Speaking to Kaya’s Mother
- We’re still sitting at the table in the sewers - Kaya’s mother sits at one end, Kaya sits at the other, her friends surrounding us - Alexios is leaning against the wall, near Kaya’s mother. Kade isn’t in the room.
- There are also a few guards in the room
- They’re wearing thieves’ guild-esque armor, but there’s an emblem of the Langston’s griffin on their chest
- There are also a few guards in the room
- Kaya’s mother introduces herself as Aratish Solmara, and she is the Queen of Solmara
- She says that she knows we probably have questions, but
- She received word from Kade that he made contact with a ship of Eldorians on his way back to the city, so she wanted to make contact as soon as possible
- Her agents all over the kingdoms made sure that we got exactly what we needed to get here
- She tells us “Welcome home.”
- Solmara used to belong to those now called the Eldorians, when they were granted the blood of Paracausality
- She says that we probably have questions about the prophecy
- Nobody knows what it says, since it was lost to time
- It was foretold that “The rose would bloom again in Solmara upon the transfiguration of Eldoria.”
- Aratish asks us if we have questions
- Cordelia and Quén look at Kaya and scootch closer to each other
- Kaya asks: “What happened… to me?”
- “The prophecy has been around for generations… I’m going to rip off the bandage. your father is dead. He was killed about… twenty years ago. Upon his death, a false king has taken his place. So to protect you - and to keep the prophecy alive this generation - we asked… we pulled strings to get you to Eldoria. Away from magic, away from detection, not even Sending or any ninth-level spells you can cast can penetrate the fog. So it is a wonder that you are here, currently.”
- Aratish tells us that her agents have seen new faces around
- She learns from us that The Father is still around and that changelings have been released
- “Well before modern recording of civilization, the kingdoms were ruled by someone named Amadeus. Amadeus was a changeling. He loved music - from what the records show - and… when… the wars happened, he was locked away in Eldoria. We thought he was dead”
- Aratish asks Cordelia what her name is (she introduces herself as “Delia Elysian”)
- She learns that The Father used Cordelia and her cards to part the Fog, and doesn’t blame her at all
- Aratish tells Kaya that she has to speak with the Emissaries, even
- CORDELIA AND QUÉN GO SHOOTERS FOR KAYA
- Kaya tells her mom that she hopes that the prophecy was worth it to both of them - because she practically spent her entire life begging for a family that cared about her -
- Aratish says that she will never apologize for what she has done, because Kaya is currently sitting in front of her
- Aratish says that Kaya does not know her, but she will come to know her. She admits that she abandoned her daughter in an unknown world
- Aratish asks Quén what their name is, so she can refer to them as something other than their race (They introduce themself as simply “Quén”)
- Aratish drops that the Father was supposed to have died ten thousand years ago
- She’s like “do you think I knew that he was alive and in Eldoria when I sent my three year old daughter - my only kin - to Eldoria?”
- Kaya’s like I can respect that
- Aratish returns to her original point: we are to speak with the Emissaries and see the visions that they have
- After that, she wants to get to know Kaya: she wants to get to know the pain she’s been through, and how to fix it
- Quén asks if Aratish thinks that our visions are the same as those had by the Emissaries
- The answer is no. The Emissaries are people who give up their sight and hearing to see visions of the past and gain knowledge from the guards
- Aratish asks us to follow her, and stands
- Cordelia and Quén wait for Kaya to stand up — she puts her hands on the table, stands up, and follows her mother
Seeing the Emissaries
- Aratish leads us down a sewer path. It is quiet.
- Alexios walks near her, the rest of the gang sticks close to Kaya
- We ascend some steep stairs. There’s daylight at the top.
- We walk into a church-like space, all white and gold and intricate layers of copper wiring around everything. It is tranquil.
- There are three people sitting and meditating backs to us and facing the window, with a HUGE bay window behind them that overlooks the city behind them (we’re about 3 stories high now)
- As we approach, Aratish stops about 5 feet behind one of them.
- The person stands up, turning to us. They’re wearing a cloth mask that wraps around his head, obscuring his whole head. He wears pure white robes with gold embroidery
- Aratish puts a hand on Kaya’s shoulder, telling her that she hasn’t spoken to the Emissaries since she’s been gone.
- As Aratish steps back, the Emissary before us steps forward and puts his hand on her shoulder
- Kaya’s vision goes white. She finds herself as an observer in all the following scenes
- She sees and feels visions of the past. There’s a shadowed figure - who she assumes is Amadeus - who is worshipped by many, who has his followers strike down nonbelievers
- She sees a hellish contract, and an entire island decimated and rebuilt anew
- She sees a clash - the same clash of the Pyramid and the Orb - and the destruction of Eldoria
- Kaya snaps back to reality, given just enough time before she’s thrust into another vision and her vision goes white again.
- She sees a gold and black crown that sits atop a king’s head. She can’t tell the hair color, but she can tell it’s a man’s head. This man is in a battlefield. He raises his hand, and most of the soldiers fighting before him stop, turn to him, and drop to their knees.
- Aratish says that Kaya doesn’t have to tell her what she saw, and that she’s welcome to keep what she saw between herself and her friends.
- She tells us that there’s one more room that we have to go to
VALLEN REVEAL 🗣️📢‼️
- Aratish takes us back to the sewers, back to the room we were originally in, then turns to an offshoot of that room. There’s a circular table - the center hollowed out, like a donut - surrounded by chairs. We’re told that it’s her war room.
- She shows us one of Foo’s doors that connects to this room!!
- Aratish tells us that she has a newer recruit helping her out with something, and tells us that “he’s got a lot to say”. She asks us to talk to her in the morning about
- Quén asks what the new recruit’s name is. IT’S VALLEN!!!!! 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥
- Cordelia borderline comes
KAYA FINALLY TALKS TO HER MOM!!!!!!
- As Aratish turns to leave, Kaya reaches out and asks her if they can talk to her before turning in for the night. Aratish says that she’d love that 🥺💕
- Aratish leads Kaya to a separate room - a private room - where royal-looking chairs sit. There are two cups of tea sitting nearby, as if she was hoping this would happen 😭😭😭
- Aratish sits down, and gestures to the chair next to her. Kaya takes a seat!!
- There are paintings on the wall: they’re of Aratish and her family 🥺
- There are some pictures of Aratish in her younger days, Kaya’s father in his younger days, and in the center is a painting of Aratish, Kaya’s father, and BABY KAYA!!!
- Aratish asks Kaya what life was like in Eldoria
- “Well… It wasn’t great for a very long time. And then it was… an adventure.”
- Aratish asks if Kaya was fed and had a roof over her head, and asks if she was raised in the woods
- Kaya confesses that her first memory was being walked up to a very lavish home — and for a while, things were okay.
- Things were fine for a while, but then the “whimsy” disappered for her adopted parents and she was eventualy belittled and ignored until Kaya
- Aratish says that she likes Kaya’s friends, and Kaya says she likes us too 🥺🥺🥺
- Aratish says that it’s clear that we care about her!!
- Kaya says that this is the first time she has experienced something like this — we can take care of ourselves, and she trusts us to have her back.
- “And I trust them with my life, just as I hope they trust me with theirs.”
- Aratish: “When you were a baby, your father and I tried to have your grandmother make you a quilt. And we… the quilt was very… she was old. A very rough quilt. And you HATED the texture of the quilt. So I have taken the liberty to make sure you’ll have everything you need here. I’m not sure if your tastes have changed, but when you were a child you always leaned towards the more… luxurious”
- KAYA THINKS ABOUT HER DOWN BLANKET AND SILK PILLOW WITH HER NAME EMBROIDERED ON IT
- Aratish says that Kaya got her taste for luxury from her father
- Kaya asks what her father was like!!
- He was handsome
- He always seemed to know what to say (Kaya says that she definitely didn’t get that from him 💀)
- Kaya asks what his name was: Salvir
- At first, Aratish’s marriage to Salvir was an arranged marriage
- This was his kingdom first, while hers was much farther away
- He was her best friend :((((((
- She says that he was a very patient and kind man, who never raised his voice very much
- Kaya asks what happened to her father
- Assassinated
- She doesn’t want to go into the details, but when she woke up, he was gone
- She was worried “they” had taken Kaya as well, so she arranged for a body double for herself and one for Kaya — within the same day, she was on a boat.
- Aratish went underground, quite literally. The sewers were Alexios’s idea
- Kaya asks what Alexios’s deal is
- When Kaya was born, Alexios was assigned to protect her 🥺😭😭🥺🥺😭😭😭😭😭
- Aratish had to keep Alexios in Solmara, but every once in a while he’d go to Eldoria to check on Kaya :(((
- Aratish tells Kaya that she knows that - since Alexios was able to go to Eldoria - Kaya is probably wondering why SHE didn’t go to look for her
- Aratish says that she could not. Kaya had to grow up without Aratish’s influence and Alexios’s influence.
- Kaya showed the abilities of the Solmaran queen VERY early
- Kaya’s like ???
- IT’S THE ABILITY TO CONTROL THE BIG 3 ELEMENTS: EARTH, FIRE, AND WATER (fuck air btw)
- Kaya says that she’s grown into the earth elements, with fire soon to come. Water is interesting to her though
- Aratish comments on how she was told that the Eldorian Capital had an affinity for those elements (referring to the factions)
- Aratish says that she knows that at least a part of Kaya probably resents her
- Kaya says that even though she understands where Aratish came from, she still wishes that she knew that there was SOMEONE out there for her
- Aratish says that tomorrow, Kaya and her friends will need to “get fitted”
- ARATISH IS GONNA SEND US TO A GALA!!!!!
- Aratish asks where our “ship of Eldorians” is docked
- She asks how many there are (Kaya says ~16)
- She says that she will have to set up our comrades in an inn
- Kaya asks Aratish why she says “Eldorians” like that
- Aratish says that Eldorians and Solmarans are different in the blood they carry
- She tells Kaya that Eldorians can advance their person at an advanced rate than Solmarans
- What takes Eldorians wizards mere years to accomplish (i.e. learning to cast Fireball) takes Solmaran wizards decades
While Kaya talks to her mother…
Cal Tinkers
- Cal goes off to explore!! He’s looking to do some tinkering
- As he leaves the room, there’s a guard standing near the door.
- The guard is like ?? where are you going???
- Cal asks to be taken to a workshop and the guard is like o-ok??
- Cal is walked down the hallway and to a room where there are a bunch of soldiers sitting and maintaining their weapons (locker room type vibe)
- A few soldiers have firearms
- As Cal enter, roughly 5 dudes look up and their hands fly to their weapons
- Cal walks to the center of the room, clears his throat, and tries to get everyone’s attention
- He starts putting out his fancy equipment, weapons, and homemade guns on a table
- The soldiers are? confused??
- Some grip their weapons tighter
- Cal asks for someone to pass him a screwdriver, and he starts tinkering
- As he does, the guards go back to what they’re doing
- CAL TINKERING CHECK: NAT 1 😭😭😭
- A spring PINGS off of the big gun he’s working on, landing near a soldier
- One of the soldiers picks up the spring and gives it back to Cal. As he does, he gives Cal some tips and pointers
- TINKERING CHECK: AT LEAST 15
- The soldier is like “May I?” and reassembles the gun
- At some point the soldier takes off the barrel of the gun and
- The soldier asks Cal what the point of his gun is
- “Modular ammo… based on the size of the barrel, you can do different stuff with it”
- The soldier asks Cal if he’s an artificer (Cal says yes and ROLLS A NAT 20 DECEPTION 💀)
- The soldier is like “That’s amazing… a real one.”
- The soldier goes wide-eyed, pulls out a book, and says that Cal can probably use it
- WITH CAL’S NAT 20 THE BOOK OPENS
- On every tinkerer’s check - until CJ says otherwise - Cal will get ADVANTAGE!!!
- The soldier tells Cal that he can keep the book on one condition: that he makes more guns for them (in exchange for money)
- Cal agrees, but says that his guns are custom-made for each wielder and thus more expensive
- The soldiers are like 👀👀👀👀👀👀
- The soldier asks Cal if the guns will be like 2K a piece (Cal IMMEDIATELY agrees)
- The soldier says that they will have to wait until after this next job
- Cal is like “you can take questions to my secretary, Kaya”
- They’re like? Kaya the princess???
- CAL ROLLS LIKE SHIT ON DECEPTION BUT CJ ROLLS A NAT 1 FOR INSIGHT
f
- Quén turns to Cordelia, telling her that they are going to speak to Kade. She’s like “do you want to bitch at him together?“. Quén agrees.
- They come across Alexios, who’s like ”🤷♂️ okay” when they tell him they’re looking for Kade
- He peeks his head through the door into the inn
- Alexios takes us upstairs, leading us to a room separate from the bar itself (which is starting to get packed since it’s starting to get dark). He knocks on the door, and Kade pops his head out.
CORINTHIA NOTES HERE
-
Quén apologizes to Alexios if he heard anything they said, and they return back downstairs
-
Quén messages Captain Seamus
- “Hey Captain Seamus, as anyone… come to the boat?”
- They hear a “hey!” behind them AND IT’S THE CAPTAIN WITH A BEER IN HIS HAND
- He hasn’t had a drink since we left Eldoria (because he’s the captain)
-
Captain Seamus says that “someone from downstairs” came to get them from the ship
-
Cordelia asks where Julian is
- Quén sends Julian a simple message, and receives a simple answer in response:
- “Where are you.”
- “Drink.”
- Quén sends Julian a simple message, and receives a simple answer in response:
Kaya gets a drink
- Cal walks into the room with Cal and the soldiers
- Cal does an exaggerated bow, and the soldiers immediately fall to their knees
- Kaya is like Cal I need a drink. come with me. Also soldiers, don’t listen to Cal. You can stand.
- Kaya’s like? what have you been up to?? and Cal is like “tinkering :)”
- As Kaya enters the bar, a few people recognize her and make room for her to sit
- Foo pops up with drinks as she’s about to leave to get her a drink!!
- Foo got a part-time job tonight to help serve drinks :D
- Cordelia tells Foo that he just generally reminds her of her father?? In response, Foo says that she needs a drink and hands her some wine
- Foo pops up with drinks as she’s about to leave to get her a drink!!
- Cal tries to do a party trick: he tries to light his drink on fire, swallow it, and blow the smoke out
- He chokes and spills his drink
- Quén wipes it up for him!
- As we drink, Quén asks Kaya how her conversation with her mother went
- Kaya pauses, and tells them that she will eventually learn to forgive her mother. She thinks she’s lovely though!
- Quén comments on how
- Nicholas Powers walks up and sits next to Cal. He’s already drunk 😭
- He says that this is where he heard the cool kids are sitting
- NICK MANAGES TO FIGURE OUT THAT CAL’S NAME IS ACTUALLY CAL CORVEAU AND NOT JACK MEOFF
- Nick wanders off to find Julian
- Cordelia is STILL CONVINCED that Nick’s name is “Nick Bottom”
- We don’t see Julian for the entire night
Quén talks to Kaya
- We have individual rooms at the inn!
-
Quén sends a text to Vallen
- Quén pulls Kaya aside, asking her if they can talk. She agrees!
- They head to Kaya’s room!
- KAYA’S ROOM IS SO LAVISH!! It’s a normal inn room with a bunch of improvements and pillows/blankets
- Quén asks Kaya how she feels about everything
- She says that it’s a loaded question, to which they respond that they have to ask the hard questions to get the answers they want
- Kaya says that this is something that she’s avoided thinking about for a long time — she wanted to hold out hope that there was a family that cared about her and wanted her back. But now we’re here, we have a mission. And her mother didn’t ask her a single question before throwing us into the thick of it. She understands that her mother is a strong woman
- Quén says that they hope that Kaya’s mother puts in more effort to get to know Kaya than just throwing money at the issue
- Kaya says that she thinks she does care as she looks around the room
- Quén directs Kaya towards the vanity, telling her to sit down. They brush her hair and get her ready for bed.
- Quén asks Kaya if she’s been getting deja vu since entering Solmara
- She has, and says that some of these memories are just out of her reach. But she was also a very young child, so she understands why she’s missing memories
- She mentions that Quén is also missing memories of their childhood — they say that she’s right, but the deja vu they’ve been getting is different.
- (Quén talks about the moment of getting deja vu on the ship looking at the horizon. they worry that they made the same deal with the father and that’s why their memories are missing)
- KAYA SAYS THAT SHE’D FORGIVE THEM :(((
- She says that this reminds her of the first dream she had of her childhood (having her hair brushed in a lavish room by someone she trusts 🥺)
We Dream
- We find ourselves in a familiar meadow, with the ruins of a church where they usually are.
- As we walk into the ruins, we see a familiar table with pancakes on them. The Curator isn’t currently present, though.
- A white light flies in from all angles of the crumbled church, coalescing into the form of The Curator.
- The Curator greets us, starting with Quén. They comment on how they look different, but still feel like the same person (I LOVE FRIENDSHIP!!)
- He also comments on how cool the name “The Seekers” is!!!
- The Curator has come to us with a warning: a piece of one of the shapes nearby, and The Father is in Langston looking for it.
- The Curator says that it’s about time he talks to us about the Cube
- The Cube has manifested in our reality, and The Curator speaks for the Cube
- Each of the shapes has its own Curator — the Pyramid and the Orb typically speak for themselves, but have been pretty quiet so far. Now that the Cube has manifested they will likely begin speaking again
- He doesn’t know where the Cube is currently. What he DOES know that it has attached itself to an object of great power
- He says that this is either the beginning of a new era or the beginning of the end.
- He warns us to keep the Pyramid out of the Father’s hands
- He cannot see into the future, but he says that we will receive guidance on what to do with the Shape pieces soon
- The Curator warns us to NOT TRUST ANYBODY.