Act III, Chapter Thirty Two: "No Rest for the Wizard" (2023/03/18)

The Ashen Company explores the empty house. The dust indicates it hasn't been occupied for months, and that the fiends had likely only just appeared. Speaking of fiends, their bodies have dissolved into ash. Flynn collects some in a potion bottle (25 gp of Divine Material, hell yeah). A search of the upstairs reveals a few bedrooms (it seems a family might have lived here, as there are kid rooms too) and an office. The contents of the office link the residence to one Taeren Manifesta, whose name rings no bells. We wonder what the point of the attack was and about Sarni's link to it. Surely anyone targeting the Ashen Company would know that a Fireball wouldn't kill them. And Sarni led us to this house - is he in league with the fiends? He managed to slip through them without being attacked. Curious.

Without additional leads, the party decides to head back to the scene of the crime to debrief. When we arrive, only Rhone and few syndicate personnel are present. We tell Rhone about the failed chase to apprehend Sarni and the den of fiends we found in the home of Taeren Manifesta. Rhone doesn't know Manifesta, but notes down everything to relay to Remmi later. Null shifts into both of Sarni's forms to show Rhone exactly what to be on the lookout for. This freaks out some syndicate guards a little bit and Null notices. She adds their faces to her rotation just to be a little petty. Having now checked in, the Ashen Company begins to get a little shifty about their villa. What if this was an effort to lead them away from their home? Better check up on things. Berrik volunteers to teleport us there, as time may be of the essence. It's so convenient that Berrik has this new ability! Off we go to our villa...

Except it's not our villa?! The Ashen Company find themselves in the hall of an unfamiliar manor. A minotaur in a fancy red doublet is putting up party decorations and is confused by the sudden presence of these well-armed intruders. He introduces himself as Sindrik Olivese (sp?) and his long list of titles indicates that we are in Portas. Lotty looks anxious. Flynn comes up with a story on the fly - we're his entertainment for the party! Sindrik lacks faith in our bellydancing skills and is immediately suspicious. He then recognizes Lotty and starts asking more pointed questions. Null exclaims that they must clearly be in the wrong house and starts to usher her friends out of this place. We reconvene outside of Sindrik's house and try to figure out next steps. Before too long, we spot a platoon of Portas guards making their way rapidly towards us - Sindrik glides out onto his balcony and points the party out to them. We've gotta go! Lotty hands off the Bag of Holding to Silas, and she and Flynn retreat into the jar. Silas, Null and Berrik Dimension Door 500 ft south and hope for the best. Inside the jar, Mordecai is a little irritated by the intrusion. However, he remembers his rapport with Lotty and offers her tea. Things are still a little icy between Flynn and Mordecai. 

Meanwhile, Silas, Null and Berrik find themselves in the ocean, struggling to stay afloat. We went too far south! Silas, weighed down by his armour, begins to sink. Null has just enough time to grab the jar from him and hold it aloft before he leaves her reach. She activates Ghost Walk so that she can hover above the waves. Inside the jar, Mordecai is flipping out at the sudden flooding, but Lotty calms him down and, along with Flynn, starts to help clean up. Back in the water, Berrik and Null are panicking about Silas. Null hears Flynn's voice in her head, asking what's going on. She says that they DD'd too far and are in the ocean, that Silas might be drowning. Berrik polymorphs himself into a giant octopus and dives deep to grab Silas, successfully rescuing him and bringing him back to the surface. Null shouts at the jar that Silas is okay! Now able to breathe, Silas summons Reno to give him a ride back to shore. Null clings to OctoBerrik's slippery form and trio head towards dry land. Inside the jar, Lotty tries to make small talk, hinting that Flynn has remembered an important date in Mordecai's life. Flynn is a little aloof, which doesn't help matters. He takes out his book again and tries to contact Null, who relays that they are on their way to shore and to sit tight. Eventually, we make it to a rocky, unpopulated beach where Lotty and Flynn finally exit the jar. Berrik is brusque and visibly frustrated by the string of teleportation mishaps. He finds a flat enough surface and hastily starts drawing a teleportation circle to Mira's office. Flynn takes out his book and asks Remmi to warn Mira of their arrival. Good thing we checked in this time, as she was changing. Berrik finishes the circle and we all hop through.

Back in Sierrona, we greet Mira and make our way upstairs. Remmi is there, so we check in with him about the day's events. For good measure, Null shows him both of Sarni's forms to BOLO for. Time to head home! On the way out, Null buys a bottle of really expensive wine from the bar. The Ashen Company walks back to their villa, as we are now a little gun-shy on magical transport.. On arrival, Null (guided by Lotty), does a sweep of the property and finds nothing amiss. Silas also pings nothing on his Detect Evil and Good. I guess everything's all right? Null asks Lotty to spill about her reputation in Portas, and Lotty relays the story of Dolosius's failed coup while he was a member of the Ashen Company. Damn,, I guess we'll aim to never have future business in Portas. Lotty hands Berrik a fork from a nearby table, something to help him focus the next time he tries to teleport us home. The group is talking about how maybe they could be good bellydancers after all when Latharial suddenly appears in the doorway behind them. Null excuses herself to dry off, and the rest of the group makes small talk with their patron. Silas tries to get L's attention on his new armour, but she doesn't notice. Lotty starts to usher the group out of the house after a few minutes, wanting to give Null and L some alone time. 

When Null comes back downstairs, she freezes up a bit. Latharial says that she missed her. Null dittos the sentiment. She grabs two wine goblets and asks L to join her in the garden, where they settle on a bench to watch the sunset. Null pours them each a glass and hands one over. Welp, here it goes: 

Is Latharial angry with her after the way Null left town? She's sorry for the letter, for not seeing her when things were bad. Null was ashamed after the fallout from the orphanage and so afraid of the new superpowered tattoo, feeling like both were her fault. She never used to fear consequences for the stupid shit she did, but the idea of putting L in danger of being hurt by the tattoo was too much to bear. So she kept her distance - the letter was all she could think of doing at the time. It was done out of love. However, the amulet that Lotty made seems to be working - the effects of the tattoo have been kept at bay. They were actually talking about the Marionettist earlier and Null didn't even stab anybody.

Latharial chastises Null for taking away L's choice in the matter, for deciding on her behalf what she can or can't handle. She makes a great point and Null feels really shitty about it. Null apologizes and agrees that it was wrong of her take away L's agency here. They are two people in a relationship and both deserve an equal say when it comes to tackling serious issues like this - it's not for one person to carry. L says that what's to come will require vulnerability from both of them and Null will have to be prepared for that. 

Null takes out Latharial's Grace and thanks L for it - it certainly kept her alive over the past few days. Does Latharial want it back? L declines, as it was a gift. On that note, Null has a gift for Latharial. Back in Zanidonia Null remembers fierce warriors, worthy of fealty and respect, bearing these rings on their arms. Null doesn't really know much about the history of that custom, but wanted Latharial to know that she embodies those same things for her, along with other more heartfelt sentiments. Latharial seems to like it! The conversation ends as L suggests they head to the bath get Null cleaned up, before the two presumably head to pound town. Ah, romance! 

Null's gift: This intricately decorated arm ring is made of polished dragon ivory and gold. The main section of the ivory ring is carved to depict Zanidonian landscapes and themes. The ends each sport a detailed relief carving of a polar bear head in profile, with the polar bear heads facing each other in this cuff-style band. The ivory body of the ring is framed with gold and decorated with intricate, runic knotwork patterns. A wash of black ink has been carefully applied to add depth to all decorated areas of the piece. Inlaid gold detail has also been added to certain key elements: the polar bears are depicted with golden eyes and the celestial elements of the landscapes are in gold. High Rock is also in gold. 
This arm ring offers Poison Immunity, as well as +3 to AC and Saving Throws. It is a promise for the future, and embodiment of fealty and love. Something to help keep her alive in the trials ahead.

[At some point before she leaves in the morning, Null asks Latharial to compliment Silas on his new armour when she gets the chance as it would mean a lot to him if she noticed. She agrees and notes that some people thrive on validation. Satisfied, Null goes back to validating Latharial.]

Meanwhile, Lotty leads Berrik, Flynn and Silas to the McFini shop, where Frug is just closing up. The group is invited to stay for dinner so Lotty can catch up with her family. As Frug begins to serve up his turkey stew, Flynn talks shop with him about his ideas for fall arrest implements. They are a little farfetched and Frug is perplexed, but Lotty encourages him to be nice to Flynn. As they all sit down, Frug asks what they've been up to. Lotty recaps their most recent adventures and relays that they finally defeated that dragon! Well, it was Silas who actually landed the killing blow. Silas and Lotty excitedly recount the battle with Nassandrial, and Frug chimes in that he's glad Silas is there to watch out for Lotty, as she's still his little girl. Silas tells Frug that it's actually Lotty who takes care of us (damn right she does!). It's all very heartwarming.

Frug asks what's next for the Ashen Company? Has Lotty ever thought of retiring from adventuring? Lotty informs Frug of their plans to journey to Ezra's tower and to attend the upcoming Winter Apex festival. And then after that, she still has a promise to keep in Zanidonia. There are times when she misses the mountain, but she still has work to do before settling down. Hopefully the Ashen Company will at least get to stop there on their way to liberate Zanidonia. As the evening goes on, Frug and the party catch up further, talking about Bandla's vacation and Aunt Ella's involvement in planning the festival. Eventually the evening winds down and the Ashen Company returns home to go to sleep. They kindly leave a bowl of stew outside the door to Null's room in case she gets hungry. The stew remains untouched.

Berrik sleeps terribly, plagued by the same dream he had in Zanidonia. Like before, he sees his fallen allies around him. Puppet strings are attached to their limbs and they lie amongst shattered wreckage amidst the ice and water. This time, however, a kraken surfaces suddenly and swallows everything whole, leaving Berrik alone. It's bleak and scary. Unable to sleep soundly, Berrik only manages a short rest and spends the next morning quietly pondering his nightmare. The party gather in the kitchen and discuss what to do with their day. Do we need supplies? Mira sends a message to Berrik, saying that she has something for him that will help them get to Ezra's island. Okay, I guess we'll stop there too. 

The party spend the morning shopping for scrolls and supplies they think they might need for the journey to Ezra's island. They also stop at Kel' s book store, where Silas peruses tomes about raising dragons and talking to tweens. We ask Kel if he knows anything about wizard towers. He doesn't, but excitedly asks us to report back on what we find. After Kel's shop, we head back to the Last Stand Inn to see Mira. Mira explains that she had been to Ezra's island three months ago and proceeds to hand Berrik a rock. This rock is from there and should help Berrik focus enough to teleport there without issue. Kudos to Mira! Since Berrik is still exhausted, we decide to stay in Sierrona another night so he can be better rested for the journey. Null goes to find Remmi - does he know where Latharial is? He does but refuses to spill the beans, wanting to keep L's confidence. Fair enough. Null asks if he would be amenable to letting Latharial carry the sending stone so that they could speak more often. Remmi refuses to give up such a strategic tool for sentimental reasons like that. However, he does toss Null another pair of Sending Stones for her to use. Wow, what a nice thing to do! I guess he really is a softy at heart. She thanks him and scampers off. Flynn offers to contact Latharial on Null's behalf, and Null reluctantly agrees - asking him to relay that she'll be in town another night and Null would like to see her, she has something to give her. Flynn does so, but embellishes and makes the message a bit awkward. Latharial responds with only an exasperated groan.

Back at home, the party goes sleep for another night. Berrik attempts to cast Divination before bed, reaching out to the universe and asking it if their quest is doomed to fail. Are they all gonna die? The lamp on his night stand flickers and extinguishes itself for a few seconds before the light returns. The answer is unclear and Berrik feels uncertain about what lies ahead. He lays down and tries to sleep, but is haunted by the same nightmare as before. He goes through yet another night without rest, and rises exhausted the next morning. As the party gathers in the morning, Berrik tries to downplay his troubled nights. He does, however, have to come clean about his lack of spell slots - we have to buy a scroll of Teleport if we are to leave today. The party all chip in for this expense, and Berrik gets what he needs from the Order of the Arcane Eye. Latharial didn't return to the villa last night, so Null want to check in one more time. She finds Remmi eating a late breakfast upstairs at the Inn. She apologizes for interrupting his meal (but she's gonna power through it anyway) and asks again after Latharial. Remmi steadfastly refuses to tell Null where she is. Fine, Null won't pry. Could Remmi give this Sending Stone to L then? Null's about to leave town for Ezra's tower and has no way of getting one of the pair of stones to her. Remmi sighs and agrees. He remarks that Latharial is out of Null's league and he doesn't understand what she sees in her. Handing over the stone, Null agrees. The heart wants what it wants, I guess. They chat a bit more - Remmi chastises the Ashen Company for taking two days off before heading to the island. Null is indignant. They've been through a lot these past couple of weeks, okay!? If we didn't decompress, we might just curl up and die of stress. Remmi was, of course, just kidding and Null needs to fuckin' relax. After a bit more conversation, the changeling takes her leave to rejoin the party and quietly hopes L is doing well, whatever she's doing.

Once everyone has reconvened, an unsettled Berrik takes out his scroll of Teleport and we get this show on the road. We zap out of existence, off to Ezra's in search of his ice machine and any news of his fate.

Act Three, Chapter 31: "Yugoloth, I go high ('cause this foxy fugitive is fleeing by rooftop)." (2023/03/11)

Flynn comes to. He's prone and can just barely discern the figure with the outstretched hands 15 feet from him. He Counterspells whatever it was they were conjuring up. The figure protests and tries again. Flynn lets it happen this time - the figure casts a Mass Cure Wounds to heal up some of the wounded bystanders. Flynn gets up and approaches the figure, calling for Lotty at the same time. The figure is a non-descript human guy with a kind of vagrant vibe who introduces himself as Sarni. Sarni continues healing people up. Flynn spots a hand on the ground and returns it to its owner via Mage Hand. Lotty gets up and yells for someone to call the rest of the Ashen Company. "No need", says Rhone who arrives on the scene with a gaggle of Syndicate guards. He sends Jenkins to the Ashen Company villa, but the youth runs in the wrong direction. Wholly unconvinced of Jenkins's competence, Flynn decides to (somewhat rudely) tell Remmi directly what's happened by writing to him in his Book of Shadows. Remmi, remaining classy, agrees to teleport to the villa to fetch the remaining three party members. Only a few moments go by before he appears on the street with them in tow. Lotty and Flynn fill everyone in on the explosive situation. They describe Sarni, the strange healer, and then quickly realize that he is nowhere to be seen. Berrik, still with his True Sight, notices a figure go invisible and disappear into the smoke. We need to talk to this guy, so the Ashen Company searches the area for any clues as to where he might have gone. Null spots a broken branch near a house that indicates someone headed north in a hurry. The chase is on!

The party follows the street north until we reach a diverging path: there are alleys to the east and west, two ladders that lead up to roofs and a sewer grate. We soon spot some sooty debris on a ladder, and Silas leads the way up. The footprints on the ladder are curious, appearing more like paws. Flynn and Berrik follow Silas to the rooftops, while Lotty, Null and Nessie (with her lantern of revealing active) remain at ground level. Null gets restless, so she activates her Ghost Walk and starts searching nearby buildings. Silas, on the rooftops, spots a hatch that looks as if it had recently been opened. He leads Berrik and Flynn towards it and they head inside. Null interrupts a couple having a very sexy time in the first building she checks. Team Rooftop finds what appears to be a hideout in the attic - there are supplies and a bedroll on the floor. In the next building she checks, Null finds a passed out merchant in front of a pile of drugs. Inside the hideout, Silas hears footsteps outside the door. He wrenches the door open and gives chase. The footsteps move faster and hurry down the stairs. Silas gets to the landing before he notices the front door is ajar and the main floor is filled with funky little guys wielding tridents. He shouts for help. Time to roll initiative!

Flynn uses his action to quickly inform Lotty via his Book of Shadows that shit is going down, before he and Berrik start to converge on the stairs. Silas is alone, and the creatures use both Cloudkill and Darkness to control the already cramped main floor. Lotty relays Flynn's message to Null (whose gums are still a little numb from sampling the merchant's narcotics) and the two head towards the building. On the way, Null spots a figure running in the opposite direction. 

Inside, Flynn dispels Cloudkill, but Berrik still struggles to find purchase in the magical darkness. Silas takes the brunt of the fiends' attacks. He casts Daylight and the magical darkness dissipates. 

Outside, Null tells Lotty what she saw and chases after the figure. She catches up to him and sees that Sarni is, in fact, of the fox folk. She implores him to stop and help. We mean no harm and just need to talk to him about what he witnessed. 

Lotty sends Nessie to follow Null and grapple Sarni (which does nothing to improve diplomatic relations), before heading towards the front door. It's locked, so she has to pick it to get inside. 

Meanwhile, newly accosted Sarni Teleports to a nearby rooftop, gives Null his regrets and walks away. Null flies up to see where he's going, and then follows. This time she grapples him as she tries to convince him to stay put - she can be really annoying about this. 

The melee inside the house continues, as irritating as ever. Daylight gets dispelled. The funky fiendish guys keep trying to cast Cloudkill and Darkness, while Berrik and Flynn keep trying to wrench back control of the field with Counterspells and Dispel Magic. Lotty shouts for the party to hurry up so they can get back to Null and Sarni. Silas wields Flare with surgical precision.

On the rooftop, Sarni won't be convinced. He Teleports again, and Null chases him AGAIN. She chooses not to grapple him this time, hoping it will help her case. She tries to convince him again, saying that you can't witness a terrorist attack and just walk away. We need to talk to him! 

Inside the house, Flynn casts Slow on the four remaining enemies and the gang fights on. Victory is in sight now, but Darkness fills the room AGAIN. Hello, old friend.

On the roof, Sarni (now curiously back to appearing as a human vagrant) puts up his hands and takes a step back. Null suppresses the urge to attack him, wanting to gain his trust. This proves to be a mistake on her part, as Sarni promptly turns invisible and flees. She heads back towards the street, trying to see if she can pick up his trail. The effort is fruitless, however. Frustrated, she shouts that he didn't have to make this so hard and that we'll find him eventually to figure out what he knows. 

By now the fight has died down back inside the building, and the Ashen Company are victorious. Null hangs her head in disappointment and joins her friends. Right before the session ends, the party notices a thick layer of dust over all the furniture. While someone may have been hiding out in this attic, the rest of the house hasn't been lived in by people for quite some time. 

Next week, we'll debrief and try to get on top of things. The fox guy got away - what's his deal? A bunch of fiends were playing house in the middle of Sierrona - what the fuck is up with that? And who the hell blew up a street?!

Act Three, Chapter 30: "Spooky Puppet People" (2023/03/04)

Turns out what's bugging Remmi and Latharial is nothing too dire - they are planning a party! A large-scale festival, in fact, to be held in two weeks at the beginning of Winter Apex. It's been about a year since the Free Cities of the Ulvari Coast overthrew the cartels and they want to give the people a reason to celebrate. The Ashen Company are taken aback, as it's felt like forever since they thought to celebrate anything. Null says this out loud, and Latharial seems miffed (one year passed since the liberation of the Ulvari Coast means it's around their anniversary). The past couple weeks have certainly been traumatic, but that's no excuse to forgo romance! Null, get your head in the game.

The party finally relay their good tidings - Nassandrial is dead! Silas brings up the egg they left behind and that the party don't want it to fall into the wrong hands. He wonders if Latharial or Remmi know of anyone who could help protect it, or perhaps take it. Maybe they could take it? The pair seem to sense the party's uneasiness with the situation, and Remmi abruptly tells Silas and the gang to figure it out amongst themselves and get back to him when they know what they want to ask.

Back to party business! Lotty asks if there will be bobbing for apples. Remmi pretends not to know what it is in the hopes that Lotty will demonstrate. Classic Remmi. In addition to bobbing for apples there will also be dancing, entertainment, food, fireworks and a main stage in the Omnimarket. Rhone will handle security. The only thing they're missing is an arcane contraption that Ezra Espinoza had thought up ages ago. The device would able to freeze Sierrona's harbour enough to make a temporary ice rink and would be the perfect addition to the winter festivities. Would the Ashen Company try to retrieve the ice machine from Ezra? He's been missing for awhile, but maybe we could find it on his island. (Conveniently, the Ashen Company also has the solved puzzle cube he left over a year ago that will give us access to his tower). It's settled - we'll get some rest and then go to Ezra's island to retrieve the device. Hopefully we'll be able to figure out the cause of Ezra's disappearance at the same time.

Time for breakfast! Lotty leads the way to the main level of the Last Stand Inn. Null momentarily lingers behind to ask Latharial if they can talk later. They make plans to meet up back at the villa in the evening. Null goes for a kiss on the cheek, but Latharial counters with a real smooch. Okay, maybe Null isn't in the doghouse after all. The changeling makes her way upstairs to join her friends for breakfast and some well-deserved ales. As they tuck in, Lotty is asked about Ezra. She drops some lore about his background: his tragic origins, his treatment by Alistair Azher, his mother's sacrifice to help him escape. She continues by explaining their dealings with Ezra, which were complicated by the eventual involvement of Vi and her machinations on behalf of Azher, who they know to be the Marionettist. 

This is wholly new information to Null - We knew his name this entire time? Both Vi and Ezra are connected to this monster, too? Just how entangled are we all in the Marionettist's web of influence? She stares into her beer. 

Silas, as an Aeonian elf with a decent grasp of history, tries to remember anything about Azher. He recalls that: Alistair Azher was the leader of one 12 Houses of the Aeonian Dominion's Magisterium, his first wife Deirdre was killed by mountain traitors and Azher developed separatist leanings in response, and Azher (despite leading one of the main factions during the conflict) disappeared during the Cataclysm and has not been heard from since. (New info will be added to Azher's NPC entry on the blog).

After the conversation lightens up a little, we decide to go check on the kids. Remmi, being both a good guy and a pragmatist who wants to keep his tools (us) sharp and happy, has taken excellent care of our orphans and has even built them their own wing on top of the Last Stand Inn. Silas leads the way and enters one of the rooms to find the kids at play. Super strong Nikolai is holding one the beds aloft and balancing the rest of the kids on top of it. He's showing off by doing squats amidst the whole thing. Silas hands each kid a dragon scale and begins to regale the room the tale of Nassandrial's demise at the hands of the Ashen Company. The kids are entranced and seemingly impressed! Null jumps in near the end of the tale, wanting to make sure Silas's epic final blows are highlighted in the story. As she mentions that she prayed to whatever was out there in order to spur Silas along, Niko makes a weirdly abrupt comment about her apparent lack of faith in the All-father (hope we're not raising a zealot). Silas and Null finish the story and the party settles in to catch up with the kids.

Null notices Lyla drawing a picture that features a bunch of people held up with puppet strings that disappear into a dark cloud. She sits across from the kid and asks her about her drawing. Apparently this is from a dream - all of Lyla's dreams feature people on puppet strings. The rest of the party has picked up on this interaction by now and to our horror, we learn that all the kids dream only in spooky puppet people. The adults in the room are extremely uncomfy with this development, but the kids don't really seem bothered at all. Lilly is especially unbothered, because she has no issue in stealthily relieving Null of her coin purse. The stubborn little hellion won't return the bag without a 10% cut of the contents, even after Null intimidates her with an impressive demonstration of Ghost Walk. Extremely annoyed but deeply proud, Null acquiesces and the kid walks away with just a little under 100 gp. This is probably a good time to leave. 

We head back to the villa. Immediately upon returning home, Null fetches a scroll of True Seeing and the necessary eye goop out of her home storage. She hands it all to Berrik, along with the original records from the orphanage. She's looked at them before, but got the sense there was hidden information there she couldn't see. Now that we know we're going after Ezra, it might be good to check if there's anything about Vi in there that could help us. Ezra was last seen going after Vi, so there's a good chance she'll pop up in our search for him. Null tells Berrik that there might be information in there about her too, but that she doesn't want to know unless it's truly important. Berrik agrees and gets to work. Lotty lingers to keep an eye on him, with a Cure Wounds at the ready. Berrik flips through the not-so-blank pages and sees 13 numbered entries, each about a different experiment subject. 

Of note:

I : describes the use of the subject as a spell focus, and a conduit for arcane energies. (definitely Ezra).

II : describes efforts to transfer animal parts and abilities to a humanoid. (Lotty confirms this is clearly Experiment Two, a former member of the Ashen Company).

III : the original subject died, but was cloned. The abilities described in the entry match the those of the guards at Trolley's orphanage.

VI : subject is described as a talented conduit for arcane energies, a sorceress with the ability to affect time and fate. She excels at manipulation. The orphanage benefactor took a special interest in her. She is marked as missing. (This is Vi, she's a clockwork sorceress).

VII : subject has potential for leadership, and excels at manipulation, control and domination. Benefactor also took a special interest in her and bestowed her with arcane power. (This is Calitrax and the Marionettist is her Warlock patron).

VIII : This entry is less detailed than the others. "Changeling?" it reads. (This is Null).

Berrik and Lotty's hand scars are throbbing as Berrik puts down the records. "I shall not meddle in the Marionettist's affairs" feels as raw as ever. The duo gather the rest of the party in the main hall. Berrik describes what they discovered, but leaves out what little there was in Null's entry, as promised. The continued Marionettist connections are troubling, but there were few surprises. Any additional context for Calitrax and Vi is good to have, even if it doesn't seem immediately significant. Flynn is jazzed to have a Warlock rival. 

They next discuss the logistics of getting to Ezra's island. Berrik is less confident in his abilities to teleport there, having only seen it once over a year ago. Perhaps it will be safer to sail there. Lotty will check later to see if Kraz and The Booty Taker are in port and available for hire. For now, the Ashen Company have the rest of the day to themselves. What shall we do? Lotty wants to go see the McFinis, and Flynn is happy to tag along. Silas and Null will spar in the garden, like they used to. Berrik will take some time to himself to divine some stuff. Before Lotty and Flynn take off, Lotty takes a moment in Cade's room. "We got her", she whispers. She spots a few birds through the window, flying over the city. Perhaps Cade heard her, somehow. 

Out in the garden, Null and Silas spar. They used to do this all the time in Zanidonia and are happy to have found time to do it again. Between blows, they find themselves brainstorming ideas for entertainment at the Winter Apex festival. The kids seemed to like it when they told the story of their dragon fight. What if there was a way to make it bigger and more realistic? Or recreate it somehow? Maybe Berrik could make a giant, illusory Nassandrial? The crowds would surely love it.

Berrik sits alone beneath a tree, watching his friends joyfully slap each other around. He takes out his Diviner's Archive and concentrates, before taking out his bag of guts. He carefully considers them and relaxes his mind, becoming one with everything around him. He pushes a question out to the universe: "Is there any hope of finding Ezra alive?" He feels the sun warm his face, comfortingly. That answer will do.

Meanwhile, Lotty and Flynn are on their way to the Mcfini shop. They are doing a classic Sorkin walk-and-talk through the streets of Sierrona, as they talk shop about flying contraptions and discuss the merits of fall-arrest implements for situations where they fail. Around twenty minutes go by before they are suddenly interrupted by a flash of red light igniting between them. They both take 37 points of damage as a Delayed Blast Fireball explodes in the middle of the street. Lotty lifts her head. They are surrounded by the bodies of bystanders. Through the smoke she spots a humanoid figure with their arms outstretched, as if they were casting a spell. Oh no.