15 - 05/12/25 : Sharing the Burden

As Eri woke up in the morning, she noted Eo Nee acting unusually pensive. Upon question the fey, she revealed that the Lantern King had begun an old tradition of his called the Tourney of the Lantern. All of the Lantern King's followers and servants, willing and unwilling, were given a single token called a Lantern Flame, and would be pushed to fight each other for these flames. Killing was not a requirement, but any living creature would be able to track their Lantern Flame if it was stolen. The competitors would also be able to earn Flames by entertaining the ever watching King. The first servant to acquire 333 Lantern Flames would be given a favor by the Lantern King. As she processed this new information, Ezri also found the Void Card from a Deck of Many Things stuck inside her lantern.   Ezri joined the rest of the party and informed them about the Tourney of the Lantern. While Ezri was understandably uninterested in getting involved, Adeline pointed out that she could win her soul back as the prize. Ezri's attitude towards the tourney flipped and she was now ready to give it her all, but noted that Eo was not quite as enthused, unsure if her own soul would be freed along with Ezri's.   As they continued to consider the possibilities of this tourney, Snow fiddled with bracelet the others hadn't seen before. She revealed that it was something she had been carrying for some time, but could never figure out how to open. Ezri attempted to pry it open, but felt a necrotic sting for her trouble. When questioned about it, Snow revealed that she had previously been a part of a band of mercenaries and on her last job with them, her boss had literally stabbed her in the back. As she was left for dead, she managed to hold on to the bracelet and survived the encounter. Snow believed there was some possibility that her boss might come back at some point for the bracelet. In an attempt to help her look out for it, Adeline asked about Snow's boss, and she informed the party that he was a vulture aaracokra named Barbatos.The party agreed to keep an eye out for both Snow's boss and the servants of the Lantern King.   The discussion eventually shifted to a name for the group. Ezri initially rejected the idea of a name as it made them sound like adventurers, but liked Snow's suggestion of "The Book Club" too much to refuse it. As this matter was settled, the trio heard a knock on their window and opened it to see an owl carrying a mail bag. The owl handed the party a letter, introducing himself as Arwyn's familiar, Hermes, who would deliver letters for the headmaster. In addition, he gave the students a letter informing them that there was a new patisserie on campus called Bon Bon Courage.   The students decided to take this moment of brevity to relax and visited the new shop before getting to their more serious tasks. In the patisserie, they met the head chefs, Sabine and Leopold LeClair, and their apprentice, Genevieve Dufour. In addition to normal pastries, the chefs were mages studying the infusion of magic into food and sold specialty pastries made from extraplanar and magical ingredients. Snow and Ezri each purchased an Ecstatic Voul-a-vent. Curious about the unique chefs, Ezri asked how they ended up in Fortune's Crossing. Leopold and Sabine had always had an interest in baking and theorized on how to magically enhance it, but Leopold had previously been employed as a soldier in Foere. With the kingdom's recent religious and political shift, however, the LeClairs did not feel safe in their home country. They left the kingdom with their apprentice and found their way to Fortune's Crossing to pursue their shared passion anew.   With their sweet tooths fulfilled, the students decided to take some time to train with their primary professors. Adeline continued working with Raine and learned some of the professor's survival techniques. Snow visited the Golem and found Mary there as well. She and Mary sparred as part of their training, then Snow shared her pastries with to of them as their break.   Meanwhile, Ezri arrived at Cirella's hut with more than training in mind. She revealed Eo Nee to her teacher and told her about her history with the Lantern King and his Tourney. Cirella knew of the Lantern King by reputation and had heard tales of the tourney, but knew less than Ezri about either. Still, Cirella had no doubts about Ezri being able to hold her own in the tourney. Knowing how much Ezri valued her secrets, Cirella shared her own secret, that her bloodline was descendant from a powerful hag, the source of their strong magical strength. At that time, a raven flew into the hut, revealed to be Cirella's familiar, Poe, who had returned with a few items from Cirella's old home. At Eo Nee's reminder, Ezri also told Cirella about the Void Card, but Cirella suggested that Arwyn would likely have more to say on the matter. During their discussion, Cirella was taken aback by a portrait in the posessions Poe brought, and after some brief hesitation, she put up a family portrait. She told Ezri about how she had lost her husband and daughter in her clan's massacre, and how her daughter would have been a young adult if she were still alive. With secrets on both side revealed, Ezri thanked Cirella for taking the time to try fixing her. Cirella immediately denied this, stating that that she never needed fixing, because she was never broken. Ezri was stunned by this statement and unsure how to respons, but eventually Cirella offered some training to help clear her mind.   After their training sessions, Ezri met back up with Snow and Adeline and discussed the idea of talking to Arwyn. She also realized she never told her companions about her escape from her old mentor and revealed how she had drawn from the Deck of Many Things as a last ditch effort to feel and ended up pulling the Void Card. This card drew her soul to the Lantern King, forming her pact and setting her off into the world. Adeline and Snow promised not to tell anyone else of Ezri's past and agreed to go with her to Arwyn's office for moral support.