04 - Jamais Vu

Date & Time (ET): 2024-02-01T20:15:00.000-05:00

Summary

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Notes

The Fellowship awakes separated. Runato is in a barren landscape of soot and black glass; Lei, Sylo, and the cats awake somewhere (and perhaps somewhen) different on Iskander; and Emilia, her crew, Antoun, and Rubah awake right where they fell asleep.
Runato hears noise and senses movement in the decrepit mansion. They enter and find Xyndite, now a grown panther, still holding their sword. He (figuratively) hands it back to Runato. Footsteps from above herald the arrival of Elbanna, a Unicorn.
Lei and Sylo look around for their companions, but see no one. Dredge, a young Bombycid, is startled to find the pair on the doorstep and runs inside to call for help. Sylo calls on his deity to explain what's going on; it seems surprised to find Sylo here ("you're supposed to be at sea,"), but their conversation is cut short by Hellebore the Plenilune, an Anilid mage, who banishes the spirit. Sylo very angy.
Emilia, growing concerned, orders her crew to proceed back to Kesh with Antoun while she investigates the Fellowship's disappearance. Alise stirs up some discontent, but the crew obeys. As Emilia's investigation progresses, she notices Alise taking charge of the crew and making a contract with Antoun without her permission. Rubah nervously investigates the manor grounds, looking for Sylo.
Runato wastes little time in locking blades with Elbanna, who does not seem entirely interested in the fight. The former lands a blow with a cursed arrow that half-blinds Elbanna and forces his memories to return; the latter pierces Runato with his spear-cane, which has the opposite effect and burns away an important piece of Runato's recent history.
Lei tries to weave a tale of being wandering minstrels and negotiate entry with Hellebore; five feet away, Sylo nocks an arrow and demands that the mage undo their spell. Before the confrontation can boil over, a masked figure emerges from the doorway to the house and, smiling ominously, encourages Hellebore to permit them entry as guests.
Emilia proceeds with her investigation of the house, reviewing a map she retrieved from Dahlia and confirming that it includes directions to this manor and acts as a kind of passkey to allow outsiders to see the grounds. Recalling stories she's sought out of the Triumvirate and their lairs, she calls on the house to open passage for her back to her friends, causing a mirror to reform along one wall and open a passage through time and space to Sylo and Lei.
Meanwhile, Runato is knocked from a balcony and yells for Xyndite to catch them. Predictably, the cat provides a modicum of cushioning for Runato's fall as they crash through the floor...
...and through the ceiling of the foyer where Lei and Sylo have been led, scattering glass that gleams like starlight. Acting quickly to take... past Elbanna? hostage, Runato brings tensions to a boil yet again.
Sylo pleads with Hellebore to intervene, and they raise their hands to perform a great working...
...which falls flat, absorbed into the black glass(?) adorning(?) the heads of the three Unicorns in the room.