he wanted to present something false, as well as some of Modify Memory's limitations.

As Reides suggests that he could probably just be usual inquisitive triton self at the ball, Jorah mentions that he has a secret new spell to show off. He takes his new golden acorn and summons a bestial spirit of the air, which takes the form of a spectral owl. It perches on Jorah's shoulder and scans the room before preening. Reides is amazed! While he can touch it and feel its feathers, it's also clearly not of this plane. As Reides pets him, the new owl looks at him warily. The new owl looks much fiercer than Pepega, who is simply a baby. Kilwin asks if the owl has a name. Reides insists that Jorah give it one. Jorah doesn't want to, since he's one of a thousand spirits he can probably summon. The owl is just one of the locals and they'll probably never see it again after tonight! Reides gently smacks Jorah and tells him to name the owl. The owl spreads its wings, prepared to defend Jorah if he's whacked again. Jorah asks if the owl has a name and receives no response. He tries again after casting Speak With Animals. The owl says "No name." Jorah asks if he wants one. The owl says "Fine." Jorah tries to think of a good one, but it's not easy. He rejects the name Firewhiskey before deciding that this owl is a hunter, so his name will be Atl Atl. Atl Atl accepts his new name. Pepega and Atl Atl are formally introduced to each other. She perches on Reides's shoulder and strikes a pose. Atl Atl stares at her for a moment before squawking. They're friends! Ashara realizes she has a way to ascertain Kain's involvement: She can read his thoughts. She plans to ask his permission as she's sure he won't object to some basic questions if he's not involved. The rest of the party doesn't oppose this, but tell her it's her relationship so it's her decision. Jorah asks what Atl Atl thinks. Atl Atl says "No opinion." Reides notes that Jorah is very drunk and offers to walk him back to their shared room. He notes that they'll have to separate once Aske is in town. Jorah says it's fine and he doesn't mind being in the room while Reides and Aske do what they gotta do! Reides notes that Jorah is extremely drunk and needs to go to bed immediately. As he leaves, he tells Ashara to be careful. He doesn't doubt that Kain loves her, but desperation can make a monster out of anyone.

The next day, Reides tries to brainstorm some icebreakers. Kilwin asks him to pass on anything more general he can think of, and Reides says he will, although he's mostly thinking of his own situation. Kilwin's not really sure how to organically bring up the topic of armor with Keld, although complimenting the pauldron might be the play. Reides says armor guys simply love talking about armor, so it'll probably work. Kilwin mentions that he might need to let something slip about the Plate of the Ancestors to test Keld's reaction, and we might need to let some slip in general to lure the culprit out. Ashara has a dilemma about her plan to read Kain's mind. Reides and Kilwin both tell her that it's her call, while Jorah is actively opposed to mind-reading in general. After doing some coin flipping and not liking the answer, Ashara decides to go through with it, although she respects Kain too much to do it without his permission. She plans to be transparent about her suspicions and let him say no if he wants, even though she realizes this might be hurtful to him. She asks Kilwin to come with her. He agrees and decides to take a walk around the Royal Terrace, keeping an ear out. Jorah and Reides stay at the Outer Wall as humanly (and tritonly) far away from this as possible. Reides gets a fish sandwich, fulfilling one of his personal side quests.

Ashara uses Sending to ask Kain if he's free, and he confirms that they can meet during his lunch walk. They'll have to walk and talk while he eats, though! Ashara enters the palace's main hall and sees Kain eating a sandwich. A third of the sandwich is gone and his mouth is full. He gives Ashara a little wave. Ashara, very nervous, asks what flavor it is. Kain admits he's not sure, since he grabbed it in a hurry and didn't check. Kain suggests they walk together and Ashara is about to let him lead the way before Kain questions why she's not walking alongside him. Ashara starts nervously rambling asking about the ball, asking if Kain is still okay with the champagne color palette. He's fine with it! He questions if that's really what Ashara wanted to talk about, and Ashara is about to say that's all. Instead, she decides she needs to get this out. She assures Kain that she loves him but after what her friends experienced with Slumberjack and everything with the suspect list, she's been having some thoughts. Kain is alarmed and asks if that's why Ashara moved to the inn and if Ashara is breaking up with him. She asks if she should. Kain is absolutely blindsided. She says she needs to know if he's on our side. He assures her he is. She asks if he's keeping anything from us, but he isn't sure what he'd be keeping. Kain is very confused, but Ashara says she doesn't know who's on the demon's side at this point. She explains that she respects him too much to poke around in his brain without his permission, though, and if he doesn't let her, she'll just take his word for it. Kain says that he's of course not on the demon's side and asks where this is coming from. Ashara explains that she thinks the culprit is someone not on the suspect list. Kain admits that that's a possibility, but anything could be possible. Ashara then asks if Kain thinks Eury could be the culprit. Kain is genuinely shocked and asks if Ashara is well. He's not sure what's gotten into her but assures her that he would never do something like that and neither would Eury. He points out that he was nowhere near Falas at the time of the assassination. He respects Ashara wanting to cover her bases and trusts her, but promises she has nothing to fear from either of them. He also says that if he was working with the demons, he'd be long gone with the Crest by now. Ashara doesn't think he would as it would be part of a plan to gather all six of the Crests in one place and have the party do the legwork. She expresses anxiety about what will happen once we get all the Crests and that we might be playing into the Burning Knight's hand. Kain does agree that someone could strike while everyone is together and the ball could be both the safest and most dangerous place. On the other hand, Kain wants to put an end to this and the thought that six Port Valors could happen terrifies him. Ashara asks that if Kain stabs her in the back that he at least do it nicely. Kain, sandwich going uneaten, remarks that this hasn't been easy on any of us. He reminds her that he fought the gorgon to try to get the materials for her stasis pods. She calls him handsome and heroic for that. They say that they love each other, although Ashara figures she should probably stay at the inn to give him some space and not sour things further between them. She thinks he might need some time to decide if he wants to break up with her. Kain admits it's a possibility. He doesn't want to force her to stay if she has those suspicions about him either, and admits he wouldn't want to share a bed with that person either. He pulls out a pocket watch and says he's going to be late for a meeting. He hopes he assuaged some of her worries. She promises he did and says she'll hopefully see him around. He says he'll see her around. Before he goes, Ashara asks him to let her down easy if he does break up with her, since she's not used to this. Kain holds her gaze for a moment before saying "Right" and turning away, striding away less confidently than before.

Ashara finds Kilwin out on the Royal Terrace and immediately begins to cry. He doesn't have a handkerchief, so he lets her cry into his blanket instead. She tells him she might not have a date to the ball. Kilwin desperately tries to think of something reassuring to say and gets as far as "I mean" several times. He does point out that she has other dresses to wear to the ball if she doesn't want to match with Kain anymore, but Ashara intended those to be regular dresses and not a breakup wardrobe. Kilwin also suggests that, with some time, there's plenty of other people in the world! Ashara doesn't want other people though, she wants Kain now that she knows he's good. She wonders if she should give him an apology gift, but Kilwin advises giving Kain at least a few days of space. He admittedly doesn't know how breakups or potential breakups work, but neither does Ashara. On the bright(?) side, Ashara is absolutely sure Kain isn't involved with Karseidon's death, but says she deserves it if he is. Kilwin asks if she wants to stop at a bakery for a consolation treat on the way back to the Outer Wall, but Ashara says she'll probably start crying on the spot if she sees bread. Kilwin offers to shield her vision if they walk past any bread sellers and they make their way back to the rest of the group.

Arriving at the Outer Wall, Ashara immediately sees Reides eating a sandwich and starts crying again. Reides asks what happened and Kilwin explains that the results were good but it went very badly. Ashara asks Reides to put the sandwich away, so he stuffs the rest of it into his mouth. Ashara says that it's not Kain but she might not have a date to the ball. Reides asks if he broke up with her and she says he hasn't yet. Reides thinks that's a good sign and that it's understandable that Kain might be offended and need space. Ashara also notes that Kain did say he loved her, and Reides says he might come around after he's had time to think about everything. Reides thinks that this is a wizard suggestion, but an apology note might go a long way. That way, he'd be able to read it on his own time and think it over. Ashara realizes that she still knows the teleportation circle for Kain's bedroom. Kilwin suggests delivering the letter normal style instead. Ashara also reveals that she brought up her suspicions about Eury. Reides says "Oh Gods." Ashara figures that Jorah should be filled in on the situation too. She then spots him across the bar, staring at the rest of the party in absolute horror. Reides tells Ashara he's glad she didn't do the mind thing and glad that she was always planning to ask him first. He assures her that she'll be fine. Kain is busy and overwhelmed right now and things will be okay. He offers Pepega for hugging, which Ashara gladly accepts. Pepega snuggles against her as she gently hugs her.