WE PICK UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF: standing in the war room underneath the King’s Hand, having just decided to target the warforged and the piece of the Pyramid that they hold first.
Talking to Aratish
- Kaya leaves the war room - and her friends - behind, going towards her mother’s room to talk to her about our plans
- Quén casts Guidance on her before she leaves
- Kaya tells Aratish that - as warriors and “saviors of this land” - that we need to face the body before the head. She emphasizes that we have a lot to learn and can do a lot to help people by aiming for lesser targets (i.e. the Warforged) than jumping straight into the fire
- She’s shaking as she tells her mother this
- Aratish: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect this.
- She doesn’t know what will happen, but she says that she trusts Kaya if she thinks this is the right decision to make
- She iterates that Kaya’s making difficult decisions, and that this is “befitting” of her, since she will one day be queen
- Kaya says that she hopes she will be ready one day, but isn’t ready now
- Aratish asks where we plan to go, but stops herself and says that she doesn’t need to know
- She trusts that Kaya will return eventually
- Aratish will remain in the Capital and try to keep Alexios from following Kaya
- Aratish asks if there’s anything we need
- She says that she can spare some gold and rations, but not so much in the way of weapons
- She’s willing to give Kaya 3,000 gold (for any fees that we run into) and 2 weeks of rations, which will be sent to the Eldorian ship right away
- Aratish also offers a sending stone, and asks Kaya to write to her
- Aratish says that she can’t leave the capital, and stands up with her arms out (in that she offers Kaya a hug)
- Kaya hugs her! It feels genuine :]
Kaya returns to the group
- Cordelia asks Kaya how the talk went
- Kaya has tears in her eyes 🥺
- She tells us that we have 3,000 GP and 2 weeks of rations
- Vallen asks if we should leave
- The answer is yes!
- Quén messages Captain Seamus, asking him how close he is to port
- He’s docking now!
- Quén asks if we should do anything, speak to anyone, or bring anyone with us before we leave
- Kaya says that we should probably bring Kade
- Cordelia and Quén are like ??? why aren’t we bringing Alexios instead?
- Kaya is like “we shouldn’t let him know that we’re leaving, bcs he’ll probably try to follow us anyways”
- Vallen (validly) asks that - if Alexios is gone - who will protect the queen?
- Kaya says that we should probably bring Kade
- Quén requests that we make a quick stop at the black market to purchase one diamond worth 500 gold pieces (for the purposes of Raise Dead)
- OZWIN PULLS ONE OUT OF HIS BAG???
- CORDELIA IS LIKE “IS THAT THE HOPE DIAMOND FROM THE CAPITAL”
- OZWIN TELLS US THAT HE TOOK IT FROM THE KEEPER’S DESK (HE TOOK STUFF FROM BOTH HIS AND THE KEEPER’S DESK)
- OZWIN PULLS ONE OUT OF HIS BAG???
- The gang talks again about potentially bringing Kade
- Quén is against it (Cordelia also says that she’s against it, but that’s PURELY because she wants to stir the pot)
- Ozwin is curious as to who this “Kade” person is, and Quén explains that he’s a purple tiefling who “doesn’t take things seriously enough”
- Kaya agrees not to fetch Kade, and the party departs for the docks
At The Harbor
- We see The Fogstrider docked with the boards down
- People are running on and off the ship
- Captain Seamus is standing off to the side with a clipboard, marking stuff off
- There’s a human standing next to him
- Captain Seamus waves us over!
- We inform him of the rations and gold on the way, and he’s like ???
- He’s like where’d you get all that shit from?
- APPARENTLY WE NEVER TOLD HIM ABOUT THE QUEEN
- He tells us that we can brief him on the ship over drinks!
- We inform him of the rations and gold on the way, and he’s like ???
- Captain Seamus gestures to the human, telling him “Heywood, wrap up here!”
- His last name is Jablomi (Heywood Jablomi, as in “Hey would you blow me” :( I’m gonna kill myself)
All Aboard!
- We all board the ship. We still have our own rooms :]
- Vallen has a room (a smaller one with a bed/desk, while the rest of us have bigger rooms)
- Ozwin is in the room that would have been Julian’s :( FUCK MY LIFEEEE I MSIS HIM
- All the rooms are relatively close to each other!
- About 30 minutes after boarding, the ship departs!
- WE SET SAIL ⛵⛵⛵
- Our destination: an island right off the coast of Braldurak
Socializing
- Cal offers Cordelia a piece of beef jerky (it came up earlier that she doesn’t know what it is)
- She’s baffled and confused
- Cordelia seeks out Ozwin
- Kaya goes to get a drink
Speaking to Ozwin
- He’s getting a drink at the bar!
- Cordelia sits next to him, gesturing to the barmaid for wine (which she gets)
- Cordelia asks him how he’s been doing!
- Ozwin says that - honestly - he’s not doing too bad!
- Cordelia says that - as much shit as she’s been giving him about his appearance - he looked like he was going through it
- His response is “Aren’t we all?”
- Cordelia asks Ozwin how he’s been holding up without V
- It’s been tough — V really kept things running
- Ozwin admits that Balthazar showing up was a relief
- Cordelia says that she has her own opinions about the man, but even a broken clock is right twice a day
- Ozwin notes that we’ve been gone for three weeks
- Cordelia says that this time next week, had she stayed in the Capital, she would be graduating
- They agree that it’s weird to think about
- Ozwin says that it’s odd to think that he was planning on retire in five years
- Cordelia says that the only correct thing that her mother ever said was that Ozwin is a workaholic
- Ozwin muses over how Captain Purah is doing
- Cordelia says that she hopes she’s taking a break, and comments on her lack of a sense of humor
- Cordelia says that she’s technically known him since she was a child, so she wanted to check in
- Ozwin asks Cordelia how SHE’S been doing
- Cordelia comments on how there’s been no time to be upset about anything, and that in a matter of seconds we will probably be attacked by pirates or the Kraken or some shit
- Ozwin’s like tf’s a Kraken?? and then pivots to asking her if Cordelia thinks it’s real
- Cordelia comments on how there’s been no time to be upset about anything, and that in a matter of seconds we will probably be attacked by pirates or the Kraken or some shit
- Ozwin pivots, turning to Kaya (who is also there, getting a drink) and asking her - more like stating - that she’s the princess??
- Kaya never gave too much thought to her birth parents, but that’s what alcohol is for!
Quén is below decks
- Quén sees a few people below deck: most notably Nicholas Powers, passed out at a table
- They shake him awake, asking him what he’s here for (he stayed on the boat, helping out)
- They pour him a glass of water from their flask
- NICK IS SOBER???
- PASSIVE INSIGHT: 23. HE’S NOT LYING
- He says he can stop drinking whenever he wants, he just doesn’t want to (when Quén asks, he admits to being an alcoholic)
- The reason why he’s ALWAYS drunk is because he can’t hit any of his shots when he’s sober
- Apparently the first session where we met him was PURE luck
- Nick says that he’s going to bed, and departs after grabbing a clearly-full beer stein
Cal approaches Ozwin
- Cal sits next to Ozwin, saying that he “looks like a fuckin nerd” and asks him if he can read
- Cal asks for “wizard books” (e.g. spellbooks), and asks for spellbooks for children
- Ozwin asks why Cal wants first-level spellbooks
- Cal pulls out some schematics, spreads them out in front of him, and gestures for Ozwin to look
- Ozwin perks up, looking at the schematics. He says that he has a few books that he can spare!
- Cal calls to the barmaid for some drinks, and pulls a bottle of alcohol into his ring
- Cal says that he doesn’t know how to pull everything together yet, which is why he was “looking for a nerd”
- Ozwin gets to work with Cal!
Cordelia and Vallen
- Cordelia seeks out Vallen. He’s sitting belowdecks, leaning against the wall and staring at the stairs (no light falls on him, since he’s a full vampire now)
- Cordelia asks why he’s staring at the stairs
- He can’t go up there anymore!
- Cordelia asks why. He says that the sun is out and he’s waiting until dusk
- Cordelia offers to keep him company, to which Vallen agrees
- He can’t go up there anymore!
- Vallen asks Cordelia what she’s doing keeping an old man company
- She says that Quén has commandeered Kaya, and Cal has taken Ozwin, so she’s here
- Vallen’s like 🤨 so you’re talking to me as a last resort??
- CORDELIA’S LIKE OH GOD I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT
- Cordelia asks if he’s read anything interesting lately
- He’s re-reading one of the books that Quén gave him! (Juju’s Strange Journey)
- Cordelia mistakes the author as “Jack Mehoff”, but after correction from Vallen realizes that she’s thinking of a different section of the library
- The conversation drifts to the other Eldorians
- Vallen wonders where everyone else is, although the party found him
- Cordelia muses that some of them might be used in “some machine, as fuel”
- Vallen comments on how he’s been thinking about it a lot lately, and that they’ve “taken on a VERY large task”
Quén and Kaya
- Quén meanders to an empty spot on deck, sitting down and patting the spot next tothem
- When Kaya takes a seat next to them, they wrap an arm around her and ask her: “Are you okay?”
- She muses about how we’re going against possibly a million warforged, but right now all she wants to do is get to know her mother 🥺😭😭
- THEY TALK
- TL;DR: Quén URGES KAYA TO TALK TO HER MOTHER, AND WRITE THINGS DOWN BEFORE USING THE SENDING STONE IF NEED BE. KAYA IS WORRIED ABOUT Quén AND ASKS THEM TO NEVER USE THE FORGET CANTRIP TO FORGET EITHER HER OR ANYONE ELSE IN THE PARTY. THERE’S ALSO A BIT WHERE SHE’S LIKE “YOU THINK I CAN WRITE 🥺?” AND ASKS THEM NOT TO TELL CORDELIA. THEY SAY THAT THEY’RE WILLING TO LIE FOR HER.
- PERCEPTION CHECKS
- They see a boat on the distant horizon — thinking about it (Insight 30+) they realize that the other ship is headed in the same direction as we are
- Quén asks Captain Seamus about the ship
Speaking to Kade
- Kaya and Quén go belowdecks, collecting Cordelia (on her way back from the bathroom)
- They see Cal speaking to Kade and Ozwin!
- The gang talks to Kade!
- He joined us on a whim, after seeing Aratish sad/upset and hearing that we’re going on an adventure, he hopped on the ship right before we left!
- Quén is still PISSED at him
- Kade is like “you’re still mad at me aren’t you” and Quén is like “yeah”
- At some point Quén bluntly tells him to keep talking
- They comment on how he doesn’t think things through very much, to which he’s like “yeah 😏“. He counters by saying that thinking things through is just planning, and taking action is doing
- This seems to strike a nerve with Quén, who turns around and leaves
- After Quén leaves, Kade leans in close to the rest of the gang and asks them if Quén is single???? 💀
- Cal and Kaya JUMP on the opportunity to tell him that he should really shoot his shot
- Cordelia ALSO gets in on this, and after lying to Kade’s face about Quén’s availability she pats Cal’s on the knee
Night Falls
Cal pulls up at the bar
- Cal asks Foo for some help setting up a private (but still in full view of his usual spot) table
- Foo pulls out a fancy dinner kit, which was requested by Julian (but never used 😭😭😭)
- Kade pulls up, looking around
- Cal calls him over and is like “oh take a seat! wait nvm, there are no seats left (there are 3 empty spots right next to him 💀)”
- Kade says that he’s picking up what Cal is putting down, and pulls out a comb to slick his hair back
QUÉN GETS PARENT TRAPPED
CORINTHIA NOTES HERE
Recapping the “Date”
- Kade grabs the lava cake and Quén grabs the remaining drinks
- Quén talks to the party, asking them if they’ve had enough entertainment for the night
Cal on Deck
- Cal goes up to the deck to smoke a doobie
- Vallen can finally go on deck!! He joins Cal as he smokes
- He asks Cal what he’s doing on board — Cal’s looking for a ship on the horizon
- Neither of them can see a ship
- Cal calls a deckhand over, and asks if they’ve seen a ship recently
- They were ordered to keep an eye on the ship, but it’s been an hour or two since they’ve last seen it
- Cal doesn’t see
- Cal calls Quén, telling them to get the gang together and join him on deck. They do so
- PERCEPTION CHECK: all of us can see the outline of a ship, lights off, about half a mile out
- Quén calls to the secondary - Heywood - and asks for a telescope
Quén speaks to the Father
