Date & Time (ET): 2024-04-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

Summary

The Fellowship's hasty escape from Kesh gives way to a long, laborious, and moderately eventful journey by sea to Arred, the next major stop on their journey. They stop off first in Khulaud, where Lei learns that she's wanted and Emilia learns - and covers up - her uncle's "misappropriation" of ship funds. They encounter more than their share of dangers on the Lemwater Sea: spiteful and jealous deva, things that eat deva, holes in the world, holes in their own minds, decaying morale and empty stomachs... but eventually, they find themselves at their destination more or less intact, looking up at the cliffs of Arred in the distance.

Notes

• On the way to Khulaud, Lei catches and skins fish to restock parchment for use or trade, while Sylo takes Rubah for a "walk" and gathers some completely innocuous mushrooms. Closer to the city proper, Runato barters information for goods at an Anchor Haven, while Emilia takes on a fresh shipment of cargo headed west. They all see signs of ecosystem imbalance and disruption; Runato hears rumors that Arred, their next port of call, is under siege by the Iskan League after being taken by the Urt Unakha some time before.
• While in the city, Lei comes across a wanted poster with her likeness. She learns that the Grace & Glory was docked here before heading to Kesh (fortunately just missing the Fellowship as they were leaving). She snoops around the harbormaster's office, asking after shipping manifests, and learns that the ship was travelling remarkably light - they were coming to pick something up, and not just Lei. She also picks up a familiar name: Invigilator Adeodatus was here, and was asking about her personally.
• Aboard the Solstice, Theo approaches Runato, and confesses that he's done something he'll probably need to lie about. He asks Runato not to expose him and, while they chide Theo for his perfidy, Runato assents.
• The nature of the possible deception is made clear when Emilia, Aldridge, and Emilia are loading payment into the ship's vault: it's been cleared out. While Theo planted some red herrings, Emilia's investigation ultimately reveals, via Orthelia, that he paid off the Left Hand Mercenary Corps to take him to Quaslira, where the Triumvirate's college is located, to try to find and rescue Irwin. Emilia convinces Orthelia to cover this up for now, spinning a story about pirates - but only in return for a promise that the crew will be made whole, and soon.
• Leaving Theo behind, the Solstice departs Khulaud and heads west across the Lemwater Sea, around the south of Iskander, towards Arred.
• The ship crosses over the "Corvid Crack," a beak-shaped fissure in the deep crust over which nothing lives (at least, not for long). Lei, more attuned to magic than most, finds herself increasingly drained by the emanations from below. She transcribes the pattern in musical notation as best she can, but finds the lethargy settling deep into her bones even after the ship has moved on.
• Sylo wakes in the middle of a thunderstorm, body rigid with primal terror. He feels Xsinbi hovering protectively - or possessively - over him while Jivan stalks them somewhere in the unseen shadows. He tries to convince himself it's only a dream as he drifts back to sleep.
• The Solstice finds itself veering off-course, despite the best efforts of the crew, until it winds up at an uncharted tower of soft blue "stone," spearing its way from the depths to the distant sky. Symbols in the old tongue over the entrance call it "Hanno's Towering Finger," and robed figures - accompanied by more despondent ordinary folks - welcome them in. Inside: a wealth of knowledge and... actual wealth, or at least the promise thereof. But Runato's senses pierce the illusion; they find themselves unsettled, like they're watching a baited hook dangling on an unseen thread. The crew is... less reserved, dead-set on exploring. Runato is forced to rescue them from the maw of this beast; light bleeding out from a doorway labeled "Aphosa" feel all too real and all too scorching, driving them forward as they lead the crew to safety.
• Lei feels the fragment Sylo pulled from Nero's head like a cold spot in a room, like a blind spot in her peripheral vision, itching at the back of her mind for months at sea. She tries to talk to Sylo about what he experienced when he first took the shard, but he's evasive; she feels a presence nearby, like fangs poised over a vein, warning her from pushing further, but she doesn't heed the threat, and the snake lashes out.
• Off the southwestern coast of Iskander, the crew encounters a deep-sea fishing vessel, clearly (and literally) out of their depth as they skim the waters along the coast for whatever they can get. Niklan, a junior member of the crew, proposes that they attack the vessel and take from its stores, given that the Solstice is so light on provisions: "if we're going to let pirates get away with stealing from us, we have to get our pay from somewhere." Emilia won't have it, and tells them, in short, to swim out there and take the ship themselves if they're so desperate for a payday.
• Throughout the journey, Runato feels the Unicorns at the edge of their awareness. He feels a connection with Pierra especially, who tries to push her way into his mind. They do their best to shut it down, distracting themselves with tasks that require focus, but they still catch flashes of emotion from beyond: a faint sense of amusement and encouragement as the Fellowship forges ahead.
• In the sea out west of Iskander, Sylo - watching from the crow's nest - spies a whirlpool off in the distance, far enough away that it won't affect the ship as long as they steer clear. In fact, it looks much wider than it actually is, sending ripples out across a placid sea. But as they approach, they see that it's a bottomless hole, and feel a deva being torn apart, sucked away into nothingness or... somewhere else. He dives into the water, becoming an octopus and calling on the deva, Ariam, to materialize physically so he can rescue them. He drags them away from the hole, and they share a confused and concerned exchange.

Finally, the Solstice arrives at the storm-tossed cliffs of Arred. Black smoke and the smell of decay drift on the wind, along with the sound of bells, and as they stare up at the city walls hundreds of feet above, the Fellowship realizes it might be a bit trickier than they imagined to actually get inside...

Notable People

• Theo, Emilia's Human uncle, who stole from the crew to pay off a mercenary corps
• Adeodatus Lustro, the Canid Invigilator on Lei's trail, whose presence was felt only in rumors
• Orthelia, a Human mate who lied at Emilia's request to cover for her uncle
• Jivan, an ancient deva who has unknowable intentions
• Xsinbi, Sylo's patron deva who has only the best intentions
• Pierra, née Altiwaya, a Human Unicorn and former colleague of Lei's who is prying at Runato's mind

Ephemera

Notes

Other