Day 1
- Opening the door to the bar, it is PACKED.
- “People seem to be coping” - CJ
- Our table is free — every time someone tries to sit at it, Foo shoos them away
- The gang is TIRED and GRIMY. We go upstairs to rest and take a shower
- Cal grabs a beer off the bar as he walks past
- Quén gently puts a hand on Cordelia’s back and guides her upstairs — she is completely silent and follows easily.
- Vallen looks lost
- Quén puts their other hand on his back and guides him upstairs as well
- Kaya takes Cordelia to her room
- Vallen reminds the gang that he doesn’t have a room, and therefore doesn’t have a bath — Quén says that he can use theirs
- They point at the cuck chair in the corner, telling him to sit and take off his armor (but not his clothes)
- They’ve seen enough dicks already. Cal’s was enough.
- They prep the bath, making sure it’s warm. They let him know that he can bathe, to take as much time as he needs, and that they will make sure his clothes are clean when he gets back.
- Kaya pushes Cordelia into her room, and tells her not to do anything dumb before she gets back in 10 minutes
- Cordelia steps in, and as Kaya shuts the door she looks SO upset
- Kaya leaves to take a shower, and when she comes back Cordelia is quietly drying her hair
- Cal is down in the bar — Foo sits down next to him with a drink of his own
- Foo asks him what’s on his mind: Cal says it’s regret, and that he feels like he’s living the same circumstances over and over again. He keeps getting the opportunity to fix it once and for all, and he just can’t.
- Foo says “interesting…” and confesses that he doesn’t want to serve another drink. But he gets Cal one 🥺 I love friendship!!!
- Foo asks Cal if he feels like he’s stuck in a loop (yes). Why?
- “Because I’m not making any progress.”
- Foo observes that he hasn’t killed Vallen yet, so there’s that (Cal retorts that Vallen will get HIMSELF killed “if he doesn’t watch it”)
- Foo observes that he saved a lot of people, but Cal counters that he could’ve saved more.
- Foo says that “victory should be measured in the little wins, and not the large losses”
- Cal is like “I’m a go big or go home kinda guy”, to which Foo replies that he’s too young to have regrets like that
- Foo: “Say how you want to feel when you want to feel it. And that’s the advice I will give on that.”
- Vallen steps out of the shower, his hair damp
- Quén tells him to sit at the vanity, and they get to drying his hair
- They ask how he feels. “Defeated.”
- Quén surmises that - while they are not a soldier - when one is on the battlefield, sometimes the most they can do is survive and make sure that those around them survive. Vallen saw Cal almost die, so he did what he could to keep him alive. They consider Cal’s survival a win.
- They also posit that they know better than anyone that lingering on the past won’t do anyone any good, so the most “we” can do now is to look towards the future
- Julian plops down next to Cal
- “Cal, we almost fuckin died! Ah, that was so scary.”
- Julian asks why Cal hasn’t taken a shower yet. He wanted a drink first 💀
- Julian shares that he also thinks that we fucked up by leaving, but Cal DID almost die
- Cal’s like “we’ll all die soon”
- Julian’s like !???!?!? bruh I’d rather die later rather than sooner!!
- Julian asks to borrow Cal’s shower. Cal’s like no. Julian’s like maybe Quén will let me borrow their shower (Cal’s also like “no” at this)
- He’s like “I have an idea!” and goes upstairs
- Kaya hears a knock at her door (right before she leaves again to go to Cordelia’s room)
- 🧍♂️ ⇐ Julian standing in front of her door
- He’s like “Cal said I can use a shower here? I don’t have a room :( ”
- Kaya lets him in out of the goodness of her heart!!
- SHE WARNS HIM NOT TO SNOOP!! AND TO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!!!
- Cordelia is drying her hair when Kaya returns
- She asks why Kaya took so long, to which she responds that Julian asked to use her shower
- Cordelia’s like why didn’t he ask to use mine? and Kaya’s like “I feel like there are Things”
- Kaya asks Cordelia about the Capital. Things aren’t right there (Cordelia agrees)
- They have a heart-to-heart!! They’re both struggling :(
- Kaya says that there’s someone in her past that she has chosen not to talk to, while there are people in their group
- Cordelia takes a beat, and despite the horrors in her mind her expression softens. She says she senses animosity between several members in the group right now, and that she and Kaya have a lot more in common than she initially realized.
- Cordelia: “I sense that a lot of things are about to change. And I think that during that time, all we will have is ourselves and each other. So until that time, let’s take comfort in — you don’t have to feel guilty about us.”
- Kaya: “I have been focusing a lot on what could have been, what should have been… But I don’t want myself in the future to think about what should have been — I want to have done those things. And I don’t think you guys will ever be something that I regret.”
- Cordelia’s like omg you’re feeling feelings?? 🥺 and in response Kaya’s like BAH HUMBUG and storms tf off
- She asks why Kaya took so long, to which she responds that Julian asked to use her shower
- Kaya goes down to the bar, and Foo materializes with a drink for her
- Quén finishes their bath. As they leave, Vallen is sat up reading the book they left
- PERCEPTION CHECK. VALLEN IS CRYING :(((
- Quén pulls out a handkerchief, and tries to wipe his tears for him. He catches their arm and does it himself.
CORINTHIA NOTES GO HERE
- Cal has his tools and warforged parts scattered across his desk, tinkering away
- As he goes to tinker with the head, it powers on. The red eyes are back.
- There’s a deep laugh
- “You thought that was my finale? Three days, and I will level your capital. Make peace with your fate, because this… this is the end.”
- Cal looks at the head, smiles, and immediately RIPS one of the eyes out
- The head powers down
- As he goes to tinker with the head, it powers on. The red eyes are back.
- Quén knocks on Cal’s door, and he lets them in. There’s a toolbench set up against one of the walls, and it’s absolutely COVERED in tools and sprockets and parts. Cal is sitting at the table, head bowed, tinkering away.
CORINTHIA NOTES GO HERE
- As they leave, they feel a buzzing in their pocket — their sending stone gets a message from V
- “Heeey, Quén… Do you think you will be back in the Capital tomorrow?”
- The answer is most likely, but they will need to check in with the rest of the party
- V says that he has a surprise for the party — a good one
- Quén notices a presence behind them. It’s Julian (🧍♂️)
- HE’S WEARING KAYA’S CROP TOP AND A LITTLE HAND TOWEL AROUND HIS WAIST 💀💀💀
- HE DOESN’T HAVE CLEAN CLOTHES!!!
- They tell him to go back to Kaya’s room, and to wait for them
- Quén goes down to meet with Kaya and Cordelia, asking about clean clothes or a method through which to clean his old clothes. Before they can reach a conclusion, Julian CLOMPS downstairs
- Kaya is MAD that Julian wore her crop top and stretched it out 💀 (for Lily’s reference, it is a black top that was stretched so thin in the front that it is a little see-through)
- THERE ARE BITS. JULIAN PROMISES TO GET HER A NEW ONE (Quén is like with what money 💀)
- Quén tries to reach out to Varrell via sending stone, there is no response because he’s a broke ass bitch who doesn’t have a sending stone
- Julian wonders if his armor is done!!
- Kaya goes with Julian to check on his armor!
- HE GETS IT! The armor is now in his bag of holding
- Quén bends Cordelia’s ear, asking for her help in writing a proposal to send to V
- She helps!
- The proposal is to mass-produce tidesmiths (the invention that we saw at Dagen’s Masquerade) and assign them to trained groups spread evenly throughout the Capital to fight the fires that we saw in our dreams
- Quén spends the entire night writing letters (+1 Exhaustion)
- Kaya spends the night writing a letter
- Cordelia spends the night reading
- Cal spends the night tinkering
Day 2
- We use Foo’s door to get to the Capital!
- Entering the Keeper’s Tower, Simon (guy at the front desk) tells us that V isn’t in right now, and encourages us to wander
- Quén suggests that we go to the bakery Cordelia likes!
Visiting the Bakery
- The gang heads to the bakery, and Cal splits off, saying that he has more important things to do (the gang bids him goodbye)
- There are a few people - an elf, a dwarf, and a human - sitting around the bakery and chatting
- Island is behind the counter, covered in dough. He greets Cordelia effusively!
- Cordelia musters a little smile and greets him
- They talk about the weather (and how the weather dome is gone now). Island wonders aloud about where the magic is being rerouted to, and Cordelia feigns ignorance
- Island says that he’s been told to stay indoors. Cordelia asks if he’s been asked to make rations — hardtack
- Cordelia asks after his sister. She’s about to pop! (been so for the past month)
- She could be due any day now, tbh
- She was 7 months pregnant when the campaign started so she’s at 9 now!!
- Island asks if we want pastries. Cordelia declines
- THE DOOR OPENS!!! CORDELIA HEARS HER NAME. WHEN SHE TURNS AROUND, SHE SEES HER LITTLE BROTHER: LAWRENCE
- He’s wearing military attire! Even though it’s been 3 months since she last saw him, he’s still a Recruit
- Cordelia asks if their father couldn’t move him up the ranks. Apparently he’s been very busy.
- He’s like are you? okay?? Cordelia’s like yeah 🙃
- It’s so awkward.. omg…
- He’s wearing military attire! Even though it’s been 3 months since she last saw him, he’s still a Recruit
- Kaya and Quén introduce themselves!! Lawrence goes by Law
- Cordelia asks where her mom is (home) and her dad (Lawrence doesn’t know)
- Cordelia’s like “well… got what I wanted 🤷♀️”
- Quén vibe checks
- Cordelia is angry, but also happy to see her brother
- Lawrence is still standing, and seems like he has something VERY important to tell Cordelia
- Quén excuses themself and Kaya, saying that they will go to get food
- Lawrence tells Cordelia that he will be on the front lines in two days
- He says he just wanted to see her and tell her that he loves her. “In case something happens.”
- Cordelia is holding back tears :( There was nothing their dad could do — he’s been busy, and Law hasn’t seen him days. And their mom doesn’t care.
- The Journeymen and Recruits have been talking: “it doesn’t look good”
- He says that there’s a group of heroes that will be joining the fight (THE DRAMATIC IRONY IS REAL). Law says that apparently these “heroes” were at the fight on the bridge and helped stop the advancement
- Cordelia cracks a smirk and asks what people have been saying about these “heroes”
- Law says that people are saying they are the reason why they think Clover will win
- Cordelia stands up and pulls Lawrence into a hug 🥺 she tells him to be careful
- “Oh, you know us. We’ll be fine.”
- Cordelia immediately BOOKS it
- Law awkwardly waves at Kaya and Quén, and ALSO books it
- Kaya and Quén leave 1 GP each, and go to follow Cordelia
- RETCON: JULIAN WAS ALSO THERE (EATING PASTRIES)
- He tries to tip but he’s BROKE
- RETCON: Vallen was standing outside, waiting for us
- He sighs, and catches up to Cordelia as she runs away
- Vallen asks Cordelia where she’s going — she says she doesn’t care
- He says that he would normally recommend that they go to the pastry shop, but…
- Cordelia is wringing her hands, running them through her hair
- Vallen suggests that she sits down and takes a breath, but she keeps walking
- Vallen follows her, and tells her that he’s here if she wants to talk (he follows three or so paces behind)
Cal’s Sidequest
Cal goes to the orphanage
- Cal makes his way to the lower city
- He sees a taller elf woman corralling some children in front of the orphanage he’s looking for
- There’s a small elf child, looking up and around at the people passing by. The group she’s looking for is roughly 30-40 feet away, and she’s looking in the opposite direction
- Cal walks over to the child and holds out his hand. As he does so, he sees a familiar face. Erin Thorne WALKS UP AND KNEELS DOWN IN FRONT OF HER
- Erin tells her that he is here to help, and that Cal is an expert at finding people and can help
- “I am always watching, Corvo. Especially when you are not.”
- Erin takes the girl’s hand, and passes her onto Cal.
- Cal brings the girl back to the group, and as he does, he holds his finger up to his lips (shushing her) before he casts Shadow Step and bamphs into the building
- Cal makes his way to the headmistress’s office. There’s a woman sitting at a desk there - an older elven woman - jotting stuff down
- Cal stays outside of the door, out of sight
- He takes a little note and ALL his gold. The note reads “Make sure the kids are well-fed and clothed.”
- He leaves the note in front of the office door, knocks, and bamphs away
Cal goes to the library
- Cal initially seeks out the training grounds at the military outpost deeper in the city
- INSTEAD he goes to the training grounds, he takes a detour to the library
- It’s a MASSIVE library
- One of the librarians helps him find the religion section — it’s essentially a whole wing of the building
- Cal picks up the first book on the first row on the first shelf, and hangs around the library for a while
Back to Cordelia
- She’s still walking in one big circle. Five minutes pass, and Kaya and Quén finally see her again
- Kaya and Quén catch up to her!
- The world is continuing to move, but it seems to swim and slow before Cordelia’s eyes. After the fourth or fifth loop
CORINTHIA NOTES GO HERE
The party convenes at the library
- Vallen and Kaya are LOST!!!
- Vallen turns to the librarian and is like “Where should we go??”
- The librarian (looks to be late teens, early twenties — dead in the eyes) tells him that he can “join the gentleman in the Religion section”
- Kaya is like “I guess we can check out this old guy???”
- As Kaya and Vallen walk to meet “the old guy” Vallen is like “We haven’t really talked a whole lot”
- Vallen asks Kaya how she’s doing. Kaya’s like “that’s a loaded question 💀” but then Vallen’s like “ok but what if we die”
- Kaya confesses that the party means a lot to her, and that she doesn’t want anything to happen to us — although the possibility does not leave her. She tells him that she doesn’t want to have any regrets, but regarding our time together, she doesn’t think she will
- Vallen’s like “well… we haven’t had MANY failures”. He muses that this next battle might be a success too!
- Vallen: [Lacing his fingers behind his head] “Well, the way I look at it: we stomped him into the ground one time, and his army one time. So what’s it to say that we can’t stomp his army AND him at the same time?”
- Cal is sitting cross-legged on the ground with his back to the door. He is SURROUNDED by books (very reminiscent of when we found Cordelia in the library)
- He holds up one of his hands - the one with The Outsider’s mark on it - and in it materializes a sword. In his other hand is a book. When he snaps the book shut, the sword disappears
- Cal is NOT surprised to see Kaya and Vallen. They are surprised to see him though 💀
- Cal tells Vallen that he is the most likely to “survive this” out of all of us, and hands him a letter, telling him to read it when the time is right.
- Kaya’s like “Do I have to give you a letter too?” She tells him that she was just going to deliver the letter that she has
- Kaya and Vallen talk about potentially returning to the Keeper’s Tower, and muse about whether or not V has already messaged Quén
- Kaya reaches out via sending stone (using the rings didn’t work because they were out of range) and receives an affirmative response!
Meeting with the Keeper
- The party (sans Cal) take the elevator upstairs only to find that Cal is already in the room, speaking to V
- Cal appears to be finalizing some documents and plans — he asks V if the supplies can be delivered to his room, to which V responds affirmatively.
- Cal observes that there isn’t much time left, and that he has to get cracking on this mysterious project
- V greets us effusively, and rubs his desk — it’s covered in sand?
- V called us to the Capital specifically to discuss plans for tomorrow
- If his intel is correct, the army of warforged should approach near nightfall. It’s the most inopportune time to defend, but the most opportune time to attack.
- OSIRIS hasn’t been spotted yet
- The Capital’s Underdark tunnels have been sealed off
- OSIRIS will likely attack from the front — he has always had a flare for the dramatic
- Quén wonders if OSIRIS can do to the Capital that he did to Iron Forge: sink it underground using the Pyramid
- The Keeper doesn’t think it’s likely, because he’d need to be underground at the direct center of the city, and digging space underneath would attract attention
- V has mithril armor ready for us!
- The mithril armor is a little patchworked together — it will last us for the battle, but afterwards? Not so much
- City majors will be using every ounce of their abilities to protect the city
- Front-liners will be kept as safe as possible, and healers are on standby if need be
- V recognizes that we are not soldiers, but when it comes to the Shapes of Paracausality, he NEEDS us on the front lines.
- V points at a map, at a spot directly in front of the capital where there is a large field.
- V says that curfew will probably take effect at noon-ish tomorrow
- What the party requests from V
- Cal requests that modifications are made to the battlefield to increase our advantage
- The Earth Faction has been learning earthbending! Kaya offers to help, and Quén hypes up her abilities
- Quén suggests using the Daylight spell to give us an advantage
- This isn’t possible, BUT apparently V has plans related to this that he can’t share??
- Cal requests that modifications are made to the battlefield to increase our advantage
- V says that - as much as he wants to be a friend to us - he still has a kingdom to run, so he has to put his foot down on a few things. He will still do what he can to be sure that our requests are met
- Ozwin is in the barracks, rallying the troops. We probably won’t see him until tomorrow, but
- V has BEGRUDGINGLY reached out to Balthazar, but has not heard back specifics as to how this next battle will go. Which likely means that we’ll probably be more or less ok?
- Speaking of Balthazar, he had a LOT of questions about Cordelia — V has a hunch that she should go to meet him after this battle
- V tells us that he wants to give us houses after this is all over. I will hold CJ to this.
- Quén says that they want a house for their mother, since she’s basically homeless rn
- KAYA’S DAD WILL BE IN THE KEEPER’S TOWER IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS?? lmao fuck that guy
- Quén wants to go see their mother - not to speak with her, but to make sure she’s ok - and says that they will catch up with the party later if they go back to Hillford now. Kaya says that she has something to do as well, and will join them
Cordelia and Vallen speak
- Vallen asks Cordelia to speak in private in the hall before she leaves
- Vallen read her letter! He tells her that he’s writing one of his own 👀 Words are hard for him, so he figured that he can take a leaf from her book and write a letter back 🥺
- Cordelia says that she looks forward to receiving it 🥰
- Vallen says that he will give it to her tomorrow AFTER HTEY WIN
- Cordelia: “All the more reason to fight, then.”
- Vallen: “And win.”
Kaya’s Delivery
- She walks down a familiar street - perhaps a street where she once lived. She walks past her house, and a few houses down she delivers a letter to a different, also familiar house. Then she walks away.