#granny peacock

[kalh-plays-dnd]

Notes: Session #5

Summary: Aaria and Zia interrogate a barmaid, Fred and Aurora get pastries and cake, and Viliam eats pancakes.

Aaria, Zia, and Niko head towards the Perlen Tavern. Along the way, Niko splits off to go speak to people in the streets, to hear if anyone's heard of Wish or Rogan Underbite.

At the tavern, Aaria and Zia speak to Sylvia, a human barmaid in her early twenties—blonde bangs, large ear rings, and (in Aaria's eyes) an attractive figure. Sylvia tells them Wish was there a week ago, with three others: a dwarf, a wealthy lady, and a bland guy whose face she doesn't recall. The party stayed overnight in rooms rented by one Rogan Underbite, though the dwarf went out in the evening and didn't return until the morning.

Aaria and Zia get each their glass of a fruity beer called lumiere, made by the local brewery, and get a table. Other patrons include a man day-drinking in the corner, and two people either having a late breakfast or an early lunch.

Fred and Aurora make their way back from the mayor's, bickering like an old married couple. They stop at Böhler Bakery, where Fred treats them to a chocolate croissant (for Aurora) and two slices of raspberry and white chocolate cake (for himself). They make for the tavern, where Aurora reveals she's somewhat uncomfortable with the atmosphere taverns normally garner. Fred reassures her, and they join Aaria and Zia.

Zia takes the stage to play gentle lunch music.

After speaking to Dr Schmidt, Viliam heads to Granny Peacock's Pancakes—a stone-built square tower, two floors, with children's paintings on the lower stones and a little flowery herbal garden surrounding it. Inside, a Alena the firbolg greets Viliam. She has rich blue fur and thick green hair with golden tips. She tells Viliam to take a seat upstairs, and that she'll come take his order shortly.

Upstairs, Viliam finds a panorama view of Waldstad. Most of the tables are small, made for two, with candles and fresh flowers. He sits by the north-facing window and lights the candle on his table. Alena comes up and takes his order. While he waits, he observes the Walden, the forest beyond Waldstad, and sees birds flying across the tree tops.

A couple, two young men, arrive and sit by one of the other tables. (One of them is the young man who served Fred and Aurora at the Bakery.) Alena comes up with a plate of three fluffy pancakes arranged around a blue sugar flower of a design Viliam has never encountered. Viliam asks about the flower, and Alena reveals that Granny Peacock calls it a 'Dream on a Plate'. Viliam asks how the firbolgs came to be in Waldstad. Alena says they travelled there some 2–3 years ago, from some village to the north, and settled here. Apparently the tower used to be a kindergarten.

Viliam eats the pancakes, then heads downstairs to pay. Another firbolg—Gloria—also young, though shorter and rounder, takes the payment. In the corner, Viliam sees an elderly firbolg with greying fur, grey streaks in her hair, and little round spectacles perched on her nose, hunched over a table and a lamp making detailed sugary works. He compliments the flower he had, and Gloria laughs and says Granny Peacock learned the art from her grandfather, but that she's not taught either of her grandchildren yet.

Viliam then heads towards the tavern, where he finds Alvin already warming his seat at Aaria, Zia, Fred, and Aurora's table.

[tri-punisher]

[ladyraspberry-2540]

May I interest you in an e g g in these trying times?

[hissyfitprincess]

Twisted Metal Episode 4 Spoilers

Granny Dread’s funeral hit me really hard.

The car that they had her “drift away” in was a 2002 BMW 3-Series. And Watts talked about how that car was her “pride and joy”.

Which reminded me of…me. Because I had a 2002 BMW 3-series, and a year ago, I had to let it go.

I loved that car, and I miss it terribly.

[travel-with-amalraj]

My Granny and her Peacocks- A Heartwarming Reality (Southern Tamil Nadu)

[ashesinthewest]

Three months into the new year and I'm already making great progress on my resolution for the year. The goal was to complete two of my UFOs with a stretch goal of 4-6 total depending on how the year goes. I've met my original goal and finished two blankets!

Kind of wish I thought to take before pictures to show where the project had been left off when it went from a WIP to a UFO to go along with the completed project picture. Oh well, I'll make sure to do that for the following projects. But I think I'm going to go ahead and increase the goal from 2 to 6 UFOs to be completed before the end of the year.

✨Here are the two completed blankets! ✨

The first blanket is the Yarnspiration's "Wave to Granny" made with Caron yarn in Deep Violet, Midnight Blue, and Peacock Variegated. I decided to swap the regular tassels for twisted tassels on the Chevron points. This blanket will be going into storage for now.

The second blanket is a modified Lush Life also from Yarnspiration's. It is massive! I used the original colors of Bernat Blanket yarn in Silver Steel and Vintage White used in the pattern since this blanket was originally for my youngest brother who mentioned wanting more neutral decor colors before it was later revealed that he dislikes the feeling of crocheted items. My other brother was there for the conversation with our brother and immediately called dibs on the resulting blanket. It will be a fine addition to his collection of crocheted items he's either taken from or been gifted by me.

[fushichoumomo-arch]

tagged by:  @biskael tagging:  @inmensapotentia, @opscurus, @hirak0s [shinji && ayame.]  EMOTIONS / FEELINGS:

001. restless anger.

002. unfathomable guilt.

003. the drive to protect.

004. loyalty.

005. passionate.

VOICE / GREETINGS / SPEECH PATTERNS :

001. momo sounds quite young and soft-spoken; she feels like she needs to raise her voice to be taken seriously, which is especially annoying for her as a lieutenant.

002. seeing that she's mostly on her guard these days, she often doesn't speak first unless it feels safe to do so or the situation is dire.

003. she mostly talks like a normal person would — except when she's angry. that's when all those poetry lessons by aizen come in handy: her language becomes flowery and somewhat formal, yet she still manages to come across as the attack dog she is.

COLOURS:

001. any variation of pink . has always been her favourite colour, always will be. [even though her reiatsu is red, let that sink in.]

002. scarlet red . the colour that signifies the departure of the “momo hinamori” everyone knew, and her vow to bring purgatory to her enemies. the colour of her evolved form [bankai etc.]

003. dark purple . her hair.

004. black . her uniform.

005. gold . her hairpin and bracelets. associated with fudo myo'o, or acala, one of the wisdom kings in buddhist mythology.

SCENTS:

001. peaches , her namesake.

002. vanilla , a woman's signature scent.

003. bright citrus , in memento of the ‘self’ that was lost in the war.

004. burning wood , in the heat of battle and its aftermath. a side-effect of using tobiume.

005. wisteria , signifying the fact she had to grow up quickly.

CLOTHING:

001. momo modified her standard shinigami uniform to include frills [a skirt instead of the hakama pants she wore in the past, and detached sleeves.]. she's taking care of her appearance when she didn't before — because before, she didn't take herself seriously nor think of herself as someone important.

002. furthermore, her new outfit closely resembles a traditional tengu ensemble; rmoderately-heeled geta, pompoms, you name it. [fitting, because when in bankai, she might as well be a tengu — she has wings.] 

003. a set of plum flowers on the side of her head. 

OBJECTS:

001. TOBIUME, her most precious zanpakutō. they may not see eye to eye sometimes, but they got each other's back.

002. a pair of golden bracelets and a feather-shaped hairpin. fudo myo'o is often depicted with a lotus on his head, and since momo is a phoenix… it is feathers spread out akin to a peacock's.

003. an agate talisman that her beloved granny gifted her after the war; consecrated to fudo myo'o himself, it represents protection from evil.

VICES / BAD HABITS: 

001. deep-seated anger issues . you see, momo is both brave and overwhelmed in times of adversity; when confronted with something that she doesn't necessarily have an answer to? she lashes out. when her cherished comrades [understandably] don't understand her decisions? she lashes out. her enemies will get under her skin, no matter how much she tries to conceal it. 

002. prone to overthinking . it's no secret to everyone around her that momo still thinks about those that have died in the war against the quincy; she did nothing, and yet she was among the living when her squad fought till their last and were less capable than her. and no matter how much she's reassured that it wasn't her fault — she doesn't believe it.

003. fear of failure . above all else, momo fears a situation that will leave her just as powerless as the war had left her. worse, that this time, tōshirō or granny might be dead because of her. the latter, at least, will have respite — tōshirō will go to HELL.

004. she's fucked up . she talks about the most morbid of things with an airy voice and a languid smile, and will even go as far as to say that aizen's betrayal [and stabbing] have made her stronger — that he is far more interesting now than when he was her captain.

BODY LANGUAGE:

001. very straight and upright when leading her subordinates into battle. momo, despite her small stature and meek voice, is still a gotei 13 lieutenant. 

002. though she does not realise it, her hands have a slight tremor, and the way she carries herself appears… tense. like she's always on alert. 

003. she's not much of a gesture person. when her hand is not on tobiume, she keeps her hands folded. 

004. cold, lifeless eyes [like aizen] and a languid smile when she is in the zone [read: when she is in the heat of battle.]

AESTHETICS:

001. the phoenix . momo hinamori is a woman that has died a total of three (3) times — metaphorically, of course, but still. one, when aizen shattered her whole world by revealing to her who he really is. two, the deaths of her comrades. and finally… when she became a deceiver herself. each of these deaths gave rise to the person that she is today.

002. a crimson bird's mask . both figuratively and literally [her hollow mask; verse-dependent].

003. a rope of kidō . it is said that the gods feared fudo myo'o because he could bind their transgressions and hurl them at them.

004. higanbana . known as lycoris radiata, this flower blooms at eternal partings, and guides to HELL.

SONGS:

001. angreifer // unlucky morpheus .

002. heavy is the crown // linkin park.

003. city of delusion // muse .

004. the walls // THE SIXTH LIE .

005. genshindou // autodidactic studios.

006. honkai world diva // mika kobayashi

[mor-and-more]

Okay so people have spoken!.. and the Communally Assigned Knits for me are

1. The shiny striped sweater that I love but kinda lost my groove in knitting

2. The tweed sweater which... Yeah, same as number 1

3. Start the new colourwork sweater, moons and ravens edition

I have a sneaking suspicion that Peperomia would've received more votes if I just took a moment to explain that I actually started it but I'm like. Halfway through the cuff, haha. And the cuff is where I started from, I don't have anything else done XD

Hmmmm I'll get to it as soon as I've taken care of the loose yarn in the Granny Hexagon

(oh ye Firiel has been finished since Thursday, and it's delightful)

...I'm just thinking that I should probably get to another started shawl in parallel because it's on my desk but it kinda just. Became a part of it, despite being quite bright

And given the votes' tendency to amass towards "just finish your started things, you ADHD scatterbrain!", I'm sure that will fully follow the spirit of the results 👍

The shawl I keep forgetting about? The stunning Terra Maris I'm using a rainbow gradient yarn for

And I'm past the 1st motif. And I love the process because you do get the triangle of a regular shawl but at constant amount of stitches through the most of it

I started it in may or june of 2024, and. I'd love to avoid having another Ye Olde WIP added to my list

I already have an advent shawl I started in December 2022

And peacock feathers shawl I started I don't remember when but the yarn is from AliExpress and that app stopped working for me YEARS ago after a tablet glitch

And mum's sweater that's old on its own but she asked me to reknit the body, and it's not been moving for a while

...not to forget that lonely spiral sock desperately needing a pair

...yeah I miiiight have a problem, I am sure it's not even a full list

[feelboss]

the fact that fuckin, the lowest STR female companion at 10, "ah, i'll just slow you kids down" jaheira, has a higher strength stat than, you know, the powerful vampire spawn or the blade of the frontiers is so fucking funny. y'all out here swaggering like peacocks while granny would mop the floor with you.

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

Since I haven't posted about X-Factor in a while:

In X-Factor 7, the remaining team, which is now Cecilia, Pyro, Granny Smite, Xyber, and Angel as the returned leader. Oh, and I think some other guy is there now, but I can't remember his name.

As usual, it's a mixed bag. Genosha has now been taken over by a society ruled by an algorithm and is now called Gigosha. Yeah, yeah, I get it, but the satire is heavy-handed as hell. X-Factor is supposed to go destroy the AI ruling Gigosha before it falls into Doom's hand. And as usual, I really only care about Pyro and Cecilia, but Granny Smite is actually growing on me as a character.

Pyro feels a little less dumb than he has been in previous issues. At least they let him be snarky and even moderately eloquent, which is how I like Pyro. Also, Pyro is an old:

Not sure how I feel about Cecilia being depicted as someone so young that she doesn't watch TV news. She always seemed like a more mature character. Not to mention, she's a doctor. Like an actual practicing doctor when we first meet her. And even if I assume she is brilliant and maybe skipped some grades in school, med school takes time!

Pyro also doesn't seem to like Angel much as a leader. He at least seemed to have some respect for Havok. (Also, whatever happened to Pyro supposedly being the second-in-command of the team? That has had absolutely no effect on the story.) And Angel is honestly kind of a dick in this issue.

What the hell, Angel, she saw her boyfriend die horrifically in front of her. Pyro was nicer to Cecilia about this than Angel, and that's saying a lot.

LOL Pyro.

Also, Pyro and Cecilia make a great team in this issue. Love him just jumping on her to hide behind her forcefield.

There is a nice moment with Granny Smite taking a hit for Xyber, because she doesn't care if she dies, and she's a genuinely nice person. Also, a great use of Forget-me-Not, who steals the bad guys' plane because they forgot he exists.

X-Factor 8:

This issue was mostly Hunt for Xavier cross-over stuff, and Scott-Havok stuff that I largely don't care about.

Frenzy comes back and tells Havok that she has a mission for him from the mutant underground. But later it turns out that she was actually helping Charles, who is on the run and reached out to her. Not sure why Charles would reach out to Frenzy in particular, this is another one of those stories where it seems like the characters fit the plot rather than the plot fitting the characters. Maybe it works for Joanna because she is a former villain who is trying to be better? Would have been nice to focus on that aspect of her character earlier in the series, instead of jokes about "dog breeder".

I have no idea what's going on with Xavier in this story, but leave her alone, Charles!

X-Factor shows up to take Xavier into custody, and as per super-hero crossover regulation, briefly scuffles with the X-Men. Very briefly. It's actually kinda pathetic. Pyro vs. Temper goes about how you'd expect:

I'm adding "piss on a peacock" to my vocabulary.

Beast also points out that they can neutralize Granny Smite by just...not attacking her:

At the end of the issue, Xavier reveals that he is going after the last Krakoan egg, with someone mysterious inside. But unless that's Spyke from X-Men Evolution being born into the 616 comics, I don't really care.

[haeccorizon]

DENZIL PATRICK

Fall 2023 Menswear

Daniel Gayle, the designer behind the London menswear label Denzil Patrick, is pretty nifty when it comes to naming his collections. This spring was dubbed London Belongs To Me, while for fall he came up with the equally evocative All Dressed Up and Somewhere To Go. That sense of evocation is two fold. For one, with All Dressed Up...Gayle has tapped into the coming season's new mood for menswear: a bit more glam, a bit more peacocking, and a whole lot more newness when it comes to tailoring. And evocative because Gayle is canny in a whole other way too. There's a rich sense of narrative going on here, personal and reflective, emotive and joyful. And that could be exactly the right approach to be taking now as a tiny indie in a world of behemoth megabrands: To make your label meaningful, tell your own story, not anyone else's.

In Gayle's case, that always starts with family, with all the love, connection, and complication that entails. With All Dressed Up... the starting point was an image of his mother taken during the very early '80s in the multicultural south London neighborhood of Brixton. And, another earlier family snapshot from the '40s, of his grandmother glammed up to go shopping in London's West End, a photograph brimming with the palpable and recognizable thrill of having made the effort and having made the effort and

turned yourself out in style in a

sartorial rebuke to whatever else is going on in your life. "I'd spent so much time talking about my grandfathers, Denzil and Patrick [hence the label name]," he said, laughing, “I wanted to give a nod to the powerful women in my life."

That led him to think about the family home in Brixton; to the very fabric (literally and metaphorically) of the domestic environment-the carpets and net drapes—that have become the prints for red or silver gray plush velvet jackets and silken shirts, or lace wrap dresses which can be layered with sharp jackets and pants with a snug-fit higher waistline. The tailoring was inspired by his snappily suited young Mod uncles, while his fake furs (made from deadstock fluffy stuff) came from that image of granny.

In effect, there's a whole generational and gender interplay going on here. That's powering a lot of fashion these days, but Gayle's is specifically familial. You don't need to know anything about the Gayle clan to feel the emotional resonance in these clothes, but it's there, and it makes his work all the more compelling for it. Make fashion, but mak it feel, is the message here-like the familiar comfort of Gayle's cozy Aran cardigans, which have been recycled from vintage ones, then re-dyed in the most gorgeous shades of scarlet and emerald. It's creative ambition informed by emotion.

Elsewhere, Gayle delved again, as he has done in the past, into his early dance training, giving a nod to the the brilliant, Puck- ish Scottish choreographer Michael Clark, who danced with Leigh Bowery and in BodyMap (the bodysuit the cult '80s London duo designed for Clark featured cut-outs, memorably including one exposing his ass). That led Gayle to explore how fit and freedom of movement can work together-that very au courant wider, sloping shoulder, or the narrow, warm- up pant leg, or the deep curving armholes on a pale mauve duchesse satin tee that's been spangled with jewels. That's not the only decorative flourish. Equally personal, Gayle's partner, the artist James Bosley, sketched a sassy character called Lydia, all Jessica Rabbit curves and Riot Grrrl attitude, who appears on the likes of a sweater with an exposed back. So, yes, dressed up, to be sure, all and with enough thought and imagination to suggest these clothes are definitely going somewhere.

[chorus-the-mutate]

In spite of what Paelex would personally say he is just a human being with a middling talent for combat. Yet his handsome face, his good physique and his constant attempts at peacocking have impressed Granny Gristleteeth enough for her to fund his life of luxury and depravity.

[inkofamethyst]

January 31, 2025

Michaels gave me a five dollar coupon and because most of their yarn is nasty plastic and there was no minimum spending requirement I caved and bought a pair of knitting needles. I'd planned to kind of just let them sit until I got the itch for them. Of course, me being me, I got the itch immediately and learned continental style knitting this evening lol. Just the garter/knit stitch so far with some scrap yarn, but I shall learn the purl tomorrow. Also planning to pick up some good yarn to start on one of the crochet patterns I'd bought a bit ago. That's my focus right now: making sure those patterns don't go to waste. Granted, I've been slowly collecting knitting patterns of interest on my pinterest, so I'll have a starting point for those.

In two weeks I've started learning two new fiber arts skills, potentially because I've felt such a high level of background stress. The inauguration, classes starting, funding scares, issues with classes, federal nonsense... Fun times.

Anyway knitting is super fun!!! Casting on took forever to get right but my tension (for the garter stitch, at least) is solid. My wrists and fingers kind of hurt but I think I just need to do some stretching. Look at me, triple threat: sewing, crochet (regular and tunisian), knitting. It's been a while since I've embroidered and I never really took the time to get good at it (couldn't even get satin stitches right), so I won't include that amongst my skillset, but I might try some embroidery embellishments for a few of my Bico pieces.

I'm going to be such a fantastic old lady.

Today I'm thankful that someone from the stem dinner group thing suggested last semester that I try continental style as a crocheter. I'd attempted knitting before but couldn't get it. Glad I didn't end up buying a class to learn after all. Should've known I was too crafty for that. I feel like a whole new world of garment construction has opened up to me, especially for vintagey looks. aaa!!

I feel a little reluctant to go back to primarily crocheting garments unless they're in a style I can't reasonably replicate with knitting (like the 3D rose granny square cardigan) since it uses up so much more yarn in comparison. Glad I have the skill though of course.

Also smaller thanks to the lady from whom I bought peacock-colored yarn last year who urged me to learn knitting. I still have the yarn and I shall use it in something spectacular. Hopefully I see her at another market sometime. Another small thanks to the Knitting Cult Lady (whose book is close to the top of my to-read list) whose tiktoks have bewitched me for months. She seems so cool.

[edit, next morning: what's funny to me is that most of my friends had cool date nights planned last night. not me. learned to knit.]

[kalh-plays-dnd]

Notes: Session #6

Summary: The party visits the Flachwasser, find a crack between worlds, and speak to Hyacinth.

The party reconvenes at the Perlen Tavern. It's early afternoon. All their sources seem to be pointing north of Waldstad, so they decide to head that way, towards the river.

As they come through Waldstad and reach the overgrown path that runs north through the woods (the Walden), Zia—who has some familiarity with paths—remarks that this one looks like it was frequently used, then suddenly came into disuse a couple of years ago. Viliam takes a moment to tap in with the Lord of Life, and sees echoes of the people who travelled this path before them. Passing around them, he sees the impressions of merchants, soldiers, and travellers, but he also sees familiar figures: three firbolgs, barely any younger than Granny Peacock and her daughters/granddaughters; a familiar orc leading two young women away from the river, all three differently dressed but clearly recognisable as Fred, Aurora, and Zia, and Zia is clutching her eye; the same orc, this time carrying a blonde boy, maybe 6 or 7 years of age, away from the river; then himself, carrying a blonde girl, maybe 6 or 7 years of age.

Viliam asks if anyone remembers coming this way before, and explains his visions. Niko remembers being carried away from something—he doesn't remember what—and being reassured that everything would be alright. At the time, he didn't know the voice, but thinking back he recognises it as Fred's. Niko then remembers a blindfold being removed, and seeing this path and the world as though for the first time.

Aaria has second thoughts about everyone going to the river, wondering if Viliam's visions might be premonitions of things yet come to pass. Viliam casts Warding Bond on Zia and Niko, and Niko casts Mage Armour on himself.

As the party reaches the end of the forest, they see a path winding down a steep slope, some 60ft from the river. Where the path meets the river, stand the rotted remains of a bridge, and lying in the bridge's place is a ladder stretched across the river. In the middle of the river, directly above the ladder, is a rift, approximately 3–4ft wide—large enough for a medium creature to squeeze through. The rift looks as though a sheet of glass has cracked and been forced apart, revealing a view of a different world through the crack. The river itself is 30ft across.

Viliam casts Detect Good and Evil. He picks up on a presence that seems to stretch along the centre of the river, as far as the spell allows him to sense. The presence is, at its core, celestial, but has a touch of aberration to it. Other presences in his vicinity are Aaria (celestial) and Zia (fey).

Viliam asks the party to stay back, and explains that he has seen things like this before. These are spectral watchers, usually created by Champions to protect or guard an area. If the people they are looking for—Rogan, Wish, Luca, and Adelaide—have been taken by the watcher, they will have been placed in stasis on a demi-plane, sort of like being put in a bag of holding, and will in theory be safe. Watchers are only triggered if they perceive a threat, and what constitutes a threat will have been defined by the Champion who created the watcher.

Aaria decides to approach the rift and tries to send a message to Wish using the Message cantrip. She gets a reply in a language she doesn't understand. She messages back, and after a moment, she gets a reply from a young male voice who seems to understand her, and who she in turn can understand. A length back-and-forth occurs, during which the party learns:

The young man is an elf/part elf who goes by Hyacinth Paeleiros. Hyacinth is a Light Cleric of the Lord of Fire, and lives in the Safe Zone surrounding Rosa Mors in Cantata.

Cantata is a third world, similar to Fundat and Macawra, that has been cut off from Fundat and Macawra with a "divine weave". Cantata was cut off 2–3 years ago, after their third moon, Tangar, fell from the skies and caused war, famine, and illness to spread across the land.

Four Safe Zones were established by the Champions of Cantata (Lord of Water, Lord of Earth, Lord of Air, and Lord of Fire) to keep the war, famine, and illness at bay. Within these Safe Zones, people are safe. Outside, beings are aberrated and magic keeps going awry.

The Lord of Water and the Lord of Air passed into Fundat before the "divine weave" separated the worlds.

The Lord of Fire and the Lord of Earth are still in Cantata, though anyone who tries to contact them is never quite right again after. Hyacinth says he could try, but he doesn't want to, as he has two younger brothers who need him to look after them.

Rosa Mors is the centre of the Safe Zone established by the Lord of Fire, and is where the Court of the Lord of Fire used to be. This is where Hyacinth has been living for the past 2–3 years, since he and his brothers left the family farm in Lepidaria to seek refuge in the Forest.

Hyacinth has had two visions of an elderly elf with a big beard, the last vision being a week ago when the weave ruptured. Hyacinth was making lunch for his brothers when he heard a knock on the door. He turned around to see the elderly elf. "They're coming," the elderly elf said, then vanished. Hyacinth was not frightened, as he believes the old man has good intentions.

The person who might be able to answer more specifically about the watcher and people caught by the watcher, is Mother Morelle, who resides at Rosa Mors. Hyacinth summons here, but says it might take a couple of days for her to arrive at the rupture.

Viliam has a couple of recollections. He remembers Morelle DomCopia, a Li'shay (elf-adjacent race) from Cantata. In his memory, Morelle was over 6ft tall, with white skin, eyes as black as soil, and a mantle of green leaves cascading down her body. He recalls her having one of the highest positions within the Court of the Lord of Fire.

Viliam also recalls being told that Tangar, the third moon of Cantata, was deteriorating.

When being told about Tangar, Niko remembers sitting in a woodland hollow surrounded by trees, with a small fountain-like geyser in the centre. Tunnels and doorways lead from the hollow, into underground caves and tunnels. In the memory, he looks up at the moons: the two big ones, close to their intersection, and the third, like a white star, directly above the treetops. He doesn't know why he's looking at the moons, just that he's looking. While he sits there, a golden tiefling places a hand on his shoulder and suggests he return inside to go to bed. The tiefling has gold, flowers, and laurels hanging from their horns, and smiles warmly at Niko.

During the conversation, Zia examines the weave and tries to figure out how far upriver it goes. She then reaches within herself, asking Betta if Betta knows anything. Zia then has a memory she does not share with the rest of the party. (DM-note: How Zia lost her eye.)

The party decides to split up while they wait for Mother Morelle to arrive. Viliam, Zia, and Fred stay by the river overnight to keep an eye on the rift, while Aaria, Niko, and Aurora go back to Waldstad to try to figure out who Rogan Underbite might have visited and spend the night in actual beds.

Back at the Perlen Tavern, Aaria asks Sylvia the barmaid some more questions about Rogan, and learns that while Sylvia was working that evening, Rogan was asking about herbs and botany. There are two places in town to get plants, so he might have gone to one of those. He didn't leave with anyone, but he might also have found someone to spend the night with.

Niko comes across a couple talking about a strange guy asking about a dwarf (Niko was the strange guy), and the girl says her mother saw a dwarf visit Maggie the herbalist a week ago. Niko grabs this information, catches up with Aaria, and heads directly to Maggie's Herbarium.

They find the Herbarium closed for the day, but persistent knocking draws Maggie out. Aaria convinces Maggie to talk to them about Rogan. Maggie invites them in and makes them some tea, then explains that Rogan came around asking about the aerofleet plant that grows north of Waldstad, fixed some plumbing issues she had, and stayed the night. Maggie says she herself hasn't been north of Waldstad in a few years, and some prodding makes her suddenly remember that her dad went that way some years ago to restock and never came back. She had completely forgotten. She's visibly shaken by this recollection, but the house always being in disrepair suddenly makes sense, as it's her father's house and he has been gone for months, if not years.

Aaria tells Maggie they think Maggie's dad might be wherever Rogan is, and that hopefully they're all fine. She entreats Maggie to stay in Waldstad, maybe talk to some friends, and promises that she and Niko will look for Maggie's dad.

Aaria and Niko then excuse themselves and return to the Perlen Tavern to have a drink and go to bed.

Meanwhile, Viliam communes with the Lord of Life. He and Zia then have a private conversation on the riverbank that leaves Zia somewhat shaken. (DM-note: This is about Betta and the Lord of Water. Zia does not share how she lost her eye.)

[stampwithtami]

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