In the Women’s Bathroom
- Quén snaps out of the Scrying vision, and says that we should probably get together to recap what they saw
- They messages Cal, requesting his presence in the women’s bathroom (they send a follow-up message, requesting that he be discreet)
- We all recap what Quén saw
- Quén receives a message from Vallen:
- “Where at? I wanna leave”
- “We are all in the women’s bathroom”
- Vallen comes in, crams into the same stall with us
- We all agree that we should head out and fully recap at the King’s Hand
- Julian is ALSO summoned to the women’s bathroom (so we don’t leave him behind 💀)
- WE ALL LEAVE THE WOMEN’S BATHROOM AT THE SAME TIME
Leaving the Gala
- Cal considers splitting up from the party for ✨shenanigans✨, but ultimately decides against it since he’s not wearing a tearaway suit (with his shape-changing armor beneath it)
Train Time!!
- We board the train!!
- Vallen sees Quén side-eyeing him the entire train ride
- We talk a little!!
- Cordelia is like “how are you still alive??”
- Quén and Kaya look around to see if anyone is listening in
- Quén sees some people turn around when Cordelia asks Vallen how he’s still alive
- Kaya can tell for SURE that some folks are eavesdropping
- They both change topics and encourage the party to talk later
At the King’s Hand
- We pull up
- Vallen takes off his mask, unbuttons his shirt a little
- Cordelia tries to subtly check him out (it is not subtle)
- We make our way downstairs, and see Aratish sitting at her usual chair
- She’s like “how’d it go?” and “I see you found the new recruit”
- We tell her about what we saw and what happened
- She’s like “Thraxxus? I thought he was dead??”
- She encourages us to take the night to rest and drink
- Kaya’s like “so the false king looked like my dad… what the fuck is up with that”
- Aratish tells us that the public believes that she and Kaya were killed in an assassination, and since then he has moved on (not remarried, but he DOES have concubines)
- Aratish leaves for her study (down the hall — the door is cracked open)
- We decide to head back to Foo Bar
- Quén messages Foo, telling him that they’re heading over — he responds and says that he’s already there and invites us to join us!!
- Cordelia uses the key on the Foo’s Door in the war room
At Foo Bar
- ALL THE SHOPKEEPERS ARE DRINKING AT THE BAR (+ some civilians)
- Foo greets us and asks us if we want to go upstairs to change
- HE ALSO OFFERS US FREE DRINKS ON THE HOUSE
- Apparently Cal’s been paying for our drinks until now?? (he doesn’t remember this)
- Foo claims that Cal gives him a fat bag of gold every night (+ a good tip!) every time he gets drunk
- APPARENTLY THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A WHILE. FOO ISN’T LYING!!!
- Apparently Cal has been singlehandedly funding the town’s protection (Foo says that - without him - Hillford wouldn’t be as well protected as it is)
- The gang goes upstairs to get changed!
- Cordelia - as she starts walking up the stairs - casts a lingering glance back at Vallen. He catches her eye but continues to drink (mans is locked in)
- Quén puts a hand on Vallen’s shoulder as they pass, and ask him if they can talk after they get changed (he 👍)
- When we go upstairs, our rooms are exactly as we left them :(
- Cal changes into a sleeping gown (pom pom cap and all)
- Kaya changes into her JUICY tracksuit
- Cordelia wears a dark blue nightgown with her usual cloak on top
- Just like at a One Direction concert, she’s shaved literally EVERYTHING
- Quén changes into normal clothes (+ their veil)
- We all head back downstairs!
- KAYA ROLLS FOR PERCEPTION
- She realizes Julian isn’t with us
- WE LEFT HIM IN SOLMARA 😭😭😭
Drinking with Vallen
- The moment Vallen addresses us again, Quén tackles him in a tight hug
- They missed him so much :((
- He hugs them back and rubs comforting circles into their back :((((
- Vallen’s shirt rn:
- Vallen asks Cal to recap everything that happened since he disappeared
- Vallen remembers a really bright flash of white light, and he found himself in the dead of night
- He was in the middle of the street in Langston, and immediately met with MANY people trying to capture him (Langston guards)
- He escaped, made his way through bars, whorehouses, and back-alleys to learn as much as he could about where he was
- He found the King’s Hand (and the little hidey spot) pretty easily
- He asked to join them. They didn’t trust him at first, but Alexios vouched for him
- Since then, he’s gone on a few missions to build his credibility
- Apparently he looks kinda like a royal person? So he changed his hair and melted down his gold to make jewelry for piercings
- Quén gives Vallen back his stuff!
- Vallen’s like “where are my letters?”
- CORDELIA AND Quén ADMIT THAT THEY READ THE TWO LETTERS THAT FLEW OUT OF HIS BAG WHEN HE GOT SPIRITED AWAY
- Quén asks Vallen about the Zone of Truth that was cast on him by Siren, and how he was able to lie and get away with it
- Apparently he’s gotten a bunch of new powers?
- He holds his hand over Cal’s drink, and the wood withers away and the liquid evaporates
- Quén casts Zone of Truth and asks everyone what their true names on (and asks them to try and lie)
- Everyone in the party fails their save, and they sense that Vallen “willingly failed” his save
- Everyone is unable to lie EXCEPT for Vallen
- Quén is like 🤨 about Vallen NOT being a true changeling, but Vallen tells them again that
- Apparently he’s gotten a bunch of new powers?
- Vallen confirms that the “Doctor” the False King mentioned IS in fact Dr. Pope
- Vallen says that he’s pretty sure that the False King is working for the Father
- We’re all a little confused, because the Father has been trapped in Eldoria for thousands of years, while the False King has been on the throne for roughly 20 years
- Vallen says that he’s pretty sure that the False King is working for the Father
- Vallen tells us about the Solmaran Crown is believed to be able to control ALL the Solmaran people
- Quén theorizes that the Cube has been
- What are our next moves?
- Find and save the Eldorians
- Find the missing pieces of the Shapes
- Vallen says that we need a base of operations, and admits that he doesn’t fully trust the queen
- He apologizes to Kaya, and asks her who she - as the queen - would put first: the Solmarians, and the Eldorians?
- Cordelia asks Vallen who he thinks the Keeper is now that V’s dead
- We’re like what the fuck is up with Ozwin?
- Quén messages Oz, tells him that we’re back in Eldoria, and asks him to join us at Foo Bar
- We’re like what the fuck is up with Ozwin?
- OZ BURSTS THROUGH THE DOOR. HE IS BEDRAGGLED AND FUCKED UP. MANS HASN’T SHAVED OR SHOWERED
- HE’S LIKE “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???” and we fill him in on the fact that we went beyond the Fog (he knew that already) and that Solmara both exists and that we’ve been there
- Quivern is in the corner looking at him like 😨
- Cal offers him a joint (he hits it, coughs a BUNCH, and hits it again)
- Oz tells us that he left Balthazar in charge (Quén calls him over)
- Balthazar arrives
- Quén asks him about the “Right of the Keeper”
- He tells us that it’s a “personal journey” — one doesn’t know when one takes the right of the Keeper, the universe just decides
- When a new Keeper is to be determined, the universe/fate decides to spin a new string and make someone else Keeper
- A new Keeper hasn’t been chosen yet, so he says that either the world doesn’t need one at the moment or one will be chosen eventually
- Quén theorizes that - of everyone in the party - Cordelia and Cal are the most likely candidates for the next Keeper
- Quén asks him about the “Right of the Keeper”
- Balthazar tells Cordelia that he knows about her new card, and tells her that he thinks she’s ready
- THERE ARE TRIALS THAT SHE HAS TO UNDERGO??
- SHE’S LIKE ????
- He tells her that she has the “Cardbearer’s attitude”
- Whenever she’s ready, she can come to him to train for a few months
- He advises her to come back to Eldoria when she’s ready — without her friends
- Balthazar leaves 💀
- OZ REALIZES THAT QIVERN’S BEEN WATCHING HIM THIS WHOLE ITME
- HE’S EMBARRASSED!
- NAT 20 INSIGHT. OZWIN IS EMBARRASSED BCS HE STILL HAS FEELINGS FOR QUIVERN
- Quiv is disappointed that his mans looks like that 💀
- Ozwin hurriedly excuses himself
- We all try to hype him up (loudly, so Quiv can hear). But Quiv just rolls his eyes and goes back to drinking
What are our next moves?
- Vallen redirects the conversation back to what we should do next
- Quén says that we have three main goals, but we need to figure out what to prioritize:
- Eldorians
- The Shapes
- Our Enemies
- Quén can try to Scry on either The Father or the piece of the Pyramid currently in Langston, but they’re reluctant to do either
- Vallen says that he doesn’t want to put them in that position, but they counter and say that they don’t know if we have a choice
What the fuck is up with Quén?
- IZZIE FORGOT HOW IT CAME UP but Quén is like “that person V?” and everyone else is like “you mean our FRIEND???”
- Vallen says - and repeats - “Quén, what did you do.”
- The gang suspects that Quén made a deal with the Father in the same way that Julian did, which is why their memories are missing
- On the topic of Julian, we decide to call him over to cross-check their stories
- Quén messages Julian, telling him to come to the door in the war room
- Kaya picks him up, and says that it’s about time we apologize to him for how we’ve treated him
- He interrupts her and says that there’s no need.
What the fuck is up with Julian?
- Julian says that he needs to talk to us: He’s leaving the party
- He says that he’s not wanted here — when he says this, he looks at Cordelia
- When he abandoned his post, he left his family behind: his father, his mother, his siblings.
- When the world ended, he was blamed for it. Even though the party has started to forgive him (from his perspective), he doesn’t think he should be forgiven, and that he should atone
- When the world disappeared, none of us asked about his family
- His bags are already packed and he’s wearing his traveling clothes already.
- Kaya asks where he’s going to go next.
- Somewhere in Solmara: he’ll try to look for his family and find what clues he can
- Quén asks for a list of names and descriptions of his family so that - if we come across one of them - we can let him know
- He looks them in the eyes and simply says “No.”
- Quén: Fair enough. Good luck.
- Before he leaves, Kaya walks with him to the door. She tells him that - before he goes - she wants him to know that she’s sorry.
- She tells him that she hopes he finds his family, and that she hopes their paths will cross again.
- Julian tears up a little at this :(
- Julian looks to Cordelia, and Kaya takes her leave
- Cordelia wishes him luck, and they both apologize to each other. She says that she hopes that when their paths cross again, they will both have things much more figured out than they do now.
- Julian: I… I don’t… I don’t want to meet again. That’s for the best.
- Julian walks away. The door closes behind him.
- Cordelia stares off into the distance as the door closes. Then she looks at Vallen.
- He locks eyes with her, and Cordelia walks upstairs
- Quén grabs someone’s half-drunk bottle of whiskey off the bar counter and walks upstairs.
- Kaya tells herself that she’ll give it 10 minutes, but resolves to follow them later
The Aftermath
- Vallen is like “well that was depressing”
- Kaya’s like “yeah…”
- Vallen wasn’t aware that Julian lost all his memories (since he disappeared before Julian started trying to redeem himself)
- Cal feels ambivalent about the whole thing
- Vallen comments on how that’s a big word for him now. In response, Cal says “I can read now :)”
- Kaya says that she doesn’t want us to be the cause for his suffering - at least not anymore
- Vallen says that we’re not heroes — at least not yet
- He’s learned that there will always be casualties. And right now, we’re at war.
- Kaya agrees
- Vallen says that they should probably check on the others
- Vallen will take Cordelia, and Kaya will take Quén
Foo talks to Cal
- After the other two depart, Foo approaches Cal
- “Well, that lad’s gone.”
- He asks Cal if he wants to drink (the answer is yes)
- Foo pulls out two drinks and puts them the table
- Foo says that he’s heard that Erin Thorne is back
- Cal is like “how tf did you hear about that”
- Foo and Cal talk about what to do about Erin Thorne (they agree to kill him)
Kaya talks to Quén
- Kaya grabs another bottle and goes to knock on Quén’s door (it’s closed)
- Kaya says that she’s there to check in on them — they say that they’re fine, and that they appreciate her checking
- KAYA REALIZES THAT Quén FORGOT MULTIPLE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED RECENTLY
IZZIE FORGOR
Vallen talks to Kaya
- Vallen knocks on Cordelia’s door. She’s sitting at her desk, writing
- V: I figured that you either wanted to be by yourself, or you wanted to talk. So I wanted to make the effort to give you the choice between the two
- Cordelia says that she isn’t sure what she wants right now, and doesn’t look up from her writing
- Cordelia asks if it’s a bad thing that she feels a little apathetic about the whole ordeal with Julian
- Vallen says that he doesn’t think it’s entirely a bad thing
- Cordelia is worried that she’s becoming more like Balthazar
- She knows that she wanted to change so that she could make the right decisions so that they could win
- Ever since we went through the Fog, and ever since she gained her new card, everything feels so small
- Vallen comments on her ego death and how she was wanting one
- Vallen mentions her Pilgrim card, and Cordelia realizes that she never told him that that’s the card she got
- She asks him how he knew, since they’ve barely spoken since the battle with OSIRIS. She’s never had the chance to fully explain what happened to her.
- Vallen is confused as to why he remembers. He doesn’t know why he knows about Cordelia’s new card
- Cordelia says that she has “a strange feeling about memories and cards right now”
- Vallen circles back around to Cordelia mentioning how the world feels small. He agrees that Eldoria feels small right now, especially after seeing a map of Solmara
- Vallen also says that he really hopes she “doesn’t turn into an angry old black man”
- He says that a lot has happened since he disappeared, and he didn’t plan on giving Cordelia her letter so soon.
- He doesn’t know why he can do new things, and why he knows more about the cards now
- Vallen says that he can name every single one of Cordelia’s cards right now, even though they’ve never talked about them before
- He says he feels some sort of distant nostalgia for the cards
- In the same way that we can feel when the cards are close, he feels the same thing when the cards are close to him
- He affirms that - despite everything that’s changed about him - he’s still the same Vallen that she knows. He asks her to trust her on that.
CORINTHIA NOTES HERE
- Vallen says that he’s not sure how to explain it, but this just feels “right”
- They both joke about buying each other drinks
- Vallen says that he wants to take his time and sees where this goes with her — he says he has all the time in the world
- Cordelia agrees about taking it slow, and suggests making a pact with him
- Vallen says that he’d rather avoid making pacts and contracts for now
- Cordelia says that they can hold each other accountable, then
- Cordelia can kill Vallen if he turns out to be a spy/double-crosser, and Vallen can keep her from becoming an “ornery old man”
- Vallen agrees, but says that he’d like to add something else to that deal
- “While we do that, why don’t we also grab dinner?”
- Lily snaps and says “everything I have, praise the lord”
- Vallen says that he’d rather avoid making pacts and contracts for now
- Vallen says that he hears “emotions in the other room” and that he should go check on them
- They bid each other goodnight :)
Vallen and Kaya talk to Quén
- At the knock on the door, Kaya goes to open it and looks at Vallen like
- Kaya asks if Quén needs some water — they say yes, and she MARCHES HER ASS TO CORDELIA’S ROOM
- She tells Cordelia that - the next time she sees Balthazar - if Kaya isn’t with her, she needs her to DECK him
- She says that she’ll let Quén elaborate further, but she lets her know it’s for them
INFO
Vallen talks to Cal
- He walks downstairs, seeking out Cal
- He sees a set of blueprints and asks Cal: “is that a suit of armor?”
- Cal gestures for him to sit down. Vallen does.
- He asks Cal what he thinks and what he’s planning
- He asks “who we killing?” (Cal’s response is “everybody.“)
- Foo makes some suggestion about allowing the armor to cast spells of some kind (Izzie might have misheard)
- He suggests taking some ideas from someone with a spellbook and turning “it” into a weapon
- He might have some blueprints/schematics they can use!
- Foo says that he’ll need some of Cal’s help: specifically some of his blood, if that’s okay
- Cal doesn’t hesitate. He pulls out a knife and pricks his finger (Foo didn’t need it NOW, but takes his blood anyways)
- Foo says that he has an idea on how to find the Shapes
- He will also get Cal the weapons he needs!!
- Foo excuses himself to his basement to work on some stuff
- Vallen turns to Cal and asks why he wants to kill Erin Thorne so badly, since he wasn’t in the room for the big lore drop
- Cal: “Erin Thorne betrayed his oath to the people. He sought to do harm.”
- Vallen says that he doesn’t mean to keep playing the devil’s advocate, but he asks that - since Erin Thorne and Cal were both soldiers - what makes them different (since they both betrayed oaths?)
- Cal might have betrayed his oath to Diamond, but Throne betrayed his oath to protect the people.
- Vallen asks Cal what he thinks Thorne is doing in Langston
- “Something nefarious, I fear.”
- Vallen sits back down at the table and starts working on the schematics with Cal again
- He comments on the suit of armor Cal is working on, and asks if the platforms are necessary (since Cal’s already technically taller than him)