#session 15

[shortkingsvsbarovia]

session 15

[babybluesquid]

Dagne's skeleton horse steed, Coffin!

Art by @straziart

[demigodforfend]

Twilight of the Demigods: Forfend Edition - Session 15

Forfend watched the shadows of hesitant, cautious guards move through the shadows of screaming, panicked people on the other side of the thick dust, smoke, and haze covering the battlefield. Subsiding though it was, the gray blanket cut down heavily on visibility. It would take the guards several more minutes to arrive at the center of the commotion at their current pace.

Forfend took the opportunity to wander. It kept a sharp eye out for survivors as it crossed the rubble to the cultist Melzaryn had frozen in place. It saw only corpses.

Steam hissed in Forfend's chest. It knelt by the cultist and hummed thoughtfully. He was heavily entrenched in ice and covered in painful magical wounds. Blood dripped from his temple. But he was alive. Alive and unexploded.

Forfend used the heat of its body to melt the ice spearing the man's leg. It carefully freed the rest of his limbs by chipping the ice away. Once he was no longer encased in frozen bindings, Forfend lifted him and carried him to the gladiator. It laid them side by side.

Forfend's hand hovered over the cultist's chest, magic pulsing between its fingers. It stared for a long moment.

If it healed him with magic, he could awaken. He would be too exhausted to stay awake long and he may risk his runes exploding if he fell asleep again. He'd survived the coin flip once. Forfend feared putting him through it a second time.

It let the magic fizzle out and rifled through the pouches on its belt for mundane medical supplies. It bandaged the man's wounds with precision despite its broad hands.

It noticed, as it worked, the man's build and musculature. He had strong arms and thick legs, but they were not those of a fighter like the gladiator. His tanned skin hinted at a lifestyle that kept him outdoors. He looked far more like a farmer.

But his proficiency with his sword and his longbow had easily been equivalent to trained warriors.

"Was expert swordsmanship and deadly aim part of the runic spells in their chests?" Forfend asked. "This man is a commoner, like myself and my family."

Melzaryn shrugged, one eyebrow raised. "Are you a commoner?"

"These days, yes," Forfend nodded. "Though, I do not have the typical look."

"Sure." Melzaryn shrugged again. "I can't really tell what the runes do beyond the basics without studying them a lot longer, but I'd say enhanced battle capabilities are probably a safe bet."

Forfend hummed.

After a moment, it turned to the rest of the destruction around them. "I am going to search for survivors in the rubble."

"Be careful. Nothing else should collapse, but don't cause any disturbances around the partial wall still standing where the back of the building was," Melzaryn forewarned.

Forfend nodded. It made its way carefully through the glass shrapnel and fallen stone littering the ground. It moved pillars, lifted sheets of glass, shifted mounds of stone.

All it found were corpses. Some had died in the initial collapse, some had been murdered by Envema, and some had died of their wounds shortly after they were trapped.

Forfend found the latter to be easily the most regrettable. If it had been faster, it may have been able to save at least a few of them. Steam hissed, its metal core settling heavy and low in its chest.

It made its way back to its allies and sat down by its new chosen charges, the former cultists.

The guards were nearly upon them now. They were carefully sweeping through the edges of the smoke and rubble, working their way towards the center.

Melzaryn stood up on a collapsed pillar. He raised an arm and waited.

The guards paused. They glanced at one another.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Kagoshi grumbled, tugging Kairi against his chest.

"We cannot run," Forfend pointed out. "That would make us appear guilty and it would explain nothing."

"I'm not saying we run," Kagoshi huffed. He glanced down at himself, covered in blood not all his own. His gaze traced the scattered viscera around them and the corpses of innocents strewn beneath rubble. "Just get away from the bodies."

"You put several of them here yourself!" Forfend protested.

"I only helped a little!" Kagoshi snapped. "I don't wanna hear anything from you and especially not from Melzaryn! I heard that manic laughter! It wasn't just my own!"

"I witnessed a dangerous lack of restraint from both of you," Forfend admonished.

"I witnessed a building collapse." Melzaryn stared off into the middle distance, eyes unfocused and jaw set. "That does things to a man."

Forfend had no idea what that meant, but it hardly sounded like an excuse for killing people.

Kagoshi rolled his eyes and gently shook Kairi. "Wake up, would ya?"

When she didn't respond, he gently and repeatedly smacked her face. "Wake up, Kairi."

A company of knights and guards slowly surrounded Forfend and its allies. The knights wore the typical Tyrwedian armor, but several of them were noticeably more decorated. Those particular individuals seemed to be in charge. They barked orders and moved in first. They were beelining for Melzaryn.

The head knight took the lead, his red cape rustling in the wind behind him. His armor was more ornately decorated than those around him. It was also more heavily fortified.

Forfend didn't think that seemed fair or wise. All armor should be built to the same standard--ideally, the gold standard to ensure maximum protection--and upgraded at every opportunity.

The head knight stared straight up at Melzaryn through his closed helm. His gaze drifted over to Kagoshi and then to Forfend. The tension surrounding him sharpened.

"Halt! In the name of High Knight Erest Ledrian, I demand you halt!" the head knight called out.

Forfend tilted its head slightly. It hadn't moved. Melzaryn hadn't moved. Even Kagoshi was already stockstill. And everyone else left alive out here in the rubble was unconscious.

Melzaryn had his own head tilted as well.

Forfend locked gazes with Kagoshi who shook his head and rolled his eyes. He looked back down to Kairi and continued trying to wake her up.

High Knight Ledrian pointed his longsword at Melzaryn's chest. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He didn't wait for an answer. "On your knees. Now!"

Melzaryn kicked lightly at the gravel and glass beneath his feet. "Mm, can I sit? There's a lot of rubble."

"On your knees! Hands behind your head!" High Knight Ledrian repeated.

Melzaryn sighed. Rather than kneeling, he instead lay flat down on the ground and latched his hands around the back of his head.

A couple guards slinked past the High Knight and carefully approached Melzaryn. They shackled his hands behind his back.

"What is that?" one of the guards asked, staring wide-eyed at Forfend.

The other one glanced over his shoulder and gasped.

"Hello," Forfend nodded politely.

All of the surrounding guards jolted and raised their shields, their weapons coming up in a clatter of steel.

"I assure you I mean no harm and these people could use some help," Forfend responded evenly.

The guards eyed Forfend's two fallen charges and Kairi with suspicion. They took stock of the dozens of corpses within sight. Grimaces settled on their faces by the time their eyes returned to Forfend.

Melzaryn mumbled into the dirt.

"Get him up!" High Knight Ledrian ordered.

The guards at Melzaryn's back grasped his manacles and yanked him upright.

Melzaryn shifted himself into a crouch rather than a kneel.

The guards hefted him fully to his feet.

"They don't want to talk. Just let them do what they want until they ask," Melzaryn advised.

Forfend hummed low in its chest.

More guards surrounded Forfend, weapons at the ready.

It sat in silence.

Other knights and guards swept through the field of rubble. They searched for survivors and clues across every square inch of the destruction.

The High Knight worked alongside them.

Forfend watched them in its peripheral vision as it monitored its wounded charges.

High Knight Erest Ledrian was of particular interest to Forfend. He was already far more present than King Ledrian seemed to be, but Forfend wondered what his overall reputation was. And how he was related to the king.

"Sir Doverba!" High Knight Ledrian suddenly called.

One of the more decorated knights snapped to attention.

"Secure the rest of the area," he ordered and cast a disdainful look toward Forfend and its allies. "I wish to speak with these individuals."

The knight, presumably Sir Doverba, nodded and set to task.

High Knight Ledrian approached the disheveled party and looked all of them over very carefully, assessing the threat they posed. His eyes lingered longest over Forfend.

Forfend hummed to itself. Kagoshi probably didn't look like much of a threat where he was leaned over Kairi and ignoring everything as he tried to awaken her, but he would always be more dangerous than Forfend.

"Who are all of you and what are you doing here?" High Knight Ledrian asked. He held his shield at the ready and kept his sword in hand. Distrust radiated off him. "You seem to be surrendering, which is unnatural for Envema. What are you and why are you here?"

"Well, we're definitely not Envema," Melzaryn offered.

"Do I look like I'm part of any group?" Kagoshi griped sarcastically.

"I'm the one asking questions here," High Knight Ledrian said. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"We're more or less just passing by," Melzaryn answered. "Pretty sure we have a court date? I don't know. That's not something I was paying attention to." He shrugged. "Anyway, yeah, we witnessed these Envema bastards destroy this beautiful building that I intended to use to get home." He humphed irritably. "And then they started stabbing people, so we fought them. It was a bit of a mess because they explode when they die. Two of them are unconscious."

"You've captured two of them?" He gestured to two of the guards nearby who rapidly took position at his sides. "Where are they?" He pointed his blade at the men beside Forfend. "Them?"

Forfend hovered a protective hand over its charges.

"Before you interact," Melzaryn warned, "I remind you they do tend to explode. It's something of a coin flip when they're unconscious. It doesn't really follow the rules of known magic. Be careful." He paused. "But, yeah, it's those two."

High Knight Ledrian nodded. "While I do appreciate that explanation, you have still not told me who you are."

"Oh, right." Melzaryn tapped his head as though he was surprised he'd forgotten. "I'm Melzaryn Collymore and I won't answer for the rest of these guys."

High Knight Ledrian hissed through his teeth and stood up straighter. The guards at his sides glanced nervously at each other.

The guards holding Melzaryn's bindings immediately loosened their holds. After a moment, they dropped the shackle chains altogether and stepped back. They kept their weapons ready, but made no further move to restrain.

"I see, Sir Collymore." High Knight Ledrian nodded politely and pulled a Sending Stone from his back pocket. He whispered into it, then looked up again. "Please stand to the side while we secure the area."

Melzaryn shuffled off to the edge of the makeshift battlefield. His pair of guards followed him at a slight distance.

High Knight Ledrian turned to the rest of the group.

Kairi groaned and stirred.

"Hey, there you are," Kagoshi muttered in a gentler tone than Forfend had ever heard from him.

Kairi opened her eyes. She squinted against the dusky gray light filtering through the airborne ash.

High Knight Ledrian inspected the crowd of his men surrounding Forfend and Kagoshi.

All of them stood in low stances, shields raised and weapons on full display.

"Everyone back up now," High Knight Ledrian ordered.

The guards glanced at one another for a brief moment. Confusion muddled their expressions.

"Dangerous arcana." He titled his head at the two former Envema members. "Back up. Now."

This time, they scrambled to obey.

High Knight Ledrian strode forward and took in Forfend's massive form with a scrutinizing stare. "Hmph." He eyed Kagoshi over his shoulder. "Are you the one who owns this?"

"Nope," Kagoshi responded without looking up.

There was a moment of silence, but no further explanation was offered.

"I am not owned," Forfend answered for itself. It was very used to the question. Almost every stranger asked.

High Knight Ledrian turned his full attention back to Forfend. His eyes locked onto its runic face. He hesitated, his head tilted.

Forfend gave him several seconds to stare before speaking again.

"I will answer any questions you may have," it offered.

High Knight Ledrian contemplated quietly for another long moment. "I see."

He raised his chin. "Well, as per procedure, I'd like to kindly ask you to come with us to a more secure facility. Some of us will stay behind to scour the area for survivors."

Forfend doubted they would find any if it hadn't, but it hoped anyway.

Forfend turned to its wounded charges. "They are hurt. They need help."

High Knight Ledrian glanced at them. "They will live for now."

"For now?" Forfend balked.

He nodded. "Unless someone comes along and kills them, they should be fine."

"These are innocent people," Forfend insisted. "Insidious mind control magic caused them to act violently. They are free of that curse. They need to be cared for."

"As per standard..." he began, then paused. "I know this is a very tense situation." He paused again and inclined his head.

"Forfend," it offered.

"Sir Forfend. I know this is a very tense situation," he repeated, "but we have procedures we must follow to ensure nothing falls through the cracks."

Forfend failed to see how not tending to the wounded would prevent information slipping through his hands.

"While I do agree that the two Envema members you somehow managed to capture are wounded, they are not dying at the moment and, thus, can wait," High Knight Ledrian stated firmly. "Do you understand?"

Forfend gently touched each of the former cultists scarred chests. It wished it could do more for them. "Do not hurt them," it requested. "Please."

"We would not risk such a valuable insight," High Knight Ledrian assured.

Forfend hummed low for a long moment. It disliked the way he was talking about people like things.

"Now, please come with us," he ordered more than asked.

Forfend looked over the gaggle of nervous guards. "No one will panic when I stand, right?"

The guards muttered nervously amongst themselves.

Forfend's exhausted body creaked and groaned as it carefully got to its feet. Where it had been roughly eye level with the guards, it now towered over them. It pulled the Orison Aegis in tight against its side, but that did not prevent the guards from noticing the obvious absurd size difference between its tower shield and their own.

Several of them looked rattled. Luckily, none truly panicked.

High Knight Ledrian was fully unfazed, or doing a very convincing job of looking as such. Forfend was uncertain which.

"Ouch," Kairi whined.

High Knight Ledrian turned to face her and Kagoshi.

Kagoshi held a finger in front of her face until she could focus on it. "Good, now that you're fully awake... Uh, shit's going down."

"I need to ask you both to come with us as well," High Knight Ledrian informed the pair.

"Did we get the guy? What happened?" she mumbled and pressed massaging fingers to her temple.

"I mean, yeah," Kagoshi shrugged. "Apparently, we got two. Is that the one that was covered in ice? I thought he was dead."

"He was not," Forfend sighed in a rush of steam.

"Get up. We must go," High Knight Ledrian urged. "We must escort you to a more secure facility. Please stand."

"Oh shit, there's a bunch of guards here too," Kagoshi feigned surprise.

"We've been here for five minutes," one of them timidly squeaked.

Another guard elbowed the one who'd spoken. "Shut up."

"Huh. Hadn't noticed," Kagoshi said dismissively.

High Knight Ledrian stepped aside.

All of the guards followed suit, leaving one clear path to exit the rubble.

"Yeah, yeah." Kagoshi stood. Pain shot across his features, followed by a grinding crunch. He nearly fell back down, blood gushing from his impaled leg. "Fuck! Mhm. That's fine," he wheezed.

"Do you need help?" Forfend asked.

"No, I'm good," Kagoshi lied through grit teeth. He shifted his weight onto his less damaged leg. "I'm fine. I can walk."

Forfend glanced at the guards. "May I assist him?"

"No!" Kagoshi snapped immediately.

The guards shared nervous looks.

"Do whatever you feel is necessary," High Knight Ledrian allowed.

Forfend nodded and approached Kagoshi.

"No! Do not fucking touch me!" Kagoshi snarled.

Forfend ignored his protests. It wrapped its arm around him and took as much weight off his wounded side as it could.

"Get your arm off me right now or I'll throw you into these people!" he threatened loudly.

The guards jumped, throwing their shields in front of their bodies and locking them together in formation.

"You think your puny shields will protect you from his stone body?!" Kagoshi shouted.

High Knight Ledrian raised his longsword.

The sharp shing of a whetstone across steel sounded in Forfend's chest. Steam hissed. "I would have picked anyone else up, but I know your pride would not have it. Now hush! We need to go."

High Knight Ledrian's helm tilted slightly. His body slowly relaxed. He finally returned his blade to its scabbard. "Our personnel will escort you."

Kagoshi growled, but didn't make any further threats. He simply pushed at Forfend with his supernatural strength.

If he hadn't been so exhausted, he would likely have been able to push it away. As it stood, however, he was far too spent to put his usual force into the motion. Strong though he was, Forfend was stronger for the moment.

"Before we go," Kairi piped up, "I have one question."

"What is it, ma'am?" High Knight Ledrian asked. His irritation with them was well-masked but quickly growing.

"If I left you lavender so you could make them calming tea, would you accept it and do that for them?" Kairi watched the pair of unconscious men breathe. Guilt tugged her lips down and knit her brows.

"I suppose," he mulled. "Do you have lavender on you at this very moment?"

Kairi scooped up dust and rubble. Inexplicably, lavender burst from the unfavorable filth and bloomed.

"Oh!" High Knight Ledrian drew his shoulders back in surprise. "I see."

"So, would you take it?" Kairi pushed.

"Hm. Later," he promised. "I would prefer not to have any arcana flung about this unstable environment."

"I'll hold you to that," Kairi replied.

He nodded.

A knight made his way to Melzaryn. The guards cleared out and left him to tend Melzaryn alone.

"Sir Collymore." The knight bowed slightly. "We are escorting everyone to a safer location. Please come with us."

"Yeah, sure," Melzaryn agreed readily. "I'd hate to raise tensions by picking up my staff. Could you do that for me?"

"Of course, sir!" the knight exclaimed and stooped to grab the weapon.

"Thank you," Melzaryn grinned.

"Alright, if you'd follow me please," the knight requested.

Melzaryn trotted casually after the man.

Forfend, Kagoshi, and Kairi were led after them by a much more serious and heavily armed escort of knights and guards.

It only took Kagoshi three steps eased by Forfend's assistance to stop fighting. He grumbled and growled, but he let Forfend bear the bulk of his weight.

The slightest flicker of orange light passed across Forfend's chest.

"I hope Erzor is alright," it muttered to itself. The halfling man hadn't been caught in the collapse, but he'd almost certainly been caught in the chaos that followed.

"Who?" Kagoshi asked.

It couldn't tell if he was joking, so it simply chose not to respond.

Forfend's attention was drawn back to the matter at hand by the sight of Cragwall in panic.

Guards tore through the crowds, hunting for any hint of more Envema members. People fled into their homes. Buildings slammed their doors and closed their shutters. A golden shimmer of magical protection surrounded the cathedral.

A small shop near the entrance to the noble district had a red light flashing rapidly by the door. A high-pitch beep followed each flash.

Suddenly, a voice with a strange mechanical undertone not unlike Forfend's own rang out with an urgent but professional cadence, "Attention, customers of Moli's Marvelous Mementos, we are now closed due to unforeseen circumstances. Please vacate the premises."

Steel jutted from the earth surrounding the establishment and encased the building in a thick series of plates.

Forfend titled its head at the interlocking triple "M" logo branded into each metal panel. Was that only the logo for the shop, or had the proprietor actually constructed the security measures themselves?

Up ahead, Melzaryn's knight broke away from the rest of the group.

Before them loomed the starkly imposing military complex with its deep shadows cast by stormy gray walls.

Forfend noticed it, Kairi, and Kagoshi were being ushered towards a fortified entrance that looked to lead directly into holding cells.

Melzaryn and his idly chattering knight were headed toward what appeared to be the front entrance.

Forfend wasn't certain who Melzaryn was for his name to carry so much weight, but it was clear he wouldn't be receiving the same treatment as the rest of the group. He was not under the same suspicion. He would not be treated as a criminal or a threat.

Forfend wondered why he hadn't tried to extend that amnesty to his traveling companions. He knew they'd done no wrong.

A series of heavy clicks and clanks sounded as locks were unlatched from the opposite side of the steel door Forfend was guided to stand in front of.

The door slid open.

Everyone around Forfend hesitated.

The door was above average, but still not exactly comfortable for Forfend to use. It ducked and drew its shoulders in.

"I will manage," it placated. It carefully wedged itself through the doorway and into the hallway beyond. The act was considerably more difficult with Kagoshi leaned into its bulk.

Locked cells, many occupied, lined either side of the hall.

Ahead, a guard opened an empty one and motioned for Forfend to enter.

It carefully released Kagoshi. When it was sure he could stand on his own, it stepped away from him.

It only just managed to shuffle sideways into the more narrow entry to the cell. It sat down in the center of the cramped space.

Kairi was placed in the empty cell straight across from it.

Kagoshi hissed through his teeth as he limped his way into the cell to Forfend's right.

Guards entered each cell. One in each group held his hands out expectantly.

Kairi responded first, handing off her staff, recently purchased sword, and backpack.

"Ah, fuck! I left my kanabo in the rubble," Kagoshi complained. "I don't have anything else. No bag, no weapons. That was it."

Forfend handed the guard its mace.

The man grunted at the weight of it and passed it off to the man next to him. The second guard immediately left with it.

Forfend offered an empty-handed guard its shield.

The man gasped and staggered. "Oh fuck, that's heavy," he swore as he struggled to hold up what was for him an excessive and cumbersome weight.

Two more guards moved to help him. They clambered awkwardly out of the cell. The Orison Aegis tinged off the bars.

Forfend winced. "Be careful with that. It is blessed."

The guards flinched and stared at each other with startled eyes. They looked back to Forfend.

After a moment, they seemed to conclude it was serious. A guard scrambled off and returned shortly with a large silk tablecloth. The set of guards carefully wrapped the shield before they bundled it off.

Forfend nodded appreciatively.

The guard in front of Forfend looked it over. "Your bandolier."

Forfend glanced down at the item in question. The thick leather strip was covered in pouches and clips. "They are tools. Smithing tools mostly."

The guard nodded. "Remove them please."

It carefully unlatched the bandolier from its belt and passed the full length of overburdened leather to the guard.

"Alright, that should be all." He gave Forfend another pass. "Wait." His eyes lingered over the pouch on Forfend's belt.

Instinctively, Forfend pressed its hand to the pouch of Calamity Shards.

"Please do not take my belt," Forfend requested. It trailed fingers along the hem of the excess fabric hanging down from the front of the belt. "I do not need clothing for I have nothing to cover, but I find people tend to be less uncomfortable if I wear something. The perceived nudity is detrimental to communication."

The guard considered for a long moment. "You can keep the belt, but what's in the pouch?"

A rockslide tumbled in Forfend's chest. "Rocks," it answered vaguely and thanked Fornax for its monotonous voice.

"What?" The guard tilted his head. "Are they, like, healing items for you?"

Forfend hummed. "Rocks do repair me," it replied, sprinkling a little more truth into its severely understated technicality.

Guilt left its core feeling heavy and sluggish, but the full truth would put all of Cragwall in danger.

"Okay, so they are healing supplies." The guard nodded and took in Forfend's battered form. "I suppose since you're clearly injured and I don't really know how you heal, I'll let you keep them."

"Thank you," Forfend said sincerely.

"What are you doing?" another guard whispered. "We're supposed to take everything!"

"Look at that thing!" the first guard whispered back. "Do you think we could take its stuff if we wanted to? No. It's giving up these things out of the kindness of its heart. I'm not fucking with that."

Forfend tilted its head. "I greatly appreciate it. You are very kind."

The guard ducked his head politely. The whole group took their leave.

Forfend looked down at its empty hands. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, it was already feeling quite bored. It could rest, but it would not be night for hours.

Steam hissed long and slow. It shut its rune off.

Hours passed in relative silence.

Eventually, a trio of guards returned. Two of them carried food which was delivered promptly to Kairi and Kagoshi.

The third was the same man who'd allowed Forfend to keep its pouch. He held out a pile of as many rocks as he could carry.

Forfend lit its rune and tilted its head.

"I don't know if these will help you," he mumbled sheepishly, "but I didn't think you could eat or anything, so I just brought these."

"They will help brilliantly. Thank you." Forfend lit its chest up and plucked one of the stones from his hand. It pressed the rock into a small wound on its side.

Immediately, the area heated up. The rock fused into place and transmuted into marble. Within moments, the wound was gone.

The guard stared, his jaw slack. "Holy shit, I gotta tell my friends," he whispered under his breath. He placed the other stones in front of Forfend and ran back the way he'd come.

Forfend watched him go. When it heard the door close behind him, steam hissed in its chest.

It opened the pouch of wrapped crystals and placed half of the rocks over top of them. It gently shook the pouch until the rocks covered the crystals.

The rest of the rocks it pressed into its various wounds. The heat of healing comforted it.

It shut its rune off again and settled in for a more proper rest.

The jail had little in the way of light, only having small, narrow windows at the top of each cell. The bit of light that did filter in slowly dimmed with the sunset. Shortly after, the lanterns along the walls were put out and everyone was plunged into darkness.

Forfend's worries arose with the moon.

It feared for the lives of the former Envema members. It fretted over the lost protestors, and the wellbeing of the wounded and grieving survivors. It questioned its own safety as well as the safety of its friends.

Thoughts of Jessie and Foumedo swirled through its mind. It wished it could know its family and hometown were safe while it wasn't there to protect them. If something like the strange blue demon-like creature happened, it wouldn't find out until it was too late.

And what if there were Calamity Shards it hadn't found? What if someone encountered one?

What was it going to do with the shards it already had? How many more times would it have to lie about them?

The pouch felt heavy on its waist, but not due to the added rocks. Similarly, its core was weighted with guilt and spinning nauseatingly.

Forfend felt like it was being crushed beneath its anxieties. The thoughts droned on and on, jumping from one to the next to the next to the next and back to the first until it was dizzy.

They muddled together until it could hardly tell one from another. Forfend fretted until it could no longer tell what, specifically, it was even fretting about anymore.

The worries faded into background noise, buzzing in the back of its mind. New thoughts pulled themselves to the forefront from somewhere deep and forgotten.

"I want to see them, but I have never gotten to before. I wonder if they would let me?" chimed a thought that felt far away and extremely present at the same time.

Forfend latched onto the distant epiphany.

Its awareness of its true surroundings warbled away, overtaken by its imagination of the dreamlike memory.

Colors slipped into their places. Bloody red skies. Cracked brown earth. Warm orange firelight. Dull gray rocks and iron.

The Sundering.

Fornax's Forge.

Something whirred through Forfend's thoughts: an acknowledgment of its situation, fleeting but important. This was a memory, yes. But it was also a vision.

Forfend would need to heed the message held within.

Forfend took in its remembered surroundings. It stood idly at the edge of an expansive marble floor. Iron pillars soared into the sky in rows to either side.

It stood at the entrance to Fornax's Forge which overlooked...

Forfend tilted its head, staring.

There was empty, untouched earth where the village should've been.

Where the village would be, Forfend realized. This memory was earlier than the last one it had recalled in this manner.

Instead of a village, a village's worth of disheveled, exhausted, wounded mortals quaked.

A flash of these people building their village traced through its mind. It wondered how they'd ever reached that point when they looked so destitute. How could they begin? How had they begun?

Forfend tugged itself from the memory of construction and settled back into its vision of shivering mortals. It could find the answer to its questions here, where they'd first arrived.

A battle raged in the distance, tearing at the bleeding sky. The scale was impossible to determine. One could never be sure if they were witnessing a demon fight a few miles away or some sort of cataclysmic destruction on the other side of the world.

Forfend hazarded a guess that the fight was nearer and the mortals had fled from it.

A handful of stumbling mortals approached the forge. They stared up and up and up.

Forfend became suddenly aware of Fornax's towering presence at its side and just a bit behind it.

"I beseech you please," one mortal begged in a trembling voice. Tears streamed down her dirty face. "Fornax, protect us."

"I do not hand anything out," Fornax replied harshly in his mountain-rumbling tone. "You make do with what you have. You make yourselves what you are. I do not assist in this matter. What you do here is based on your own merits. Who you are here is based on your own merits and what you decide to do."

Fornax turned, thundering steps disappearing back into the forge.

"W-what?" the mortal's broken voice cracked.

Scattered gasps and hopeless mumblings spilled through the crowd.

Forfend stared after Fornax.

It understood what he meant. He had given them permission to stay, provided they prepared their settlement for themselves.

It looked back to the mortals.

They were dejected, sobbing, huddled together in tight groups. They had nothing.

They wouldn't be able to begin.

Forfend looked back into the endless forge. Fornax had to help them. He couldn't deny them when they couldn't work. This was not their fault.

Another look at the stricken mortals was all it took to convince Forfend. It held a single finger out to their representative and chased after Fornax.

Fornax was already hammering away at red-hot metal. He was creating something Forfend didn't recognize. Perhaps something wholly new.

A divine messenger had recently arrived with a concept for a new weapon intended for Iram's warriors. The sea god was not one for dawdling or for unnecessary requests.

Forfend wasn't surprised Fornax had begun work immediately.

Still, there was an even more pressing matter standing on the doorstep.

Fornax returned the hammer to his belt and carefully molded the metal with his bare hands. Holy flames flickered in the seams of his body. The forge in his belly overflowed with a bright white inferno.

He was very busy. Or he was trying to be.

Forfend could tell by the subtle way his hands twitched that he was distracted.

"They need us," Forfend said firmly. "They need you."

Fornax turned one foot to point in Forfend's direction. He didn't pause his work, but Forfend knew it had his attention.

"They need help," it continued. "They are scared and alone. They are in danger. We cannot leave them like that."

He paused his work. A three-pronged spear glowing golden with heat spun in his hands.

"Forfend."

It looked into Fornax's distant face, high above it.

He did not look down. "What do you think will happen if I give into them? I will save them, yes, but what of their future?"

Forfend wasn't sure if it understood. "They would be safe," it stated the obvious and watched Fornax's shoulders heave. "What do you think would happen?"

"They would indeed be safe. I would have saved them," Fornax confirmed. "That is not my purpose." He paused and drew in a short breath. "I am to teach."

The new weapon cooled in the air, a resounding clang emanating from it as though it were still being hammered. Molten slag steeled into cold gray. The strange spear looked complete, but Fornax was studying it with discontent in the slight furrow of his brow.

"If I were to simply save them, they would never learn to live independently. I can offer guidance, but nothing more." Fornax released the weapon, leaving it spinning in the air. "Forfend." He turned fully toward Forfend and knelt.

Forfend stared. It was stunned. Fornax did not emote much or often, and he did not halt his work to acknowledge anything short of an Atroxian intrusion on the forge.

"Mortals are very interesting creatures," Fornax admitted, "but I am the god of all things artificial. They are natural. It is not my place to be their guiding hand. All I can offer for them is new tools and inspiration. That is what I am to do."

There was an undertone to his voice Forfend almost didn't recognize. The emotion was buried, and it took Forfend a moment to parse it. Weariness. Something almost like regret.

He wanted to help the mortals.

"They have nothing. They cannot get started. They cannot try," Forfend pressed. "They cannot build with no materials or tools or supplies. They cannot make with only the blistered skin of their palms."

Fornax watched with the same deep-set frown he always wore.

"So if you are to teach, then I will be to help," Forfend concluded.

There was a shift in Fornax's demeanor. He leaned back slightly and regarded Forfend carefully.

"Is that what you wish your purpose to be?" Fornax asked. There was the slightest hint of a quiver in his voice and Forfend suddenly understood the significance of the question.

It nodded.

"Hm," Fornax vocalized. He looked out towards the entrance of the forge.

If Forfend focused, it could hear pieces of the mortals' conversations. Mutterings of confusion and despair.

"What's happening?"

"What's going on?"

"What did we do?"

"What do we do?"

"How are we going to survive?"

"Where will we go?"

Fornax listened briefly before returning his stern gaze to Forfend. "I reward ingenuity, inspiration, and hard work. If they do not find themselves willing to work hard in order to thrive, then there is nothing I can do for them."

He leaned down a little further. "I can only inspire, but you... If you truly wish, you can help." He reached one massive iron hand down, hovering it above Forfend.

Forfend nodded, determined. "I will. I will help them. And they will work hard," it promised.

"If they do, I shall reward them," Fornax promised in turn."But I cannot make them change. If you simply save a man, all he will do is continue to look toward you for guidance and safety. He will not be his own. That is what I'm trying to tell you, Forfend."

He paused, studying Forfend's blank face. "And yet, you may help them if that is what you wish your purpose to be. But know that eventually they must learn to stand on their own two feet. So go, save them. Save them, yes, but teach them all the same. Do you understand?"

Forfend nodded once again, deadly serious.

"These are troubling times," Fornax hummed. "The world is being sundered apart and, from what I hear, gods are being born from things you would not expect. Things that the world may be better left without are being born into existence as a result. These are trying times, indeed. So, yes, save them. Help them, if that is what you wish your purpose to be," he reiterated. He needed to be certain this is what Forfend wanted. For its part, it had never been more certain of anything. "But teach them too."

Forfend nodded yet again. "I will let them depend on me only until they are strong enough that I may depend on them. We will help each other."

"Hmph," Fornax huffed, the edges of his mouth upturning the slightest bit. "Then this shall be the first of many. I look forward to bearing witness to your exploits."

"Thank you." Pride swelled in Forfend's chest, lighting it bright orange.

"I wonder: is this truly what you wish?" Fornax harped again. He was worried, much moreso than he would allow himself to voice.

"It is," Forfend said. It paused, considering briefly. "I think that it is," it repeated more softly but with twice the conviction.

"If so, you have found your purpose. You wish to help, to create, and to make the mortals into something new," Fornax summarized. "Is that correct?"

"Yes," it answered earnestly.

"You wish to inspire and as such, your soul has been marked by this purpose." Fornax drew in a deep breath. His hand that Forfend had forgotten was hovering over it closed the distance. A single finger tapped Forfend's stone face. "This here. This has changed now. Your soul has changed now. You have found purpose. And as such, you've fully come to realize what your power is."

He stood, rumbling like an avalanche in the motion. He turned back to his forge and the idly spinning weapon.

"You have the ability to make. To forge things from nothing, as you will also inspire them to do," Fornax informed. "You will inspire them to build themselves up, so they may stand on their own."

He did not look down. His gaze was fixed somewhere much more distant than the walls of the forge. "A glorious purpose," he quietly praised.

He pulled his hammer from his belt and set back to work. Heavy metal twangs reverberated through the forge.

Forfend's chest glowed brilliant orange. It turned and tromped confidently back to the entrance of the forge.

Forfend touched its chest as Fornax's words replayed in its head. Creation and inspiration.

The constant hum of energy deep in its center had changed. No longer was it a warbling chaos, capable of anything but meant for nothing. There was order now, a pattern, an intention. A purpose.

It knew that its fluid, random demigod ability had finally settled. And it knew instinctively how to use it.

The mortals were still clustered at the entrance to the forge. They all turned to look when Forfend emerged. Some wore hope, but most were too exhausted for that sort of optimism. They instead looked fearful or despairing or angry.

"Night is falling," Forfend hummed, wading carefully through the crowd until it found their representative. "We must begin work now if we are to have you all in shelter before dusk."

"We can stay?" the woman asked. Her sharp eyes bore into Forfend's face with an expression so determined and hopeful that it knew she would thrive here or anywhere.

"Fornax told you when you arrived that you could stay," Forfend replied. "He only told you he would not help you build. He is to teach. He has, however, built me to help."

It reached up, touched its face, and felt its body heat up. Fear edged into its mind as pain burned from its insides out.

Steam hissed as it calmed itself. Forfend focused on drawing forth the energy into what it wanted, what it needed. What the mortals needed.

The first tool it ever took into its hand was a hammer. Simple but stout, capable of building and defending. A promise of what it would offer and an explanation of what it would expect in turn.

It passed its creation to the representative and set to work making more and different tools.

Pain scorched deep in its center and golden ichor flowed from its face. It did not mind. It would gladly put its heart and soul into assisting these mortals. It would bleed for them the way they had already bled for each other.

As Forfend moved through the crowd distributing tools while the representative dispensed instruction, the memory grayed.

Forfend grasped for it, but the vision was over. The sounds muted, the lights dimmed, the shapes blurred.

It was dropped back into the dark of its cell.

Forfend sat, stunned.

Its purpose was not war. How could it have forgotten that?

It had chosen to help the mortals long ago and it had seen very recently that the world was in turmoil. Now was again the time to help.

A fleeting thought about how troubling it was Forfend had forgotten so much crossed its mind. It had never had memory issues before and it was only now noticing how many gaps there were when it tried to focus on specifics.

It couldn't, and didn't want to, dwell on that thought over the exhilaration of purpose. It knew again who it was and why it had chosen to be that person. It could finally, truly get back to work. And it realized that it had never fully stopped.

Forfend's worries were dashed. The rest of its night was spent in hopeful and dreamy thoughts. Tyrwedia was in turmoil, but it would help. It was sure it could help here. And maybe even beyond if the occasion called for it.

Morning was quickly upon it.

A guard stepped into view, unlocking each of their cells. Forfend recognized him as the same man who'd brought it rocks.

It lit its rune and stood.

"You'll be released and your things will be returned as soon as the interrogation, or, uh... questioning?" The guard nodded to himself. "Questioning is better. The questioning is done."

"Alright, let's go," Kagoshi huffed.

The guard nodded again. "Yep." He escorted the trio to a door at the end of the hallway. "So here's the door. Uh... Good luck?" He shrugged and ducked away as soon as they entered the room.

"I appreciate the hospitality you have shown us," Forfend called after him. It gently shut the door and turned.

A knight sat behind a large metal desk bolted into the floor. Two chairs and a large, low crate awaited the trio.

Forfend immediately accepted the offered accommodations.

Kairi took the middle chair and Kagoshi slinked into the last.

An arcanist stood off to the side, dressed in priestly robes. He held a scale in hand and tilted it idly back and forth. The two empty plates shifted lightly as their weight shuffled.

He was a cleric of Cassis. Forfend was certain of that and quite glad to have a representative of the god of law here with them.

The man muttered a prayer and held up a strange orb.

The knight sitting in front of them nodded politely. "Our friend here is casting a spell to ensure that no lies are spoken in this room. I will request that you do not resist. It will make this process much smoother."

The arcanist completed his incantation. A swirl of holy energy ghosted across the room.

Forfend let the divine magic wash over it unimpeded. As far as it could tell, its allies did the same.

"First things first, what's your full name?" the knight asked.

"Kagoshi."

The knight glanced at the mage.

The mage subtly shook his head.

"That's not your full name," the knight gruffed.

Kagoshi growled. "Kagoshi Senshi."

"Senshi," the knight repeated. "Senshi?"

"Yeah," Kagoshi deadpanned.

The knight blinked, but wrote the name down anyway. "Okay. Where are you from?"

Kagoshi paused. "That's a good question," he mumbled. "North."

"North?" The knight's brows knit.

"Yeah, that's about the best estimate I can give."

"Are you lost or something?"

"No, just traveling." Kagoshi grew quiet. Distant. "Can't remember the location of home."

"Alright," the knight nodded as he wrote the information down. "And what about you?" He nodded towards Forfend. "What's your name?"

"Forfend," it answered. "I sometimes use the last name Smith."

The knight looked it over. "From what I understand from my compatriots, it seems that no one owns you. Are you your own independent construct?"

Forfend nodded. "I was created by Fornax directly. I own myself."

There was a clatter as the mage nearly dropped his scales.

The knight opened his mouth to speak, but stuttered so badly the words were incomprehensible. He stared at the mage.

The mage nodded, equally bewildered.

"I see," the knight managed, turning back to Forfend. He straightened his back as his whole demeanor shifted. "Well, um, in that case, we'll try to get this over with as quickly as we can. I'm sure you understand?"

Forfend nodded. "You may relax. I mean you no harm and I am not perturbed by what you are doing here."

The knight glanced back at the mage. The mage nodded.

"Alright." The knight took a deep breath and composed himself. "And what about you, miss?"

"My name is Kairi Camilla."

The knight scratched her name down as well. He stared at his sheet for a moment, then looked back up at Forfend. "Um, sorry, I got a touch distracted. Where are you from, Forfend Smith?"

"Just Forfend is fine," it replied evenly. "I have been living in Foumedo for the past two years, but I am originally from Fornax's Forge back when he had one here on Altromond."

"Oh!" The knight's hand shook slightly as he took down the information. "And you, Ms. Camilla?"

"I'm from the Adamantine Mountains," Kairi answered.

"Okay. So, first and foremost, why are you all here in Cragwall?" the knight asked.

"Court," all three of them replied flatly.

The guard froze, scanned over the odd group again, and nodded slowly. "Court for what?"

"A friend of mine was wrongly accused of a crime. We are here to clear his name," Forfend answered.

"Ah, you're making an appeal," the guard said mostly to himself. "Could you also recount to me what happened between your arrival in Cragwall and your involvement in the terrorist attack on the Teleportation Hub?"

"Certainly," Forfend agreed readily. "We were receiving a tour from one of Cragwall's citizens very shortly after arriving. During that, we witnessed the protests and, when we went to investigate, the sudden explosion. We got involved fighting the cultists because they had not only caused the explosion, but also because they were killing innocents in the rubble."

"Cultists," the knight prompted an elaboration.

"They called themselves Envema," Forfend supplied.

"Alright. I just wanted to be certain. And the individual escorting you?"

"Erzor. A halfling man."

"Do you know his last name? Could you provide a description?" The knight's pen scratched readily at the paper.

"Erzor Littlefoot. Brown hair, tan skin, dusty like a working man. About this tall," Forfend indicated, holding its hand at roughly the height of its waist. "A kind entrepreneur."

The knight nodded as he hastily wrote down all the information. "Thank you. We're trying to get into contact with all the witnesses we can. If he was escorting you, he would've seen what happened."

"I did lose him very shortly into the altercation. I had to dump him off my shoulders to catch the building," Forfend shared. "I do not know where he ended up."

"You caught the building?" The knight tilted his head.

"Kagoshi and I did, yes."

The knight squinted at Kagoshi.

In his current state, Kagoshi was shorter than Kairi and looked much weaker than he was.

"Could you recount the happenings between arriving at Cragwall and becoming involved in the fight?" the knight requested.

"Sure," Kagoshi shrugged. "We were following this halfling guy. I don't remember his name. I wasn't paying attention. He did a tour, we got to the Teleportation Hub, it blew up. I didn't see the people responsible until after the building collapsed, although I think I was the first one to catch it when it fell."

"You were," Forfend praised.

"Describe to me how you were able to catch the building," the knight prompted, clearly perplexed. "Forfend here is a holy construct who likely has abilities we're unaware of, but you..."

"I can double my size," Kagoshi said matter-of-factly.

The knight once again looked to the mage.

The mage nodded.

"Okay." The knight added the information to its to his report. "And that also affects your physical strength?"

"It does." Kagoshi tilted his head, recalling as much as he could. "If I had to guess, almost a hundred people were able to flee the collapse because of us. Some were injured. I think everyone caught in the first explosion was killed."

The knight nodded. "I regret to inform you that we did find no survivors in the rubble. Nonetheless, I wish to thank you for saving the protestors from the collapse. Your actions allowed many more people to escape quickly and survive."

Forfend ducked its head solemnly, taking a moment of silence for the departed.

The knight softly cleared his throat after a couple of seconds and looked to Kairi. "Could you recount events from your perspective?"

Kairi swayed back and forth a bit in her chair. "I don't remember very much. I had a really nasty headache. I heard the explosion, but I didn't see much."

"Missed the initial event due to experiencing medical issues," he mumbled to himself as he wrote. "And what of the ensuing battle? It seems you were heavily injured. You engaged in combat with the terrorists?"

"We did," Kairi confirmed. "I stayed at range mostly, but I moved in to distract one and he got a lucky hit on my back. It gets a little blurry after that."

The knight tapped his quill against his paper. "So the headache seemed to leave you as soon as the fight started?"

Kairi wavered her hand in a kind-of gesture. "Getting away from the noisy crowd and having adrenaline kick in definitely helped."

"Alright," the knight hummed as he scribbled down more notes.

"May I ask a question?" Forfend ventured.

"Sure," the knight allowed.

"The two surviving members of Envema. They were mind-controlled and we rescued them," Forfend emphasized. "They are innocent people. Are they alright?"

The knight's eyebrows shot up. He looked to the mage.

The mage nodded slowly.

"How are you aware that..." The knight trailed off and started over. "Envema is a group of individuals that has been extremely difficult for us to track down. They've been plaguing Tyrwedia for quite some time now. They attack major cities for currently unknown reasons. The fact that you manage to take, not one, but two of them in alive is a miracle. What makes you so certain these terrorists were brainwashed?"

"We saw it," Forfend asserted. "Once they were severely wounded, it was almost like they woke up. They had no recollection of where they were or what they were doing or what had happened to them." It placed its hands on the table and leaned forward for emphasis. "We were only able to speak to one of the two after the battle, but his last memory was of being in Riverhead. Three months ago. He has no idea what happened between then and now."

Kagoshi piped up, "I saw one of them open his eyes real wide, scream 'oh, gods,' and then blow up."

"Most of them did some variation of that," Forfend hummed grimly. "They did not know what they were doing and then they were dead."

The knight scrawled as quickly as he could. He flipped his page and continued rapidly recording everything they'd said.

"These are very interesting insights," he said shakily when he was done. He swallowed hard and composed himself before he continued. "We are aware of their spontaneous detonation upon death. That's what makes it so difficult for us to capture them. Any time we've knocked them out or cornered them, they've detonated themselves."

"Melzaryn referred to it as a coin flip as to whether or not they explode upon unconsciousness," Forfend informed.

"You're traveling with Sir Collymore?" the knight asked.

Forfend nodded.

"Eh, kind of," Kagoshi shrugged.

"He called us interesting and has been tagging along since," Forfend clarified. "Perhaps it is more accurate to say he is traveling with us, rather than us with him."

"Huh." The knight glanced at the mage.

The mage nodded. "The spell is still active. It's all true."

"Alright then," the knight chuckled at the absurdity. He shook his head and straightened his back. "Did you notice anything else during the incident that we should be aware of?"

"Well, stoneface here said most of them were built like farmers, but they were using their weapons like seasoned warriors," Kagoshi noted. "Takes years of training to use a blade or a bow like that."

"Melzaryn told us a bit about the runes carved into their chests. The two spells he named were Glyph of Warding and Geas. He said neither should have been able to have been used in the manner they were," Forfend added. "There was more to it than what he could glean in such a short time, but those were the basis."

The knight turned to consult the mage.

The mage nodded. "Yes, I can see how those two spells might..." he trailed off. "It's impossible, except in untested and, frankly, dangerous theory." His face screwed up in intense thought, theories swarming in his head.

"This has been extremely informative," the knight commended. "I very much wish to thank you for your time and I apologize for the accommodations we gave you last night. It's all we had on such short notice. We tried to make it as comfortable as we could."

Forfend felt the platitudes were empty and only offered because the knight now knew more about who and what they all were. It looked to the mage.

The mage returned an awkward half-smile and subtly shook his head.

Forfend huffed steam, but let the knight's little lie go.

"Before you go, do you have any questions for us?" the knight offered.

"Yeah, one," Kagoshi grumbled. "Did you go through my stuff?"

"We did not. We respected your privacy," the knight replied.

"Hm. Well, thank you."

"Would there have been anything in there that we should be aware of?" The knight cocked his head and squinted.

"No, not really," Kagoshi shrugged.

"Anything in your belongings we should worry about?" the knight directed the question at Kairi and Forfend.

"No," Kairi answered easily.

Forfend's core spun sideways. "Everything you took from me was benign. Most of it was simple tools."

The knight nodded. "Alright. I'd like to kindly thank you for your time. I hope the rest of your stay in Cragwall is pleasant despite recent events and I hope that your trial goes well. You are free to leave now."

A sudden thought struck Forfend. "What were the protestors protesting?"

The knight paused and scratched at his face. "It's rather complicated. The earth genasi claim they're seeking their land back, though the history I've heard is at odds with that. They were liberated from dragons in the past. Despite the king's best efforts, their relationship with the Tyrwedian monarchy is... poor. They seem to dislike the fact that we have settled anywhere around here at all. We've attempted diplomatic relations with them, but we've gotten nowhere."

"I see," Forfend hummed, though it was certain that was not the whole story. Likely, that wasn't even half of it.

"Any other questions?"

"When will court resume?"

"Given the recent attack, it'll be a couple of days before it reopens," the knight sighed.

"That gives us plenty of time to meet with our lawyer and perhaps sightsee," Forfend figured.

"Sightsee, sure," Kagoshi waved dismissively. "You guys wouldn't happen to have a knowledgeable wizard around, would you?"

"There are a number of arcanists here," the knight offered.

"Cool, cool. Got anybody that studies strange creatures and mythical beasts?"

"Well, for something like that, I'd say to try the Tyrwedian Grand Library." He paused to think a moment. "Or for the more mythical creatures specifically, you could speak to one of the clerics in the Grand Cathedral."

"Great," Kagoshi huffed.

"Alright, well, if you're all set, then you're free to leave and you can just ask the front desk to bring you your things. Have a pleasant day." The knight ducked his head politely, gathered his things, and left.

"Thank you," Forfend called after him.

Another guard arrived a moment later to escort the group to the actual front entrance of the military complex.

With their things returned in short order, they stepped out into the brisk morning air.

"Where's Melzaryn?" Kairi asked.

"Right here," Melzaryn answered as he walked up behind them. "Everything good?"

"In a relative sense," Forfend replied.

Its gaze had caught on the aftermath of the Teleportation Hub explosion. Makeshift fences had been put up all around the destruction. Guards patrolled the perimeter.

"I want to get this divine shit out of the way. I'm going to the temple. Have fun, assholes," Kagoshi gruffed and started to walk away.

"I intend to go to the temple also. I will accompany you." Forfend didn't ask.

"Mm," Kagoshi vocalized, loudly annoyed. "Mm-mm."

Someone cleared their throat right behind the group.

Melzaryn stiffened sharply. "Oh no." He turned around very slowly like a child caught doing something he shouldn't have been.

Forfend followed his gaze.

A little black pseudodragon perched precariously on a thin branch protruding from a small decorative tree.

"Welp, my trip to the library is getting delayed," Melzaryn sighed.

"Who is this?" Forfend asked.

The pseudodragon's concerningly intense gaze bore into Melzaryn. It looked up at Kagoshi, then Kairi, and finally Forfend. It fixed its stern gaze back on Melzaryn.

The pseudodragon spoke improbably with the voice of an adult man. It used a gentle, lilting language. Forfend recognized it as Elvish thanks to Jessie's occasional swearing.

Melzaryn responded calmly, though he looked nervous.

The pseudodragon just looked annoyed.

Forfend wasn't certain what they meant exactly, but it certainly recognized a series of Elvish swear words from the little creature.

After a bit of back and forth, the pseudodragon seemed to settle on a decision. It hopped onto Melzaryn's shoulder and stretched its neck out, indicating a specific direction.

The little creature snapped and huffed, arguing with Melzaryn again immediately.

Melzaryn seemed to be attempting to placate it.

The pseudodragon sighed and rubbed its little face. It grumbled something.

"Alright," Melzaryn suddenly dropped back into Common as he addressed the rest of his companions, "I have a talk to talk. If you want to come along, feel free."

"Sure," Forfend agreed. It was curious.

Melzaryn started walking, following the occasion direction indications from the pseudodragon.

Forfend followed.

Kagoshi and Kairi were close behind.

They didn't have to walk far.

The pseudodragon led them into a cluster of tightly packed houses. The alleyways were narrow and twisting.

Melzaryn stopped suddenly. He turned and peered into a tiny, hole-in-the-wall knickknack shop. He entered.

Kairi and Kagoshi herded straight in after him.

Forfend stooped and twisted, carefully easing itself through the doorway and into the cramped shop.

"Welcome in," the ancient, wheezing voice of the decrepit shopkeep called. The man shook with the effort of standing, his skin so thin it nearly looked translucent.

The pseudodragon spoke to him in Elvish.

Immediately, the man stood straighter. "We are closing very soon," he announced.

He hobbled across the shop and flipped the open sign to closed. He locked the door as well and turned, examining the group.

"Closing very soon, very soon," he muttered as he crossed the room again and trailed his fingers across a bookshelf.

He tugged a particular title. The bookshelf slid backwards and sideways, revealing a hidden alcove. "Get the fuck inside," the elderly man gruffed, losing his breathless cadence.

Melzaryn tilted his head at the narrow hallway. He looked skeptically at Forfend.

Steam hissed long and slow. "I am quite used to this."

Melzaryn shrugged and sauntered straight into the tunnel.

The shopkeep stepped in behind him.

Kagoshi and Kairi followed, eyeing their new surroundings cautiously.

Forfend ducked and hunched and drew its shoulders in tight against its sides. It wedged itself into the tunnel. Despite its best efforts, its highest stovepipe and both its shoulders scraped the ceiling and walls periodically.

As they moved, the shopkeep drew himself fully upright. Broad shoulders now filled out what had originally appeared to be a baggy cloak. Bold musculature defined his new silhouette. Color returned to his pallid skin. He was a wholly different person.

He pushed past Melzaryn and flipped through a ring of keys. "Meeting room's yours," he grumbled, unlocking a door at the end of the mercifully short hallway. "Give the signal when you're done."

The tiny black pseudodragon locked eyes with the shopkeep. "You do realize who you're speaking to?"

The man averted his eyes. "I meant no disrespect. The room is yours, sir. Please alert me when you're finished."

"Better," the pseudodragon praised condescendingly.

The group sidled into the meeting room.

Forfend followed, stone scraping against the door frame as it finally squeezed itself inside.

The shopkeep ducked his head and took his leave.

The pseudodragon flit down onto the table and turned to glare at them all. "Melzaryn, sit the fuck down."

Melzaryn sat down immediately.

Kairi took a seat next.

Kagoshi reluctantly sat next to her.

Forfend knelt at Melzaryn's side. It didn't trust the chairs to hold it.

The pseudodragon paced back and forth.

"Mel, you're explaining this later," Kagoshi growled.

"I'm explaining it now," Melzaryn hissed through grit teeth.

The pseudodragon suddenly stopped. "What the fuck did you do? What the hell?!" it snapped. "You walk into the capitol city of the vassal state of Tyrwedia and get arrested?!"

Melzaryn pressed his lips together and evaded eye contact.

"What happened?" the pseudodragon demanded.

"The big one's friend got into some kind of trouble," Melzaryn started, pointing at Forfend. "Probably falsely, I admit. That's why he had to come here and I figured why not? There's a Teleportation Hub here that I could use to go home. Which is now gone!" Melzaryn took a moment to seethe over that. "I love those buildings. I hate when they get destroyed."

"Ain't that the fucking truth," the pseudodragon huffed. "Libertalia's got blown up just last week. Don't worry, they've gotten it fixed."

"Uh, was it blown up by the group that we--" Melzaryn started.

"Nah," the pseudodragon interrupted. "Just some fucking pirates."

"Okay. Good?" Melzaryn hazarded.

"Listen. It's one thing to happen to be in a place when shit goes down," the pseudodragon growled lowly, steering them back on topic. "I get that. Coincidences, bro. But why the fuck were you in the middle of it?"

"Well," Melzaryn began.

"I thought you were traveling and trying to get your business established!" the pseudodragon yelled.

"In my defense," Melzaryn tried again, "we were nearby, these guys jumped in, and the building collapse made me just a little bit upset."

"Your fucking demigod bullshit," the pseudodragon groaned. "Sometimes, I can't tell if you're a genius or a godsdamned idiot. Who do I have to pay off?"

"Everything's fine with the explosion incident. It's taken care of," Melzaryn promised.

"How about this then: who brought you in?"

"Who brought me into this incident or who brought me into custody?" Melzaryn asked.

"Into fucking custody!" the pseudodragon clarified indignantly.

"High Knight Erest Ledrian," Forfend offered before Melzaryn could speak.

"The fucking king's son?!" The pseudodragon paced in circles and settled down only to lay its paws over its face. "Oh gods. By the triplets, what the fuck, Mel?"

"Hey, it's not that bad. The situation handled itself," Melzaryn tried.

"No, see, if the king's son was there then the king is absolutely going to hear about this."

"Is that a bad thing?" Forfend asked, genuinely perplexed.

"No, the king knowing what's going on isn't bad." The pseudodragon stomped over to Melzaryn and jabbed a tiny claw at his chest. "But the fact that you were there and involved? That's bad! Soon enough, everyone is going to know about it! It's going to cause problems for me and for you and for everyone else involved!"

"Yeah, I'm not exactly happy about it either," Melzaryn sighed.

"Okay. Alright. Okay, okay, okay," the pseudodragon mumbled under its breath as it reordered its thoughts. "Who the fuck are the rest of you?"

"Forfend."

"Kagoshi."

"Kairi."

"Alright, now I have names. Now I have connections." The pseudodragon pointed menacingly at all of them. "If you guys fuck him, I'll kill you."

"He's not even my type!" Kagoshi argued.

"Oh! I mean, he's handsome, but I really just don't know him like that," Kairi blushed.

Forfend glanced at the two of them and assumed it had misunderstood the original context. "I am physiologically incapable."

"He didn't mean like that," Melzaryn laughed. "Or, maybe he did?"

"I mean both ways!" the pseudodragon bristled.

It sat back on its hind legs and drew in a deep breath. "Mel. All of you. Word of advice for the future: keep your fucking heads down. Don't get in anymore trouble."

Forfend raised its hand. "I have been specifically requested not to keep my head down."

"By who?"

"Fornax."

The pseudodragon groaned and clutched its horns, shaking its head and stamping its feet. "Oh, gods-fucking-dammit. Mel, I'm so glad you didn't have to go through this weird fucking prophetic bullshit when we found out about you."

Forfend drew its shoulders back. It wasn't sure if it was offended, but it certainly wasn't content with that response. Its abilities and visions were a blessing, not weird bullshit.

"Alright, Mel," the pseudodragon refocused. "Here's what's going to happen: I'm going to handle the situation. I know you think it's well, but it really isn't. There are a lot of political moving parts in Tyrwedia right now and your arrival puts all their eyes on you. You're a Collymore. So I'm going to work on averting gazes." It turned to the rest of the group. "Please, for the love of the gods, try not to get involved in too much bullshit." It spun back to Mel. "And if you do, let me know ahead of time so I can prepare for that shit!"

"Noted," Melzaryn nodded. "Not much I can do about spontaneous explosions. However, I do have a court date."

The pseudodragon paused and closed its eyes tight, its face scrunching up. "When is that?"

"Couple of days."

"Explain what exactly that's all about."

"I mentioned his friend was wrongly accused," Melzaryn thumbed at Forfend. "That's why we came here specifically in the first place. It's a whole thing. Forfend's been keeping better track of it than I have."

"Forfend, explain," the pseudodragon ordered.

Steam hissed long and loud as Forfend heaved a heavy sigh. It looked to Melzaryn. "How much do I say?"

"You can tell him. He's probably handled them before," Melzaryn assured.

Forfend nodded and hunched down to be nearly on the same level as the tiny pseudodragon. "What I am about to tell you is information that I have been explicitly ordered not to share with anyone. I am making an exception because of your relationship with Melzaryn and I must request that you do not... fuck us either."

The pseudodragon nodded grimly.

Forfend launched into the story right from the top.

The pseudodragon sat stockstill for several seconds after Forfend finished speaking. It slowly pulled its hands up and pressed its palms together, radiating concern.

After half an eternity, it came to a conclusion. "Thankfully, I have contacts here who can dispose of those."

Forfend pressed its oversize hand to the pouch of Calamity Shards. "Dispose how?" it asked suspiciously.

"By getting fucking rid of them!" the pseudodragon barked. "I'll get them smuggled across the border away from here and dump them into the Azure Sea or something so some Carnifex Divinitus agents can think they found them all by themselves. They'll take them away."

"No."

The pseudodragon froze, jaw halfway open. It looked as though it hadn't heard that word in a long time. Probably too long.

"Mel, who the fuck is this?" it snapped.

"I think I actually agree with the tiny dragon on this one," Kagoshi piped up.

"The biggest concern here is whether they'll be destroyed or used," Melzaryn informed the pseudodragon.

"They need to be destroyed," Forfend added.

"They can't be," the pseudodragon said flatly. "It's best that the Carnifex Divinitus just pick them up. I'd rather them think they found it on their own."

Forfend worried with the pouch's drawstrings. "I would not want them left to chance long enough to do that."

"Couldn't we just bury them at the bottom of an ocean?" Kagoshi grumbled.

"Something down there would find them," the pseudodragon griped.

Melzaryn lightly nudged Forfend. "Generally, these dead drops do tend to pan out whenever my brother makes them."

"I can't believe you got into all of this," the pseudodragon said, pointing at Mel. "I can't believe you're okay. If I were actually there right now, I'd slap you in the face and then hug you."

"That's fair," Melzaryn conceded. "I'll accept that. I probably deserve a slap."

"Listen, first and foremost, do you want me to dispose of the crystals or not?"

Forfend hummed lowly.

"It's probably your best option," Melzaryn nudged.

"They are causing me a great deal of trouble," Forfend admitted, "but I am afraid to lose track of them."

"I run a very effective business," the pseudodragon preened proudly. It swaggered toward Forfend, the effect diminished by the creature's diminutive size. "One that, I can assure you, will not lose them."

"And they will not be misused?" Forfend immediately asked. Losing them was not the only danger. In fact, it could be the least of the dangers.

"Nope," the pseudodragon said confidently. "If I were to find out they had..." A fanged grin briefly crossed its face. "Let's just say the situation would be handled."

Forfend leaned away from the pseudodragon and pressed the pouch tight to its side.

"Just give the damn dragon the crystals already. Shit," Kagoshi swore.

Forfend reluctantly opened the bag. It touched the mundane stones covering the true threat beneath.

"I'm not going to let Midnight touch them. No one is touching them," the pseudodragon promised.

"Is that your name?" Kagoshi asked.

"No, it's not-- Agh!" the pseudodragon yelled irritably.

"It's the name of the creature," Melzaryn answered.

The pseudodragon, Midnight, twitched slightly and suddenly slumped into a lazy, hunched posture. It rolled onto its back and flapped a paw, begging belly scratches from Mel.

Forfend guessed Melzaryn's brother had dropped the spell out of sheer frustration.

Midnight made a barking squawk noise and wiggled.

Melzaryn gently scritched its belly.

Midnight twitched again. It pushed Melzaryn's hand away and shook itself off.

"Yeah, she's a treat," Melzaryn's brother spoke through his familiar again. "Alright, so... Where were we?" The pseudodragon shook itself again as though trying to gather its thoughts. It turned to face Forfend. "I can assure you, the situation will be handled and handled correctly."

Forfend slowly removed the mundane rocks from its pouch, transferring them into another. They could still prove useful as healing supplies, projectiles, or perhaps as cover again should it encounter anymore shards.

"I am placing a great deal of trust into you," it hummed, spacing its words slightly to put emphasis on every single one. "I will be highly disappointed and quite vengeful if I find that trust was misplaced."

"Let me lay this out in a way you'll understand: this situation affects Mel. As long as you have those, they will be a problem that directly affects Mel. I don't want that," the pseudodragon heavily emphasized its own words. "You've got your little friend Jessie. I've got Mel. It's the same sentiment. I don't want anything to happen to him the same way you don't want anything to happen to your friend. It will be taken care of because I don't want anything bad to happen to Mel."

Forfend hummed deep in its chest.

"I'm not going to misplace or misuse anything that could theoretically be traced back to Mel," the pseudodragon summarized. "And me," it added. An uncomfortable shiver ran through the pseudodragon as the gravity of the situation fully sank in. "Especially not something of this scale."

Forfend nodded. It wasn't certain it was convinced of the stranger's ability, but it was convinced of his loyalty to Melzaryn. It would have to trust Melzaryn's word on his brother's capabilities.

Steam hissed for a long moment. It placed the bag of Calamity Shards onto the table. "I have thirty-one of them."

"Thirty-one!" the pseudodragon balked. "Mel, what in the fuck?!" The little creature paced in circles, growling. "You know what? It's fine. That's fine. I'll handle it."

The pseudodragon lifted itself into the air on its tiny little wings and flit over to the door. With some effort, it unlatched the door and pried it open. It disappeared down the unlit hallway.

"So that miniature dragon thing is your brother?" Kagoshi asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No, that's Midnight. The person speaking through her is my brother," Melzaryn explained exasperatedly.

"You have family?"

"I would think most of us do."

"You have not spoken about them or where you are from at all," Forfend pointed out.

"Every single time I say my family's name, what happens?" Melzaryn inquired.

"Strange things," Forfend responded.

"People are nicer to you," Kairi piped up for the first time in quite a while.

"Their whole demeanor changes," Kagoshi noted.

"They respect you a lot," Forfend added.

"Yeah, so that's why I tend to avoid bringing my family up," Melzaryn said. "I care for them a great deal. It's just that I get treated differently when people know who I am."

"Well, good news," Kagoshi grumbled flatly. "Even if I knew who your family was, I still don't care."

"And good on you for that!" Melzaryn exclaimed. "That's one of the reasons I keep you around."

"I had never heard the name Collymore before meeting you," Forfend shared.

Melzaryn clapped. "That's two for two!"

"I do know the name and a bit about the family," Kairi said.

"Damn! Two out of three." Melzaryn shook his head.

"They're basically nobles," Kairi explained to Kagoshi.

"The family is pretty extensive. There are three branches making up the three primary governing bodies of the Kuumedian Desert," Melzaryn elaborated. "Each family has several seats on a council and we take care of business. Governing and all that. There are other families on the council too. My family isn't the only one with any sway. Anyway, the Collymore branch is the original bloodline, but all three are effectively considered nobles. I'm the middle child in the current generation of that generalized main branch and that's why my older brother is upset I've got so much attention on me."

Forfend nodded, finally understanding. The Kuumedian Desert wasn't a large territory, but its geographical position set it as a vital trade hub for the entirety of Rozdarta. They held a lot of influence and they had to remain neutral on every front to preserve their primary income. No enemies. No favorites.

Midnight returned, gliding into the room with an empty pouch laid over her neck. She landed and began loading all of the carefully wrapped shards from Forfend's bag into the smaller pouch.

"That should do it," Melzaryn's brother spoke through Midnight again. The pseudodragon turned to Melzaryn. "Make sure you're taking care of yourself. Seriously."

"Thanks, I'll try," Melzaryn promised.

"If you visit Moli's shop here, you might get a discount. I figure you probably don't care much though," the pseudodragon shrugged.

"It's not a big concern," Melzaryn returned the shrug.

"You're free to leave whenever. Don't do anything more stupid than you already did. I'm going to take care of this mess."

Midnight and the bag she held suddenly vanished.

"I hope he is careful with those," Forfend fretted.

"He's always careful," Melzaryn said.

"Who the hell is Moli?" Kagoshi interrupted.

"Eh, I'm sure you'll meet her eventually," Melzaryn didn't really answer. "You want to go to her shop?"

"I really just need to go to the temple," Kagoshi growled.

"Well, my research has been delayed by several hours, so I'll do that while you do your temple thing. I'm sure we can meet up at her magic shop after we're both done," Melzaryn suggested.

"Sure," Kagoshi waved dismissively.

"I don't think we should leave the way we came. Let me get the guy." Melzaryn exited the room.

A moment later, he returned with the shopkeep.

"Follow me," the gruff man ordered.

The group made their way back into the main shop and then into a storage room.

Forfend inspected the storeroom contents. There was nothing of value here at all. Most everything was either junk or empty boxes.

The whole setup was just for show. This was never intended as a real shop or a real storage area. It was a front. Presumably for whatever business Melzaryn's brother was running.

The shopkeep shoved aside a large chest and pulled a lever hidden behind it.

A trapdoor opened.

Melzaryn squinted at the opening and then eyed the exceptional width of Forfend's shoulders. "Do you want to try to figure this out or do you want me to teleport you to the bottom?"

Forfend stared down at the opening. If it scrunched its shoulders in as tight as it could and angled its body very carefully, it might be able to squeeze through the opening without damaging anything or getting stuck. It didn't like the risk.

"Teleport me please." Forfend hunkered down the way it would need to be to traverse the tunnel below.

Magic swirled around it. The world dropped out from beneath it.

It was jarringly deposited into the dark tunnel.

The rest of its companions climbed down behind it.

The trapdoor was closed and a series of locks clicked shut followed by a heavy grinding sound as the chest was pushed back into place.

The tunnel was pitch black, but it only led one way with no room to turn around. They couldn't get lost.

Forfend followed the winding twists until it finally pressed its hands against a wooden obstruction. It shoved the blockage and was immediately rewarded with dim sunlight.

It pushed what it could now see was a crate out of the way and entered a hidden alcove tucked beneath a staircase.

Melzaryn, Kairi, and Kagoshi filed out after it.

Forfend returned the crate to its original location concealing the tunnel.

It stepped out onto the street. They were quite a ways away from the neighborhood they'd started in. The shift was disorienting.

"The rest of the day is ours to do what we want with," Melzaryn grinned and placed his hands on his hips. "Let's get to it."

[end-fall]

Last week's session started with Elton, Cynn, and Knight Caleb returning to the embassy. Cynn attempted to apologize to Elton who wasn't mad, just disappointed in her. Elton went into his room and Cynn collapsed in the hallway crying. Jax and Cael then returned from the artificers' college. Jax was pissed from learning she was legally dead and stormed into her and Elton's room, stepping over Cynn in the hallway, giving Cael Violet's file, and grabbing her gauntlets. Cael followed Jax to the room, picking Cynn up off the floor and telling her she was in the way. Cynn tried to apologize to her and Cael said she didn't want to hear it. Cael got Elton caught up on what was happening. During this, Jax finished putting on her gauntlets and storms out of the room going to the training yard. Cynn tried talking to her and she decked Cynn in the face, fracturing her jaw and knocking out 3 of her teeth, and kept going without stopping. Elton made sure she was okay and Knight Caleb took her to the first aid room. Jax destroyed 5 training dummies while Elton watched before she calmed down enough to explain what had happened.

During this Cael was reading Violet's file in the Roses' office and found out who Violet's friends were at school, as well as who signed off on Jax's eath certificate.

Elton and Jax deposited the soul gems in the lead safe in the office.

Elton went to check on Cynn qnd get her ready to go apologize to the dude she stabbed, but Cynn said that it was actually her brother pretending to be a merchant dude who was dead. Jax came into the room, heard what was going on, and elected to go get Lady Carestia to figure out what to do. After some discussion, they decided that they needed to go apologize anyway to keep up appearances. So they all headed out to the dude's very guady and showy estate. Everything this dude did was a performance, evenvthe scar on his chest, which Jax clocked as not real. Cynn apologized and Elton did his best to smooth things over before the party left and returned to the embassy.

[gohar-adventures]

The Eye of the Beholder

Harambe is speaking with everyone in the Dragon Skull Manor very early in the morning, following the Gralhund Villa bloodbath.

No one trusts this man, who was previously in the service of the Gralhunds. Hollycover proposes Zone of Truth to discuss more. Everyone except Argan and -3- is under the spell's effects.

"Duke Gralhund asked me to spare them from a horrible death, at the hands of someone much meaner than I am."

Assad: "The kids as well?"

Harambe nodded, shameful, and explained that he came to the manor running from the City Guard. He left as they were arriving to the villa and mentions coming across one of our enemies(?). He pulled out a black parchment.

Holly unrolled the parchment, and written in silver ink:

Xander recognized materiel to mean a magical reagent because of his background.

Given the drow who attacked in the villa, I recognized the J as Jarlaxle, the leader of the mercenary band Bregan D'aerthe.

Holly: "Will you attack us?"

Harambe: "Are you asking me if I have honor? I haven't drawn my sword, have I?"

Xander seems to have taken quite the liking to Harambe and was flirting aggressively, as he does.

Some aggressive knocking at the door interrupts the conversation. Xander goes upstairs with Harambe to show him the rooms and hide.

Assad opened the door and spots Mirt walking back toward his carriage.

"Finally! Come on! The guard is coming!"

I yelled loudly that we were going on a field trip. All of us together! Xander brought down Harambe.

Mirt stared at Harambe and shook his head at all of us. "How did you mess this up so badly?"

"A story for later," demurred -3-.

All of us rushed into the carriage with whatever we could grab on short notice. Assad forgot his rune scroll that he'd been studying, and Holly forgot her armbands.

Mirt erased our tracks from the snowy ground and got in the carriage, still shaking his head. "You brought the smoking gun with you."

As we left the alley, we saw 2 carriages head toward the manor from the East. Barnabas Blastwind and Saeth Cromley from the City Guard step out of the carriages.

Mirt's driver was taking us on a circumventing route to wherever we were going, so I showed the note from Jarlaxle to Mirt.

Poor Mirt looked even more tired but mentioned that he was aware of the location, near the shore. It burned down from an explosion a year ago, though.

Xander missed an Arcana check for more information.

The entire ride, Harambe's eyes were on Mirt and his hand never strayed far from the hilt of his sword. Upon seeing that Mirt knew a bit about the drow, though, he brought a stone out of his pocket, saying "The drow also had this."

Xander was getting ready to cast Identify on it, but Mirt asked him to hold off.

Leaving the carriage we see a humble house with lights on inside and a bench outside. Someone keeping a lookout despite the snow looks up at Mirt and remains at ease.

Nat 20 to figure out where we are.

Despite all the twists and turns, I could tell we were somewhere north in the Trades Ward, near the City of the Dead and the Hospice of St. Laupsenn.

It was about 7 AM now and there was an older lady waiting inside the house with some breakfast for 6 people. She hadn't accounted for Harambe (and neither had we).

I sat down for coffee, while others took food. Mirt stood still for a second. "So, Xanathar, the Zhentarim and now Jarlaxle... Ugh."

Xander identified the stone Harambe had found as a Sending Stone, though he made Harambe hold the stone for the entire 10 minutes that the casting took, and kept flirting with him after.

Mirt: "Stay here for a while. If you need to leave, tell Mrs. White to find the backdoor."

Mrs. White: "If you need anything else, I'll be upstairs."

Assad mentioned that a lead box could prevent a Sending Stone from being traced and Xander asked whether Mrs. White could find one for us.

After a few hours, there was a knock on the door and Mrs. White, who hadn't made a peep since going upstairs after promising to look into the box came down to check on the door. She brought back a rectangular box wrapped in cloth and the newspaper.

I picked up the newspaper. There were reports of the Gralhund Villa bloodbath and how even the children had been murdered. The article warned that the Guard believed the perpetrators were still at large and that citizens should remain home at night. I passed the paper over to -3- after reading.

-3- looked over at Holly. "Why are we running?"

Holly mentioned we could get a lot of people in trouble, but -3- was not convinced. Why were we following what Mirt said? We hadn't done anything wrong.

Argan tried explaining that we had broken quite a few laws going into the villa and attacking people even if we hadn't started the fight, but I guess it's hard enough explaining illogical laws to people, let alone a construct.

Using Felix, we sent out a note to the kids to let them know we'll be away from the manor for a while and I snuck in a note for Nat: We're near the City of the Dead.

Felix came back just fine after a while, but without any messages.

2 days go by, with Mrs. White only coming down for meals and to answer the door. The food is fine.

The next newspaper mentioned that the City Guard had been cracking down on the Zhentarim and that those responsible for the bloodbath would be apprehended soon.

After not hearing anything for a few days, we were starting to get restless. Xander sent out a message to Mirt using a paper bird and sent Felix to trail it. He came back too soon, though, telling Xander that some nice gentlemen offered him treats and played with him.

-3- (in Undercommon, at Holly): "I hope we don't have to kill Mrs. White."

The group sent me to have a look at Mrs. White's room. Xander cast invisibility on me and called down Mrs. White. Argan distracted her with singing while I picked the lock to go into the room.

It was pitch black inside and there was a smell of lilacs. The windows were boarded up but everything else looked pretty normal. The bed seemed odd and looking under it, there was a maroon stain on the floor.

Doing one last pass around the room, I found a stone similar to the Sending Stone Harambe had brought and a dagger inside the pillow. Leaving the dagger and straightening up the room, I got out and locked the door.

I waited in our room for a while, but no one came up, so carefully went downstairs and got Xander, whispering we should meet up in the bathroom.

Mrs. White asked where I was while Xander was in the bathroom and Argan mentioned I should be in the room. She went back upstairs saying something about "being done here."

Xander put the 2 stones in the lead box. We all booked it out of there, grabbing our things, and just leaving through the front door. Although the lookout was very confused to see us go, he didn't stop us. We saw him heading inside as we left.

We agreed to meet up in 2 hours at the Hospice of St. Laupsenn. I stopped by the City of the Dead to check if the kids were around, but nothing interesting happened.

I passed a newspaper boy calling out that the City Guard got the Zhentarim on the way to meet with the rest.

Mother Margot greeted -3- and Holly and told Holly they had not had anything to do with what had been going out. No fights had broken out in the city and no one had sought sanctuary, but the river had supposedly run red with blood.

-3- told the group we shouldn't stay here for too long.

Argan, Xander, and Assad head toward the market to try and get some information by using the Sending Stones. Xander figured out they were not connected to each other, but they both connected to the same stone.

Argan turned himself invisible and flew up to one of the roofs. Activating the stone, he mentioned "They got away. What do I do now?"

Jarlaxle responded, saying he could see Argan's companions and the boys lost all their ability to be chill. Argan left the stone with Xander and scurried back to the Hospice to get the rest of us.

In the hospice, -3- and Holly went downstairs to help with the patients and see if they could get more information as to what had been happening over the past few days. I posted up in the main room to keep an eye on folks who came and went.

A nurse who Holly did not recognize had been staring at -3- and Holly so she went up to her to find out more. She was very nervous and asked to speak in front of Mother Margat. The three of them go speak to her and she takes them to Father Giuseppe's old rooms.

The nurse, Sylvia, mentioned that there had been 2 fellows that had come in the week before with an eye tattoo and that the nurses had taken care of them even though they were pretty scary. She had overheard them talking about something strange in the South Ward: a Sweets Shop with an eye theme.

Sylvia used to work in the South Ward before and had seen a few people who went into the shop and never came out. But there were screams.

We met up in the Dripping Dagger where Xander investigated the Stone of Golorr. It will need all 3 eyes to work properly, but something might happen with just the 1 eye that we have.

Xander attuned to the Stone and the aboleth growled and insulted him.

Xander: "What are you?"

The aboleth showed him a floating city, a vault, lots of people. Death all around, falling, feeling lost for hundreds of years. Being found again, in Waterdeep. A face: lord Dagult Neverember. A psychic burst, then nothing.

Xander could tell that there is missing information, but the aboleth is not purposefully hiding anything. "What do you want?"

"Freedom." The aboleth granted Xander the Light and Darkness spells, calling them a gift.

When asked, "How can we help?" the aboleth showed Xander a barrage of images: a man burying silver in the yard of a tavern somewhere in Waterdeep, a group of cultists performing a ritual to create a hell cyst, different races invading each other.

Suddenly Xander saw an old woman with very small glasses who seemed to be looking directly at him, speaking: "Oh, you're back. Good to have you back. I made money off you once. I'll do it again."

Xander felt unsafe and broke the connection. It seems like the Stone has the power to make everyone or a very large group of people forget a piece of information. We can't use it to find the other eyes.

We arranged for Argan to send a message to Three Strings when he went to his shift in the Yawning Portal: "Thanks for your hospitality. Unfortunately, there was something wrong with the room and we had to go."

The owner of the shitty tavern where we stayed knocked on the door at 3 AM, letting -3- know that there was a visitor. -3-, Holly, and I went downstairs to find a teenage boy who said he had a message from the harp and handed -3- a harper pin.

"That was not the plan. I hope you're safe. Mrs. White is dead. I'm sorry we were compromised."

It looks like Mrs. White's body was hidden under the floorboards and that's what caused the stain.

-3- hands the pin back to the boy and sends him back with a message: "Send word when it's safe to go home."

That same night, Xander dreams of his past and remembers him. He misses him. He's within reach.

[evildeadfan102]

I played Saints Row (2022 Remake) Session 15.

[kaytypestar]

so I just had a bit of an insane d&d session

this'll include some spoilers for Curse of Strahd, at least a modified version of that campaign

end of the previous session we were captured by Volenta (a sort of assassin rogue in this campaign) and her very shadow-themed crew (shadow sorcerer, way of shadow monk, etc). notably one of our party members managed to escape this with her ring of invisibility, so while we were jailed up between sessions, she was out with an npc ally learning what she could to rescue us.

this session, we break out of our dungeon jail cells somewhere in the basement of Castle Ravenloft and fight our way out so we can retrieve our gear and escape; our other party member joins us along the way here, and our wizard sleeps blissfully through it all (player couldn't make it on short notice, so his character was just a sleepy boi today). along the way I find a rusty dagger, which is a surprise tool that will help us (me) later.

along our path we run into a magical pit of fire with colourful gemstones around it, which a nearby poem explains will teleport us to a location based on which gem we toss into the fire. the party's bloodhunter gleefully tosses the gem promising a place of "lore" and teleports himself to Strahd's study, where he tragically dies because, y'know, never split the party. to be fair though he did make the best he could of the situation he found himself in.

while he's gone, though, we run into Volenta and some of her crew again. for the second time in as many sessions, my rogue is downed by this enemy.

when my character is revived a round later, I enter a dark-power-empowered form (a level 19 version of my current character than I have access to from a deal with a dark power, long story [we're level 6 so this is a big boost]). my next few rounds are just me chasing after Volenta, armed only with an old rusty dagger and a murderous gleam in my eye.

highlights of my rogue-on-rogue fight are me saying "measure your breath, Volenta, for it is limited" after obliterating one of her allies in front of her, and "told you so" when I killed her a couple rounds later

(this post is rambly as hell and really mostly for me, but if you got something out of it, I'm glad)

[proxythe]

shinjiro had 2 people on the spectrum advising him at all times

[alleyesony0u]

evbo wakes up in pvp civilization remembering only three things — his name, his age, and his birthday. he knows it’s some… vague date. he tries to keep track of his days in his home. he is turning fifteen in a few months, after all. wouldn’t want to miss the big one five.

he tries to keep track of the days in his cell too. markings scraped on the walls that tell him time has passed. too much time. one day he wakes up with a horrible feeling of dread deep in his gut. like a black hole. when he goes to mark the day on the wall, it takes him a moment to register the fact that it’s his birthday. congrats kid. you’re fifteen now. do you like chocolate or vanilla? buttercream or fondant? a year from now you can get that car you wanted. for now, how about that exciting new video game or a pair of new kicks?

happy birthday, kid. they’re opening up the door now with shiny blades and prayers. or shiny blades and looks of cruel glee. do you really think they care? do you think when your blood stains the crevices of all the tiny markings on your wall they look at it and think, happy birthday kid, you’re fifteen?

happy birthday, kid. you’re still waking up with a gasp and a new scar, morphing into all the old ones on your skin. that pillow is comfortable, maybe you lay there for a while and dream. not the best present in the world but it’s better than nothing, no?

happy birthday, kid. the guard coming to collect you is the better one, even with all his sneers and insults. he leads you to the red gate and wishes you luck and when you turn to look at him and say “it’s my birthday today. i’m fifteen.” his mask will slip and he will look upon the wobbly kneed calf in horror as the stone door grinds shut behind you.

happy birthday, kid. you’ve died again and the guard coming to collect you is the worse one. he shoves you forward and his patience is tick tick ticking. you could tell him it’s your birthday today, but that wouldn’t change much. birthdays don’t divert destinies.

happy birthday, kid. you’re sitting in your own gore but you’ve managed to snatch a flint and steel at one of your respawns and a twig from one of the trees you pass by on your way down. you light the twig with the flame and it is warm. and it is light. and your cell is so very cold and dark. you close your eyes and make a wish. or two. or three. i want to save tabi. i want to go home. i don’t want to die.

you blow out your makeshift candle and the cell is cold and dark again. not for long though, because the door opens again and your blood spatters on the walls and floors. again. happy birthday, kid. you’re fifteen. remember what you were born for.

and as the day dwindles to its close, a man adorning a golden crown, dressed in yellow opens the door. he says, “fifteen, huh?”

and you ask, “you know my birthday?”

and he says, “of course i do. it’s just practical.”

[heybiji]

I love your art style, ESPECIALLY your DnD art! I wanna give your scarred elf boi a big ol hug! Never has a drow ever made me wanna play the race as much as your art of Dandelion!

oh, he could certainly use a hug lately, please do please do.

and FOLLOW THE DROW DREAM!! just don't be a donut like I was and have them in disguise for 60-something sessions while you are desperate to draw and share art of them but CAN'T

[silusvesuius]

[babybluesquid]

Session 15, Never Mind the Murder!

Our Players this Week:

Hog 112, they/them, Weapon Thaumaturge, skirmisher warforged, the leader of the inquisitives agency and founding member, tends toward practicality and following a command structure.

Vestige, they/them, Bones Oracle, warforged placed into a human body, a healer and the agency’s fleshborn face, remains on the periphery with an individualistic streak.

Strategy, it/its, Empiricist Investigator, officer warforged, an old model who’s seen much action and uses the tactics they learned back during the war now under Sharn.

Mage, they/them, Universalist Wizard, living wand warforged, a young forged who was built after the Mourning, looking to find their place in the world.

Carmine, she/her, War Priest, infantry warforged, a forged who converted to the Blood of Vol and extensively modified her own body to fit a Seeker ideal.

——————

There’s another matter to attend to. Khyberlurk had a pouch of a hundred Galifars. While under Jhaala’s eye, Carmine splits it six ways, making change from the agency treasury. It’s not an even split, she gives the remaining four Crowns to Hog. With that situated, it’s decided that everyone can go shopping for more gear. The sleuths will handle Khyberlurk’s body later.

Hog takes the agency to a shop they know, A&A&A. It’s an arms, armor, and runes shop and smithy in the Cogs run by three warforged, Armament, Aegis, and Ardent. The three of them are the same model, but with different modifications they’ve incorporated since the war. Armament is equipped with an armblade and integrated shield, along with red painted lines along his faceplate and armor. He’s forging a shortsword. Ardent has been modified to have six fingers to a hand, some of them serving as scribers, chisels, and shapers. She works carefully, carving a rune into a knife-handle with a fingertip. Aegis has been replated entirely in adamantine and they have the faint outline of a hidden compartment on their chest. As they’re the only of the three not actively engaged in creation, they approach the inquisitives.

“Hello! You must be the new sleuths. Hog, Vestige, and I don’t know the rest of you. What would you like to buy? We have armor, weapons, and Ardent can carve runes into your equipment.” Carmine introduces herself and asks for some handwraps. Aegis has a pair made of a fire wire mesh and some plates with runes carved in them, explaining they were an experimental piece and difficult to manufacture. She elects to buy them, but since she can’t cover the full cost Hog chips in the rest. They also buy come caltrops, figuring it should come in handy sometime.

With that done, it’s on to a shop without a name. Hog leads the inquisitives there, explaining on the way that it’s a magic shop on the downlow. It’s got two changelings, called Witch and Watcher, and a warforged named Cocktail as proprietors. Coming through a nondescript door, they’re there.

Inside, Watcher’s in the form of a tall human woman, Southern Brel. Witch appears planetouched, with a Qbarran hat and a sleeved coat. Each of them wears a small medallion, like a seven-petaled flower, the same one Hog wears. In the back, Cocktail is tinkering with an alchemical mixture. As it suddenly gives off a puff of purple smoke, they mutter, “oh, that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Witch approaches Hog and strikes up a conversation, offering various little trinkets and potions. Hog pauses at one, an opal. Witch explains that it distracts an opponent in combat, allowing for an opening in their defenses. “It would be ideal for Samanta,” Strategy states. Hog notes it down. The associates buy a retrieval prism, a healing potion, three potions of expeditious retreat, and a feather token for each sleuth.

Next, Vestige shows the way to an unmarked little hole-in-the-wall, one of the “legitimate salvage” outfits that sprung up like weeds after the Day of Mourning. As the sleuths enter, they’re greeted by a racket as the proprietor sweeps his merchandise onto the floor. The orc behind the counter starts smiling like a Jorasco.

“Why, Hello, and, ah, welcome to Freaky Tarlik’s Kettle Fried Spider, Authentic Food for the Authentic-” Vestige steps out from the group. “Tarlik.” The man’s expression melts and reforms into a much more natural one of gleeful greed. “Customers!” He begins picking up items from the floor and placing them back on the counter. First among them is a fine suit and top hat in perfect condition. Mage’s eyes start to glitter.

“Oh, what’s this?” “This suit will never get dirty or wrinkled, no matter what you do to it. No matter what.” “How much does it cost?” “Fifty-five Galifars.” Mage looks around for a sympathetic face. There are none to be found.

Meanwhile, Hog looks at their shopping list. One, spyglass. Two, mirror (medusas). Three, Ten Foot Pole, circled three times. “Have you got a spyglass?” Tarlik smiles even wider. “Of course!” He begins pulling down canvas hangings covering up shelves upon shelves of cheap jewelry, personal items, questionable tools, and rusty swords. Then he finds the spyglass. The example on offer is a good Cyran officer’s model, and selling for five galifars, a steal. It goes to Strategy.

Next, Hog spots a mirror. Silver-backed glass and filigreed pewter, it stands out among the shelves of trash. “How much is this?” “One galifar.” Vestige speaks. “The owner of this mirror is dead.” “Are you trying to sell me a haunted mirror?” Hog says. Tarlik’s grin threatens to split his face in half. “One galifar.” “Did you say that mirror is haunted? You should buy it,” Mage adds. “See?” says Tarlik. Hog buys the mirror for one galifar.

Finally, Hog asks for a ten-foot pole, like the Wayfinders use. Tarlik pulls a pole out from behind a shelf, knocking several items onto the floor in the process. “Have you got one that splits into segments?” Hog asks. “What would you ever need that for?” “Sometimes I need to walk through a door.” “This pole has length markings on it,” Strategy observes. “That’s not even a ten-foot pole, that’s a ruler!” “How else will you know it’s ten feet?” “That’s it!” Hog says. “Dol Dorn, I’m taking my business to Clifftop.” They march out of the shop, and with all their business concluded, the rest of the party follows.

Mage then pipes up, they know a nice shop in Everbright called The Discerning Mage. It may be higher up in the city, but its prices are fair and they want to buy some spells. Since it’s on the way to Clifftop anyway, the party heads up and watches Mage purchase scrolls of Hydraulic Push and Pestform. This endeavor utterly bankrupts the wizard, but they assure the inquisitives that these spells are worthy investments. On to Clifftop, where Hog finally finds a fold-a-pole while Vestige purchases the only thing on their list, a disguise kit.

Back at the agency, Hog approaches Carmine. “I shouldn’t have taken you on,” they bluntly remark. Carm’s eyes seem to flash redder, “you shouldn’t have? Who would’ve been there to take that blow from Khyberlurk? One of your other teammates. Khyber, I think it was my hymn that made them flee in the first place. Not to say that the others didn’t help, but I think you’re undercutting my value here.” “That’s not what I meant. Carmine, I think you’ve more than shown your value as a soldier, but you don’t seem comfortable in that role. I’ve met people like you, or like Dandy, people who after the war don’t wanna pick up a sword again.” Carmine seethes, “and I’ve met people who couldn’t drop that sword. And I’ve seen the paths they’ve gone down. And I will never go down that path. And I can pick up a sword just fine, thank you. However, what you did was an execution, a soldier’s execution. I do not-”

Carmine stops, sighs deeply and unclenches her fists, “you need a quiet soldier, and that’s what I’ll be from now on. Obviously you do not want my input but I will say I joined up with you because I wanted to spread my message. This is my pilgrimage and I-” “This is not your pilgrimage,” Hog says firmly, “this is my organization.” “Yes, I signed on to this because I wanted to help people,” Carm tries to explain, “so I could help spread my message. I will put the needs of the agency first, I can promise you that. I would never do anything to compromise you. I would not have suggested to let Khyberlurk go if I did not believe they would hold up their end of the bargain, being beneficial to us.” “But that’s not really the issue here, is it. It’s not just a question of strategy, you don’t think like that.” “Then you had an issue with me not wanting him brutally murdered? We had the option to at least put them- we could’ve done anything else. We could have submitted them to the Cannith, or-” “And the authorities would’ve given Khyberlurk a swift execution, or else let them go and that would’ve been the deadliest option of all.”

“Hog,” Carm sighs, “I acted hastily as I was frustrated with Khyberlurk’s position when I pushed you, but you recommended a soldier’s execution. I don’t think that’s the way to go and I think your line of thinking was rather… I do not think this had to be another war. I think we could’ve at least temporarily come up with a peaceful solution rather than bloodshed. Khyberlurk was obviously a tool for this higher up, Aggregate. I don’t know… I don’t know the solution but I know the one that you made I was not comfortable with. But I will still follow you till the end and go with any decision you make. You can trust that I won’t be a problem in the future.”

Hog collects themselves, “well then. Thank you for voicing your disagreement, and like I told you in the Red Hammer, we can still use someone like you.” “I would love to stick around, seeing as you need a bit of wisdom, I would say,” realizing the insult, she backpedals, “or just an alternative perspective. I did have thoughts of leaving, I won’t lie, but this is what I expected going out into a war torn world after my study.” Hog crosses their arms, “you’ve said enough, Carmine. If you need to say more, say it to Strategy, Samanta, or Vestige. I don’t need to hear any more.” “Got it, boss,” Carmine sighs and trudges back to the reception to help Jhaala with paperwork.

It’s time. Nobody comments on it when Hog collects Strategy and the two go down to Khyber’s Gate. Or when they return and Shadowblack leaves with Khyberlurk’s body. The agency is utterly devoid of conversation in the interim, till finally he returns and breaks the heavy silence. “We got it done,” he confirms, “the story should hold, probably.” Vestige pulls him aside, replying in a low tone, “so, it’s done. How are you?” “I certainly could be better… this should not have happened.” As Shadowblack talks, though, he begins to shake, belying his underlying turmoil, “for the last couple of years, I’ve always thought of Khyberlurk as one of my closest friends, following the same principles as I. I didn’t realize that wasn’t the case anymore.” He pauses, collecting himself and returning to a more neutral tone, “infinitely tragic to see a warforged die for this.”

The silence then becomes a wall between the two, before Vestige breaks through it, “I’m sorry. I did what I could.” They cringe at that human voice coming from them, quivering and weak. Vestige forces their tone to become stronger, angrier, “we’re going to take down Aggregate. He will pay for this, I promise.”

Taking Vestige’s lead, Shadowblack’s response is firm as well, “that’s our primary goal. We can’t let Aggregate do any more harm to the warforged here, Blade or not. We all deserve better.” “Agreed. He’s a corrupting influence that must be stopped. Let’s face him together, brother.” “Of course.” “Will you be sticking around the agency, once this is done?” “Once Aggregate’s down, I might stay around, might find something else. I might even rejoin with the Blades or go back to the Mournland.” Vestige nods, “someone’s got to let the Lord of Blades know what Aggregate’s been up to.” “Perhaps I could send a message now and get assistance to deal with Aggregate from higher up.” Vestige doesn’t pause, “I’m worried Aggregate could intercept you on the way. That’s too dangerous. We should wait till he’s dealt with.” “Sure, it’s a long way and Aggregate probably has allies on the way to the Mournland. I’ll stay here until this business is dealt with. Aggregate is going to pay,” Shadowblack replies.

Vestige clenches their teeth and the hilt of their dagger. “He’s going to die.”

Just then, there’s knocking at the agency’s front door. Halt’s voice calls through, “I have a very important tip for the agency!” “One second!” Mage calls. They stand up a broom and command it to clean, turning to Hog for approval. Hog just stares at them till they rush to open the door. Halt ducks to enter the doorway, talking before it’s even shut behind him, “this is about the Jack-in-Irons case. I think something’s wrong. Medani’s been more uncooperative, the Houses seem to not want use to solve it. So, if you want, I’ll help you on my time off.” Hog looks surprised, “you want this case to be solved off the books?” Halt nods seriously, “off the books is as well as on them. I just wanna see this through.”

——————

Notables:

Armament, he/him, a weaponsmith and proprietor of A&A&A.

Ardent, she/her, a runesmith and proprietor of A&A&A.

Aegis, they/them, an armorsmith and proprietor of A&A&A.

Tarlik, he/him, an orc man and the proprietor of a Mournland salvage store in the Cogs.

Shadowblack, he/him, now excised from the Blades and with no more family by make, he works alongside the agency and his brother in ideology, Vestige.

Halt, he/they, warforged wandslinger and swordsman, captain of a squad within the Blackened Book. Seems to have a particular interest in Jack-in-Irons

[al-luviec]

juvie buddies

[tropicalcontinental]

Still thinking about that CL16 +TMA crossover thing (spurred by @blinkycravesviolence's post and the discussion that happened on the discord 💥💥💥)

[c1trvs]

Wip

[ilikecarsandlike4people]

45 min (spliced) speedpaint, sped up 16x, flash warning Just kind of wanted to get back to digital painting, but didn't want to think about it too hard so went in without a sketch like I sometimes do with trad paintings. Final result under the cut, very much a rough colour study, don't look too hard at the glasses.